Chapter 281: Revival, Just Before It Begins!

[Azazel POV]

I was currently unlocking the door leading to Agreas’ central core.

I’d managed to negotiate with Lilith using the chocolate banana Ikki had given us. She’d been on the verge of tears the entire time torn between Rizevim’s orders and the temptation in front of her. Honestly, I started feeling like I was doing something seriously wrong.

But the reaction was real enough, so I sealed the deal.

I told her I’d give her as many chocolate bananas as she wanted afterward.

We already had over twenty that Ikki had prepared for the strike team and if needed, we could just make more.

There are dragons who form contracts over lingerie… and dragon gods who can be bribed with sweets.

At that point, I’ve stopped trying to understand their value system.

If I think about it too much, I’ll lose my sanity.

And honestly? The thought that Rizevim is worth less than a chocolate banana is kind of refreshing.

Lilith was now beside me, quietly eating one while watching me unlock the door.

She stared without saying a word but I’m used to that kind of gaze.

I’ve dealt with Ophis long enough for this to feel normal.

Finally, the massive door to the core opened.

And we stepped inside.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

At the center of the vast circular chamber stood the core of Agreas, a massive crystal said to be the power source of the fortress and also a material source for Evil Pieces.

But what immediately stole my attention was not the crystal.

It was the enormous creature wrapped around it, as if embracing it in sleep.

Seven heads.

Ten horns like a sovereign beast.

A being too massive to comprehend.

“The Apocalyptic Beast”—666 [Trihexa].

Rough estimate… a few hundred meters long?

Great Red was around one hundred meters… so this thing is several times larger.

I never thought I’d see this thing with my own eyes.

According to Rizevim, it had been sealed but clearly he brought it here.

And I could immediately see why.

Massive cables extended from the crystal core, directly into Trihexa’s body.

The excess energy, beyond what was needed to operate Agreas, was being pumped into it.

So they’re actively feeding it energy to stimulate its awakening… how typical of that bastard’s son to use his father’s inheritance like this.

I looked at Trihexa again.

Each of its seven heads resembled a different beast—lion, bear, leopard, dragon… a grotesque fusion of countless creatures.

A chimera.

And the pressure it gave off alone was overwhelming.

It was still asleep. Still incomplete. And yet—

It was already beyond anything “normal” could define.

I finally understood why even the God of the Bible had gone out of his way to seal this thing while leaving Great Red and Ophis mostly untouched.

This isn’t just power. This is disaster given form.

Great Red and Ophis may be overwhelmingly powerful, but they don’t interfere with the world.

This thing?

This thing feels like it could destroy the world on a whim.

Yeah… this is on the level where even Ikki feels like a category of existence rather than a person.

Still.

Right now, that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was Trihexa itself.

We needed to shut down Agreas’ core, cut off its energy supply, and carefully disconnect those cables.

If we were careless and woke it up—

No. Not “if.” Even the slightest mistake could end the world.

Then there was the question of where to put it afterward.

The place it was sealed was still unknown. The Devil faction couldn’t handle it. The Fallen Angels were still rebuilding trust. Heaven might be stable, but placing something like this into the Heavenly system would destabilize it.

So in the end… the Underworld’s deepest layer is the only real option.

Hades’ domain.

Hell, Purgatory, Cocytus, all modeled after the Underworld in the first place.

And the current Hades—after whatever happened to him was strong enough to qualify as one of the top ten beings in existence.

He even has a growing elite guard now.

Honestly… that might actually work.

If all factions cooperate and reapply multiple sealing layers, then sink it into Cocytus…

Periodic monitoring would be required, but still.

We might actually manage this.

Funny how things work out.

A peaceful god really is the best kind of ally… even if he’s a brainwashed Hades.

Normally, something like this would trigger endless political conflict.

But this time, all factions had already agreed.

Probably because we were all too relieved to dump responsibility on someone else.

Anyway—

As I approached the crystal again, Lilith tugged at my coat.

“Ddraig… Ddraig.”

I followed her finger.

And froze.

The wall was covered in white cocoons.

Hundreds. No—thousands.

And protruding from them were crimson dragon-armored heads.

Boosted Gear Scale Mail.

Mass-produced copies.

Rizevim… you bastard…

They were clearly weaker than the original, but still dangerous in sheer numbers.

And worse, if they could “transfer” power like the originals, they’d become a nightmare.

I exhaled.

I was getting tunnel vision. Even I didn’t notice this until Lilith pointed it out.

“Lilith… did Rizevim die?”

She tilted her head slightly.

“Rizevim… dead?”

So it’s true.

Then one of Issei, Vali, or Ikki did it.

Good.

That removes a major threat.

But—

Just as I relaxed slightly—

DOKUN!!

Trihexa moved.

A single pulse of life shook its massive body.

And half of the sealing magic surrounding it—

vanished.

“What the hell…?!”

At that exact moment, two Dragon Gates opened inside the chamber.

From them emerged Apophis and Azi Dahaka.

“Looks like Prince Rizevim had a linkage spell set up between himself and Trihexa.”

Apophis spoke calmly, as if answering my thoughts.

“If he died, his remaining energy would automatically be transferred here.”

So even in death, he set up a self-destructing world-end trigger…

That bastard.

But something else bothered me more.

“Why the hell do you two have the Holy Grail?!”

Floating beside Azi Dahaka was the Holy Grail, something Rizevim should have possessed.

Had they given it to him?

No… that didn’t feel right.

Then—

“You stole it, didn’t you?!”

I demanded.

Azi Dahaka’s three heads smiled.

“We simply extracted it from his pocket dimension before the battle.”

“We’re very good at magic, you know☆”

“He didn’t even notice~”

Each head spoke in turn.

Of course they did.

A thousand-magic dragon like this could easily pull something like that off.

Especially if they had been close to him the entire time.

“…So from the beginning… you planned to betray Rizevim?”