Chapter 183 — Juggernaut Drive

Yuuto

Hearing Isse-kun’s pleas for Asia-san to come out so we could go home, Gasper-kun began to cry.

Koneko-chan teared up and looked away.

I felt my own eyes tear up before I quickly wiped them away.

Akeno-san covered her mouth with a hand.

There were already tears running down her face.

Xenovia and Yuki-san both continued to glare at Shalba after hearing Ise-kun.

Xenovia’s anger was bright and hot as she glared with open fury.

In contrast, Yuki-san’s anger was colder.

Her expression was far more controlled, but her eyes were filled with hatred.

Buchou moved to Ise-kun and hugged him, pressing his head to her chest gently. 

His expression was empty as she held him.

“Buchou, I can’t find her,” Ise-kun said, still looking around the shrine. “We are supposed to all head home together, but she’s not here. We need to find her so that we can hide in the basement of the temple like Sensei told us to. We need to find her or mom and dad… they’d be crushed if we can’t. They said they saw her as their daughter, and Asia said that she thought of them as her real parents… she my… she’s an important part of my family…”

“Oh, Ise…” Buchou murmured as she stroked his cheek.

He was still looking around the shrine, searching for Asia-san. 

He still didn’t look at her.

Then Xenovia’s wings unfurled, and she leapt up at Shalba with a shout.

“I’ll kill you! You took her from us! I'll cut you to pieces, you monster!” Xenovia screamed.

“Xenovia!” Yuki-san shouted as her wings spread and she followed her into the air.

Xenovia summoned Ascalon and swung it and Durandal at Shalba.

“Your rage is futile,” Shalba said in a bored tone.

A barrier appeared between them and caused both swords to be deflected.

Xenovia’s guard broke, and Shalba aimed a hand at her chest.

A demonic power bullet was fired at Xenovia.

Yuki-san appeared next to her with a spell formed in her hand as she grabbed Xenovia with the other.

She fired a Baleful Bolt into the demonic power bullet and pulled Xenovia to the side.

The attacks clashed long enough for the two of them to get out of the way, before Shalba’s attack pushed through Yuki-san’s spell.

Yuki-san’s fur was already darker from her state ability before she had grabbed Xenovia, and as the two of them readied themselves, she spoke to Xenovia without looking at her.

“We’ll go at him together. I’ll get you an opening to attack.”

Xenovia nodded.

Before any of us on the ground could move to join their attack, they both moved forwards towards Shalba again.

Yuki-san fired multiple of her cursed bolts and cast Stillmarks as she flew in an arc towards him.

Xenovia flew directly at him again.

Shalba fired demonic power bullets at Xenovia and pointed the arm with the holy light device at Yuki-san.

Xenovia dodged and weaved through the attacks and sent slashes of holy energy forward, deflecting some of the bullets she couldn’t avoid.

Yuki-san’s eyes went wide before she disappeared and reappeared in another spot.

A beam of light tore through the space Yuki-san had been an instant after she had disappeared.

Xenovia reached him then, swinging both swords at Shalba from her right.

“This again?” He said as he created another barrier. “Reincarnated Devils truly are inferior.”

Xenovia’s swords struck the barrier, but as they did, her whole form dissolved.

The illusionary Xenovia disappeared, and the real Xenovia faded into view on Shalba’s left.

Her swords rose above her head to strike, glowing with holy energy.

Shalba readied another attack and turned a hand towards her, but his arm passed through one of Yuki-san’s curse marks and caused him to overcorrect his aim and miss.

Yuki-san appeared above him then, a large bolt prepped in her hand and a cruel grin of sharpened teeth on her face.

“Enough!” Shalba said as he released a blast of demonic energy at each of them from his hands.

Despite not being aimed properly, the attack was large enough that it didn’t matter.

Both Yuki-san and Xenovia were hit before they could deliver their attacks.

They both crashed back to the ground.

When Xenovia hit the ground, her swords flew from her hands and clattered to the ground.

