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The Red Emperor Dragon Of Another World

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He didn't know how it happened, but there he was, receiving information in his head, as if he already knew it before and had forgotten it. In a rather unknown place, with beings that could bring the gods he came from to their knees, he had to persevere. And if he could, he would try to go back to where he came from.
Chapter 1: The Red Emperor Dragon (I)

EmiyaGRZG

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Chapter 1: The Red Emperor Dragon (I)

Jon Snow, known as the Bastard of Winterfell, a seventeen-year-old boy who was raised with his father's legitimate children in Northern Westeros. Although he was taught many things, from the sword to the pen and reading, he did not have many opportunities in life. For someone like him, who was despised by most, he could only hope to go to the wall, perhaps leave Winterfell and seek work as a mercenary. But he also liked to dream a little, and inside his mind, he really hoped that his father would choose him to guard some kind of land in the North. Even if it was small and with few resources, it was better than before.




He wanted to show that he was also worthy, that he too could bring a little glory and good looks to the Stark family, even if he didn't have the last name. Still, even with that kind of dream, he understood perfectly well that the chances of that happening were small. This discouraged him when he thought about it.




However, all that vanished overnight. He knew he wasn't in a dream, because he was definitely walking the halls of Winterfell Castle, ready to begin training shortly after breakfast. He hoped to fight a little with his half-brother, Robb. Perhaps, also with Theon Greyjoy. He was sure that his little half-sister, Arya Stark, would also be there, hoping to learn something, but probably to cause a little trouble. But, just as he walked with the walls around him, the floor beneath him, and the ceiling above his head, everything changed to a black color.




Jon stood in his position, blinking twice at what happened. For a moment, he thought he had gone blind, but soon he began to see flames around him. The ground soon changed to hot brown rock. In the distance, enormous mountains and a volcano rose above the land. Rivers of lava flowed down the mountain range, while the clouds in the sky were illuminated orange by the fire that raged all around.




It was like seeing a hell full of heat and fire.

.




"This is strange. Who are you and how did I come across you?" a powerful voice echoed from behind her. Jon could feel a powerful, hot breath touch his back. He turned very slowly, as his eyes widened at what he soon saw. He was a dragon, a creature that was supposed to have become extinct. Four powerful, thick limbs with red scales supported the gigantic serpentine body, with wings on its back. There were red spikes all over its body, and also some golden ones near where its limbs began. Its neck was long, and on its snout, there was a large, sharp horn.




Jon swallowed hard as two huge green eyes looked at him curiously.




"D- Dragon..."




"Hm? Yeah, that's what I am. But who are you exactly? I'm sure I was already inside my current user. Quite a perverted kid, if I do say so myself. However, suddenly, I "Well, it doesn't matter too much. Anyway, it looks like you're now the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation. Congratulations, and I hope you can get stronger."




"W- What? Who are you?" Jon asked scared. He didn't have a weapon with which to defend himself, although the dragon, for some reason he didn't understand, seemed friendly enough. "How can you talk?!"




"Um... It seems that you will have to learn a lot of things. You are definitely not one who is in contact with the supernatural. Well, since you are here, I can explain," the red dragon folded its limbs and lay down gently, leaving its head on its front legs. Bright green eyes looked piercingly at Jon.




"My full name is Y Ddraig Goch. You can call me simply Ddraig. I am the Red Dragon Emperor, one of the two celestial dragons. I am sealed within something known as a Sacred Gear; one of the many artifacts created by God so that humans can defend against supernatural threats. Among all artifacts, I am one of the most powerful, with the potential to slay Gods."




"When a host of mine dies, then I pass on to a different human. It has been like this since ancient times."




Jon was completely confused, not knowing what to do or say. Out of nowhere, he was faced with a huge dragon that claimed to be an artifact capable of killing gods. This...actually, it seemed like a dream. Was he really in a dream?




"No".




"That?"

"I have seen that kind of expression before. You are not in a dream, this is real. The Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear, is deep in your soul. We are there, in the inner space of the artifact."




"If I'm honest, it's a little strange. It's the first time something like this has happened... the Boosted Gear changed position from one moment to the next. By the way, why does your English seem a little old? I'm sure that the current language is not like that.




"English? But, I can clearly hear you speaking Westerosi."




"Ah?" Ddraig's eyes flashed with curiosity. "Westerosi? It's not a language I know, and that's weird. I can speak any language! Whether it's the old ones or the newer ones."




"By the way, once you get out of here, you should imagine a powerful thing to truly awaken the Sacred Gear. It can be a weapon or a power, but imagine it in a way that is really powerful. A sword that cannot be stopped by anything." or no one, a magic that can't fade, whatever."




"Ugh... I don't understand what you're saying! There's supposed to be no magic in the world anymore, and dragons have been extinct for years," Jon grabbed his head as he started to feel a huge headache. "Ugh...Uhh..."




"Okay, that's weird," Ddraig's voice rang with doubt. "Language similar to Old English, but with an unknown name. Also, from your words just now. You... you don't really seem like a normal human. Anyway, it seems like you're about to wake up, so we'll talk another time." .




And just as Ddraig said, Jon began to fade from the hot and slightly dark place. When he saw that he was no longer there, he breathed heavily, looking at a floor that didn't look at all like that of Winterfell. It was wooden, but much cleaner and brighter. Sunlight came into the room, illuminating the interior. But, Jon wasn't really focused on that. What he was doing was trying to digest information that suddenly appeared in his head.




"I- Impossible... How can something like this happen? A planet... new world? How?!" Jon screamed in fear. He already knew that he wasn't in Winterfell. In fact, it wasn't even Planetos, the planet where Westeros and Winterfell were. Soon, a few beads of sweat began to fall from his forehead, running down his cheeks before falling to the ground. His body trembled a little at the absurd situation he found himself in. He really wished that, at that moment, it was all some big vivid dream he was having, but his mind told him no, that he was really awake, feeling the reality around him.




"Shit...Shit...No, wait. The dragon said he needed to wake up that artifact thing. Maybe he can help me," Jon muttered as he tried to stop shaking. He gritted his teeth for a moment as he closed his eyes.




"It was a powerful thing, right?" Jon wasn't the best at imagining things like that. He was no longer a child, who dreamed of a lot of things. Furthermore, his world was not one that was surrounded by fantastical things, at least not for him. All his life he was surrounded by snow, a huge castle and great walls. The swords he held were wooden, and the metal ones were good but simple, nothing like something like a dragon.




Jon felt lost when only normal but beautiful swords appeared on his head. "No!" He roared at that moment. "But what is something really powerful?"




He closed his eyes again, but now he imagined himself, holding a sword. He was remembering one thing; one of the stories old Nan had told him when he was younger. He was a brave and fair knight, so much so that the Maid had fallen in love with him. The Seven aspect granted the knight a sword, a powerful sword that could not be blocked by other swords or stopped by shields. It was a sword that was supposed to have been drawn only three times, not once against a mortal, because it would be an unfair battle. A sword that, according to Nan's words, could kill a dragon.




That was the sword bestowed by the gods, the Righteous Maiden.




Suddenly, Jon opened his eyes when he felt something on his left arm. He backed away in surprise and fell on his butt to the ground, staring in shock at the red gauntlet with a green gem that appeared out of nowhere.




"This is... "




At that moment, the gem vibrated with a pale light, at the same time as Ddraig's voice appeared.




"{So, you did it. Well done, partner}."




"Dragon... Ddragi, I think there's something wrong here!"




"{Hm? What do you mean? Clearly, you managed to activate the Sacred Gear without any problem}"




Jon choked for a moment, as if the words were difficult to say. But, after a moment, he said it out loud.




"This is not my world, Ddrag!"
 
Chapter 2: The Red Emperor Dragon (II)
Ddraig fell into complete silence after hearing Jon's words. He could clearly feel how nervous he was. But, even if he said that, it's not like he could do much more than try to talk.




"Are you serious?"




"Completely!" Jon said confidently. "For some strange reason, a lot of information appeared in my head after leaving that place where you were," Jon said at high speed, still sitting on the ground, with his left arm raised to the level of his head, looking at the gem. carefully. "This information was about this planet called Earth, but also about where I come from, Planetos. Also, although I don't fully understand everything, it seems like I'm in another solar system."




"I... I don't understand what's happening. Suddenly, I was walking through Winterfell Castle, then I appeared in that place where I met you, but now I was moved to a city called New York, in a country called the United States. It seems that I even have an established identity and can speak different languages. This is too strange for me, Ddraig. Could you explain to me how it happened? Out of nowhere I have knowledge that I didn't have before!




Ddraig was quiet for a moment, until he sighed heavily.




"Partner, I really don't know anything. However, I can believe you a little. Out of nowhere, I was also transferred into your soul. This all seems like something a God would do for entertainment or... Wait, do you have gods on your planet?" "




"Yes... There were several, but the ones I know the most are The Seven. He is supposed to be a God with several aspects. Also, where I lived they worshiped the Old Gods, deities related to the earth, trees, rivers. Well, nature in general," Jon explained as he looked around, seeing that he was in a clean room. He had an empty shelf on one side of the wall, next to a desk. Directly across, was a bed right next to a window.




As he stood up so he could sit more comfortably on the bed, Ddraig spoke:




"Look, I don't know the situation we're in. I've never, in my entire long life, gone through something like this. But it definitely looks like something a God would do. On this world (planet) there really are no vehicles/vessels." capable of traveling through outer space and reaching other planets. This sounds like divine magic, it is the only thing that could really transport you to another world Like the information and languages you now possess.




"What I recommend you do now are two things: get used to Earth and train. You are the current Red Dragon Emperor. Eventually, whether you want it or not, allies and enemies will appear. Dragons tend to attract both. And since I am sealed here "In addition to being my bearer, you have the aura of a dragon, however weak it may be at the moment. I can teach you some things..."

Jon sighed, annoyed by his situation. It's not like he was just transported to another planet. Literally, he lost his brothers and his father. Everything he knew really didn't help much where he was. According to the information he had, the society was different. And there was also a supernatural world hidden in the shadows of the world, with different races of all kinds.

"Wait, partner. Do you have money?"

"Um no".

"So, you're pretty screwed. Without that, you have no food, no books so you can gather information. Uh, I don't know if they open free libraries out there. It would be good to investigate. Anyway, I think I should start teaching you a little about this world. Or rather, on the supernatural side.

"Anyway, I don't know what to do. I'll listen to you," Jon said a little depressed as he let his shoulders slump.

"Well...", at that moment, Ddraig began to talk to him about the supernatural world. The races that existed, the different factions and also the pantheons with gods that were out there. The dragon inside Jon also told him about him, as a Celestial Dragon and his rival, Albion. He entered the War where angels, fallen and devils fought, before being sealed for attacking those three factions when they interfered with his own battle.

As a dragon that had existed for millennia, Ddraig had much knowledge and experiences to tell. He was a very rich source of information that should not be underestimated. Magic, his encounters with gods, Jon's own abilities as a Boosted Gear user if he trained properly, the possible enemies he might encounter, and even smaller things like the changes he might undergo from being tied to a dragon.

Jon listened carefully, as that was the only thing he could do at that moment. He spent hours locked in that room he barely knew, listening and asking a few questions from time to time. And, despite how lost he was, he felt free for the first time in his life. It was as if nothing could stop him anymore. On Earth, he was just Jon Snow, a teenager who lost his parents. They wouldn't target him or judge him for being a bastard, so he could do a lot of things as long as he put in some effort.

Feeling mixed feelings was not unusual for him. But, at that moment, he thought that it was not wrong, that imagining or dreaming things was not wrong.




After Jon noticed that the sunlight coming in was decreasing, he looked out the window to see outside. He blinked a little when he saw that the sun was going down, but also because of how high it was. I could see streets down below, concrete roads with people walking on the sides and metal vehicles in the middle. Around, there were also a lot of buildings.




"This is... an apartment?"




"Yes..." Ddraig replied. "You should have a lot of neighbors on floors below, above or to the sides. Also, I think I have an idea to solve your money problem, but before that, make sure you really don't have food or other things. Check the apartment! ".




"Right. I didn't think about that. Thanks," Jon said before turning around.




"You're welcome, partner. We're tied now. We have to trust each other!"




"By the way, did you know that you have a little magic in your blood?"




"Wait, what?" Jon stopped just before opening the door to the room.




"Yes, I can feel it. It's very little, but there it is. You said that on your planet, magic existed. It's possible that you descend from a line that practices magic. Hm, interesting, maybe here, where you can learn magic without much trouble, can bring out that magic in you. Oh, I haven't felt this entertained in a while!"




Jon shook his head. "Please don't take too much amusement from my situation. It's serious."




"Don't blame me too much, partner. Being sealed is fucked up. All I can do is talk and listen, as well as watch. And my previous users, they weren't the best. I don't think I've talked that much since Elsha."




Jon, who had already left to look at the apartment, looked at everything with curiosity. He was looking at what he understood to be a living room with two couches and a television on the wall. The apartment had large windows just to the right side of the television, showing a great view of the city. Directly on the other side of the large windows, the apartment had a bar with an equipped kitchen.




"Who's Elsha?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen. It was a little strange knowing how to use things, but not fully understanding how they worked. He knew how to turn on the television, but he didn't know how it worked to show images. The same was with the stove, he knew how to use fire and its functions, but not how the flame came. Anyway, I walk towards the pantries and the refrigerator just to the side.




Ddraig murmured a little before answering:




"Elsha was one of the previous users. She is the most powerful woman of all those born with the Boosted Gear, and she ranked second as Red Dragon Emperor, surpassed by Belzard, the most powerful Red Dragon Emperor in history, who defeated two White Dragon Emperors. Those were glorious days!"




"Maybe you can meet them."




"But aren't they dead?" Jon asked with a smile. He was not smiling because of the situation of the previous users, but because the pantry was full of products. He left the doors open to go to the refrigerator.




"They're dead. But, partner, inside the Boosted Gear, there are a couple of special spaces. In there, the echoes of the previous users remain. It's too early for you to know that, but eventually you'll have to deal with it..." Ddraig was silent for a moment, until he noticed everything in the refrigerator. "Hey, that's a lot of food. Wait, what the hell!"




"What's wrong?!" Jon was startled by Ddriag's loud scream.




"That! That little flask on the drink holder on the door!" Ddraig shouted in shock. But Jon also noticed some anger in his voice. Anyway, he looked to the side, noticing the small vial that fit in the palm of his hand. It was the size of a middle finger, and contained a crimson liquid, almost like blood.




"Know what it is?"




"It's my damn blood, partner! What the hell!? I can clearly feel that it's my blood, but there shouldn't be something like that. Any trace of blood, it was eliminated by the Biblical God in our battle, and I never gave it to him." to anyone a drop of my blood."




"Can I... give it back to you?"




"..... Are you serious?"




"Uh...why wouldn't I? It's yours, right? I thought you could absorb it with things like magic. Or just because you're a dragon."




"Haa~...although something like this is possible for magic or vampires, it is of no use to me now..... It is better that you save it for the future. That drop of blood could help you grow in power "It's a better option than simply turning a part of your body into that of a dragon."




"Still, partner. Have you realized what's going on?"




"A little," Jon frowned. "There is definitely someone behind everything. The transportation between worlds, your transfer to me, my new identity, the food, even a drop of your blood. I am starting to hate this unknown person."




"I don't complain too much."




"To me you seemed angry seeing your blood."




"I'm still a dragon. I have great pride. And seeing my blood stored like strawberry juice aroused my anger a little. But if I'm honest, I don't care too much about this situation. I'm a sealed existence, unable to leave here. All I can do is watch my users awaken my powers, watch them grow and then die. Sure it's fucked up for you, but for me it's a different opportunity, something so I can have a little fun out of a monotonous existence."




Jon frowned a little. He didn't really like the way Ddraig looked.




"You really can't go out? Isn't there a way for you to see the world with a body?"




"That... I don't know. Maybe there is something, but the seals created by God are really powerful. Besides, I am bound to your soul, partner."




"Well..." Jon tilted his head a little. "If there is a way to get you out without damaging my soul, I will do it."




"Really?" Ddraig asked a little confused.




"Yes. In the end, you're helping me with everything, right? I'd feel better if I could help you a little too."




"... Thank you".




"You're
welcome... partner."




They both stayed in a comfortable silence for a few moments, until Jon was brought out of his thoughts by seeing all the food.




"By the way, do you know how to cook?"




"No".




"So, I'll have to improvise a little."
 
Chapter 3: The Red Dragon Emperor (III)
"Listen, you can't just use that much fire on meat. Ah, you already burned it! Make a salad instead. You can make a vinaigrette for that."




Jon scratched his head. Even though he was a bastard, he always ate food already prepared by cooks. Even when he sneaked into the kitchen, he always took out already prepared stuff. Simply put, he sucked at cooking. And Ddraig's words just made him feel even more embarrassed.




"How do I make the vinaigrette?"




"I think it was vinegar, oil, and other stuff. Um, wait. You have the TV. Find a cooking channel! Before I was transported to you, despite not being activated, I could see some things from the life of that boy who would be my carrier. His mother definitely watched a couple of those channels!"




"Okay, that's a good idea!" Jon nodded and quickly walked over to the TV. He grabbed the remote and turned it on. He blinked a few times as he saw the images of a black-haired girl with pigtails and a pink dress yelling about magical things.




"What's that woman doing...? Ah, you changed it."




"Were you interested?"




"Not really. But that woman, she definitely looks familiar. I know her from something. But nevermind, just keep doing your thing." Jon did exactly that, flipping through the channels bit by bit, going through different things. Actually, there were so many channels that he had to spend more than two minutes flipping through until he found a person who was cooking something.




It was a black-haired girl, again. Not that it mattered. What really mattered, was that she was cooking something.




"It's a cake. Uh, you don't mind, do you?"




"Not really. I'm so hungry now, it doesn't matter if it's sweet or savory," Jon replied as he set the remote down on the coffee table and walked back into the kitchen while listening to the instructions. He knew he had things like flour, eggs, and sugar, so he could make the cake. Taking out the necessary things, he began the preparation.




Ddraig was watching with interest. It's not that he cares about the food, but he was feeling amusement after quite a while. Besides, it was like he was participating too, even though he was just watching.




"By the way, why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself, Jon? What's your world like? I've never seen a different planet."




While mixing butter and eggs, Jon calmly replied. "According to the information I received, Planetos can be considered as a world in the medieval era. I lived in Westeros, a continent with seven kingdoms and a king. The various kingdoms were run by the most powerful Houses and Lords, with weaker ones loyal to them. Winterfell, where I was raised, was in the largest territory of Westeros, the north. There, House Stark ran things, with several vassal Houses."




"Were you part of any house?"




"Not really. I am... or rather, I was known as a Bastard. A child born out of wedlock. Most believed people like me were evil, born of lust and such. Still, my father was Lord Stark, a mostly serious man but he gave me many things. Despite my bastardy, I was raised learning what an heir would learn."




"I had several half-siblings, legitimate children."




"Mmm…" Ddraig muttered as if he was nodding thoughtfully. "In the past, humans had those kinds of problems too. But, in some countries, if a parent acknowledged a child as their own, they could even share in inheritances. Sure, there was still the stigma, but they weren't as considered evil."




"Is that so?" Jon asked with a bit of interest as he sifted flour, baking soda, and baking powder over a mixture of eggs and butter.




"Yes. And you shouldn't worry too much about that kind of thing. Now, people hardly care about that kind of situation. In fact, people have a lot of rights they can claim. It's a freer civilization in that kind of thing. In fact, in the supernatural world, it's not uncommon to see a person having a harem."




"What? That… wouldn't go a bit against the loyalty between a man and his woman?"




"Not really. It's true that many men do it simply out of lust, but there are others who actually forge long-lasting bonds with multiple women. Plus, power is one thing that attracts people from the supernatural world quite a bit. Because of that, I think you should prepare yourself. As someone who has the aura of a dragon, you could definitely attract women."




"Ugh..." Jon shook his head at that moment. Actually, being in a relationship wasn't a thing that was in his plans, not right now. He already had enough with what he had, plus the training he would have to do to not die when trouble comes knocking on his door.




After that... Maybe there's a chance. As Ddraig said a few moments ago, he didn't have to worry about his bastardy. In fact, he wasn't even considered one to the world, or any society on Earth. He was supposed to have had parents based on the information he had.




"I haven't checked my personal information..." he muttered curiously. "I think I'll do that while the cake is baking."




"You should. You have to remember those things easily. It's better to be safe than sorry, partner. Wait, don't do that quickly. According to the girl, you have to do sweeping movements gently."




"Ah, you're right," Jon blinked as he slowed down his hand and did it more calmly.




"Hey, does it bother you to contact the devil race?"




"They?" Jon asked curiously. "You said they weren't evil, not anymore."




"They're not. They put aside that world domination stuff and looked down on other races many years ago. Well, at least most of them did. There is still a faction known as the old satan faction. But yes, now their contracts, compared to before, can be pretty light."




"I understand, but why?"




"You need a backup, partner. I can teach you some magic, so you can soon call yourself a magician. That way, you could create a contract with a devil. Then, you'll have access to protection, resources, and information."




"Do you have anyone in mind? You mentioned that there are families called Pillars."




"I definitely recommend the Gremory. One of the pillars that treat their servants and contractors with the most respect. Also, the current Demon King Lucifer was born into that family. If you can do everything correctly as I tell you, you could call Sirzechs Lucifer (Gremory). That man is very powerful, and since you're the current Red Dragon Emperor, he'll probably agree to deals with you."




"I understand. But, let's focus on training first, okay? I don't want to make deals so soon, especially when I don't fully know my own situation."




"Well... Did you ever train before?"




"Yes, I did. With my half-brother, Robb. We trained with the sword."




"At least it's something. Your body is slightly stronger and more resilient than a normal human's."




Jon nodded before he put all the ingredients together in a mold, before putting it in the oven that had been turned on previously. After that, he closed the door and went to the couch. He slowly sat down as he looked at some papers on the coffee table. He noticed them earlier when he turned on the television, knowing what they were. There was also a small card with a small picture of him on it.




"Is this my ID?" Jon asked himself, looking at the information on the ID card. "Jon Snow, 17 years old. Male. Birth, 1989. ID number..."




Jon stared at it for a few moments, noticing that his face was a little different. "Hey, Ddraig, how do I look? I mean eye color, skin color, and stuff."




"What?"




"Please answer."




"Erm... You have white skin, shoulder-length black hair. Your eyes have grey irises. Is something wrong?"




"I think I look more handsome than usual."




"... Is that narcissism?"




"No! I mean, my skin is a bit lighter, I think. And my eyes in this photo, they look lighter too. My eyes were indeed grey. But I remember they looked almost black from how dark they were. Only under the light could they look lighter."




"Mm... Either it's something this stranger did, or it could be a side effect of waking up, but I leaned more towards the former. I don't see it mattering too much though. You're more handsome, so what?"




".... True." Jon sighed a little as he placed the ID card on the table. Now, he took the papers. But he froze when he saw the two names of his parents. There, written on the document, were the names: Eddard Snow and Ashara Dayne. Jon felt dizzy when he saw the name of a woman who was well-known in Westeros.




"Hey... what's wrong with you? You look like you want to vomit. Did the smell of the cake being cooked make you sick?"




"This name... Ashara Dayne, I know it. She was a woman in Westeros. The daughter of a famous House. It is said that she was incredibly beautiful. So beautiful that other women couldn't compare."




"It says there that she is your mother. You say that she is not?"




"I don't know my mother, Ddraig! My father, Eddard Stark, always hid it from me. He never wanted to tell me. Besides... she... Ashara died years ago. They say that she committed suicide by jumping off a tower."




"Maybe, the person who did all this, knew who your parents were. So, he decided to use this opportunity to tell you the truth."




"It's possible. I... never expected this. I mean, I heard that in Winterfell they whispered about this, but my father fell to everyone. Damn...", Jon crumpled the paper in his hands a little. There was a look of sadness and anger in his eyes. Sadness for not being able to meet his mother and anger because his father decided to hide him.




"Don't think too much about it, Jon. Come on and go. If you can ever return to Planetos, you can go and give your father a blow. Because no one will be able to stop you at that time! Remember, you are the Red Dragon Emperor. The mere fact that you have the Boosted Gear, will allow you to grow by leaps and bounds."




Closing his eyes, inhaling and exhaling, Jon smiled a little. "You're right. I have the opportunity to do many things now. You have my thanks, Ddraig."




"Ha! That's it. Have more pride, partner!"




Jon leaned back on the couch as he put the document aside. Thanks to Ddraig, it was easier for him to let go of things. It was like he granted him a powerful mental strength. Or it was just because he had someone to count on. Anyway, Jon waited for the cake to finish baking as he watched the cooking channel.




"Why does it seem like it tastes bad?" Jon realized something strange. The girl who was cooking, tasted her own cake, but put on a strange expression. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she twisted her lips into strange shapes. Afterwards, one of her eyebrows twitched slightly as she smiled a little forcefully.




"Hey, hey... did she make a mistake? Did she add salt instead of sugar?"




"She's a cook. There's no way she'd make a mistake like that," Jon replied as he watched the girl run off before vomiting sounds could be heard.




"..... "




"I think she'll be fired," Ddraig commented with a small laugh at the end.
 
Chapter 4: The Red Dragon Emperor (IV)
"The first step to being able to use magic is magic power. In this world where different races exist, there are also different types of powers. The devil race uses demonic power, while angels and fallen ones use the power of light. Youkai use Ki, a power that is also available to humans through constant training. On the other hand, Gods use divine power, which is a bit more complicated and I won't go into details for now," Ddraig was giving his first magic class to Jon, who had already eaten, rested, and slept. It was his second day on planet Earth. And he thought that the best thing he could do was to start his training.




"Human magic was born by the human named Merlin Ambrosius, who researched demonic power and its results. Through his research, he was able to create the current human magic system. In order to perform magic, you have to manipulate magic power through certain equations. The latter, is not exactly adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. In order to use a spell, you have to study and learn the magic equation. If you want, you can also call it a magic formula."




Jon listened intently to every word that came from Ddraig. There were things he didn't know, but Ddraig made it quite understandable. "It will be a little difficult at first, because you lack knowledge. Human magic actually begins when you can read the flow. The latter, refers to how the world works. How is water formed? How do you create a flame? How do lightning appear? How do things freeze or how do they explode? When you can understand these things, you will be able to read the flow better. And once you've figured it out, then you can begin learning how to perform magic formulas."




"Simply put: you use magic power to activate a formula that is capable of creating different phenomena in the world."




Jon frowned a little. "So... So... those calculations you mention, it's a way to know what reaction you would get when performing a certain action. Is that it?"




"Yes! That's it," Ddraig exclaimed approvingly. "For now, things like throwing flames, freezing something, and blowing things up will be ruled out. First you'll start by manipulating your magic power so that you can use it more easily. Then, your first magic will be a little telekinesis. That is, pulling or pushing light objects."




"How can you access my magic power?"




"You already do, Jon. The moment you managed to activate the Boosted Gear, you awakened the magic power that lived inside you. You may not be able to feel it, because you don't know what to feel exactly. Close your eyes, think about where we first met. You don't have to go inside, just think about that place."




Jon did exactly that. He didn't know why that was useful. But Ddraig knew. The Boosted Gear was linked to Jon's soul, and the space they were in was that interior. Getting closer to it would allow Jon to better sense the power that existed within it. And so it was, Jon could sense it in no time. He didn't know it because his eyes were closed, but a soft, faint aura began to surround his body.




"It feels... calm. It's like having a very light garment around my body."

"That's it, partner. That's it," Ddraig said as Jon opened his eyes. He looked at his hands as he clenched them into fists. Now that he knew what it was like, he could easily feel it. Some power exuded from the tips of his fingers.




"In order to move things with your magic power, you have to take into account the force you exert yourself, the inertia, the direction, the speed. This is actually easy. You don't even need that much calculation, you could achieve something effective by doing tests. You have the TV remote on the table. Raise your hand, extend your magic power. Try thinking of your power as a longer arm."




Jon hesitated for a moment, but decided to try it anyway. He raised his hand as he focused on the remote. But, even though he could feel his magic power, extending it was much more complicated. It was as if something was holding him back, as if his magic power was submerged in mud. He was doing this for minutes while gritting his teeth. And when he felt that he reached for the remote, he pulled.




"Ah!" Jon exclaimed a little as he saw his target crawl across the table a few inches, but stopped abruptly.




"It's a breakthrough. Doing this kind of thing doesn't even require a magic circle. By the way, magic circles, in short, is an equation manifested in the real world that triggers an immediate reaction. Mages, usually use special spells for their minds. It's like creating a chest or shelf with spells that they can simply pull out whenever they want."




"I'll teach you that later. For now, let's continue with this!"




"Alright. I understand, thank you," Jon nodded determinedly. Even though he felt frustrated with his first attempt, he knew that he couldn't rush things. He was entering an unknown world that he knew almost nothing about. So, he would listen to Ddraig's teachings and use all the patience he has at his disposal to improve.




That day, Jon repeated the process over and over again as he listened to Professor Ddraig's magic class. If any magician was present, they would just sit there listening to the professor's class. Because, even if they were basic classes, they were being taught by one Ddraig himself, the original Red Dragon Emperor. It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity! Sadly, that wasn't possible for them. After all, they weren't Boosted Gear users.




When Jon felt hungry, he decided to tune into the cooking channel he already knew and try out another recipe. This time, it was someone else cooking, but he didn't care. What he really cared about, was that meat dish he saw. So he got to work, so he could have a nice dinner and then continue learning magic.




"Wait, partner. You can use your learning with cooking to get better with the use of Boosted Gear."




"How?"




"Use [Boost] to increase and then [Transfer] to enhance the flavor of the ingredients."




"Is that possible?!"




"Ha, ha, ha! I'm Ddraig, a Celestial Dragon! A few small ingredients can't stop me!"




Jon did exactly that. Usually when he talked to Ddraig, only a small gem would appear on the back of his hand. Then, he activated his sacred gear; the armored arm appeared before a [Boost] sounded as he held a piece of meat. After that, he used [Transfer] causing a pale green light with red outlines to appear surrounding the meat.




At that moment, Jon never thought that in the future he would also be known as the Dragon Emperor of Cooking.




But that's a story for another time.




Right now, Jon was just trying to have a nice plate of food for his dinner. After more than half an hour, Jon sat down on the couch with a well-made dish that simply smelled heavenly. It was so much that even Ddraig felt a little hungry.




"Hey, can you see if that magical girl show is on?"




"Curiosity." Jon shrugged at his dragon companion's response. It was better than nothing anyway. So, they started flipping through channels until they found the girl struggling with a slimy thing that had tentacles."




Right now, Jon was just trying to have a nice plate of food for his dinner. After more than half an hour, Jon sat down on the couch with a well-made dish that simply smelled heavenly. It was so much that even Ddraig felt a little hungry.




"Hey, can you see if that magical girl show is on?"




"Sure. But why?"




"Curiosity." Jon shrugged at his dragon companion's response. It was better than nothing anyway. So, they started flipping through channels until they found the girl struggling with a slimy thing that had tentacles."




"That... kind of creeps me out."




"It doesn't feel right, dude. It makes you feel like it's completely wrong."




"Ah... they caught her... Wait, why is he getting perverted? Are you sure it's not adult programming?"




"I don't even know what that is, Ddraig."




"They're showing panties."




"You like it?"




"I'm not Fafnir!"




Jon didn't know why, but he felt like Ddraig was expecting to see something else. Not a different program, but a body part that wasn't a butt lightly covered by panties. He put that out of his mind immediately. Such a thing should be impossible, right? Dragons had relationships with other dragons, right?




"I feel like you're thinking something bad."




"Not at all..." Jon replied before cutting off a piece of meat and bringing it to his mouth. He had to close his eyes as all kinds of flavors exploded in his mouth. Slowly, his lips parted to let out a small, hot breath.




"Oh, how delicious. This is wonderful, Ddraig!"




"H-How does it taste? Describe it properly, in great detail!"
 
Chapter 5: The Red Dragon Emperor (V)
Three full days passed since Professor Ddraig's first magic class. It was eight in the morning, and Jon was jogging slowly through the streets, getting some exercise while seeing the city he would probably be living in for a while. His dragon companion recommended that he exercise while visiting the city in search of a library where he didn't have to pay to read books.




Currently, Jon was wearing black pants and sneakers, while on top he wore a white, form-fitting shirt under a black hoodie. Also, he had two black gloves on his hands. Ddraig informed him that the gem would appear when he spoke out loud or transmitted his thoughts, so he needed to hide it somehow. And Jon, who found three closets full of different kinds of clothes in the second room, had mixed feelings once again; he was upset with whoever transported him to another world, but he couldn't help but feel grateful and surprised by all the preparation they made for him.




It's true that he lost his family when he was transported, but he had gained so much more. If it weren't for this unknown person, then he would be completely lost on planet Earth.




As he jogged, the city of New York opened up before Jon's eyes. Huge apartment buildings, offices, and other things rose up into the sky, giving an incredible image to him, who lived in a medieval era. People walked along the sidewalks, filling the city with life. The sound of vehicles of all kinds, resonating with their engines and horns. Lights and also signs of all kinds, unfamiliar smells reached his nose as he observed everything with great curiosity.




