21 Shelving the Problem

I witnessed something sorrowful.

"Even if you don't hate your homeland... I hated this country...! I swore to destroy this country that betrayed everything!"

"Don't stand in my way, Jeanne d'Arc!"

I saw the burning hatred within them.

"Haha! Hahahaha! Yes, that's right! This ugliness is what will destroy you all!"

I saw the despair that corrupts the world.

"What's wrong with me?! Where, oh where, did I lack the qualifications of a king?! I just wanted to reclaim my own country! I just wanted a country of my own!"

I saw twisted desires born from ideals.

"Of course, of course, of course, of course, it's soooo much fun! If it's not enjoyable, should I kill each and every one of you meticulously?"

I saw violence that symbolized authority.

"I am the one who brings strife. Those who hold peaceful aspirations are unnecessary!"

I saw rejection that despised mortality.

"Then... let the divine punishment begin."

I saw loyalty that surpassed madness.

"Kiki, kikikiki!"

"Delightful!"

"Interesting!"

"Aaa――aaaaa!"

I saw the fear bestowed by God.

"Praise me! My name is Goetia! The King of Demon Gods, the one who will incinerate humanity's foundation!"

I saw the hell someone had traversed.

But...

"It's already decided...! It's for the sake of 'living'—!"

I saw the hope that someone held.

This is their journey. The story of an ordinary boy and an ordinary girl who could be found anywhere. A tale of battling a beast that sought to deny death, to save the world, and to reclaim the future.

And the beast came to know the truth. They had thought it was inept. They had never doubted its cruelty. But the king possessed a truth unknown to them. They didn't feel sadness. They didn't consider it right. Because they had no such freedom. They were never granted such rights. The All-Seeing Eye, perceiving everything, did not allow for the forgiveness of human hearts.

Thus, the beast denied. The wish the king held. The path the king walked. And at the end of it all, their plan failed. Not as a demon or a god, but having come to know how humans live. Even if it was meaningless, even if it had no value, even if it was unnecessary, to the point of clenching their fists to fight. And the boy, who was nothing special, responded to it. Because he would have done the same if he were in the same position, and so he did.

The beast, which sought to deny death, was defeated by the humans who clung to life.

And so, the beast's story should have ended.

But it didn't. It couldn't end.

"Help... me."

"From today on, you are my retainer!"

"This experiment ended in failure. Prepare the next subject."

"If you have a grudge, direct it towards the God of the Bible who created the Divine Vessel."

"What human sentiment!"

"I'm bored. Let's trade."

"Is... the God dead?"

"A rare Divine Vessel. I must extract it and present it to Lord Azazel!"

"Servants must obey their masters, right?"

"Amen!"

"It's interesting to reincarnate rare items."

"Why would she become a heretic?"

"Ah, everything was orchestrated by me."

"I... I don't want to die."

"Should demons not love the apostles of God?"

"Etch death upon those abominations, for each happiness they stole from us!"

I witnessed someone's despair. I was shown everyone's despair.

...No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! It's not true!

This anguish is only a part of it. This tragedy is only a facet. There must be someone who was saved. There must be someone who found happiness. Otherwise, it would be strange. Otherwise, it would be over. In fact, even I...

Suddenly, those words resurfaced in my mind. Not from someone's memory, but from the words directed at me.

"**********"

――I must not forgive that woman. I must not.

Something within me screamed so.

***

Currently, Issei Hyoudou lay in the intensive care unit of the underworld's large hospital. Most of his body was hidden beneath the monitoring devices and medical equipment he was connected to.

"Issei..."

Rias Gremory, his "king," gazed at him through the glass. The other servants did the same. However, with no healing abilities or medical technology at their disposal, all they could do was watch over him.

"Azazel, how is Issei's condition?"

"It's as bad as it can get."

Upon hearing that, some were on the verge of fainting, while others still held onto hope that it wasn't the worst.

"Let me summarize the situation. Issei's body is currently in a state resembling an illness, where the cells of the demonic pillar that attempt to invade are clashing with the factors of Ddraig, which aim to suppress it. To put it bluntly, it's like a disease."

According to this reasoning, the factors of Ddraig serve as antibodies.

"However, the factors of Ddraig also pose a problem."

"Huh?"

"It seems that the invading ability of the demonic pillar cells is strong, and the Dragon cells, or rather, the cells of a Dragon, are excessively active. They are assimilating Issei's body. Originally, Issei's body was a mixture of 'a Devil and a Dragon.' However, the part that has become a 'complete Dragon' is emerging. And in tandem with that, the 'evil piece' is also on the verge of going berserk."

"...Huh?"

"In other words, Issei is... not becoming a human, Devil, Dragon, or demonic pillar, but 'something else.'"

"If that's the case... then we need to perform surgery as soon as possible! If the cause is the cells of the demonic pillar, we can remove them..."

It's not that simple. Various forces are in a deadlock within his body, and if something is tampered with, his body will break down."

Rias paled in the face. Frustrated, Azazel presented the results of his investigation.

"Normally, this wouldn't be possible. It's like eating a poisonous fish and gaining the ability to breathe through gills, you know? It would make sense if you simply died. It would be natural if nothing happened. However, Issei incorporated the abilities of the demonic pillar cells into his own cells. It's different from gaining the power of the White Dragon Emperor. It's a miracle granted only to Issei, and it cannot be explained as a bug in the system. There must be a more logical explanation."

"A more logical explanation?"

If this theory is correct, it would also explain the current situation. In other words, the cells of the demonic pillar are of the same nature as the divine artifacts. Just as it is possible to transplant someone else's organs, such fusion as in this case was also possible. However, all of this is merely the result of forcibly deducing it based on observational results.

