156 Fake Hero

Right after Cao Cao's showed up, Asia, Xenovia and Irina headed towards the gate to leave while I, Kiba, began to fight off a large number of evil dragons with the help of the others. The ones who remained behind with me were Rias-buchou, Akeno-san, Koneko-chan, Gasper, Rossweisse-sensei, as well as the owner of the holy spear, Cao Cao.

Cao Cao and Ladon began to fight. Wielding the holy spear, he released a holy wave at Ladon. If one was to take a direct blow from the holy spear, not even if the one was a high class devil would be able to withstand it. However, just before the attack could hit Ladon, it seemed to have been stopped by something and was eliminated. There seemed to be some sort of barrier protecting Ladon's body. The self-protection barrier of this dragon was quite troublesome. Although Ladon only made a slight move, he was able to endure an attack from the holy spear, which showed that his defensive barrier was quite extraordinary. Ladon bursted into laughter.

"I never imagined that I would meet the owner of the holy spear…it seems that I really am quite lucky to have been revived, for I am able to see something from the legends in front of me."

Cao Cao shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, that's great. It's your second time dying, so you should have a good farewell ceremony."

This man is, as always, just talking. Ladon put on a rather disturbing smile.

"Well then, let me show you something interesting."

Ladon then moved his foot to make a magic circle, a dragon gate! Does he intend to summon more dragons out here!? The dragon gate started to emit a deep green light! Seeing this, Rossweisse-sensei cried out in surprise

"T-This dragon is incredible!"

The aura coming through the gate left all of us stunned. That's right, in the green light which started to disperse was —- a massive dragon covered in black scales.

"RRROOAARRR~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!!!"

It even caused the air around it to tremble. Emerging from the magic circle was the dragon Grendel.

But there was more than just one dragon! There were three dragons! There are actually three of Grendel?! Everyone, including myself, was shocked at the appearance of those Evil Dragons! On top of that, it was a complete surprise that there would be three of them! With three other Evil Dragons now on his side, Ladon said with a sneer

"How? They were manufactured having Grendel as the reference dragon. Although they're still being adjusted, they're looking quite good aren't they?"

…To think that there was such a thing. Their technology has already reached a level letting them reproduce several copies of Grendel?! However, we could see that these three Grendel didn't have the consciousness of the actual Grendel. There was absolutely nothing that can be felt from them differently for Ladon who stood behind them. …Because there were now four legendary Evil Dragons as our opponents, we could do nothing but stop and stare with bated breath. —However, only one man showed a defiant smile. It was Cao Cao. Cao Cao declared to Rias-buchou that he would defeat those Evil Dragons.

"Rias Gremory, that guy over there has some unusual barrier covering his body, and on top of that, there's also three of Grendel."

As he said that, we understood that even our strongest attack was no match for Ladon's barrier. There were also three Grendels against us, so the situation was rather bleak.

"I know that ordinary attacks will not be effective against his barrier."

Hearing Buchou say this, Cao Cao made a bitter smile.

"For someone called the Ruin Princess, you're don't seem to have much confidence."

"Thank you for the compliment. I don't know why all my opponents are legendary figures, so sometimes I'm not confident."

"That's not like you at all, you're Hyoudou Issei's partner so you should be more confident."

Cao Cao said in a slightly accusing tone to Buchou.

"I'll make an opening in that guy's defence…the rest is up to you."

Buchou made a confused expression. One thing was certain. This was a favourable situation for us. This former enemy's plans did not seem excessively strange, but Buchou was suspicious of him anyway.

"… Are you doing this to help me? Is Indra gaining something from this? You seem quite confident. Or is it because you're looking down on me?"

Cao Cao shook his head.

"No. Both now and in the past, I look at you with respect. —Even you are enemies to be feared."

From the expression in his eyes, it didn't seem as though he was lying.

"Yet, opponents such as this should be taken care of by the current hero, I…who was once a fallen man. It is too early to make new excuses. When the holy spear comes from behind, be glad."

Rias-Buchou sighed.

"Indeed, I don't like your view at all. But, if the holy spear were to be used—this would be our chance."

