The Lone Dragon Emperor

by Nosferatu869

Issei was just a normal, perverted, playful boy, but because of a certain organization that had yet to reveal themselves, he lost his family. Over nothing but petty conflict that didn't involve them. Now he must live through the hell that is the unfortunate life of the Sekiryuutei. Would it be wrong to say that he is cursed? Maybe not. After all, he truly is— the boy who suffers...

24. Chapter 24: The Boy Who Protects

THE BOY

---

"Kaa-san…. Tou-san…. It's happening again."

The Boy knelt in front of his parent's shrine with a sheathed blade in his lap.

"...Again, this place is being threatened with calamity. Disaster is around the corner… People are at risk of dying and suffering, all for something that they know nothing about, something that has absolutely nothing to do with them. All thanks to some bullheaded, supernatural bastard who thinks they're nothing but worms... It's just like ten years ago…"

The Boy caressed the sword in his lap before taking hold of the necklace hanging from his neck.

"No…. This time will be different. If that bastard thinks he can just do whatever he wants to my home, to our home, he's got another thing coming….. I won't let it happen again. Not like last time. No, this time, it'll be different. This time, I won't just sit back and do nothing. I won't hide. I won't run. —I'll protect this town. I'll protect my home. I'll protect my friends. And most of all, I'll protect you…."

The Boy ran his hands through his hair and pulled it back, revealing his face. His eyes were lit with an emerald green brilliance.

"—This time, I'll protect it all. Even if it's the last thing I do."

This Boy, Rias Gremory, is not just anybody.

He is this generation's current host of the Welsh Dragon Emperor. —He is my host. He is my partner. He is my friend.

He is the son of Gorou and Miki Hyoudou.

He is Issei Hyoudou.

And he is the greatest Sekiryuutei to have ever lived.

---

WAR

---

"Ise!"

—Issei flew down to where his group was, in front of Kuoh Academy. All of them had flown there immediately after their encounter with Kokabiel.

"Did you get what you needed?"

Issei replied to Rias while strapping the sheathed sword in his possession around his waist.

"Yeah, I got it."

"..Is that Excalibur Blessing?"

"Yeah, it is."

"So that's what it looks like.."

Rias turned to Sona and questioned her.

"Sona, do you remember what the exact conditions for activation behind the [Yondai-Maou defense measures] were?"

"Yes. If I recall, ridiculous surges in demonic, holy, or other powers were the automatic triggers for the academy's defense features. For town defense, a certain level of destruction to the environment has to occur in order to summon the full defense force. But the condition for destruction is bypassed in the case of the academy itself since it's considered our headquarters. If a surge of power great enough is released on school property, the distress signal will trigger automatically. After that, the "Yondai-Maou defense force" will quickly assemble in the underworld and appear by summons in a matter of minutes."

Issei interjected curiously.

"What's this "defense force" you're talking about?"

Sona explained it in detail to Issei.

"After the Kuoh disaster, the current Devil-king enlisted a task force to act as a defense team for Kuoh should any catastrophes occur again. In line with this, there were also another set of safety precautions created in order to prevent tremendous losses of life, such as "earthquake safety and relief shelters" that were secretly built using demonic powers and magically reinforced to defend against supernatural attacks. The academy is fitted with these defenses as well, and whenever a major power surge is detected, the system will activate a large defensive barrier around the entire school. In the past, it was different. When you first arrived here, Ise-kun, the defense measures trigger was manually controlled by the distress signal linking Rias to Lucifer-sama. That's why when you met us and flared your aura, nothing happened, and you kept on noticing that Rias was trying to use the signal. That day made me realize the massive oversight related to the system's formula, so I had modifications made for it after asking...Leviathan-sama. Now, thanks to that, the system is modified to activate automatically under the previously described conditions."

"Hmm. That all sounds well and dandy, but do you really think that'll help much against a threat like this?"

"I don't know, but the system was certainly created for this very reason. At very least, it should keep the damage to a minimum."

"You said there was a barrier, right? Where the hell is it?"

—Just as Issei asked that, a pillar of holy light was released into the sky from somewhere in the academy. It was undoubtedly the power of the Excalibur. And the moment that pulse of power was shot out, demonic magic circles appeared along the ground surrounding the academy's exterior. From the magic circles, a barrier was created that surrounded the entire school. It was a thick barrier that extended over the academy by almost 100 meters.

"...Speak of the Devil's magic, I guess."

Sona turned to Rias and informed her.

"Rias, the defense measures have been activated. The defense force has already received the distress signal. They're probably on their way now. We have only a few minutes until they arrive, and thirty minutes until the Yondai-Maou themselves appear. We'll have to hold out alongside the defense force until then."

"Twenty minutes…. Alright… We can do that."

"—Rias."

While Rias was about to steady her conviction, Issei stepped in front of his group.

"You guys stay back. Hold out near the edge of the barrier. I'm going in..."

Rias's eyes widened.

