Kapitel 13: Chapter - 13
Watching the tail end of one of Ophis' thick black snakes slither down the dying Uchiha's throat with vague interest, Dohnaseek turned and doffed his fedora in welcome. "Your script was excellent, ojou-sama."
The Ouroboros Dragon stared at the fallen angel with dull grey eyes before giving a minuscule nod. Cupping her dainty hands, the Gothic lolita reached through the fabric of reality and into the Dimensional Gap that lurked between worlds with a sparkle of blinding lurid rainbow light.
Dohnaseek blinked away the watery stinging in his eyes, only to have a blue gauntlet shoved into his gloved hands with all the fanfare of a bag of human fast food.
"As agreed." Ophis intoned, swiveling back to face Sasuke's twitching body. Destroying the spear of light pinning the devil to the ground with a thought, the dragon god stretched out her hand and healed every wound marking Sasuke's flesh.
Hovering uncertainly, the fallen angel slid the azure Twice Critical over his left hand. "Even if you heal his wounds Lady Ophis, the boy may not survive the infusion of your power." Dohnaseek clenched his fist to test the fit of the Sacred Gear.
The magical artifacts constructed by the God of The Bible were typically hidden in the souls of humans at birth, but enterprising non-humans had ways of extracting them from their original owners. Twice Critical might be one of the more common Sacred Gears, but the ability to double his strength was nothing to sneeze at. Getting his hands on the artifact was why he'd taken part in Ophis' little performance in the first place.
Dohnaseek looked back up at the dragon god and frowned. "While it's not truly any of my business, why did you not simply nurture the boy with drops of power? Why contract me to take part in this charade?"
For a long beat, the Ouroboros Dragon appeared to ignore the query. Dohnaseek was not wrong. Waiting ten years only to end the decade with a traumatizing lie appeared needlessly complex and pointless. Especially when Ophis could have merely given Sasuke power during their first meeting.
But the concern was not merely ability. "A tool with no spirit, remaining apathetically inside his boundaries and growing only when forced to suckle from the teat of power - an existence like that is of no use to me."
Sasuke needed to suffer. He needed to experience a long run of futility to teach him the weakness of the purpose Uzumaki Naruto had tried to give him. When compounded on the last years of his first life, Uchiha Sasuke had spent fifteen years as an ascetic wanderer who wanted nothing for himself. There was no passion in a man like that. He was content to waste away achieving little and justifying it with half-hearted idealistic rationalizations and bleating about duty.
A weak man like that could never become the soldier Ophis needed him to be. Great Red was not something that could be destroyed with lackadaisical effort. If Sasuke was going to help her destroy the Dragon of Dragons that had taken over the Dimensional Gap, he needed to be more than he was. Ophis shared the title of 'The Strongest Existence' with Great Red, and only a truly powerful warrior would be able to do damage to the Apocalypse Dragon.
"I see." Dohnaseek murmured, brushing a thumb over his new Sacred Gear. "You intend to break him into pieces and reforge him into a devil with desires of his own. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor then, Ouroboros Dragon. Business has been a pleasure. You know how to contact me if you wish to work together in the future."
Dark wings unfurled from the fallen angel's back, slipping out of the dimensional pocket they were typically concealed in and hoisting the middle-aged man into the air with a lazy sweep. The baby blue Twice Critical disappeared beneath the sleeves of Dohnaseek's trench coat, and he turned to leave. "A word of advice, Lady Ophis. This boy may be a pure-blooded devil, but there is more similarity between humans and devils than either would like to admit. Do not make the mistake of thinking a single defeat will be enough to crush his heart and make him into something else. He will bounce back."
Watching the fallen angel float away in a swirl of ash grey feathers with a blank expression, Ophis began to change. The façade of innocent prepubescent black-haired girl fell away, and the Dragon God grew taller by the breath, bosom swelling and hips widening until she stood in the body of an adult woman. "You underestimate me, Dohnaseek of the Grigori. I understand how you mortal beings behave better than you think."
Ophis knelt beside Sasuke's pale face, brushing a hand over his emaciated chest. The ghostly snake inside the Uchiha twitched, letting out just a little more power and driving Sasuke to inflate his newly healed lungs with a stuttering gasp. His regenerated heart contracted weakly, forcing blood through Sasuke's veins even as his flesh began to crumble away once more.
The Ouroboros Dragon had the ability to distill her own essence. Conjured in the form of shimmering black snakes, the creatures would then sink their fangs into whatever being had gained her attention. Ophis' venom was a double-edged sword, unlocking some the potential of the one bitten even as it risked killing them outright.
What Ophis had given Sasuke was more than a single bite. It was a constant link between her and him, sinking more and more venom into his veins when she desired it. Yet even that first bite from the snake she'd given him seemed to be too much. Sasuke was dying beneath the weight of a fraction of his own potential.
Blackened veins bruised the Uchiha's skin like a curse, splitting open the pale surface and leaking dark ichor. Sweat beaded along Sasuke's brow as he took another shaky breath, mind lost to nightmares of a distant chill void.
Perhaps Ophis had made his body too weak when she summoned him across dimensions. Even with her healing and the carefully cultivated beginning of a will to power, Sasuke would die.
How unfortunate.
It had been a gamble in the end, to hope that Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto would be fitting weapons. At least the Khaos Brigade plan was moving forward. Smoothing the black satin of her dress over her knees, Ophis rose and tore a hole between worlds with a snap of her fingers. Events were not moving quickly enough in the Adho Loka for her liking. Words would need to be had with the descendant of Sun Wukong, otherwise Bikou would just continue to procrastinate.
'I like cookies.'
'Then take them.'
Ophis stopped on the threshold, giving Sasuke a last look. Midnight liquid seeped from the corners of his closed eyelids, ran from his aristocratic nose, dribbled out of the corner of his lips, and dripped from his ears. The Uchiha's skin split even more beneath the force of the venom in his veins, driving him to cry out in agony.
Sentiment.
Driving her fang through her pink tongue, Ophis stood in silence as her mouth filled with the copper taste of her own blood. A droplet of crimson slipped between her pale lips, tracing an obscene red line down the ivory skin of the dragon god's chin.
Ophis dropped back to her knees, grass rustling as she reached out to cradle the young devil's face. Ignoring the clammy sensation of sweat and ichor beneath her fingertips, the Ouroboros Dragon pressed her lips to his, decision made.
Blood ran hot and slick from her mouth into his, sliding down Sasuke's throat like streaks of fire. If the Uchiha was too weak to survive the night, Ophis would simply repaint him in her own colours.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein