"Damn it, how are you this powerful?!" Siegfried muttered as he struggled to defend against Kousuke's slow, deliberate attacks. As their weapons clashed, cracks began to form on his Demon Sword. With trembling arms, he kept switching between swords, trying to keep up. But his pale face made it clear, something was wrong.
From the beginning, he hadn't been able to fully control them. This fight was a losing battle for him. Suddenly, Kousuke lightly jumped backward, just in time for another figure to crash into the spot he'd just vacated. A two-meter-tall man with long gray hair clicked his tongue in frustration when his attack only shattered the ground.
Heracles and Siegfried exchanged a quick glance before nodding—an unspoken agreement between two warriors. Despite his arrogance, Heracles knew the opponent before him wasn't someone to be taken lightly. So, when Siegfried lunged forward with his Demon Sword, Heracles followed up with a fist aimed at Kousuke right after. The two of them attacked in tandem, hoping to put pressure on him, yet Kousuke didn't even break a sweat.
When Perseus fired his Aegis Mineralization beam from a distance, Kousuke calmly sidestepped it. He didn't try to block or parry, it was as if he instinctively knew how dangerous that beam of light was. Then, with a swift horizontal swing of the twig, he struck at Heracles's legs. The blow nearly knocked him over, but Siegfried shoved him forward to help him regain his footing.
The two were starting to realize something terrifying—even if the entire Hero Faction were here, they might still stand no chance against the monster before them. But they had one trump card, something granted only to a chosen few, based on their strength. That included Siegfried and Heracles.
However, Cao Cao had told them not to use it unless absolutely necessary. After all, none of them truly understood what it did. There was little information on it… other than its origin. But if what that person had said was to be trusted, then the Snake could raise their power to an entirely new level.
"Cao Cao! I'm going to use it!" Heracles shouted before pulling out an orb with a snake emblem embedded inside it. Without hesitation, he swallowed it whole. His aura erupted like a volcano. The air trembled around him as he roared in triumph. Heracles could feel it, his strength had surpassed even Cao Cao's!
In that moment, Heracles felt like the true Greek Hero of legend, the one who could topple mountains, not just a reincarnation carrying a fragment of his power. Looking down at his own body, now visibly larger and brimming with muscle and strength, Heracles turned to Kousuke with a crazed look in his eyes. A red aura surrounded him, giving the impression of a mad beast.
"Let's see how you fare now!"
He lunged forward at high speed. The ground beneath his feet cracked under the pressure of his strength. His fist ripped through the air, landing with a deafening thud against the twig. The shockwave split the ground beneath them wide open. And yet… Kousuke's expression didn't change. It was as if Heracles's newfound power didn't faze him at all.
"Hahaha! I can feel it! That twig won't last under my strength if I keep this up!"
"..."
Heracles wasn't wrong. At the end of the day, it was still a twig. No matter how powerful the enchantment, if the vessel itself was weak, it wouldn't last forever. Kousuke turned his gaze toward Rias and her peerage, who were working together with precise teamwork to hold off Cao Cao. They were doing their best to keep the True Longinus occupied while he handled the rest.
"Looking away during our fight? How arrogant!"
Under the continuous assault of Heracles's monstrous strength, the twig finally snapped in two. Kousuke casually tossed it aside, clenched his fist, lowered his stance, and drove a punch into Heracles's gut. The blow hit far harder than the twig ever had. Heracles was sent flying several miles away, crashing into the earth like a meteor.
"...I was only going easy on you," Kousuke muttered.
"No way… even with the Snake…"
Siegfried was in disbelief. Heracles, even with the Snake's power, had been defeated. He considered taking the Snake himself and teaming up again, but after seeing that, his thoughts ground to a halt.
He began to seriously consider surrendering. There was little chance of winning now. If anything, Siegfried could only see his own grim demise if he kept fighting. He felt Kousuke's gaze on him and began to slowly raise his arms in surrender when the entire dimension trembled.
A sound like shattering glass rang through the air. A rift opened in the sky, and from it, a small figure flew down, landing gracefully in front of Kousuke. Siegfried and the rest of the Hero Faction stared in shock. Even Cao Cao was stunned.
Kousuke looked down at the petite girl who now stood before him. Her eyes looked lifeless, yet he could feel something dangerous behind them. Her presence was more ominous than the Demon God he had encountered in the Other World.
For a moment, neither of them said a word. They simply locked eyes.
"...What is your relation with Samael?" The girl spoke at last, her voice soft but devoid of emotion.
"Who?" Kousuke blinked. He hadn't expected such a cute voice to come from her. But he wasn't fooled by her appearance, this girl was no human.
"Samael. The Snake that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple."
"You mean that snake in the Adam and Eve creation myth?"
"Mm. And it's not a myth."
"My only encounter with a snake was back in childhood," Kousuke said, scratching his cheek. "I was almost bitten by one, but out of fear, I smashed it with a pipe. Repeatedly." He saw no malicious intent in her, so he didn't mind entertaining her question.
"Other than that, I'm not familiar with anyone named Samael."
"Then… you're not with him?" she asked, tilting her head, as if she had more questions than answers. Then, she pointed toward the Hero Faction.
"Okay. Then, can you let them go?"
"Are you with them?" He asked.
"I'm… sort of their leader? Ophis," she muttered, pointing at herself.
"Ophis… One of the Strongest Existences. Ouroboros Dragon. Infinite Dragon God," Issei muttered the words Ddraig had told him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. That little girl, whose presence was barely noticeable was a supreme being. The Dragon God?