"What? Ise, you don't mean to suggest that you're going to fight Kokabiel on your own, do you?"

"That's right, I am. Sona, how many people are there in this task force that are supposed to show up?"

"Three hundred, at the very least. All of them within the High-Class Devil range of ability."

"Well, let's hope that evens the odds a bit.."

"Ise, you can't be serious! Going in alone, that's reckless!"

"You've seen what I can do, Rias. Raiser Phoenix was considered a pro High-Class Devil in the "rating games" and I beat him without my Balance Breaker. So if someone like Kokabiel is even stronger than me, what do you think all of those other High-Class cannon fodder are gonna do against him? At best, they'll get in a hit or two, even with three hundred of 'em."

Issei explained it as realistically and pragmatically as he could, but Rias still contested him.

"Then that's even more of a reason for all of us to fight together! Fighting alone is just unreasonable!"

"I won't risk any harm to you brats. You'll do as I say and sit back here where you can keep yourselves safe. I'll hold him off until the Devil-king shows up..."

"No! We refuse!"

Issei turned around and faced Rias, towering over her with a commanding posture. Even so, Rias didn't back down.

"You'll stay back, Rias. This is the last time I'm saying it."

"I refuse. I won't just let you go in there on your own."

"Kokabiel isn't like any enemy you've ever faced before. Unlike the others, he's able and willing to kill all of us."

"Then we'll die together."

"What?"

"If he's capable of killing Ise, then I'm not just going to sit back and watch it happen. If you die...then I'm going to die by your side."

Issei was speechless. There didn't appear to be even an ounce of hesitation in Rias's eyes. He clenched his fist tightly in irritation.

"You..! Rgh, why are you always so..!"

At this point, Issei thought he had no choice. He would have to knock Rias unconscious and leave her here with the others. But before he could do that, Raynare inserted herself within the dynamic.

"Issei-sama. Let me fight with you as well."

"Raynare?"

Raynare stated it with a mixture of guilt and determination.

"...Donasheek, Kalawarner, and Mitlet are in there… Whatever happens, I... I have to help them. It's my fault they're here right now. As their former leader— no, as their friend…. I have to do something. I have to save them….. Would you allow that, Issei-sama?"

The two girls confronted Issei with no intent of backing down. A moment later, the two became three with Sona's interjection.

"Face it, Ise-kun. As much as you'd like to exclude us from this, the fact of the matter is that we'd have a better time defending against Kokabiel if we all went against him together. The risk is high, but be that as it may, the chances of holding Kokabiel off until the Maou arrive are also higher with everyone. Therefore, the smartest choice would be to fight together, don't you think?"

Issei groaned in frustration, not having a direct counter for that argument. Finally, the situation came to a head for him once Asia latched onto his arm.

"I'm going too! I-I don't want Ise-san to fight alone! If Ise-san gets hurt, I have to be there to help him, no matter what!"

In that moment, Issei realized it just by looking around at everyone's faces. There was nothing he could do to convince any of them. He was effectively cornered.

While staring at Rias and Asia's expressions, he could see the image of another woman overlap their own.

("Come on! We're partners, aren't we?! We go in together!")

For some reason, Issei smirked.

'Heh…. Maybe you were right, Ddraig…. Maybe women really are my weakness..'

Issei released a defeated sigh laden with mental exhaustion, but somewhere in that breath, there must've been a sense of fear.

"Goddammit… You really are a bunch of troublesome morons, aren't ya? Fine then. You all wanna die holding hands then so be it. But when we get in there, you idiots listen to every fuckin' word I say, got it? If I tell you to duck and cover, you fucking do it, no questions asked. Understood?"

Everyone seemed resolute and responded to Issei as if he was their leader.

[ "Yes!" ]

Issei looked at Rias specifically and asked her.

"I need you to promise me you'll do that, Rias."

Rias nodded her head.

"I promise."

"Good…. Then let's get in there and take down that son of a bitch."

With that, Issei turned around and the group started following him further into the academy.

Issei felt the weight on his body increase inexplicably. He felt as if the blood-stained hoodie he was wearing and his necklace were suddenly heavier. At the same time, he felt like the people walking behind him were being replaced. Without even looking back, he felt the presences of all his friends be replaced with the presences of not only his parents, but even Marie Bellerose…

'...I said I was going to protect it all, didn't I? Then this is fine. I'll protect them too. I'll protect everyone…. I won't let anything like "that" happen ever again. This time, it'll be different. I swear to you. —This time, I'll protect you all.'

Part 2

When everyone entered the academy grounds where Kokabiel was, they observed the field around them. Somewhere towards the center, there was Valper. Beside him was Freed, and in front of them both was something which resembled the stolen Excaliburs fused into one. That was what released the holy aura from earlier.

"It's complete!"

With a mad grin, Valper announced the item's unification.

"So you were able to combine the Excalibur after all, Valper."

High above Valper, sitting up in the sky on some floating, regal looking throne, there was Kokabiel.

