High School DxD-Volume 25 Chapter 7-1

New Dark. From the Outside of the World

After his son’s match ended, Hyoudou Issei’s father — Hyoudou Gorou, left the authorised personnel spectator room of the stadium along with Kunou, Ophis and Lilith. As they walked along the hall, Gorou felt that something wasn’t right as his vision distorted and his whole body lost strength. When he realised it, all of the spectators’ cheers had vanished. The hall was filled with silence. There wasn’t a single sign of life. As he continued along the lifeless and silent hall, he finally reached a space which was slightly wider. Kunou, Ophis, and Lilith walked in front and took their stance as if they were protecting him. The three of them faced forward. Kunou especially was vigilant as she made a grim expression. Then, several mysterious hooded figures came out from their hiding spots. Their faces looked like skulls under the hood, and they also held scythes in their hands. Gorou assumed that they were truly Grim Reapers. The Grim Reapers looked at them — towards Ophis and Lilith as they spoke.

<<This is our first meeting, oh Dragon of Infinity.>>

Kunou lashed out against the Grim Reapers.

“You guys! You are from the Netherworld, right!? What do you want!?”

She sounded brave saying those words, though Gorou knew that Kunou was trembling. Despite the fact that she was not human, she was still a kid. After taking a deep breath, Gorou stood in front of Kunou, Ophis, and Lilith. He then screamed to the Grim Reapers.

“H-Hey! You people! W-W-What do you want from these girls? They are my precious children that I look after! I won’t let you t-touch them!”

He declared whilst trembling. Gorou laughed with pretense as he said to Kunou and others.

“Hahaha, I am actually a-afraid, but I am the father of the Sekiryuutei. Protecting you guys is something that I have to be able to do.”

Of course, there was no way that he could win against the Grim Reapers. There was a chance that his son or his son’s comrades would not be able to come to their aid either. Still, because he looked at the sight of his son who was very brave, he couldn’t pull back. He thought that if he pulled back now, he would not be able to call himself the father of the Sekiryuutei. The Grim Reapers pointed the blades of the scythes at them.

<<The father of Sekiryuutei, huh? This is good. Let’s take our revenge for Thanathos-sama.>>

<<But, we can’t let our guard down as the Dragon who holds the power of Infinity is here. Let’s stick to the plan and prepare to summon the [Dragon Eater] Samael —.>>

It was at that moment. They heard a voice which interrupted the Grim Reapers’ conversation.

“You might want to give it a rest. Those guys are important to us after all.”

Did my son’s comrades arrive?

Gorou turned his body towards the voice as if he barely escaped death. A young man wearing a blue suit over his entire body like the ones you would usually see in science-fiction movies and a girl wearing a blue dress were standing there. Gorou had the impression that they were both young and around the same age as his son Issei. On both of his hands were gauntlets…or something like that equipped. The Grim Reapers looked like they were surprised by their entrance as they turned their gazes away from their supposed target and instead glared at them. One of the Grim Reapers spoke.

<<… For something like this to happen at such a time. —[First Dark], no, Kanzaki Mitsuya of [Cross Times Kiss].>>

The young man giggled in response to the Grim Reaper’s words as he said to the young girl behind him.

“Kirino-san, you don’t have to do anything. Even if our opponents aren’t ultimate-class, they must at least be part of the upper echelons. —This is a good chance. Shall we make an example out of them to show the rulers of Hell who they’re messing with?”

The young man took out — a blue terminal. As he slid a part of the gauntlet that was equipped on his left hand, a space to insert something was revealed, and he inserted his terminal there. As he touched the screen of the terminal, a faint blue light was released and spread to every corner of the room. The uneasy feeling that filled the room instantly disappeared. The Grim Reapers stirred in response to this.

<<—! It’s [Innovate Clear]!>>

“It’s just the simple version though. With this, this whole area is now mine. Now, I guess I will use another one.”

The young man — took out another terminal. It was tinged with a jet-black colour. As the Grim Reapers visually recognised the terminal machine, they became more alert.

<<Don’t tell me that it also remains in your…!>>

The Grim Reapers raised their guards. This time, the young man slid a part of the gauntlet on his right hand and inserted the jet-black tinged terminal machine into it.

[[Innovate Clear] and [Telos Karma].]

Suddenly, both of his gauntlets caused the space to shake and rumble with a ‘Dun Dun’ sound. His gauntlets started to emit an ominous teal and jet-black light that wrapped around the young man’s whole body.

[—Transcendental Arrive.]

As the young man said that—

[Innovate Clear Balance Breaker!]

[Telos Karma Balance Breaker!]

His gauntlets emitted machine-like voices. Immediately after that, both of them emitted a voice simultaneously.

<<[Transcendental Arriver!]>>

As the space behind the young man distorted, sparks crackled and something which resembled a powered exoskeleton appeared. The powered exoskeleton’s head, body and limb parts then opened and latched onto the young man’s body. The helmet was equipped on his head last. His whole body looked like it was clad in a futuristic powered-exoskeleton suit from sci-fi movies. Unlike the armor that his son Issei wore, Gorou felt that this one seemed much more machine-like. The Grim Reapers were surprised by the young man.

