Bound by Infinity

Chapter 17:

One Day Later

I sat on the couch, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine, though my attention kept drifting to the scene unfolding in front of me. Tiamat, dressed in a maid outfit, stood before me, her posture rigid and her expression one of barely contained disdain. Her eyes were fixed on me with barely disguised irritation, but I couldn't help the grin tugging at my lips. I knew she couldn't do anything about it, no matter how much she wanted to.

In my lap, Ophis sat contentedly, sucking on a lollipop with a small, satisfied smile on her face. To my left, Rias was sitting with her usual calm demeanor, though I could tell she was also struggling to suppress her amusement at the situation. Behind me, Mittelt was standing, clearly trying to keep herself from bursting out in laughter at the absurdity of it all.

"So, this is your familiar? She's decent." Ophis said, her voice flat as she casually popped another lollipop into her mouth, her gaze fixed on Tiamat.

"Now, now, be nice, Ophis-chan," I said, chuckling as I reached over and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"…Okay, Kouki-tosan," Ophis said, looking up at me with a faint, innocent smile. The words that followed were enough to send a shockwave through the room.

Rias, Mittelt, and I froze, our eyes wide in surprise. The honorific Ophis had used was one we hadn't expected, and the silence that followed was heavy.

"Ophis-chan… where did you learn that term?" I asked, my voice a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

Ophis, completely unaware of the effect her words had, pointed to the TV innocently. "Is that wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Nope, not at all, Ophis-chan," I replied, a grin forming on my face as I leaned down to ruffle her hair again. "It's actually really cute."

I couldn't help but internally squeal at how adorable she was. She was so innocent and straightforward, which made her even more lovable. But before I could get too lost in the moment, I quickly composed myself and turned my attention to Tiamat, who was still glaring at me, clearly waiting for something to happen.

"Alright, Tiamat, let's go over the ground rules," I began, sitting up straighter.

"No fighting in the house. No attacking anyone without permission. And that's about it for now," Rias added, her tone calm but firm.

"Are we clear?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I met her glare head-on.

Tiamat growled, her fists clenching, but she gave a reluctant nod. "Yeah."

"Good," I said, nodding back in approval. "Now, you and Mittelt are going to clean upstairs, but don't touch Ophis's room."

Mittelt immediately gave me a cheerful salute. "Yes, Kouki-sama!" she replied with a grin.

Tiamat, though, muttered something under her breath, but nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, whatever," she said, before turning and heading upstairs with Mittelt in tow.

As the two of them disappeared up the stairs, Rias stood up. "Alright, I'll head to the ORC clubroom. See you later tonight."

"Alright, see you then," I said, giving her a casual nod.

"Later, Rias-kaasan," Ophis said, her voice soft but affectionate.

Rias's face lit up at the words, and I could see her trying—and failing—to contain her excitement. Her smile stretched wide, and she knelt down to pat Ophis on the head before teleporting away, a little more giddy than usual. The moment Rias disappeared, I turned to Ophis with a smile.

"Ophis-chan, how about a spar?"

Ophis tilted her head in that cute, curious way she often did when she was thinking. After a moment, she nodded enthusiastically, and I couldn't help but grin. We teleported away, appearing in the vast, kaleidoscopic space that was Ophis's domain. It was a dimension of swirling colors and ever-shifting shapes—something I was quite used to by now, but that didn't mean I wasn't in awe of it every time.

I stretched, cracking my knuckles as I prepared myself. I was 100% sure that Ophis was stronger than me by a landslide, but this spar was about fun, not winning. And yet, I couldn't deny that a part of me wanted to see just how far I could push myself against her.

"Alright, you ready?" I asked, a smirk on my face.

Ophis nodded, and as she did, a purple and black aura began to leak from her body, swirling around her. I let out a small breath as I focused, releasing a silver aura from my own body in response. My body tensed, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face. I was already sensing the overwhelming power Ophis was giving off.

This was probably a horrible idea. But it was too late to back out now.

Before I could react, Ophis vanished from sight. I snapped my head to the left, only to find Ophis hovering in front of me with a magic circle right in my face.

"Shi–"

Before I could finish my sentence, the magic circle fired, sending a beam of intense purple energy directly into my chest. The force of the blast threw me backward, and I was sent flying across the space, crashing into a nearby floating shard of glass.

Ophis, seemingly unfazed by the blast, walked forward as if nothing had happened. Her hand outstretched, a weapon materializing in her grasp. My eyes widened as I saw it: a massive black scythe with a purple blade. The staff was pitch black, two black snakes curling up it with purple gems in their eyes, and the blade itself gleamed with an ominous purple light, the Ouroboros symbol engraved at its center.

Huh... that's not good.

Summoning my own weapon, I conjured Crucifix in its liquid metal form, using it to block the initial strike. The force of the blow still sent me skidding back, and I barely managed to regain my balance before Ophis vanished again.

This time, she appeared beneath me, her scythe raised high. She struck with precision, knocking me into the air. And then, just as I had recovered, multiple portals opened around me, and Ophis began attacking from every direction in quick succession.

"Strange... this feels oddly familiar," I muttered to myself, recalling a similar experience.

Ophis emerged from one of the portals above me, bringing the scythe down with full force. Not wanting to be caught in her combo, I used the limited space I had to teleport away just in time, narrowly avoiding the attack.

I appeared on the dimension's floor, breathing heavily as I tried to regain my composure. Ophis, still in the air, made a single hand gesture, and suddenly, my senses went haywire. I barely had time to react before a massive black blade burst from the ground beneath me, just missing where I had been standing. I jumped back, but more blades erupted from the ground, forcing me to teleport once more.

I reappeared some distance away, my chest rising and falling as I tried to catch my breath. Ophis, hovering in the air, glanced at me curiously.

"I was wondering, Kouki-tosan… Why did you choose this place for the spar? Did you forget that this is my domain?" Ophis asked, her voice calm but tinged with amusement.

"Just realized that," I said, wiping sweat from my brow. "But now that you mention it, it's about time to change the scenery. Don't you think?"

Ophis's eyes narrowed slightly as she slipped into a combat stance. Her gaze never left me as she waited for my next move.

"Domain Manipulation: Domain Expansion—Birthplace of the Universe," I said, stepping forward. Darkness spread from my feet, quickly enveloping both of us in a swirling shadow.

When the darkness finally cleared, we were no longer in Ophis's kaleidoscopic space. We stood in the vastness of space itself—stars, nebulae, and swirling gases surrounding us in an endless void.

I summoned Crucifix in scythe mode, ready for round two.

"Let's begin," I said, a grin on my face.

Ophis nodded. And in the blink of an eye, we vanished, reappearing mid-clash as the second round of our spar began.

Chapter 17: End