"Can you at least move?"
Valina was lying on the couch, and it looked like she was resting and slacking off. But Drako doubted that this was the case, as Valina was not one of the girls who wasted her time in this way.
"Sigh... seems I can't hide it from you, Big Brother. The truth is, I don't think I can move in the next few hours. At least Mordred has been kind and hasn't broken anything, but I feel like my muscles have been completely destroyed."
Just as Drako thought, Valina was too hurt to make even the slightest movement. She had even given up on turning her head!
What had Mordred done to Valina that she couldn't even move her neck? Drako didn't even want to think about it.
"Sigh... you can't go on like this all day, you'll worry the others."
Drako approached Valina.
"W-What are you doing?"
Valina was surprised when Drako placed one hand below her knees and the other on the back of her neck. Ignoring Valina's shout of surprise, Drako carried her in his arms princess style and led her out of the room.
"Drako? Let go of me! What do you think you're doing?"
Normally, the girl would be kicking and screaming her head off. However, Valina had no strength at this point, so the slightest gesture was impossible for her.
It was strange. This same Valina was the one who had proposed to Drako to have sex the day before, why did she mind being carried by him?
"I'm helping you, you idiot. What are you gonna do if I put you down?"
"I don't need your help! I can fend for myself!"
Drako realized that Valina wasn't ashamed of him carrying her in his arms. She did not want to depend on anyone, and that Drako had to help her move was an embarrassment to her. She didn't want to depend on anyone.
It was not that she did not trust him, but that she wanted to be strong in front of him.
"It's not bad to depend on others from time to time, Valina."
"You... can't understand it."
Drako continued to carry Valina quietly through the house. Valina realized that Drako was not going to let her go, so she gave up trying to convince him. For some reason, she felt comfortable being held in Drako's arms. She felt happy... and a little frustrated.
"I don't understand why you're so desperate for power, and I'm not going to force you to tell me. However, you have to keep in mind that there are people who care about you. You... you're not alone anymore. You have me, Kuroka, Lavinia, Azazel... you're someone important to many people. Even if it's only a little, let us help you with that burden on your shoulders.
Whether or not Drako's words had reached Valina's ears was unknown to the young dragon. She had decided to close her eyes, and her face was showing no emotion at all.
Finally, Valina opened her mouth to ask.
"Where are we going?"
"To my room."
Valina didn't say anything else, but she started to blush. She remembered the proposal she made to Drako the day before. Now that she thought about it, hadn't she been too forward at the time? Drako had rejected her at once, but now he was taking her to his room while she was completely helpless. Was he going to devour her? Surely that talk he had given her about friendship was some nonsense he had concocted to make her relax.
Don't misunderstand her, she didn't mind giving her virginity to Drako. In fact, she doubted there was a better match than him. But... she didn't want this to happen when she was helpless.
But she was a strong girl. Even if she was going to be raped, she wasn't going to complain. If Drako did something bad to her, Valina was going to take revenge with her own hands.
Just like Drako had said, he took Valina to his room. When he entered, he gently put her to bed, trying to make her suffer as little pain as possible.
"Can you wait here for a moment? I won't be long." Drako asked with a smile.
Valina nodded, and followed Drako's figure with her eyes as he left the room.
Well, now that he was gone, Valina could think of different ways to escape this situation.
The simplest way would be to get someone's attention.
Akeno, Natsume and Raynare where in the large indoor baths on the first basement floor. There was no chance that Valina's voice could get there without being discovered by Drako.
Valerie and Lavinia had gone somewhere again today, though Valina did not know what the place was. Drako probably knew something, but it wasn't like Valina was going to ask him.
Shirone and Kuroka were training Senjutsu on the rooftop, the same place Drako used to train. Mordred was watching them, as she had nothing better to do.
Valina could try to escape on her own, but it was going to be very difficult. Any movement she made hurt like a thousand termites were eating away at her body. It was by far the worst state Valina had been in in a long time.
Valina had had that training fight on the first basement floor, as of the various training rooms there are, one is made specifically for fighting. Of course, it's nowhere near the level that Drako and Raynare were using that morning.