"I didn't know your research had extended this far. To be expected from the man who was able to utilize Azazel's devices for my own purposes. I suppose I shouldn't have doubted you."

"But of course, Kokabiel. The decades I spent "in lab and coat" were never for nothing. Freed, it's ready. Go ahead and take your prize."

"You da man, old geezer!"

Freed took the deformed Excalibur and held it in awe.

"He combined the Excalibur into one?!"

With Rias's shocked yell, Kokabiel took notice of the group's arrival.

"Ah, you're here, Rias Gremory, Sekiryuutei. Kept me waiting, didn't you? Well, it's fine. Since today is a special occasion, I'll let it slide. I actually want to savor today as much as I can after all. Speaking of savoring things, maybe I should start the night out with some entertainment, huh? Something like a good warm-up? What do you say, Sekiryuutei? I can tell with a glance that you're far above those little creatures accompanying you. It's probably been a while since you've had a good bout. In that case, I'll let you stretch your muscles out a bit before we get serious. I know, let's play some fetch.."

Kokabiel snapped his fingers. At his action, an unfamiliar magical circle quickly appeared and disappeared on the ground far below his throne. Then, the earth beneath the academy grounds began to shake inexplicably.

Rumble..!

"What's going on?!"

Rias's group had only a mere moment to question it. Before they knew it, a certain part of the earth in the academy grounds began to split open.

Crack! CRACK!

The ground was breaking open and from the opening came fire. Flames shot out with lava overflowing from the edges of the cracked earth.

"..What the fuck?"

For the first time in a while, Issei felt chills on his body. But these chills were soon replaced by an intense wave of heat that blew throughout the academy grounds. Something was emerging. Something big, something otherworldly.

First came claws, then came a head, then two other heads identical to the previous one. And finally, the large body from which the heads belonged to. From all over its body, lava seeped off, as if the monster had emerged from the center of a volcano itself. Just observing the emerging figure gave everyone a sense of heat haze, like it was nothing but an intense mirage. But Issei, thanks to his perfect dragonic vision, saw every little detail. Even without ever having known this beast in reality, he recognized it from a glance.

With skin that appeared to resemble molten rock, a sharp toothed mouth that was leaking lava and flames, and three heads— this creature was a monster of legend, of myth. Greek Myth.

"..You've got to be fucking kidding me."

—Cerberus, the guard dog of Hades.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!

The monster released a beastly roar and Issei extended his dragonic wings to cover his friends. Just the heat from its howl felt like it was singing off the hairs on Issei's forearms.

After its roaring ceased, the beast remained still in its place, seemingly held into the ground by some huge looking chains and collar. Issei cursed their predicament.

"Fuck! It just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn't it?"

"The guard dog of Hades, Cerberus…. You've completely lost your mind, Kokabiel!"

Kokabiel chuckled at Rias's assertion.

"Heh, maybe I have."

Unfortunately for everyone around, the unexpected events just kept on happening. A few moments after the appearance of Cerberus, something else appeared. In the sky all around Kokabiel, magic circles appeared. Hundreds of them.

SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN!

"That's..!"

Rias recognized the extremely unique crest on those magic circles. They bore a resemblance to the crest of the Yondai-Maou. Sona finished Rias's thought.

"The Yondai-Maou defense force.."

—And from the magic circles appeared a legion of Devils with similar looking uniforms.

[—?!]

Of course, Kokabiel smiled at their appearance.

"Hoho…"

After appearing in the sky, one of the Devils took in his surroundings with disbelief.

"...What on earth is this situation?"

Another Devil, a Devil with an eyepatch who had the appearance of a leader, replied to his ally.

"—Focus. We were trained to be prepared for any scenario. Especially one like this.."

The eye-patched Devil's focus was immediately set onto Kokabiel the moment they all arrived. Kokabiel smiled as he looked around at the army of Devils who surrounded him.

"Ho? So Satan's cavalry has appeared, hm? Looks like he did bundle up a pack of dogs to protect this place. Ah, but I guess I'm the one who brought a "wolf" to a "dogfight", huh?"

Kokabiel was amused, while the eye-patched Devil was anything but.

"Kokabiel…. So we meet again at last. It's been a long time."

"Oh? Have we met before?"

"Millenia ago. Back then, I was just a grunt, but over time I rose up in the ranks to this position."

"Hoho, is that right? So a small fry like you actually survived in the war after encountering me, huh? It must be nice for you to have made it up to the top brass. Well, congratulations. I commend you. Such a hardworking and loyal soldier is hard to come by these days. It's honestly too bad that you're just a Devil who will die here the same as all the others."

"Being offered this position by the Maou was a great honor for me. It is my pride. —But since you're here, perhaps I should return the favor to you for taking my eye many centuries ago."

"Ah, was that my fault? I apologize. I'm not usually such a lousy shot. Normally, one of my spears would've easily killed any small fry that they hit. I must've been distracted that day."

