DxD: Silence for Two (Completed)

POV Hades

As the ruler of the underworld, I spend most of my time defending my territory. While this fate may seem terrifying to most, I find the dark and quiet atmosphere relaxing. There is no better refuge for the gods of death than their own kingdom. And unlike our fellows, we get along well with each other, because death is the end for everyone and there is no point in dividing it — in death, everyone is one.

It is worth noting that I am not the only inhabitant of the kingdom of the dead. My loneliness is brightened by my wife Persephone. Over all these centuries spent together, our love has not cooled by a degree, on the contrary, it has only become stronger. Even the circumstances of our wedding did not become an obstacle to a cozy family life. When I apologized to her for kidnapping and tricking her into eating the food of the underworld so that she would be connected to it, Persephone laughed heartily. Once she calmed down and explained such a reaction, I realized how scary women are. It turns out that it was not me who took advantage of the trusting girl, but she herself took advantage of my naivety.

"A slightly lingering glance there, an accidental touch here, a smoother sway of the hips, and the man I am interested in himself begins to act," — my beloved told me, making me look at her in a new way. It was Persephone who fell in love first, having noticed me at one of the banquets of Olympus and, having spent some time with me in the underworld and convinced of her choice, agreed to become Hades' wife. Since then, we have ruled over the dead together, sometimes returning to Olympus to meet with relatives.

A huge and luxurious palace, of course, inspires respect and gives status when dead souls come to trial, but it is not always practical. Therefore, some of the rooms have been refurbished in a more homely and cozy atmosphere, thanks to Hestia for that. We were now in one of these rooms, which served as a living room. Watching a romantic movie together is one of the moments of the daily routine, designed to enjoy each other's company and throw aside the bustle of work.

Persephone was lying in my arms, giggling cheerfully at the failure of the main character. The devil's net allowed us to enjoy the benefits of civilization — the only good thing created by demons. Although this does not outdo all the shit that these bats brought to those around. The production of devil pieces alone is already a reason for the hatred of all other mythologies. The first years after their creation were the worst. Devils, like madmen, ran everywhere to fill their retinues. Most often, the victims were not asked for consent before being turned, because having received a figure, they essentially get a leash around their neck. A couple of such idiots tried to get my assistants — the grim reapers, but the death of several purebred representatives cooled the ardor of the rest of the devils, but still from time to time new fools appear. Naturally, trespassers of the underworld do not leave my hospitable domain, becoming a snack for the Cerberus and his offspring.

— Sir! — the grim reaper who burst into the room spoiled the mood. I had to interrupt a hot kiss with my beloved. — Your intervention is urgently needed!

— What impudence! — my grumbling was interrupted by a jab from Persephone, who was also not happy with the interruption, but the situation seemed important. — Okay, what happened there?

As the owner of the underworld, I could usually sense the appearance of uninvited guests. One of these appeared a while ago, but it didn't have any powerful force, so I let the Grim Reapers deal with the small stuff, as usual.

— D-Dragon! The very dragon you warned us about has appeared, — the messenger blurted out in panic. — Silence Ouroboros is currently in the northern part of the kingdom.

— What?! — How could I not sense someone of the Dragon King's level? — What is he doing? How many victims?

Just recently, a vampire faction with an entire city of residents was destroyed, if something like this starts here, it won't end well. The bloodsuckers' remaining faction has seized power, crushing the rest of their rivals, but they are now hiding in corners, afraid to stick their noses out and attract the dragons' attention. I won't tolerate devastation and will kill the culprit, but that will cause a response from Ophis. Too bad...

— There are no victims. The intruder simply remains where he is, waiting for something to happen.

— Waiting, huh? — Waiting for me? — Then let's leave immediately. Persephone, please go to Olympus. I don't want you to get hurt if something happens.

— Darling, maybe I should ask my father and the others for help?

— No. I'll try not to let it come to that, but if I anger the Infinity Dragon, it won't make a difference whether I'm alone or not.

— Then I'll wait for you here, — she kissed my lips with a smile. — I'm not going to run away alone, so come back alive. Don't let pride cloud your judgment. I'd rather have a living husband than a dead one.

— Okay, — I recognize that look. She's already made up her mind, and I can't convince her otherwise. — Once I've sorted everything out, let's continue our evening.