Buchou actually approved of Cao Cao's suggestion! Cao Cao then stood beside me.

"Kiba, can your legs run any further?"

"Of course they can."

"That's good, although it may be mass produced, that is still the legendary evil dragon Grendel. Even at a normal level, its flames will turn anything to ashes."

I released Gram from where it was stored and held it while it released a dark aura. Cao Cao directed his eyes in the direction of my demonic sword. …He was definitely thinking about something. After all, his partner Siegfried was the original owner of this sword. I paid no attention to his gaze though, and made a holy sword which enclosed Gram inside it. …This was the same method that I had used before to control it. Although this won't solve the problem, it is still better than nothing and it'll be good for a short while. If I were to release a vast amount of aura, my energy would be drained. However, this is inevitable. I have been well aware of this from the start.

"It's an interesting approach. But, is your value dependent on the demonic sword?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"—That's good, no matter what the situation is, you come up with something. Does your calibre live up to the name of the Gremory household though?"

Seeing my technique, perhaps he saw that there might be other ways to use Gram. His skills were indeed a level above mine. With just a glance he is able to deduce that. He deliberately won't tell me, which is proof that he's testing me. He naturally placed his spear over his shoulder with a graceful movement, and then speaks to me.

"Gremory household member, I will charge in. Don't let him get away when he's weak."

"You think I'll let it get away when it's exposed? You seem fairly confident about this. Are you going to reveal his weakness?"

After Ladon's provocative actions, he was grinning with pleasure.

"That's an interesting idea, but aiming at a dragon's weakness is not a hero's skill."

In response, a flash of light and seven orbs emerged behind him! This was the holy spear's Balance Breaker. Although I had only seen it once before, it was actually a rather quiet Balance Breaker, yet it could instil immense fear in others at the same time. The seven orbs began floating around him. Each of the orbs had its own ability. I recalled how we almost suffered a total defeat by it. But he was now our ally, and that made me feel both relieved and fearful at the same time. I tightened my grip on Gram and made a stance as I prepared to engage in combat against the Evil Dragons. Akeno-san spread her Fallen Angel wings, Gasper transformed into the form of a dark beast and Koneko-chan used her senjutsu to make her body grow into a more mature form. One by one, everyone was starting to get serious.

The three copies of Grendel blocked the path in front of Ladon. Their massive bodies were protected by an orange magical barrier. It seemed as though Ladon had increased the strength of his defensive barrier. Originally, Grendel would only have been protected by its hard scales, but there was now an added layer of defence. While being on alert against the Evil Dragons, we each locked onto our respective targets. After a brief moment of silence—. At the front was – Gasper. Emerging from the darkness there was a beast which headed towards Grendel (A). On my right hand side — he began to attack. Although his charge was easily evaded, Koneko-chan leapt out from within the darkness of the beast and closed the distance in an instant to punch Grendel in the abdomen with a fist imbued with senjutsu! The sound of the blow reverberated throughout the surroundings! Grendel's body wavered slightly. Having confirmed that, Koneko-chan shouted to everyone

"It works! Their bodies are far inferior to that of the real Grendel!"

Everyone's morale was boosted! Indeed, if the confrontation with Grendel continued, even if there were three of them, there is a way to defeat them! I stood in front of another Grendel (B) and began slashing it! I mixed my slashes with a few feints in my onslaught! Although it has a large body, its swift movements were just like the real thing — but my sixth sense is telling me that its reactions are slow,like a block of wood! They are slow enough that even my false strikes land an hit. It swung its fist towards me but only caught my afterimage, as I moved well in advance. This was because I had already moved right behind it and released a demonic attack! Known as the most powerful demonic sword which could even kill dragons, it left behind a massive wound! The cloned dragon let out a cry of pain. Sorry but I will not hold back. Evil Dragons – when you are my opponents, I will find your weaknesses! I shoved my sword deep into the back of the dragon! At the same time, Akeno-san and Rossweisse-san cried out

"Akeno-san!"

"Rossweisse-san!"

In response to each other, Akeno-san flew towards the centre of the sky and gathered lightning on her fingertips, while Rossweisse-san drew a magic circle! I retracted my blade, and Grendel moved to increase our distance.