"Indeed. Your attacks were terribly effective…. Your forces completely destroyed ours. Not just my squad, but the entire battalion. By the end of it, I was the only one left."

"Oh? Really? That's odd. I have a hard time imagining how you survived. If it was the type of massacre that you're describing, then I'm sure I wouldn't have missed even a single soldier…. Wait…. Hold on. Are you possibly…..? Muhu…. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

For whatever reason, Kokabiel burst out into maniacal laughter, causing the Devil leader to narrow his eyes.

"THAT'S RIGHT! I JUST REMEMBERED! THAT MUST BE IT! —Back then, I remember a lone soldier standing amidst a sea of his comrades' corpses, looking to his feet as if he no longer recognized this world! At that time, I thought it was so pathetic that I just let the poor fool go! Oh, what a sight! You're telling me that was YOU!? My word! Truly, today must be the day of fate! For someone like you to have survived all this time.. I was sure you would've never fought in another battle again! But to think that you've come all this way to end up finally facing me again?! Splendid, truly magnificent! At this point, I couldn't ask for anything more to happen! What joy, what a momentous day this has become! This only confirms my ambitions! My presence here, the actions that I've taken against Archangel and Maou, it's all meant to be!"

"...You killed everyone I knew, Kokabiel. By the end of that war— by the end of that very day alone, I didn't have a single friend left from our military! They were all slaughtered by your hand. And the best that I could do was give you that scar on the back of your neck.."

Kokabiel touched the back of his neck confusedly.

"Hmm? Scar? Oh, this? Oho, so this battle scar was your doing, huh? Is that all? You lost your eye and all of your friends, and the best that you could do was this? All of that, just for a measly scratch that I didn't even remember I had? Nahahahahaha! How unfortunate. At the very least, you've been given a second chance. Take this moment as a reward for all of your hard work to get here, before you inevitably die of course."

"...I'll repay you for my eye, and I'll repay you for the legions of my slain comrades as well. You'll atone for their deaths with every single drop of your blood."

Kokabiel snickered while standing himself up from his throne.

"Kukuku. "For blood is the atonement of the soul", ey? Kukuku… Kuhahahahahahahahaha! Very well! Good! Then repay me, commandant! Repay me for all of it! Bring your forces down upon me! Or since you're all Devils, rise up from beneath the dirt and cast me down to hell! I'll take everything you throw at me! Even if the armies of the underworld split the earth in twain, I won't falter! I won't back down! I refuse to lay down my fist after it's been raised! COME AT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, SATAN'S DOGS!"

Kokabiel's passionate shout silenced the world. For a moment, everything was still, and everyone could feel the rising tension.

"...No…"

Rias's eyes went wide as she came to a horrifying conclusion.

"What is it, Rias?"

Issei asked Rias with worry. He had never seen her make such a terrified expression before.

"...The commandant… He… In Devil society, someone in his position is considered to be similar to the top brass. He is an official that not only holds great rank in the military, but also possesses emergency powers…. Because of the special circumstances behind the ceasefire, in an emergency situation like this, he holds special permissions, even in the absence of a Maou…. Which means that he, in a situation like this, has the special authority to… to…"

"To what, Rias?"

With an equally fearful expression, Sona concluded Rias's explanation.

"...In a scenario like this, someone of his rank has the authority to make and accept declarations of war.."

[—?!]

As Issei's group reeled in shock at the revelation, up in the sky, the Devil commandant gave Kokabiel his final warning.

"—Kokabiel….. For you to have even brought out the guard dog of Hades…. Did you steal him? Something like that doesn't seem possible, even for someone like you. From what I've heard, it's your colleagues who are the researchers, not you. You wouldn't have the knowledge or magical ability to summon Cerberus unbound. Has your side made a pact with Hades himself? And to bring him here, in the human world, what are you trying to accomplish?"

To his question, Kokabiel merely smiled.

"Who knows?"

"...This is the only time I'll tell you, Fallen-Angel of the stars…. This town is under special protections. If you continue with what you're doing… it can be considered a nothing but an outright act of war…"

"...Kukuku…"

Kokabiel chuckled, but soon, that chuckle morphed into yet another cackle of pure insanity.

"KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

—And when Kokabiel's laughter finally ceased, his sharp, glistening teeth parted his lips into a despicable smile, with his eyes emanating a bloody red color.

Realizing what this meant, the Devil commandant's glare darkened for the final time.

"...So be it."

SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN!

In only a moment, the sky filled with countless demonic circles, all pointing directly at Kokabiel.

"RAAAAAAAAH!"

The army of Devils released a war cry in tandem with their leader, preparing to release the onslaught of attacks. And with one last stretch of his wicked smile, Kokabiel unfurled his wings and destroyed his own throne with the force of his take-off.

—And thus, the battle began.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The academy's sky was filled to the brim with explosions, like countless fireworks. There was nothing to see up there but color and smoke.

