At this point, it seemed like everything had come to an end.
That was what everyone thought—Kaiser included.
The Old Satan Faction had been completely subdued. The traitorous agents aligned with them from the Three Factions were either dead or grievously wounded. The losses were so catastrophic that the Khaos Brigade would likely abandon that entire faction. Perhaps from now on, the Old Satan Faction would truly be no more.
The peace talks had already been internally agreed upon. With things turning out this way, there was nothing left to discuss. What remained was for everyone to pack up and go home, with this battle ending in total victory and the pact between the Three Factions considered formally sealed.
That was what everyone assumed.
Until—Kaiser suddenly turned around, sharply, as if sensing something.
"Zheng!"
The artificial Sacred Gear in Azazel's hand—though rendered useless after being forcibly pushed into its Balance Breaker—suddenly flared. The gem containing the sealed Dragon King burst with a piercing glow.
"Zheng!""Zheng!"
At the same time, Vali's wings, though restrained, abruptly spread wide and flickered ominously. Issei's hand, too, began to burn, revealing the Boosted Gear once more.
"Ahhh! It hurts—what the hell, Ddraig!?" Issei cried, clutching his arm as it flared with heat.
Even Vali, unconscious until a moment ago, awoke with a violent cough, his face pale as snow, clutching at his chest in agony.
Every dragon-related artifact or being on the battlefield—Kaiser's twin Longinus included—reacted at once, flaring as if responding to a summons.
Then, before anyone could act, a strange, indescribable silence blanketed the entire world.
It wasn't the result of any magic. No ability had been cast. But somehow, the very existence of a single individual had suffocated the battlefield into stillness.
Even the likes of Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael—beings who stood at the summit of this world—said nothing. They simply turned, in unison, toward one direction, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.
Yes.
Even the absolute leaders of the Three Factions had been stunned into silence by the appearance of this being.
"...Kaiser-san..."
Asia took a trembling step toward him, overwhelmed by the oppressive pressure.
Kuroka immediately yanked her back, her expression one of unprecedented panic.
Kaiser ignored the voices behind him. His gaze was locked—on her.
She had appeared without a sound, as if she had always been there. Long black hair flowed silently behind her. Her pitch-black dress blended into the shadows as if it were part of them. Only her pale limbs shone starkly through the gloom, exuding a presence that defied the silence and seeped into every corner of the world.
A young girl—visibly no older than a teenager—stood motionless. Her features were flawless, her eyes pitch-black and unblinking. They met Kaiser's gaze directly.
"Ophis..."
He whispered her name softly, quietly—so quietly it might have been lost in the wind.
Yet, in this world frozen in silence, those words rang like thunder.
Ophis.
The name was known to every supernatural being on Earth.
"...Ophis..."
"Ophis!"
"It's Ophis!!"
Cries of disbelief erupted one by one as the realization dawned on the crowd.
"That's—That's Ophis?!" Rias gasped, trembling from head to toe.
Among the entire group, Issei Hyoudou remained the most clueless.
"Ophis? Isn't that, like... the boss of the Khaos Brigade?"
The response came not from any mortal—but from Ddraig.
"...I never expected to see her appear in person," the Red Dragon Emperor muttered, his voice grave.
From the Divine Dividing, Albion remained silent, but his suppressed presence carried the same weight. Even Vali, lying wounded, stared at Ophis with unblinking focus.
The leaders of the Three Factions instinctively stepped in front of their younger members, as if shielding them from the presence now before them.
Azazel—perhaps out of instinct or desperation—spoke first, breaking the suffocating stillness.
"Well, well… thought it was some big-shot showing up. But it's just you, Lady Ophis, isn't it?"
His familiar joking tone was clearly forced, an attempt to keep the atmosphere from freezing entirely.
"Azazel," Ophis replied, her voice as flat and emotionless as still water. She turned from Kaiser to him for just a moment. "It has been a while."
Her tone was devoid of malice. But also devoid of any feeling. Simply… neutral.
Clearly, she did not consider Azazel an enemy. Or rather, she didn't consider him capable of being one.
"If I had the choice, I'd prefer not to see you again," Azazel chuckled bitterly. "Last time we met… how long ago was that? A few hundred years? Or was it a few thousand? I remember you looked like an old man back then. Why the sudden cutesy schoolgirl aesthetic now?"
