The morning sky looked ordinary. But for those attuned to the flow of the world, something cracked behind reality.
Youkai Academy — Western Peak
A dark aura crept subtly through the air like a deep red mist.
Tenmei Mikogami, the immortal headmaster, slowly opened his eyes in his dim office.
"...Mana wave... rising like a tsunami..."
His fingers tapped on the wooden desk engraved with sealing mantras. In front of the large window, the protective barrier of Youkai Academy trembled gently, like glass touched by a storm.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"Looks like a new Dragon has awakened... Whether it's a blessing or a curse, this world never wants to stay quiet."
Outside the window, the sky pulsed red for a moment—then returned to calm.
Shuzen Family Castle
In the marble-layered dining room, Issa Shuzen was elegantly enjoying his breakfast.
Candlelight danced in his eyes, but his fingers paused for a moment when a magical wave shook the glass on the table.
"..."
The crystal glass cracked. A small sound, but it pierced the quiet space.
Moka, sitting on the other side of the table, looked at him confused.
"Father...? Is something wrong?"
Issa sighed, his gaze drifting far to the east.
"Nothing is 'wrong'. But... it seems a Dragon has awakened. Be careful, Moka. The world is not in a good state."
The candlelight seemed to dim, and the air felt colder.
Secret Laboratory — Shadow Room
Elsewhere, Alucard stood in the middle of a pool of blood reflecting red magical light.
"Interesting…"
he said with a deep yet calm voice. "Magic of this scale... A Dragon, huh?"
His eyes narrowed, gazing toward Kuoh as if piercing through space and dimensions.
"If I could obtain its blood, even a single drop... perhaps I could break through the limits of mortal beings."
A soft chuckle echoed in the room, shaking the air.
Gremory Residence – Great Conference Room
Behind the floor-to-ceiling crystal windows, the morning sky in the demon territory appeared dark blue—cool, calm, yet deceiving.
The Gremory family conference room was filled with soft light from illuminating magic circles, reflecting serene shadows on the purple marble floor.
But amidst that serenity, Sirzechs Lucifer—the Demon King and Rias's brother—stopped walking.
His gaze turned serious as he looked away from the diplomatic report in his hands.
At a glance, nothing seemed different. But for an entity of his level, the shift in energy across the upper dimensions and the human world was like a blaze in a dry forest.
He walked closer to the transparent glass wall facing the horizon.
"That wave... just a moment. But... strong enough to shake the fabric of reality."
"Location... Kuoh?"
His eyes narrowed.
"And that... is Dragon magic."
His hand lifted, touching the surface of a communication crystal mounted on a pillar in the room. Instantly, blue light appeared, forming an interdimensional connection pattern.
"Ajuka. You must have felt it too."
Ajuka Beelzebub Research Tower – Central Laboratory
The magical instruments in the room were humming. Rows of crystal monitors lit up one by one, displaying energy graphs spiraling into a massive wave before suddenly flatlining.
As if something had risen… and then hid again in a single breath.
Ajuka Beelzebub stood before a long table filled with sacred mechanisms—a fusion of advanced technology and high magic.
He stared at the main screen. The pulse was clear: Dragon-level magical magnitude. But the core component… was strange.
"This... is not an ordinary Sacred Gear. This pattern is too pure. No filters, no boundaries."
"As if the user of the Sacred Gear has… stripped away its limits."
The communication crystal on his desk vibrated.
A direct connection from Sirzechs. A calm yet deep voice echoed from the other side.
"Ajuka. We need to investigate. The world isn't ready for another war."
Ajuka replied without turning away from the screen.
"Indeed. But... this time, it's not a tool that's reacting. This isn't a transforming Sacred Gear."
"This… is a being. Someone has transcended the limits of humanity—and awakened the magic of a true Dragon."
He placed both palms together in front of his chest, and with a simple chant, opened the 9th-tier vision of his analytical system.
But the screen remained dark.
"Even my system can't detect the presence that caused it after three seconds. This isn't just ordinary dragon aura... this is Authority."
Ajuka took a deep breath, then murmured quietly:
"We're not facing an artifact mutation."
"We're facing an entity… that has become the Dragon itself."
At Both Ends of the Communication — Silence
Sirzechs stood motionless behind the glass. The faint echoes of ancient energy still shimmered in the eastern sky.
Ajuka kept staring at the screen that showed nothing.
Neither spoke another word.
They both knew.
The world was about to change.
And the center of that change… lay in a small town called Kuoh.
Mt. Sumeru – Indra
Indra sat casually with a cup of tea in his hand.
But when he took a sip—crack!
The fine porcelain cup split slightly at the rim.
He looked far into the distance, his pupils reflecting a blazing red aura.
"Ddraig..." he murmured. "That Dragon has risen again... but its aura... is dangerous."
"Like when I fought Vritra. But this time... it's purer. Older."
Indra stood slowly. The sky above him trembled faintly, as if responding to an ancient call.
Mt. Sumeru – Sun Wukong
At the peak amid the clouded mist, a monkey dressed in golden robes sat cross-legged, gazing toward the eastern sky.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang stood upright beside him, glowing faintly.
He smiled faintly. "Hoo… it's been a long time since I've felt a Dragon's aura like that."
The wind blew, carrying a scent of energy—foreign yet familiar.
Sun Wukong gazed toward the horizon with eyes burning like heavenly fire.
"Ddraig, huh? No… this one's wilder. Like the world itself is trembling, trying to hold back something not yet ready to awaken."