"...It's started... We've lost….. War...has begun…"

Rias, and everyone else in the group, despaired. Considering his original goal, Kokabiel had practically already won. Now, there was only the war…

.

.

.

"Don't fuck with me!"

—All despaired, except for one.

"We've only lost once we're dead! Until then, we keep on fighting! Fuck everything else! We're not dead yet, so get a grip! Our objective, our mission, none of that has changed! No matter what happens, we're taking this fucker down, and we're protecting our home! Ya hear me?! We ain't dead yet, so get ready! We're givin' it all we've got! Besides…!"

Issei's glare focused on Kokabiel through all of the smoke and blasts in the sky. The bastard was slaying Devils with glee on his face.

The glow of Issei's emerald green eyes returned once again.

"—The way I see it, dead men can't declare war."

Upon hearing Issei's words, everyone gradually regained their expressions of determination, one by one. They collectively steeled themselves for what was to come. Issei was right. Now, there was only one thing left for them to do, only one way to prevent the war from progressing beyond this place. Fundamentally, their goal has never changed.

—Protect Kuoh, and kill the Raven of Treachery.

CRACK, CRACK!

Just as the group of high schoolers set their determinations, the chains on Cerberus began to give way.

"Shit! Here comes the mutt! Ddraig, I'm not sure I can beat this thing without Scale Mail!"

[I don't think you can, at least not by regular means. But you can't use it yet, partner. We need you to conserve as much of your strength as possible for Kokabiel. Against an enemy like him, we need everything we've got.]

"Don't you think I know that?! What the fuck else am I supposed to do?!"

[Calm down, partner. I have a solution. —From what I can tell, although I've never encountered the legendary beast known as Cerberus, I can still say with an amount of certainty that this is not the true version of the Hell-dog.]

"What, you mean this thing is a fake?"

[I'm not sure what it is, but experience tells me that a being like Cerberus would have a unique, unmistakable presence. This thing in front of us doesn't. There's something about it that doesn't feel whole; it's a nebulous feeling. Whatever the case, I can tell you that this isn't the original Cerberus. And thanks to that, we have a chance at taking it down without Scale Mail. But in order to pull that off, we need some power. You'll need to boost your power up again until you reach a satisfactory level.]

"Okay, and what level is that?"

[About 8… No, maybe 10 boosts.]

"That's already well past the base power level of Scale Mail, isn't it?"

[Yes, but transforming into and maintaining Scale Mail is far more stamina consuming then simply powering up and defeating it with a single attack.]

"A single attack? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

[Yes, that's my plan.]

"..Alright. I got your tune, big guy. In that case, let's do what we gotta do!"

[Boost!]

Issei began the process of continually boosting his power and commanded his friends.

"Alright, listen up, amateurs! The Raven up there's got his hands full with a swarm of bats, we've got one chance to take this mangy fucking dog out before the bastard clears the skies! This mutt has three heads, but he's only got one body! In terms of numbers, we can overwhelm him easily! So surround him and annoy the shit out of him! Don't let him focus on any single one of ya! Overload his senses, and don't give him a chance to breathe! Don't focus on getting any risky hits in, you're not trying to kill him, you're trying to hold him off!"

"Hold him off? Until what?"

Issei answered Rias's question with the lift of his gauntlet.

"Until I'm ready to blow him away!"

[Boost!]

Rias turned to the rest of the group and gave her orders.

"You heard him! We have our role, let's carry it out with grace and fervor! Let's show the watchdog of Hell and the Raven of Treachery the power of Devils' teamwork!"

Issei smirked.

"So you're gonna teach us a thing or two now, huh? Thought you already showed me how Devil teamwork worked?"

"Well, there's always something more to learn, Ise. Even from "amateurs" like us. You just sit back and build up your power, we'll show you what it's all about."

Raynare interjected from behind Issei.

"Issei-sama. What about my friends? Donasheek, Mitlet, and Kalawarner?"

Issei looked to where Raynare's former trio was. The three appeared to be protecting Valper from the Devils that split off and came down from the skies, while Freed gleefully exorcised any that came too close with his combined Excalibur. A majority of the Devil army still seemed focused on Kokabiel, but there were those who kept the trio busy.

"From the looks of it, they've got their own problems right now. This ain't a good environment to be tryin' to convince anyone of anything. We'll have to defeat this Hell-dog first and wait till the battle calms down a bit before you do anything. Just hope that they don't die, I guess."

Raynare then made a worried face. She looked towards where her allies were with concern.

"Raynare. You're going to save them, right?"

She shifted her attention back to Issei. Again, she was able to see his determined face before he looked at Cerberus.

"Then focus. We take care of the problems at hand and solve the others when we get to them. You wanna save them? Then bet on it. Do what you have to do now so that you can get to them as soon as possible."

Setting her concern aside for now, Raynare nodded.

"Yes, Issei-sama!"

[Boost!]

Issei lifted his gauntlet and pointed at Cerberus as he commanded his group.