All of this made him think about whether there was a possibility that by becoming stronger, he could travel between the two worlds. He would like to be able to show Arya this world, a planet where women were not frowned upon for holding a sword or fighting. And although it was impossible, he thought it would be great if his little sister could meet Elsha, who was the strongest female Red Dragon Emperor. He still hadn't entered that space inside the Boosted Gear, but he asked Ddraig about it.




"Partner, look ahead!" Ddraig's voice suddenly rang out in his mind. Jon looked up, seeing a building that had the word library in its name. It was quite large. Two stories in total, made of bricks with large windows in front of both floors. When he stopped in front of it, he could see that it had large shelves filled with books. Jon didn't hesitate to go in and ask if it cost money to read. Doing so cost him nothing. When he opened the door, a smell of wood, books, and a light floral scent that he didn't know what it could be came through. On either side of the entrance, tables had been arranged in rows, some of which were being used. Right at the end of the building, he could see a long reception table with a woman sitting on it. The path was between two huge bookshelves that reached the roof. They even had ladders arranged to reach the books on higher parts.




Jon walked slowly with his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt, looking curiously at the large number of books that existed there. It was truly incredible. He thought there were more than in the Winterfell library, and that was considered one of the best among the kingdoms, leaving aside the Citadel.




"Excuse me..." Jon spoke softly, drawing the woman's attention. She was reading a large book that took up a good space on the table at the bottom of the reception. The woman had brown hair, tied in a bun at the top and back of her head. Her features were delicate and her skin was white, without a single blemish. She was wearing round-framed glasses, which showed off her impressive gray, almost silver eyes.




"Yes, do you need any special book?"




Jon made a small face. "Yes. But, this is the first time I've come to a library of this kind. Do I need to pay?"




The woman tilted her head slightly, looking at Jon in silence. She held his gaze for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Don't worry. As long as you don't ask for a book to take home for a period of time or buy it outright, you can read for free inside the establishment. What kind of book are you interested in?"




"Ah, that's good. Thank you. I need introductory books on chemistry and physics."




"Chemistry and physics? I understand. Please wait here. I'll bring some books I can recommend to you."




"That's nice of you, thank you very much," Jon smiled softly, watching as the woman stood up to leave his position. Jon noticed that she was wearing a white blouse with a black skirt that reached to her knees, but showed off the lines of her figure.




After several minutes, the woman returned, leaving a couple of books on the reception table. "Here you go. These books may be for children, but they explain well the things you need to learn as someone just starting out with these subjects. You'll find things easy to understand."




"Once again, thank you. I'll find a table."




The woman nodded before returning to her seat. Jon left her be as he walked back. Earlier, when he entered, he could see a table right in the corner that had a view of the street. He preferred that seat over the others that were in the back.




Thus, after a couple of hours of light exercise, Jon began his journey of learning about chemistry and physics. He had to learn the processes in which certain things were created. He needed to learn how fire was formed, how water was transformed, and how the world worked in general. In addition, he also had to learn about the forces related to movements.




Ddraig told him that he could also learn from a thing called the Internet, but he didn't have access to that at the moment. After he found a way to make money, he had to sign up for the service and buy devices that he could connect to.




After several hours, until he finished the books that weren't too long, he returned with them to the woman.




"Did you learn anything?" she asked curiously.




"Yes. Things were really easy to understand. I think I still have a hard time with some things, but I'll go at my own pace. By the way, this is probably a weird question... but do you know if there's a place nearby that's hiring?"




The woman looked at him again piercingly for a few seconds, until she raised her hand and pointed to the entrance. "Right in front, there's a Starbucks that's hiring."




(A/N: Yes, I know it's not written well. You can just take it as a Starbucks version of that world!)




"Really? Thank you so much for everything. You've really helped me," Jon didn't know what a Starbucks was, but if there was a job, he could learn and adapt.




"You're welcome. You can come back anytime the library is still open."




Jon smiled before nodding. It felt good that the first person from Earth he interacted with was someone kind and willing to help. He understood that it wouldn't always be like this, but he was extremely lucky.




After leaving, Jon headed to the establishment across the street, hoping to be accepted even if he had no experience. He needed money! He damn needed money if he wanted to live properly in the future!




Unexpectedly, or rather, fortunately, he was able to get the job. He could see some doubts on the face of the person he interviewed, but he didn't care too much.




He was now the Red Dragon Emperor serving coffee!
 
Chapter 6: The Red Dragon Emperor Is Famous for Serving Coffee (I)
A month and a half had passed since Jon arrived on Earth, being transported by someone unknown, but receiving a certain level of help so that he could live in a moderately comfortable way. His training with Ddraig was going well, he was even able to perform a special mental magic so that he could perform and store certain calculations. But, if he had to say it honestly, his greatest achievement was getting that job at the Starbuk coffee shop and managing to become a somewhat famous employee.




Learning how to make the different types of coffee was not that difficult. The thing that was difficult, in reality, was serving the customers. Some were really annoying, with arrogant attitudes, thinking that they could insult whenever they wanted. But, leaving that aside, his coworkers supported him enough that a month later he was able to work very well. Within this, there was also his small fame obtained thanks to the [Boost]. It was complicated at first, since it emitted a light and his arm transformed every time he used it, so he had to use his body to cover that up.




After a week of training the two skills [Boost] and [Transfer] every day, along with his desire to be useful, a good employee, and serve good drinks, Jon was able to use those two skills with the Sacred Gear in the semi-summoned state. Simply put, as long as only the gem was present, he was able to use these two skills. This made things easier.




Ddraig mentioned with a slightly complicated tone that, among all the Boosted Gear users, he was the one who had advanced the most in such a short time. But, for the wrong reasons. Also, when he had enough time after each shift, he would visit the library across the street, just like on his days off.




Today, Jon's shift started in the morning and ended after noon. And when he returned, he found a man in front of his door.




"Do you need something?"




"Ah... Good afternoon. By any chance, do you know the person from this department? I've come to do the internet installation."




"Oh, so it's you. I'm the one who hired the service. Let me open it." Jon already received his first paycheck over a week ago, so he asked for the internet service. He let the man in to start his work. Honestly, he wasn't the best with machines, but he was learning little by little. He already knew how to use the laptop he bought. It wasn't a powerful thing. In the end, he just wanted it to surf the internet smoothly.




After about an hour, everything had been finished. The technician left before Jon started surfing the internet, looking for information related to chemistry and physics. His knowledge was still basic.




At that moment, when he was watching some videos, Ddraig decided to speak up. "Partner, I think from tomorrow, you should start training your fist."




"What do you mean? I understand that I need to learn how to fight properly, but my fist? How is that?"




"Originally, I was planning to teach you some martial arts stuff I know, but it would be kind of pointless. I'm a dragon, partner. Things like fancy moves, proper breathing, and so on, don't come with me. So, I'll just teach you how to strike effectively. I'll turn your mortal human fist into a fist of dominance!"




"Fist of dominance... It sounds strong! Is it a technique you invented?"




"No... It's just a normal fist."




"Huh?"




"Haa~ Sorry, I guess I should explain better. I already mentioned before, that dragons are creatures of power. Or rather, the embodiment of power. We are the most powerful race in this world, so much so that the Biblical God couldn't help but hate us. We, are already born with a fair amount of power, some less than others, depending on the type of dragon. Do you think I was born a Celestial Dragon? No! Even if I had powerful flames capable of consuming everything and turning things into nothing, the rest of my abilities were developed after meeting Albion."




"Little by little, we're advancing to embody concepts. Albion is Supremacy, while I am Domination. As the current Boosted Gear user, you can learn martial arts, should you wish to do so. However, I don't think you'll need to. Use your power... my power... to dominate all of your enemies with your fist. They say that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but also, absolute power could annihilate absolutely. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"




"Train my fist to the point where others' martial arts become useless?"




"Right! A fist that can't be blocked. A fist capable of destroying all kinds of defenses. A fist capable of annihilating anything in front of you. A fist of domination! Roaaah~ Even though I said it, it sounds great!"




Jon sweated a little at the motivation Ddraig felt. But, he couldn't help it either. If he could pull off that kind of fist, it would be wonderful.




"What do I have to do?"




".... Intentions and desires, for a Sacred Gear, are important things. First, you have to have a powerful mindset. Of course, things like power and aura, are also important. You have to grow these things."




"Ah, one more thing. I completely forgot. Or rather, I didn't know until recently..."




"What's wrong?" Jon asked curiously. Ddraig's voice now sounded lower and more serious.




"Gods... It seems the Gods of Olympus live in this country! At first, I felt something. I thought it was just my imagination from being sealed away for so long, but after days of living and walking around the city with you, I noticed that there really are gods in the city. You should be careful."




Jon stood still when he heard that, staring at his laptop screen for a long moment.




"Are you serious?"




"Yes. And speaking of Gods, I'm quite worried about these ones. In the supernatural world, the Gods of Olympus don't have the best reputation for the things they did in the past. Many male gods raped women and fathered demigods. The worst of it was the children of the King of Olympus. His wife was quite brutal. There was a certain hero who was cursed with madness by this goddess, causing him to kill his wife and children. Eventually, he would become someone famous, but he's still damn vicious."




"In fact, it is said that they created the genre of tragedy from the stories of many heroes and unfortunate people. Doubt these gods very much. And in case you make a deal with them, do not trust their words."




"So bad?"




"There was almost a war several years ago. At that time, I was with my host, but we heard that the King of the Gods of Olympus attempted to rape a priestess of another pantheon, when a meeting between the two pantheons was being arranged. Since millennia ago, it was the first time that there was a danger of war that could put the extinction of the world at stake!"




"Should I learn how to hide my aura?"




"You should. Although, eventually, you won't be able to do it completely. The dragon aura is quite obvious, even more so the scent. For now, don't worry too much, they won't find you unless you walk past them."




"Mmm... I think I could teach you something, in case things go wrong. It's a last resort, something you shouldn't use unless you have no other choice."




"Alright. Tell me what to do, Ddraig."




"First, enter the inner space of the Boosted Gear. From there, we can advance little by little."




. . . .




Jon woke up, noticing that it was already the other day.




"Fuck! I hope I'm not late for work!" he shouted as he stood up from his chair. "That was intense, Ddraig!"




"Definitely. But it was worth it, right? You have an element of intimidation against the Gods now."




Jon nodded vigorously as he ran to the bathroom, to at least wash his face and teeth. After that, he looked at the time on his wristwatch. "I really will be late!"




"A few minutes late won't be a problem, Jon. Just run."




That's exactly what he did. He ran hard to work, until he arrived and passed through a small alley. As a worker, he could enter through the back door. Before long, he greeted everyone while putting on an apron and cap.




Jon thought that, despite being a few minutes late, he could have a quiet shift. However, it seems that would not be the case. The first customer he served was a Caucasian man wearing a black suit. His body was tall and muscular, but he had a friendly smile.




"Are you Jon Snow?"




"Who are you?" Jon asked confused, until he shouldered out an ID that he left on the long reception table. It showed the name and a miniature photo of the person, but above it were three large letters that said: CIA.




"You understand that it may be a nuisance right now. But, when your shift is over, could you give me a little of your time?"
 
Chapter 7: The First Battle of the Red Dragon Emperor (I)
Jon walked out sighing after finishing his shift. It was close to six in the evening, but he knew he had more things to do. The man who arrived was from the CIA. And, despite his little knowledge of some things, information about the different security institutions of the country, were part of the knowledge he received. He knew it was a serious thing if someone from the CIA visited him personally.




When he walked out the back, he saw the man waiting in front of the exit. He extended his hand for a shake. "My name is Magnus Rose. It is a pleasure to meet the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation."




Jon frowned a little, deciding it was best not to accept the handshake. He didn't know what kind of powers this person had. And he should have, because he knew his identity. Jon believed there was no way the CIA would send a completely normal human to a meeting with him. Not that he was proud and narcissistic, but the name of the Red Dragon Emperor was known far and wide throughout the world.




"What do you really want?" Jon asked, looking at Magnus' face. The man made a small, slightly sheepish grimace as he held out his hand. That hand soon rose to his head as he scratched it with a finger.




"I don't know if you know, but the CIA has methods to detect people with certain... auras. We take care to keep an eye on those with dragon auras. Also divine auras. Although, the latter is especially tricky."




"It might be sudden, but my job is to offer you an invitation."




Raising an eyebrow, Jon looked at him now with a bit of curiosity. "You... you want me to work for the CIA?"




Magnus shrugged. "That would be wonderful. But the higher-ups understand that that might be a pointless invitation. Rather, what they want is a cooperative relationship. As long as you can help us with some things too dangerous for us, you would receive many benefits."




"We have training facilities for humans that belong to the CIA and know about the supernatural world. I could use them whenever I want. Of course, our intelligence network is pretty good too, so I would have some level of access to it."




Jon frowned slightly. He wasn't a fool. He might not be as knowledgeable about the world as the person in front of him, but if they came to create a cooperative relationship, there should be a reason other than just the name of the Red Dragon Emperor.




"Currently, are you having any problems?"




"Unfortunately," Magnus shook his head with a slightly tired expression. "But, can we talk about it in my car? I think it would be better that way, less prying ears."




Maintaining his gaze against Magnus Rose's for a moment, Jon nodded. "At the very least, I'll listen to you. After that, I'll decide what to do."




"Thank you," Magnus nodded as he led Jon to his car, a silver-colored BMW. They both got in before getting a little comfortable. And before Jon could say anything, a folder was thrust out near his chest.




"What is this?"




"Details related to the problem. You can read it, it doesn't matter too much. But it's better for you to know things in detail before you decide to accept or deny anything."




"Mm... I thought you'd be more aggressive."




"God, no! I fully understand the potential and power of the Red Dragon Emperor. Ah, it's not like I'll meet one before, but the stories and some things we have stored, really make us, the CIA, careful about how we treat you. I was ordered to be as honest as possible, so as not to cause any misunderstandings."




"... I see," Jon nodded before opening the folder. Inside, there was a document detailing the identity of a person. It was a dark-skinned man with striking red eyes. His hair was a bit messy and black.




"Damian Carter... a reincarnated middle-class devil? Why is he so dangerous that the CIA is after him?"




Magnus sighed before taking out a cigarette which he lit with a lighter. "Honestly, we too thought he wouldn't be a bother at first. But, when we did some research into his life through supernatural channels, we were able to find that he was affiliated with one of the important houses of the underworld. He was a tower of a member of the Nebiros Clan, one of the Six Houses of Lucifer, who served the original Demon King himself."




"A few years ago, the Nebiros branch family, Naberius, ended up with a loss of its family head when a woman attacked him. We wouldn't care much about that, but when we were investigating, the current Lucifer contacted us to stop the Damian, who seems to have a connection to all of this."




"What exactly do you need me for?" Jon asked hesitantly. It didn't seem like it was an extremely dangerous job. And even if it was, he would still be hesitant to accept. After all, although he was the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation, he wasn't that powerful either.




Magnus exhaled a light cloud of smoke before turning slightly, leaving his forearm resting on the top of his seat. "Three days ago, when we managed to find Damian Carter, we thought it wouldn't be a complicated battle. However, this man had something that made him increase his power and make him a little crazy. As a Boosted Gear user, you can increase your power, right? That would be useful to us. We, the CIA, don't really have that many agents who can fight on the supernatural side. That's why the cooperative relationship is a good idea to gain a little power while you benefit from us."




"Simply put…" Jon looked at him seriously. "A mutually beneficial relationship, but I end up gaining more than you guys."




"If you think about it, it's normal. In the supernatural world, power is what matters the most. If you have enough of it, you can get a lot of things. Also, in case you're worried, we can just put aside that you helped us when we hand Damian over to the Devils."




"No."




"No?" Magnus asked confused.




"I'll take this opportunity and benefit from you. But, I also want you to help me arrange a meeting with Sirzches Lucifer."




"That... Well, sure. It's possible."




Jon smiled slightly before asking, "So, where can we find Damian Carter?"




"We'll head to the location immediately. I may look normal, but I also have a sacred gear. The problem is, I can't control it as I'd like."




Magnus started the vehicle and stepped on the accelerator to pull out of the parking spot. Jon looked out the window as they traveled through the streets of Manhattan. They moved through the streets patiently, stopping every now and then because of the large number of vehicles on the streets.




"We've prepared a team in case you'd accept," Magnus suddenly said. "I'm sure they might be more of a nuisance than a help, but they'll make sure to create perimeters where you can fight. With my sacred gear, I can disable any nearby surveillance cameras."




"What kind of artifact do you have?" Jon asked with interest.




"It's called [Unknown Dictator]. I can manipulate iron to create or manipulate mechanical devices and some electronic ones. Of course, I can also use this ability to create some things, like wings to fly or cannons to attack. Although, the latter is very difficult for me at the moment. And the manipulation distance is only about fifteen meters."




"It's still interesting. And I understand why the CIA has you. You could manipulate things in the city."




"Yeah... Sorry."




"What?"




"Ah, if it weren't for the Internet I hired, it would have taken us a little longer to find you. We knew that the dragon aura emerged in Manhattan over a month ago, but it seems you hid well."




Jon simply remained silent at that. It seemed like the CIA thought he was stronger than he actually was. He didn't care. It worked in his favor. Plus, it was only last night that he was able to make a lot of progress in using Boosted Gear. Thanks to Ddraig's instructions, he was able to meet the previous users. Those were corrupted so they would be a problem in the future. Ddraig told him that he had to find a way to get past that barrier if he wanted to use the most powerful form of Boosted Gear. But, currently, and thanks to Ddraig's dragon blood, he was able to activate the Boosted Gear's [Balance Breaker] for a few minutes.




He had a little confidence when it came to fighting right now.
 
Chapter 8: The First Battle of the Red Dragon Emperor (II)
Between the alleys in one part of the city, the sounds of vehicles, horns, people, and so on could be heard from afar. The perimeter that the CIA team created was done rather quickly. Jon walked across the slightly damp ground, with steam rising from one side, from a small sewer.




"It's close...", Ddraig said mentally.




"I know, I can feel it," Jon replied.




"Don't be bold, partner. The aura I feel is different from that of a devil, reincarnated or not. It feels more malicious."




Jon frowned a little as he walked two steps ahead of Magnus, who was looking at what looked like a smartphone, but made of iron. He said at that moment, "All the cameras I can't disable, have been disabled by my team."




"Understood...", Jon nodded, but stopped when he reached a more open space. There was what looked like a garage attached to the building on the right. Up ahead, there wasn't an alley, but a straight path to the street. Jon looked closely at his surroundings, noticing the stairs leading to windows in the building on his left. He could see trash cans, cardboard boxes piled up, and various other things.




"It's here..." Magnus muttered, walking into what looked like a garage. He knocked hard using his hand, creating a metallic sound as the metal door rang. "Damian Carte, we know you're in there! You better get out!"




"That was a little... light-hearted."




"Yeah..." Magnus nodded. "But there's no need to spout things like: We're the CIA. Or, Hands up. This person has supernatural powers, and he knows full well that he's surrounded."




"You're right, motherfucker!" an angry voice came from inside. "But that doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight!"




Jon felt the aura from before increasing in strength. "Get back!" he shouted, causing Magnus to move immediately. The door exploded, and pieces of it flew towards the opposite wall, then bounced off the ground. From a light cloud of smoke, a figure walked in with his hands clenched into fists.




"Huh…? They hire brats now?!" the man named Damian asked in disbelief. He was a bit dirty, with a stained sweatshirt, torn pants, and several small cut wounds on his face. His eyes had a demonic gleam, while his aura was a bit heavy.




"It doesn't matter. It won't be like before, idiot. I've already gotten over the side effects!"




"It doesn't matter. It won't be like before, idiot. I've already gotten over the side effects!"




"Damian! Do you really want to spend your entire life imprisoned in one of the circles of hell?! Think about it, man. Sirzechs Lucifer promised that if you told him everything you know, he can give you a mansion-shaped prison."




Looking at Magnus, Damian snorted through his nose. "You really are a fool. You don't know the society of the Devil race. The Demon King might promise something, but it doesn't guarantee my safety. There are more players hiding in the shadows," narrowing his eyes, Damian's fist lit up with a scarlet aura.




"Now die for me!" Damian shouted as he leapt towards Magnus. The CIA man frowned as he attracted various things from around him. Metal flew in an attempt to block the blow. However, before the blow could hit its target, Damian was pushed to the side, completely missing the blow.




"Please don't forget about me," Jon commented seriously. He had his left hand stretched out with the Boosted Gear covering his arm.




"[Boost]," Ddraig's voice echoed through the place.




"That… Boosted Gear?!" Damian exclaimed in shock. However, he soon changed his expression to a calmer one. "No. It doesn't matter. Your aura isn't that great. You should have just woken up, right?"




Jon let out a sigh before shaking his head. "Please don't underestimate me. I can see that you're dangerous, so I'll face you with enough power."




The Boosted Gear produced a crimson light before it surrounded Jon's entire body. A surge of power kicked up the dust as Jon's aura grew to another level.




"[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]"




Damian's eyes widened, while Magnus gave him a more relaxed smile.




"Remember… !"




"I know," Jon interrupted Magnus as he charged forward, punching out with his fist. Damian clicked his tongue as he gritted his teeth and punched out to intercept Jon's punch. The fists impacted, creating a loud noise, followed by an explosion that engulfed them.




Before they arrived, Magnus informed him of what the target could do. Thanks to the Naberios Clan's research, Damian could use an explosive aura. His punches, as long as they hit their target, could create explosions. And the more demonic power he used, the stronger the result. This was the result of trying to replicate one of the sacred gear, [Variant Detonation].




Fire lit up the place, while a dark cloud hid Jon and Damian's figures for a few moments. Suddenly, Ddraig's voice echoed throughout the alley.




"[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!][Boost!][Boost!]," a crimson light erupted from the cloud before a scream could be heard. Damian's body shot out like a broken arrow into the garage. Rumbling sounds of destruction could be heard immediately. Jon's figure, now covered in the armor of his Balance Breaker, walked towards Damian, his long, pointed tail dancing behind him ominously.




"I'll give you a chance to surrender, Damian Carter."




"…. Heh…." Damian let out a small, painful laugh. He was leaning against the far wall, blood running down his head and the corner of his mouth. "That was quite a hit, Red Dragon Emperor. However, I refuse!"




"Why?" Jon asked, unable to understand. This person was being offered to live in a mansion, probably with luxuries, but under guard. That was better than just being forcibly interrogated, or perhaps tortured to death.




"I told you. There's more to it than meets the eye. I'd rather die than say a single word."




"Besides…", looking at Jon, Damian's eyes turned jet black. "I'm not defeated yet." Wings appeared on his back, charging towards Jon as a dark aura surrounded him. His demeanor changed completely at that moment, his mouth falling open and he let out almost animalistic growls and roars.




Frowning, Jon caught Damian's hands before being dragged three steps back.




"Ddraig..."




"[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]"




Boosting his power thanks to the Boosted Gear ability, Jon raised his knee, punching the enemy's abdomen, causing him to vomit blood. Then, he surrounded his fist with his powerful, enhanced aura. A small shockwave came out from Damian's back as he took that blow full force.




"Ah... Agh... Gurgugh...", gurgling sounds came from Damian as he fell to the ground, hitting the concrete with his face.




"Magnus! Can you immobilize him?"




"Indeed," Magnus walked more relaxed, raising his hand and manipulating the iron around him. Some things like bars, screws, and bars flew as they were bent, forming handcuffs and chains that trapped Damian Carter's body.




"That was a good first fight, partner."




"It was easier than expected. Perhaps I was too weak."




"No. He certainly possessed a good level of power for a reincarnated. It is thanks to my blood, that you are now stronger. Of course, there is also the [Balance Breaker] state. Now that you possess my bloodline, your capabilities will increase at a rapid rate."




Jon nodded before exiting his [Balance Breaker] state. He let out a sigh as his body felt a little heavy. He shifted his shoulders slightly as he looked at Magnus. "Is that all?"




"No. Since you wished for a meeting with the Demon King, you might as well come with me to the offices. We'll have to hand Damian over to them anyway."




"Fine. I don't have much else to do right now anyway."




Magnus nodded before tapping a finger on an earpiece in his right ear. "We've captured the target. Bring Joseph in to move him. Make sure to clean up the place properly." When he finished giving his orders, he looked at Jon. "Joseph is our best mage. He'll transport Damian straight to the cells. We'll take the car."




Jon nodded. "As you wish."
 
Chapter 9: The Red Dragon Emperor's Dealings (I)
Jon felt a little weird as he walked towards Magnus' BMW. Everything happened rather quickly. From when the two started talking, to him deciding to agree to cooperate with the CIA. Even the battle, which he thought might take longer, was over in a few minutes. And right now, they were already using teleportation magic to move around with the car and everything.




It was his first real battle, in this world and his own. But, for some strange reason, everything felt so natural. Moving using all his speed, punching with his left fist, to feeling the rise of his aura without much surprise. Jon wasn't proud enough of himself to think that he had a natural talent for fighting. In fact, at that moment, when the light of a magic circle enveloped the car, he thought that it might be Ddraig's blood that he absorbed.




According to Ddraig, his partner, blood wasn't a thing that granted him a large amount of magic power, nor a longer lifespan. The effect it had after absorbing it was that he would gain greater compatibility with things related to dragons. Also, his stamina would increase and he would gain his bloodline. The latter was very good for someone who was a Boosted Gear user, since the skills came from Ddraig himself, they would be easier for him to use. Because of that, he was able to access the [Balance Breaker].




"You still have doubts about the idea I mentioned, huh?"




"Yes... Changing my marrow is not a simple thing, my friend."




Ddraig mentioned to him before absorbing his blood that he could change parts of his body into that of a dragon. By changing Jon's bone marrow, which should already have traces of Ddraig's blood, it would make his body produce more of it. After a while, he might have Ddraig's full bloodline, but there was a high chance that he would stop being a human. At least, a complete human one. And for Jon, who came from a world where anything other than human could be frowned upon, he was hesitant to do so.




Although, right now, he was weighing things up. After all, he might never be able to return to his world. So, here on Earth, where a ton of races and hybrids existed, it wouldn't be a big deal. But, there were other problems as well, like the increase in his dragon aura and scent, which could definitely draw the attention of others.




Shaking his head, Jon saw that they appeared in a somewhat dark parking lot, lit by spotlights on the walls.




Magnus glanced at him and said,




"This is the CIA's special parking lot. We're allowed to teleport."




"By the way, I sent a message to the head of the CIA's supernatural department, so you can meet him."




"Well..." Jon moved his neck a little as he opened the car door and got out. Likewise, Magnus did too, walking in front to lead the way. In silence, they passed through the parking lot, where there were a couple of sports cars and a rather large van. Soon, they entered an elevator that was right at the end. There, they began to descend even further.




"This is the first time I've seen [Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]. It's a rather nice looking armor."




"Is it?" Jon asked with a bit of curiosity. "To tell you the truth, I find it a bit bulky for my taste."




"Is it hard to move?" Magnus asked curiously.




"Not at all, it's like you have no weight on you. But still, aesthetically it's not my thing."




"Bah, nonsense!" Ddraig's voice appeared at that moment. "It's the best armor in the world!"




Magnus blinked before looking at the light that flickered on Jon's hand. If it weren't for that flash, he wouldn't have noticed because of the gloves. "Oh! You're the true Emperor of Domination!"




"That's me, well recognized, human! By the way, I'm curious about that sacred gear of yours."




"Yes? But it's not that... impressive..." Magnus trailed off when he noticed the elevator stop and the doors were automatically opened. In front of them, a dark-skinned man was waiting for them. He was a bit tall, with grey hair. He had hard eyes. He was wearing a completely black suit, with a coat over it.




"Welcome to the CIA's Supernatural Department. My name is Franklin Storm. It's an honor to have you visit, Red Dragon Emperor."




Jon looked at the man's hand before accepting a handshake. "I hope we can have a good cooperation."




Franklin, the head of the department, nodded seriously. "I'd like that too. With the increase of supernatural movements around the world, we have a tough job ahead of us."




Jon tilted his head, a bit curious about that. It seems things were a bit hectic.




"Please follow me. I'd like to talk to you for a bit while you have time," Franklin said before turning around. "Magnus, you may go with your team for now."




"Understood," Magnus said and smiled at Jon. "I hope to see you another time, Jon."

"Yes... You're a more shy agent than I thought you could be."

"Ah..." Magnus put on a slightly complicated expression. He remembered that, previously, many mentioned to him that he was a bit odd. Jon, despite him telling him that he needed to be honest by orders, felt that even without those orders, Magnus was an honest and trustworthy man. He was probably a person who had a hard time lying.

Anyway, Jon followed Franklin, looking at the offices. The walls of the hallway and those inside the offices were a cream color. The lights on the ceiling illuminated quite a bit, giving a great contrast between that parking lot and the elevator, which seemed to take you to hell. Men and women worked continuously, some walking down the same hallway, others were sitting inside the offices, in cubicles, but also in personal offices that had windows.

As they passed in silence, they slowly approached another hallway, which only had one office. They entered, and Jon looked around the room. The floor was carpeted in a blue color, the walls were white, with some potted plants. At the end, there was a large desk with a tall, black chair. On that wall, there was the CIA emblem.

"You can sit comfortably."

"Thank you," Jon murmured as he sat down on the chair in front of the desk. From there, he looked at a few other things, such as a bookshelf and a filing cabinet. On the department head's desk, there were also some small frames that didn't let the photos be seen because of their position, as well as some documents and a pen in its place. He had a large monitor hanging from a metal arm and a pack of cigarettes.

"I give you my sincerest thanks for accepting the offer," Franklin said in a calm voice, now seated. Jon looked at him somewhat curiously.

"I'm curious. Why do you need help? You'd think that, with a relationship with the Devil race, you'd have quite a bit of support."

"It's not like that. Unfortunately. The relationship we have with the Diablos is rather superficial. We help each other, but we're also a bit... complicated by our current position."

"Position? What does that mean?"

Franklin was silent for a moment before sighing. "Gods. Here in America, we have the Greek Gods living. It's quite annoying, because with their arrival, also came the monsters related to their mythology. The only truly good thing they brought with them is the mist, a kind of magic that hides the supernatural from normal people. In the eyes of mortals without magic, a monster can be seen as a thief, or a dog. It helps us quite a bit when it comes to controlling the masses. But...", spreading his hands out to the sides, Franklin showed a complicated expression.

"Hades, one of the Greek Gods, is one of the most powerful existences in the world. And Sirzechs Lucifer, despite being able to fight against him, is still in a difficult position if he does so against all the gods of the pantheon. Because of that, he is still careful with his movements in the country."




"So, that's why they need more support."

"Right. Having the Red Dragon Emperor would be very useful. Let alone battles, but your reputation alone would make the Gods think twice."

Jon stared at him as he mentally spoke to Ddraig:

"Is that so, Ddraig?"

"Yes. All previous users, regardless of their power levels, caused certain problems. Or rather, they were dragged into trouble. The Gods know of the existence of the [Juggernaut Drive]. They fear that power, partner."

"Even if a Red Dragon Emperor is weak, when cornered and knows despair, it can enter that state. The vast majority went mad, causing quite a bit of destruction in its wake. Although, our reputation also has to do with the constant battles related to my rival, Albion, and its users. In Brittania, they existed, in Rome as well. The era of wars in Japan and China. Our users have been part of history, partner."

Jon thought that was surprising. And for the first time, he understood the reputation of the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor better.

"Magnus told me that they could offer me quite a few things. Right now, what I need most is money and information. But, I would like to make it clear that I am not a dog," Jon narrowed his eyes. For a moment, his light grey eyes changed to a bright green. He didn't want to be treated like a hunting dog just because he seemed too friendly. He needed to make his position clear: he was above this CIA group.

"You're already making me proud..." Ddraig commented at that moment.

Franklin nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "Of course. Having the Red Dragon Emperor as an enemy is not something we, the CIA, want."

"What kind of information do you need?"

"The current situation of the supernatural world. Although I know quite a bit about races, and I have information about magic, powers, and so on. The situation of the world, that's something I lack. I can't know what's going on in other parts of the world. And I'd like to not be surprised."

"That's easy enough to do. I'll give it to you after you finish your meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer. He should arrive soon."

"Thank you..."

"As for money."

Franklin waved his hand languidly and said, "Money is what we have the most of. It's easy to give you some. But, if you don't mind me asking, what do you want it for?"

"Food, among other things."

"Food?" Franklin looked at him in bewilderment.

"These past few days, I've become quite fond of cooking. Also, as you should know, I work at a Starbucks."

"In that case... why don't you do some work for us? Not doing field work, but training some agents. With your power, you could help them out a bit."

"I'll think about it..."

"Fine."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," with Franklin's voice sounding a little louder, Magnus opened the door. "Sir, Demon King Lucifer has arrived and is waiting for you in meeting room number 3."
 
Chapter 10: The Red Dragon Emperor's Dealings (II)
Sirzechs Lucifer was one of the four Demon Kings in the Underworld. His real name was Sirzechs Gremory, of the House of Gremory, not the 72 Pillars. He is said to be a monster when it came to power. Some mentioned that he was a complete anomaly for his race. Someone who reached the level of the most powerful Gods. Furthermore, together with his Peerage, they made him an existence to be feared.