Before, she reached the sofa taking advantage of the adrenaline in her body and her sheer willpower. But, once she lay down on the sofa, she became unable to move any muscles.
In other words, she couldn't do anything. She could only leave her fate in the hands of Drako.
"Are you sure about that? You can still use the forbidden movement." A voice sounded in Valina's mind.
This voice didn't surprise Valina at all. She had been hearing it for a long time.
Yes, she had probably heard Albion's voice since her father discovered that she was the bearer of the Longinus.
"No, it's too dangerous. You know I can only use it for ten seconds, more than that and the effects could be irreversible."
"It's true, wearing the armour is not something you can handle at this time. Your body is... too weak and small to do so. For that small body that cannot withstand my power as the Hakuryuukou, I would put your life in danger."
Valina, who had not yet developed, was unable to use the power of Albion due to her lack of physical maturity.
"Yes... and I don't want to die yet. Not when I still have to finish off Rizevim and his son."
Razevan Lucifer and Rizevim Livan Lucifer, Valina's father and grandfather.
They were Valina's main target, they were the source of Valina's hatred and the people she wanted to kill personally. But... Valina could not face them at this time, as they were too strong for her.
The main problem was Rizevim. His demonic power exceeded that of the original Maou, and he was considered one of the 3 "Superdevils" or "Transcendental Devils" along with Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth.
But, Rizevim was not as powerful as the other two Super Devils, as they can overpower him easily. Still, he was a much more difficult opponent for Valina than the other two "Superdevils". The reason for this is that he possessed an extraordinary power called "Sacred Gear Canceller".
Yes, he had the power to cancel the Sacred Gears created by the God of the Bible.
For Valina, who was quite dependent on her Sacred Gear, it was a big problem.
"But... why do you distrust Drako so much? I don't think he's the kind of man who would do this."
"It's not that I distrust him! All men are like that! Don't you remember what that bastard Razevan was doing with my mother? Don't you remember the beatings he gave her just because she healed my wounds, and then raped her in front of me?"
Valina knew that remembering Razevan and Rizevim, along with the intense pain she was suffering, had affected her thinking. In her right mind, Valina would never have doubted Drako.
Albion knew this, but he had decided to play along with Valina. It was at times like this that all the resentment a person carried inside her came to the surface, and it was also the best time to try and heal the wounds a person carried deep within their soul.
"You can't judge all men like that, Valina. You can't put that bastard as a reference for all men."
"I know... and I don't."
"So... why do you think Drako is going to do something bad to you?"
"Because... I offered him my body the other day, he must have regretted rejecting my offer. I am the descendant of Lucifer and Lilith, my body has all the attributes to attract the opposite sex."
Even in this situation, Valina could not put aside her haughty attitude.
"Besides, Drako is a dragon. Your race has been known to have an uncontrollable libid."
Valina's cheeks blushed a little.
"Hahaha, you're not wrong at all! That's engraved in our instincts. Our birth rate is among the lowest of all races, even lower than that of the devils. But... it was you who offered Drako sex in the first place, why are you so afraid now?"
"I..."
Valina didn't know how to answer Albion's question.
"I think I understand... you're scared."
"Impossible! I am the descendant of Lucifer and the bearer of the Divine Dividing! Something like this can't frighten me!"
"No, it's obvious you're scared. You're afraid the man you've fallen in love with is a scumbag like your father."
Although Valina wanted to deny it almost desperately, deep down, she knew that Albion was right.
If Drako had accepted her proposal the day before, it would be a completely different matter. First, because she would only see it as a requirement for a strength boost, and second because it would be consensual sex.
But now that she knew that she could not increase her strength through sex, the feelings she had discarded for the sake of increasing her power came back into the equation.
As Valina talked to Albion and lost herself in thought, the door to the room opened. Noticing this, Valina tensed up mentally, as she couldn't do it physically.
To Valina's surprise, Drako did not enter the room alone but was accompanied by Kuroka.
"Va-nyaa, I heard you took a severe beating. But don't worry, because I'm here!"