Ophis, being the Dragon of Infinity, was born of nothingness. The Ouroboros. She had no true form. She could appear as anything—human, dragon, angel, even fallen angel.
Her current appearance—a pale, fragile girl—was likely just a whim. Azazel was clearly poking fun, but Ophis didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"I did not come for you," she said flatly.
"Then who did you come for?" Azazel asked lightly. "Those three traitors you gave your Snakes to?"
He gestured toward Sharba, Catreya, and Cruzeray.
The three of them looked thrilled to see her, only for their faces to twist in dismay as Ophis shook her head.
"No," she said, then looked back to Kaiser. "I came for him."
No one was surprised.
From the moment she arrived, her eyes had never left him.
Even Kaiser had already guessed it.
Sure enough, Ophis stated it openly.
"What do you want with me?" he asked, offering a reassuring glance back at Asia and Kuroka before stepping forward to meet her gaze.
"I felt it," she said. "You used my power."
So she had noticed when Kaiser entered Juggernaut Drive, invoking the full force of her sealed energy.
"Lots of people use your power," Kaiser said, hands spread. "I doubt that's reason enough for you to come all the way here personally."
Ophis didn't respond. She simply stared, her black eyes like twin voids—searching his core, seeing through him.
As if gazing into the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing within his body.
Then—
"Use it," she said.
"...What?"
Everyone blinked.
"My power," she repeated. "Show me."
A stunned silence.
Kaiser stared at her.
Then slowly… nodded.
"If you want to see it, I'll show you."
He raised his hand—not to summon Divine Dividing.
But the Boosted Gear.
"My Boosted Gear!" Issei cried, flabbergasted.
"He has that too?!"
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"...So it's true," Azazel murmured. Those who had suspected this now had their confirmation.
"Not just Divine Dividing…" Vali clenched his chest with trembling fingers.
Kaiser hadn't even used this when he fought him.
That truth left Vali... conflicted.
"Balance Break!" Kaiser shouted.
In an instant, crimson armor surrounded him, engulfed in burning red aura.
"BOOM!!"
He raised his hand high, red energy surging skyward.
"I am the dominator—he who has claimed the power of the Crimson Dragon!"
"Embracing infinity, rejecting illusion—"
"I, the Dragon Overlord, shall cast you into the Silent Abyss!"
The chant flowed effortlessly from his lips. In less than a second, he activated Juggernaut Drive.
The red energy turned black.
Darkness devoured the red armor, leaving only emerald gems and twisted shadows.
Only one person stood unaffected: Ophis.
Everyone else—Azazel, Michael, even Sirzechs—found their breath stolen by the overwhelming presence now radiating from Kaiser.
Ophis' eyes brightened faintly as she beheld him.
She could feel it.
Her power.
Then she asked, quietly:
"Where is your spear?"
Kaiser didn't answer with words. He extended one black-clad hand—
—and the [True Longinus], the Holy Spear of Twilight, materialized in his grip.
Without delay, he activated its Balance Breaker. Crimson light swallowed the spear, godly will flooding the world.
At once, people collapsed.
Even Rias trembled uncontrollably.
Only the leaders still stood, barely.
They knew what was coming next.
"Attack me," Ophis said calmly.
"What?" gasps echoed.
"You sure?" Kaiser asked.
She nodded, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
He took a deep breath.
"Boost!"
The sacred chant rang out.
Then again.
And again.
"Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!"...
The gemstones across Kaiser's armor flared as he poured everything he had into stacking his power.
"I can normally maintain Juggernaut Drive for about an hour," he explained calmly.
"But using both this and the Holy Spear drains me faster."
He didn't need an hour.
He only needed one strike.
"Transfer!"
With that command, every ounce of power he had boosted was sent into the True Longinus.
"BOOM!!"
The weapon roared. The spear burned with divine power magnified dozens—hundreds of times over.
A God-slaying blow—enhanced to apocalyptic levels.
Kaiser gripped the spear with his remaining strength.
"I hope you're ready…"
He shot forward.
"———————!"
A streak of crimson tore through the world, piercing straight toward Ophis.
As if to skewer the universe itself—
The light of that single strike consumed the heavens.
(End of Chapter)