"Go! Holy Lightning!"

Akeno-san's massive lightning strike fell towards the cloned dragon—

"Lightning, burn this Evil Dragon!"

Rossweisse-san's thunder magic struck at the same time! This was a combo of the demonic sword and lightning! Even if they had been strengthened by the Holy Grail, Gram's aura would spread inside the dragon and kill it. On top of that, Akeno-san and Rossweissse-san released another powerful dual lightning strike. Due to the damage from that lightning attack and the dragon slaying effect which had spread inside it, Grendel's clone spurted out a mouthful of blood. …This was confirmation of what Koneko-chan said. These Grendel were very easy to dispose of. Even with Ladon's powerful magical barrier, these were easy opponents to defeat.

"I'm flying!"

The battle between the other Grendel (A) and Rias-buchou was well under way. Koneko-chan's power surrounded the dragon and purified its four limbs. Gasper in his dark beast form was assaulting him from the front.

<< A mere evil dragon, it's nothing against me! >>

A fist came from Gasper's side and slammed into the massive body of Grendel which couldn't withstand its momentum and staggered backwards. Gasper's strike seemed to be quite the heavy blow, since it caused the evil dragon to spurt out blue blood from its mouth. Grendel tried to evade the next strike, but Gasper manipulated the shadow of the large Evil Dragon by pulling it towards him, and then unleashed another fist upon him! Not too long ago, it was completely unimaginable that Gasper could display such strength against an opponent! The reason was actually quite simple. It was because Gasper recently trained with Issei. He was influenced by Issei to train in melee combat. He had already shown the results of his training in just ten minutes. The way he used his fists was the same as Issei. Issei, Gasper is being influenced by you more and more! Gasper continued beating the evil dragon non-stop, while on the ground, Rias-buchou's destructive magic mercilessly wounded its body. Even though it had tough scales, it was no match against the destructive power of her magic. This was already demonstrated the time that we were in the vampire's castle. All that was left now was Grendel (C) and Ladon.

"Humph."

Cao Cao moved like he was dancing to avoid the barrage of attacks. Now was the time to counter-attack with the holy spear. It looked like a game of tag between little kids and an Evil Dragon was going on. Even when the opponent let out a massive blast of flames, a small amount of light from the spear was able to easily counter it. —At the same time, the seven orbs began attacking Ladon's barrier. Ladon looked around at the sky, and his red eyes began to show impatience as they followed the random motion of the orbs.

"…Damn it."

Ladon was displeased because, even if he tried to capture the orbs within barriers of his own, each of the orbs' special properties prevented him from doing so. The spear shaped orb was able to break the barrier, or perhaps it was the orb which allowed things to escape. Sometimes the orbs bounced off the barrier which caused Grendel to be damaged. Grendel seemed to be disturbed by the attack on the barrier and moved away, which created a big opening where my comrades and I attacked. Ladon simply couldn't keep up with Cao Cao.

"What's wrong, Ladon? You can't even catch a mere human?"

Ladon clicked his tongue in response to Cao Cao's sneering. The Ladon who was so relaxed before now was no more. Cao Cao's swift movements allowed him to brush past Grendel (C) and then continue on towards Ladon. He then used his holy spear to make continuous thrusts. He was fast, yet there were no wasteful movements in his continuous attacks. However, Ladon's barrier was still protecting him. Although the barrier was still holding back the holy spear's attacks, for a brief moment, the barrier disappeared…

"Hehe, what a shame. Even though your attacks are so fast, they won't be able to touch me."

Cao Cao's expression did not change. He was attacking from all directions. His face…seemed to show a slight grin. I couldn't help but look at Cao Cao — their battle was now up in the air.

"I won't let you get in their way!"

Everyone surrounded the evil dragons instead of being "observers" and began helping out. They really are quite reliable. With Grendel still as my opponent, it was time to finish it off. Grendel (B) which was struck by lightning still stood back up, so I extracted from it the aura of Gram which was still inside and then used it to raise the power of my sword to prepare for a final attack! I concentrated on controlling its power. …If I got distracted, I could lose control and it could cost me my own life. If I keep doing this, I don't know when I might die. If it's for my friends, I can die even now, but today I cannot die no matter what!

