Chapter 14:
Issei roared in his transformed state, the shockwave produced making the trees fly away and the nearby houses to shake and crater, crumbling down. A hazy red dragon aura surrounded him as his emerald green eyes bore into a nervous looking Zatsu. Dragon wings protruded from his back.
"UWOHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared as he sailed towards the Jashinist, chomping down on him. With a quick motion, he ripped Zatsu's top half of his body from his bottom half. His legs twitched for a moment, with blood sprouting like a fountain, before it fell down.
Issei chomped down on Zatsu's body savagely, crushing bone and flesh with ease. Rias' peerage looked in horror and promptly threw up at the gruesome scene. The older Devils, human and Fallen Angels looked with a disturbed expression, but didn't react. Akihiko looked a little green, but steeled his stomach. Bastard got what he deserved, anyway.
Finished with his meal, Issei struck the ground where Zatsu's lower half was, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet and made the Fallen Angels in the air wobble slightly. Everyone watched as he destroyed the ground with rage and mindless anger. With each strike, Issei roared. Letting everyone hear the despair and agony that he was going through.
Everyone on the ground that picked themselves up looked at what was happening with pity and sadness. They knew that Issei was hurting, and probably wouldn't stop even if Zatsu was dead. Before they could do anything, Issei was bombarded with dozens of Light spears. He roared, furious at being interrupted. Everyone looked up to see the Fallen Angels attacking Issei relentlessly.
"Keep going!" Kokabiel ordered, a fearful but excited look on his face. "If we let him continue, he'll ruin all of our plans! We won't be able to have our vengeance or battle we want!"
All of the rogue Fallen cheered in response to this, and kept on attacking. The Light spears didn't really hurt Issei, but they did annoy him. He roared at the Fallen, his dragon aura rising.
"We have to stop him before he continues on his rampage!" Akihiko's father called out, gathering his magic.
"But can't we just leave Issei to deal with the Fallen Angels? It'd be much more easier for us to leave them to him and then deal with him," Akihiko said.
"Sochi-kun, I don't think you understand the dangers of Juggernaut Drive," his mother warned, using this chance to take out some Fallen Angels.
"Juggernaut Drive? What the hell is that?" Akihiko asked, using Heavenly Body magic to deal with any incoming Fallen Angels.
"It's a forbidden technique, used only by those who wield the Boosted Gear, or its counterpart, Divine Dividing. It temporarily unleashes the seals placed on the Gears, allowing the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion, to let their hosts use their full powers," his mother explained.
"The downside is that the longer that it's used, the more your life-force is used to sustain it," his father finished for him.
"So wait, you're saying that..." Rias started to say, afraid of finishing her sentence.
"Yes," Akihiko's father nodded. "The longer Issei uses Juggernaut Drive, the more likely he is to die from it. Not to mention the mindless state that he's now in."
"Then we have to help him!" Kiba exclaimed, Sacred Gear out.
Kalawarner looked at him incredulously. "You want to stop the kid when he's like that?" She gestured to the attacking Issei shooting blasts of energy from his mouth. The Fallen Angel snorted. "Good luck with that."
"Unfortunately, that's the case here," Grayfia interjected, casting ice magic that actually managed to freeze Issei for a few minutes. She also managed to destroy a few Fallen Angels along the way in one attack. Such was the power of the Strongest former Queen of the Underworld. "We are likely to be attacked and end up dying if we do nothing."
Akihiko sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that." He looked serious, now. "How are we going to go about this?"
"Bind him or cripple him!" his father ordered. Issei broke free from the ice, now actually the size of a dragon, wreaking havoc upon the environment and the Fallen.
Above, Kokabiel scowled. "If I'm going to plan to take on the Red Dragon Emperor, I won't have you annoying ants in the way!" He clicked his fingers, and darkness started to bend to his direction. What came out of the shadows were three triple-headed dogs that were ten metres tall and had glowing red eyes.
"... Cerberus!" Rias spoke in disgust.
Akihiko grinned. "So he wants to play with dogs, huh?" Clicking his own fingers, he summoned his familiar, Skiá. The hell hound was vastly different from before. Where as before he was the size of a small truck, he was now up to the Cerberus' neck. Not only did he grow in height, he was also meaner, bigger and more deadlier. The reason for his growth was because Skiá was a special familiar. He was tied to his master so deeply that he was able to respond to Akihiko's magic. Meaning that the stronger Akihiko's magic was, the stronger the hell hound became.
Akihiko gestured to the Cerberus'. "Skiá, sic 'em."
The hell hound howled in response to the command and leapt towards the trio of dogs, spinning in a spiralling cone. It was similar to a tornado. He drilled into one of the three heads in quick succession. The other two Cerberus' backed up slowly, growling at the new threat that was presented in front of them.