During the Civil War of his race, he not only fought on different fronts, he also managed to kill and eliminate one of the descendants of the ancient Maou. He was so powerful that even Hades, the God who reigned in the Land of the Dead, had to show a little respect in his presence.




Ddraig had told Jon some things, information that he was able to gather by being with the previous Boosted users. He mentioned that Sirzechs generally behaved with a rather light attitude, and that he could be very protective of his family. So, when Jon walked into meeting room number three, he expected to find a man with a slightly harsh appearance and strong eyes. Perhaps expensive clothes and a tyrannical aura.




"Oh! So you are the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation! It's a pleasure to meet you."




The man in front of him was wearing a crimson suit. He wore a jovial smile, almost like a child meeting a new friend. He walked over before taking Jon's hand excitedly. "I didn't expect to meet someone like you here. But, when they told me you wanted to talk to me, I couldn't help but make some time. Don't worry! We have all night to talk about whatever you want."




"I-Is this the Demon King Lucifer?" Jon wondered internally, completely shocked by what was going on.




"Well… Nice to meet you too, Demon King!"




"Ah, you don't have to use those kinds of labels. You can call me by my name if you want!"




"So, Sirzechs... My name is Jon Snow. You can just call me Jon."




"Jon Snow... You have a pretty common name, but a nice last name."




"Huh?" Jon really felt overwhelmed. Sirzechs was actually smiling honestly. It was a little hard to consider him a Demon King with that kind of attitude. He didn't know if this was a game he was playing, maybe he just wanted to relax with all the work as a Demon King. Jon couldn't tell, but he was being drawn to the red-haired boy's pace.




Sirzechs put Jon aside for a moment, to turn to Franklin.




"Mr. Storm, thank you for your work. Thanks to your help, we will be able to collect the evidence we need."




"You're welcome. This, after all, is a cooperative relationship. As long as you two can do your thing, then we'll do ours."




Sirzechs nodded with a small smile. "We've already taken Damian. Also, I've handed the reward over to Mr. Magnus. I'll be taking my leave for now."




Franklin simply nodded. He couldn't stop Lucifer.




"Do you mind using teleportation, Jon?"




"Not at all," shaking his head, Jon replied.




"Fine! Then let's go. I want to hear what you have to say."




Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground. Jon looked curiously. Before, when they came to the CIA, the same thing happened, but he couldn't see it well. Now, he could see in detail the lines and shapes that created the magic circle, and then a light rose up the sides, enveloping them before disappearing from the place. When he noticed that they were somewhere else, he looked around immediately. They were on top of a building. The place wasn't too big, and it had a low table in the center. The floor wasn't ceramic or concrete, nor was it carpet.




"This is one of the buildings that belongs to my family. I usually use it to meet up with some acquaintances. By the way, we're in Japan."




"Japan?"




"Yes. They have good food. They'll bring us some in a few moments," Sirzechs said before sitting down on one side of the table. Jon looked at him for a moment before walking in front of him, looking for a moment at the view overlooking a large city. The sun was almost set, showing a rather beautiful scene.




"By the way, Jon. How long ago did you awaken the Boosted Gear?"




"Mm... almost two months," he replied, not hiding the fact. He knew perfectly well that someone like Sirzechs, could already sense its power.




"That's pretty fast!"




"Fast?"




"Yes. I'm sure you can take on high-class devils, perhaps some supreme-class ones. It seems you have a lot of potential when it comes to using your Sacred Gear."




"So you can really sense it. Ddraig told me it was better to be honest with you. It seems he trusts the reputation you've earned."




"Does he?", a little confused by the words, Sirzechs seemed not to expect that. And at that instant, Ddraig appeared speaking from the jewel in Jon's hand.




"Your Gremory family has a good reputation for the way they treat their servants and contractors. Also, I heard that you tend to take care of your friendships. For a Demon King, that's being very kind."




"Mmm... Yes. I think so," Sirzechs nodded. "Were you the one who gave Jon the idea about contacting me?"




"We were originally planning to summon you to create a mage contract."




"Oh, that would have been self-serving. I hardly get that kind of summons these days," Sirzechs sighed tiredly. "Working as a Demon King is tiring. Sometimes I just want to lie down and hug my dear wife."




"That... wouldn't be worse? Last time, I heard that the Ice Queen was quite strict with you."




"Ugh..." Sirzechs seemed to have been attacked unexpectedly. His face even showed a bit of pain. "Let's not talk about her! I finally got some free time. I want to drink, eat, and chat quietly."




Jon smiled a little. It seems that the Demon King was strictly controlled by his wife. He never thought that the Demon King with the title of Lucifer would be like this.




"I don't mind making a contract with you, Jon."




"So fast? I thought you'd have to think about it better."




"No...", placing his elbow on the table and letting his cheek rest on his fist, Sirzechs smiled as he looked at her with slightly shining eyes. "Having the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation will be quite beneficial. I can give you many things. Treasures, magic, food, etc. And if you want to get married, I could even help you by introducing you to a woman. You can ask for almost anything, but in return, I'll ask for three favors."




Frowning, Jon stared. Three favors could be used for many things. He didn't like that deal very much, even with all that he could gain.




"Of course..." Sirzechs called Jon's attention once more. "These favors won't be such big things. I won't ask for things that go against your morals. I already have plenty of people to do that kind of dirty work. Rather, I want to use these favors for the benefit of my family."




"You mean House Gremory?"




"Right. In fact..." Sirzechs sat up straighter. "Let's talk directly about the first favor..."




"I still don't accept."




"Never mind. It's not like it's bad to listen, is it?"




Jon looked him straight in the eyes for a long moment. This man, even though he seemed a bit foolish with his attitude, definitely knew how to lead a conversation. It's true that listening won't result in anything bad, but...




"I have a little sister. She's the same age as you, but my father has betrothed her to another of the Houses of the Underworld. Her fiancé is Riser Phenex. It's not that the boy is a bad person, but he's a bit arrogant and narcissistic. My sister doesn't like him at all."




"Wait..." Jon pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt himself back in Westeros, when he heard his father arguing with his wife over his sister's future husband, Sansa. "You're the Demon King... don't you have the power to stop that engagement?"




"Unfortunately, it's not that easy. I'm one of the Rulers of the Underworld, Jon. Doing that kind of thing would draw too much attention. They'd say I care more about one House than the entirety of them. Can you understand how upset I feel? I have the power to make many decisions, but not when it comes to my own family. So, my first favor would be: if that engagement can't be broken within a year, do it for me."




"What? I'm not of your race. I'm a human, in case you didn't know. Plus, I don't even know your sister."




"Lying wouldn't be so bad. My sister would accept it if it means getting out of her engagement. You can pretend you love each other. Riser wouldn't sit idly by, but I'm sure you can win a battle with him with the power you have now. If you train for a year, well, you'll definitely sweep the floor with him."




"What makes you think this Riser won't train during that time?"




"Most of our race doesn't," Sirzechs shrugged. "Most Pillar Houses are born with great demonic powers and don't train much. Except Riser, who thinks he's immortal."




"He is?"




"Of course not," Sirzechs snorted. "His flames allow for great regeneration, but a strong enough blow will knock him out. He can still feel pain."




"What do you say then? It's not a bad deal, is it?"




Jon thought about that. If he accepted, he already had the target of the first favor, so that would leave two. And, even though Sirzechs had said that he wouldn't ask him for things that go against his morals, he still had some doubts about it. Plus, there was a chance that they could bind him for those two favors. After all, he didn't know all the magic in the world. In fact, he was sure that Ddraig didn't either. So who knew if those two favors would become his downfall? Only Sirzechs could know for sure.




"Partner, you should accept."




"Ddraig?"




"They can sign a binding contract, right, Sirzechs Lucifer?"




"Sure. I don't mind. If they feel safer that way," Sirzechs nodded with a smile. He raised his hand and a small magic circle appeared above his hand. From there, a scroll suddenly appeared.




"Here we can put our conditions for the contract. When we sign it, anyone who breaks their part of the contract will receive a punishment."




"Are you sure, Ddraig?"




"Fear not, Jon. Even he can't avoid this kind of contract. They are soul-binding, so to speak."




"As expected of the true red emperor, you know your stuff."




"Hpmh!" Ddraig snorted a little. "Don't praise me uselessly, you devil. "Let's sign the contract."




After Sirzechs spread the scroll on the table, glowing blue words began to appear out of nowhere. The contract was simple: Sirzechs would give Jon all kinds of resources, in the meantime, Jon would have to accept three favors from Sirzechs. None of these favors had to endanger Jon's own life, family, or friends. The duration of the contract was until all three favors were completed or two years passed.




Looking at everything, Jon sighed a little before nodding and signing as Ddraig instructed, using magic power. Afterwards, Sirzechs did exactly the same.




"Very well, we are friends now!"




"You are strangely funny, Sirzechs Lucifer."




"And you are too serious, Jon!"




"No. This is about my life, you know? Plus, I'm signing a contract with you, literally the Demon King Lucifer. Surely, if some exorcist knows about it, he'd hunt me down."




"That... could be fun. They'd shout things like, 'Come here, you sinner!' Or, 'Die, friend of the devil!' You might even hear things like, 'I'll put you out of your misery with death!'"




Jon covered his face with one of his hands. This guy couldn't be completely serious!"




"Mr. Sirzechs, the food you ordered has arrived."




"Great! Uhh~ I can finally have some sake. Not even Grayfia knows I'm here. You may come in!" Sirzechs smiled brightly as he waved his hands up and down, almost childishly. Jon really began to think that Sirzechs Lucifer was this kind of person, one who was so burdened by work, that he acted like an adult who never had a childhood, but in the present, he could do whatever he wanted.




Jon stopped thinking to focus on the food that was being placed on the table. The one doing it, was an incredibly beautiful woman. No, even incredible would be an understatement to describe her. She had shiny silver-colored hair. She was wearing some kind of robes that Jon didn't know, but they looked a little tight in the front and back. These clothes, had flower prints all over them.




"Puff!"




"Ddraig?" Jon asked confused when he heard his friend resisting laughter.




"Bwahahahahahaha! "I can't believe it, Demon King!" Hearing Ddraig's laughter, Jon carefully looked at Sirzechs, who seemed to be sweating with a pale face. He almost looked sick.




At that moment, the woman decided to speak: "I hope you can enjoy your meal. And you, my dear husband, I hope you don't leave work without telling me."




Jon's mouth was so wide open that it seemed like an egg could fit in it. When the woman... apparently Sirzechs's wife, walked to leave the room, Ddraig's laughter continued to ring out.




"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Oh, I can't believe it! That woman looks like a dog! If she didn't know where you were, how did she get there?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"




And so, the friendly Sirzechs, ended up turning into the scared and bitter Sirzechs.
 
Chapter 11: The Red Dragon Emperor's Shop (I)
"Thank you so much for everything, sir!"




"No... you don't have to behave like that. It was nothing. And, anyway, you paid to come," Jon raised his hand slightly, somewhat nervous by the constant thanks from the girl in front of him. The girl, a young adult, perhaps in her twenties, thanked Jon more than seven times, for the food she received.




They were in a small place. Jon was behind a counter, dressed in a dark blue hakama. His hair was combed back and held in a bun. After his first conversation with Sirzechs, he didn't think the guy really took him as a friend. After that, almost every week he would sneak out of work and take him to Japan, to eat all kinds of things. His wife, of course, always came unexpectedly. It was to the point where the Demon King had to stop visiting his own buildings and eat at other, more normal places, but which they ended up enjoying anyway.




At first, Jon was a little doubtful of his intentions, but after three long months, he was surprised at how easy the man was to get along with. Despite his position, he tended to have rather simple tastes. Or rather, it was because he was simple that he enjoyed it. According to him, living surrounded by luxuries was a bit tiring. Enjoying a simple meal while chatting in a relaxed manner was one of the best things he could do.




After visiting so many places in Japan, as well as learning how to cook many things, Sirzechs gifted him a place in New York. It wasn't too big, but it soon became famous for the good taste of its food and that it was also Japanese food. Many had visited the place using their smartphones to stream. The girl was one of those people, who thanked him for allowing her to stream without problems, as well as answering most of his questions kindly.




Jon had no problem with those kinds of visitors. In the end, they advertised their business for free. In fact, they had to pay him, because of the food.




After the girl left, he sighed a little. His place was decorated with things from the land of Japan. Tatamis, two tables in the center of the room, where people sat on comfortable cushions. There were vases on top of a piece of furniture at the end, he even had three katanas hanging on a wall. Everything was very nice, and even though it was a place for few people, Jon preferred it that way. Right now, he didn't lack money for anything.




The CIA had given him a bank account with more than three million dollars. And Sirzechs also gave him a couple more! Not only that, the red-haired guy even gave him magic books, gems, and a bunch of other stuff.




Make this place my hideout! was what he said. Let me rest here! he said.




In short, the place was where he escaped without his wife knowing. Jon had to ask Ddraig for advice on how to protect the place against wives who were too demanding of their husbands' work.




It was a protection that sounded completely ridiculous! But... damn, it worked splendidly.




. . .




As Jon breaded some shrimp to fry in the pot at his side, Ddraig let out a sigh.




"What's wrong, partner?"




"I feel a little weird. Even though you've gotten strong, I feel like it's for the wrong reasons... You got better at using sacred gear for cooking, while you got better at magic to ward off a demanding wife. It's fucked up, bro! What happened to that fist of domination we talked about?!"




Jon sweat dropped a bit. Ddraig was totally right.




"The only battles we had, were against a minotaur and a fucking hellhound!"




"It's already weird that an enemy didn't appear out of nowhere! I feel uneasy, partner."




Jon smiled a little at Ddraig's attitude. "Well, we can look for something after I finish work. Maybe we can find something if we ask Sirzechs."




"Good! I like the sound of that!" Ddraig said excitedly, just as a magic circle appeared in front of him. Jon smiled and moved his left hand to close the door of the shop.




"You speak of the Devil..."




"And the Devil appears," Ddraig finished for him.




Sirzechs appeared with a big smile. He immediately walked to the bar, taking a seat and smelling the food that was already being prepared. "Yeah, that smells great! Give me some sake, Jon!"




"Here..." Jon took a bottle of sake and a small glass. "You can help yourself."




Sirzechs did so immediately. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Jon took the shrimp tempura out of the pot, placing them on a plate with absorbent paper. To tell the truth, he never thought that someone could use the power of magnification to make food taste better. Jon turned out to be a good learner in many things. The progress he made in cooking, learning magic, or improving with his sacred gear, was astonishing. In just three months, he was already quite strong. And that was a good thing. That Sirzechs Lucifer thinks you're quite strong, is a great compliment and evidence of the power you had.




"How is your wife?"




"Fine. She keeps trying to ask where I'm going, but she can't get anything out of me. Hehe~ There's no way I'm going to tell her about this shrine, even if I love her so much."




"You really have it tough...".




"Well, it's not as tough as when you get married."




"What do you mean?"




"You're the kind of man who will definitely have a harem."




Jon stopped his movements and looked curiously at Sirzechs. "What makes you think that? Currently, I don't even have a woman interested in me."




Sirzechs coughed a little before looking incredulously at Jon. "Dude, every woman who comes here looks at you with special eyes! They're those kind of looks that say: Fuck me!"




"Hey... ! That's not true. If it was like that, I would have noticed."




"Brother, I'm sorry to tell you this, but... Sirzechs is telling the truth."




"What?!"




"You're unexpectedly dense," Sirzechs commented, pointing a finger. "If there are any single women interested, why not give it a try? Just make it clear that you don't want anything serious. As a Red Dragon Emperor, having a relationship with a normal woman wouldn't be a good idea."




Jon frowned as he placed the tempura on the counter, along with several other already prepared dishes. There was edamame, sunomono, tamagoyaki, shushi, and tempura. Jon wiped his hands before walking to the other side of the bar, to sit and eat next to Sirzechs.




Jon frowned as he set the tempura down on the bar, along with several other prepared dishes. There was edamame, sunomono, tamagoyaki, shushi, and tempura. Jon wiped his hands before walking to the other side of the bar, to sit and eat next to Sirzechs.




"I don't want to get into any kind of romantic or sexual relationship. Not right now," Jon said as he picked up his chopsticks. He looked at his friend saying, "Not that I need it either."




"Uh... is your hand enough?"




"Bastard!" Jon slammed his fist on the table.




"I mean, you have too much energy. That wouldn't be enough," the redhead ignored him completely. "Do you want me to introduce you to someone?"




"Better introduce me to a battle. Ddraig feels uneasy because I haven't fought much."




"Even though it's sealed?"




"Hey, you bastard! I'm still bored in here! I'd rather watch my host sweat in battle than fucking a woman!"




Sirzechs blinked before turning his head, looking at Jon's left hand. "You watch while your hosts fuck?"




"Damn right, no! I mean I... Ugh!! Nevermind," Ddraig fell silent as he felt defeated. He never thought a Demon King could be so annoying with words.




Laughing at the red emperor's despair, Sirzechs was quite amused. "Well, I can help you with a battle."




"What's this about?" Jon muttered with his mouth a little full. "Is this about a job you want me to do?"




"Nah. It's nothing complicated. I know a woman who loves to fight. You know what the Rating Games are, right?"




"Yeah. Those games where they fight in different ways in Hell. Are you talking about me playing in that?"




"No way. Like I said, this woman loves to fight in them, but she doesn't have too many rivals. And the only one who can beat her doesn't want to fight much. I'm sure she'll agree when she hears you're the Red Dragon Emperor. You are, after all, an interesting opponent."




"What's her name?"




"Roygun Belphegor."




"Eh, so she has the ability to rift. She'll be a tough opponent." Jon commented absentmindedly. After being in contact with Sirzechs and doing his own research, as well as adding Ddraig's knowledge, he knew of the abilities that the different Houses of the Underworld had. Among them, [Rift] was a rather powerful ability, being able to create tears in its targets. From dealing damage to enemies, to dispersing their attacks. It could literally create tears in almost everything.




"Would you accept?"




"Sure. Anyway, it was about time I faced an ultimate-class opponent."




"Alright! I'll be watching too. I'll contact you when the battle is ready."
 
Chapter 12: [Red Emperor Dragon] VERSUS [Roygun belphegor] (I)
Rias Gremory, the sister of the Demon King Lucifer, looked curiously at him. Her older brother, who should be busy with his work as one of the rulers of the Underworld, be it in his personal office, carrying out a rare contract, even having meetings with other factions or heads of other Houses of the Underworld. Yet, here he was, almost tiptoeing down the hallway, while trying to hide his figure behind the tables with vases that they had as decoration in the Gremory mansion.

Approaching curiously, Rias asked:

"What are you doing, brother?"

"Kuagh!" Sirzechs was startled, letting out a strange, slightly muffled cry. Lucifer quickly turned around to cover his sister's mouth with one hand while placing a finger of his other hand on her lips. "Shhh! I don't want Grayfia to find me. You can do that favor for your dear older brother, right?"

Rias's blue eyes sparkled with what seemed like pure amusement. Even though she admired her brother and tended to hide that, she was currently seeing a weird side of Sirzechs. Even though Grayfia loved her husband, she fully understood how irresponsible he could be when left alone. Sirzechs was good at his job, damn good, in fact. But, still, anyone would feel exhausted from all that work, even someone like him!

Rias knew Grayfia and admired her so much that she called her big sister when they were alone. But, Sirzechs' Queen Lucifer and his wife, was too strict. It wouldn't be strange if she put some strange thing on him to detect when he used magic to escape. Maybe that was why her brother was walking, imitating a ninja in the mansion.

When Sirzechs pulled his hand away, she tilted her head slightly while smiling. "What's wrong, brother?"

"I just saw our father a moment ago. And right now, I'm on my way to the Belphegor House. Don't tell Grayfia!"

"Belphegor? Why? Did something happen?"

"Oh, nothing too important. I made friends with the Red Dragon Emperor, and since I wanted to have an interesting fight, I gave him the idea to fight Roygun. It'll be great! And it'll help me spend a little more time off work!"

Rias blinked. "Wait, really? That's really important! The Red Dragon Emperor... That's quite an important existence, big brother! Can I go?"

"Uh... Sure. Just keep it a secret for now."

"You know, I don't think Grayfia would stop you from doing this. After all, if both of you can fight, it would be something everyone would want to see. We're talking about the second ranked in the Rating Game and the Red Dragon Emperor."

"True... But she'll ask me where I've been on the weekends."

"Oh... Don't be silly."

"Eh?" Sirzechs looked at her a bit confused.

"She'll ask you eventually, no matter when! In fact, she should have already, right? It doesn't matter if you run away, bro. She's still your wife, the woman you're with almost every day."

"Uhhh... But, she definitely won't let me go any longer!"

"That place you're going to... Is it really that important? Can't you go with her?"

"Well... I could... But it's my refuge! It's where I have my boys' nights! It's not fair, Rias! Even though I love her, I also want to have boys' nights with friends! I love my dear wife, I adore her completely... But, still... Plus, she also has girls' nights, right?! I know everything! When she hangs out with mom and other women."




Rias opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. What her brother said, was true. It was a bit unfair that he couldn't have a fun night with friends when his wife did.




Sirzechs scratched the back of his head as he sighed. "Well, I guess I'm at fault too. Previously, I had a few nights with Azazel. And that guy doesn't use the best places for married men."




"Wait. Brother, you just blurted out something simply absurd! You hang out with the Governor General of Grigori!?"




"Ahm... Yes?"




"I don't know if you're an idiot or someone just too dense anymore."




"Hey... ! But, I don't do that anymore. I only drink alcohol with the Red Dragon Emperor now while we talk about life and other things. His food is also the best! By the way, you're forbidden from eating what he makes. In case you meet him and he makes you something, don't touch it."




"That's not fair! You say he has delicious food, but you won't let me eat it!"




Sirzechs crossed his arms in front of him, forming an X. "Denied!"




"Why?!"




"I... can't say it," Sirzechs recalled the moment when he first tasted Jon's food augmented by the power of the Boosted Gear. At that moment... it's better not to say what happened.




"Anyway, let's go! I have to talk to Roygun!" Sirzechs began to walk down the hallway, before abruptly stopping. "By the way, Rias. Why aren't you in Kuoh?"




"Eh? Brother... I'm on vacation."




Sirzechs blinked before tilting his head in confusion. "Has it been that long?"




Rias stood there, staring in shock at her brother's slowly walking away back. What had she just heard?! Did she go to her brother and forget what day it was?! No, even worse! Her brother, who always seemed attentive to the things she did, completely forgot that he was on vacation.




That couldn't be possible! Sirzechs Lucifer was supposed to be an overly clingy brother. Someone who doted on his younger sister and always knew what she was doing, hoping that she wouldn't get into trouble.




But now...




Rias immediately ran over, to follow Sirzechs. Right now she was too curious about the Red Dragon Emperor. It seems that he was the culprit of everything!




When the two were already flying out of the Gremory territory, a silver-haired woman was strolling around the mansion with a frown. Beside her, walked a woman similar to Rias, but with brown hair and violet eyes. And unlike Grayfia's slightly annoyed expression, the second woman, Venelana Gremory, had a small smile on her beautiful face.




"They were definitely here."




"Ara? How can you tell, my dear? There's no evidence of anything."




"I can smell it..."




"Pfft... Grayfia, darling, did I mention you can be a bit weird? I knew you had a fetish for dressing like a maid, but nothing about smells."




Grayfia looked at her mother-in-law in disbelief.




"Huh?"




While this kind of thing was going on in the Underworld, in the deepest part of the CIA Supernatural Department base, there was a person using the large training camp. It was a very wide area, which even had mountains and forests in the distance. Even the sky and a sun could be seen overhead.




Thanks to Sirzechs, Jon was able to learn how this was built.




The United States was known for its capitalist environment. Many companies and investors were interested in the things that the Underworld could deliver. For that reason, the Underworld gave various interesting things to the United States Government, in exchange for them being able to build their own companies easily and quickly. Of course, this wasn't all, there were many other types of deals, but this was the gist and the reason for the existence of the training camp that looked like a small world.




Inside, Jon was training in his magic. A while ago, he was able to perform magic that allowed him to enhance his brain in certain ways. There were actually two important things a mage needed to do in order to become truly useful and powerful. First, there was a magic called thought acceleration, which sped up the speed of thoughts and calculations. It wasn't something that gave you a greater reaction capacity, like dodging blows or anticipating the enemy's movement. It might be possible if you trained other things, but not on its own.




The second thing a mage needed was memory partition. If a brain could be seen as a room, the memory partition would divide that room into smaller rooms inside. If thought acceleration was a magic created to speed up calculations and thoughts, then memory partition was a magic that divided those thoughts to form multiple independent processes. This magic didn't allow the process of different thoughts for different goals. Rather, they worked together towards a common goal. In this way, one room could handle the calculation process for igniting a flame, another for the process that determines the shape, another for the process that determines the range, etc. That way, a spell could be cast quickly.




Thought partitioning, unlike thought acceleration, was better suited for battles that didn't use magic, as it allowed for the flow of multiple ideas for a common goal.




These two things together, made it possible for a mage to remember and cast the magic he knew with just a simple gesture. The more experienced ones could even cast multiple different magics.




Jon knew that magic was a powerful weapon to fight different opponents. His body was also an important part, but that was something you could train in battle. Ddraig had told him, "The more fights you have, the stronger you'll become. Daily training is good, but nothing beats a battle."




Jon, at this point, didn't have too many spells in his repertoire, but the ones Ddraig had taught him, plus some he learned from the books Sirzechs gave him, made his small repertoire interesting.




Honestly, I was looking forward to the battle I would have against Roygun Belphegor.
 
Chapter 13: [Red Emperor Dragon] VERSUS [Roygun belphegor] (II)
The Underworld was a huge place. In fact, it was the same as the surface of the earth, but without oceans. There were large lakes and rivers, from what Sirzechs had told him. The sky was a purple color during the day, while at night it mimicked the darkness of the human world along with a moon, for the sake of the humans who were reincarnated into devils.




Jon was curiously looking at the huge stadium he would fight in. He was a little nervous, as the simple battle that should have been, totally turned into a fight that many would watch. He knew Sirzechs exaggerated a bit, but it also had to do with Roygun herself, who asked for a proper battle to be held, with a large audience.




He just hoped he wouldn't make too much of a fool of himself with so many people watching.




"Don't worry, partner. You just have to fight with everything you've got."




"I'm not one to underestimate my opponents. You should know that, Ddraig."




"Well, yes. But it's your first time in such a battle. Ah, I remember the past right now. Once, I had a host who fought in the Roman coliseum. Then there was a war. I think he was one of the few who really fought for his and other people's freedom genuinely."




"Who was he?"




"Spartacus."




"Wait a minute! That man was one of the hosts...?! No wonder," Jon exhaled a little. He had already read some of the world's history. It was necessary for him to understand things better. In the past, there were many humans who were considered heroes. He knew of Spartacus, who was a slave before he rose up against the Roman Empire. He never expected that he would also be a Red Dragon Emperor!




"Why do you think the Greco-Roman Gods fear us? That's also why I made you experience the sensation of the [Juggernaut Drive]. The battle that occurred at that time between us and the host of the white was exceptional, to the point where the Gods, at that time Roman, had to intervene. Of course, in human history, that kind of thing is not written."




Jon nodded, understanding that point. It would be normal for the Gods to intervene in the matters of the past, not wanting their reputation to be ruined.




"Then, I'll have to give my all to not ruin our reputation, right?"




"Exactly, partner!"




. . . .




Rias Gremory sat in a VIP room inside the stadium, looking at the large number of people waiting for the battle. All the normal seats, were already occupied by women, men, and children. She could even see some old people trembling, waiting to watch the battle. Sitting beside her were her peerage: Kiba Yuuto, Himejima Akeno, and Toujo Koneko.




At that moment, the doors to the room opened, drawing everyone's attention. It was a girl of the same age as Rias, entering alongside a small group of people.




"Sona!"




"Good morning, Rias," Sona Sitri, the sister of the Demon King Leviathan of the House of Sitri entered alongside her peerage.




"I didn't expect you to come. I thought you'd be doing student council paperwork."




Sona nodded as she fixed her glasses with a flick of her finger. "I did. However, I couldn't pass up this opportunity. It's a battle between two powerful people, right? It's a good time to gain some experience."




"...Right," Rias made a small face at how serious her friend was. What harm did it do to tell the truth?! It was clear that Sona had come out of curiosity and a bit of fun! Sadly, she wasn't one to admit to such things.




"By the way, Rias. I heard that your brother, Lord Lucifer, is a friend of the current Red Dragon Emperor. Have you met him yet? Did you invite him?"




"No... I haven't met him personally," Rias replied while shaking her head. "If I do, then of course I'll invite him. Although, I doubt he'll actually accept."




"Mmm… I guess it was to be expected. Inviting someone like that existence, it's really complicated," Sona commented quietly as she took a seat on the other side of her friend. She looked for a moment at the table in front of her, with a lot of sweet things to eat and also tea.




"Has anyone else from our generation come to watch?"




"I could see Sairaorg from afar. I think Seekvaira has arrived as well. The rest… I don't know," Rias replied as she adjusted herself a bit, just in time for the spectators to cheer as a woman appeared on the battle platform, followed by the announcer's introduction.




"Ah! Roygun Belphegor has arrived."




Roygun was an incredibly beautiful woman. She appears to be in her twenties with long, wavy cherry blossom-like hair and two horns protruding from her head. She was wearing rather revealing armor; her legs and feet were covered in armor, but her exquisite thighs were on full display for everyone to see. On top, she was more covered up, but her breasts were still visible with the openings in her armor on top. She also had a skirt that fell from her back, almost like a cape.




"{Here we have the second ranked of the Rating Game! Ladies and gentlemen, Roygun Belphegor!}"




Roygun smiled and raised her hand, waving to everyone with joy. However, after a few moments, the announcer blurted out words again.




"{On the other side, we have the surprise of the day! The Red Dragon Emperor of this generation! He's a human. His name may seem simple and his last name pretty, but he's still someone you can expect things from! Meet Jon Snow!}"




Sona blinked a little before tilting her head. "His name really is common and simple, but with a cute last name."




"Haa~. That had to be from my brother...", Rias muttered. Anyway, I look curiously at the Red Dragon Emperor. Unlike Roygun, he wasn't wearing armor, not even a fancy suit. He was... well, he looked like a normal human with a handsome face. His black hair fell down the sides, framing a handsome face with white skin. His grey eyes seemed to turn silver from the lights. He had a small smile as he walked. He was wearing a black shirt that was tight around his body, showing off his trained muscles; black pants and grey combat boots.




. . . .




"I never expected to fight the Red Dragon Emperor! My name is Roygun Belphegor, I hope we can have a good battle!"




Jon smiled before shrugging a little. "It was Sirzechs who gave me the idea. I thought it would be fun and something to gain more experience," Jon replied calmly in front of the woman, but he felt a little nervous inside. He expected a beautiful woman, but not to the point of what he saw in reality. And the parts it showed, it was a bit embarrassing for Jon, who came from a rather conservative world when it came to such things. The women of his world wore long dresses, covering most of their bodies. Here, it was different. It made him feel a bit uneasy inside.




"So... shall we begin?" he asked as he summoned the Boosted Gear on his left arm. The green gem pulsed with an intense glow, almost at the same time as some cheers were heard from the audience. Roygun smiled excitedly as she nodded, taking a step forward, to get into a battle stance.




"{This is too exciting, ladies and gentlemen! The battle between Roygun Belphegor and Jon Snow, is about to begin!}"




Both of them stared at each other seriously. It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but their muscles moved slightly, as if they were about to leap forward, but immediately stopped. It was clear that neither was underestimating the other in this battle. They took the time to examine the opponent, looking for blind spots or tight spots in the other's stance.




Roygun, who was the most excited, couldn't take it anymore. Her life practically depended on the ranking games. She had left her position as heir for the sake of fighting in the games. And she gave her all in every battle, for the sake of winning. In one step, she traveled several meters to get closer, clenching her fist and punching forward with all her strength.




Jon narrowed his eyes, fully understanding that it wasn't a normal punch. But, for the sake of testing Roygun's true strength, he intercepted the punch with his own left fist. A thud was heard as a shockwave raised winds around. Jon's right eyebrow twitched a little from the power of the punch, it was more than expected.

"[Boost]." Ddraig's voice echoed through the stadium as Jon made use of his first power boost. And with his fists joined together, he pushed Roygun back a step, drawing a smile from the female fighter.




"Good! As expected of the Red Dragon Emperor!" she said forcefully before retracting her hand and beginning a close combat fight. "But this is nothing! I still have more!"




Jon couldn't help but smile at his opponent's excitement. It was a contagious type of excitement. He felt a healthy type of rivalry. He had never participated in a tournament in his world, only sparring matches with his half-brother and his sword instructor. This was something totally new to him! Completely different from the fight in which he defeated Damian Carter.




It was exciting!




Jon's eyes sparkled for a moment as he dodged a kick and struck with his elbow. Both of them seemed to slide across the massive battle platform, creating powerful noises and shockwaves that raised winds. Those who were closer to the platform, in the seats below, felt their hair move from the blows. They received the best reactions from each attack, causing their hearts to beat and shout in excitement.




After a few minutes of fighting all over the place, Jon decided to change the pace. Magic circles appeared behind him as he jumped back several meters. The circles showed various shapes and lines, with a flame right in the center. This was a middle-class spell, [Breath of Fire]. The magic circles glowed before creating huge white flames that were shot out like a sea of fire.