"Seventy seconds left, people! Let's go!"

[ "Yes!" ]

"Asia, stay behind me!"

"Yes, Ise-san!"

"Everyone else, keep that puppy busy!"

With Issei's command, the group of Devils including Raynare took off and surrounded Cerberus. And shortly after, Cerberus broke free from its chains.

BREAK! BREAK!

A wave of heat blasted off of its body, causing everyone to defend themselves using their wings.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAH!

"Akeno!"

"Yes, Buchou!"

Rias readied her power of destruction as Akeno shifted into her rarely seen priestess form.

On the ground, Sona began to construct a large beast using water magic. The water beast took the shape of a snake and grew to a similar size as Cerberus. Once created, Sona sent the water snake out to coil around Cerberus's entire body, giving Rias and Akeno a short opening.

"Take this!"

"Thunder!"

Rias and Akeno sent down their focused attacks of thunder and power of destruction simultaneously towards Cerberus. They were direct hits.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The attacks did little damage to the Hell-dog, instead causing it to feel enraged and release another wave of body heat which destroyed the remnants of all their attacks immediately.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Due to its agitation, Cerberus focused its bloodthirsty gaze straight towards Sona and took aim. With smoke building in one of its mouths, it quickly shot out a pillar of molten flames at her with bullet speed.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Kaichou!"

Saji went to protect his president, but Tsubaki jumped in front of both of them and created a uniquely designed mirror.

"[Mirror Alice!]"

The three were visibly engulfed in flames, but as soon as the attack collided with the mirror, the majority of the attack was doubled and reflected back towards Cerberus, causing the mirror to shatter on impact.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Hell-dog roared in pain, finally receiving a level of damage from its own attack.

"Aaah!"

"Tsubaki!"

Tsubaki was thrown back by the mirror's shattering, but she was caught by Saji and Sona. Her skin was releasing lines of smoke and she almost appeared sunburnt.

"..I-It's alright, Kaichou.. It's fire didn't hit me, it was just the heat... I'm fine."

"Saji, take her to Ise-kun and Asia-chan!"

"Yes, Kaichou!"

As the rest of the Devils continued attacking Cerberus, Saji delivered Tsubaki to Asia's side.

"We've got wounded!"

"Bring her behind me! Asia, heal her, I'll make sure to cover you!"

"Okay!"

As Asia healed Tsubaki's skin, the battle raged on, in both the skies and on the ground.

—In the sky, Kokabiel skewered ten Devils with just one giant spear of light.

ZIN!

"Mwhahahahahaha! So this is the level of strength for High-Class Devil soldiers these days, huh? It certainly has dwindled over the centuries, hasn't it, commandant?"

The commandant replied while evading Kokabiel's light spears and counter-attacking.

"We'll see just how much you're laughing by the end of this, when we've got you cornered and breathless, Fallen-Angel of the stars!"

"Haha! Then go ahead and corner me if you can! Take my breath away! I'm still waiting to be repaid in full for your fallen comrades' bloodbaths, commandant! Ahahahaha!"

Meanwhile, on the grounds below, Freed slashed and cut Devils in half using the multi-powered Excalibur.

"Nyahahahahaha! Slicing and dicing Devils in the middle of a war zone, it's like my greatest dream! Ah, it brings a tear to my eye~, I never thought I'd be so blessed! Maybe I should thank God after all?! No, let's just thank the boss for now! Thank you, booooooooooooossss!"

Donasheek shouted at Freed while defending himself against a Devil.

"Don't lose focus, Freed! Protect the Archbishop!"

The Devil attacking Donasheek was suddenly pierced by two light spears, one landing in each of his sides. They were sent from Kalawarner and Mitlet. This gave Donasheek the opening to decapitate the Devil.

Slice!

The three were able to keep themselves alive thanks to their teamwork.

"Hmm.."

Valper chuckled while gazing at the scenery of a war zone before his eyes. There was an appreciation in his gaze.

"...What a magnificent sight."

—Once again, Issei's gauntlet increased his power.

[Boost!]

"Forty seconds left!"

Issei announced it to his teammates as they continued fighting the Cerberus together. The Hell-dog was constantly shooting out flames from different mouths at different places. Some of its attacks scorched the academy grounds in a straight line, while others shot into the sky, narrowly missing Issei's friends and even incinerating some unprepared Devil soldiers in the sky.

At some point, one torrent of the Hell-dog's flames came straight in Issei's direction.

"Asia!"

Issei acted immediately and wrapped his dragon wings around Asia and Tsubaki, protecting all three of them from the blazing inferno.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"ISE!"

As the three were enveloped by flames, Koneko made a rash decision and kicked the head of Cerberus that was shooting the flames, right in one of its eyes. As a result, the head ceased its attack, but another head defended it by grabbing Koneko with its maw. It latched onto her legs, gouging right into one of them.

"Aaah!"

"Koneko!"

The Hell-dog whipped Koneko around like a chew toy until it spat her out and she bounced on the ground. There was a gaping hole in her left leg and barely any flesh was holding the leg to her body. Had the bite been any worse, her leg likely wouldn't even be attached to her body anymore.

Despite this, the enraged head of Cerberus influenced the other heads to focus on the downed Koneko. The Hell-dog then dashed straight towards the unconscious girl and raised its claw to stomp her dead.

"KONEKO!"

DOOOONNNN!

As soon as the Hell-dog's paw landed on Koneko, it appeared to hover over her body for a moment. —No, it was stopped before it reached her. Something was planted deep in its paw, preventing it from reaching the unconscious girl.

—It was the holy-sword, Excalibur Destruction.

"This was just supposed to be a suicide mission, Irina. Look what it's turned into!"

As Xenovia held up the paw of Cerberus, a volley of swords erupted from the ground around her and shot into the wound created by her Excalibur, causing the Hell-dog to recoil in pain.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAH!

"That power..!"

Just as Rias suspected, the person who landed beside Xenovia was Kiba Yuuto.

"It's unfortunate that we end up on the same side like this, but you know what they say. The enemy of my enemy."

"And somehow, that enemy is the guard dog of the Underworld..."

Xenovia called out to Issei as Kiba picked up Koneko and brought her to Asia's side.

"Hyoudou Issei! Where is Irina?!"

"She's safe! We have her receiving medical treatment at one of our bases!"

"Is that so? Good…"

Kiba landed beside Asia with Koneko in his arms.

"Heal her, Asia-san. I'm fine, she's in more of a critical condition than I am."

"O-Okay."

As Asia switched from tending to Tsubaki to Koneko, Issei smirked at Kiba's sudden appearance.

"Heh, took you long enough, pretty boy."

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Don't be. Just lend us a hand, would ya? As you can tell, we've got our asses red and bruised right now with all this shit going on. We need all the help we can get."

"Heh. Same vulgarity as always, Ise-kun.. What's the plan?"

"Keep the mangy fucking mutt distracted. I need time to build up my power before I can neuter him."

"You can't use Balance Breaker?"

"Not yet. I need to save it for the bastard in the sky.."

"How long do we need to hold him off?"

Issei's gauntlet made an announcement as Kiba asked that.

[Boost!]

"Thirty seconds."

"Heh. Well, that should be easy enough. Leave it to us. —Sword Birth!"

Kiba jumped forward and stabbed his blade into the ground, causing a wall of swords to shoot out from the ground and up into Cerberus's belly.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Unfortunately, the swords didn't pierce Cerberus's skin enough to cause anything beyond some scratches. Cerberus jumped off the "spike trap" below it and destroyed all of the swords with just the swipe of its paw.

Kiba smiled bitterly.

"This might prove a little more difficult than I expected.."

Swoosh!

Xenovia jumped past Kiba and slashed at one of Cerberus's hind legs. Although the gash wasn't very deep, it certainly wasn't shallow either, and she attracted the Hell-dog's attention well enough.

"Damn! Even with Excalibur Destruction, this is the best I can do, huh? I guess this is a job more suited for "that" thing after all.."

Cerberus switched its focus to the person who had just wounded it, Xenovia. However, before the Hell-dog could do anything to the exorcist, Kiba used his sword birth again to attract its attention.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

The combo of swords stabbed into the opposite side of Cerberus, leaving no considerable damage, but attracting the monster's attention nonetheless.

Moooaaah..

For a moment, it appeared as if the beast was about to engulf Kiba with flames from one of its mouths, but its attack was interrupted by a powerful gush of water sent by Sona straight into one of the Hell-dog's faces.

Then, its body was struck by thunder.

BUZZ! CRACKLE! BUZZ!

Then, an attack on another one Cerberus's heads followed, a full powered blast of Rias's power of destruction.

DON, DON!

Then, another leg slash from Xenovia.

SLICE!

The onslaught of attacks continued. The beast was being overwhelmed.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH!

Cerberus released another blast of heat from its body that blew all of his attackers back. Unfortunately for everyone's strategy, Cerberus's ability to do this always gave the monster a chance to breathe and correct itself.

Or so they thought…

MOOAAH! RAAA! MRAAAH!

Sona narrowed her eyes as she noticed something about Cerberus's behavior. For some reason, its body was stationary, but it seemed as if it was trying desperately to move in different directions. The beast was roaring from different heads, each one seemingly facing a different direction as well.

"..They're fighting?"

It appeared as if there was struggle between the intent of each head. One head wanted to focus on Rias, the other wanted Sona, and the last one wanted Xenovia. They were struggling for whose intention was the priority. In fact, they were struggling so much that they began to bite and growl at each other.

As this went on, Issei counted down the final seconds.

"..10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.."

[Boost!]

Issei lifted his gauntlet and aimed straight at Cerberus.

"EVERYONE, GET BACK!"