Yuki-san let out a sharp cry of pain as she hit the ground.

“Senpai!” Koneko-chan shouted as she rushed to Yuki-san’s side.

Gasper-kun and I followed after her, towards Yuki-san and Xenovia.

Buchou was still holding Ise-kun, and Akeno-san stayed with her while looking towards our fallen friends with worry.

Xenovia began to drag herself towards her swords as we moved to her.

“…Bring Asia back…she is my… friend!…She is… was…kinder than anyone…I had ever met…and you!… You took her!… Why?!” Xenovia said as she struggled to move. 

Shalba scoffed. 

“Even if you utilize tricks and strange abilities, reincarnated Devils cannot stand up to pure-blooded Devils like myself. Rias Gremory truly does have poor taste in servants. A vulgar swordsman, a beast with tricks, and a perverted Dragon,” Shalba shook his head. “But that girl is gone. She was transported to the place between dimensions. And her body wouldn’t have been able to survive that place. There is no doubt that she is dead.”

Ise-kun finally looked at Shalba after he finished speaking.

He stared at him with a blank, emotionless face.

Ddraig’s voice called out to Folsom Ise-kun’s armor.

[Rias Gremory, you need to leave here now. For your and your peerage’s safety to need to leave immediately. You will likely die if you don’t.]

Each of us paused at Ddraig’s sudden warning.

Even Buchou looked lost after hearing it.

Ddraig addressed Shalba next.

[Devil floating there. Your name was Shalba, correct?]

[Then Ise-kun pushed Buchou away and started walking towards Shalba.

Buchou was too surprised to try and stop him. 

Ise-kun walked lifelessly towards him until he was directly beneath Shalba.

Then Ise-kun’s mouth moved, but Ddriag’s voice came out

[You have made a poor choice,] he said without emotion.

Ise-kun was surrounded by a blood-red aura.

The aura surrounding him quickly started to grow larger as the shrine began to shake from its intensity.

The aura surrounding Ise-kun felt different from usual.

It felt bloodthirsty, cruel, and gave off a sense of extreme danger.

I felt chills go across my body as soon as he began to emit it.

Then he began to chant in that same emotionless voice.

[I who am about to awaken.] 

“It’s begun.” “No! It will start soon!”

Voices came from the jewels of his armor and joined in the chant and spoke to each other. 

 [Am the Heavenly Dragon that has stolen the principles of domination from God….]

“Something was taken from him.” “That’s how it always goes.”

[I laugh at the “infinite”, and I grieve at the “dream”….]

“The one who rejects the world.” “The one it seeks.”

[I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination…]

“It’s for power.” “It’s for love.” “It doesn’t matter. It will only end in destruction.”

Ise-kun’s armor began to change. 

The gloves and books became larger and clawed.

Two wings sprouted from his back. 

Multiple sets of horns appeared on his helmet. 

The armor grew in size and looked more and more like a Dragon. 

The voices coming from the jewels shouted together. 

And I shall sink you to the depths of crimson purgatory!

[Juggernaut Drive!]

Ise-kun’s aura spiked, and the area around him was destroyed by the pressure he gave off.

The ground cratered, and the ceiling above him was blown away. 

Ise-kun let out a deafening, bestial roar. 

He dropped to all fours and flexed his wings. 

Then, with a gust of wind and the beating of wings, Ise-kun disappeared. 

The force of the air made me look away.

Shalba screamed out in pain.

The mouth of Ise-kun’s helmet split open with jagged teeth, and he had bitten onto Shalba’s shoulder. 

An awful tearing sound filled the shrine.

“Damn you! Get off!” Shalba shouted as he tried to retaliate with an attack of holy light from his other arm. 

His attack was stopped as a Dragon arm grew from one of Ise-kun’s jewels and grabbed his arm. 

From another jewel, an arm ending in a blade grew out and cut off Shalba’s arm.

He screamed in pain as blood sprayed out of his wound.

Ise-kun bit into the severed arm and dropped back to the ground with the limb between his teeth.