Roygun smiled before extending his hand. Right in the center of the sea of fire, a crack was created. The magic that began to darken the platform was split apart before it began to lose power. However, just as this happened, Roygun opened her eyes wide as she saw a light emanating from the ground beneath her.




"So it was just a distraction!" Roygun laughed as she saw a new magic circle appear beneath her. It was a single one, but three times larger than one of the previous ones. It was also a yellowish brown color. And when it activated, it created a large tremor and destroyed part of the ground, causing the tiles to rise.




Her aura grew just before the magic fully activated and she unfolded her pair of Devil wings to fly away. Jon sighed a little, knowing that this wouldn't do much to him. But, he was hoping to create an opening for him to attack. Right now, a large number of magic circles appeared above Roygun in the sky.




"Demonic power really is unfair, huh. Just learn to create shapes and use your imagination and you'll be able to unleash large amounts of attacks," Jon growled a little as he saw a rain of fireballs begin to fall. They looked like small, bright meteorites that lit up the stadium.




"Ddraig! Let's do it!"




"All in, partner!"




A crimson glow surrounded Jon at that moment as Ddraig's voice echoed above Roygun's magic and the screams of the spectators.




"[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!!]"




Jon's aura increased greatly as his armor appeared. His figure shot up into the sky as a pair of red dragon wings appeared on his back. He stood at the same height as Roygun, letting the fireballs hit the ground, creating noise and destruction everywhere.




The two of them launched themselves at blinding speed towards each other, leaving a shadow behind.




"[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]"




Jon increased his power tenfold as he looked at Roygun, who kept smiling. When their fists met once again. The result was a bit surprising. Jon had to back up and spin around a few times as he heard a "Craack~", meanwhile, Roygun spat out a bit as he felt the power of Jon's fist enter his body. Blood slowly dripped down a corner of his pink lips.




"Partner, I just used her power on your right hand."




"I know, Ddraig."




"Be careful. Even if you can increase your power, she would be able to break the armor if she hits one spot a few times."




"Don't lose focus while we fight!" Roygun shouted, throwing a powerful punch. Jon narrowly dodged, but even so, he could feel the force, even with his armor on. Clicking his tongue, he used his knee to strike Roygun's liver.




"You can't beat me with just this, Jon Snow."




"You think I don't know that?" Jon retorted before he began to back away, dodging every punch Roygun threw. For a moment, Jon's foot flashed as he stood up. Roygun narrowed his eyes slightly at that as he threw his head back. His hair moved in the flurry that was created.




At that moment, Jon took the advantage, throwing kicks so precise that Roygun frowned. Several he couldn't avoid and had to block, causing his limbs to go slightly numb.




"[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]"




A huge magic circle appeared in front of Jon as he spread his arms.




"[Lux Imperium!]"




A torrent of light was shot out like a pillar. The entire place seemed to tremble at that moment as space seemed to shake around the pillar.




"Shit!" Roygun cried out in shock. Light was a weakness of the Devil race. It's not like all light could harm them. Sunlight, might drain them a little, but nothing they can't handle. They can easily live with that. However, light-based magic or the light powers of angels and fallen ones, really weakened them.




Lux Imperium wasn't a spell Jon learned from Sirzechs' books. It was something that came from Ddraig's knowledge. A powerful light magic that could be used against creatures of darkness. The dragon mentioned that it was the only thing that was really interesting when it had a host affiliated with the Church long ago. Because of that, he remembered it.




Roygun used up a lot of his stamina to use a crack in the center of the pillar of light. Little by little, he continued to enlarge the crack, so that it split and slowly lost its power. Still, being so close to the light that passed on either side of her was exhausting.




And Jon also felt exhausted from casting such a powerful spell. Second by second, the light began to die out. Jon thought that with that, Roygun would not attack so rashly. However, he underestimated her. Before the spell ended, she had already flown forward, enduring the weakness that the light produced in her. And when it was all over, she was in front of a surprised Jon.




Boom!




A kick shook Jon's head as he was sent flying to the ground. He growled before spitting blood. His head felt dizzy.




For a moment, he felt like he might lose. But he couldn't give up! Not now! He felt like he could still give more of himself. He needed to show more of himself. He wanted everyone to see him fight to the end!




This wasn't Westeros, where many would tell him to stop, that he had no chance, simply because he was a bastard. That he wasn't the same as a legitimate son.




But Jon could be stubborn too.




"... I want to keep fighting... Hey, my friend, I have your blood, right?"




"What do you want to do?" Ddraig asked curiously.




"Burn it!"




"... !" Ddraig was silent, but surprised by his host's words.




"I know it may be early for me, who's only had the Boosted Gear for about five months. I understand that it might bring pain as a side effect. But let's go ahead! It's the first time in my life that I want to give it my all! I want to win!"




Jon said with determination. When he was on Planetos, he never thought he could say those kinds of words. His life was set to be boring, simple, maybe even trashy. But here it was different! He was now an existence that could grow by leaps and bounds. He was someone who could be more than just a bastard underestimated and hated by almost everyone.




He was the Red Dragon Emperor!




There was no way he would give up when he had obtained a new life!




Ddraig, at that moment, could clearly feel his friend's determination to become stronger, to be a cool and powerful Red Dragon Emperor. So, being like that, he couldn't be disappointing when his host was willing to grow.




Inside the Sacred Gear space, he smiled, showing his sharp teeth. "Hahahaha! Well said, Jon Snow!"




"If that's how you want to do it, then I have nothing to say."




"[Burning Blood!!]"




Fwooosh!!~




Boooom!




The wind swirled around him, causing Roygun to immediately back away. He had flown towards Jon to continue the battle, but something strange happened. His aura grew once more as a crimson light with a green outline surrounded him. His aura even created an explosive sound as it grew into a sphere around him, almost as if he were a cocoon.




Slowly, the cocoon began to disappear, revealing a different Red Dragon Emperor figure. There was no longer armor, but a human with dragon parts. Jon's hair turned red as two golden horns grew on his head. His pair of wings grew in size behind him. His eyes were green with elongated pupils like a dragon's. His hands had sharp claws and his skin near his jaw and cheeks had scale patterns.




The only armored part was a small breastplate that held a green gem.




Jon smiled at that moment, showing sharp fangs.




"[Red Dragon of Domination!]," Ddraig's voice echoed once more, just before Jon disappeared from his position.




Roygun, who was watching in shock, choked when she saw Jon appear in front of her, extending his fist. She tried to move, but couldn't. She felt that regardless of her movements, the blow would hit her squarely. Gritting her teeth, she crossed her arms as she created defensive magic circles in front of her.




"Ddraig!"




"[Boost!]"




Jon's momentum was immense. The ten defensive magic circles shattered like simple glass. Jon's fist traveled at high speed, striking Roygun in the stomach. The woman's arms limply extended crossed before flying off.




Boom!




The ground completely collapsed, lifting huge pieces of the platform. A cloud of dust and dirt rose, hiding Roygun Belphegor's figure, but everyone could clearly see that the stadium was now a large crater.




"Cough! Cough... Cough!", a cough came from the impact site. With a wave of his hand, Roygun dispelled the cloud of dust, revealing his figure. The braid that fell down his back was now gone. His hair was dirty and messy. His face showed a clear sign of pain as he clutched his stomach. The armor in that place had been completely broken, leaving a hole that showed part of his bloody skin.




"That… was the most devastating blow I've ever received!! As expected of you, Red Dragon Emperor!"




"However, I refuse to give up!!," Roygun screamed as he rose once more. He wiped away the blood that was pouring from his mouth, spitting it onto the ground.




Jon narrowed his eyes as she reached out a hand and clenched her fingers. He inhaled rapidly before opening his mouth. But suddenly, Roygun's hand limply lowered as she herself began to fall. Her eyes closed slightly, only opened by Roygun's determination.




Frowning, Jon flew up and caught her in his arms.




"Eh… It seems I took more damage than expected…"




"She's the best I've ever had, Jon Snow."




"Don't you have another rival, Roygun Belphegor?"




"Diehauser? Bah, it's really hard to find a time to fight him. Anyway, I give up. You've won!"




Sighing, Jon stared at the injured woman. She must have lost consciousness for a moment when she began to fall. It was an impressive thing that she could endure so much and talk so much. Jon could do nothing but feel enormous respect for his opponent.




"If you had held on a little longer, I might have lost," he said seriously.




"... Are you just talking to make me feel better?" Roygun said with a bit of anger.




"Not at all. This form is completely new. I'll probably have to lie down for
 
Chapter 14: The Red Dragon Emperor's Desire for Power
Looking at the ceiling of the infirmary, Jon sighed a little at how exhausted he felt. It had been hours since his battle ended with his victory. It was incredible for him, who could hear the encouraging cries of many of the devils in the stadium. Never, in his entire life, did he expect that kind of acceptance from other people.




The doctors and nurses already told him that he would be fine, although he had symptoms of having lost quite a bit of blood, although he didn't bleed too much. That kind of situation caught the doctors' attention, but Jon said he knew why it was, although he wouldn't say it.




"I have some things to say, partner."




"Did I lose too much?"




"Not really. In fact, I can say that you've gained more than you lost. That's why I wanted to talk as soon as possible. What we did was incredible! I didn't even know what would happen after burning the blood of your bloodline!"




"Really? What happened?" Jon asked curiously. He thought he could have lost years of life by doing that there, in the stadium. Ddraig already warned him that using the [Juggernaut Drive] form would cause a loss of vitality. So, he thought that by burning his blood, the same would also happen.




"Since it was my bloodline, by burning it for a few moments, you were able to access a weakened form of my true powers. When you launched that blow, you destroyed the defensive magic by my [Penetrate] ability, which can pierce through all kinds of defenses. And when you were about to spit flames, they contained a portion of my true flames. It wasn't enough to incinerate souls, but you could definitely have burned magic and bodies to ashes!"




Jon's eyes widened.




"You entered some sort of state where you fused with the Boosted Gear, partner. That was amazing. I didn't think I'd see something like that! Your desire to win, the fire of determination in your heart, and our own arrogance, all added to the blood, triggered a new transformation."




"Sure, you lost about five years of life. But there's still some of my bloodline left in you. You didn't spend too much time on it, so it's good. I think you could use it once more at some point. It could be our trump card."




"No..."




"No?" Ddraig asked in confusion.




"I don't want to have a trump card like that. Today, for the first time in my life, I could feel the excitement of a battle. I could hear the cheers of unknown people. I... I want to be stronger, Ddraig. I don't want to be a devil. However, I don't dislike being a dragon."




"Partner, you mean..."




Jon nodded with a small smile. "Let's transform my bone marrow."




"... ", Ddraig was silent for a few moments, but he felt proud of his host. Human, devil, dragon, those kinds of things didn't mean much in a world like the one they lived in. Regardless of race, you would receive special treatment for being strong. In the end, power was what mattered. He, as the true Red Dragon Emperor, was arrogant and proud in the past. He didn't care about humans, nor about the rest of the races. He just wanted to fight his rival to determine who was the strongest Celestial Dragon.




However, after being sealed, he began to see better. All he could do was watch what his hosts did and talk. Some weren't even interested in chatting with him, they just had an interest in his powers. Of course, not all of them were the same. But, out of all of them, Jon was the one he liked the most. He had some arrogance, but he knew when to listen to advice. He had plenty of humility to begin with, and now he was finally feeling the pride of being a Red Dragon Emperor. All the things that made up the person called Jon Snow made him have great potential.




"To control the flow of more powerful blood, you would also need to change your heart."




"Is it a big problem?"




"Not really. It will hurt, but the benefits will be worth it. A dragon's heart isn't just for blood, it also functions as a magic reactor, providing a great deal of magic power. After the change, not only would you be able to use the new transformation more easily, you would also become someone really strong."




Jon closed his eyes before nodding. "I've made up my mind, Ddraig. Do it!"




Ddraig didn't say anything, but began the process immediately. The sooner, the better. Besides, they were in a hospital, a suitable place for any accident. Even more so being an underworld hospital, which had better methods than humans.




Jon expected great pain at first, but what he felt at first was a numbness in his limbs. Then, there came small pains all over, as if ants were crawling on the outside and inside of his body, before he felt as if those ants were biting him. Soon, he felt his heart being squeezed tightly and his breathing paralyzed.




His body felt frozen at that moment, while his entire body trembled from the spasms. He truly felt what it was like to die slowly. It was like a heart attack while you were drowning in a frozen ocean, all with ants inside you. His teeth were clenched as muffled sounds were produced in his throat.




If he had been connected to the machines in the room, then beeping sounds would be echoing throughout the place. His heart, at that moment, stopped. Or rather, it was crushed into paste, so that a new heart began to form. For minutes, Jon was, indeed, dead.




Minutes passed, with a worried Ddraig inside the sacred gear. And when it was all over, another two minutes of waiting passed, until Jon's eyes managed to focus and he took a large breath before starting to cough and vomit what looked like blood a little darker than normal.




"Cough! Cough... cough! Agh... Ddraig...?" Jon coughed several times before asking for his friend.




"I'm here, partner. How are you feeling?"




"I..." Jon wiped his mouth, then stared at his hand. Unlike before, when he first learned magic, he could feel a much greater power at the tip of his fingers. It was as if he could crush anything with just a squeeze. His heart resonated in his heightened senses, it was a powerful throbbing.




"My head and chest hurt a little, but otherwise, fine."




"It's good... From now on, little by little, you'll have a greater amount of my bloodline. Perhaps, in the future, a human with my true Heavenly Dragon bloodline can be born."




"Didn't I turn into a dragon?"




"Not for now. But, in the future, it's very likely. Who knows, maybe you can transform at some point!"




"That… would be kind of interesting," Jon smiled a little, imagining what he would look like in dragon form.




"Some other time, you should experiment better with your body. You should be able to spit fire right now. It won't be as strong a fire as the Blazing Hell of scorching flames I could use a long time ago, but it's still a cool fire. Oh, and also, you can already use [Penetrate] normally."




"It's a pretty powerful skill boost. Despite being just two new things, the utility of each is exceptional."




"Exactly," Ddraig agreed with those words.




"Right… do you think I could leave?"




"You should wait a little longer. Take your time to rest. After what we did, it's for the best. Besides, Sirzechs might pay you a visit."




"What gives you that idea?"




"It was he who created the opportunity for battle. I'm sure he'll want to chat a bit before you return home."




"Wait, one more thing! Damn, I had completely forgotten about it in all the excitement."




"What's wrong?" Jon settled himself on the bed, asking with a bit of confusion.




"Even though you're still human, you have some dragon characteristics. Brother, don't freak out when you have some kind of greedy thoughts, maybe even lustful ones. It won't make you a crazy pervert, or even someone greedy with everything. But, you'll probably feel like you want some shiny things when you see them. Or a feeling of wanting a woman who is to your taste when you see them."

"Ah? Can something as weird as that really happen?"




"Not all dragons are like that. For example, myself: I wasn't really someone who wanted treasures, and I also had no need to chase after some female. But... there's a dragon named Fafnir who likes panties too much. There's Tiamat, who still hates me because I lost her treasures. Simply put, dragons have certain quirks. Mine was the desire to become stronger."




"Perhaps you'll end up inheriting that part of me. You don't have to worry too much, since it won't be something that happens immediately. It should gradually appear."




"Uh~," Jon felt a little uneasy hearing that. He definitely didn't want to be a pervert. He'd rather be a battle freak than that!




As he pondered that, the door to the room opened, letting in several people.




"Jon! That was one hell of a battle!"




"Sirzechs?"




Just as Ddraig had said, Sirzechs suddenly appeared with a big smile. Behind him, there were four people. Two of them had the same hair color as the Demon King. One woman had an appearance that was too similar to the one who could be Sirzechs' sister. There was also a girl with short black hair. She was wearing glasses and had a serious expression.




"Ah!" Jon pointed exactly at that last person. "You're the cake girl."




"Eh?" Sona Sitri was surprised by the Red Dragon Emperor's sudden words.
 
Chapter 15: The Red Dragon Emperor Meets His Cooking Master
"Eh?" That single syllable came out from the mouth of a surprised and confused Sona. The visitors stared in bewilderment at Jon's reaction, who soon realized that he was too disrespectful to people that, perhaps, Sirzechs wanted him to meet. Then, he coughed lightly into his fist.




"I'm sorry about that. It was a surprise for me. Who might you be?"




"I brought you here to introduce you," Sirzechs smiled amiably as he pointed to the woman beside him. "Here, right next to me, is Venelana Gremory, formerly Bael. She is my mother. Behind her, is my father. Zeoticus Gremory. I also brought my beautiful and adorable younger sister, Rias!"




Jon tilted his head slightly. Venelana was a woman who didn't seem to have that big of an age gap with her own children. Her hair was long and brown. Her eyes were a pretty violet color, as she wore a white dress that showed off her shoulders. Zeoticus, behind her, was a tall man, also young looking. Crimson hair and a rather nice beard. He was wearing an outfit the same color as his wife's dress: white.




As for Rias, she was also beautiful, as all the women of the Devil race seemed to be. Crimson hair like her father and brother, bright blue eyes, and a curious expression.




"It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Jon Snow, and I became friends with Sirzechs a short time ago. I hope we'll get along."




"It's a pleasure to meet you," Venelana said in a soft voice. "Sirzechs has few friends, so it's a joy to see a new one. You can come to our home for a visit, or if you need anything."




Zeoticus nodded behind him.




"By the way... the lady over there..." Jon looked at Sona curiously.




"It's Sona Sitri, the younger sister of a friend, Serafall Leviathan."




"Ah, the Demon King Leviathan," Jon nodded, recognizing the name. "It's nice to meet you too. And even though you haven't seen me before, I have seen you. Thank you, by the way."




"That's true. You recognized her right away. How?" Rias asked curiously. "I don't think Sona has traveled to America."




"That's true. I haven't. I'm just curious."




Jon smiled a little. "When I first came to New York, I had food, but I didn't know anything about cooking," he shrugged for a moment before continuing. "I had the TV connected to the Underworld network, so I had a lot of channels. I just happened to see her making a cake recipe."




"Honestly, it was the first thing I ever ate that I made with my own hands. It turned out pretty good! For that, thank you."




Everyone blinked. Rias looked at her friend a little surprised. She didn't know that she attended an Underworld TV show. But most of all, she could see her stoic friend blushing a little and trying to hide it with her typical eyeglasses movement!




"W- Well... You're welcome. I didn't think... I would actually be useful to anyone."




Sirzechs, who watched everything, decided to quickly intervene. He knew perfectly well that his sister would take advantage of it to make fun of her friend. "Jon, would you like to have dinner with us?"




"Of course. Since you're inviting me, I don't see why I should decline. Besides, I have nothing to do," Jon nodded with a smile. "I just... hope your wife isn't mad at me."




"Ah... Don't worry!"




"So you're the one hiding Sirzechs," Venelana commented with a smile of pure amusement.




"He was the one who bought me my shop. I couldn't just reject him after such kindness."

. . . .

In the Gremory mansion, everyone was sitting at a long table, with comfortable and large chairs. The food cooked by the Gremory cooks was, in Jon's words, quite good. However, despite not mentioning it, he thought that his was better.




Grayfia, who saw her for the second time, was not angry as he thought.




"I don't mind my husband being relaxed, but he tends to overdo things, so I have to keep a close eye on him so he doesn't do crazy things," was what she said.




"In the past, when he had a night of fun with Azazel, they almost blew the top of a building off," she mentioned with a cold expression. Jon could only snort, he could imagine something like that.




They all seemed to be incredibly kind, for Devils. Although, Jon could see where Sirzechs was coming from with his personality. His parents really were relaxed and there didn't seem to be a single speck of evil in them, for Devils.




Rias and Sona even had their groups with them, so he was able to meet them as well. Though, out of everyone, the one he talked to the most was Kiba Yuuto. That boy was seemingly too bright, but his behavior was the closest thing to a good gentleman from his world. He was sure he would do well in that place.




After eating dessert, everyone got up while Jon was invited to spend the night at the Gremory mansion.




"Wouldn't it be a bother?"




"Don't worry," Zeoticus shook his head. "We don't have as many visitors as we would like. Besides, I would also like to have a talk alone with you."




"… Fine. I understand. Thank you for the hospitality."




Zeoticus smiled before walking out with his wife and son, while Rias gave him a tour of the mansion, alongside Sona.




"I didn't think the Red Dragon Emperor would suddenly appear in a ranking game battle," Rias commented as they walked down a hallway. Jon immediately noticed how luxurious the mansion was. Floor with carpets, expensive looking vases, portraits and paintings on the walls, golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Flowers and pretty arrangements of all sorts.




"By the way, can I ask about your last transformation? I didn't think the Boosted Gear could do that."




"Hmm… Did you hear Ddraig's voice before the transformation?"




"His voice?"




"Burning Blood… that was what the dragon's voice said, right?" Sona said calmly.




"Yes. That was literally what we did. A few months ago, through sheer luck, I was able to obtain some of Ddraig's blood. I absorbed it, but when I was fighting, I really wanted to win. So I asked him to burn the blood that formed his bloodline into my body. I guess you could call it an evolution of my Balance Breaker."




"Such a thing…" the two girls looked at him in shock. "Didn't you lose vitality from that?!"




"Yeah. But we already figured that out," Jon nodded confidently.




Rias stared at him for what seemed like long minutes. Until she said, "Do you want to join my Peerage?"




Jon looked at her curiously before smiling. "No. I'm sorry, but no. I really don't want to get tied up like that with you devils."




"Ugh... Even though I knew, I still had to ask. It didn't hurt," Rias pouted slightly, while now, Jon was looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She remembered Sirzechs telling her about her sister's engagement. She was probably looking for allies herself to get out of that engagement.




"Sorry for the question that might sound weird, but, do you have internet here, right?"




"Sure. I'll give you the password later. Do you have something to do?"




"Ah, it's not important. I just wanted to watch the Gundam episode. I didn't want to miss it!"




Rias blinked. "You like anime?!"




"Uh… yeah? I watch it from time to time," Jon stepped back slightly as Rias got too close. The girl's eyes sparkled before she stepped back, realizing what she had done. She coughed lightly into her fist. "I… see. It's cool."




"That's right…", looking at Sona, who looked at him curiously, Jon said, "You're Serafall's sister. She plays a magical girl, right?"




"Uh… oh…", Sona's eyes widened before she took a step back. "Well, erm… yeah."




"It turned out to be true, partner," Ddraig decided to speak up at that moment, drawing the attention of the two girls. More from Sona, who wanted to immediately end the topic about her sister.




"You're Ddraig? The true dragon of domination? It's nice to meet you."




"Good afternoon, Rias Gremory. You too, Sona Sitri," the gem in Jon's hand flickered at Ddraig's words.




"The Demon King, it turned out to be Miracle Levi-tan after all!"

"W-Why do you seem so excited?" Sona deflated upon hearing Ddraig's voice.




"It's part of our leisure time," the sealed dragon commented. "When my partner has nothing else to do, she usually watches TV or surfs the internet. At first, I didn't think it was her. But, the more I watched, the more I remembered the girl who can make things explode with her icy glow."




Rias began to laugh upon hearing such a description. "Yes! That's Serafall-sama!"




"Please don't laugh! If my sister glows, she could destroy entire countries!" Sona cried out in exasperation.




"It's okay. Sorry, Sona," Rias said, but she had a smile that clearly said she wasn't sorry at all. "Come on. Maybe we can play some chess with Jon."




"Chess? Are you guys also good like Sirzechs?"




"I don't know if I'm as good as my brother, but I can give Sona a run for her money. And she's one of the best in the world!"




"Really? Then I'd like to play. I also have a similar game with me. Maybe, I could teach you."




"A game similar to chess? Go? Shogi?"




"No. I know them, but I don't know how to play those two. What I have is called Cyvasse," Jon smiled, thinking that he never expected to have to create that game from his world. When he was little, Maester Luwin taught him how to play, but he never really cared about it, to the point that he had forgotten about it until he played chess for the first time with Sirzechs.




Sona looked at Jon intently at that moment. "It's a game I hadn't heard of."




"Unlike chess, there are twenty pieces per person. Therefore, the board is larger. Also, you have to place your pieces strategically before starting a game. The goal, as it should be for these kinds of games, is to kill the King. Of course, it's not that easy, as some pieces can only be eliminated by specific others. Although, the King can be eliminated by anyone."




"Sounds interesting. I'd like to try it out," Sona said immediately.




"Then I'll go get my GameBoy. It'll definitely be a couple of hours before you let me play. Petty!"




"No, I... ! Tch, I don't even know why I'm talking back to you, Rias."




"Heh heh heh~ That's because you're way more vulnerable than you want to show."




"Humph," Sona snorted as Jon looked at her with some curiosity. That little gesture, was rather cute in her opinion.




Anyway, she was hoping to have a fun night while waiting for Zeoticus to want to have that talk she mentioned.
 
Chapter 16: Princess Gremory's Request to the Red Dragon Emperor
Sona Sitri was feeling a little frustrated during the night. For over half an hour, she was quite cheerful about the chess games she won against Jon Snow, the Red Dragon Emperor. She might never be able to beat him in battle, but she could proudly say that she was better at the board game. However, her curiosity proved to be her downfall. After she decided to try the game Jon brought with him, she lost every time. Not only did the board have a small drop-down wall to cover up the way the two arranged their pieces, it was also more complicated. Some pieces could be moved in specific ways, like all chess pieces, but in the cyvasse, not all pieces were like that. For example, there was the dragon: the strongest piece of all, which could destroy two opposing pieces in one move, but had the restriction of not being able to be used for two turns, plus the trebuchet piece and the catapult could kill it.




There were the rabble pieces, the weakest of all, but also the most free of all when it came to movements. You had the spearmen, crossbowmen, light horses, heavy horses, elephants, and finally, the King. Simply put, it was a game that was a bit more complex and in-depth than chess. As a newbie, she didn't mind losing the first few games. After all, she was just learning how to play. However, after a full hour of games, she could feel frustration building up.




She didn't mind losing in ranking games, nor in training battles. However, she did mind losing in board games. She didn't like it at all!




But, that wasn't the worst of it. While playing with Jon, Jon took out pieces of cake from his [Magic Pocket], also known as [Pocket Dimension], or [Dimensional Storage]. It was a magic that most could use. The storage space wasn't too big, but you could store food without worrying about it spoiling.




The thing is... That piece of cake, was clearly from the recipe he made that time on TV! Sona felt an enormous pleasure as she took the first bite. The flavors that exploded in her mouth made her travel to an imaginary world of sweetness. For a moment, she completely disconnected from reality, until she felt like crying as she realized that her recipe was always good, but for some reason, she never managed to get it right.




"What the hell, Jon?!"




"Huh?" Jon looked at Rias who stood up after tasting her share.




"This is too good! How did you manage to make something like that?! I almost... I almost felt like..." Rias blushed before sitting down, looking at the cake as if it was the scariest, yet also wonderful thing in the world.




"Well... I use my sacred gear to enhance the flavor of the ingredients."




"Can you make something like that?" Sona asked with a frown. "Isn't that cheating?"




"Cheating? Uh, isn't it? As for whether she could, you have the evidence in your mouth."




Rias looked at her friend before smiling. She realized what was going on. However, instead of mocking her, she decided to help her out. "Hey, since you two have a sweet tooth, why don't you two do a show together? You could even make a video for DevilTube!"




"That..." Sona frowned, clearly doubting the idea.




"Is DevilTube like the human world's MiTube?"




"Yeah! It's our most famous video site. Many people record videos to upload, some also stream them. It's pretty fun."




"Mmm... I wouldn't mind," Jon smiled. "In fact, I'd like to. Besides training, I don't do much else."




"Don't you attend school?"

"No. I learn at the library near my apartment. Also on the Internet. Uh... I don't really like school. I feel like I'd be stuck in a place that's not meant for me."




"So... what do you do or will you do to earn money?" Sona asked interestedly.




"I cook. I mentioned it before, right? I run a small restaurant. It might sound a bit arrogant for me to say it myself, but it's quite famous. I make Japanese food."




"Oh? I can cook Japanese food too!" Rias said with sparkling eyes.




"I know. Your brother talks about you quite a bit. In fact, I think I know you better than he does," Jon looked at her with a wry expression.




"Ugh... bro... what kind of things are you talking about me?" Rias whispered embarrassedly.




"Can I have this game? I'll buy it for you."




"Huh?", both Jon and Rias looked at Sona, who was still staring at the cyvasse board with a frown. She was frustrated, so she decided that she had to practice, but since she didn't have the board and pieces, she might as well buy them from the guy who brought them with him. True, she could ask one of the butlers or maids from her House to replicate things, but buying it directly from Jon was easier and faster.




"Haa~… ", Rias sighed as she shook her head. "I think you have a problem with board games, Sona."




"… "




Jon shrugged, not really caring about parting with the game. "You can have it. You don't have to pay anything, you can take it as a thank you for the cake recipe."




"That… Fine, thank you," Sona nodded. She hesitated for a moment, but ended up agreeing. Still, she was a little glad that her recipe could actually be of use.




. . . .




After having the talk with Zeoticus, Jon walked down the hall with a slightly complicated expression. The things that were talked about in the office of the head of House Gremory were not overly serious, but there were several offers that would be useful to him. He sighed a little at all the filial love that existed in the family, surprised that they cared so much about others.




In Westeros, even if people were family, they ended up killing each other for greed, love, and power. It was not uncommon to see or hear of family disputes within a House. Even the Stark family was not devoid of these problems. He experienced it himself with Catelyn Stark, who thought that he, Jon Snow, would take away the things that belonged to her half-brother, Robb Stark. It was impressive how paranoid that woman could be.




After a few moments of thinking and talking with Ddraig, he arrived at the room that had been prepared for him. But, on one side of the door, Rias was waiting with her back against the wall. In her arms, there was a white box with a few other colors, displaying the image of a red robot.




"Rias?"




"Ah…", raising her head at the call, Rias smiled lightly before walking over.




"I wanted to talk to you for a bit. Can we do it inside?"




"Sure," Jon nodded, agreeing immediately. He was curious about what Rias wanted to talk about. They both entered the room; Rias walked over to a small table near the window, placing the box on top.




"To tell you the truth, I wanted to ask you a favor. Of course, it's not like it was free. For now, I can only give you this…", Rias smiled a little sadly, placing her hand on the box. "It's a limited edition Gunpla. It's quite expensive. Also, well, I could give you a few other things, as long as it's not too over the top."




"Wait…", Jon raised a hand. "Before you agree to anything, what's your problem? What do you need my help with?"




Rias stared at him for a few moments before looking down at the ground with an expression somewhere between annoyed and sad. "I... ugh... The thing is... I have a fiancé that I really don't want to marry. And since you're powerful enough to defeat the second ranked girl in the ranking games, I thought you could help me out."




Jon blinked before starting to laugh.




"Please don't laugh! It really is a serious problem for me. I don't like Riser Phenex!"




"No, no, I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at your problem. I'm doing it because I've already been asked that three times."




"What?" Rias looked at him in surprise.




"Yes. When I made a magician contract with your brother, the condition was that I had to perform three favors for him. And the first one, was to help you with the matter of your engagement. Just a few moments ago, when I was talking to your father, I also received the same request. Honestly, even though your own family got you into that mess, they really love you a lot."




"That..." Rias was shocked. She didn't expect that kind of thing. She thought her father would never let her out of the engagement! She knew that her brother really couldn't do much because of his position.




Jon walked over to take the box with a smile. "You Gremorys really are reliable people. Despite the things you do, you make sure that the family is always happy and safe. I like that."




"However, Rias, before you start any kind of battle, I recommend you talk to Riser. And if you want, I can accompany you."




"Why?" Rias asked immediately.




"You wouldn't gain anything by antagonizing the other family, would you? Besides, you should put yourself in the other person's position. I don't know this Riser Phenex personally, but he was also forced into the engagement... Sirzechs told me that this was an engagement not only to improve both families, but also the power of the devil race. A daughter of the Gremory family who possesses great demonic power and luck, as well as the power of destruction, with a son of the Phenex family, who have powerful flames and high-speed regeneration."




Jon shook his head. "The baby born from that union, is destined to be a monster."




"Let's try talking first. If it doesn't work, then we can arrange a battle to get you out of the engagement."




Rias hesitated at first. She knew that while Riser was also forced, he coveted her body. Practically everyone knew that the third son of the Phenex family was a bit of a pervert. In the end, after some thought, she nodded.




"Well... I guess I could do that. Anyway, it doesn't hurt."




Jon smiled a little in relief. Before fighting, he wanted to know what this Riser was actually like.




"By the way, I didn't know they sold this kind of thing. How do you use it?"




"You have to put it together. Although, I recommend that you don't open it. It has a pretty high collectible value. After all, it's a limited edition from several years ago."




"Oh? So, people collect them. Interesting," Jon looked at her with some curiosity. "Sirzechs told me that you liked this kind of thing, but it seems like it's a bigger taste than expected."




Rias, surprisingly, blushed slightly. "Yeah... Well. I can't help what I like, right?"




"True."
 
Chapter 17: The Red Emperor Dragon and the Devil Phoenix
Jon blinked as he looked at the boy sitting next to him. He is a tall and handsome young man in his early 20s with short blonde hair and dark blue eyes.