He chuckled softly.
"Heh, this world never gets tired of chaos. But if a Dragon rises again… I'd better get my Ruyi ready."
A golden flash shot out from the mountaintop.
The sacred monkey stared at the sky—smiling, but with eyes full of caution.
"Let's hope no fool dares challenge a true Dragon this time."
Khaos Brigade Headquarters – Team Vali
The atmosphere in the underground base was quiet, yet the air seemed to tremble with something unseen.
In the center of the room, an energy crystal that usually monitored magical fluctuations now glowed crimson—like the heartbeat of the world itself.
Vali sat on a metal chair, legs crossed, staring at a projected energy map before him. Lines of light spread out, forming a spiral pattern centered on one point: Kuoh.
A deep, familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"Vali… listen carefully. Something has awakened."
Vali's eyebrow rose slightly. "I know. It's Dragon magic, right? From Ddraig?"
"Correct," Albion replied slowly. "But this time, there's no Sacred Gear resonance. The energy is too pure. It's like the Dragon itself is moving… without a vessel."
"Impossible," Vali muttered, standing up. "No human could mimic the existence of a true Dragon."
Bikou, who had been lounging on a table munching a banana, nearly choked upon hearing that.
"So you're saying the human with the Boosted Gear actually turned into a real Dragon?"
Albion didn't answer immediately. Silence lingered for a moment before his heavy voice confirmed:
"Yes. He is no longer human. He has transcended his own race."
Le Fay, sitting quietly in the corner, covered her mouth softly. "Impossible… can a Sacred Gear really do that?"
Arthur closed the book in his hands, his eyes calm as a lake.
"If that's the case, then this isn't transformation. It's existential reconstruction. He didn't just change his body… he changed his very self."
Kuroka chuckled playfully. "Nyaa~. So humans can become Dragons now? The world's really gone crazy, huh."
"Shut up," Vali snapped sharply. "This isn't a joke."
Albion spoke again, his tone deeper now, as if resonating from the earth's core.
"Vali, you must understand something. The energy I felt wasn't just awakening. It was Dragon Authority."
Vali stared blankly forward. "Dragon... Authority?"
Arthur frowned. "Sounds like a divine power."
"Not power," Albion corrected firmly. "Authority is existential claim. A Dragon that possesses it can create a domain where all laws of the world obey its will. Anyone who enters without permission—dies before realizing it."
Bikou twirled his staff awkwardly. "So, like an absolute zone? Like those 'barriers' in the human world?"
"Similar. But not a trick. It's a state of existence."
Kuroka looked up at the ceiling with a smirk. "So if someone like that appears, my magic won't work at all, huh?"
"Correct," Albion said. "Within the Dragon's Domain, magic, holy power, even luck… all are suppressed. Only those with equal or higher Authority can oppose it."
Le Fay gripped her skirt nervously. "Equal Authority… that means only Ophis and Great Red."
The room fell silent.
Vali closed his eyes. "Then… the wielder of the Boosted Gear has truly become a real Dragon. Even Ddraig himself never did that."
Arthur spoke calmly. "Or perhaps, this time, Ddraig is the one doing it."
Vali exhaled quietly. "Then the world is about to change."
Albion's voice rumbled grimly in his mind.
'This isn't just the rise of a Dragon. This is the sign that a new era has begun.'
Research Headquarters – Azazel
Morning hadn't fully begun yet.
The sky above the research base was gray, even though the sun hung behind thin clouds.
Suddenly—
BEEP!
A magical alarm shattered the silence of the room filled with wires, crystals, and holographic screens.
Azazel, who had been lounging with one leg on the desk, lowered the newspaper he was reading. His eyes turned sharply to one of the main screens.
There, an energy waveform appeared like the heartbeat of the world—pulsing violently, peaking, then vanishing in an instant.
But that pulse wasn't ordinary magic. Not even from a typical Sacred Gear.
Azazel stood up, stroking his chin as he studied the captured pattern.
"This magic… is no joke."
"The pattern's similar… to Boosted Gear. But it's too pure. Too raw to be man-made."
He smirked faintly.
"A Sacred Gear evolving again, huh? Hmph… not surprising."
But as he continued to observe, his smirk slowly faded.
His gaze hardened.
"…Or maybe, this isn't a Sacred Gear evolving."
"But Ddraig himself… choosing to awaken."
Azazel fell silent, and for the first time in ages… a chill crept down his spine.
Not out of fear—but as a researcher, he knew: when the laws shift… the world never returns to what it was.
Underground Laboratory – Rizevim Livan Lucifer
A soft laugh echoed through the dark underground room, filled with black cables and cursed artifacts.
Rizevim sat on a stone chair, staring at a holographic map centered on one point: Kuoh.
He touched his fingertip to that point, as if feeling the lingering heat of the energy wave that had just occurred.
"Boosted Gear… but not as usual."
He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes glowing purple like embers in the dark.
"Kuoh, huh… a small town full of surprises."
With a smile like a devil who found a new toy, he rose from his chair.
"I thought I'd be bored this week. But apparently, the world decided to shake again."
Rizevim's expression turned serious. For a brief moment, the madness in his aura faded—replaced by something older.
Something far more dangerous.
"Interesting. Very interesting. If that Dragon truly has awakened…"
"Perhaps I'll get to see the world burn before its time."
Then, he laughed loudly. The echo of his laughter spread through every corridor—like the voice of madness calling to the darkness.