With the enhanced power of Gram's aura, I rushed towards the enemy. Akeno-san and Rossweisse-san followed me on both sides, and unleashed their attacks upon Grendel (B). Akeno-san's lightning paralysed Grendel (B) briefly, and then Rossweisse-san froze its feet, preventing it from moving at all. Now it was my turn — I released the power of Gram's energy directly at him! Just as I was about to strike Grendel, I removed the holy-demonic sword which had enclosed Gram and swung it down! An ominous aura encased the entire blade, and I made a deep cut into its body. I then switched to Blade Blacksmith to summon an army of dragon knights, and they endlessly assaulted the evil dragon. After confirming that the Evil Dragon had been slain by my dragon knights, I snapped my fingers.

"—It's exploding from the inside."

Gram's aura which was inside Grendel (B) released a large amount of energy! But, thanks to the dragon knights, the dark aura that was contained in Grendel did not leak out. Moreover, the dragon killing aura burned not only the inside, but the entire body of the Evil Dragon. After a cracking noise was heard, blue blood gushed out from the wounds left by the dragon knights. This was my most effective technique against Evil Dragons. Because it's such a brutal attack, I don't want to give it a name…but nonetheless, it is effective. Grendel's (B) body split apart and it perished immediately.

"…Such a powerful attack is unprecedented from Kiba."

Even Rossweisse-san agreed. I…will no longer hesitate if an Evil Dragon is my opponent, otherwise my comrades may get hurt. This is indeed a brutal war. So, I made a promise with Issei. — That no matter what happens, we will definitely help each other, so that we can all live together. To keep this promise, I will use any means possible to eliminate my enemies. That's what I think about whenever I'm on the battlefield. However, this was already decided. These Grendels were not as strong as the real Grendel. Their defensive ability, agility and offensive ability were all several times lower than the original. However, compared to the other mass produced Evil Dragons, they were much stronger. After the defeat of Grendel (B), it seemed as though the fight against Grendel (A) was nearly finished.

<<OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH >>

Gasper roared as he fiercely bit Grendel's (A) shoulder, and then created a beast from the darkness which went into its body. Of course, with the attack on the dragon's shoulder and the dark beast inside, its body burst open. Grendel's (A) upper body was blown apart as a result of Gasper's attack. Gasper's body was soaked and covered with blue blood but he didn't mind and kept beating the dragon, causing Grendel (A) to fall to the ground as it tried to spit flames from its mouth.

"The final blow!"

Rias-buchou's destructive magic and Koneko-chan's attack hurtled towards Grendel (A)! Grendel (A) was helpless, and was turned to dust.

The Grendel (C) which had been rampaging against Cao Cao accumulated severe injuries from the holy spear which caused it to kneel down.

"Give up."

Akeno-san and Rossweisse-san released another synchronised attack. Akeno-san made three dragons with her Holy Lightning and directed them towards the Evil Dragon! Rossweisse-san used her magic to tie up the Evil Dragon with a rope-like aura. Unable to move, Grendel (C) was attacked by three dragons of lightning—. After enormous flashes of lightning and crackling noises, Grendel (C) vanished into the light. The three Grendel were now defeated! Although we had Cao Cao's support, being able to defeat three legendary Evil Dragons was quite an accomplishment. I — have become stronger.

The battle between Cao Cao and Ladon seemed to have entered a stalemate, as neither side appeared to have caused significant damage to the other, but — Cao Cao began to smile.

"—There's an opening, go fly."

Ladon's enormous body – started floating all of a sudden, and flew upwards! Because of what just happened, Ladon was quite surprised. This was because an orb was attached to one of Ladon's legs. It was probably hidden underground in advance, so that when Ladon stepped on it, it would activate causing him to fly up.

"Hmm! —T-This is!? An orb which can make others float!?"

That's right, it was the orb which had flying abilities. …It was a surprise that it could even make opponents fly though! Cao Cao laughed

"Didn't I tell you? Targeting an opponent's weakness is not a hero's skill, but deceiving opponents is."