His outfit consists of a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right side with matching pants and black dress shoes. Under his open jacket is a white dress shirt that is not fully buttoned (only missing one button), leaving a slight view of his chest.




Last night when he was talking to Rias, it was on the topic of their engagement. But here he was, hours later, sitting next to Riser himself, drinking some whiskey. It wasn't the Gremory mansion, but a bar within the large Gremory territory. The territory, was actually large enough to house several cities. And since he was in the place, doing a little sightseeing was a good idea for him.




After entering the bar, a rather luxurious one, Riser walked in with two women on either side of him, laughing and smiling as he talked to her. However, when they looked at each other, the boy from the Phenex family decided to leave the women aside to sit next to her and start a chat.




"I didn't expect to meet the Red Dragon Emperor! That was a good battle you had with Lady Belphegor!" were his opening sentences as he asked the Bartender for Whiskey.




"You are Riser Phenex..."




"Do you know me?", with a smile on his face, Riser asked.




"I am Sirzechs' friend. Of course I know you," Jon smiled pleasantly. But, at that moment, Riser felt that smile was more of a threat than a gesture of goodwill. Of course, Jon never had that intention.




"Ah, Lord Lucifer...", Riser sighed a little.




"Does it bother you?"




"No. Of course not! How can I be upset with Lord Lucifer?", Riser snorted before taking a drink from his newly arrived glass. "Though... I can't help but think that he doesn't want our houses to be united. Ugh. Honestly, I don't want him to hate me."




"Why? I don't think Sirzechs would do anything bad to you, even if he hates you."




"You... admire him?"




"But I admire him!" Riser said forcefully, looking seriously at a surprised Jon.




"Of course. Why wouldn't I? He's the most powerful person in our race! Well, there's also Lord Ajuka Belzeebub. But I admire Lord Lucifer more."




Jon looked at him with a little more interest. From what he had heard from Sirzechs and what he saw when Riser came in a little while ago, he thought he would be the typical rich, handsome boy who pursued fun above all else. Those kinds of people who cared about nothing but their own enjoyment. But, apparently, that wasn't quite the case.




"You... admire him?"




"Is that why you want to marry his sister?"




"No?" Riser looked at him somewhat confused. "The engagement with Rias is something our families decided. I have nothing to do with it."




"So why do you want to get married?"




"Why do you ask?" Riser asked with a frown. He immediately realized that Jon had immediately directed the topic to their engagement. It was something strange that raised flags in his mind.




Jon looked at his glass before taking a sip. "To tell the truth, I was asked to crush you. I think Sirzechs recommended this bar to me because he knew you might be here."




"What?!" Riser exclaimed in shock.




"Ah, but I don't want to fight now. Why don't we talk?" Jon smiled, but now it was a threatening gesture. It was as if he was saying: Stay calm and let's talk calmly! I'll tear you apart!"




"I just want to understand the situation."




"Such a thing... I never thought Lord Lucifer would be against the engagement. But... No, perhaps it was to be expected. With the love he has for Rias, it's only natural. Plus, with his position, he can't do much for his family either. Geh, what a bothersome situation!"




"But I don't really like it either! I mean, being tied down like this. I'm still young! I mean, I'd like to have more fun while I can. Eventually, at some point, I'd have to take care of some matters of the Phenex family. I'm not the heir, but things are expected of me."




"Things are expected of you, huh? So, you want to live up to your parents' expectations."




"... Something like that..... "




"You're a bit lucky."




"Huh?"




Jon waved his hand languidly. "Nothing. I was just comparing a bit. I was born out of wedlock, so everyone around me looked down on me. No one expected anything from me, a bastard. Even my own half-siblings, who seemed to love me, didn't expect much."




"Well…" Jon gave him a powerful smile. "Now I think they might think differently."




"Humph. You're the Red Dragon Emperor. What does that kind of thing matter? You could literally do whatever you want."




"True," Jon nodded, agreeing with that.




"So…" Riser emptied his glass of whiskey before setting the glass down with a bit of force. "What exactly do you want to do?"




"Isn't there a way for you to decline the engagement? There doesn't have to be a rift between the two Houses, right?"




"It would be a mockery among the circle!" Riser growled a bit angrily. "I won't put my family name on the line."




"However... It's not like there's no way out," Riser sighed. He understood that he couldn't beat the man beside him. There was no way he could beat the person who defeated the second ranked person in the ranking games. Despite having quite a reputation for his strength, he didn't reach that heights.




"Oh? Tell me."




"Let's fight. It doesn't have to be something that serious, but enough so that people don't think badly of my family. You already showed your power in yesterday's battle. So, there's no way I'll win. People won't make fun of me or my family if I lose."




Jon blinked before covering his mouth as he laughed a little. He almost spat out the alcohol he drank. "Ah, I understand. You want to make me look like the villain who stole the bride."




"N- No. I..."




"It's okay."




"Huh?" Riser looked at him in shock. Truth be told, that was his plan. The engagement was something imposed by his family, not that he wanted it at all. There was Rias, who was a beautiful woman, but she had no interest beyond that and keeping the Phenex family name. If he was seen as a good man for defending his right to the bride, then no one would speak ill of him, especially since he would lose to the Red Dragon Emperor.




"I don't care," Jon shrugged. Then, he smiled, showing his teeth. "With this, I'll be able to get some things out of Sirzechs. Oh! My image has been tarnished by the favor you asked of me, reward me, you idiot! Something like that I'll tell him."




"Th- That... Is that really something you should say to the Demon King?"




"You forget that we're friends."




"... Anyway, shall we?"




"Come on!" Jon stood up suddenly, a little excited to fight someone who had high-speed regeneration.




. . . . . .




"Argh!"




"Hey, hey, hey...," Jon looked down at Riser beneath him, bleeding from the mouth as he screamed in pain. "You were supposed to hold out longer!"




"Grrrgh! Your punch... almost killed me!" Riser screamed in pain. They had started the battle in a place far away from the city, but the first blow sent him flying. He felt like his organs had turned to paste. Even his regeneration was taking a while to fix the problem.




"I think you used the [Penetrate] skill too quickly, partner."




"Uh... I thought I could hold out!"




"Uhhh~... You owe me some drinks, Jon Snow!"




"Erm... Sure. Don't worry."




"And also a night of fun with lots of beautiful women!"




"Don't go overboard," Jon rolled his eyes.




"We're talking about a marriage contract between two Houses of the Underworld!" Rise screamed, now a little better. The fire still danced across his torso, healing his wounds.




"Oh, come on. Don't you have several women in your party? Isn't that enough?"




"That... Maybe?"




"Tch. You really are a pervert."




"I'm a man!"




".... " Jon didn't really know how to respond to that. This guy, who he had on the ground after a blow, for some strange reason, seemed a bit like him. Not in his ways with women, nor in regards to his family situation. One was a boy who was expected to do things, the other a boy who was not expected to do anything. But still, Jon couldn't help it. Was it the ultimate goal that made them similar?




Jon Snow always wanted to be someone, to help his father's family in important things. To make the Lord of Winterfell proud. Riser Phenex, despite his circumstances, wanted something similar. He couldn't be an heir, and he didn't care that much about that fact. However, he didn't want the name of House Phenex to be dragged through the ground, and the promises and commitments that linked it, to work to raise the name of Phenex.




In the end, they both wanted to make their parents proud.




They were different circumstances, but similar goals.




In the end, Jon extended his hand to help Riser. "Come on. Let's get something to drink to regain our strength and brighten up the day."




Riser stared into Jon's grey eyes before snorting. His small smile indicated he wasn't displeased, though. "I can get along with someone like you, Jon Snow."
 
Chapter 18: The Shy Red Dragon Emperor
The matter of the engagement between House Phenex and House Gremory was, in the end, completely settled with the talks between the two parties. Even if Jon had been a part of it all, it was necessary for the parties involved and the parents to calmly talk about the things they had promised each other in the past.




Lord Phenex turned out to be a serious man, but also quite approachable when it came to talking. He didn't fire at Jon when he saw him, but instead greeted him with the courtesy that should be expected of a noble.




As for Jon, well, he stood there with his arms crossed, listening from the side of the room, with his back against the wall. He was watching with curiosity. In the past, when he was in Westeros, he saw his father deal with his bannermen, so he was a little curious about how things would be done here. But, from what he was already seeing and hearing, everything was smooth and calm. Even Rias, who had felt apprehensive when she entered the room, was now talking calmly in front of Riser.




The real serious talks lasted a little over an hour, settling things between the two houses, promising a couple of forms of apologies. This was something necessary in the eyes of the rest of the Houses of the Underworld. They couldn't just show that such a big commitment was finished with a handshake. In the eyes of other nobles, they needed to show the level of wealth and commitment to the Underworld.




Certain percentages in a couple of companies were given away, agreements were made to sell phoenix tears, and other things.




In the end, everyone was happy, as if the commitment hadn't existed in the first place.




Jon smiled a little at seeing Rias so relieved and happy. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders at that moment.




"Red Dragon Emperor..." Lord Phenex turned to Jon with a small smile. "I thank you for showing some humility to my son. Riser can be quite arrogant."




"Yes?" Jon tilted his head slightly. "He seemed pretty normal to me, considering the family he was born into. He cares about his family, more than he lets on."




"Hey..." Riser looked at him with a slightly hesitant look, but Jon simply smiled.




"He didn't want the Phenex name to be tarnished. That's what he told me."




Lord Phenex frowned before looking at his son.




"Is that true...? Brat, you're still a hundred years young to worry about that kind of stuff! Let your parents work on that. The only thing you should work on, is getting stronger and keeping some humility."




"No. But I..." Riser crossed his arms as he looked at his father. He stopped when his mother squeezed his arm slightly. At that moment, Riser gulped a bit when he saw his mother's look.




"We made the engagement because we thought you two might be a good match. The benefits were a secondary thing... No, maybe even a tertiary thing. If you two little brats had spoken clearly about how you felt, and in the right way too, then there wouldn't be so many problems."




"Wait, but didn't I show my displeasure for the engagement enough?" Rias asked in bewilderment.




Venelana sighed at her daughter. "Oh, dear. The way you did it, it made you seem like a child who couldn't have the toy she wanted. It was annoying. You should grow up a bit more."




"That's why, your father and I decided to keep the engagement, hoping that you could find your own genuine methods. We hoped that you would come to Lord Phenex to talk and create a serious meeting. I hoped that you would talk to me, to ask for some advice."




"In a nutshell..." Zeoticus smiled wryly. "The two of us hoped that you could grow and mature a bit more in the midst of the problem. In the future, you will be the head of the House of Gremory. These kinds of problems are basic. You will have many other problems to solve in the future, Rias."




"Also, we can't leave out that even your brother and I asked Jon for help. Even though we were using him to make him look like the villain who stole the bride. He doesn't seem to care, but we should thank him," Zeoticus looked at Jon before nodding seriously, a gesture that Jon returned with a small smile. He didn't mind acting like that villain they mentioned, since it wouldn't bring him too much trouble in the end. And above all, he could see how grateful Zeoticus and Venelana were, so getting some reward wouldn't be out of the question. But, more than anything, it was because by doing all this, she would also gain other things that they talked about in private.




"Uhhh~," Rias lowered her head, confused, surprised, and a little embarrassed. She wondered: Was she really that immature?




Lord Phenex nodded seriously at that moment. "We were the same way, Riser."




"What? But I won't inherit the leadership!"




"Still, brat! Who do you think will be in charge of helping your eldest brother? Your second brother already has his own problems with his companies. You need to learn to stay more humble! You need to learn to properly deal with other people."




"But, wasn't Ravel…?"




"Hey! Don't bring your little sister out here! She just has to be a little princess for now!"




"No! That's totally unfair!" Riser slammed his hands on the table as he stood up. "You're totally biased!"




Lord Phenex frowned as he raised his head proudly. "So? What's wrong with that? I'm already old and experienced enough to have a daughter to pamper. The important positions of the future, I've already chosen. As for Ravel… she can do whatever she wants."




"Ugh!" Riser groaned, unable to believe what his father was saying. It was totally unfair crap! It was so much so, that Rias sent him a look of pity. She didn't have a younger sister or brother to cause such situations. It was a relief to her.




From the side, Jon shook his head at Riser's situation. It was a little funny, but he could understand it. After all, the Devil race had a birth rate that was too low. It was already impressive that Lord Phenex had three sons and a daughter. With the positions already designated for the family's future, it was only natural that he wanted to have his daughter to pamper her with whatever he wanted. Since he couldn't do it as much with his three sons, he could do such things with his daughter.




Also, from what he had heard, Ravel Phenex was quite intelligent, so she shouldn't have any problems in the future. Intelligent people could find their place in the world.




. . . .




Gremory Mansion.




"Are you leaving already?" Rias asked Jon, who was in his borrowed room.




"Yes. I think it's time to head home," Jon said as he put some things into his pocket dimension.




"Then, thank you for what you did. Remember to visit Kuoh if you want to talk about something. It's the least I can do."




"Oh, don't worry. I'll definitely visit. Besides, we'll see each other quite a bit."




"What do you mean?" Rias asked curiously.




"Your father offered me some kind of job. He wants to create some kind of business related to the Red Dragon Emperor. I thought about it, and it's a good idea. It'll give me a pretty big flow of money."




"Ah, I can see him doing something like that," Rias nodded.




"I didn't know kids liked my transformation so much," Jon told her with a charming smile. "It was... quite nice to see their reactions recorded."




"Kids like armor and cool stuff," Rias smiled gently. "I'm sure you'll be famous before long. At least here in the Underworld."




"I just hope I don't become an object of worship," Jon had a strange look on his face.




"Don't worry! Ha ha ha! That's a strange reason to worry. Usually, people would be delighted by that," Rias covered her mouth slightly as she laughed. She moved closer to Jon and surprisingly kissed his cheek.




Jon stepped back in shock. "You..."




"Fufufu~ It seems like you were quite shy. I don't think I'm arrogant enough to think that counts as a reward. But, don't guys usually like that kind of thing?"




"No... I... I mean..."




In such a situation, Ddraig appeared. "Don't worry, I'll inherit Gremory. Jon is softer than he seems. From the beginning, he's hidden his thoughts. He says that you're an incredibly beautiful girl."




"Ddraig!"




"Also, during the fight with Roygun, he felt shy about his armor that showed some parts of his body."




"Please stop! I thought we were like brothers!"




"Brothers play like that, Jon. They betray each other at the most important moments, with the only pretext of screwing the other over and having fun."




"Puff~," Rias held back her laughter for a moment before laughing out loud. "Hahahaha! You guys really are funny!"




Jon snorted, a little displeased with what Ddraig had done. Rias' laughter echoed in his ears as he looked at her. She really did look pretty, but of course she wouldn't say that kind of thing. So he decided to change the subject.




"Instead of laughing at me, tell me if you guys have advanced technology. I'm curious about that."




Rias wiped away a tear, still smiling. "Our technology is superior to the human world's. But why do you ask?"




"Nothing… I'm just curious. I mean, humans reached the moon years ago. Haven't you guys had the urge to do so? Not even out of curiosity?"




Blinking at the curious questions, Rias didn't know how to answer. After all, they were valid questions. The vehicles of the Underworld were much safer and faster. Medicine was better, as were other things. Rias was sure that the people working on technological research could create a safe method of transportation to travel to the moon.




"Uh… I don't know, Jon. Those are strange and sudden questions you asked."




Jon shrugged. He knew that perfectly well. But he wanted to know if there really was a possibility to travel through space at high speed and return to Earth without a bunch of years having passed. He did some research, and according to the theories, even if there was a method of transportation, if someone could return, they would have spent many years on the planet, which would make their acquaintances and family already dead.




He knew his chances of returning were slim to none, but he didn't want to give up completely either.




"Although... I think Seek-chan is creating a gundam robot."




"Huh?"




"Seek-chan is Seekvaira Agares, a childhood friend of mine. She really likes gundams, and that's where my liking for them comes from too. She kinda rubbed it off on me. One of her dreams is to create a real, working Gundam."




"That... that would be great!"




"I know..."




"Ah... I just remembered something, Jon. I'll tell you when we get back." Ddraig said mentally.




"What?"




"When you mentioned the trip to the moon. I'd completely forgotten about that stuff, but maybe there's hope, partner."
 
Chapter 19: A Chance for the Red Dragon Emperor
"What did you forget, Ddraig? It seemed important from your tone," Jon asked with a frown, now in his apartment. Being in the Gremory mansion, as well as visiting the massive Phenex castle, were fun and interesting things, but there was nothing like one's own home. He didn't have to worry about labels or minding his ways. In his private place, if he wanted to, he could throw his shoes away and throw himself haphazardly onto the couch while listening to Ddraig.




"You always searched for information about some way to travel through space. Well, actually, it was information about outer space in general. But, before, it completely passed me by. It was when robots and ships were mentioned that I was able to remember: in the past, when the gods walked the Earth alongside humans, they had a large number of artifacts."




"You say that in the past there was a spaceship?!" Jon asked in shock. "But, the technology at that time… Ah! Is it magic?"




"Something like that," Ddraig muttered. "And actually, it's not like there was only one of those things. I'm sure going and asking the Gods for it is a futile attempt. But, I remember one that shouldn't be in their hands. It might not work, it's probably scrap. Still, something might come out of it, right?"




"Tell me!" Jon asked immediately. Even though going back might be a futile matter, he still wanted to try. He wouldn't do it if he would lose the acquaintances he made in his time on Earth, but if he missed a lot of time between trips, then he would definitely do it! It's true that he's already gotten used to life on Earth, an extremely comfortable and exciting life, but, still, he needed to see what happened in Westeros. Did everyone die already? Did it just take a little time? Did his brothers and sisters form their families? He wanted to see it, he needed to do it to keep his mind at ease.




But, above all, he missed one person: Arya Stark, his beloved younger sister. The person who always ran after him with an excited smile. The one who pouted when she was told she couldn't train because she was a woman or the one who unleashed a huge rage when she fought with her older sister Sansa and her mother, Catelyn Stark.




Jon really missed her.




"Then we need to take a trip to the East. Honestly, I don't remember the exact place, but it should be beyond the Red Sea."




"That... doesn't help much. What exactly are we looking for?"




"The ancient city of Uruk. It should be all ruins and archaeological find stuff, but I refuse to believe that Gilgamesh left everything for the humans of the future to pick up. I hope there's some secret room! And if not, then the Gods took it all out. Although, I doubt it. The Gods of Mesopotamia are already extinct."




Jon was confused. He recognized the Greco-Roman Gods, also the Celtic and Indian ones. He even knew of the Gods of Japan and China. He had a very vague idea of the Gods of Korea, but among the latter countries, several deities could be one and the same. However, he had not read about the Mesopotamian Gods.




"Should I ask Sirzechs to help me?"




"You could. He'll know a lot more about the current situation of the world related to the Gods."




"Haaa~", Jon sighed a little heavily. "Fine. Let's do it." A magic circle appeared on the ground in front of him, causing Sirzechs' figure to suddenly appear. It wasn't a summoning, but a magic for communication. Sirzechs was smaller and his figure was a little transparent.




"Jon... Do you miss me already? I didn't think you'd call so soon."




"Who's missing you? You better go to your wife...", Jon rolled his eyes at his friend's jokes. "I was actually calling you to get information. Do you know if there's anything left of the ancient city of Uruk?"




"Uruk?", Sirzechs looked at Jon with some confusion. "Why do you want to go? It should be pieces of rocks and dust accumulated over the ages."




Jon fell silent, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him the truth about his identity. Honestly, they might not even believe him. But... "Are you alone right now?"




"No. Grayfia is by my side. But don't mind, she's the person I can trust the most."




"Humph," Jon raised his nose slightly. "I thought I was the one she trusted the most. You told me that several times! Oh, how treacherous of you."




"Ahhahaha! You really learned how to joke, Jon!"




"Anyway..." Jon frowned slightly. "Truth be told, I'm an alien."




".... Huh?" Sirzechs stared with a flat expression. He definitely didn't expect that.




"Hey! You should be more surprised! I'm someone from another world, you know?! A person who appeared on planet Earth out of nowhere! I'm kind of worn out here, you know? And Ddraig thought there might be a way to do interstellar travel."




"No, wait... Wait a minute!" Sirzechs raised his hands with wide eyes. "You... are you really serious? Aren't you crazy? Maybe you drank something bad?"




"I'm serious, Sirzechs. I remember perfectly that my planet is called Planetos. And yes, it's not the best name. But it's not like you can complain about the name of this planet. There were three continents discovered: Westeros, Essos and Sothoryos... I think. There could be more, but I didn't pay full attention to Maester Luwin's classes."




Sirzechs was silent for a long time. Then, he began to tremble a little, until he looked to the side and shouted: "Grayfia, look! I made friends with an alien!"




"Ugh... this guy," Jon covered his face with one hand while Ddraig laughed quietly.




The worst of all, were Grayfia's words. "Congratulations, Lord Sirzechs," she said, in her typical serious servant tone.




"So there's a spaceship, huh? I can see it coming from the Gods over there. The Hindu Gods are the most powerful in this Age!"




"What exactly is the object?"




"Ddraig?"




"If I recall correctly, it's called a Vimana. They were palace ships, but there were others that looked more like ships now."




"Oh..." Sirzechs muttered. "I remember one of those things. Surya, the Sun God, has one. It's huge and fast! In ancient times, the way it was shaped, it was a representation of the Sun for humans."




"To be honest, I don't think there's anything in the current territory that was Uruk. But, if you still want to go, I can find out the details."




Jon sighed and smiled. "Thank you."




"You're welcome. Anyway, if you find anything, you have to bring me stuff from another planet. Better if it's a grey octopus creature!"




"Idiot, we're humans on Planetos! I'm a damn human!"




"Ah..."




"Fuck! Why do you sound so disappointed?!" Jon stood up, completely exasperated by Sirzechs' reactions. It was as if the existence of other humans in the universe didn't even matter.




"I'll send you the information in a couple of hours," the Demon King said, completely ignoring Jon. "If there are any other interesting things, just tell me. I want to see it."




"Sure..." Jon replied before sitting back down.




. . . .




In a dark place filled with small and large screens that illuminated with a white and blue light, a man looked curiously at a received message that appeared on one of the screens. He quickly opened the message and smiled.




"Oh? Sirzechs.... But why do you need that kind of information?"




"Vimana, huh? Now I just want to know the reason why you want one," the man leaned back in his chair, thinking about what to do at that moment. A few minutes passed before he started typing on his keyboard.




"Anyway, it's interesting! Let's see what comes out of all this."




. . . .




"Are you completely sure he didn't go mad?" Grayfia asked with clear doubt.




"No. Jon isn't the type to make those kinds of lies. Besides, I looked into it, you know? Despite having IDs from years ago, I couldn't find much about his parents. Just their names and IDs. There were no jobs, studies, or even the rest of the family," Sirzechs sighed a little as he rubbed his closed eyelids.




"I don't know how he got here. It could be some God's game, but I doubt it. They wouldn't gain anything at all from this. Maybe he's a God from their world? In that case it would be more plausible. Still, it's not like it's bad to help him. Especially since he's a friend, right?"




"Well... Yes," Grayfia nodded, but then narrowed her eyes. "It's not because you want to go on a space trip, right?"




"Uh... No." Sirzechs stared at his wife for a long moment, until he felt a drop of sweat running down his back. "It's okay, yes. Wouldn't it be great to see another planet?"




Grayfia shook her head at her husband's nonsense. "You're incorrigible, dear."
 
Chapter 20: The Red Dragon Emperor and the Crow Governor

Underworld, headquarters of the fallen angels, Grigori




A woman walked through the halls of Grigori, holding a small folder between her right arm. She was a voluptuous woman with purple hair and strong looking eyes. She was wearing a business suit that gave her a professional appearance. Her name was Penemue, one of the leaders of the fallen angels, holding a position as Chief Secretary of Grigori.




Walking through the halls until she reached a door that opened to the side with a small sound. Inside, there was a large office, with several screens. A man sat in front of all these screens, curiously looking at various things. Penemue could see several gadgets with detailed schematics, but also a large ship on the central screen.




"Azazel..."




"Oh, Penemue! Has he arrived yet?", the man turned his chair to ask with a smile. Azazel is a tall man who looks to be in his twenties with an average build, black hair, golden bangs, and a black goatee. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to near his elbows, black suit pants, and comfortable shoes.




Penemue nodded before walking over to Azazel, handing over the folder. "It's just like Sirzechs Lucifer said. Even though he has birth information, there's no evidence that he was born in one of New York's hospitals, or anywhere else. It's the same with his parents, known as Eddard Snow and Ashara Dayne. It's like they never existed to begin with."




"Mm… Thank you. I'll head over to research room number one. You can take him there. Or send someone to do it."




"Understood. But, are you completely sure about this?"




"Nope," Azazel replied easily, but he kept his smile. "However, it is interesting. Not only is he the current Red Dragon Emperor who unleashed a never-before-seen transformation, it seems he is also an alien. Isn't that interesting, Penemue? I think even 'that person' couldn't have predicted this kind of situation."




"Just... don't get into too much trouble."




"Oh, dear, you know I was able to hide my tracks quite well. And it's not like I wanted to stir up trouble. This situation can be beneficial to us!"




Penemue frowned. "How?" She didn't understand how helping a stranger could be beneficial to Grigori. Perhaps to Azazel, who tended to indulge any kind of curiosity he had, but not to the organization.




"I was never too interested in using that thing. But if it works... We could even make a base on the Moon! That would be fun!"




Sighing at the ideas of his old friend and boss, Penemu decided it was best to head out and lead Jon Snow to the research room.




. . . .

Jon looked around the large Grigori facility with great interest. He didn't think he'd come to a place like this, but here he was, walking through the halls, looking at the research rooms they had. The fallen worked on a lot of things; from medicine to sacred gear, he could even see a dock where they researched all kinds of vehicles for them to create their own. It was like being inside a sci-fi anime! There were robotic arms that moved and installed things, holographic screens, small robots, and also magic that involved their creations.




Being guided by the woman named Penemue, who had introduced herself a few minutes ago, they came to a large door. On the top, it was printed: 01, indicating that it was the first research room. When the metal doors opened to the sides, Jon could see a large space. Inside were huge metal boxes stacked on one side. On the top, there were walkways with stairs leading up to them. It almost looked like a gigantic hangar. And in the center of it all, there was what looked like a ship. It wasn't a palace with big shiny decorations, like Ddraig described some of the Vimana. This one almost looked like a huge paper airplane.




Obviously, the Vimana wasn't made of paper, but of paper and emeralds. It was like they had taken those materials before folding them, creating triangle-shaped wings on each side. The top was a flat surface, with a dome that had a throne right in the middle. At the back, there was another pair of wings, but these ones looked like they were made of emerald green glass. It was really pretty, luxurious, and aerodynamic!




Jon snapped out of his shocked state when he heard a voice.




"Welcome to Grigori, Jon Snow! Or, well, that's what I would have said if I had welcomed you. I think Penemue already welcomed you."




Jon looked at the man with a bit of curiosity. "Are you Azazel? The Governor-General of Grigori?" The man looked quite young, almost like Sirzechs, but less handsome.




"That's me, yes," Azazel walked over and lowered his back, looking closely at Jon as he stroked his goatee with two fingers. "You really don't look any different. I wonder if you'd let me examine you more carefully. It's the first time I've seen someone from another planet."




"I'm a human, in case Sirzechs hasn't told you."




"He did mention that. But, I'm really curious. I mean, you come from another planet. Do you get sick like humans from Earth do? It's a good thing you weren't sick when you arrived, because it would be very bad if you infected another with unknown diseases."




Hearing that, Jon paled. He never thought about that kind of thing! "I... wasn't sick."




Azazel nodded before standing up straight and turning his body to look at the Vimana ship. "There's what you were looking for. We fixed it when we found it buried beneath a Ziggurat. I have no problem giving it up, but what do we get in return?"




Jon frowned a little as he thought. He didn't think about that either. But it was suitable, right? Transactions worked that way.




"I don't have much to give you. It's true that I have information from my world, but I don't think it's from..."




"Deal!"




"Huh?"




Azazel glanced at Jon. "I'm interested in information from another world. Would you be willing to give me your memories? I can copy them so I can see the landscapes you saw in the past. Things like language, weapons, knowledge; I can get that out of copying your memories."




"Can you do such a thing? Impressive. I don't mind if you want that. Although... I feel like it's not an adequate payment, you know? You're giving me an entire ship."




"You'll be around for a while, so we can talk about that sort of thing another time."




"What do you mean?"




"Well... the Vimana doesn't work all that well. It's capable of leaving the Earth's atmosphere into outer space, but it can't reach the Moon. The energy needed to travel at high speeds outside the solar system is enormous. We'll have to do some research and improve it. Well, I'm sure it's possible."




"I thought it would work with magic."




"Even if that were the case, do you have the necessary amount for a trip outside the solar system? Besides, you don't know where your planet is either, right? That's why your memories are important too. Do you remember some kind of constellation? We could start with that."




Jon thought about it for a bit. He didn't quite remember, but there was something called the seven wanderers. Each one was equated with an aspect of the God who presided over the Faith of the Seven. He remembered there was a constellation called the Ice Dragon and another called the Sword of the Morning.




When Azazel heard that, he frowned a bit. "A solar system with seven planets… eight if we count yours? That might be very, very far away. Man, I really hope you don't have too many expectations."




"Don't worry. From the start, I was hoping that I wouldn't be able to make round trips. It doesn't matter if I can't, I just want to rule out all possibilities."




"Then it's fine," Azazel smiled.




Suddenly, the Boosted Gear gem appeared in Jon's left hand. "I have a doubt."




"Oh, Ddraig, huh? It's been a while, old dragon."




"Yeah... I see you're still acting all nonchalant. Or rather, you're still a scheming bastard."




"Ha, ha, ha, ha! I'll take that as praise from the Celestial Dragon who grasped the concept of domination."




"Humph... As I was saying, I have a doubt. Can't the dimensional gap be used for travel?"




Azazel's eyes widened upon hearing the idea. "That... might actually be a solution!"




"What is the dimensional gap?" Jon asked curiously. He'd never heard of it.




Azazel smiled as he crossed his arms and looked at the Vimaba. It's a gap, just like the name says. A world of 'nothingness', where the current True Dragon, Great Red, flies continuously. In the past, it was the home of the Dragon God Ouroboros, Ophis. You can only survive in that place if you have enough magic power, demonic power, or proper protection. However, it can be used as a travel space. From there, you could pass from the Underworld to the human world. Even reaching Heaven wouldn't be a problem if you can get past the protections of that place. Space hardly seems to matter in that place."




"... The more things I hear about Earth, the more magical it seems to me."




"Didn't you have magic things in Planetos?"




"Not really... I think. It's said that there was magic, but it disappeared along with the dragons. Although, now that I think about it, those so-called dragons, they don't look like the ones here. It's true that they could grow very large, but their front limbs were attached to their wings."




"Sounds like a Wyvern to me."




"Yeah. It's even said that there are Wyverns on one of the continents. Aggressive bastards that just want to eat. But, in history, there was a dragon that cast a shadow over villages with its size. The Black Terror, they called it."




"Interesting... Although I doubt magic can really disappear just because dragons ceased to exist."




"Anyway!" Azazel looked at Jon somewhat kindly. "You can stay here. There are training rooms, food, and a lot of things to learn."




"Mmm... I guess I'll do that. It's not like I have anything else to do anyway."




"Great! I had a lot of ideas I wanted to share with you," Azazel smiled.
 
Chapter 21: Grigori's Investigations

Azazel, Governor General of Grigori, felt like he did when he was an angel thousands of years ago. In the past, he researched many things in one of the seven heavens, alongside many fellow angels and friends. It wasn't just about human nature or the things they invented as they evolved. They also did research on Sacred Gears in that very place. Many curious ideas and things passed through the Fifth Heaven when it was the home of those who are now Grigori.





When Sirzechs contacted him, telling him a part of Jon's story, he first thought that the Demon King Lucifer was sending him a joke because of what happened at their last boys' meeting. But, after receiving more and more information, he became interested. Even more so now that Jon agreed to show him his memories; images of a medieval world appeared on the screen! Swords, Houses, and Lords that ruled everything! Gods unknown to him, and also lost magic along with continents that have yet to be fully discovered.





For the first time in a long time, Azazel felt genuinely surprised and amazed. In the past, he lived in a time like that, where kings reigned within huge castles and had honorable knights with shining swords. The urge he felt to build a spaceship increased strongly at that moment.





Ideas and schemes were popping into his mind, almost as if they were saying: Did you call? The Vice Governor General, Shemhazai, was looking at him from the corner of his eye. He could clearly see the excited and impatient smile of his old friend. He hoped that he wouldn't do anything so crazy, but he wasn't fooling himself either. He understood perfectly that, from now on, Azazel would concentrate on creating a spaceship. His work would increase, which caused him a little annoyance. However, it wasn't so bad. It had been a while since he saw his friend so happy.





"Hey, Shemhazai."





"What?"





"I'd like you to call our friends in Asgard. I want to use our last favor."





"What exactly do you want to ask for?" Shemhazai asked as he looked at her with some doubt.





"Skidbladnir."