He landed on all fours again and spat out the limb before letting out an animalistic growl.

More and more Dragon arms and bladed arms grew from the jewels on his armor.

He was looking more and more monstrous.

“You beast!” Shalba shouted as he landed on the ground. “ I’ll show you that you should not antagonize one of the true Maou!”

He reached out with his remaining arm and fired a beam of holy light at Ise-kun.

One of Ise-kun’s wings glowed white in response to the attack.

[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]

Ise-kun was using the Hakuryuukou’s power to halve the attack. 

The massive attack was halved over and over again until it was barely more than a laser pointer. 

It fell apart as it made contact with Ise-kun’s armor. 

Ise-kun was even able to use the Hakuryuukou’s power he took at this high o level right now.

“That is Vali’s power! Damn him! Even now he is standing in my way!” Shalba roared.

He fired a massive pulse of demonic energy.

Ise-kun flapped one of his wings and brushed aside the attack with ease. 

Then his helmet opened wider.

From the maw of his helmet, a cannon extended out. 

There was a high-pitched whine from the cannon before it fired a bright red laser at Shalba.

It reached him immediately and blew off his remaining arm as he shifted his body to dodge. 

The beam continued past Shalba, gouging out a path in the wall behind him.

There was a violent explosion and then a crash of something large crashing to the ground in the distance. 

“We have to leave here, Buchou!” Yuki-san warned. 

Koneko-chan was at her side, supporting her, and she was cradling one of her arms to her chest.

“W-We can’t leave Ise! Not when he’s like this!” Buchou shouted in reply.

“He’s not the one in danger! We are! Whatever ability he's using has a malicious curse on it that is driving him mad! He can’t see reason and will attack everything around us. He might not attack us, but it won’t stop him from potentially killing someone in his rage! Yuki-san shouted. 

Buchou hesitated.

“I-I don’t want to leave Issei-senpai e-either!” Gasper-kun said.

Yuki-san looked at him and shook her head.

“We need to go. We can come back after he’s killed Shalba and calmed down. Then we can try and help him. Until then there’s nothing we can do,” Yuki-san paused before looking back at Buchou. “We already lost Asia. I don’t want to lose anyone else. And what do you think would happen if Issei-san realized that hurt or killed one of us?”

Buchou opened her mouth to reply when Ise-kun let out another roar. 

Ise-kun’s aura exploded in strength again, destroying more of the shrine and causing sections of it to start to collapse.

The monstrous aura leaking off of Ise-kun was filled with bloodlust and hate. 

It felt like something that only wanted to destroy everything, as Yuki-san had said.

“Y-You monster!” Shalba shouted, fear leaking into his voice. “The Boosted Gear’s [Juggernaut Drive] isn’t supposed to be this powerful! You’re supposed to be the weakest Sekiryuutei, yet your power has surpassed all recorded data! My power should be at the level of one of the original Maou after I accepted Ophis’s power! I shouldn’t be defeated so easily by you!”

Shalba wasn’t trying to hide his fear at this point.

His face was pale, and his eyes were wide with despair.

We weren’t spared from the terror Ise-kun was spreading as well.

We had frozen in place. 

Buchou was wide-eyed and shaking. 

Akeno-san, Gasper-kun, Koneko-chan, and Xenovia were stiff and looking at Ise-kun with fear. 

Yuki-san looked as though she was holding herself back from fleeing.

Her ears were flat, and her tails were dragging on the ground behind her.

I was frozen with fear too.

I couldn’t stop trembling as I looked at the twisted form of Ise-kun’s armor.

It didn’t even feel like him anymore.

I couldn’t see anything of the boy we’d all cared for and loved.

It was only a creature of hatred, rage, and destruction.

He spread his wings and angled his head towards Shalba again. 

There was a sound of metal sliding over metal as another cannon extended from the chest of his armor. 

The ground around him began to shake as a red aura began to gather at the end of the barrel. 

