High School DxD: Rise of the Solar God

Chapter 57

Death's Domain

"Well, that was a complete waste of time!"

"This is that damn fool's fault! Why the hell didn't he warn us that Shinto bastard had the power to trap us in that damn cage?! It would've been nice to know that little tidbit!"

"All that time wasted! No wonder everyone wants to kill the brat!"

"And at no point did he even try to get us out of there! All because the bastard Shinto Kami distracted the brat when he made himself look like a weak female human!"

The three Evil Dragons all stood upon the cold atmosphere of the Realm of the Shinigami. While the leader appeared outwardly as calm as ever, the moods of his two comrades were a different story.

In contrast to the indignant rage of Grendel and Aži Dahāka, Crom Cruach continued to stare impassively at the lost souls that dwelled nearby. The Crescent Circle Dragon was completely still, his mind in a rather thoughtful state.

"He tried to save us."

Both Grendel and Aži Dahāka turned to look at Crom Cruach, who was fixing the both of them with a stern glare.

"What?" Aži Dahāka questioned.

"While Issei Hyoudou did fail in preventing us from evading Amenominakanushi's spherical cage, he did try to warn us beforehand. Do you two not remember? He attempted to conjure up a black hole so he could block the Kami's sphere and prevent us from being captured."

Grendel's scowl deepened at the reminder, while Aži Dahāka merely huffed.

"Fine!" Aži Dahāka muttered petulantly, "I'll admit; he tried to help us! But none of that matters anymore! The brat tried and he failed!"

Satisfied with Aži Dahāka's admittance, Crom Cruach turned his head to look at the moody Grendel, who growled irritably in response.

"Do you honestly expect me to feel even the slightest bit of gratefulness towards him?" He questioned angrily, "Well, tough shit! All of this was an absolute waste of time! And just when I was actually growing excited at the thought of fighting someone other than you bastards; that little shit had to go and ruin it all due to his stupidity!"

Grendel then closed his mouth and settled for the alternative of glaring at Crom Cruach. As Aži Dahāka rolled his eyes at his comrade's complaining, he did a double-take when he noticed something different about Grendel.

The difference was barely noticeable, so Aži Dahāka was a bit surprised that he had spotted it so quickly and thoroughly. Grendel became aware that all three of Aži Dahāka's heads were staring at him with rare looks of quizzical confusion, and proceeded to respond in a typical 'Grendel' fashion.

"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?!"

"Haven't you noticed, you fool?!" Aži Dahāka shot back.

"Noticed what?!"

"Your scales! Parts of your scales are missing!"

The look of fury on Grendel's face momentarily disappeared as he turned his head to see that parts of his scales were indeed missing. It was small, but now Grendel could see it.

The realization slowly dawning upon his psychotic mind, Grendel gritted his teeth.

"All right, who has the BALLS?!" He shouted, his voice echoing through the atmosphere of Death's Domain, "Who's responsible for this?!"

Aži Dahāka, although a bit annoyed by his comrade's overreaction (since Grendel didn't even notice that a piece of his scale was gone until he had pointed it out), was surprised at the audacity.