He meant that such things were too rare. The dwarves who created Thor's hammer made very few, and one of them was already used by one of the Gods of Asgard. But, anyway, they had nothing to lose by trying. "Fine. I'll do that. But don't do any crazy swimming while I'm gone, Azazel."





"Fine, fine. Who do you think I am? I know perfectly well what not to do. I'm not a damn child!"





As Shemhazai left, leaving the door closed. Azazel moved his hands to move all the holographic schematics in front of him. At the same time, he muttered his plans. "The Vimana can already fly at the speed of thought. However, it can't withstand the environment in outer space as well. If we can combine it with a Skidbladnir, which can grow alongside its user, then many problems could be solved. The wards would no longer be a problem, and it would just be left to solve their way of navigating space."





Azazel stared thoughtfully with one hand on his chest and the other stroking his goatee. "The dimensional rift, huh? While it is a space that allows for transportation between different worlds, is it really infinite? Could it really be used to propel the ship? We would need to make modifications to the Vimana anyway."





"Wait, even if the rift itself can't be used as a path, we could use that energy to create the necessary thrust for interstellar travel," Azazel smiled as he moved his hands once more, creating various diagrams and drawings that resembled engines. To the side, there were complex calculations and magic formulas that accompanied the drawings.





"However, something would also be needed to create more of said energy, or sustain it long enough for a round trip. Mm... It's complicated! Complicated but exciting!"





Azazel was not only excited by his researcher's desire, but also by his dream. He wanted to create a functional Sacred Gear, like the ones God made. Right now, he had one, but it was made under a contract with a certain dragon, and it wasn't the best. But, if he could create the ship Jon needed, wouldn't he be closer to his dream? Or even that ship could be the fulfillment of the dream.





The Governor General trembled with expectations.





. . . . .


In research room number 2, many fallen angels were working on the Vimana. While room number one, renamed Hangar, was the ship, room number two was researching its parts and what made it work so well. It had been weeks since Jon arrived and Azazel ordered most of them to focus on the project.





Right now, almost everyone was focused on the core of the Vimana. In the past, it was said that these machines created by the gods, were powered by hot mercury. The rear wings that looked like emerald glass panels were supposed to receive sunlight so that the mercury would heat up. In short, they were solar panels.





However, the researchers had come to a problem.





A black-haired man had a frown on his face as he quickly moved his fingers over the keys of a keyboard. The screen showed an image of the silvery mercury-like liquid. Like was the key word here, because the researchers could tell that it was not actually mercury. For that reason, right now, this person was investigating their entire base and comparing the results: to find out what exactly that liquid metal was.





A couple more researchers were waiting impatiently, while others were working on the solar panels and the throne of the Vimana.





Ping!





With a sound, the screen stopped next to the researcher's hands. The three present in front of the large computer stood with their eyes wide open.





"What the hell?!"





"Hey! This has to be a joke, right? Those two places weren't supposed to have been in contact so long ago! Right? Or did I miss something in my fall from Heaven? Maybe I hit my head too hard!"





"No... the results are conclusive. It's definitely Orichalcum," the head researcher, Sahariel, frowned as he said so. He adjusted his thick glasses before speaking again. "This might solve the problem, but it also leaves us with a question. Did God really contact them so soon? From our investigations, we could understand that several Sacred Gears were created with orichalcum."





"Please don't joke, boss. What solution? We don't have any of that material! Azazel-san is supposed to have used up all of the remaining material with his artificial Sacred Gear!"





Sahariel smirked as she glanced at her subordinate. "And where do you think he got it from? I know where we can find orichalcum. What I don't know is if it will be enough for this project. The one in the Vimana, you know it's not enough. It was probably used up when it was used in the past."





"I have a question," the third subordinate said. "How come Azazel-san didn't notice before? He's supposed to be researching the Vimana."





"True," Sahariel nodded. "But he didn't do it enough. He wasn't too interested in the ship at the time, so he just dismissed the liquid metal as mercury as rumors of the past said."





"We'll have to report this discovery. As well as create two expeditions."





"Where?"





Sahariel frowned at that moment.





"To the Moon and the ancient continent of Antarctica."





"Oh, well... Wait, what?!





. . . . .


"What exactly is Orichalcum?" Jon asked curiously, looking at Sahariel and Azazel, who were standing in front of him. He had just finished training against one of the Cadre, Barquiel. That man, despite having a calm and gentle disposition, was unexpectedly a pervert who enjoyed getting hit.





Sahariel adjusted her glasses while Azazel sat down beside Jon. "Orichalcum is an extremely rare metal. It's not something that was born inside the planet, but came from outside. When the earth was still in its primitive state, some meteorites containing it fell. One of them fell on the ancient continent of Antarctica. And when Atlantis was on the surface, they received some of it as well. Over time, with what little they had, the Atlanteans managed to create something known as pseudo-orichalcum. It's not the best, but it's still valuable."





"There's also some of it on the Moon, which in the past also received some impacts."





"Wait..." Jon raised his hand. "Ancient continent? I thought Antarctica was still a continent to this day."





"True. But when I say ancient continent, I mean the parts that sank with the passage of time and the different changes in the land mass. Simply put, if we want to find out if there really is Orichalcum, we'll have to dive. Well, it's not really a problem, but it's still a bit dangerous."





"We've already investigated the surface of present-day Antarctica. From there we got what little we found so this guy could make his artificial Sacred Gear. Tch, now that we know what the Vimana's core is made of, I can't help but curse you, Azazel."





"Hey, it's not my fault, right?" Azazel waved his hands to the sides. "None of us were too interested in the Vimana, not until now."





".....True," Sahariel sighed a bit.





"So...," Jon looked at the head researcher curiously. "Do you want me to go with you?"





"Right. Even though we have strength, having someone else would be better. Besides, I thought you'd want to see interesting things. As an interstellar traveler, wouldn't you?"





Jon smiled and nodded. "I'm very interested, actually. It sounds like an interesting trip."





Suddenly, Ddraig chimed in with a curious voice. "That metal... is it perhaps a coppery color and gives off a slight silvery glow?"





"Eh, yes. As expected of Ddraig Goch! You really know your stuff," Sahariel smiled as she listened to Ddraig.





"It has interesting properties. And it's so good because it can maintain them for a long time, if not indefinitely. I haven't studied it, but perhaps your gauntlet is made from Orichalcum. It could be a reason it can even hide deep within a human soul."





"Things like enchantments, magic, and such will be remembered by the metal. And when it melts, it turns silver in color. That's why it's similar to mercury in appearance."





Ddraig muttered a little. "If we can't find anything in the places you've designated, we can try something else. But until then, it's best not to say it."





"Why?"





"It's dangerous, even more so for a host of mine."





Everyone was a little confused by that, but they let it go for the moment. There were more important things to do.





"Just tell me how to prepare," Jon said a little excitedly.





"I'd like to go too, but I have things to do here," Azazel said before sighing. "I'm close to doing something interesting."





Sahariel looked at Jon. "Come with me. I'll show you our equipment."





_______________________
 
Chapter 22: Terra Australis Incognita (I)

The journey to collect Orichalcum began in the Underworld, loading all the necessary equipment for research and extraction of the material onto a ship that also served as a submarine. Jon had observed the large vessel in awe. It was black, of impressive size. There were cabins on top, but there were only two, one on top of the other, almost at the back. Further up, the vessel had railings to support itself, a crane right in the front, accompanied by what looked like a long drill on the bow.





The fallen angels, but also some humans involved in the supernatural, loaded, accommodated and recorded everything that was brought on. Another group seemed to be doing maintenance on certain gadgets. It took them two full days to finish the job, because no one wanted to use magic. Many said that they simply preferred to do everything carefully rather than do it quickly and cause problems. But, after everything was said and done, Jon climbed in and sat down in one of the cabin seats, looking out at the outside as a magic circle glowed brightly around the vessel.





Sahariel, who would be the expedition leader, smiled at him before everything lit up. The sun's glare suddenly came through the windows, so Jon had to cover his eyes a bit. But, when he looked at the landscape, he smiled at the sight of the sea all around. He thought the teleportation would be a lot busier, but he barely felt it.





"Where are we exactly?"





"Near the Korguelen Plateau," Sahariel replied as she walked over to a table, right in the center of the cabin. Around it were seats where several people were sitting, looking at screens and moving their hands over keyboards and buttons. Jon walked over to the table, just as Sahariel put her hand out, causing a hologram to emerge. Floating out, a map appeared. It showed Antarctica, but also nearby Australia. The green dot indicated where they were, and just off to the side of their location, there was a small island.





"We'll travel to the edge of the Antarctic Polar Front. From there, we'll dive immediately. By the way, guys, I want you to lift the cloaking in about fifteen minutes! We don't want any human monitoring to detect us."





"Understood!" they all raised their voices as one.





"Jon, take this in case you get bored," Sahariel crouched down a bit before pressing a part of the table, causing a small drawer to open. Inside, there was a portable device. "Here you go..."





Jon looked at it curiously. "You can learn about where we're going from there. In the end, the trip won't be as entertaining as you expect. Of course, things will get interesting once we dive."





"Fine. Thanks," Jon smiled before going to sit near one of the windows.





. . . .





As they traveled, Sahariel gave several orders, while Jon learned a little. The continent of Antarctica was on the Antarctic plate. This tectonic plate was formed after the breakup of Gondwana, the southern part of the supercontinent Pangaea, about 180 million years ago. During all that time, (after the separation) the plate was slowly moving the continent, to the point where it was now, causing the continent to have a much colder climate.





Currently, Antarctica was not only that large land mass, but also included part of the sea and islands. Within the place, only two species of flowering plants grew: Antarctic grass and Antarctic pearl. Of course, there were a variety of mosses, macrofungi, lichens and more.





Jon was paying attention to all the information he had on the portable device. After all, he had to be careful of any animal within the sea. They would dive later, and Sahariel mentioned that they might even have to get out of the boat themselves.





He was impressed by the whales, which he also knew existed on Planetos, and was a bit amused by the penguins.





. . . .


It was hours later, almost at dusk, when they began to submerge.





"Camouflage-type protection activated! Sound, trace, heat, and shape, all hidden!"





"Filling main tanks!" another person shouted.





"Activating magical air devices!"





Jon watched in wonder as they began to slowly descend. Magic circles appeared around what was now a submarine. When they disappeared, a layer of yellow light covered everything around before disappearing, as if it didn't exist. But Jon knew it was there, he could feel it. Water began to touch the cabin windows as they slowly descended. The orange light of the setting sun faded the further they went.





"Normal thrusters deactivated. Activating magical thrusters," a voice caught Jon's attention, just as the thrust suddenly increased. The submarine moved a little before returning to normal, but now they were descending at high speed, causing the sea water to ripple strongly as they advanced.





The sonars began to operate at full capacity at that moment, as did all the guidance and mapping devices.





"Three minutes to five hundred meters depth."





Sahariel nodded at that moment. "Upon reaching that level, I shut down all normal engines and begin operating with the magic charge engines."





"Jon, do you want to go out?"





"Huh?"





"The protection has already been lifted."





Jon looked out the window; he had been staring at the surface, which he barely noticed as there was no water actually reaching the windows like before. The deck, despite being wet from the dive, was now not submerged.





"Oh... I think I'll go check," Jon nodded before standing up.





"Make sure you wear the special suit."





Jon nodded once more, walking out of the cabin. He passed through a narrow hallway before going down steep stairs. He already knew the way, so he quickly went to the suit storage. In that place, the door was larger and opened to the sides, revealing a large room. There were weapons that used light magic arranged on one side, and on the other were the suits hanging inside glass-doored cabinets.





The suit was black and white, it clung to his body, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Jon moved his limbs and smiled before grabbing a helmet, just in case. He knew that the suits, even though they looked thin, could protect him against the pressure of the sea at great depths, just like the helmet. In addition, they regulated the temperature so he didn't feel cold. And if that wasn't enough, the helmet had enough oxygen to last three days under the sea.





Despite how simple it looked, it was an impressive creation.





"I don't know why you need it. You can use the armor."





"True. But, I want to try this. I don't know if I'll have the chance in the future," Jon smiled. He knew that his Balance Breaker allowed him to not only survive under the sea, but also in the dimensional rift. According to Ddraig, he could even float in outer space. Jon doubted it at first, but when Ddraig told him that, inside the dimensional rift, if the gods did not have the protection of his powers, they would still perish, even with their powerful bodies, then he believed him.





And according to the stories, the gods could survive outer space.





As Jon began to climb the stairs to the hatch, he saw the sea and the sunlight that was already disappearing on the surface. His face twisted into a smile at the experiences he was having. With everything he lived on Earth, even if he could return to Planetos, he would not stay to live there. He preferred life where he was now, planet Earth.





"Amazing..." he said as he walked along the deck, looking at shadows in the distance. "Are they sea animals?"





"Maybe," Ddraig commented. "Though they could also be glacials."





"You've never been under the sea, Ddraig?"





"Just once, but not this deep. At that time, Albion managed to get a good hit on me. However, the great me burned the sea! Ha ha ha ha!"





Jon rolled his eyes at his friend's narcissism.





"True, why don't you take pictures? Azazel gave you a camera before you left."





"True... I had completely forgotten," Jon pulled out a camera from his storage pocket. A small magic circle emerged over his hand, and a second later he had his camera. It was a bit large, but according to Azazel, it had wonderful magnification and definition.





Jon didn't quite understand, he just started taking pictures of the sea as they descended further and further. Soon, a glacier came into view from afar, so as he was taught, he used the magnification before taking the picture.





As he did so, the shielding surrounding the submarine glowed once more. And then, the speed of the dive seemed to double.





"Did we pass five hundred meters?"





"More like a thousand, bro. If it weren't for the lights, we'd already be completely dark here. This trip is fun! I hope we find powerful animals to fight!"





"Don't say that," Jon frowned. "I don't really want to fight right now."





"Oh, come on. Don't be boring. Maybe we'll find animals from the past down here! I want to burn a kraken! Its meat is better than an octopus."





"You and your desire to eat. I don't know if that's worse or your desire to fight."





"It's the only thing you can have in here! Wishes!" Ddraig felt like crying, but he had no tears to do so.


__________________________


 
Chapter 23: Terra Australis Incógnita (II)

The sound of whales singing, the deep sea creating powerful sounds around the ship. The lights that couldn't penetrate all the darkness and figures that seemed to move in the distance, right on the horizon created by the powerful spotlights. Jon lay on the deck, relaxed but still amazed by what he was experiencing.





At that moment, as he traveled more than four thousand meters deep in the Antarctic Ocean, he thought that he wouldn't change his life for anything; a chance to be a knight in Westeros? No way. Not even if they threw him a crown and told him he could be King. The life of a bastard, in a world dominated by Houses and Lords, now seemed simply disappointing and boring. He had dreamed of those things many times in the past, he even wished to have Winterfell for himself, but he always dismissed that last idea. It scared him to think that Catelyn Stark could be right, and that for that dream to come true, his brothers would have to be dead. It wasn't worth it. The death of his brothers was not a price he would pay to have Winterfell.





But now? Winterfell seemed to be a dull and overly gray thing compared to a deep sea voyage, fun battles, a friend and brother in the form of a Celestial Dragon, and his new friends from other races. Besides, in the future, having things like castles, servants, animals, etc. would be easy. His own work at his restaurant already gave him a comfortable living. If he added the things he received from Sirzechs, then he didn't even have to work anymore.





And while he didn't have territories, he was considered an Emperor. The Red Dragon Emperor, one of the existences that could grow to frighten the Gods.





"What do you think?" Ddraig asked curiously. "You always make a weird face when you think."





"I don't..." Jon sighed, remembering Arya, who said similar things. "I was just thinking that I wouldn't change my life from now."





"Oh? Not even for those things you wanted on your planet?"





"Not even for that. I would miss all of this too much. And you too, partner."





".... ", Ddraig fell silent, but he felt Jon's affection reach his heart. He knew that Jon was not yet powerful enough to face those characters of the world considered true monsters, but he felt that with a little time, they could do anything.





At that moment, when both felt the bond that united them, something deep within the Sacred Gear began to emerge. Not even Ddraig could feel it at that moment, but in the future, he would realize that...





"Jon!", Sahariel's voice came from the hatch. The head of the chief researcher protruded from the hole.





"Sahariel? Did something happen?"





"We've reached five thousand meters deep. We should start seeing some peaks soon. I want you to look carefully from now on. Even we haven't gone this deep before."





"I see," Jon stood up as he put on his helmet. It was white with a black visor. Inside, that visor worked as a screen. A dim green light appeared with a circle in the middle, which moved around trying to detect any movement.





"Ddraig, do you think we'll find anything?"





"I don't know. At this depth, finding a meteorite would be like looking for a needle in a haystack," Ddraig commented doubtfully. "Sahariel said that the sunken parts of the continent are large enough to create a small country."





"Yeah, you're right. But I was referring to other things."





"Mm?"





"Monsters. Even though I don't really feel like fighting, I do want to enjoy myself. And seeing monsters..."





"Ah, yeah. That would be interesting. We saw a giant squid a little while ago. But I don't think so. I mean, they're probably fossils, if they weren't crushed by the pressure."





Jon just muttered as he looked at the screen near his eyes. The circle suddenly stopped before Jon ordered the AI to zoom in. Less than a thousand meters directly in front, there was a mountain. It didn't look too big, but it was evidently a steep and wide piece of land.





"That's quite a mountain—" Jon stopped abruptly as his visor began to get interference. It flickered constantly before it shut off.





Shjrk!


A sound came from the side of his helmet as he had to move his head to the side and squeeze his head a little in pain.





Just as he was wondering what was going on, all the lights in the submarine went out. Looking back, Jon could see a bit of Sahariel's figure standing right in the middle of the cabin. It was too dark to see properly. Deciding it was best to go inside to see what was going on, Jon opened the hatch. He turned the handle a few times before pulling. He climbed down the ladder before closing it, then opened the door by lifting another handle. Alarm sounds reached his ears at that moment, as a yellow light flickered down the hallway.





Frowning, Jon closed the door and walked a little nervously towards the cockpit. When he reached the stairs, he found the cockpit door open as he heard the voices of the technicians and researchers.





"Boss, magic detected is quite high! Normal technology doesn't work."





"Don't be silly! There's no way technology can stop working just because of magic!" Sahariel shouted angrily. "I want to know the exact amount of magic we can detect!"





Jon walked in, seeing several screens flashing with alerts. He looked at Sahariel in concern.





"What happened?"





Looking at Jon, Sahariel shook her head as she looked out at the deep sea. "I don't know exactly. For some strange reason, we've detected magic in the surroundings. That should be impossible though. There's nothing here that can emit that much power!"





Jon frowned a little. He knew that magic couldn't make technology stop working. If that was the case, then cities around the world wouldn't be able to function properly.





"I don't know everything about magic, but aren't there phenomena or spells capable of causing this kind of effect?"





"Spells capable of affecting the functioning of technology? Not really. That's kind of useless. If you want to make certain devices stop working, you just have to destroy it, right? You throw a fireball, ice spikes, explosions, whatever." Sahariel replied as her frown deepened. She stroked her chin a bit as she thought.





"As for a magical phenomenon...," the Grigori researcher's eyes widened in shock. "Use the perimeter magic analysis device!"





"Understood!"





"Display it on the main screen," Sahariel ordered, then the screen hanging just above the holographic table, lit up showing the submarine in the center with the deep sea surrounding it. Analysis waves began to appear and spread across the entire screen. And right in front of the submarine, almost off-screen, the circle was falling apart, as if it collided with something.





"I knew it! Good thinking, Jon."


"Me? I didn't do anything though."





"No, but your words gave me a clue," Sahariel smiled. "When a dimension is created that is too large, it causes ripples in space."





"Wait, if that's true, shouldn't the Underworld and Heaven cause the same effect?" Jon asked in confusion.





"No. The Underworld already existed before the creation of the demon race, as did Heaven. Even though they are considered different spaces, the reality is that they are worlds within a main world. Imagine a large sphere; in the center is the Earth, inside the Earth, there would be the Underworld. At the top of the planet, there would be Heaven. It's not so exact to explain it that way, but it's the easiest to understand. However, if a dimension was created using spatial magic right now, then it would create ripples in space that would cause technology to deteriorate."





"So…" Jon put on a strange expression. "Did someone create a dimensional space in front of us?"





"It's the only alternative. And it shouldn't be that big either, because it would have affected us earlier if it was that way. Who would do that kind of thing? It's too obvious! If someone from the supernatural world





"He- Boss...", a slightly nervous voice decided to speak at that moment.





"What's wrong?", Sahariel turned her head to look at the man.





"I- It's... the magic detected by the analysis device shows that it's high-grade holy magic. I... Sahariel-san, this could only have been created by 'that person'."





Sahariel's eyes widened before she ran to the man's screen. Looking at the result, she gulped before looking out the cabin's windows. "Advance. Proceed with caution."





Jon didn't know what to say at that moment. Seeing the always calm Sahariel nervous made Jon nervous and afraid of what lay ahead. In the end, he decided to walk up to the windows to look directly.





He was holding his breath as he waited. Something told him that something incredible would appear.





"This feeling..." Ddraig growled at that moment. "I remember this feeling perfectly. Grrr. It's that idiot."





"Ddraig?"





"Just look ahead, partner. He should be making his presence felt by now," Ddraig said before snorting. It was just in time for an unearthly glow to appear in front of the submarine. It started with a point of golden light before it released rays everywhere. The submarine lit up so brightly that everyone had to cover their eyes.





Jon heard at that moment: "Oh, father. How many secrets did you keep until your death?"





As he felt the light fading, Jon pulled his arm out from in front of his face and looked: huge... No, gigantic golden circles of magic appeared in his sight. They were surrounding a piece of land submerged in the depths. Circles upon circles, stacked and arranged like gears to work together.





"This is..." Jon narrowed his eyes a little. "Are they seals?"





"They are, partner," Ddraig answered affirmatively. "And they're very powerful. There could be something dangerous inside, though perhaps it's something that guy planned. His skills at foreseeing the future were quite good."





"In any case— Huh?!" Ddraig let out a stupefied cry. It was so sudden that Sahariel, who had been muttering while looking at the seals, was startled. "What the hell?! That guy could even do that?!"





"Ddraig?"





"Look ahead, mate! I can feel it better because I know what it looked like. But that light approaching, it's definitely... !"





"So it's one of my fallen children, huh?" a voice rang out throughout the submarine, surprising everyone. A golden light was approaching from the seals. It was traveling fast. First it was like a speck, then it looked like a glowing sphere, until it arrived in front of the windows, like a large ball of light that emitted faint rays of white light.





"Hey, hey, hey..." Jon opened his eyes wide as he better felt the presence that existed in the ball of light. "Don't tell me that..."





"Father..." Sahariel looked with eyes full of tears.
 
Chapter 24: Terra Australis Incógnita (III)

A deathly silence fell inside the submarine when the ball of light passed through the windows. It didn't matter if they were fallen angels or humans, they all began to whisper the words: God and Father. No one could deny that the presence belonged to that person; the biblical God. The one who reigned over the Heavens; that God who created the angels. Said being, who created Lilith, Adam and Eve. The one who hated dragons and loved humanity.





Jon felt that his presence was warm, but also a little oppressive. His voice was calm, but also heavy. He was supposed to be dead, but here he was, apparently still alive.





"How?!", Sahariel decided to ask as tears fell down her cheeks. "How are you alive?! Father!"





"..... Alive?", after a bit of silence, God answered. "Sadly, I'm already dead. What you see right now is just a small part of me that I left behind to guard this place. You kids shouldn't have come this far."





"You're not telling me where to go, you bastard!" Ddraig roared at that moment, causing Jon to sweat in fear. They were facing God! Not a normal God, but the one who created Sacred Gears and angels! An existence that would definitely be at the top of the most powerful list if he were still alive. He wasn't an opponent they could defeat right now!





"That voice... Is it you, Ddraig? If you're with that child, it must have been a while."





"Don't give me your greetings, Yahweh. I still hate you, you know?"





"Is that so? Even in this form, which is a mere echo, I can still feel emotions. To me, you seem quite at ease. Is it because of that child? He's a... Huh...? You, child, aren't you from Earth?"





"Uh... No?" Jon didn't really know how to behave.





"No wonder! You feel different."





"My partner is not for you to analyze, twinkles!"





"Haaa~ Calm down, Ddraig. I was just impressed to see a human from another place. I, as a God bound to humanity, can tell. I was just curious, you don't have to be so defensive."





"You destroyed my body!"





".... You were too destructive."





"No! What's with that silence at the beginning?! You definitely resented me!"





"Anyway, Sahariel," Yahweh decided to ignore Ddraig. "Why have you descended to this place?"





Sahariel looked at the ball of light longingly as she replied. "Investigations. Jon, as he is not from Earth, began to investigate ways to return home. Sirzechs, the current Demon King Lucifer contacted Azazel, who began to build a ship like a Vimana and a Skidbladnir as a base. However, we need Orichalcum to run the ship's core reactor."





Sighing to take a break from her father's presence, Sahariel continued shortly after. "I knew that a meteorite fell in Antarctica a while ago. We managed to take some a while back, but it was used for Azazel to create an artificial sacred gear. Now we were hoping to find more in the depths of the Antarctic ocean."





The ball of light that was Yahweh vibrated for a moment. "Current Demon King Lucifer? That's right, he died alongside me... What is the current one like?"





"Well?" Sahariel replied with some doubt. "I mean, the Underworld doesn't work like it used to. They left the business of suffering, domination, and soul-stealing in the past. Many humans have joined their ranks through a process of reincarnation. Of course, evildoers don't cease to exist, but even if the enmity between the three sides continues, a peace agreement is already being sought to form a full alliance."





"That... Haaa~ What a pity, I'd like to witness those kinds of changes. Well, it really can't be helped."





"Father..." Sahariel decided to ask an important question. "What did you seal in that place?"


Yahweh was silent for a long moment, until he moved softly until he came to the side of Sahariel, who could feel the presence of God much better. Once upon a time, when he and the rest of the fallen, could feel that warm presence above their heads. Sahariel, as an angel, was not a really powerful existence, but it is not like he committed heinous crimes either. His mistake was feeling love for a human woman, a love so great that it made him sleep with her. And all the fallen who descended from the Fifth Heaven, went through similar things, including Azazel.





"That...", Sahariel came out of his thoughts when he heard his father's voice. "It's not like I can stop them anyway, but proceed with caution. They may be able to pass through the seals, but they will definitely enter into a life or death struggle."





"EH!", Ddraig raised his voice. "It seems that you could not predict this."





"Not really," Yaweh easily acknowledged. "My predictions are tied to Earth's humanity. And that child is from outside, an inhabitant of another world. Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it, that child is not tied to Earth. And you must be careful boy, your actions can bring about changes both good and bad."





"It doesn't matter if something bad appears! Jon will become the strongest Emperor Dragon of the past and the future. I know it. I can feel it in my scales."





"Then it's good, Ddraig. Because in this world, there exist two extremely dangerous things. This is the first, and the second, the one that bears the number of the beast, is sealed somewhere else."





"Trihexa?!" Sahariel exclaimed in shock.





"That very one. It was the true cause of my weakness in the Great War. I had to deploy thousands of forbidden seals on the Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse in order to properly seal it."





"The... Thing... that is sealed in front of you, does not come from this world. It is an alien thing. It is not human, it is not even made of flesh and bones. It is a machine from beyond the solar system."





"What?!", Sahariel shouted once more, while all the technicians of the submarine whispered in disbelief.





"If it were not for the fact that it can detect its appearance, then the Earth would have been finished millions of years ago."





"Can you tell us anything else, Father?", Sahariel asked worriedly. "How strong is it?"





"Fortunately, it cannot use magic. All of its attacks are based on advanced technology. When it was alive and I came to stop it, I was able to disconnect its communication systems and GPS, so the civilization that sent it does not know where the Earth is. They can fight with everything they have without problems. I will accompany them during the battle."





"It seems that you want us to face it. Even though you said that it was better not to enter," Jon commented for the first time.





"You're right, kid. Even though I'd rather they live, leaving that thing is too dangerous."





Jon frowned. "Do we have a chance?"





"I said it would be a life-or-death battle, but not that it's an unwinnable battle."





Sahariel frowned before starting to work on the holographic terminal. Soon, Azazel appeared on the video call.





"Sahariel?"





"Oh, isn't that Azazel? How nostalgic..."





Azazel froze upon hearing that voice. His smile trembled as his eyes trembled slightly. "Hey, that voice..."





"There's no time!" Sahariel interrupted him. "Azazel, we've discovered a dimension created and sealed by Father long ago. According to the echo it left behind, it's a mechanical life form from outside the solar system... We'll go in!"


"What?! Wait a minute, Sahariel! I'm confused right now. An echo of Father? Mechanical lifeform? Seals? Nothing makes sense!"





"Azazel!" Sahariel raised his voice as he looked down. "I... right now, I want to. Please, just once. Just once, let me make things right."





"I think my fallen comrades may feel the same way. No one here regrets loving. But... we regret walking away from his grace. So, please..."





Azazel had a look filled with pain as he looked at Sahariel.





"You... Fine... Just... make sure you come home! Jon!"





"Yes, Azazel?"





"Please take care of him."





"I can't promise anything, but I'll do what I can."





"That's enough..." Azazel nodded before falling silent for a few moments. "You're there, aren't you, old man? Listen, if my brothers don't come back, even if you're dead, I'll really hate you. This... this kind of thing isn't something you can just do. Appearing out of nowhere! Spouting this kind of crap and then asking them to go to war with something completely unknown to them!"





"You can't just think it's okay because of who you are!"





Yahweh gently moved until he was standing above Sahariel's head. And, for an instant, Azazel thought he was seeing his brother in the form of an angel. "I never intended to cause harm to my children. Although... I have to say, I never thought they would feel this way, as Sahariel showed. Perhaps... I was a little harsh in the past."





Looking at the ball that was his father's echo, Azazel frowned. "Why? This is something I always wanted to ask, but never could: Why did you push us away simply for loving human women? Would it have been fine if they were angels like we were back then?"





"I've never hated humanity, my child. Never. And it was never because those women were humans. Love is a universal thing, everyone has at least a little of it, even the most twisted people. But did you ever wonder why humans were born? Or, why did I get angry when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge? Humans have the greatest potential; they are born weak, but with enough, they can be the strongest. They can persevere in incredible ways, to the point that their desires serve as a method of propulsion in the sacred gear. However, they can also use their strengths for evil."





"If I didn't do anything with you, the others would think that what you did was right. At that point, wouldn't everyone have fallen?"





Azazel looked to the side, as if he was avoiding God's gaze. He clicked his tongue, "Tch," before sighing.





"I hope you don't die, Sahariel."





"I won't," the fallen angel declared with a confident smile. When the communication ended, he looked to the side. "Let's move forward. We're going to break through the seals."





"Aye!"





Sahariel walked quickly in front of everyone as the submarine sped forward. "Guys, I fully understand that I'm being selfish right now! Anyone who doesn't want to get out can stay safe in the submarine! I don't expect you to fight by my side, not with something like this coming out so suddenly."





"Oh, shut your mouth, you thigh-dead maniac. We'll fight with everything!" a human growled at that moment. "Anyway, we can't look like cowards with God here, right next to us."





Sahariel coughed at being called such a derogatory name.





"It's been a while since I fought by his side. Even if it's just an echo of his true self, I'll give my all in this battle."





"True. I agree."


"Even though we fell from your grace, I cannot regret the love I felt. Still, I want to fight by your side, would you let me?" a fallen asked with a slightly hesitant tone.





Yahweh trembled for a moment, feeling the determination, the love, and the voices of everyone.





"My children, I am proud of you all. Thank you for listening to this old man."





Jon, watching from the front, smiled at the determination in everyone's eyes. He turned his body and looked forward, watching as they slowly broke through the seals. He didn't know how it worked that way, perhaps because of the presence of God, but they were entering. And together with Sahariel, they were the first to see the mechanical life form inside the dimensional space.





There were mountains surrounding the place, right in a huge field torn apart on all sides. Craters, ditches, and rocks piled up everywhere. Right in the center, where there was a large crater, was what looked like a large animal, almost like a spider. Huge, long, sharp-pointed legs. A triangle-shaped head and what looked like an oval-shaped shell with lights flashing in a light blue color.





Yahweh came over to speak to them at that moment.





"After I confronted it, I was able to decipher the information in its database. Its name, or rather, its designation is: Stellar Harvesting and Predation Device. It is a machine sent to different planets to search for, target, and eliminate intelligent life for later harvesting."





"Why didn't you destroy it?" Jon asked doubtfully. The closer he got, the more doubtful he was about Yahweh's reason for not destroying that thing. It was too dangerous to even keep it sealed!





"I couldn't."





"Huh?"





"Fighting that thing, it might not wear me down enough, but I still spent some time on it. It's not that it's extremely strong, it's that it had no concept of death. It's literally a machine created for extermination. Its materials don't even come from this galaxy. And probably, the beings behind it, are existences that surpass normal Gods."





"The seals here aren't just to maintain it, but also to grant it a concept of death to be destroyed."





"How screwed," even Ddraig couldn't help but comment on such a thing. After all, for everyone present except for Yahweh, it was the first time they heard of something that had no concept of death. In the world, even stones had a concept of death; even if a lot of time passed, in the end, a rock would end up being eroded to the end. But that thing, the Star Harvesting and Predation Device, didn't have it.