"What nonsense are you saying, Kuroka?"
"It's not silly! I heard it the other day on one of the shows Shirone watches, and I thought it was really cool."
Valina was confused by the development of the situation.
"Kuroka will take care of your wounds, Valina. Even if she's not very good, she knows enough to make you move again. I still have to make the food, so I'll leave you in her hands."
And Drako left as soon as he reached the room, leaving Kuroka alone with Valina.
Valina... was still in shock.
What was going on here?
Kuroka went over to Valina and put a hand on her body. Using Senjutsu, she extended her senses so that she could get a better sense of the damage Valina had suffered.
"That idiot Mordred... she doesn't know what it means to hold back? Now I'm worried about what Shirone might have suffered during all this time he's been with her..." Kuroka muttered as he inspected the wounds.
"Sigh... healing your wounds with my Senjutsu will only speed your recovery process, but you will still be unable to move for several hours. I'm going to have to use that cream... I see, Drako had already noticed that, huh..."
Valina didn't understand the meaning of Kuroka's words.
Drako had realized that the only way to heal Valina was to use Azazel cream. To use the cream, Drako would have to undress Valina, so he had called Kuroka.
Not that Drako felt embarrassed or anything similar since he had already applied the cream to Raynare that morning. Still, he felt that Valina was obviously uncomfortable.
"I'm going to take your clothes off, okay, Valina?" Kuroka asked.
Valina, a little confused, nodded her head.
Kuroka took Valina's clothes off, careful not to hurt her too much, and even took off her underwear.
Valina looked just as she had come into the world, though it was not a pretty sight. All of her skin was covered in purple bruises, and it seemed to be quite painful.
Kuroka opened a drawer in the room and withdrew a jar containing the cream Azazel had created.
"It's a little fresh, so it might be a little uncomfortable," Kuroka called it in.
She took some of the creams and began to slowly apply it to Valina's skin. As Kuroka had said, the cream was very fresh and had caused a slight chill in Valina's body.
The treatment continued silently while Kuroka applied Senjutsu over the cream to speed up Valina's recovery. In the end, it didn't take Kuroka fifteen minutes to apply the cream to all of Valina's damaged body parts.
"Well, I'm done now. Now you have to rest another ten minutes, and you can walk again, although with some difficulty. Wait an hour, and 90% of your wounds will be gone."
Kuroka seemed quite satisfied with the work she had done.
"I'm going to let you rest. You can put your clothes on once all the cream has been absorbed by your body. See you at lunchtime!"
Kuroka said goodbye with a smile.
Before she could leave the door, she heard Valina's words.
"Thank you."
To which Kuroka responded with another smile.
"You're welcome!"
............…
Valina was surprised.
As Kuroka had said, Valina could move after ten minutes of rest. 10 minutes she had used to reflect with Albion.
She had come to the conclusion that all her previous fears were useless. Drako... Drako was not like Razevan Lucifer.
Valina got dressed, left Drako's room and went down to the first floor. The wounds still bothered her, but she felt better with each passing second.
Azazel's cream was truly miraculous.
No, it wasn't just Azazel's cream. Kuroka's Senjutsu had a lot to do with it, too.
"We've been waiting for you, Va-chan!"
The one who greeted Valina was Lavinia, who was helping Drako set the eating utensils on the table. The rest were already sitting at the table, except Drako, and were waiting for Valina to eat.
Drako stepped out of the kitchen and noticed that Valina had just arrived.
"Huh, are you feeling better?"
"Yes, at least I can move. Thank you very much for your help."
Valina responded with a bright smile that surprised Drako. He was stunned for a second, but recovered quickly and replied with another smile.
"I'm glad!"
Drako's smile made Valina blush and look away.
The 10 minutes had given Valina much to ponder...
"By the way, Mordred, don't you have something to say to Valina?" Drako told the girl that had already started eating before the others.
"Yeah, yeah, how annoying you are."
"Mordred..."
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Mordred reluctantly rose from the table, probably because she didn't want to stop eating at this point, and approached Valina. She stood in front of the little girl and bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry I overstepped! I should have controlled my strength better, I didn't want to hurt you!"
