At this point, the situation seemed to have reached its conclusion.
That was the thought shared by everyone present—and by Kaiser himself.
The Old Maou Faction had been completely captured. The traitors from the three major powers who had colluded with them were either dead or gravely wounded. With losses of this magnitude, the Khaos Brigade could now abandon the Old Maou Faction entirely. Perhaps from this moment on, that faction would cease to exist altogether.
The peace talks had also essentially been settled in advance. After such an incident, there was nothing left to negotiate. All that remained was for everyone to return to their respective homes, marking a decisive victory in this operation and the successful conclusion of the peace accord.
However, just as everyone thought it was over, Kaiser suddenly turned sharply, looking in one direction.
Clang!
Azazel's artificial Sacred Gear had been destroyed due to forcibly entering Balance Breaker mode, but the jewel sealing the Dragon King remained. It now lay in his hand, suddenly emitting a dazzling light.
Clang!
Clang!
At the same time, light wings suddenly flared open behind Vali—who was about to be taken away—flickering intensely. Meanwhile, Hyoudou Issei, standing beside him, felt a searing heat in his hand, causing his gauntlet to materialize.
"Ow! What the heck?! Ddraig!"
Hyoudou Issei cried out in pain, clutching his burning gauntlet.
Cough…
Even Vali was jolted awake, coughing pale-faced as he clutched his chest.
Everything related to dragons in the vicinity began to react violently at that moment, including the two Longinus Sacred Gears inside Kaiser.
Before anyone could make a move, an indescribable and eerie silence fell over the entire area.
It wasn't due to someone activating a power, nor was it caused by any strange supernatural force. It was simply because someone had arrived—someone whose mere presence caused the world to fall unnaturally silent.
Even beings such as Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael found themselves incapable of uttering a word. At some point, they had all turned to look in the same direction, cold sweat trickling down their foreheads.
Yes.
Even the apex of the Three Factions was struck speechless and stunned in this moment.
"Kaiser-san…"
Asia couldn't bear the oppressive atmosphere and instinctively tried to approach Kaiser.
"Don't go!"
Kuroka grabbed her tightly, her face showing a panic Asia had never seen before.
Kaiser, too, had no time to pay attention to Asia behind him. His gaze was fixed ahead—on that person.
She had appeared silently, as if she had been there all along. Her waist-length jet-black straight hair swayed in the wind, and her black dress seemed to merge with the darkness itself. Only her exposed, slender limbs were shockingly pale, radiating an eerie presence in the oppressive silence.
Her features were exquisitely symmetrical, and her outward appearance was that of a petite girl in her early teens. She stood quietly, her pitch-black eyes meeting Kaiser's gaze.
"Ophis…"
Kaiser softly called her name, so quietly it was almost inaudible.
Yet in this overly silent world, that whisper echoed clearly in the ears of everyone present, sending shockwaves through their hearts.
Ophis.
Everyone in the supernatural world knew what that name represented.
"Ophis…"
"Ophis…!"
"It's Ophis!"
Gradually, the crowd began to call her name aloud, their voices filled with fear and panic.
"T-that's Ophis…?!"
Even Rias and the others immediately tensed up, trembling as they reacted.
"Ophis?" Hyoudou Issei, clearly the most clueless of the group, finally caught on after everyone else had reacted. "Isn't that the leader of the Khaos Brigade?!"
Naturally, Ddraig responded to Issei.
"...I didn't expect we'd actually see her here."
Ddraig's voice held both awe and gravity.
"..."
Albion remained silent, but the heavy atmosphere he emitted made even the injured Vali lock eyes with Ophis.
The leaders of the major factions instinctively stepped in front of the younger ones, their expressions grave as they stared at Ophis.
Among them, Azazel, as if trying to break the oppressive silence and tension, deliberately spoke with a sarcastic smile.
"Well, well, I thought some big shot had arrived. Isn't this the Infinite Dragon God herself?"
Azazel's irreverent tone did manage to disrupt the stalemate.
"Azazel." Ophis clearly recognized him. She shifted her gaze from Kaiser to him and said, "Long time no see."
Her voice held no hostility—nor any emotion. It was supremely indifferent.
Clearly, Ophis did not see Azazel as an enemy. Or rather, she didn't consider him worthy of being her enemy.
"If possible, I'd rather not see you again," Azazel said with a wry smile. "How long has it been since we last met? Hundreds of years? Thousands?"
"I remember you used to appear as an old man. Why the cute girl look this time?"
Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon born from the void, had no fixed form. Her appearance was merely decorative. She could become human, dragon, angel, or fallen angel—it made no difference to her.
Her essence was "nothingness" itself, and her form was much the same.
So Azazel wasn't surprised by her appearance—he merely used the opportunity to make a jab.
Ophis didn't care.
"I'm not here for you."
The girl said plainly.
"Then who are you here for?" Azazel asked nonchalantly. "Don't tell me you're here for those guys you gave power to?"
He was referring, of course, to Shalba and the others.