It was too weird!





"I guess we'll just have to go all out from the start, huh, Ddraig?"





"We have to push our limits!"





____________________________
 
Chapter 25: Stellar Harvesting and Predation Device (I)

Star Harvesting and Predation Device. A star weapon created by an unknown star civilization, originating from an unknown galaxy. Yahweh, who had fought against it to grant it a concept of death, didn't even fully know what it was made of. Its body seemed to be a mix between a spider and a beetle, with ten thick, pointed legs it was simply too weird. The surface was a matte black color, but it shone with different colors, as if it were glass that emitted different colors. It was hard, soft, cold, and hot, all at the same time.





According to God, metal was harder, more flexible, more resistant to temperature, and sharper than any substance on Earth. And in this world, where everything had a concept of death, the Star Harvesting and Predation Device (SHPD) was simply an extermination machine. It was so much so, that if it weren't for Yahweh, then Great Red would be the only one who could stand up to it with his ability to turn dreams into reality and reality into dreams.





As they inched closer to the mechanical lifeform, Sahariel began giving out orders.





"I want everyone to fight at their full power! No holding back!"





"Danel! Use the transport circle to bring in the support weapon!"





"Agniel, I want you to begin brewing the potions!"





"Jon... Could you start? Out of everyone, you're the one who can steadily increase your power the most. We need an estimate of your true power before we really fight."





"Understood," Jon nodded before turning around to exit the submarine. Right now they were flying over the SHPD at high altitude, almost touching the seals of God. As he was climbing the stairs to reach the hatch, he noticed Yahweh following him.





"Are you coming too?"





"Even though I can't fight, I can offer you some help in the form of information."





Jon glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before nodding. "Thank you..."





As they stepped outside, Jon narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked down. "Ddraig. I think you already know what to do in case things go awry."





"I know. You just focus on fighting. Leave the rest to me, partner."





"Alright...." Jon began to rise with flight magic before slowly inhaling and closing his eyes. His aura began to grow as the Boosted Gear appeared on his left arm.





"Come on!" shouting loudly to give himself encouragement, scarlet light immediately surrounded him.





"[Red Dragon of Domination!!]"





Jon's power exploded at that moment, filling the surrounding area with an oppressive feeling. Yahweh, who was watching closely, was shocked by what he was seeing. "This… isn't something I've determined for the Boosted Gear. As expected, even if it's not a human from Earth, it still has that ability to surpass its limits. Wonderful."





"Mm?..." Yahweh looked towards the SHPD, who began to move, sensing Jon's aura. "Be careful boy, that thing has absorption capabilities! From the back, which looks like a shell, it can pull out tentacle-like things to absorb powers."





"Got it!" Jon said before his wings unfolded behind him. The Boosted Gear's green gem glowed on his chest, held in place by an armor plate. His eyes flashed as he moved forward at sonic speeds.





"[Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost]"


Jon watched as the SHPD began to make weird noises as it stood up. It was a mix of squeals, creaks, and weird static. He didn't know if it was its ability to speak in an unknown language or if it was just the sound created by the movements of its mechanical body. Regardless, he began to dodge as platinum-colored metallic tentacles shot out towards him. Each of these tentacles actually looked like thin strands with blue glows. If it weren't for the glow they emitted, it would really be hard to see them.





"Let's see how tough you really are first!" Jon said as he increased his speed and clenched his right fist. Then, when he reached one of its front legs, he noticed for the first time how huge it was. Perhaps over fifty meters tall, with legs thicker than ten elephants put together.





"[Penetrate]"





BOOOOOOOOM!





Jon's fist made contact with the limb, causing a loud bang. The wind roared and the paw trembled, but Jon's eyes only showed disbelief. On the surface, there was only a small crack that showed how little damage had been done. The ground had crumbled beneath him, causing the machine to move slightly, but little did the powerful blow do.





"You've got to be kidding me."





"Careful, Jon!" Ddraig shouted just in time for Jon to back away. Platinum-colored strands had almost caught him in that moment. But that wasn't all; with a painful noise to the ears, the SHPD moved forward for the first time. Its triangular head, almost like that of a mantis, rose to look down at Jon. Its legs walked, causing the ground beneath him to constantly tremble.





Jon moved, flying backwards, moving sideways and spinning as he wrapped his wings around his body. Those strands really were fast to the point where Jon felt sweat begin to run down his cheeks. He was nervous, and perhaps a little scared. It was the first time he felt a mortal danger in his life. Not even Roygun, with his powerful blows, caused that kind of sensation.





The wind roared in his ears, as did the sound of his heart beating as he looked at the mechanical, alien life form. That thing, which was standing on ten legs, was not human. Despite being a life form, it did not even have an aura or feeling that told him it was there, it was only by its figure that he could tell it existed.





How terrible was that? If something like that had fallen to Earth in this Age unseen or unforeseen, then no one would discover it. Its job was to prey on intelligent living beings and harvest the planet for the civilization that created it. And so it would have done if it weren't for God.





Jon gritted his teeth before he stopped dead in his tracks. Strands ran towards his body, but he opened his mouth before spitting out a powerful sea of flames. The fire spread out to the sides and surged through like a tidal wave as it tried to burn through the SHPD's absorption devices. Jon didn't stop and continued to constantly breathe out the flames that were the closest thing to the soul-incinerating attack that Ddraig had in life.





"Underneath!" Ddraig suddenly shouted, causing Jon to move two steps back and close his mouth. In front of his eyes, he could see more strands coming from the ground. And when he moved further away, he noticed that thing had sent them under the ground to trap him.





Yahweh appeared on the side of his head at that moment. "You must not use magic, boy!"





"Why?!" Jon asked as he backed up once more and advanced to the side, to try and flank the metal beast.





"His previous lack of a concept of death was a nuisance! However, those things can also absorb magic to regenerate the body. The result of a spell will hurt him, though..."





"So he can absorb magic, but not the result of a spell. Isn't it impossible to damage him with magic? Even if an explosion does some damage to him, the residue of magic will heal him."





"Yes... Regrettably," Yahweh sighed.


Jon gritted his teeth as he looked sideways at the SHPD. The beast began to move faster as it spun towards him. Its paws stomped, kicking up clouds of dust. Then, as its eyes glowed blue, a strange substance began to pour out of the tips of its paws. It fell and collapsed before turning into waves that began to devour the entire ground, leaving behind a platinum-colored landscape.





"What is that?!"





"Impossible… I shouldn't be able to use that!" Yahweh exclaimed in surprise. "I wasn't supposed to have the energy for that!"





"What?!" Jon looked at the ball of light off to the side as it began to walk away.





"That is its ability to prey. Anything that substance touches becomes something out of this world. If the strands are its ability to harvest, then the substance is its ability to prey. With one it harvests memories, information, knowledge, powers, and life, while with the other it preys on the world to extinction."





Jon gritted his teeth before looking at God. "Go to Sahariel! Tell her I will hold out as long as I can, but I better prepare other things! We need weapons powerful enough to attack without magic!"





"You..." Yahweh looked at Jon. And although he didn't have a face to express his emotions, the voice was enough to show his surprise.





"Please, sir! If we don't have enough equipment, we won't be able to win! This is a situation that went beyond everyone's expectations, even yours!"





".... Fine. Hang in there, boy!" Yahweh flew off at that moment, leaving Jon behind as he continued to dodge the SHPD's Harvest Strands.





"Hey, Ddraig. You think... ?"





"Is there another alternative, partner? We're going all out!" Ddraig asked before roaring loudly. "Even if we die here, I can say that you're my best host."





Jon smirked before nodding and raising his arm. His eyes closed for a moment before green orbs began to emerge from his body. His aura soared to unprecedented levels for him. Waves of scarlet power began to create shockwaves around him, repelling the Harvest Strands that tried to take everything from him.





When Jon opened his eyes, they glowed with an unearthly green color.





"I, the one who will awaken..."





___________________________
 
Chapter 26: Stellar Harvesting and Predation Device (II)







"The recorded data has surpassed Supreme Class!" one of the technicians shouted inside the submarine's cabin.




"The platinum-colored substance is something we can't record in our database! It doesn't exist within Planet Earth, not even on the Moon! Its main function seems to be to transform everything into a different environment. Sir, I think it's terraforming the planet into what your world should be!"




Sahariel gritted her teeth as she listened.




"Danel… ! How's the equipment transportation going?!"




"It's still missing, Sahariel!" Danel shouted as he was monitoring the magic and things being transported to the cargo hold. "We've been able to bring protective and attack equipment, but the resistance potions and phoenix tears are missing, as well as the equipment you asked Azazel-san to bring."




"What did you ask Azazel for?" Yahweh asked seriously.




"Weapons," Sahariel replied. "Over time, we've been able to collect some important weapons from history. Not too many, but enough for Jon, myself, and others to fight more closely."




"What happened to the strongest sword?"




"That..." Sahariel looked at her father in doubt for a moment, until she sighed and shook her head. "Sadly, it was broken in the past. Now there are only swords left that were created using the pieces."




Yahweh sighed heavily. "So many things have happened with the change of the ages. It's kind of sad."




"Can't you help with anything else, Father?" Sahariel asked respectfully.




"I am an Echo of the God that existed in the past, Sahariel. Even though I have his memories, I am not the same. Not exactly. I do not possess a great deal of power and abilities. I am just a remnant that keeps the seals working."




"I see. Then—" Sahariel had to stop abruptly as she felt goosebumps rising on her skin and her hair standing up. A crimson light and green dots flashed in the distance.




"That's it... !" Yahweh exclaimed in shock. "I can't believe that kid is doing that."




Sahariel's eyes widened as she looked at the light that was created by Jon's power. Then, everyone heard his voice.




"I, the one who is about to wake up..."




"Quick! We can't waste any more time, we have to go and help him!" Sahariel shouted as she turned around. She started running to the door before opening it. "I want everyone to get ready right now! The real battle has already begun!"




Everyone shouted before following him. No one was left behind, inside the cabin, except for Yahweh, who looked at Jon, who was about to surpass a point of no return.




"I… I wonder if…" vibrating slightly, Yahweh seemed to have doubts.




. . . .




"(It began)," a soft voice sounded near Jon's ears as the green spheres continued to flicker around him. Waves of scarlet power began to swirl throughout his body as beams of light began to explode.




"(It has begun)," voices came from all around. They were the consciousnesses of the previous Boosted Gear users. The seals that kept their negative emotions at bay were released as Jon began to activate the Juggernaut Drive.




As Jon chanted, he was not only releasing that sealed power, but also the hatred of everyone. His body began to transform once again, starting with his wings, which stopped having membranes, to become some sort of pointed, twisted limbs with green gems all over them.




"I am the Heavenly Dragon that stole God's principles of domination."




His body began to grow in size as his limbs forcefully changed. His hands and feet transformed into claws while his arms and legs into large, heavy dragon limbs.




"(It's always been like this)," a woman's voice rang out, with a slightly sad tone.




"(That's right. It's always been like this)," an old man muttered in a tired voice.




"I laugh at the infinite and pity the dream."




His head was beginning to become like a red dragon, similar to the Ddraig. Golden horns emerged from the side of his neck and head.




"(The world calls you)."




"(The world rejects you)."




"I will become the Red Dragon of Domination."




Red mist surrounded Jon, as if it were his own blood evaporating. His aura continued to grow non-stop, surrounded by a red and green glow as he grew larger and larger, until he stood on two legs and roared loudly.




"(... It's always been power.)"




"(... It's always been love.)"




"(No matter the time, you always choose the path to ruin!)"




"And I will sink you into the depths of crimson purgatory!"




With his final prayer for the chant, a shockwave and a blinding explosion were released. The ship above him began to be dragged away as the ground beneath him was destroyed. The substance that was turning the ground into an alien form, stopped at the power so dominant and destructive before it began to crack.




"Groooaaaaaahh!", a terrifying roar came from Jon's mouth, now transforming into his Juggernaut Drive form. Aura spheres were created around his mouth before he began firing them towards the SHPD. Explosions sparkled the battlefield as a high-pitched noise came from the mechanical lifeform as it was forced back.




Sahariel, who had already left with everyone else, watched worriedly as they saw Jon's transformation.




"Is it too late?", gritting his teeth, Sahariel found himself lost after a long time in his life. He knew perfectly well that this form made the users lose their minds from all the hatred and power that consumed them.




"No, not yet."




"Father?", Sahariel looked at Yahweh, who suddenly approached.




"Listen. I can help him. It's the only thing I can really do in this situation. However, after that, you'll have to hold out until he recovers a bit. Can you do that?"




"Of course! We're no longer those children you had to take care of so long ago," Sahariel replied confidently.




"The AL prototype is ready, Sahariel!"




"Perfect. Father, we now await your outcome... whatever you have in mind."




"Good... Then, I'm leaving now. This is probably our last talk. My children, despite what happened in the past, I never hated you. You might have been wrong, but I can fully understand that you're now united, seeking peace for your loved ones, brothers, and friends."




Yahweh trembled slightly before shooting off like a shooting star. His small figure began to widen in all directions as he left a trail behind him. He began to approach Jon, who was firing at the SHPD non-stop, creating pure destruction with each step. His roars echoed throughout the created dimensional space. Even though it looked like a beast without control or mind, it was firing only at its enemy.




It seemed like there was still some rationality left inside.




When Yahweh flew across the sky and reached Jon, he entered his body directly. Everything stopped at that moment. There were no sounds or roars; there were no explosions or blinding lights. Just Jon's figure that began to recede into that of a normal human before slowly falling.




"Now! Attack!" Sahariel shouted loudly as she flapped her wings vigorously. The entire group, a total of thirty, men and women, fallen angels and humans, flew together towards the enemy that wanted to devour the planet.




Each one had backpacks with cannons sticking out from their shoulders or hips. Some had swords, others had spears and halberds. A few even just had shields. Each weapon was created with the idea of being a sacred gear, but all resulted in failed attempts. Still, they had enough power to cause destruction.




Then, as one, they unleashed attacks that flew like lightning towards the SHPD.




. . . . .




In a white space, Jon gritted his teeth as he listened to the voices of the previous users. Shouts filled with hatred, envy, sadness, and rage. Each of those figures sitting around him, emanated a dark mist, as if representing all the negativity they emitted.




"You... Senseless fools!" Jon shouted angrily. "Even if you failed in the past, don't get in my way!"




"And what is that path?" Jon turned his head, seeing a woman walking towards him, showing a curious expression. She was blonde, with slightly wavy hair. Bright green eyes and a figure that any woman would envy. She was wearing a purple dress.




"You... Are you... Elsha?" Jon asked with a headache.




"Yes. I am Elsha, the most powerful woman to wield the Boosted Gear, and also the second strongest user." Elsha nodded as she came a little closer. "But, tell me, what path are you talking about?"




Jon didn't answer right away, but instead stared curiously.




"Everyone here has been on a certain path. They chose it themselves. A path ruled by lust, a path ruled by dominance, a path ruled by emotion... So many paths, but each one only found despair."




"What makes you think you can be different?"




"I... I'm just a human, Elsha," Jon growled before standing up straighter, facing the most powerful woman who used the Boosted Gear.




"For me, who had nothing, always being oppressed by the way I was born, there is only one path. The only way I can do things without anyone stopping me... And that is freedom."




"Freedom?" Elsha asked confused. "I think here, at least for a small moment, they achieved freedom."




"Really?" Jon asked before snorting. "Is it really freedom when you're obsessed with the power of the Boosted Gear?"




Looking back at all the figures of the previous users. "They all used Ddraig as a weapon, a method to get what they wanted. To me, that overly excited dragon is a friend, a brother. We fight together and die together. Even though he can't eat, he enjoys smelling food and watching me cook. He likes watching anime, but also arguing with people."




Jon glanced at her out of the corner of his eye at that moment. "From the moment I became the Red Dragon Emperor, we've enjoyed every moment. That's my... No, that's our freedom. We enjoy every moment we have, whether it's in battle or just cooking. And right now, that junk from outer space not only wants to take away my freedom, but also my dear friend."




Jon wanted freedom. He wanted the right to refuse or accept things. He dreamed of being able to become someone amazing, but he also wanted to refuse if someone imposed it on him. In short, to live life without others deciding for him. He wasn't a person who wished to commit crimes or do bad things. He looked forward to sitting on his couch watching anime with Ddraig when he was too tired of other things, he longed to be able to enjoy life without being pointed at for being a bastard.




He wanted to find a woman he could share his joys with. He wished to work if he wanted to or just fight fun battles.




This is why Jon had fallen in love with the planet called Earth - it was a place where he could do all those things. And also, it's why he appreciated Ddraig so much, who was the reason he could be strong so he wouldn't be stopped by others.




"There's no way I'm going to let these fools too blinded by their hatred stop me!"




".... I see...", Elsha closed her eyes before smiling. "You really do have a bond with Ddraig that we couldn't have. It's not because you carry his blood inside you, it's because you consider him as family."




"Well said, Jon!"




The golden light of God appeared above them, along with Yahweh's voice.




"That person managed to get in..." Elsha made a small face. "I wonder what will happen next."




"What are you doing in here, sir?" Jon asked in confusion.




"The ties that bind you and Ddraig, I could see them. The love you feel for each other, I could feel it. Even though I left behind the so-called [Error], known as [Balance Breaker], in case humans need to upset the balance of the world, Juggernaut Drive is different. It is not something left behind in case, it was left behind because I was unable to completely seal the entirety of certain untamable creatures."




"Wishes and imagination are an extremely powerful weapon," Yahweh commented softly.




"I will use my remaining power to change the balance of the battle."




"Wait! If you do that, then the seals holding the area back!"




"Yes... The seals will begin to fade."




"Then…"




"I will trust you and Ddraig, Jon Snow," Yahweh said confidently. "So, are you ready?"




Jon fell silent before nodding seriously.




"Come on. There's no way I'm giving up so easily. I still have to do a lot of things with Ddraig and show him my homeworld."




The golden light filled the white space, starting from above. Elsha, who was watching intently, smiled softly as she closed her eyes. "A path of freedom that even God approves of, huh? I didn't expect it, but it will certainly be interesting to watch."




"I hope you can do great things, Jon Snow."




______________________________
 
Chapter 27: Stellar Harvesting and Predation Device (III)

Sahariel was sweating as she cut through the harvest strands with her sword. Sweat covered her face as she flew around, using the cannons held by a backpack on her back and aimed from her hip. Huge spheres were fired as she backed away flapping her dark wings. Her thick glasses were cracked as she watched as SHPD relentlessly advanced, turning all of space into an alien land.

Her team fought in the skies, flying on dark wings or using flight magic to sustain themselves. The sky at that moment, was a cacophony of explosions and shockwaves. The darkness of space, was driven away by the brightness of all the unleashed attacks.

Some had died, being absorbed into the strands. It was a terrible sight, being impaled before they began to dry out like mummies. Their skin cracked and turned dark, while the hair on their heads fell out until nothing remained. Her eyes turned raisins as her life force was absorbed, along with knowledge, ideas, dreams, and everything else. In the end, only dust remained, swept away by the shockwaves.

Sahariel couldn't understand it. How could a machine absorb life force? Why would it need it, if it was a machine? Could its core, the thing that made it work, be supplied with different energy sources?

Gritting her teeth at how unfamiliar SHPD was even with the information provided by God, Sahariel began to charge as the sword she held, emitted a glow. A white light began to emanate, followed by a dark, almost dark purple light. This sword that Sahariel held, was not normal. It was a legendary sword that Grigori was able to take after a certain incident in the past. The sword belonged to one of the knights of the round table, in Camelot. It was a weapon that, at first, was supposed to be a holy weapon. But, with its owner's descent into madness, it ended up being a demonic sword.

In this way, it became a legendary sword with a dual Holy-Demonic nature. The main elements within it were not balanced, making it difficult to unleash its true power. However, Sahariel was someone who was thousands of years old, a fallen angel who saw and experienced many things. For someone like him, it was not that difficult to achieve a balance of that dual nature for a moment.

As he flew charging his attack, he looked for a place that was slightly damaged. Everyone was focused on the ten legs, to achieve the goal of breaking them and not letting SHPD advance any further. As he felt the wind touch his face, Sahariel narrowed his eyes slightly, until he saw a strange crack on one of the front legs. It seemed to be regenerating, but it was taking longer than usual, and from the dark lines that made up the crack, a kind of liquid was coming out.

"There!" Sahariel decided before turning to the left as she gripped Arondight's hilt with both hands. She inhaled sharply before holding her breath. The mass of energy that formed around the blade shot out to the side as Sahariel swung the sword.

"Go, Arondight!" she shouted loudly, brandishing the Holy-Demonic weapon with all her might. A thick beam of dark and white light shot out, creating a gigantic crescent. SHPD's leg withstood the blow for a moment, before a loud crack echoed out. The exo-skeleton shattered with the attack, revealing the inside, which seemed empty, except for a strange glowing liquid that spilled everywhere.

"Argh!" Sahariel shouted before charging once, stabbing Arondight into that spot and unleashing all of her power in a single point. She raised her arms as she growled, snapping the first of the ten legs. A strange sound came from the machine as it moved erratically for a moment.

"Dodge as much as you can!" Sahariel snapped. "Focus your attacks on a single leg until it's destroyed!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Almost instantly, everyone flew around the legs as they unloaded their weapons at a single point. The harvest strands spun, twisted, and flew all around, attempting to grab someone to drain all of their existence.

Sahariel gasped as he began to rise, preparing his next attack. He tightened his grip on Arondight as he released all of his remaining aura.

"I don't have that much energy left anyway. Tch, how pathetic. Despite being thousands of years old, this damn thing made me expend almost all of it for a single leg," muttering to himself, Sahariel felt helpless at his weakness. He was a man of intelligence and research. He enjoyed spending time in a lab, studying and learning new things. He wasn't one to be on the front lines, not before or now.

Sighing, he promised himself that if he made it out alive, he would train more often.

"Huh?" Sahariel raised his head as his ears felt a noise. It was short, but it clearly came from the hundreds of seals placed by God. His eyes soon opened wide in pure disbelief. Those circles that created a wall around the dimensional space and held it up at the same time, cracked. As if they were glass, cracks appeared as they spread out like spider webs everywhere.

"No… So soon?" Sahariel frowned, moving out of the way as a gap appeared, causing water to begin to fall from the sky. The icy water of the Antarctic Ocean had begun to invade the battle space. And when he thought that he would need to maintain the seals with his own power, something else made him open his mouth, dumbfounded by what his eyes saw.

From the hole that let in the icy ocean water, a figure also appeared. It was large, wide, and tall, to the point that it seemed to be trapped between the seal and the gap that opened. But then, everything exploded.

"NO!!", Sahariel roared as all the magic circles exploded, creating a shower of light. Behind her, the ocean was crashing down with all its power.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!! You don't have to worry, Sahariel! Fool!! Did you really think I would let you fight a damn alien machine alone?!"

"A- A- Azazel?", Sahariel asked as she saw her friend with all his wings spread out behind his back. Right beside her, just a step behind, were Barakiel, Penemue, and Tamiel. Looking at her friends and brothers, Sahariel felt like crying.

"Y- You…", as she looked at Azazel, she also noticed several fallen angels raising their hands around the battlefield, forming seals to stop the ocean and enclose the place once more. They might not be as strong as the ones God created, but they would hold back enough to hold back the sea.

"Like I said: there's no way I'm letting you two fight that thing alone," Azazel frowned as he raised a finger and pointed at DCDE.

"So… what makes it special?" Penemue asked with her hands on her hips.

"It's… It's…" Sahariel gulped. "It's a ship from an unknown civilization. According to Father, it's called the Stellar Harvesting and Predation Device. It shoots out strands that are capable of swallowing the existence of intelligent living beings. And if that wasn't enough, it's capable of terraforming the ground it steps on, changing everything to what it should be on the planet it was built on."

"You can't use magic, guys! That thing feeds and regenerates!"

"Such a thing…" Barakiel frowned immediately.

"If it wasn't for Jon, who used Penetrate on one of its legs, then I couldn't have destroyed it with Arondight."

"Jon? Where is it?"

".... He entered Juggernaut Drive to give us time while he fought and we transported all the stuff. Right now, Father is helping him inside."

"I see...", Azazel looked where Sahariel pointed. Jon was on the ground, lying down with his eyes closed and blood dripping down various sides of his body.

"You heard Sahariel, boys! No magic! No touching strange things!"

"Understood," Penemue nodded.

"Can't we transport him somewhere else?", Barakiel asked.

"Where?" Sahariel replied. "Even if we send him into space, it could be worse. There's a chance he'll travel to another place on Earth and escape. At that point, he'll be impossible to kill. I already told you, he absorbs living beings to harvest knowledge and ideas, he uses life force to regenerate. I'm not even able to fully understand it!"

"Sahariel…" Azazel called. "Go to Jon. When he wakes up, give him phoenix tears and a stamina potion. Also, you have the sword, right?"

"Yes. He's with me. I was planning on giving it to him, but…"

"Fine. Go."

Sahariel didn't make himself begged and immediately flew towards Jon. She watched out of the corner of her eye as everyone continued to fight around SHPD, who continued their advance towards what was now Azazel's group.

"Is he able to determine the strongest person awake? It wouldn't be unusual for him to have that ability. He probably wants to devour Azazel." Sahariel shook her head. Her concern, right now, wasn't Azazel. She knew her friend was capable of taking care of himself.

When she reached Jon, she saw the blood covering his chest, arms, and legs. His hair was messy and he was pale. Sahariel carefully took his head before taking out a vial of phoenix tears. Carefully, she dropped the liquid into Jon's mouth. She moved his throat and jaw a little, so he could lower it.

Jon's body glowed slightly as his wounds were healed at an impressive speed. He still had blood stains, but they were nothing at the moment. All his blood, wounds, and exhaustion were healed. His eyelids trembled slightly for a couple of seconds before he opened his eyes.

"Sahariel?"

"Jon… it's good to see you safe. Can you continue fighting?"

"Of course," Jon growled as he stood up. "Right now… I feel stronger than ever."

The Boosted Gear appeared on his left arm before he entered his normal Balance Breaker state. Sahariel looked on curiously, watching as he raised his arm and began chanting once more.

"Wait, Jon! If you enter Juggernaut Drive once more, it will be too dangerous for others to fight!"

"Don't worry… this isn't Juggernaut Drive," Jon turned his head, showing that he now had a golden-colored eye. His power was released once more. The green spheres were nowhere to be seen, it was only his aura being released. A golden light was born from his chest as a crimson light surrounded him.

"I, the one who has awakened…"

"I am the Red Dragon Emperor who upholds the principle of God's domination."

"Enduring infinite hope and unbreakable dreams."

"I will become the True Crimson Emperor."

"And I will lead you down the path of freedom, which shines with a deep crimson light!"

"[True Crimson Emperor!]"

Sahariel watched as beams of crimson light shot out from all sides, before Jon appeared with a new appearance. He had armor that made him much taller. A deep red glowed, but the most surprising thing, were his wings. They weren't dragon wings like flesh, they were part of the armor, with the membrane transformed into a golden light. His tail was longer, while his armored head now had two pairs of golden horns. One pair on top of his head and another coming out near his jaw.

His entire body was also surrounded by a light golden glow, as if he had been blessed with God's grace.

"Jon... that form," Sahariel was shocked to see the appearance and power he felt. The aura was no less than when he was using Juggernaut Drive! No, it was even a bit superior.

"I have to thank God for this. If it weren't for his help, it would have been harder to get past those idiots..." Jon commented before turning around, facing Sahariel.

"Can you continue?"

"Of course," Sahariel smiled before he stood up and took out two things from his dimensional pocket. One was a sword with a white-colored blade, while the other looked like a small backpack.

"The sword is Galatine, a legendary holy sword. It can unleash what is said to be the power of the Sun. The backpack is the AL Prototype, an attempt to recreate Absorption Line, a Sacred Gear of Vritra. It can release small devices that grant fifty percent of your power to other people. It's like the [Transfer] ability you have, but less powerful."

"I understand…" Jon stepped forward, taking the sword. Ddraig's voice rang out saying "[Sword]" before it disappeared and was summoned back into his hand. "Can you place the Prototype?"

Sahariel nodded anchoring the small backpack to the center of Jon's back.

When it was ready, Jon shot off at terrifying speed, leaving thunderous sounds behind him. Sahariel had to take a couple steps back to keep from falling.

"I thought it would be the end at that moment, partner!" Ddraig commented. "There wasn't much I could do at that moment."

"Don't worry! Now we can really fight with everything we have!"

"That's right! When you were fighting those fools, I discovered something interesting. Deep inside the Boosted Gear, there was something else."

"What thing?!"

"My concept of domination!" Ddraig replied before laughing loudly. "Even God couldn't completely seal it! That's like my core, partner. It's what truly made me the Red Dragon of Domination. Right now, in this transformation, all of your attacks contain that concept."

"What does it actually do?" Jon asked curiously, dodging strands of harvest as he approached the SHPD. He was passing between its legs while creating explosions all around, and each one contained the [Penetrate] ability. Cracking sounds were heard all around as Jon left the entire team of fallen angels and humans behind.

"Simply put, you crush them into submission! No matter what comes at you, your attacks will dominate all!"

Jon narrowed his eyes before the boosts rang out.

"[Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost]"

"Then let's get started on what we've always wanted to do!" Jon punched one of the ten legs with all his might. His fist was surrounded by a flame-like red aura. Then...

"[Fist of Domination!]"

"[Penetrate!]

BOOOOOOOOM!

Glowing liquid exploded like rain everywhere. The leg broke directly at that moment, causing the DCDE to make a strange noise. Its huge body tilted diagonally downwards, as if it was about to fall.

"We still have more!" Jon spread his hands as the backpack on his back released what looked like tiny gliders that flew towards the fallen angels and humans.

"[Boost][Boost][Boost][Boost][Boost]"

"[Transfer!]

The empowered AL prototypes, even if they could only deal out fifty percent, could now do better with the augmentations. Everyone could feel the increase in their strength at this moment.

Azazel, who was not too far away, using a golden spear, smiled forcefully.

"That guy had too fast of a growth! Damn it, I can't believe it!"

"Guys, we can't fall behind the kid! Let's destroy a pair of legs!" Azazel shouted before charging in with all his power. The strands followed him as he flew, leaving blurry trails behind, along with a dark trail from his wings. His spear flew out of his hand, stabbing into another of the legs, before he used his foot to kick it off and impale it squarely.

"Ha, ha, ha! I'm not a Cadre for nothing!"

Jon, who could see him, smiled at Azazel's boisterous personality. He continued his own flight, extending his right hand to the side.

"[Galatine!]"

Shink!

Excalibur Galatine appeared in his hand as it glowed with warm sunlight.

"[Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost]"

"Once again, brother!" Jon shouted excitedly as the sword in his hand spewed flames.

"Let's crush this pesky thing!" Ddraig roared loudly.

"[Longinus Galatine!]

Biuuuuuuuuuu—Boooooooooom!

A terrifying sound exploded as the legendary sword was swung with the power of the Red Dragon Emperor. Jon made sure to aim for a leg that was furthest away from the rest. At that spot, an orange line was drawn before it exploded into powerful flames. The air heated up and it seemed like space was being bent by the power of the slash. The fire began to burn and melt the top of the leg that was cleanly cut off.

Even the substance that now covered the ground melted from the strong heat produced by the flames.

"After all, even as an unknown mechanical life form, we still have the power needed!"

Boooom!

Baaaam!

Craaaa~aaack!"

Jon watched as all of the remaining legs were cut off and destroyed, causing the mechanical enemy to begin to fall towards the ground without being able to support itself.

"Groooooooouuuuuuuuaaaaaa!", a strange noise was emitted by DCDE as it fell. It almost seemed like it was out of power and was shutting down. Jon stayed flying as he watched what looked like the shell and head, crash into the ground. The ground sank and large pieces broke off, clouds of dust soon rising.

Azazel soon approached.

"Well done, Jon! That new armor looks great. You have to let me analyze it later."

"Hey...".

"Huh? What's wrong?", Azazel asked, confused by Jon's serious tone. His answer would be answered alone, as three glowing orbs appeared behind the cloud of dust.

"You've got to be kidding," Azazel muttered as he frowned.

A shriek echoed throughout space as what appeared to be a flying saucer rose at blinding speed. It looked like a shell with three orbs above and below it.

"T- That's… UFO?" Azazel blinked. His curious tone soon ceased as he froze as he sensed danger.

DCDE began to spin hard, creating a vortex of different colors.

"It's not over yet!!", Azazel shouted loudly to everyone.

Jon, looking at the enemy, gritted his teeth. He could feel that whatever SHPD was doing, caused the gravity to increase as they were slowly pulled towards it. There were no longer any harvest strands or predatory liquid, but this seemed more terrifying than before.

Lifting his head, Jon could see a bright spot appear above DCDE, almost like a star that was about to be born.

"We have to get him out of here right now!! THAT THING IS A SINGULARITY!!", Azazel bellowed with all his might.

Not knowing what a singularity was, Jon charged at full speed, turning a deaf ear to Azazel and Sahariel's screams. He used all his speed as Ddraig continued to increase his power to the absolute limit.

"Do you know what a singularity is?"

"Simply put, that bastard is creating a black hole. It will explode and swallow everything around it. Let's not talk about this place, the entire planet will be gone by then."