Mordred's apology was sincere, though she was not entirely to blame. During the confrontation, Valina refused to give up so Mordred had thought she could continue fighting. The power to divide Valina's strength had surprised her, and Mordred had ended up getting too excited about the fight.
"You don't have to apologize, you've shown me that I still have a long way to go."
"Am I hearing correctly? Is this the same Lucidra-sensei we all know?"
"SAMEJIMA KOUKI, I'VE TOLD YOU MANY TIMES NOT TO CALL ME LUCIDRA-SENSEI!"
Everyone laughed when they saw Valina explode. Taking advantage of the situation, Drako approached Valina and whispered in her ear.
"Would you like to join me this afternoon on the side?"
"What for?"
"I think I've found your destined rival."
Valina's eyes glowed at the sound of it, and she soon nodded her head.
Drako pulled out his Noble Phantasm [Golden Drive], and Valina was surprised to see Drako pull a motorcycle out of thin air.
"You have the ability to manipulate space? Unbelievable!"
That was the only conclusion Valina could come to. Still, she hadn't seen Drako open up the space to get the vehicle out, it was like [Golden Drive] came out of nowhere.
Drako didn't bother to explain anything to her and got on the bike, not forgetting to gesture to Valina to get on behind him. She did as he instructed.
"Hold on to me, we're going to go pretty fast. If you don't, you're gonna fall off the bike." Drako warned Valina.
"It's okay..."
To Drako's surprise, Valina did not argue with him, and she put her arms around the young dragon's waist. Then she rested her head on Drako's back.
"Valina?"
"This position is the most comfortable, the descendant of Lucifer cannot make a trip feeling uncomfortable."
Valina gave that excuse as she pressed her hug. Drako could only smile wryly and get his Noble Phantasm working.
Although the top speed of Golden Drive was 2500 kilometres per hour, Drako wasn't going to use that top speed. First, because even if he could hold that speed, Valina might not be able to. And second, because continuous use of Golden Drive consumed a lot of MP. It was okay if he maintained a moderate speed. Still, it was impossible to hold off on the distance they were going to travel while going at maximum speed.
Drako finished starting the bike and headed off towards Kuoh City.
"Aaaaah! You're going too fast!"
Valina shouted in surprise when Golden Drive accelerated to speeds that a bike shouldn't reach.
"Don't be surprised, I'm only driving at a moderate speed," Drako said as he laughed. Valina could only squeeze Drako harder, for fear of falling off the bike.
Drako could feel a couple of soft objects against his back. Though Valina was only thirteen, she had already begun to develop. There was no doubt that she would be a voluptuous woman in the future, so Drako was already licking his lips as he thought about what he would be able to enjoy after a few years.
"If this is moderate speed, my strength is greater than Great Red's!"
Drako could only laugh nonstop at Valina's desperate voice. He did not expect her to react in this way, knowing that she could run at speeds beyond what the human eye could grasp. She should be able to handle a "moderate speed" of Golden Drive.
Of course, a moderate speed was about 500 km/h.
To get to Kuoh from the city where they lived, they had to go through a 300km. This is a journey that should take about 3, 4 or even 5 hours, depending on several factors, including the roads chosen and the traffic density.
Everyone knew how annoying a truck was when you were in a hurry.
After a few minutes, Valina got used to the speed of the vehicle and began to enjoy the thrill of high speed. This was a new and exciting experience, and she could use it to hold on to Drako.
Before, Valina respected Drako because he had managed to defeat her in the past. That's why she had been considering him her older brother, but there weren't many romantic feelings involved. But... after today's incident, Valina had developed a feeling of attraction to Drako, even though it was unconscious for her.
By now, she knew that Drako was a person she could trust.
It was okay if she trusted him with her past, right?
They arrived in the city of Kuoh within an hour's drive. Drako parked his bike right at the entrance to the town.
"Well, here we are."
"Kuoh Town? Is this the town where my destined rival resides? It doesn't seem to be very special, just an ordinary human city." Valina commented upon arrival.