"Gremory, you can take care of the other Cerberus," Akihiko said to Rias. "Your peerage would help Skiá."
"But we need to help Issei!" Rias exclaimed, annoyed.
Akihiko gave her a deadpanned look. "You really think that you can help him? You'd be more of a liability. We need to restrain him while also dealing with the Fallen Angels. You want to die, you can try and take them on, though they do have wings of eight to ten. But be my guest."
Rias glared at him, but Akihiko ignored her. He looked to Grayfia. "Grayfia, can you help in restraining Issei?"
"Of course," she nodded.
He then turned to the two Fallen Angels on his side. "Kala-chan, Mitt-san, you guys help take care of some of the Fallen."
"Are you serious?!" Mittelt exclaimed. "They have eight wings and up! And we have only four! How the hell are we going to be much help against them?!"
"Because I'm telling you," Akihiko answered firmly. "I'm not asking you to confront them, just snipe at them when their guard is down. My parents and I will be able to help you."
Mittelt made to argue but Kalawarner put her hand on her shoulder. "We can do it, Mittelt," she said evenly, though she gave Akihiko a worried look. He responded by squeezing her hand gently.
"You won't die," the half-Devil said firmly. "I won't let you. I promised you, remember?"
Kalawarner nodded. "Yeah," she whispered.
"Aki, you and Grayfia do your part in binding Issei and trying to restrain him and get him back to normal," Akihiko's father commanded. "Injure him enough to the point where he has no choice but to revert back to normal. Unfortunately, we don't have any Dragon-Slayer weapons, so you'll have to make due."
"Got it," Akihiko nodded. He turned to the silver-haired Devil. "Let's go."
Grayfia nodded. Unleashing their Devil wings, both of them flew up and headed towards the rampaging Red Dragon Emperor. Meanwhile, Asia took the bag containing Irina's body - after trying not to gag - and carried it away to safety.
Their bodies brimming with power, both Grayfia and Akihiko casted their respective magics. Grayfia sent ice to practically encase Issei's dragon body while avoid Light spears sent from the Fallen that were quickly intercepted by Akihiko's parents and their own Fallen. Akihiko went for full-on restraining.
"Fūinjutsu: Adamantīn Baindingu Kusari! (Sealing Technique: Adamantine Binding Chains!)" he shouted. From his back, black chains sprouted and wrapped around Issei's limbs, restraining him. Akihiko put more power in his chains as Issei struggled, making it harder for him. "Grayfia, you're next!" he grunted.
Before Grayfia could do anything, Issei's chest piece and a cannon sprouted out. Both Devils' eyes widened as energy started gathering in it. "[Longinus Smasher!]" Ddraig's voice called out from the Gear.
"Akihiko-sama, move!" Grayfia called out as both of them moved as a powerful green blast shot from the cannon. The blast was shot with a powerful shockwave, shooting up into the sky and parting the trees. There was a large explosion as everyone felt the aftershock.
Akihiko scowled. "Okay. If he's pulling out the big guns, then so am I." The half-Devil recalled his chains and called out his next Fūinjutsu. "Fūinjutsu: Jūryoku Jinchi!" Gravity shimmered, before Issei crashed down to the ground with a massive BOOM! He roared in defiance, but couldn't do anything as he struggled.
Not stopping for even a second, he launched a ball of condensed lightning into the air. After a couple of seconds, the sky darkened, with thunder clouds forming rapidly. His hand crackling with electricity, Akihiko brought his hand down. "Kaminari Konpakutona Taihō!" he shouted.
It was silent for a moment, before a thin but powerful beam of lightning shot down from the sky and struck Issei in the head. He roared in pain as electricity ran across his body, paralysing him. He screeched as he couldn't get up, the gravity still crushing him.
Akihiko sighed. "I hope that the others are having an easier time than me."
XXX With the others XXX
"I'm going to kill him!" Mittelt screeched as she narrowly dodged Light spears from their enemy.
"Will you shut up?!" Kalawarner yelled out, returning fire and launching multiple Light weapons at the Fallen Angels, who dodged the attack.
"Oh no, missy! Just because he's you're you're boy toy doesn't mean that'll save him!" the shorter Fallen Angel called out.
"All this yapping is starting to annoy me," an eight-winged Fallen Angel taunted as he kept on attacking the two. "Bitches like you are only useful for sucking dick."
Both of them narrowed their eyes at him. Together, they unleashed an assault that started to press him.
"Haha! That's more like it!" he yelled in crazed glee. "How about instead of killing you, you two come back to my place and we fu-" He was interrupted as he was suddenly beheaded with a Light sword. Both Mittelt and Kalawarner looked to see Akihiko's mother using her Meteor spell, a Light sword in her hand.
