Kapitel 144: Ophis's answer

"Sigh... You really have ways to keep making me feel surprised, why are you here with the leader of Khaos Brigade?" Rias asked Masaru,

Masaru acts surprised, looking at Ophis behind him "Are you their leader?"

Ophis tilts her head "They made me, although I only wanted their help to regain Silence at that moment but..."

Masaru was surprised to see her way of wording implied she no longer wants it, this indicated that his talks with her managed to make her think. It appears this little girl was already considering her first step, yet it was at that time Masaru thought for Samsara 'Loneliness of the undying huh?' he thought

He felt pity for Ophis who sought the silence since she could not find herself fitting within this world, hench she wanted to lock herself away alone. 'Hopefully, she will find her heart and live in this world, so she could attain happiness instead of loneliness?' Masaru thought,

Yet, he still felt quite amused at Ophis's act, it was not every day someone could meet a dragon god as odd as this one.

"Well there you have it, she never wanted them to terrorize the factions and only wanted to find her home" Masaru answered with a self-righteous tone, he felt Ophis was not in the wrong but the fools who tried to make use of her was wrong.

Ophis glanced at Masaru with a peculiar glint in her eyes despite being expressionless, Rias sighed as she allowed everyone to enter the house.

"It's you! The one with questions!" Irina points at Masaru who once tricked her with questions almost making her question her own faith, since then she dubbed Masaru as the true Devil King who has questions that can shake the faith of angels.

"Nice to see you outside school Irina, have you been praying every day?" Masaru asked with a sly smile,

Hearing Masaru's question Irina stood proudly as she materialized her angel wings "Of course! I, the ace of Lord Michael will pay every moment of my life!"

"You should include me and Asia, Self Proclaimed Angel" Xenovia spoke from behind,

Irina blushed "I am a real Angel!" Xenovia faked her laugh causing the two of them to bicker for a moment till Asia pacified them.

"Welcome Akeno, Ingvild,..." Rias began to welcome the Girls of Masaru as they went to the kitchen to brew some tea while chatting together.

Le Fay was fiddling with a notebook, seeing this Masaru turn to look at Issei "Yo Issei, This girl her is Le Fay Pendragon, she is a fan of your show"

Hearing this Le Fay blushed but she still steps forward with the small amount of courage she gathered "I I am a fan of Oppai Dragon I watched your fight against Sairaorg and it was really touching! Could you please sign here?"

Le Fay and Issei spoke with one another.

"It has been a while Wonder Child" Ravel spoke towards Masaru who chuckled,

"It sure has, How is your brother doing?" Masaru asked with an amused face, it appears this girl too managed to move out of her shelter and made a choice.

"He has changed completely, after losing everything he had been working hard. Now he is an owner of his own company, father took him back into the family after he displayed some results in his change, thanks to you" Ravel explained the situation of Riser shortly to him,

Masaru nodded thinking that such an experience probably taught Riser a lot of things, of life. "It's good he changed his ways, perhaps from this point forward the Rating Games in the future will become even more exciting" Masaru smirked

"You really are like Vali, liking battles" Issei commented as he really found this part of Masaru similar to Vali,

"And you say you don't like it? Fighting strong opponents?" Masaru's question gave Issei a shock because somehow he could not deny it, the fact he enjoyed those life-threatening battles.

"Ma-kun, you want coffee or tea?" Ulrika called out,

Masaru turn to look in her direction "White Coffee please"

Masaru turns to look at Ophis who was standing near Irina and Asia who approached although the latter was a bit fearful of her, but after a while, they became quite close to Ophis who was truly a pure little girl despite being an old dragon.

"I heard your matches for the Rating Game got cancelled" Issei mentioned,

Masaru nodded "Yes, because of the Rating game that was suddenly cancelled only the most sought for matches were held... I also had work in China after all, so although there was requests for my match. I could not spare time"

"Is it hard work being a high-class Devil?" Issei asked as he and Masaru took their seat to talk,

"It's not that difficult, it depends on how much responsibility you have. For example, I have my territory, the show I run with Serafall, including my operations I do for Ajuka and Sirzech. Some of these responsibilities are shared with my peerage to make it easier to manage, so if you intend to build a peerage. Don't just aim for beautiful girls, but choose smart ones that can support you, you know your weaknesses better than anyone else after all" Masaru gave a piece of advice to Issei for his future development as he feared this breast dragon would chase breasts before brains.

Issei nodded as he knew his weakness lied in his knowledge, "Thanks for the advice" He thanked Masaru who waved his hand

"No need, you should know at first I too wanted a Harem when I got my evil pieces at first. But when I saw my family's situation I began to search for talent" Masaru chuckled,

"But you still end up with a Harem" Masaru nodded at Issei's words,

"Yes, but I still kept my standards of choosing. Each of the girls has talents in a specific field, and they also developed the skills they did not have. Remember to choose wisely, choosing girls are all well and good" Masaru said wisely, despite the fact he could not deny that his criteria were high standards.