"Well, this is a city that's under the jurisdiction of the devils. If I'm not mistaken, the ruler was a woman of the House of Belial, although she was murdered a few years ago."
Drako spoke from his knowledge. If he was not mistaken, there should be about 4 years left for the main events to take place. Everything that happened in DxD started in 2008, and right now it was 2004. Cleria Belial had been killed along with Masaomi Yaegaki in 1998 for various reasons.
"Does anyone dare kill anyone from the Belial house?"
Valina seemed shocked to talk about this.
"Surprised?" Drako asked her.
"Of course! Who dares to harm a member of the Belial family? The Emperor is very famous not only among the devils, but in the whole supernatural community. I've seen some of his Rating Games, and I can tell you he's impressive. Totally worthy of being called a genius, his demonic power rivaling that of a Maou and his use of power his clan has crowned him as one of the most powerful powers of the devils. It is said that only the current Lucifer and Beelzebub are superior to him in terms of power. Still, with his use of [Worthless] he may be able to confront them without problems."
"Diehauser Belial, huh..."
Drako was lost in thought for a moment.
Diehauser Belial was a mighty powerhouse, there was no doubt about it. He was the Emperor of the Rating Games, number one. He had been since he had come to that position many years ago, and he was literally immovable. That's right, Diehauser Belial was undefeated.
The top 5 of the Rating Games had powers comparable or superior to the original Maou and are described as Ultimate-Class Devils of Ultimate-Class Devils. However, at least 2 of them reached that position by using the forbidden [King Piece]. But this was not the case with Diehauser Belial. He was described as a "monster" by Bedeze Abaddon, the third in the rankings at this time. Without the use of the "King Piece", he has destroyed each and every one of his rivals in the Rating Games, with Rudiger Rosenkreutz being the only one capable of giving him some trouble.
This supernatural power, which had the potential to defeat and kill gods, was to be one of the antagonists in the future. But... he was one of the ones that Drako didn't want to kill.
He wants to recruit him.
Valina interrupted Drako's thoughts.
"You seem to know something about what happened to the Belial girl, don't you? Tell me!"
Drako could only smile when he saw the puppy-dog eyes Valina was giving him.
"It's okay, but you have to be clear that what I'm about to tell you is confidential information. Even Azazel may not know the real reason Cleria Belial died."
Valina was surprised to hear from Drako. There was little that Azazel did not know, especially given Grigori's intense spy network. Her interest in what happened grew exponentially.
"Six years ago, the ruler of Kuoh was Cleria Belial. As a member of the Belial clan, she is the cousin of Emperor Diehauser. She had a quiet life in Kuoh, but she made a fatal mistake."
"What happened?"
"A delegation of the Church had a residence in this city, surely to control the movements of Cleria. The Church and the Underworld have maintained the Statu Quo for some time, and they did not confront each other on the surface. With no excuse to act against Cleria, they could only monitor her movements. But..."
"But?"
"A member of that delegation fell in love with the Belial girl, and the Belial girl fell in love with the exorcist. This, of course, is something neither side could accept, and they were both killed."
Drako told her the shallow reason why both of them had been killed. He looked to see what Valina's reaction was, expecting a boring look at the typical Romeo and Juliet impossible love story.
"Ugh... such a tragic love story... Damn the Church and damn the Underworld!"
Valina seemed to have gotten sentimental. She even looked like she was going to shed a tear.
"But... that's not the real reason Cleria Belial was killed."
"Huh? Wasn't she killed because she had a relationship with an exorcist?"
Valina seemed surprised.
"As much as she was in a relationship with an exorcist, she was still the Emperor's cousin. Also, her relationship with Diehauser was very close. At best, she would be stripped of her title and territory and sent back to the Underworld."
"So... why kill her? There's a deeper reason, isn't there? Maybe... she knew something she shouldn't have?"
"Exactly. What I've told you, while true, is just a cover-up created by the old bastards who control the underworld government. The Old Devils of the Great King's faction."
"The political rivals of the New Maou faction..."
