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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
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Issei winced, but did not waver. Nidhogg reared back, its reptilian pupils affixed to Boosted Gear as though it was something mildly disgusting.
It is a Prison. A Prison Painted in Crimson and Forged in Steel, but a Prison Nonetheless. A Prison Most Foul and Blasphemous, yet a Prison it Remains.
Great muscles bundled and rippled across the immense body, flexing under its scaled hide as it moved. The dragon began prowling, circling around the boy like an immense predator would do to a prey.
And When did You Receive this Prison and the Power Contained Within? Did You Earn it with Some Noteworthy Deed? I Think Not. You were Given it. Given it! Power Should Never be Given! It Should be Earned!
Wrath had lit up in Nidhogg's eyes, and fury had taken hold of its gargantuan form, its massive, spiked body quivering with rage.
This is What Happens When You Let Devils and Angels Meddle in This World! They Give Out Power Freely! Recklessly! As if it was Theirs to Give!
Those last few words were hissed out, literally spat out from the its mouth. The great beast turned its attention to Issei once more, the spiked head dipping as it lunged for its target. The jaws were opened this time.
And How has this Power Translated? A Fledgling Cannot Survive a Hurricane yet You Throw Yourself Against its Whipping Winds. A Ship Does Not Sail into the Teeth of the Storm yet You Would Test its Hull Against the Tempest Squall.
The dragon snapped shut its maw at the last second, scant inches from the boy's face, forcing him to fall flat on his rear. And then it was rising, the long, thick neck extending upwards, the skull along with it, until it finally stopped and towered above them all.
Did You Really Think You Could Defeat Me? Did You Really Think You Could Best Nidhogg, the Ice Drake!?
The anger was still there, but it was controlled, leashed tightly behind its snarling visage, shimmering beneath its eyes. Somehow that made the dragon seem even more dangerous.
My Teeth are Swords! My Claws are Spears!
For emphasis, it raised a taloned limb and pounded it into the ground. When it raised it again, all could see the crater that had been left behind, and the spider web of fissures that spread from the edges.
My Breath is the Freezing Chill of the Arctic North!
It turned its head aside, and from the dragon's unhinged jaws a blast of ice seared out, spreading over the forest and turning a kilometer-wide expanse of foliage into frozen statues and lifeless rime.
My Wings are a Hurricane!
Great reptilian pinions stretched out, unfurling to their fullest extent. Immediately they were buffeted by immense gales of chilling wind, a whirlwind of hissing, biting air that gnawed at their skin and left their hairs standing end-on-end. The force knocked Issei onto his back, and the rest of Rias's peerage fared no better. Most of them were been sent to their knees, their bodies unwilling to stand against such a tumultuous storm. He did not share their condition. He had expected Nidhogg to do something similar and had entrenched his feet firmly into the ground when the dragon had extended its wings.
And then the storm stopped, as abruptly as it started, and when they recovered it was to see the dragon's wings sheathing themselves across its back and to see it prowling towards Issei once more. Its lips were curled back, revealing sharp, serrated teeth and the look in its eyes promised a most fitting violence.
My Ire is the Death of Men.
As though responding to that veiled threat, Boosted Gear began to glow dimly, the green jewel on its back flashing weakly as the immense bulk that was the dragon loomed closer.
Nidhogg noticed and a contemptuous growl rumbled from its throat.
So. The Great Welsh Finally Speaks. What is He Saying to You, Whelp? What Words of Wisdom does He Offer from His Gilded Cage?
He observed that Issei seemed stunned. The boy looked down to where his gauntlet rested, as though if he couldn't believe the words he was hearing.
"He is saying…" the devil began hesitantly, then stopped, his eyes growing wide, "…He is saying you are an Evil Dragon."
Evil? Now that is an Interesting Choice of Words. If I am Evil, then What are You, Devil? You Who Hold the Enslaved Soul of a Dragon and Wield His Power as Your Own?
Issei shook his head at the implication, his eyes wide.
Did You Think Ddraig Chose to be Imprisoned? Did You Think the Great Welsh Willingly Let Himself be Chained to that Accursed Weapon?
Nidhogg leered at him, crimson pupils alight with malevolent glee.
They Didn't Tell You, Did They?
The target of its ire could only stare back.
Of Course They Didn't. That is What Angels and Devils Do. They Plot and Scheme. They Connive and Manipulate. And it is Mortals like You Who are Left to Pick Up the Pieces When They are Done.
Issei concentrated on his Boosted Gear again, and he could see the gauntlet's gem flashing muted shades of green in response.
"He is saying…" the boy's features gradually set as he listened to the power within the Gear, and when he looked up it was with the same defiance he had possessed when he knelt with the black claw in his face, "Ddraig is saying he is at peace in here, and that I shouldn't listen to anything you have to say."
That is What I Would Say Too if I spent Centuries of My Existence Locked Behind a Prison.
Issei didn't reply to that. The dragon let out a chuckle that was more akin to a growl than a laugh.
And What of the Great Welsh Himself? He Presumes to Lecture Me on Evil When He has Killed the Most of All? Ask Him How Earned the Title of the Crimson Emperor. Ask Him Whelp, and See if He Tells You of the Days of Old when Men Rightfully Feared the Name of Ddraig and the Fire He Brought.
The boy looked like was about to protest, but then Boosted Gear flashed again, though there was something subdued about it, as if it was admitting to a deed it wished was long forgotten.
Its wearer's face gradually set into a grim expression.
"He says he regrets what he did back then," Issei said softly.
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