Issei nodded as he felt he learnt quite a lot from Masaru, he had considered many things after being exposed in battles and politics. Although there were still many things he did not understand, he knew once he became a high-class devil there will be things that were once handled by others will have to be handled by him. So the advice from Masaru came timely for him.

"Here is your coffee" Ulrika handed over his cup and the rest of the girls just came out from the kitchen with cups of hot drinks prepared for everyone

"So are you going to answer me why have you come with Ophis to boot?" Rias asked Masaru again,

"Well it was Azazel who arranged it, I thought he contacted you already" Masaru answered, his face expressed his confusion despite his tone of voice sounded so nonchalantly.

Seeing Masaru's confused face Issei was shocked thinking that this was the guest his teacher Azazel was referring to while Rias held her forehead wondering what that old Fallen Angel was about to do.

Speaking of the devil Azazel entered the house "oh! Everyone is here already that is good, I want a coffee too please"

Masaru sighed at how nonchalant this old man could act, it was a completely higher level of field play compared to what Masaru was doing. "Yo old man, you really did not tell the kids about Ophis?" Masaru asked Azazel who chuckled nervously,

"Well, it is a secret meeting after all." Azazel answered vaguely

"I have many things I want to reprimand you on Azazel, but the fact Masaru was the one to bring Ophis and even went as far to stand up for her I will let it slide. But this is going against those who did everything to secure the peace alliance and this location being the key location for it. This is important for the alliance after all" Rias spoke sternly as Azazel

"Now now, no need to scold him since I have approved of his movement," Masaru said causing Rias to freeze, she looked at him with widened eyes.

"You--- Do know that the alliance will question you along with Azazel? Azazel could get away with it, but you are different" Rias said,

"I naturally made the move knowing this, since I want to establish my position," Masaru said vaguely, however, Azazel knew Masaru intend to raise his status to the level of a Devil King to represent the Devils despite not being one.

Everyone went to sit in the VIP room where they can continue their discussion, Ophis was sitting comfortably on Masaru's lap as if it was a normal thing to do.

Issei could not help but feel jealous of Masaru who was playing with Ophis's hair carefreely, Rias could not help but accept the fact her childhood friend was indeed a wonderchild only he would play so carefree with a Dragon God's hair like its something normal to do.

Azazel, however, found the scene amusing since he could claim bragging rights to tell everyone what he saw today. When the topic comes regarding the reason Ophis was here, the room was quiet with everyone looking at Ophis. Masaru gently poked Ophis's cheek, when she turned to look at him.

"You wanted to speak with the Sekiryuutei?" Masaru reminded her,

Ophis nodded as she looks at Issei "Ddraig, What do you wish to become in the end? Both the human who is your host and Vali have strange evolutions, unlike the previous heavenly dragons they are different. Especially the change in your colour that became crimson"

Ddraig materialized on Issei's hand, [I don't know Ophis, what he intends to become even I don't know, but he sure is having an interesting growth] Ddraig answered,

Ophis nodded before she continued "The both of you and Albion mixed I, infinite and Great Red as Dream in your chant. What did you intend to achieve as the King of Domination?" She asked,

[I guess at a time it was probably the result of seeking strength. Because of that, I was eliminated. I couldn't become strong besides increasing the power of "domination". I never thought that my red colour could turn to crimson]

"And because of that, you are the cause my mother died" Everest who was sitting next to Masaru spoke out with an angered tone,

Hearing this Ddraig was confused [What do you mean?]

Everest took a deep breath as she held Masaru's hand "My mother is Everest Y Goch, I am her daughter Everest. I heard my father told me how my mother died, when she and the dragons she led to attack both the Devils and Angels alike the moment she heard of your death"

The green gems on Issei's hand began to flash as Ddraig's shaking voice came out, [E-Everest... Died?]

Even Issei could sense how deep the pain struck for Ddraig to hear this as he would have never expected this to happen, [But Tannin---]

Before Ddraig could reason it out Everest cut him off "Father was forced to go to war because of you and Albion who made a mess of things, for the sake of the dragon race father reincarnated as a Devil to save them unlike you who only cared for yourself" Everest spoke.

This story was quite shocking for everyone but no one asked questions, they would never expected that the Boosted gear spirit, Ddraig would still have a relative living in this world. Rias was quite surprised at this revelation, looking at Masaru with surprise.

Azazel glanced at Masaru with a surprised face as he would have never expected Masaru had a niece of the red dragon emperor and daughter of a Saint Dragon in his peerage. It was a good thing the peace alliance already established, or there would have been bigger problems facing heaven's protests.

[.....] Ddraig had no words to say, perhaps his heart was too shaken that he has forgotten about his fear for breasts, but right now

[I'm sorry...] As a fellow dragon Everest nodded as she forgave Ddraig because she could feel his sincerity in his apologies, there was no need for long speeches as dragons are honest and straightforward. Everest already decided to forgive Ddraig when he apologize, since she too could understand his reason for fighting Albion. It's hard to meet a true fated Rival after all.

"Everest, you can catch up with Ddraig later okay?" Masaru gently squeezes Everest's hand as she nodded, Ophis was quiet all this time as her eyes were on Masaru.

Ophis turned to look at Ddraig again as if what happened just now did not disrupt her as she ask, "I don't understand domination. Many people I came across seeks out domination but neither I nor Great Red is domination"

Masaru caresses Ophis's hair making her stop as she looks at him, her eyes were gleaming with emotions she could not understand while she desired him to continue stroking her hair as he did. She felt oddly comfortable.

"Ophis, if I attack you now. Can I kill you?" Masaru asked a question that made everyone tense in the room, they could not understand what Masaru was trying to achieve asking such a dangerous question.

Ophis shook her head "Impossible"

Masaru nodded "It is because you can't be killed people fear you, you might not want domination but your incredible strength make others feel naturally dominated."

Ophis look into Masaru's eyes deeply before nodded as if she understood what he meant, however, she still wondered why people would fear her, what was fear? She shook her head glancing at the boosted gear gauntlet again "But Ddraig, are you going to quit being a heavenly dragon and become a Boob Loving Dragon?"

Hearing this question Ddraig was shaken [I - I... I'm not afraid o-o-of b-b-b-b-boobs!]

Ddraig was talking in a shaky voice that did not convince everyone, Masaru, however, felt quite amused and surprised at the same time since he and Issei understood the cause of Ddraig's stronger mentality.

'To think Drago's advice made this dragon mentally stronger not to collapse at the mere mention of breasts at least' Masaru chuckled

"So Ophis what do you want?" Azazel asked,

Ophis heard Azazel's question, however, she did not answer him and instead she turned to look at Masaru, the question that bothered her was still egging her on. Although she already found it, she was just not conscious of it. She wanted to know, her answer.

"You told me Home is where the heart is, but where is my heart?" Ophis asked Masaru,

This question caused Azazel to almost slip off his chair feeling incredibly shocked, he would have never expected that Masaru was a step ahead of everyone in convincing Ophis to stop by proposing something that she desires. Making her think hard on something, before giving her a suitable answer to make her reconsider what it is that she truly desires.

'This brat sure is good at hiding things' Azazel thought.

Masaru closes his eyes thinking for a moment before opening them to look at Ophis, "Where do you want to be right now the most"

Ophis blinked, her clear eyes gazing deeply into Masaru's eyes containing her innocence as she answers honestly, "I want to study the Ddraig but I want to learn my answer following you"

Masaru nodded, she did not find her answer yet but it was a step forward into changing her mind from challenging Great Red. "You will find your heart, the moment you find a place you wish to stay at for the rest of your life"

Hearing Masaru's answer, whether she understood or not she turned around allowing him to play with her hair, Azazel however, was ecstatic as he saw a peculiar change of facial expression on Ophis's face even if it was only an instant.

"So you will be visiting with Ophis regularly?" Azazel asked Masaru since he wanted to keep Ophis here, the longer they could keep her away from Khaos brigade. The more they could create a disturbance within that organisation without their head.

"Guess so, hope you don't mind me visiting" Masaru spoke with a wry smile towards Issei who shook his hands

"You are more than welcome to visit, you have been a great help!" Issei spoke,

Rias glanced at Issei wondering what help Masaru gave him without her knowing of it. a Smile form on her face as she was grateful to her friend who keeps helping her,

"I will teach you some combat skills while I visit as well" Masaru said while he caresses Ophis hair like a child.

"I will be in your care Sensei!" Issei said with an excited voice,

"Please allow me to join in, Senior" Yuuto said,

"Me too!" Gasper added,

"Don't forget about me" Barold Said with a grin,

"Fine, you are all welcome," Masaru said with a hearty laugh,

"I really need to get used to this sight" Azazel spoke with a surprised voice, the chemistry between Masaru and Ophis was oddly compatible. If he knew what Samsara told Masaru, he would have understood it instantly.

After the meeting, Masaru carried Ophis on his back. Apparently Le Fay stayed behind to talk with Rias, Shirone came over to hold onto the hem of Masaru's shirt.

Masaru smiled warmly as he took hold of her hand making Shirone's ears stand up straight with her tail as she smiled happily.

"Are you sure it will be fine if the factions find out?" Roygun asked as she already thought several scenarios and most of them did not end up well.

"Well, it's a gamble I am willing to take, with Ophis staying with us there will be less pressure on the Alliance." Masaru said while smiling warmly at the happy Shirone,

"Khaos Brigade is no longer a giant threat since the strong deterrent force it once had to keep the factions in their place is no longer with them, I only have to make this point clear to make the alliance understand this. The problem lies in whether they will see me as the next threat or not" Masaru said with a serious voice, he knew having too much power tend to make others feel threatened.

Ophis, look at Masaru with odd eyes, she ask with a soft whispering voice "Will I bring trouble?"

Masaru chuckled feeling happy that this girl was worried of him, he gave her a smile before reassuring her "No you won't, your home is with me"

Masaru spoke without realizing what he just said he said it on an impulse, these words pierced into Ophis's heart as if the word Home resonated with her.

"I see... So this is what you meant by Home is where the heart is" Ophis whispered to herself as her hidden face form a faint smile no one managed to see, she finally found it. Her true home