She narrowed her eyes. "Less talking, more killing." And with that, she flew off to deal with the other Fallen.
Both looked at each other, scared slightly. "Remind me to never insult her son when I'm around her," Mittelt requested with a shiver.
"Agreed," Kalawarner nodded, before moving on to attack the others.
The battle was a spectacle. Akihiko's mother was using several Heavenly Body spells that lit the sky like stars, while his father used lightning and fire magic to ward off and destroy every Fallen Angel that came after him. The younger Fallen Angels appreciated the elders' battle skills. No wonder Akihiko was so skilled if he was trained by his parents.
Looking down, Kokabiel sneered. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He was supposed to wage his war along with the fused Excalibur and kill the little sisters of the Maou. Instead, he had a rampaging Red Dragon Emperor, the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation, and the descendants of the Blood Emperor and Towairaito clan. And their damned spawn! Even for a battle maniac like him, this was too much!
If only the Jashinist hadn't provoked the kid. Then their plan wouldn't be in even more shambles! At least the psychopath was dead.
The Cadre sighed. Looks like he'd have to use his 'secret weapon'.
He snapped out of his thoughts in order to dodge a blast of PoC. He sneered, looking down on the Devil beneath him. "What's wrong, crow?" he mocked. "Getting cold feet? I thought a war monger like you would be the first to die."
Kokabiel's red eyes narrowed in hatred while he sneered. "Nothing of the sort. I just wanted to test out a little trinket of mine." Well, no time like the present. He quickly brought out a device with odd symbols that he strapped onto his arm.
Before Akihiko's father could do anything, Kokabiel's form was shrouded in darkness. The aura was so powerful that it sent both Akihiko's parents, Kalawarner, Mittelt and the survivning Fallen away from him. The elders managed to regain their flight while the Fallen fell to the ground.
Kokabiel laughed through his maelstorm of power. "T-This power is glorious!" he cackled. "So this is the power of the Artificial Sacred Gears. Azazel, you bastard! You hid such a treat from me."
"Artificial Sacred Gear?" Rias questioned, having finished off the Cerberus along with Skiá.
Kalawarner growled. "It's something Azazel-sama has been developing after studying Sacred Gears for years. Like the name entitles, instead of the Sacred Gears being created by God, Azazel and a bunch of other Fallen helped make Artificial Sacred Gears. Though, none were completed so far and could only be used in one short burst..."
"Except a particularly new one that bastard invented and withheld! Sin's Demise! The ultimate Sacred Gear that will win the war for me!" Kokabiel called out madly. The aura of darkness faded, revealing Kokabiel... who looked vastly different. Darkness rose from his form. His eyes turned from red to purple. He looked like a vampire reject, only the aura made him actually dangerous. The Fallen Angel inspected his new body. He held out both of his hands and saw that both Light from his powers as a Fallen Angel and Darkness from the Sacred Gear gathered in his hands.
Kokabiel chuckled, before throwing his head back and roaring with laughter. "Hahaha! With this, no one can stand in my way!"
All of the Devils and Fallen Angels stared at him. Before, he was a Cadre-Class. Now, he suddenly hopped to Ultimate Devil-Class instantly. They knew that he used a Sacred Gear but the sudden rise in power was still shocking. And it was slowly rising.
"What exactly does Sin's Demise do?" Rias asked, fear creeping into her tone.
Kalawarner's face turned dark for a moment before returning to normal. "Sin's Demise brings out the evil desires in someone's hearts and translates that to power. It turns it into darkness. Basically, the more negative and sinful desires you have, the stronger you become."
"... What kind of bullshit is that?" Akihiko asked, having heard the description. "How could such a Gear have been made? In fact, why the hell would Azazel make such a thing?"
"Azazel-sama forbid Sin's Demise from actually being fully created. He didn't know what he was doing until he heard about the results. Apparently Kokabiel finished the production of the Sacred Gear and is now using it," Mittelt answered.
"Doesn't matter. We still have to defeat him," Akihiko's father said. "Because at the rate that he's going... he'll destroy the entire town."
"Hey, Kokabiel!" one of the Fallen Angels on his side. "Let's gang up on them and defeat them! Together, we can-"
But he was interrupted by a wave of darkness consuming him. In fact, all of the remaining Fallen Angels were either consumed or destroyed by the darkness.
Rias' peerage stared in shock at what was happening while Akihiko, his parents, Kalawarner, Mittelt and Grayfia either frown or were emotionless at the display of betrayal.
"W-Why did you do that?!" Rias exclaimed, shocked. "They were your comrades!"
Kokabiel just laughed. "Comrades?! Why would I need the help of weaklings when I have all this power?!"
"At least our job was made easier," Akihiko muttered, only to hear the growling and slowly rising form of Issei. "[Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] Boost]!" Issei's Sacred Gear shouted out.
Akihiko scowled. "Damn. Forgot about that."
"Aki! You take care of Issei! We'll take care of our maniac Fallen Angel!" his father called out to him, getting him to nod. With a shout, Akihiko's father exploded in a wave of demonic energy, making the rest step back. When the wave of power died down, what was revealed was his Akihiko's father, shrouded in an armoured state and shrouded in power. (A.N. - Same design as Arkham when he first wielded Force Edge in DMC 3).
Unleashing his Devil wings, he flew ahead, meeting the charge of Kokabiel. When both powerhouses clashed, there was a loud BOOM that shook the surroundings.
Not wanting to be left out, Akihiko's mother used her Meteor spell to join in on the fight. Kalawarner and Mittelt stayed behind, knowing that they were outclassed.
Seeing no enemies to face, Rias turned to the rampaging Issei. "Ise! Come back to us! To me!" she shouted, her peerage joining her in her shouts. All Issei did was roar in rage.
Akihiko scowled as Issei kept on Boosting and was preparing to preform another Longinus Smasher. "Screw it," he muttered, deciding to go in for the kill. Hands spread, they lit up with his Power of Chaos. Mentally ready to use his powers, Akihiko pointed his hands towards the approaching Issei. "Revert," he commanded.
Issei paused in his movements, and then roared. Not in anger but in surprise. Suddenly, he was enshrouded in a purple aura, identical to his PoC. Suddenly, reality shifted as Issei shook.
"What is he doing?!" Rias exclaimed, trying to run forward but was held back by Akeno. "Akeno, let go of me!"
"Buchou, wait! You don't know what he's doing!" Akeno told her King, who kept on struggling.
"Your friend's right," Mittelt noted, getting eyes on her. "Just be patient or you'll ruin everything."
Akeno narrowed her eyes at the Fallen Angel. "And how would you know what he's doing, crow?"
Before Mittelt could retort, Kalawarner scoffed. "Kinda ironic, since I can tell that you aren't as half as bad as a simple crow." Akeno's, as well as the others, eyes widened at the mentioning of her heritage. "However, we know what Aki-kun's doing because we live with him. Satisfied with that?"
Akihiko ignored the conversation as he kept trying to revert Issei to his normal state. His bracelet glowed as it strained to contain the amount of power Akihiko was using. Issei's dragon body was slowly shrinking. From full-grown size, to whale-sized, then to the size of a bear, and then finally to his normal shape. His draconic armour and features receded to his Boosted Gear that was on his arm. The gem in the Gear faded and Issei passed out, unconscious.
"Issei!" all of Rias' peerage shouted as they ran to the passed out boy while Akihiko panted, dropping to one knee. Grayfia was by his side instantly. "Akihiko-sama! Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
"I-I'm fine," he panted, trying to regain his strength and magic. "T-That took a lot out of me." He inspected his bracelet, which had a small crack in it.
Suddenly, all of them noticed Asia running forward with a familiar figure. It was Xenovia, wearing her battle suit and now wielding a very large blue sword with gold highlights (A.N. - I'm too lazy to describe Durandal. You guys know how it looks like).
Akihiko grunted. "Oh, great."
"Asia, what is she doing here?" Mittelt asked the former nun with a stink eye towards the Exorcist.
"I brought her here because we may need the extra help," she explained.
"I am also here to avenge Irina," Xenovia added, a furious look on her face.
"You're too late. Dragon boy over there already killed the guy who did it. Guess you were too late," Kalawarner mocked. Sure, it was kind of harsh to mock her with Irina's death but she didn't like the Exorcist. At all.
Xenovia turned to glare at Kalawarner, gripping her sword tightly. "I know that," she bit out. Then her expression calmed down a bit, though retained a hard look. "Unfortunately, I was held up by some Fallen Angels that kept attacking me. I defeated them, but more kept on coming like a swarm. However-" she hedted her sword on her shoulders "-I will aid you in any way I can."
There was a loud explosion in the air, making the others look up and witness what was going on.
Kokabiel panted, his aura having been weakened slightly but still growing. He held a Light spear in one hand and a sword made out of darkness in the other. On the other side, Akihiko's parents were in the air, panting slightly. His father was still in his Devil form, but had wounds that hissed slightly due to some Light attacks. His mother looked the least damaged, but had some rips in her battle outfit.
Despite their best efforts, they couldn't kill Kokabiel. His power was steadily rising even after their confrontation due to Sin's Demise using his desires as strength. Not only that, but he was using his Darkness attribute to send attacks through portals of Darkness at both of them to distract them from using their trump cards.
"You know, I'm surprised that both of you are able to stand up to me, even after gaining this power boost," Kokabiel spoke, still grinning madly.
Akihiko's mother scoffed. "Don't act so cocky, crow. You're weakening. You're burning through your power faster than it can increase. Eventually, you'll be out of power."
The Fallen Angel clicked his tongue, knowing that she was right. Then he grinned evilly. "You know, I forgot how annoying it was to deal with a member of the Towairaito clan. Probably a good thing that they're practically extinct."
Akihiko's mother's expression shifted. She had a furious expression on her face. "Honey," her husband tried to stop, but it was futile.
"Oh, yes. I remember killing a couple of members. It was sooo magnificent, killing and butchering them. Watching the light leave their eyes. They were a troublesome bunch, I'll give them that. But in the end, they died like the cockroaches that they were."
"Wait!" Akihiko called to his mother, but she didn't listen. She charged forward, roaring with rage. She intercepted Kokabiel, striking against his Light spear. He took the time to slash at her with his sword of darkness, but the attack bounced off her. Her [Adaptability] kicked in at the right moment.
Taking advantage of this, Akihiko's mother slashed at Kokabiel's surprised face, taking out one of his eyes. He roared, disengaging from the lock and clutching his destroyed organ. She kept on advancing, not giving the Fallen Angel any reprieve. Affected by his lack of sight, Kokabiel could do nothing but try to endure the onslaught of attacks.
"This will finish you!" she roared with rage. The Towairaito woman held up her hand. Dozens upon dozens of golden magic circles formed instantly in the air, signifying her Grand Chariot spell.
After a second, she brought down her hand, allowing heavenly beams to erupt from the circle, heading towards Kokabiel. Just as they were about to connect, Kokabiel grinned.
A loud explosion ensued, smoke obscuring the Fallen Angel's form. Gale winds formed from the powerful attack, and the others were waiting for the smoke to be removed to reveal Kokabiel's damaged form.
Akihiko's mother was panting, dismissing the magic circles. Just as she let down her guard slightly, she was stabbed in the back by what looked like a sword made of Light and Darkness.
"Noo!" Akihiko yelled out in fury and alarm while the others were shocked. All of them were wondering what had happened and how Kokabiel suddenly appeared behind her. Stunned, they looked to where his mother had launched her spell, and were confused as to see Akihiko's father in Kokabiel's place. How...?
Suddenly, Grayfia's, Akihiko's, Mittelt's and Kalawarner's eyes widened as they figured out Kokabiel's manoeuvre. He had used a portal of darkness to switch places with Akihiko's father and himself. Then struck when his mother's guard was down.
His father was falling, the amount of Light dealt to him weakening him. The Grand Chariot would've wiped out a mid-Ultimate Class Devil with ease. He was lucky that he managed to shield himself in time. He hit the ground, falling out of his Devil form. He could do nothing but weakly watch as his wife was stabbed by Kokabiel.
Kokabiel chuckled, twisting his dual-elemental sword into Akihiko's mother's back, making her groan in more pain. "I'll admit, if that had hit me, I'd be dead. You Towairaito members truly are fearsome. Which is why I'll take great pleasure in exterminating you all, starting with you." Pulling out his weapon, he watched as the woman was falling, to weak to sustain her Meteor spell. He dived after her, going to behead her.
"NOOOOO!" Akihiko roared, seeing the image in slow motion. He-He couldn't allow his mother to die! He couldn't! She couldn't leave him! Leave him and his father! He wouldn't allow it! He wouldn't! He wouldn't! He WOULDN'T! HE WOULDN'T! HE WOULDN'T!
Like a switch, his mind flipped. In one second, his body exploded with a large amount of demonic energy that knocked everyone off their feet! Two seconds, he underwent a transformation that drastically changed his appearance. Three seconds, he was moving at speeds that were almost on par with him in his Meteor spell. Four seconds, he reached his mother quickly enough and held her gently. Five seconds, he grabbed the dual-elemental sword with his right hand.
Everyone was shocked at what occurred. Holding his mother in his hand and clutching Kokabiel's sword in his hand was Akihiko, but he looked drastically different. Like his father, his body was covered in black armour that had high shoulder and knee guards. Upon his head were large horns that curved so much that it reached the back of his head. Across his body were blue tribal tattoos that glowed menacingly, along with blue lines that ran across his body like a spider web. His eyes were pure purple that glowed with insanity. Upon his back were eight Devil wings that were displayed proudly.
Growling, Akihiko snapped Kokabiel's sword, shocking him. "UWOOOOROOOOOGH!" he bellowed with an inhumane roar and punched Kokabiel in the face. The force was so powerful that it produced a small shockwave and sent him sailing slightly, before righting himself in the air with his wings.
Clutching his mother protectively, he dropped her down near her father, letting her recover. "Asia..." Akihiko rasped, scaring the girl slightly. He turned to her, the girl flinching from the pure insanity running through his eyes. "Heal them..."
"H-Hai!" she managed to get out. Quickly, she rushed towards them and used her Sacred Gear to heal them.
Kokabiel glared down at Akihiko, then grinned. "I don't know what you managed to do, brat. But I don't care. You just might be more interesting than your parents."
Akihiko just looked at Kokabiel, not saying anything.
"What? Too scared to speak?" Kokabiel was getting annoyed at the silent treatment. "I said-"
"Shut. Up," Akihiko rasped. Holding out his hand, he summoned Yamikiri to his hand. Inspecting his blade, he decided to spice things up. Using the Power of Chaos, he ran the power across his sword, warping it. Cracking slightly, the blade had a purple glow run along the cracks, before shifting, being affected by the reality-warping powers. When the purple glow faded, a new sword was held in his hands. It was a Masamune sword. The hilt was black, adorned with rough leather. The guard was gleaming gold, and the blade was seven-feet long and beautifully crafted.
Kokabiel's eyebrow raised looking at the spectacle, unimpressed. "Do you think a little makeover will save you?"
Akihiko didn't say anything. Instead, his Devil wings spread, ready to take flight. He flew into the air, meeting the Fallen Angel, who made a sword made out of Light and Darkness to counter his opponent's sword.
The two began an intricate dance of blades, sparks flashing through the air. The others watched with bated breath, stunned at the display.
As Akihiko fought Kokabiel, he noted that the Fallen Angel had a slight edge against him in swordsmanship, due to his experience. He was able to handle his Masamune very well with no drawback, but the edge still stood. Deciding to break it, he channelled lightning to his sword. Instead of striking, he used the remaining energy from his Kaminari Konpakutona Taihō. Immediately, a bolt of lightning that came in the form of a powerful beam. The attack was too fast for Kokabiel to defend against or dodge, so he was struck in the back with the attack.
The Cadre roared in pain, shaking slightly as the attack was paralysing him. He tried struggling against the effects, but he wasn't given time to recuperate. Akihiko advanced, using his Meteor spell to move at speeds that Kokabiel couldn't follow. He was slashed, cut and battered all in one go. The movements were too fast for him to follow.
Getting annoyed at the fact that he was being slightly overpowered, he released a wave of darkness that halted Akihiko's assault. He commanded a blast of darkness to shoot towards the Devil, but he managed to dodge. Taking a different approach, he formed several portals to form arround him. Black chains shot from the portals, sailing towards Akihiko. He tried dodging and moving out of the chains' trajectory. This went on for a couple of minutes before one chain managed to ensnare his leg. Pretty soon, more chains started to trap him.
Seeing this, Grayfia made to attack. However, she was interrupted by more chains sprouting from other portals and ensnaring her and the others, shocking them. And since Kokabiel's strength kept on rising, it was a difficult task to break the chains.
"Oh, no!" Kokabiel laughed, one eye still lighting up in sadistic glee. "No interference! I'll deal with the brat first, then get back to you!"
Seeing no other choice, Akihiko discretely used the Power of Chaos to make the chains vanish, which they did. He also used it to make him stronger than Kokabiel currently was by a large margin. His Devil Trigger increased greatly, stunning Kokabiel and the others.
"How is he becoming so powerful when he wasn't at the same level of strength before?" Kiba asked, shocked at what was going on.
Mittelt shrugged. "He has a hax ability that let's him warp reality."
At the shocked faces of Rias' peerage, both Fallen Angels did their best not to laugh.
Using Masaki's strength technique along with Meteor, Akihiko's body glowed with power. His power was beyond that of an Ultimate-Class Devil and nearing Satan Class. However, the drawback was that his body was trying to put up with the strain of all that power when he never used it in the first place.
Focusing on the fight, he disappeared. Kokabiel only had a millisecond before he felt pain in his abdomen. He coughed up blood and saliva as he was sent sailing towards Kuoh Academy. The force was so powerful that a sonic boom was produced due to the speed at which he was sent sailing.
Appearing along the path that Kokabiel was flying, Akihiko punted him towards the ground, producing another sonic boom and making a large crater appear where the Fallen Angel was launched. Kokabiel didn't even have a moment's rest as he was being pummelled to the ground due to the punches that he was receiving. Finishing his combo, Akihiko grabbed him by his wings and started going in a circle, building up momentum. And then he threw him across the sky.
Immediately following after him, Akihiko got his sword out and sliced him in half. Where the two halves of Kokabiel were, darkness was spewing instead of blood. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on his senses, trying to sense any illusions. A few seconds later, he blocked an attack with his own sword that made his arms buckle slightly.
"You damn brat!" Kokabiel snarled, his fake fading away into darkness. His power was increasing sharply, his rage at being beaten by a young Devil giving him more strength. He was now on the same level of strength Akihiko was.
The power output both beings were producing shook the earth slightly. All the occupants could feel the power of the two rolling off of their skins. The younger Devils and two Fallen were more shaken up than the others. They were completely unaware of the situation at hand. They had never seen two beings with the same level of Akihiko and Kokabiel fight in such a way. The reality was now hitting them.
The two airborne beings continued their fighting, forgoing their swords and using their fists instead. At first, Kokabiel had the advantage. Now, he was slowly being pushed back by Akihiko, who was adapting to the fighting. The Fallen Angel disengaged and used the darkness and light to his advantage, attacking Akihiko relentlessly. While the light weapons didn't bother him, the darkness ones did. However, using this to his advantage, he allowed himself to be hit by a few weapons, building up his immunity to darkness. After a couple of weapons to the chest, he was now immune to darkness, something that Kokabiel noticed with a snarl.
Now able to tank his attacks, Akihiko's body glowed brightly with energy. "Solar Flare!" he called out, flooding his body with Light and causing it to externally explode with light. The result was a blinded Kokabiel in one eye while the other Devils on the ground cried out in pain as the light made their skins hiss. Even Grayfia was a little uncomfortable with the amount of light.
His technique successful, he cancelled the light-show and started to perform another spell that he had created. He launched several balls of Light around Kokabiel, making them surround him (A.N. - Similar to Piccolo's Hellzone Grenade from DBZ).
Making them stay where they were, Akihiko put more power into his Meteor spell and began one of his newly invented attacks that he had created. "Mirror World!" he called out, zooming towards one of the light balls that flattened to look like a mirror. Akihiko bounced off it quickly and slashed Kokabiel with his sword, making him roar in pain. Before he could attack, Akihiko bounced off another board of light and flew up instantly and slashed at him again. This kept on going as Akihiko moved, abusing the Meteor spell to move at speeds that made the younger Devils think that he was moving at the speed of light (A.N. - He's not).
Over and over again, Kokabiel was slashed at by Akihiko as he kept on moving at almost supersonic speeds. He couldn't even move because the attacks were so fast, essentially trapping him in the zone of light. Kokabiel's body was being littered with cuts and wounds, so quickly that he was slowly being overwhelmed. One particular lucky strike managed to destroy the Artificial Sacred Gear on his arm, making him lose his current form.
Without the protection that Sin's Demise gave him, Kokabiel's body couldn't hold up as he was assaulted from everywhere. First, his arms went. Then all of his Fallen Angel wings. Then his head was severed. Along with half of his body being cut in half. Now essentially in pieces, Akihiko stopped his assault and held up his hand, producing the Power of Chaos and blasting Kokabiel's body, destroying him from this world.
A loud BOOM ensued, shattering Akihiko's Mirror World and blowing him away slightly. He managed to right himself in the air, his Power of Chaos fading away, along with his Meteor spell, Strength Technique and Devil Trigger form.
On the ground, the others were released from Kokabiel's chains. Kalawarner looked at the sky with a slightly happy expression. "He did it," she muttered to herself, wiping away a small tear that went away quickly. Grayfia looked at Akihiko with a proud expression, along with his parents.
Akihiko panted, his body exhausted beyond belief. His magic and stamina were practically non-existent. So many high-level techniques, along with a powerful transformation, tool its toll on him. He was only held in the air by his eight Devil wings. Huh. Maybe they upgraded due to his Devil Trigger making his demonic heritage more prominent.
Just as he was about to descend to the ground, a voice from above spoke. "Interesting."
Everyone looked up to see a figure flying in the air. The figure was wearing white dragon-themed armour with blue gems on it. From their back, white and blue dragon wings that glowed with power protruded from there.
The figure descended, inspecting the falling ashes of Kokabiel. "Azazel is not going to be happy," the voice said again, crossing their armoured arms. "Then again, with the trouble that he caused, I guess that he might not be too pissed."
"Who are you?" Akihiko croaked, struggling to get into a defensive posture. He knew that it was futile. He was in no position to defend himself.
The woman - because the voice coming from the armour was feminine - looked at him, inspecting him careful. Akihiko didn't know why, but he could feel that the woman was smiling. "You know," she said, amused. "I should kill you because you just made my job harder. But for you, I'll make an exception."
"[Are you ignoring me, Albion?]" Ddraig spoke from the Boosted Gear on Issei, who was still unconscious. Everyone's attention was drawn to where the dragon spoke.
"[So, you were awake, Ddraig?]" a voice spoke from the armoured woman's dragon wings. They glowed as the being spoke. "[Due to your host reckless entering Juggernaut Drive, I assumed that you would be asleep]."
"[You were wrong]," Ddraig spoke. "[We finally meet, but in a situation like this huh? Things like this happen but I'm surprised that I can't feel much hostility from you like before]."
"[Heh, you can talk, your hostility is incredibly low as well]."
"[Look's like we both have things that interest us more than fighting then. I guess our fight can wait for now. It's not bad to meet calmly like this Ddraig]."
"[True… See you next time Albion]."
"It is slightly disappointing to see my rival unconscious. But I guess it can't be helped. Hopefully, he'll get stronger to provide a challenge for me," the woman spoke in the white armour. She made to take off, but Akihiko interrupted her. "Wait!"
She turned around to look at him. "What is it?"
"H-Have we met before?" Akihiko asked, confused. Her voice, it sounded familiar to him. Probably someone he knew long ago. But he didn't know, since the voice was older.
The woman turned to face him. She was silent for a few moments, before speaking. "We'll meet again. Until then, get stronger, Aki-chibi."
The nickname made his eyes widen. Before he could say anything, the woman spread her wings and flew away.
"Hey, wait!" Akihiko exclaimed, but it was too late. She was already gone. Suddenly, his body started to feel heavy. His eyelids were slowly closing. Akihiko could hear the cries of the others as he fell to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness.
XXX
Akihiko's eyes opened slowly, rising from the bed that he was in. He looked around quickly, seeing that he was in his house. He tried remembering what had happened that made him pass out.
"I see you are up, Akihiko-sama," Grayfia said from her spot sitting beside him in a chair. Akihiko quickly turned to her.
"Grayfia? H-How... How did I end up here?" he asked, his sluggish mind struggling to recall what had happened.
"You don't remember? You fought and killed Kokabiel, Akihiko-sama. Along with meeting the White Dragon Emperor," Grayfia said, rising from her seat and inspecting him for any injuries.
As this was going on, Akihiko's eyes widened as it all came back to him. Fighting Kokabiel. Watching his mother almost die. Using Mirror World on him. And finally meeting the White Dragon Emperor. As the last part entered his mind, his eyes widened.
"Are you alright? Are you still tired? I would advise that you rest more, Akihiko-sama," Grayfia fussed, trying to push him back to the bed. Akihiko snapped out of his thoughts to look at his maid appreciatively. She was really good to him.
"Grayfia, you don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. A bit stiff, but fine," Akihiko reassured. Then a thought came to him. "My parents! Where are they?! Are they alright?!"
"They're fine," the maid answered calmly. "They are simply resting. Asia managed to attend to them." She gestured to two beds to the side. Both of his parents were sleeping there, wrapped in bandages.
Akihiko sighed in relief. "Thank Go- ehh, thank goodness," he managed to say. He lied back on his bed, relieved.
"Do you want me to inform them of your recovery?" Grayfia asked. Akihiko shook his head, feeling suddenly sleepy. "No. Let them rest. They've earned it. I'll just - *yawn* Damn, I'm really tired..."
Akihiko shifted to his side, quickly falling asleep. Grayfia looked at him, smiling slightly. She lifted the covers over him, making him snuggle into them. Pretty soon, he was snoring.
And done. Pretty short, but I liked how it came out. The reason it's so short is because the only stuff I could add would be the aftermath of the battle, in which I could skim over in the next chapter.
So here, we see the others battle Kokabiel and the other Fallen Angels. Kokabiel uses an Artificial Sacred Gear that I made up, tricked and defeated Aki's parents, and having Akihiko kill him in the end. You guys knew it was going to happen, but I hope I did a good job.
The reason I added the Sacred Gear is because, despite being strong, Kokabiel couldn't battle Akihiko's parents, Grayfia, Akihiko himself and Rias' peerage all at once. Even with the numbers. So I put it there to even the odds.
God's death wasn't revealed, so Xenovia won't join Rias' peerage. The news will be revealed during the Three Factions meeting.
And it seems Vali - now Valerie - seems to know Akihiko. How would that be? Do you really want to know? Well... you're all going to have to wait.
What else? What else? Uhhh... actually, nothing really new to add. Except the end of the Excalibur Arc. Oh! I almost forgot. Kiba will achieve his Balance Breaker through training, and not the canon way.
Anyways, thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. I'm so thankful to y'all!
Read and Review!