381 CH. 390: ExE??

Ophis, one of the two strongest existences in the world of DxD, looked at Asahi with expressionless eyes.

Asahi assumed a friendly smile. "Hey, Ophis."

Ophis tilted her head. "You know me?"

Nobody should know about her current appearance since she recently changed forms.

"Let's say your dragon god aura is hard to imitate."

Ophis nodded, accepting his words at face value. She fixed her blank eyes on the spear held in Asahi's hands. "You came from the Dimensional Gap?"

The crimson spear disturbed her 'nothingness' more than the noisy world. Only one entity gave her this feeling—the giant red dragon drifting in the endless stream of the Dimensional Gap.

"Are you saying I'm not from this world?" Asahi asked.

Ophis nodded at his question.

"You're right," Asahi admitted. "How do you know that?"

Asahi didn't need to hide it from Ophis since she was too pure to blackmail him.

Ophis pointed to the forest. "You tore a hole in the Dimensional Gap…?"

Asahi narrowed his eyes. 'It's the same forest Euclid brought Yokai to. That person traveled through the Dimensional Gap?'

Asahi was skeptical about the person's identity. They either had a tool that let them survive the Dimensional Gap or they came from the other worlds outside of the DxD universe.

'Is it ExE?'

His intuition told him he was close to the answer.

'Things might get heated up with their involvement.'

Even Great Red got slaughtered by one of the gods in the ExE world. The current world stood no chance against their invasion.

"It wasn't me." Asahi shook his head. "I came here to investigate something."

Ophis just stared at him. It might have been an awkward situation if he wasn't used to the less lively Ais.

'I wonder how Ddraig would react to Ophis being a loli.'

He couldn't get Ddraig until God finished the complete version of the Boosted Gear. Still, he visited Ddraig yesterday and watched her tossing the Light Spear around the astral world.

"Help me."

"How can I help the Dragon God?" Asahi feigned ignorance.

Ophis was born in the nothingness of the Dimensional Gap, but Great Red claimed her home as her strolling ground. Ophis had to kick Great Red out of her home if she ever wished to reclaim her silence. Any strong person would be a big help in her goal.

Ophis' eyes peered into a distant place. "Get rid of Great Red… I want silence."

Ophis had come to earth for two reasons—investigating the tear in the Dimensional Gap and recruiting some strong fighters.

Asahi thought of creating a pair of headphones that could kill any sound in the surroundings. But Ophis' problem was more than just the noise. The Dimensional Gap was her cozy home, and the nothingness there soothed her.

Asahi sighed. "What will I get for doing that?"

Ophis lifted a finger. Two black snakes crept up her hands, an orange aura enveloping them. "It will give you great power."

As the snakes flew over to Asahi, Ophis nodded with an imperceptible pride on her face. The snakes were the manifestation of her power. Even a seemingly emotionless dragon like Ophis took pride in her power.

Asahi shook his head. "I don't need them."

Ophis' power might have a negative effect on him since he was going to use the Boosted Gear later on.

Ophis tilted her head. "What do you want?"

Asahi closed the distance between them and put a hand on her head. "Tell me if you feel any difference."

He channeled his headpat skill to the bare minimum and patted her head. Ophis frowned, feeling a strange warmth entering her. It disrupted her nothingness, yet she couldn't find it unpleasant in any way.

"What's this?" she looked up at him with curious eyes. "You're doing?"

"Does it feel good?"

Ophis nodded curtly, making Asahi chuckle. When Ophis didn't receive an answer, she fell into deep thoughts.

(My love, you're corrupting the innocent loli!)

'Legal loli you mean.'

(She can shift into a more mature form. Therefore, I disqualify her as a loli.)

'You also can do that.'

(My case is different.)

Their banter was interrupted by several figures approaching in the distance. They were yokai, much to Asahi's surprise. One of them even had a powerful aura close to an Ultimate-class being.

'Yasaka?'

There were a dozen kitsune women including Tamako, but Yasaka wasn't among them. The one at the helm of the yokai gang was a humanoid crow dressed like a hermit, a tengu to be more specific.

"Savior-dono!" Tamako yelled from the ground, waving her hands up furiously. "Can you see me down here?"

Asahi pulled back his hand and flew down to the group. Ophis took his hand and touched his fingers, trying to find the source of the 'warmth.'

Asahi rubbed her head with his left hand. "Ophis, why don't you meet me later? We'll go and pay a visit to Great Red."

He wasn't aware of his maximum power after achieving the elemental form. A fight with Great Red might serve as a good indicator.

Ophis didn't understand Asahi wanted her to leave. Clinging to Asahi's hand, she stared at the tengu. "Weak."

The tengu's wings twitched to hear a little girl calling him weak. "I'm Haruto, the chief of the Tengu Faction…" Haruto touched his stomach with his right wings and bowed. "Our clan is eternally grateful to your kind act of saving our kin."

Tamako also bowed her head, and the rest of the yokai followed her gesture.

"I'll accept your gratitude then," Asahi said. "What brings you to this forest?"

Haruto raised his head. "The scent of our kin drew Tamako here. Did you rescue them...?"

Every yokai focused on him with a spark of hope in their eyes. Taking a sigh, Asahi shook his head.

"Someone took them away."

All the kitsune's ears slumped in sadness. Some even shed tears at their loss. If the devil were creatures of sins, then these yokai could be the creatures of innocence from the way they exhibited their emotions.

Asahi could track the assailant down in the Dimensional Gap, but he wasn't prepared to take on the world of ExE, where the leaders were beyond the level of Great Red.

(We saved many already, my love.)

'I know. They aren't my responsibility.'

***

Lord Lucifuge stared into the eyes of Leviathan and Baal since Asmodeus was sleeping with his mouth wide open. No ounce of respect was on Lord Lucifuge's face. His loyalty and heart remained with Lucifer. He still had an obligation to answer the call by the Devil Kings.

Leviathan smiled, playing with a curl of her violet hair. "Lord Lucifuge, Mother has gone rogue. The tragedy of Father deeply hurt her…"

Her depressing voice didn't match her playful gestures.

"I tried to persuade Lady Lilith." Lord Lucifuge told a convenient lie. He had brought Lilith to Asahi. Without his initiative, Lilith wouldn't have started this whole rebellion. He simply wished Lady Lilith could persuade Asahi to cure Lucifer… or get over her sadness.

"Your attempts aren't enough, Lord Lucifuge," Leviathan said, intertwining her fingers under her jaw. "A Devil King should rule the devils. Her voice is creating chaos in the Underworld. We might have to take away her power—"

"No one will touch Mom." The door was flung open as Rizevim walked into the meeting room. "You guys should know how old she is. I'll talk some sense into her."

"You, on the other hand, became more charming with age," Leviathan said coyly before she noticed a red spot on his sleeve. "There is some blood on your clothes."

Rizevim immediately cleaned the blood with a flick. "Ladies are really violent these days."

Baal chuckled, glancing at Leviathan from the corner of his eyes. "So true."

Lord Lucifuge frowned. Rizevim was more renowned for debauchery than his prowess matching or surpassing the Devil Kings. He never got into any conflict with the Devil Kings since his ambitions were limited.

'He still loves Lady Lilith.'

Lord Lucifuge didn't get along with him, but he respected Rizevim for caring for Lady Lilith.

Leviathan smiled. "Rizevim, I will leave Mother's matter to you."

"I'll visit you later~."

Rizevim came and went away without saying a word to Lord Lucifuge.