However, even though Ladon was thrown into the air, he had a relaxed expression.

"Well, even if I am thrown into the air, my barrier is still active!"

—No, it should stop now. And then, Rias-buchou released some sort of magic from her hands.

"Let's attack together! I'll start with this"

Following buchou's orders, everyone launched ranged attacks at the airborne Ladon. I used my holy-demonic swords to fire waves of energy continuously. But, Ladon still had a defensive barrier on, thus all our attacks were blocked. Although there were several times when the barrier disappeared…he was still unharmed. Ladon let out a loud laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! That is quite a relentless assault! But! Even if the barrier weakens, I'm still unscathed, no matter how many times you try!"

Cao Cao made a sly smile. —Then, Cao Cao pointed his spear downwards and fired a massive amount of light from his holy spear! I didn't know what he was planning, but there was now a large hole beneath Ladon.

"—No, that's enough. You, are dead."

In an instant, Ladon disappeared from the sky. It was almost like an instant teleportation! Did he escape? I immediately started looking around in all directions! His presence could still be felt! After looking around — everyone's gaze was directed to one spot. That's right, it was the hole that Cao Cao had made just earlier. Ladon could be heard from inside the hole. We all gathered around the hole, and looked down. The Evil Dragon had been transported there! Next to Ladon was a floating orb.

"—!? Teleportation!? So you had the ability to transport your opponent! But, why did you teleport me?! My barrier won't disappear—"

At the same time, Cao Cao moved the transportation orb to his side

"When the Gremory household members attacked you while in the air, I moved my orb in as well. Against such a wave of attacks, the barrier would disappear, and it's going to take some time for it to rematerialise. I already confirmed this when I was attacking you. —As long as there is a gap of just 0.1 seconds, I can easily send one of my orbs into the barrier next to you. Even for a legendary Evil Dragon like you, over a short distance, I can still transport you."

…When we all attacked at once, he sent one of his orbs close to the barrier…then, so that when the barrier disappeared — he didn't miss the opportunity and sent the orb inside the barrier…! If he made the hole first then it would have been suspicious. So he sent his opponent flying into the air first so he could prepare—. Cao Cao said to Rias-buchou

"Come, Rias Gremory. Your enemy is in this hole. You can use all your strength to defeat him. Even if my holy spear can't defeat Ladon, with your destructive magic, it's possible to defeat him."

After hearing Cao Cao's suggestion, Buchou began concentrating her magic. She was preparing an attack which could completely destroy the opponent. From inside the hole, Ladon shouted.

"All this hole can do is prevent me from moving…!"

The hole was just large enough to hold Ladon's body. Towards the bottom of the hole, Cao Cao said

"I am just a "weak" human who is not yet ready to become a legend. —You are stuck in this hole. Can you survive after sustaining damage from the destruction magic of Rias Gremory?"

"Humph! Damn it! How absurd…!"

…What a scary man. He was using his abilities with such precise control. He was able to predict the actions of the Evil Dragons, and at the same time manipulate the situation in his favour. …We were able to defeat such an opponent…was it just a fluke? Ladon's head appeared in the midst of a huge wave of crimson and black magic. Even in the best case, his barrier would not stand a chance against such powerful magic.

"This is the end! Ladon! Disappear!"

Buchou's massive ball of destruction magic—descended into the hole.

"Damn you, holy spear wielder, Gremory household. Damn you all—!"

Those were the final words of the evil dragon—. Nothing more than ashes were left after Ladon was vanquished by Buchou's Extinguished Star of Destruction.

"—Koneko! Quickly use your sealing magic!"

"Yes, Buchou!"

As Koneko-chan replied, she made a magic circle. She took out one of the Sekiryuutei's gems that she received from Issei. She then sealed the soul of Ladon inside it. By using her power on top of that of the gem, Ladon should be completely sealed. After having fought with the Evil Dragons, the holy spear wielder sighed as he looked up at the sky—.

"Indeed, it's not as exciting as Vali or Issei…I want to experience no mercy, an overwhelming force, a fight with no limits."

In his eyes, there were only two dragons who were worthy opponents.