The ball of aura grew larger and larger before it began to compress. 

His wings glowed red as more energy built up and the tremor going through the ground grew more intense. 

Shalba realized the danger he was in and began to draw a magic circle with one of his legs.

“I need to leave! I refuse to die now! I still need to remove the false Maou!”

His leg froze in the middle of drawing the circle. 

The eyes of Ise-kun’s armor shone red as he stared at Shalba. 

“I-I can’t move my leg! How are you stopping it?!” Shalba cried out.

It seemed almost like the ability of Gasper-kun’s Sacred Gear. 

Then the voices from the jewels on the armor cried out.

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!!!!!!!!!]

[Longinus Smasher!!!!!!!]

“Buchou, we need to go now! Whatever that attack is will take down the whole shrine!” Yuki-san shouted. 

“Ise… we can’t… I need to…” Buchou muttered as she took a few steps towards Ise-kun. 

Yuki-san rushed forward and grabbed Buchou’s arm.

“Rias! We have to go!” She shouted, then turned to us. “We are leaving!”

She dragged Buchou away and towards the exit, despite still being injured herself.

Akeno-san lifted Xenovia and began to run.

Gasper-kun followed after them.

I hesitated to follow until Koneko-chan grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the others.

“…Come on, Yuuto-senpai. We need to follow Yuki-senpai and Buchou.”

I nodded and ran with her.

As we ran towards the exit of the shrine, she pulled ahead to help Yuki-san.

Behind us, Ise-kun’s roar shook the already crumbling shrine.

“This is impossible!” Shalba shouted in fear. “I am the true successor of the Maou! I have not yet shown Vali his place! I haven’t proved Beelzebub is superior to Lucifer! All because of a damned Dragon!”

I looked back as Ise-kun fired the cannon attack.

Shalba was engulfed in a violent red aura before the rest of the shrine was also destroyed.

We rushed out as the room exploded behind us.

As soon as we were out of the room that Ise-kun and Shalba had been in, I called out to the others.

“Everyone! Gather around me! I’ll make a shelter out of my swords!”

They quickly moved to me.

I thrust a sword downwards into the stone floor with a shout.

“[Sword Birth]!”

A myriad of different swords sprouted from the ground around us, creating a shell to protect us from the collapsing shrine. 

We huddled together as the dome finished forming and could immediately hear debris crash into the blades above us. 

The structure shook and groaned as more and more stone fell and crashed into it.

Gasper-kun let out a whimper as the swords above us rattled.

Yuki-san and Koneko-chan moved to comfort him.

Akeno-san was checking on the wounds Xenovia received from Shalba’s attack.

Buchou was staring at the wall of our shelter with a worried look.

She was facing the direction we had come from, where Ise-kun still was.

I hoped that he would come to his senses now that Shalba was defeated.

I don’t know what we would do if he was still rampaging, though.

I doubt there was anything we could do to combat the level of power he displayed.

Yuki-san had mentioned a curse in his Sacred Gear. 

Perhaps she would be able to do something about it and bring Ise-kun out of his mindless state.

I could only hope for now and wait until it was safe to leave our shelter. 

It was a few minutes later that the sounds of debris crashing on and around us stopped. 

Buchou stood and turned to me.

“We should be safe to leave now. We will go and check on Ise’s state and see if he needs help.”

I nodded and released a section of the swords from our shelter.

Rubble began to collapse in, but Buchou used her power of destruction to vaporize all of the stone, leaving us with a path to exit through.

We all exited the shelter, and I unsummoned my swords once everyone was clear.

The shrine was completely gone, and a large section of the temple it was inside had disappeared as well. 

The only thing still intact was the device created by the [Dimension Lost] user.

But even that was badly damaged now, despite it being seemingly invulnerable before.

I was startled by a mournful wail coming from the ruins.

Ise-kun was still in the Dragon-shaped armor, with his head turned to the sky as he cried out. 

Even with Shalba Beelzebub and Diodora Astaroth defeated, he was still in his armored state.