Chapter 663 - 663: [663] : Ophis Is Running Away from Home

Also late at night. Lilith, the capital of the Underworld.

Whoosh—

The cool autumn night breeze swept past the spires of Victorian-style buildings, gently stirring the gothic girl's long, straight black hair.

Ophis currently sat atop a horizontal antenna extending from something resembling a signal tower. She gazed down at the entire capital from above, her pale little legs dangling casually in the air, swinging gently.

As the Infinite Dragon God, so-called "sleep"—a survival necessity for other creatures—had long become optional for Ophis. The saying that one would die early without proper rest simply didn't apply to this dragon god loli.

If Ophis wanted, she could sit staring at this scenery for hundreds or thousands of years.

Of course, the prerequisite was that doing so wouldn't bore her.

"Ophis."

The young man's voice suddenly came from behind her.

Ophis didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

The only person who would come looking for her in a place like this at a time like this—when she thought about it, there was only Vali.

The silver-haired young man floated in midair, supported solely by his own magical power. His black jacket and slightly long silver hair swayed in the high-altitude winds.

"We've finished everything we needed to do in Lilith. What are your plans now?"

"Plans..."

Ophis paused for a moment, withdrawing her gaze from the city lights below.

"I shall proceed to the Human World. There is no need for thee to follow."

"You're going to the Human World alone?"

Vali seemed rather surprised by this answer.

There was something he'd known since his first day joining the Khaos Brigade. This black-haired loli called the Infinite Dragon God was nominally the entire organization's leader, but in essence, she was basically a mascot.

More precisely—a wish-granting mascot.

Rather than saying the Khaos Brigade was built around Ophis as its absolute core, it was more accurate to say various mythological powers had nominally aligned themselves with her in order to obtain the Infinite Dragon God's power, propping her up as their figurehead leader.

It felt a bit like the Black Organization in Detective Conan, honestly.

Though officially the Organization was a transnational criminal syndicate led by Karasuma Renya, if the intelligence agencies of various countries actually withdrew all their operatives, the whole thing would probably collapse on the spot.

Like the roach-supported house of the Griffin family from that one manga.

But the reason this worked was fundamentally because while Ophis possessed power that no mythological system could even approach, her personality was unexpectedly simple.

She had essentially zero guard against others. Whatever anyone told her, she believed.

This was exactly why the Norse evil god Loki and the former Leviathan descendant Katerea had been able to obtain power from Ophis—supposedly "to help her defeat Great Red."

Yet this innocent, naïve girl who believed everything she was told—she actually had her own ideas now?

"I shall seek... Bokue Keikain."

Perhaps because she wasn't yet familiar with the pronunciation of this name, Ophis stumbled slightly when speaking.

However, while she might be unfamiliar with this name, for Vali behind her, it was anything but unfamiliar.

"Keikain... oh, you met him today."

The silver-haired young man raised an eyebrow in understanding.

He recalled that earlier today in the VIP observation box, Bokue had specifically asked him where Bikou was. And since Bikou was with Ophis, they'd probably crossed paths.

"Mm."

Ophis nodded lightly.

"His power far exceeds Great Red's. If I can obtain Bokue Keikain's assistance, I shall certainly be able to return to my tranquil dwelling place."

"...So he agreed to help you deal with Great Red?"

Vali thought for a moment before choosing a more tactful phrasing.

After all, based on his understanding of Bokue Keikain, that guy never refused any woman who came to him. His whole thing was "wanting to create a world where everyone could be happy."

Of course, to put it bluntly, virtually every female who fell into his hands ended up falling for him without exception.

And while Ophis was nominally the Infinite Dragon God, she was a pure-hearted loli who only had power and age going for her—in every other aspect, she was no different from a child. It was hard to say she wouldn't be claimed by a certain someone.

But surely that guy hadn't become depraved enough to actually... do that to a loli?

"No."

When Ophis spoke these two words, her tone carried a rare hint of disappointment.

Oh, well then. No problem.

Vali thought to himself.

"But I shall endeavor to make him agree!"

As Ophis spoke, her eyes brightened slightly. For the first time ever, she seemed to radiate something called "fighting spirit."

"..."

What was this—delivering herself right to his doorstep?

Vali quipped internally, but said nothing more.

After all, he wasn't like those people who only wanted to extract power from Ophis to achieve their own ambitions. Besides, if the Infinite Dragon God truly wanted to do something, he alone couldn't stop her.

Whatever.

❁❁❁❁

And so, time flew by to the next morning.

Atop Keystone Gate on Itogami Island, inside the first-floor dining room of the beach villa, the slightly hazy morning sunlight filtered through the windows and fell upon the counter.

The aroma of breakfast food filled the air.

Venelana, Chysis, and Runeas sat at the dining table. It was breakfast time.

"Hm? Speaking of which, where's Sona-chan? Isn't she joining us for breakfast?"

Chysis—who had only arrived on Itogami Island yesterday—looked around curiously.

It was already nine in the morning, yet the entire beach villa seemed to have only the three of them eating breakfast.

Was everyone else still sleeping?

"Sona-chan would have left for school ages ago by now."

Venelana explained casually.

"School?"

Chysis blinked, then thought for a moment before letting out an "oh."

"That's right—our Rias-chan is also attending school in the Human World. So she leaves this early... What about Serafall-chan then? She's a Demon Lord—surely she doesn't have to go to school?"

"Serafall-chan... yawn..."

Still somewhat drowsy despite waking at nine, Venelana yawned before continuing.

"While Serafall-chan isn't a student, she accompanies Sona-chan to school every day now. She basically doesn't come back until around five in the afternoon."

"I see."

Chysis nodded lightly, then raised her gaze with a hint of a smile toward the elegant woman across the table.

"But Venelana-chan, you look rather tired today as well. Did something keep you up late last night?"

"Huh? Oh, um... n-no..."

Caught completely off guard, the already guilty Venelana stumbled over her words.

"It's just... the usual grogginess when you first wake up. It's not from lack of sleep..."

"I see. That's good then."

As Chysis said this, the smile at the corner of her lips carried an additional meaning that Venelana couldn't quite read.

"Well then, let's go find Bokue in a bit. He did promise to play tour guide for Lady Runeas and us on Itogami Island."

"Mm-hmm..."

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