<<—!? T-This is, did you artificially awaken your Longinus’ Balance Breakers….!?>>

The young man said as he stepped forward.

【—It’s a technique called Transcendental Arrival.】

<<—! Even though it’s a system created by the God of another mythology, how loathsome…! Damn humans!>>

One of the Grim Reapers was enraged and raised his scythe overhead as he charged towards the young man, ready to attack. It was when the Grim Reaper closed his distance and swung his scythe downwards. The attack clearly should have hit, but…the young man, who was in front of the Grim Reaper, was unscratched even though the edge of the scythe pierced the floor. As the Grim Reaper took out his scythe, he asked in confusion.

<<What did you do…? My attack should have hit you completely.>>

The young man shrugged as he answered.

【I simply chose the option of that attack ‘not hitting’.】

The Grim Reapers were surprised upon hearing those words.

<<Don’t tell me, that is…! ‘That’ ability really—>>

As the young man spread his hands, he pointed at his belt.

【At the very least, the phenomena caused by [Telos Karma] in this small world that was created with [Innovate Clear] are certain. Even a God-class being won’t be able to oppose this.】

The young man then continued,

【—Welcome to my territory. It will only be for a short period of time, but please enjoy it.】

Gorou was horrified after hearing those words. It was because he felt something really dark from the tone of the young man’s voice, who was about the same age as his son. The Grim Reapers then simultaneously rushed towards the young man with their scythes in hand.

<<Kuh! How about this!?>>

The swings and slashes of the scythes were so fast that Gorou couldn’t follow them with his eyes. The young man evaded all of it just by slightly moving his fist. The blade of a certain Grim Reaper’s scythe suddenly fell off from its handle as it clanged onto the ground with a metal-like sound. The Grim Reaper was dumbfounded as the blade broke off from its handle. The young man then said.

【This time, I chose the option of ‘The scythe isn’t in good condition’.】

<<…So that means we fell into a trap, huh. Damn you,[The man who impersonates God]…!>>

The Grim Reaper yelled to the young man angrily. While looking at the terminal machine, her phone, the young girl murmured.

“You mean a ‘cheater’.”

The young man shook his head.

【It’s different. The other Longinus users are cheaters. I would call this a bug. As Longinus are called the ‘bugs’ of Sacred Gears, it fits perfectly, doesn’t it?】

The Grim Reaper whose scythe was destroyed (Gorou interpreted it that way) made another scythe appear. Once again, he and his comrades assaulted the young man simultaneously. — However, the young man operated the gauntlet equipped on his left arm. Then, a blade-like light was created. As the young man slipped through the attacks, several trails of light were drawn. In an instant, there were numerous ruptures scattered all over the bodies of the Grim Reapers who had attacked, annihilating them. There wasn’t a speck of dust left after that. The two remaining Grim Reapers flinched as they saw their friends annihilated without being able to do anything. One of the Grim Reapers maliciously pointed his blade towards Gorou and the others as he wielded his scythe!

<<If that’s the case, then at least the parent of the Sekiryuutei!>>

He leaped with high speed and got closer. Gorou braced himself as he felt that his life was in danger. Someone then stood in front of Gorou. It was a girl with black hair — Ophis. Ophis handled the Grim Reaper that came to attack by slapping him!

BAN!

The Grim Reaper vanished along with a parched voice! Ophis said to the Grim Reaper who had completely vanished.

“I won’t allow it. Whoever it may be.”

Gorou was also surprised by Ophis’s bravery. Kunou, who was beside him, opened her mouth widely in surprise as well. After the young man operated a part of his gauntlet, the powered exoskeleton started to detach.Then, as the weird atmosphere that filled the room vanished, they could once again hear the cheerful sounds of the spectators from the Rating Game’s venue. Gorou thought ‘I don’t really understand, but it looks like space has returned to normal’. The young man addressed the last remaining Grim Reaper.

“Hey, Grim Reaper-san over there. Go back and tell Hades this; if I am in your list of targeted Longinus wielders, we will also come up with something. After all, you’re the ones who started all of this.”

The last Grim Reaper quickly fled while hatefully glaring at the young man. As the dangerous fellow left, Gorou stroked his chest in relief.

“Y-You saved us there. By the way, w-who are you…?”

As the young man replied, he revealed a gentle smile which seemed appropriate for a boy his age.

“—We go by the name of [Cross Times Kiss], but I guess that is meaningless in this [World] as it looks like the name [First Dark] is more popular here. My name is Kanzaki Mitsuya, and because of certain reasons, we will be closely guarding you and your wife during the tournament. That person over there is [Able], my colleague Kirino Shizuka-san.”

That young man, Kanzaki, looked at the young girl behind him. As their gazes met, she slightly bowed to them. The young girl then asked Kanzaki as she approached.

“…Is it really true that we can get hold of information about [Evie Etoulde] just by helping these guys? After all, our faction is an enemy of Maou Beelzebub.”