— Ha-ha! I'll be waiting for you with impatience, my beloved.

Without wasting any more time, I teleport in the indicated direction. When I arrived, I saw the boy I knew from the video sitting on the Cerberus, scratching one of its heads. He was completely oblivious to the armed reapers surrounding him from all sides. In the first seconds, I already wanted to attack the bastard, but, suppressing the impulse, I studied the situation more carefully. In reality, my pet is fine, his power is simply suppressed by the dragon. I can try to resolve this peacefully.

— Why are you here, boy? — When I appeared, he finally paid attention to someone other than the Cerberus. — I don't like uninvited guests. Especially troublesome ones like you.

— Ha! Cordially, although I myself am to blame for this. I came here to find a rival, and it looks like he has arrived.

— Impudent! Do you think you can handle me? — This really pissed me off. Some brat comes to my house and acts so arrogantly. — I won't care that you're related to Ophis and I'll kill you!

— Huh? — the young man tilted his head to the side in confusion. — Ah! You misunderstood me, Hades. I'm not going to fight you. My strength is not yet enough to fight the gods. Especially — a blue magic circle appeared in his eyes, and a chill ran down my spine. It felt like I was being seen through — such a powerful god. You're in the top ten, how can I compete with you?

— Hmm... — I admit, such an honest answer cooled my ardor. — Then who did you come for? After your recent prank with the vampires, everyone is on guard. No one cares about bloodsuckers, but if you cause trouble here, the others will not remain silent.

— They were to blame for their own fate, — Silence simply waved off the threat—warning. — Besides, you seem to be the only normal god in your pantheon. If what I read and learned is true, then I don't really want to cause you trouble. I just want to fight that strong guy hiding in your shadow.

What unusual eyes he has. They can even see Pluto in my invisibility helmet. Mystical vision, several orders of magnitude ahead of the gaze of the petrified Gorgon. I don't remember anyone with eyes like that.

— First of all, — after I waved my hand, my loyal subordinate stopped hiding and stood next to me, — what kind of eyes do you have? Do they have a name?

— The gaze of all existence — that's what Mephistopheles called them.

This devil... He's not as annoying as the other bats. Mephisto settled in the human world and created an organization of magic. Even my grim reapers sometimes enroll in this school.

— Let me clarify: you want to fight my subordinate and that's all?

— Yeah, that's all, — the boy smiled carefree. — I've heard about the power of the grim reapers, so I wanted to try it out myself. Fighting different opponents helps improve my skills quickly.

— Pluto, fight him, but try not to kill him. We don't need problems with Ouroboros because of the death of her toy. The rest of you, leave the area to a safe distance and don't forget to move the Cerberus.

— This time, I'll turn a blind eye to what you called me, — the kid growled bloodthirstily, looking at me with narrowed eyes. — However, this is only because of my sudden appearance and your agreement to my request.

I just snorted. It was too early for a brat to threaten me. I had fought and defeated my father; I had survived the Great War against the other mythologies and the Biblical one; a brat's words couldn't hurt me. I watched the battle unfold, my mind racing with thoughts.

It seemed like the little dragon had really come here to fight. It wasn't that unusual, those lizards had always been known for such antics, but the recent proposal from children with the heritage of heroes of the past made me a bit paranoid. If they couldn't defeat Ophis on the first try, she would take revenge on everyone involved. Given those mystical eyes of Silence, I wasn't sure about the effectiveness of Cao Cao's strategy. It was better not to take unnecessary risks by releasing Samael.

The battlefield glowed with various colors as the dragon created dozens of different magic circles aimed at the agile opponent. So he's also an excellent mage, considering the mention of Mephisto, I can assume their cooperation. I'll need to find out more about this. There's no point in relying on the Chaos Brigade anymore. Our goals were already different, and now that they're targeting Ouroboros, we can prepare to meet them in my kingdom. That is, if there's anything left of them.

Maybe I should warn the old fool? Rizevim was targeting his bodyguard to get her knowledge. That way, I'll not only be able to screw over the bat, but also get Odin in my debt. I need to think about it and discuss it with Persephone.

A crater formed next to me from the man who was thrown into the ground. Pluto looked battered, but the boy also had wounds. Don't underestimate the power of the supreme Grim Reaper.