Those three were also present. Upon seeing Ophis, they became visibly agitated, but Azazel, annoyed by their foul mouths, had sealed their ability to speak.
"No." Ophis shook her head, to their astonishment. Then she turned back to Kaiser. "I'm here for him."
This didn't surprise anyone.
After all, since her appearance, Ophis had been watching Kaiser. If Azazel hadn't spoken, she wouldn't have looked at anyone else.
Even Kaiser had guessed that Ophis had likely come for him.
Sure enough, she stated her intent directly, without the slightest attempt to conceal it.
"What do you want with me?"
Kaiser gave a reassuring glance to Kuroka and Asia behind him before stepping forward to question Ophis.
"I felt it." Ophis responded bluntly. "You used my power."
It seemed that Kaiser's activation of Juggernaut Drive had caught her attention.
"There are plenty of people who use your power. You wouldn't come all the way here just for that, would you?"
Kaiser spread his hands, but Ophis didn't respond.
She simply stared at him, as if she could see through him—through to the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing within him.
"Show me."
Then she said:
"What?"
Everyone, including Kaiser, was momentarily stunned.
"My power." Ophis repeated. "Use it. Let me see."
Hearing this, the crowd looked at one another, then all turned their eyes to Kaiser.
Kaiser looked deeply at Ophis for a moment, then nodded.
"If you want to see it, I'll show you."
With that, Kaiser summoned a Sacred Gear.
But this time, it wasn't Divine Dividing—it was Boosted Gear.
"My Boosted Gear?!"
Hyoudou Issei cried out in shock.
"He has the Boosted Gear too?!"
Many were stunned.
"Just as I thought…"
Some, led by Azazel, had already suspected it. Now it was confirmed.
"...So it's not just Divine Dividing."
Vali, seeing this, clenched his hand over his chest.
The appearance of Boosted Gear confirmed that even earlier, Kaiser hadn't been fighting at full strength.
Vali felt a mix of emotions.
"Balance Breaker!"
Kaiser activated Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker—red armor and crimson flames erupted, covering his body.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Kaiser raised a hand and unleashed a torrent of red energy.
And in less than a second, Kaiser completed the chant, and the crimson flames swept out like an avalanche, turning black.
"Juggernaut Drive!"
Black flames wrapped around the red armor, dyeing it black.
Soon, Kaiser had fully entered Boosted Gear's Juggernaut Drive. Aside from the green jewels on his body, all the armor had turned black.
"Will this do?"
A distorted voice came from within the black dragon helm. Though the flames stopped surging outward, they still burned fiercely around him like black fire.
His terrifying form and oppressive aura made everyone feel suffocated—even Azazel and Michael.
Only Ophis remained calm, her hollow eyes gleaming faintly as she looked at Kaiser.
Sensing the familiar power within him, Ophis slowly opened her mouth.
"Where is your spear?"
She asked.
"…"
Kaiser didn't answer. He simply opened his black-armored hand, then gripped a long spear that appeared out of thin air.
The True Longinus.
And Kaiser already knew what Ophis was planning, so he immediately activated the spear's Balance Breaker. The spear turned entirely crimson, radiating divine will and dangerous god-slaying energy.
Under that divine pressure, many people collapsed. Even Rias and the others trembled. Only the faction leaders remained standing, their expressions grim.
They, too, had guessed what was coming next.
"Attack me."
As expected, Ophis said those words.
"What?"
Those who didn't understand could only gape in confusion.
"Are you sure?"
Kaiser asked simply.
Ophis nodded silently, her eyes filled with anticipation as she looked at him.
Seeing this, Kaiser took a deep breath.
"Boost!"
The voice that amplified the user's power rang out.
And that was only the beginning.
"Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!" "Boost!"...
One after another, the jewels on Kaiser's body rang out in rapid succession.
Kaiser paid no heed to the toll on his body, activating Boost over and over again.
"Originally, without using abilities, I could maintain Juggernaut Drive for about an hour."
Previously it was thirty minutes, but over the past few months, Kaiser had grown stronger. With greater stamina and energy, he could now hold the form longer.
"But now that I'm also using the Holy Spear's Balance Breaker, the drain is much heavier."
"But it doesn't matter. I don't need to maintain both forms."
"I just need enough power… for one strike."
Yes, Kaiser had only one shot.
This one strike would determine how Ophis viewed him.
Knowing this, Kaiser decided to go all in—reserving just enough strength for one attack and pouring everything else into power amplification.
"Transfer!"
After a long series of boosts, Kaiser transferred all the accumulated power into the Holy Spear.
Boom!
At that moment, the spear, empowered by all of Kaiser's might, erupted with an unprecedented, terrifying energy.
A god-slaying force, amplified dozens—perhaps hundreds—of times over, soared to a world-shattering level.
"Take this!"
With only a sliver of strength left, Kaiser let out a low shout and charged at Ophis like a bolt of lightning.
"—"
The crimson spear thrust forward, as if piercing through the entire world. Red light burst forth, consuming the heavens and earth.