"Exactly. Cleria Belial discovered information about the unknown King Piece, and how the Old Devils were using it to control the Rating Games."
"What?!"
Valina couldn't believe what she was hearing. If what Drako was saying was true, wasn't the Rating Games a fake?
"Yes, the Rating Games are corrupt. Actually, I know of two people who are definitely using the King Piece. The number two spot and the number three spot. Of the top 10, I'm sure Diehauser Belial, Ruval Phenex, Rudiger Rosenkreutz and the Great Dragon King Tannin do not use that piece. Of the rest, I'm not sure, although it's not something I'm interested in either."
Once again, Drako paused to observe Valina's expression. She looked a little depressed as if she had taken a blow.
"Is something wrong?" Drako asked.
Valina recovered after listening to Drako. She sighed slightly and shrugged.
"All the members of the top 10 are people I admire, and I want to fight and beat them in the future. This is especially to Roygun Belphegor. I... I admired her. She's a girl on par with Maou, but I didn't expect this to be because she was cheating..."
Valina had grown up in Grigori these past few years watching videos from Roygun's Rating Games. In particular, she admired her ability to use the [Crack] skill. Knowing that one of her idols was cheating was a blow to her.
But she had suffered worse in this life, so this was nothing. Whether Roygun was cheating or not, that wasn't Valina's problem. Roygun's strength was still there, so Valina hadn't lost the will to defeat her.
"By the way... where is my destined rival? What do you know about him? He has to be someone impressive like me, right? In fact, he or she may be more talented than I am. That would surely make our battle interesting."
Valina seemed particularly excited to talk about the wearer of Boosted Gear. It's a shame Drako had to disappoint her once again.
"Nothing like that. For a start, no one could be more talented than you, Valina. If you want to have a decent rival... he'd have to create numerous miracles in order to reach your level."
Valina's face darkened. From Drako's tone, it seemed that the wearer of Boosted Gear was someone who was not up to the task.
"By the way, Albion, do you detect your rival Ddraig?"
For the first time since Drako had met Valina, he went directly to the dragon that resided within Lucifer's descendant.
[No, are you sure he's here?] I can't detect him at all.]
"Then you can't detect it, that's problematic."
"Albion? Drako?"
Valina was surprised at how casually Drako spoke to Albion. Was it really the first time they spoke?
And... what about Drako? Didn't he say he had information on the Red Dragon Emperor?
"You haven't woken him up yet, at least that hasn't changed from my information," Drako muttered.
Drako was careful. If Vali was a girl in this alternate reality, Issei could change as well. From what Drako had discovered, the vast majority of events remained the same, but there were slight differences.
The reason Drako was more concerned at this point, however, was that he did not yet know where he had obtained one of his Fate Points.
When he rescued Shuri and Akeno, he changed the fate of the two girls. But, he received three Fate Points instead of the two he expected. At first, he thought that extra point belonged to Raynare, but now he was sure that was not the case. That point would belong to Raynare if, for example, he had left her to die. However, he had not changed the fact that she was going to Kuoh and die at the hands of Rias Gremory.
So who did this Fate Point belong to?
Drako did not know, but his suspicions were directed at Issei Hyoudou. That's why he was careful right now.
To begin with, they were in "enemy" territory while being uninvited, so they couldn't cause a scandal and draw unwanted attention to themselves. But, if Albion could not detect Ddraig, that meant that either Issei was not in Kuoh, or Ddraig had not woken up. And the second was the most likely.
......................................................
Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to upload chapters.
I didn't intend to prepare for the university entrance exam, so I said I would be more consistent, but I finally changed my mind.
Now I can say that I have passed that exam, so I have time off and vacation until September/October.
My idea is to spend at least four to eight hours a day writing, but that depends on the support I get from P@treon obviously. You know that I do this because I like it and not because of the money, but this is always appreciated.
I will leave the goal on every chapter's [Author's Thought].
Well, you can say that the mission "At least one chapter a day" begins.
1st Goal: Let's get 70 Patrons!
66/70
2nd Goal: Let's get 75 Patrons!
66/75
With every Goal, I'll work on a mini mass release!
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