— A wonderful battle. I found myself in dangerous situations several times, — the little dragon said cheerfully, hovering next to me. — Thank you for your hospitality, Hades. I'm going home.

— You've lost, Pluto, — I turned to my subordinate after watching the dragon teleport away. — I know you didn't show all your strength because of my order, but was it that strong?

— Not exactly, sir. The guy also held back, not wanting me to die. However, he turned out to be too inconvenient an opponent, — the reaper complained. — His eyes easily kept up with my speed, and his aura blocked the theft of energy. After a few successful attacks, he even adapted to block damage from the scythe. In short, he's a problematic guy.

— You did well, Pluto. Complete my task and you can rest, — the incident with Silence gave me dark thoughts. — Increase the security around Tartarus and the lower floors of Cocytus. I don't need any more uninvited guests who decide to release unwanted characters.

END POV

***

A dark-haired girl walked slowly down the hallway of the top floor of the penthouse. She had spent a whole week at her aunt's house and had just returned from Okinawa. Despite Silence's thick hint that she could stay there peacefully, Nobu had decided to come back.

— What kind of people, — Sai greeted her when the girl entered their apartment. — How did you spend your vacation on the sunny beaches at home?

— Hello, Sai, Ophis, — the hero's descendant glanced warily at the dragon god. — Time with family was calming.

— That's good. You came just in time. Esdeath will soon finish her transformation.

— Esdeath?

— Oh, right! You didn't get to meet her, did you? — the dragon remembered that Oda had returned before him, and after that he had visited her apartment on his own, advising her to visit the house. — She is the dragon beast I met during the attack.

— I see, — the mention of that massacre made the girl shudder. — Listen, Sai…

— Yeah.

— I have nothing against protecting your territory or accompanying you during your travels, but… Can you please not ask me to participate in the execution, — Nobu looked very depressed when she said these words. — I am not ready to point my guns at civilians. So, please, do not do that, and if that is not possible, then tell me to leave right away.

— Hmm… What an impudent girl, — Ophis drawled, turning her gaze to the speaker. — Although, I have plans for you.

— Ophis?

— What? I am not going to do anything bad to her, dear. It's just that right now she will be very useful in our situation.

— What are you talking about? — Nobu asked, very excited.

— You can stay here and be responsible for cleaning our house from all sorts of insects, but in exchange you will need to teach the new girl some common sense.

— Good idea, Ophis! We are leaving for Kyoto tomorrow, and for six days we will not return here, and Esdeath will be more trouble than she is worth.

— What exactly do you want from me?

— In an hour or two, a girl will appear from that cocoon, — she pointed at the blue sphere, — she has never been in a civilized society before, so consider her a wild dragon. Now she will be able to understand and talk to you, so you will have to be Esdeath's nanny and teacher.

— Oh, shit!

— Don't be so dramatic, Nobu. Today we will explain the basics to her, and the more difficult questions are on you.

— Eh-h-h, okay.

— Great, I'll go order more food. After the transformation, she'll probably be hungry.

An hour later, cracks appeared on the surface of the shell. Esdeath literally broke her way out. A young beauty appeared from the cocoon. Long blue hair the same color as her scales, tall and an outstanding figure that could put any model to shame. Taking a deep breath, the girl finally looked around. When her gaze met Silence, Esdeath immediately knelt down on one knee, bowing her head.

— Leader.

— Get up, you don't need to do this. I don't really like this. And just call me Silence or Sai for short.

— Can I? — she asked hesitantly.

— Yes, that would be much better, — although the young man didn't do it on purpose, his gaze kept falling to the protruding parts of the naked girl. Noticing this, Ophis created clothes on Esdeath's body. Following Nobu's example, she created a white form—fitting uniform and cap suitable for an ice dragon. — Thank you, Ophis. She'll need to pick out some normal clothes for herself later. 

— They can handle this without us.

— I think so. — The rumble of the new pack member's stomach made the boy grin, especially the embarrassed blush on the predator's face. — Let's throw away unnecessary things and get to dinner. We have a huge selection of different dishes especially for Esdeath. Help yourself.

— I'm Esdeath?

— That's right! A new life has begun for you, so I've decided to give you a name. The ice dragon who brings only death to enemies — Esdeath. Enjoy your meal.

 (image Esdeth)