"But... but I don't know anything about that! How much time has passed since the death of the God of the Bible? During that time, no one was able to detect them. Isn't that strange? With their strength, numbers, and nature, there should have been some clue somewhere. They had all that time. And if they originally existed, there should be no need to use the names of the seventy-two pillars. They should have their own names. Even Michael, who activated the 'system,' can't do what they do. In other words, no one should be able to create them. I don't understand why they exist!"

"HAHAHAHA! It seems I've witnessed something rare!"

With an artificial, deliberate laughter that seemed to be mocking them, Azazel furrowed his brow upon seeing the figure that appeared.

"Indra...!"

The Heavenly Emperor, Indra, also known as the God of War. He governs lightning and battles in Hindu mythology. He also holds a significant position in Buddhism and has a wide network. It is said that his power rivals that of the Four Great Satan.

"HAHAHA! How classy of you to call me by that name. But we were having an interesting conversation, weren't we? I didn't expect you to be so agitated. The demonic pillars were created by someone? Comparable to the God of the Bible? The names of the seventy-two pillars? Then, there's only one person who fits that description, right? You and Michael and Serafall must already know. It's about time you admitted it. Behind the demonic pillars is none other than that Solo..."

"Don't mention that name!"

Azazel forcefully interrupted Indra's words, his disgust and aversion towards that name evident.

"Don't utter his name in front of us. Besides, that's impossible. It would be a massive violation. Even for a great hero or a holy maiden, it's impossible for a reincarnation of him to be born. It's impossible for his descendants to obtain his power. It's impossible for him to be resurrected. It's more plausible for an alien that closely resembles him to come instead."

At this point, Yuuto Kiba felt a sense of discomfort.

—Thou shalt not speak the name of that king.

He had been taught that by Rias after becoming a servant. Apparently, it is taboo to utter the name due to the fact that all seventy-two pillars, who are devils, were controlled by him, a mere human, and it was considered the greatest humiliation in devil history.

It was understandable for devils to abhor and hate him. But why did Azazel, the Governor-General of Fallen Angels, become so furious at just hearing the name? Fallen Angels shouldn't have had any connection to "him." Or perhaps, there were parts unknown to himself, undisclosed and not recorded in history.

Delighting in Azazel's agitation, Indra laughed heartily.

"So you still refuse to admit it, huh? Then you can struggle all you want. Even if it's too late, I won't tell you. HAHAHA!"

In high spirits, Indra mocked them and left.

However, Indra couldn't foresee the future where he would be left dumbfounded in front of the person who would visit his room next.

***

"Request from Phenex. I observe abnormalities. Urgently requesting repairs."

"Confirmation from Marbas. Requesting evidence."

"Response from Phenex. I made contact with a Valkyrie who concealed her true identity for my proposition. Negotiations were difficult, and she pointed out an alternative solution. It was a reasonable suggestion that I hadn't considered. This is undoubtedly an abnormality, with a demonic pillar that surpasses human understanding."

"Understood by Uvall. I find it hard to believe that our intellect would be surpassed by a Valkyrie."

"Denial from Zepar. Perhaps we simply lacked that idea."

"Request from Andromalius. Keep quiet, Zepar."

"Doubt from Raum. That's why we called forth Heroic Spirits. That's why we invited humans. Our perspectives should have had more diversity than before. Did we still lack something?"

"Observation from Decarabia. There are slight deviations from the main point."

"...Communication from Goetia. Those who feel a sense of discomfort about their own actions, disclose it."

"Question from Flauros. We taught Ophis the unique bounded field. And yet, we're leaving that Dragon alone. There's a possibility that information might leak from that Dragon. But we haven't been monitoring its actions or placing any restrictions. Currently, we don't know what that Dragon is doing or where it is."

"Question from Andras. We resurrected the Evil Dragons. However, their existence should fundamentally be incompatible with ours. If we were to utilize anything, Fenrir or Typhon, who still exist, would be more suitable."

"Question from Sabnock. Why aren't we fighting against the Lion King? If we were to go to the frontlines, it would hinder our plans. We wouldn't be able to use the Third Noble Phantasm recklessly. But that doesn't mean there's any reason to have humans fight for us by giving them our factors."

"Question from Asmodeus. We didn't kill Issei Hyoudou. It would have been more appropriate to eliminate Rias Gremory and disrupt our plans. I regret not doing that like we did with Fujimaru Ritsuka in the past."

"Question from Gremory. We made contact with Bedivere, but we didn't detain him. It would have been advantageous to have him in the fight against the Lion King. He was temporarily at the Time Temple. It should have been known at that time that the Lion King was coming."

"Question from Amduscias. After Vali Lucifer made contact with Kingu, he went missing. But we haven't confirmed his death. We only confirmed the contact and left it at that. Why?"

"Report from Berith. Vali Lucifer's whereabouts are unknown. There's no information that Kingu defeated him. The likelihood of Vali Lucifer being alive is high."

"Conclusion from Barbatos. There are many unnatural aspects in our actions."

"Suggestion from Malephar. It's possible that unnecessary elements were mixed in during our resurrection."

"Inference from Agares. Bedivere was summoned by the Magus of Flowers. Then, it's highly likely that we were also summoned by someone."

"Supplement from Amon. If we were indeed summoned by someone, our malfunctions would have occurred at that time."

"Question from Baal. Are these malfunctions accidental or deliberately orchestrated?"

"..."

"..."

"...."

"Who summoned us?"

"Who is using us?"

The answer has already been revealed.