“Well, who knows. But, it seems like Hades is really trying to become the guardian of this world. I am pretty sure even we wouldn’t want to get involved in that if he can take advantage of the Maous.”

“… Whichever it is, we can’t go back to that [Game] without getting something first.”

The conversation was completely incomprehensible to Gorou…but then Kanzaki looked in his direction.

“I understand. For now, if we can get closer to the people who are close to Sekiryuutei, then at the very least…”

“…All right. I am fine with it as long as I can get the [Bonus] after thirty years.”

—Suddenly, another voice was heard.

“…I guess for now, I will just say my greeting, you with the forbidden name, Kanzaki Mitsuya.”

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. It was the figure of a familiar young man. A young man who had brought his black dog along. Gorou then remembered that he was a friend of his son Issei, Ikuse Tobio. Kanzaki cocked his eyes as he saw Ikuse Tobio. He then laughed cheerfully.

“Yeah, I guess this is our first greeting, Slash Dog Ikuse Tobio.”

With a vigilant expression, Ikuse Tobio said.

“—[First Dark], the nemesis of Maou Ajuka Beelzebub, the person who controls both the Longinus [Innovate Clear] and [Telos Karma]. The erased group [Cross Times Kiss]. And the human who comes and goes outside the reason of the world, huh…”

Kanzaki shrugged.

“The deal that I made with Ajuka-sama says that I would only be cooperating during this Tournament.”

Ikuse Tobio looked at the terminal machine that Kanzaki possessed.

“…The Grigori views you as a very dangerous man. I’ve heard that if I were to break that, you won’t be able to remain on this side, is that right?”

“It’s exactly as you say. Able and I are weaklings full of weaknesses, you know?”

“You can certainly say that…”

As Kanzaki took out both terminal machines from his gauntlets, he said.

“—Everything is for the sake of [Innovate] and [Karma].”

There was a weird atmosphere between Ikuse Tobio and Kanzaki. The dog that Ikuse Tobio brought along also emitted a dangerous light from its eyes. Acting as a mediator, Gorou stepped in between them.

“N-Now, can you guys please stop fighting. See, I am also unharmed. You are…Ise’s friend, right? I remember seeing you a few times. If that’s true, could you please stop fighting here? I don’t know what happened between you two, but I don’t think he’s a bad person as he saved me and these girls.”

Ikuse Tobio lowered his head in response to Gorou’s words.

“…Fine, sorry for making a ruckus.”

Gorou was surprised by his frankness. The young woman, Kirino, lowered her head as well as she spoke.

“Thank you for sticking up for us. I am sorry that things had to turn out this way…”

The young woman looked like she was truly sorry. Gorou replied.

“It’s fine, young lady. Since my son is working hard in this world, a part of me has been prepared to get involved in these kinds of things. There was also the time when Vali-kun’s scary grandfather targeted us.”

It was impossible for him to forget the day he learned the truth about his son, the day that their family bond had grown stronger. It was terrifying, but still, thanks to that, he was able to learn the truth about his son and the people around him. Even if he were to relive such terrifying memories again, he was sure that there wouldn’t be any better life as long as he could see his own son’s true form. That was why Gorou decided he would try to smile for the sake of his children, regardless of the terrifying things that he saw. He wanted to say that no matter how terrifying the situations that he encountered were, he would be fine. As if Kanzaki also felt this, he bowed his head as well.

“…I am really sorry. But, now that I have met you, my determination has been hardened. —During the tournament, I will protect you and your wife.”

He didn’t really understand, but he knew that some great people were prepared to guard him and his wife. He would learn more about what kind of person he was from now on, but Gorou decided that he would try to believe in him for now, and so he replied with a ‘thank you’ for protecting them against the scary Grim Reapers. Kanzaki then added as he remembered something.

“Ah, that’s right.”

He whispered to Gorou.

(…Please, don’t speak of this matter to your son’s junior Nakiri-kun yet. Because I have something to take care of with him.)

Nakiri… The image of his son’s junior came across his mind. Gorou, who didn’t know about the situation, replied with ‘All right’. Kanzaki then declared to Ikuse Tobio. . “[Slash Dog], I promise you this. —We will definitely protect the Sekiryuutei’s parents. With a dad this nice, I will be punished if I don’t protect him.”

The young girl, Kirino, enviously said.

“…And from who would that punishment come from, I wonder? Also, are you not going to watch the match of [Star Buster]-kun?”

Kanzaki sighed in response to Kirino’s question.

“He won’t have any problems. But he sure is a problematic kid.”

Kanzaki then reached out for a handshake with Ikuse Tobio. Ikuse Tobio hesitated for a moment, but…he returned the gesture. While they shook hands, Kanzaki then laughed suggestively as he said.

“—[Innovate], Ikuse Tobio. Also, Hyoudou Issei-kun and Vali Lucifer. In order to ruin the evil Gods’ plan. And then, for the sake of surviving against Melvazoa that will come in thirty years.”

[DxD]… [DOG]…and also, [Dark]…

The ambition of the God of the Netherworld Hades had moved the Dark of the Longinus that shouldn’t be touched. Behind the tournament, everyone’s speculations became extremely chaotic.