"I see…" Jon charged as he raised his hands. He crashed into SHPD before his golden wings expelled rays of light, increasing his speed. With everything he had, Jon began to lift him up and drag him upwards.

"Keep going, Ddraig! This thing is way heavier than I thought!"

"It must be because of the increased gravity!" Ddraig shouted as the [Boost]s echoed incessantly. Jon charged forward without stopping, passing by the Fallen Angels who maintained the protection. Then, with a shout from Azazel, the protection opened at that spot, allowing Jon to pass through. The pressure of the sea, thanks to its current state, wasn't too much of a problem. Furthermore, SHPD seemed to be distorting the substances around it, which made things surprisingly easier.

The bright point that was the singularity began to flicker above SHPD.

Booooom!

With a rumble created by the sea being lifted, they emerged from the Antarctic Ocean as they ascended into the sky. Anyone who could see from afar, could notice what looked like an unidentified flying object being propelled by a golden beam.

"Argh!!" Jon shouted as he felt his arms starting to feel numb and sore. "Come on damn it!"

Slamming his head against SHPD's body, Jon continued to push. He could feel the moisture of the clouds before he left the atmosphere. When he looked slightly to the side, he could see the darkness of outer space, while the planet Earth was slowly falling behind.

"Jon, if you continue, we won't be able to stop him in time! Since he no longer has any absorption methods, he can't regenerate energy! It's time to finish him off!"

"Alright!" Jon shouted before letting go of the body. He felt less tense at that moment, feeling the slowness of moving in outer space.

"Let it all go, partner!"

"The final attack!"

"The time to show the dominance of the True Crimson Emperor!"

A red ball was born from Jon's chest. At the same time, his wings glowed, charging the same attack. When Jon's figure was almost covered by the golden and red light, he shouted with all his might alongside Ddraig.

"[LONGINUS SMASHER!!!]" Wooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!

A pillar with a crimson core and golden body, ejected from Jon. The attack was even larger than the SHPD, swallowing his entire body. The glow of the singularity began to flicker faster before fading out completely, outmatched by the final and most powerful attack of Jon Snow, the Red Dragon Emperor.

As the final attack began to cease, Jon was panting heavily. His eyes saw the body of the SHPD completely burned, almost black and full of cracks. A small flame ignited at its center before it imploded with force, creating another explosion. Jon was sent spinning backwards as he watched the enemy being eliminated in an expanding sphere of fire.

"We did it, brother!"

"Yes..." Jon breathed more calmly as he began to fall towards Earth from the force of the propulsion. As he descended, he could see the dark space receding. The stars shining in the distance looked like tiny little dots. It was the light of the past that he was seeing at that moment. It made him feel a little sad, thinking that one of those stars was the one that could give warmth to his home planet.

"We don't know yet, partner. Maybe it wasn't that long ago."

"I wish..." Jon smiled calmly as outer space slowly turned into the usual blue sky.

As he fell, doing nothing, just feeling the wind roaring around him, Jon could see a small magic circle appearing near his right eye.

"Jon! Jon, you're there! That explosion was huge! Tell me you're okay, kid!"

"Azazel?"

"Oh... Ohhhh! You survived! Where are you now?"

"I'm falling..."

"Can't you fly!?"

"Easy, old man. I still have enough energy to land properly. I'm just... enjoying the feeling of victory against an opponent that seemed invincible."

"Don't be silly, Jon! That can wait. The explosion must have changed your trajectory. Better tell me what you see from up there so I can know where you are!"

"Um..." Jon turned his body as he extended his arms, passing through the clouds. His armor got wet at that moment, because of the humidity. When he finally passed that point, he blinked when he saw land that was not Antarctica.

"Uhhh... I see land, but not Antarctica. I think it's more north."

"Argentina? Chile? One is to the right, another to the left."

"Okay... I'm going to the left. It seems closer to Antarctica. See you there?"

"Yeah..." Azazel sighed. "I'll go see you while I leave a team to investigate all that shit that was left behind. At least, I hope it's useful after all that happened."

"I understand. When we can, I'll make you a nice plate of food, old man. Sake and other things to drink."

"I'll be waiting for you, brat."

 
Chapter 28: The Red Dragon Emperor's well-deserved rest (I)



Sahariel walked with a tray that had food and also a glass of water. He passed through a hallway with the floor and walls made of wood. Right at the end, there was a window that let in the sunlight. After finishing the battle against the Star Harvesting and Predation Device, the vast majority returned to Grigori, to create the tombs and funerals for those who lost their lives. Nothing remained of them, only the memory in the hearts of those closest to them.



After he decided to fall into the Patagonia of Chile, Jon met Azazel and Sahariel, who accompanied him to the nearest city so he could rest. They were now in that place, called Puerto Williams. They had rented a cabin for Jon to rest as much as he wanted.



Sahariel knocked on the door of the room that Jon decided to use, but no one answered. When he opened the door, Sahariel found Jon sleeping with the duvet ruffled over his body. One of his legs was sticking out of the bed as he stood with his mouth agape, completely out of touch with reality.



Helplessly, Sahariel shook his head before heading back the way he came. He walked to the living room and set the tray down on the coffee table, where he knelt down to eat. He wouldn't waste the food he prepared, let alone give it to the guy sitting on the couch right next to him.



"Is he still sleeping?" Azazel asked as he had a small keyboard on his lap. Right in front of him on the coffee table was a small cube that cast light to create a holographic display.



"He does. How are things going in Grigori?"



"The funerals have been held yesterday, while the body left behind from the SHPD is still being analyzed..." Azazel pinched the bridge of his nose before cracking his neck. He had been there day and night, traveling between Grigori and the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean, to conduct the necessary investigations. And when he left the rest to someone else, he would come to the cabin to take a little break from all the moving around, but he would follow the analyses closely with his portable holographic computer.



"Did you find anything that caught your attention?" Sahariel asked as she took a sip from the glass of water.



"According to the small pieces we were able to collect from the UFO in space, the exo-skeleton is not the main body, but that flying body. I guess that's also the way it traveled. Anyway, the body is disposable, almost like nails that are made of keratin. If it had escaped instead of starting to form that singularity, then it could grow a new exo-skeleton."



Azazel ran his hand through his hair a few times before looking at the screen. "The good thing about all this, is that those parts that were left, can be used as a coating for what we want to do with the Vimana. They are quite useful, even though we still can't figure out their molecular composition."



"What about the liquid inside? Is it really blood?" Sahariel asked another question, recalling that bright blue liquid. At the same time, she brought some spaghetti to her mouth.



"Actually, that's the most interesting thing and what we were able to fully decipher."



"Really?"



"Yes." Azazel smiled as he explained. "That liquid contains nanomachines that allow for regeneration. The energy absorbed by the harvest strands feeds them, thus maintaining constant regeneration."



"Researchers have been experimenting. It seems that they are not harmful. They do not possess attack capabilities or invasive properties towards intelligent life beings or nature. As long as it is supplied with a compatible energy, it can function properly."



"Interesting…" Sahariel licked her thumb which ended up stained with tomato sauce. "These nanomachines, they might actually be the most useful thing of all. If they're powered by the energy from the Vimana's core, then we can create the closest thing to a perpetual energy machine, right? The only thing missing, would be the Orichalcum."



"About that... We found it."



"Huh?"



"Yes. There was one in that place. While we were searching the dimensional space, we found some sort of helmet. It seems that the SHPD travels covered in this so as not to be damaged in interstellar travel. It's like a huge pyramid with several layers... all made of Orichalcum!"



Sahariel's eyes imagined the magnitude of what Azazel was saying. If it was as big as a real pyramid, then... he gulped hard, thinking of all that they could do. Despite all the damage and deaths, it seems that it wasn't all in vain. In fact, they managed to get a lot of benefits from the battle!



"Wait, Father mentioned a database. Did they find such a thing?"



"Sadly, no. I think that must have been in the main body that Jon ended up destroying."



"It's a pity..."



"Hey, don't be like that. We already took out enough. And we're not even done with the exo-skeleton. If we can figure out the molecular composition of that thing, then we won't have hit the jackpot."



"Can we really do that?" Sahariel frowned. "Remember that we had to ask Heaven for Galatine. They know that Father manifested in front of us. Although... now that I think about it... Ha, ha, ha, ha! Those guys must be jealous of us! The ones who encountered Father's Echo were us, the fallen ones! Not them, us!"



"Hey, hey..." Azazel sweat dropped slightly at his friend's slightly crazy behavior. But he couldn't blame him either, that was a huge event. Something unprecedented. Everyone thought that the Biblical God was completely dead, with not a single speck of his being left behind.



"By the way, speaking of us Fallen. I heard that Tamiel lost an arm."



"You heard right. He was hit by a harvest strand, so he cut it off. Don't worry, he already has a new one."



Sahariel nodded more relieved. Even though he too almost lost his life while they were fighting, it felt great to hear that their advancements in technology made having a robotic implant feel like a normal arm, they could even make artificial skin. Along with that, they could include a wide variety of weapons, such as a cannon, knives, screwdrivers, drills, and more. It was like a Swiss Army knife in the form of an arm.



They both stood in silence for a moment, before Sahariel looked towards the window and said, "Hey, Azazel, what do you think of what father did? He released the seal on the Boosted Gear, even when he hated dragons."



"Mmm... I guess... that's something he would do, don't you think? Despite his hatred for dragons, he didn't kill the two Celestials. It could have been worse, like what happened with Samael."



"Uhh... You're right."



"I think there might still be something left of him?"



"Huh?" Azazel looked at him in bewilderment. "Why? That Echo was keeping the seals. And they were disappearing when we arrived. Therefore, he must have disappeared."



"Yes, but... when Jon woke up and began the chant for his new transformation, his right eye changed. It was golden. I... I think something was left inside the Boosted Gear, or in Jon himself."



Azazel frowned for a moment, before he leaned back more comfortably on the couch. He let his head fall back and stared at the roof.



"I haven't had the time to analyze Jon's body or the Boosted Gear, so I couldn't say. But if there's something left of the old man in either of the two, things might change in the future. Obviously, he couldn't wield his powers and abilities anymore, but he had his consciousness and memories."



"Maybe... Maybe, we, the three Judeo-Christian factions, can find peace."



Sahariel smiled a little. "That would be great. I'm no longer in the mood for battles that threaten our races, or the world, for that matter."



"Ha! Well said, brother! I mean, who among the leaders wants such a thing? Uh oh, wait a minute..."



"It's not that important, but I remembered that Vali will be a pain in the ass when he finds out about everything that happened. And especially for not being invited."



"You're too soft on the boy," Sahariel snorted.



"I can't help it..."



"Why don't you call Lavinia to keep him calm?"



"That... is a great idea!" Azazel looked at Sahariel with a big smile. "That girl is one of the few people who can keep him calm."



As the two of them talked quietly for a few minutes, they would be interrupted by a yellow magic circle that appeared in the center of the living room. But, in Jon's room, he was having a talk with a certain someone while resting. Only he knew how right Sahariel was, when she said that there was some of Yahweh left inside the Boosted Gear.



He was surrounded by that white space, with the previous users looking on, now with normal gazes. No signs of hatred, rage, sadness or jealousy could be seen or felt coming from them. Elsha was also there, along with the so-called most powerful user: Belzard.



Yahweh was floating in front of everyone, right in the center.



"So... you'll be staying here?" Jon asked as he scratched his head, a little uncomfortable having God there.



"No way! Don't be stupid, Yahweh! This is our place, ours! Not only did you destroy my body long ago, now you're staying here too? I won't accept it!" Ddraig roared angrily. His figure wasn't in that place, but his voice was clearer than ever.



"Oh, come on, Ddraig. It's not like I'm a bother, right? I'll be resting here, quietly. And also watching Jon's path."



"You're a bother! Aren't you, partner?!"



"Um..."



"Partner...? It can't be, you...."



Jon sighed a little. "I'm sorry, Ddraig. But he did help us, right? Giving him some space as thanks isn't too much. Plus, like he just said, he'll be completely silent for a while to regain what little stamina he has left."



"Actually... He might suddenly talk. It's not a bad thing, right? It's not like I have much else to do here anyway."



"You can go!" Ddraig growled angrily.



"But then disappear. This place is the only one that can support me. I'm really curious about the current times. I'd like to see the rest of my children and know what they do. Or what they did while I was gone."



"Ha... Ha... Ha... ! Hahahahahaha!!"



"Ddraig?" Jon asked at his friend's sudden laughter. He didn't notice until Elsha touched his shoulder, but she too had an expression as if she was worried, but also holding back her laughter. Right next to him, the stoic Belzard crossed his arms before snorting.



"Why are you laughing, Ddraig? I'd like to know the reason."



"You want to know what your children did?! Damn it, Yahweh, there's no need to make Jon look for information! I can tell you!!"



"How about we start with that poor girl who was burned to death because of Michael? Or better yet, the Church's constant wars to conquer and eliminate other religions! Wait, wait, no. Let's start from the beginning, when anything that was outside the Church's worldview was taken as heresy. When people were burned at the stake or hanged in front of the public!"



Jon began to sweat profusely as he felt Ddraig's pure glee. He was enjoying it. He was enjoying it more than the battles and feeling the food prepared by Jon! And meanwhile, Yahweh, who was a ball of light, was trembling slightly and non-stop. He didn't know if he was sad or angry.



"Jon...", God spoke slowly. "Is what you say true? Did Michael really have a girl burned?"



"That... I don't know at all, sir," Jon frowned. "I know the story of Jeanne D'Arc, but not what truly happened. It is said that she received the words of the angels when the country of France was at war. She stood up to fight, but was eventually burned because they called her a liar, that she was a witch lying about her revelations and miracles."



"Such a thing..." Yahweh sighed heavily.



"Hey, don't feel bad. Even though that moment might seem cruel, next to many things the church has done, not everything is so bad."



"Jon..." Ddraig snorted.



"Then let's talk about Saint Margaret, who was tortured for believing in this guy here," Ddraig said, while Jon imagined Ddraig pointing one of his claws at the small ball of light that was Yahweh. "Saint Margaret's father didn't just disown her when he found out she was a Christian. When she was young, a Roman prefect was struck by her beauty. They tried to get her to deny God, but she, in turn, could never do so. She was whipped accordingly, her body cut, nails driven into her, and she was lacerated with hooks."



Jon shivered at Ddraig's crude description. That was simply horrifying.



"Just like her, there are several Holy Martyrs. Your religion, despite bringing peace to many people, also made several go through unimaginable torture. I wonder what they thought when the angels took all those people to Heaven. And when they found out you were dead? They probably hid it from them until today."



"That's enough, Ddraig. I think you've gotten enough revenge, don't you think?" Jon frowned and said seriously.



"Tch... Fine. I'll stop, just because you tell me to, brother."



Jon nodded before focusing his gaze on God.



"Those kinds of things don't happen anymore. The turbulent times are long gone. Now, I think everyone wants peace and quiet. I heard from Azazel that even Olympus and Asgard are thinking of creating peace agreements between different pantheons."



"That lightning rapist?" Yahweh muttered doubtfully.



"Erm... Yeah, I heard about what he's done. Maybe they changed? I heard that years ago, he was beaten by several Gods of Japan."



"Oh, Amaterasu? She's a bit of a temperamental girl, but her mind is in the right place."



"Though... I still feel worried. Would you let me talk to my children in case you meet them?"



"The angels? Sure, I don't mind. It's small considering what you did to help me."



"Thanks, Jon. You're a kind person."



"Eh. I... I don't know," Jon scratched his head. "I just want to live doing the things I love."



"And that's why these guys in the back calmed down. Despite the seals and my curse, if it wasn't for your determination and the path you want to show them, it would still have been a bit tricky to release so much hatred."



"He's right," Elsha commented with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it, Jon Snow."



"Mm... Me too," Belzard said.



"Oh, come on, guys. I have a weird weight on my shoulders now."



"This was your choice. Now take the consequences." Elsha patted him on the back.



Groaning under his breath, Jon could only nod before deciding to leave. He'd had enough of the rage Ddraig unleashed on God, and he wanted to rest. His body might be sleeping, but being there, inside the Boosted Gear, his mind won't be able to rest properly.



When he came out, he opened his eyes in the real world, his mind on sleeping once more. But, expecting to see walls or a wooden roof, he was met with the face of a blonde woman. She had blue eyes and a curious but innocent expression.



"Ahhhhh!!" Jon cried out in surprise that a woman had suddenly appeared in front of his face.



_____________________________



 
Chapter 29: The well-deserved rest of the Red Dragon Emperor (II)

Jon jumped as he moved his body, backing up until he collided with the headboard of the bed and the wall it was almost attached to. His chest rose and fell from the shock. He had never been so surprised in his life. But he blamed Ddraig and God! If it weren't for those two who seemed to be arguing, one more passive than the other, then he wouldn't be so clueless with things. He just wanted to go back to sleep, but who knew that a beautiful woman would appear almost touching his nose with hers.

"Wha- Who are you?!" Jon asked with a frown. "Miss, in case you didn't know, this is my room!"

The woman tilted her head as she smiled. Her slightly wavy blonde hair fell in locks as she moved her head. She was wearing a simple white robe (habit).

"Oh, I knew this was your room... You are Jon Snow, the Red Dragon Emperor."

".... Yes. You still haven't answered my question: Who are you? Also, why did you come in without permission? You should know that that is a lack of manners and a disregard for people's privacy."

"Wow, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble. I just wanted to see the Red Dragon Emperor. Ah, sorry, I've once again avoided the question," the woman smiled shyly before she introduced herself, "My name is Gabriel, one of the Seraphim of Heaven."

Jon blinked before moving, getting out of bed. He could no longer sleep knowing that Gabriel, one of Yahweh's daughters, was here. He didn't know her purpose in traveling to where he was, but he didn't want his days of rest to turn into days of annoyance.

"Why are you here, young lady? I'm resting. No. It's better to say that I want to rest, and I won't let anyone interrupt that." Jon chatted calmly as he pulled out clothes from his dimensional pocket. A simple red t-shirt with gold letters that read: Dragon Emperor with Ddraig's head. For some reason, Rias thought it would be funny and sent it to him while he was training at Grigori.

"Ah, you're right. After having fought against an alien life form, you must be feeling tired," Gabriel nodded, but he had a slightly sad expression, as if he knew he did something that wasn't good.

Jon, for some strange reason, felt a little upset at the sight of Gabriel's face. He didn't understand why, but he simply wanted to stay as far away from her as possible. He knew that Yahweh didn't do anything to influence him, and it wasn't Ddraig's doing either. It was something that was born from his own being.

"How strange...", he thought before putting on a pair of black pants and leaving the room. If he couldn't sleep, then he would fill his stomach.

He passed through the hallway before reaching the living room, but he ran into not only Azazel and Sahariel, but also a blonde man who was wearing armor. Jon glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he followed the scent of food he could smell.

"What's with that armor? It's so... bulky. Don't your shoulders bother you?"

The man simply smiled as he looked at him, while Azazel laughed loudly.

"It seems that Gabriel woke you up, Jon. How are you feeling?" Sahariel asked.

"If it were up to me, I'd still be sleeping. Ddraig started arguing with Yahweh about the Church and stuff. When I woke up, I wanted to go back to sleep," Jon pointed at Gabriel as he opened the lid of a pot. His eyes sparkled at the sight of food. "Unfortunately, the young lady was on my face."

Unable to see him due to being focused on the food, Gabriel and the man shivered slightly.

"Sorry to bother. My name is Michael, a seraph of Heaven," the man introduced himself with a smile, receiving a glare from Jon, who was stuffing his mouth with food. He gulped before wiping his mouth.

"Sorry for my manners, but I'm very hungry. The battle has left me tired."

"Please don't worry. I understand what it's like to feel tired after a long battle," Michael raised his hand while still smiling. For Jon, it was a little creepy.

"So, it's true," Gabriel commented. "Father helped you in the battle. Is he there right now? Can he hear us?"

"He should..." Jon replied. "I think he can talk like Ddraig, through a gem in the Boosted Gear. But if he doesn't, he must have his reasons."

At that moment, the green gem appeared on the back of his hand. It was Ddraig: "I beat him."

"What do you say now?"

"I beat him. He's sulking. Ha, ha, ha!"

"Partner..." Jon gaped at his dragon friend's childishness.

"Oh? What's this? I sense little doves around." And the dragon kept going. "I'm sorry, but the Holy Father doesn't want to talk... Puff~ Kahaha. He's too wrapped up in his thoughts of what the Church has done all this time!"

"For the love of dragons, Ddraig!"

"And you don't laugh, Azazel!"

Old Azazel simply couldn't stop laughing.

"Please don't tell lies to our Father, Dragon," Michael dropped his smile at that instant.

"Lies? But I haven't told a single lie. Only truths come out of this dragon's mouth! We talked about the Holy Martyrs, the wars, the executions... a lot of interesting things they've done during the changing of the times."

Michael frowned, looking at the gem in Jon's hand intently.

Gabriel, either out of innocence or intelligence, intervened at that moment. He approached Jon and gently took his left hand while looking at the gem. "Would you please let me talk to my father?"

"Huh...... Tch, fine. But stay away, woman. My partner feels weird around you."

Jon rolled his eyes before looking curiously at the gem as it turned golden.

"Gabriel..."

"Father!" she exclaimed in joy. She was shaking with pure glee. She, who thought she would never be able to talk to her father once again, was doing so at that moment. She almost thought it was a dream. Her father's voice was the same one she remembered from thousands of years ago.

"You're still the same beautiful girl as always. But you've gotten stronger too. It's good, very good."

"Hiik..." Gabriel began to cry as she rubbed her forehead against Jon's hand, who moved her head away as he pulled her hand slightly. That was creepy! She didn't want a seraph to do that kind of thing to her body!

Suddenly, Gabriel grabbed onto his entire arm. Jon froze as he felt two huge soft things crushed against his left limb.

"Bastard!" Azazel screamed as he pointed a finger at him.

"What?"

"You... You... Sinner!"

"No! I don't even know why you're like this!"

Jon groaned at all the trouble he was having just a few minutes after waking up. He groaned as he walked, trying to push Gabriel away from him, but there was no way. In the end he had to walk to the couch with her in tow. When he sat down, he let out a sigh as he looked at Michael, who had a smile on his face again.

"What do you really want?"

"I just wanted to meet you, and tell you that you can keep the sword."

"Sword? Ah, Excalibur Galatine. I thought it was Grigori's."

"No," Michael shook his head. "Azazel contacted us, reporting the situation and asking for the sword."

"Eh, so it was like that. Thanks, old man."

"Humph," Azazel crossed his arms as he looked away. "I see you still know how to say thank you."

"Why are you mad at me? I don't understand," Jon gave him a bored, but also slightly bewildered look.

"Michael, even though I would like to talk about many things with you, I can't. That would be a bother to Jon, who lends me his body to inhabit without problems. For now, why don't you tell me the state of Heaven?"

"I understand," Michael nodded, but his eyes showed some sadness as he talked about Heaven. His brothers lost in the Great War, the state the Heaven System was left in after he couldn't activate it at full power, among many other things. Jon simply sat there as he listened with some curiosity. Every few moments, two things would make him jump slightly.

It was a strange feeling... feeling some excitement, nerves, and the desire to get away from the woman at his side.

After what seemed like hours, the now golden gem blinked. "I understand the situation. But for now we will do nothing."

"But, Father..."

"No. I know what you had in mind, Michael. You want to take Jon to Seventh Heaven, right? That way, you think the System will activate at its full power."

"Take me? He hasn't even asked me if I want to go," Jon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Michael.

"I was planning on asking you."

Yahweh interjected, "While it would work because I can activate what's left, it's better not to."

"Why? If it could be done, then we could be better defended."

"Michael... The Devil race now, is it better?"

"That… Yes," Michael replied, but looked confused by his father's question.

"What about the fallen?"

"Well, they're fine. I don't hate them or anything."

"True," Yahweh said seriously. "However, by fully activating the Heaven System, you'd be putting the other two factions on alert. Even if they achieve peace, leaving aside Grigori, the Devils would be wary. I know the first ones who emerged after Lucifer and the rest well."

"Also, watching Jon made me realize something. This child might not be from this planet, but he's still a human. And the current era doesn't belong to the Gods, not to the angels in heaven or the devils in the underworld. This era belongs to the humans. Let them grow, let them learn, and you'll be amazed."

Michael shivered as he heard his father's last words. For a moment, he remembered when he watched the first humans creating their civilizations. In the past, they were different. More cruel, offensive, and less intelligent. But, those words he heard at the end, were the same ones his father told him at that time.

"Even if we didn't exist... If the era of the supernatural had begun to fade, humans would have found a way to overcome the problems that afflict them. For better or worse, the planet is mostly inhabited by humans."

"Ddraig himself thinks that way. And that's surprising."

"Grrr... Don't get me involved in your business."

Michael stared at the golden gem for a long time before nodding. "Thank you for your words, father. I think it's time for us to go. I hope we can talk about other things anytime."

"As long as it's not too long, of course. I also have to rest or I'll completely fade away, even being here, in the Boosted Gear."

Smiling, Michael stood up. "Gabriel, it's time to go. And Jon Snow, I thank you for this wonderful opportunity. If you need help with anything, you can contact me," he said as he handed over a small letter of introduction.

"Gabriel..."

"Brother, please, I want to stay close to father."

"Dear sister, I think you're bothering Jon." Michael said with a small grimace. She looked at Jon, who moved his head back, because of how close she was.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Jon."

"...", without saying anything, Jon turned his head with a frown. Gabriel felt a little sad seeing that, so he slowly walked away, then carefully stood up.

"Then, we'll see each other another time," Gabriel smiled slightly before standing beside his brother. Both of them disappeared with the light generated by the teleportation magic circle.

The remaining three fell silent before Azazel looked at Jon with armagura.

"How did they feel?"

"What thing?" Jon looked at him expressionlessly.

"The breasts! I mean Gabriel's breasts, you bastard!" Azazel stood up with his hands slightly spread out and his fingers pointing at the roof.

"Tch... You old pervert. I should have thought it was something like that."

"You might not know, but Gabriel is the most powerful and beautiful woman in Heaven!"

"Relax, I don't think she's my type. I didn't even focus too much on the feeling of my arm."

"You... are you gay?"

Jon rolled his eyes. "It's just that the type of woman I like is different."

"Oh?"

"I'd better go eat. We can talk about other things in the meantime."

_________________________
 
Chapter 30: The well-deserved rest of the Red Dragon Emperor (III)

To get away from Azazel's incessant chatter about trying to figure out what kind of girls he liked, Jon decided it was best to go out. However, he didn't do so without asking Sahariel if she had some sort of ship. Surprisingly, she had one in her dimensional pocket. At first, Jon thought he was lucky and that Sahariel kept strange things, but on second thought, she should have a lot of things for the years she's lived.

The dimensional pocket might not have too big of a space, but magic still allowed you to shrink or enlarge certain items. So, it wasn't at all strange that she had a lot of things in there.

After that, Jon flew above the clouds before descending into the sea to rest while fishing. Buying a simple rod wasn't that difficult.

"Why did you decide to fish?" Ddraig asked curiously.

"I heard it could be relaxing, so I thought I'd give it a try," Jon commented as he looked at the expanse of sea in front of him.

"It's amazing how humans improve the instruments they have to make their daily lives easier. In the past, only simple wooden reeds were used. Plus some nets." Yahweh commented happily.

"Speaking of instruments. God, I've been wondering for a while, but how did you create the Sacred Gears? And more importantly, how did you bind them to people's souls?"

"Oh, that. Do you really want to hear it? It's not that simple."

"Would you tell me? I thought it was a secret and I asked simply to try and gain an answer," Jon tilted his head slightly. "I didn't think you'd tell me so easily."

"Ah, you don't have to worry, Jon. Anyway, even if a new Sacred Gear was created, it won't be as strong as the originals. After all, they would have to be anchored to the Heaven System for that."

"And so, you first have to understand the System first. I'll explain it to you in an easy way: that system is what causes damage to devils that come into contact with blessed items, provides miracles, and determines who can be saved. Certain concepts are tied to the system I created, so that they will always work as long as those concepts exist in the world. As long as there are devils, then they will receive damage from blessed items and light."

"Hmmm… it almost looks like computer code. The concepts would work like programming codes and the system would work like the computer that runs it."

"I don't know what a computer is, but that code thing is a good way to look at it. There are a lot of codes intertwined up there. The concept of [Human] and [Soul] are there too, which makes it possible for humans to be born with the artifacts I created."

"What about the spaces inside?" Jon asked. "The Boosted Gear has a good amount of space inside. How did you achieve that?"

"It has to do with the materials and magic I use. You know that Orichalcum is spatial in order to hold the magic that is imbued into it. It uses magic that is a step beyond the simple spatial magic you use for the dimensional pocket."

"You may not know this, but the soul is an existence higher than the body made of flesh. It is an existence of a higher order in the concept of the astral plane, acting as a record of the body that contains the memories, mind, and magic. The body itself can be called a terminal for the soul to move through, and the soul itself can be considered an invincible command structure."

"Do you know why the Gods can do what they do? Their actual bodies, not the shells you could see, are actually their own souls manifested on this plane. That is why it is so easy for them to use their authorities in the form of divine magic."

"But then..." Jon frowned at that moment. "How can the Longinus kill gods? If their bodies are actually souls manifested on this plane, shouldn't it be impossible to kill them?"

"Kuhum... it may not sound right for me to follow it myself, but that's the genius of my inventions. Souls are part of the astral plane. And the astral plane, even though it sounds like a distant place, is in constant contact with the real world. You can't see it or perceive it, but it's there. Through a magic I used, I was able to connect the plane with the sacred gear. When you see the Boosted Gear disappear, it is sent to the astral plane, to the same place where your soul is standing. I know it can be complicated to understand, but you can take the interior spaces of the sacred gear, as holes inside it. The body you see inside is not the real one, but your soul."

"You say... that I entered the astral plane earlier?"

"That's right."

"Ugh... I still don't quite understand. Is it really possible to send something physical to a plane that doesn't seem to be one?"

"The sacred gear is part of your soul, Jon. That's why when someone dies and that soul fades away into the astral plane, the sacred gear travels to another soul around. Sometimes it takes longer to reach people, but that's how it works."

"Are there more things like that? I mean the planes."

"Indeed," Yahweh said seriously. "Between the astral plane and the mortal plane, there is a space that contains all possibilities because it is unobservable, though for that very reason nothing really exists within it. Time does not flow there."

"It's a really magical place if you think about it. Because it is unobservable, nothing exists, but it contains all possibilities. The moment it is observed, it can give you many answers, but at the same time it can drive you crazy because of all the things you would see."

"Hey...", Ddraig chimed in with a slightly grumpy voice.

"What's wrong, bro?"

"Can't we use that?"

"You mean that plane...", Yahweh muttered. "It's certainly possible if I tell you how. But I don't understand. Why would you want to do something so dangerous."

"Fool! Remember that my partner wants to see his homeland! If that place contains all the possibilities, wouldn't it be possible to use it for that?"

Jon fell silent, because he didn't know the answer. Despite hearing some information, he didn't understand if it was possible. God's explanations were complicated for him. If he used references and analogies, then perhaps. Unfortunately, God didn't know about many of the things that existed in the present.

Yahweh was silent for a long time. Jon didn't interrupt him, first because he didn't want to, and second because he felt a fish take the bait. Pulling hard as he turned the wheel to drag the rope, Jon began to pull the fish out at high speed. With his strength, it wasn't even child's play. So soon he saw a fish jump out of the water with a small smile.

"The first one!"

"You have to cook it later! I haven't smelled sashimi in a while!"

"You're right. Plus, with some sake... Kuuughk... That'll be good!" Jon had to wipe away the saliva that fell from his mouth. It really didn't take that long, but that battle against SHPD seemed to last forever. He missed eating Japanese food.

"Jon, do you have any good memories of your homeworld?"

"Huh?" Jon blurted out upon hearing Yahweh's question.

"Not really. Not really. Why?"

"Ddraig's idea... it might actually work. Sure, it would require a proper form of travel, but it's possible to do so. However, to emerge from within the imaginary sea, then you would need some sort of anchor, a thing to pull you out. A rope to guide you along the way."

Jon looked at the fish inside the boat before sighing. "Honestly, my memories of Winterfell aren't the best. Sure, I lived fairly well, but I didn't have that many happy moments either... Ah... ! But I have my younger half-sister. She... always followed me around, even when her mother punished her for it from time to time. She was a little fighter, Arya."

"Do you miss her?"

"Of course."

"She might be dead though? The distances between planets aren't the smallest, you know?"

"I understand that perfectly, but I'd still like to go back even once."

"I understand... then I'll calculate the things necessary to make the trip possible. We'll also have to ask Azazel for help, so he can build the ship the right way."

"R-Really? Will I be able to go back?" Jon stood up excitedly. Arya's image appeared in his mind. Even if she was dead, he still wanted to know what happened to her.

"It's possible!"

".... Good."

Jon didn't know it at the time, but when he would talk about the idea to Azazel, something new would emerge. It wasn't just the construction of the closest thing to a sacred gear for thousands of years, but also the true possibility of interstellar travel. Thanks to Yahweh's information about the space that existed between the astral plane and the mortal plane, the project would be named as a journey.

Journey through the sea of imaginary numbers.

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