Everyone retreated from Cerberus's position, leaving the beast open for attack. Issei began focusing every single bit of the power accumulated by the Boosted Gear into the palm of his gauntlet. The quiet, but gradual build up of energy caught Cerberus's attention. Once the energy was finished building, Issei was left with a ball of energy the size of a basketball floating over his palm.

GRRR..

Issei got into a ready position as Cerberus growled at him, ready to pounce.

"Ready, Ddraig?"

[Let's blow this worthless mutt away, partner!]

Finally, Cerberus jumped towards Issei with fire built up in all three of its mouths. The moment it fired at Issei, the blast of energy was released from Issei's palm.

[Omega shot!]

—And just like that, Cerberus was enveloped by red light.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The blast covered Cerberus entirely and even shot beyond its body, towards the sky. Kokabiel, who noticed the blast coming straight for him, evaded the attack by throwing his enemies into it instead, causing a few of them to be destroyed. When the blast collided with the barrier surrounding the school, the academy grounds shook.

DOOOOOONNNN!

The blast disappeared as quickly as it appeared and Kokabiel observed the damage made to the barrier. There was a noticeable crack, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to break it.

"Hmph. As expected from the current Beelzebub's magic. Hardly a scratch."

—On the ground, Issei panted as the smoke cleared from Cerberus's body. When it was finally exposed, Issei could see Cerberus's body almost split down the middle, with one head completely gone and the other two half destroyed. A great portion of its torso was also destroyed. The Hell-dog was defeated.

"HELL YEAH!"

Saji celebrated with his comrades, perhaps a bit too prematurely, but who could blame him? Certainly not Issei.

"Fuck you, pooch."

As Issei released an exhale, he noted internally how the body of Cerberus disappeared via a purple smoke. Could he assume that Ddraig's assessment was correct just from that? After all, if it was the "true" Cerberus, then that's not how it would've disappeared, right? Whatever the case, at the very least, it was gone now.

"Ise!"

Rias, along with everyone else, regrouped around Issei.

"Well done, Ise. I knew you could do it. I'll make sure to reward you later."

"No thanks, princess."

"Koneko, are you awake yet? Do you feel alright?"

"Yes, buchou.."

As Koneko brought herself back up on her feet, Xenovia approached Issei and his group as well.

"Hyoudou Issei. You defeated Cerberus. I didn't know you were capable of such a feat. I suppose I really didn't know what I was getting into picking a fight with you."

"It's fine. Thanks for lending us a hand. But you and Irina should've gone home when I told you to. Maybe then she wouldn't have ended up in the state she was in."

Xenovia frowned shamefully.

"...Maybe you're right. But you know we were never going to agree to something like that. At the end of the day, this was our mission, and we were willing to see it through to the very end…. Speaking of which, will Irina be alright? As far as I can tell, your main healer is Asia Argento and she's right here. Is Irina actually being treated?"

"Yeah, she is. Believe it or not, these Devils are actually useful outside of being dog sitters. They have their own technologies to boast about."

"I see… That's good to know."

"She'll be fine. Trust me."

Issei said it reassuringly. Something about his eyes appeared different to Xenovia. It was the same odd feeling as when he confronted her and Irina early in the day. For some reason, it made Xenovia look away from Issei with complicated feelings.

"Is that so… If you hadn't just destroyed Cerberus right now, I probably wouldn't think you were the Sekiryuutei I knew."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"..Nothing much."

Above Issei and his group, a voice came to interrupt their brief moment of rest.

"—So you defeated Cerberus, huh. If only the Sekiryuutei wasn't here…"

It was Donasheek, accompanied by his two comrades. He spoke while taking a glance up at the sky.

"Hmm… There's only sixty...no, fifty Devils left fighting against Kokabiel-sama from that force that appeared. With such a low number opposing him, Kokabiel-sama should finish them off soon."

Raynare immediately acknowledged her former allies as they appeared.

"Donasheek! Kalawarner, Mitlet!"

"Ah, Raynare. We finally have the chance to speak again. It looks like you've become the Sekiryuutei's pet after all, huh. I'm surprised he didn't kill you when he found you. What is it, are you his tool now? Or perhaps he just satisfies his lust using you? It's always "anything to survive" with you, huh…. Whatever the case, it might be worse for you that he didn't end up killing you."

"Donasheek, stop this! Don't you realize what you're doing?! This is war that you're starting! Something like this could end the world as we know it!"

Raynare pleaded with Donasheek, but he seemed resolute about his actions.

"Yes, this is war. This is the war that we were rightfully born to fight and win. If we hadn't reached a ceasefire, the Fallen-Angels would be ruling the world by now. We're going to correct this error and take the glory that belongs to us fallen alone. This time, with Kokabiel-sama leading us, we'll take our victory back by force from the clutches of our weak willed "superiors"."

"Glory? Usurping our superiors?... Are these the lies that Kokabiel-sama sold you?"

Donasheek retorted angrily.

"They aren't lies! It's our dream! Our just ambition as a collective race of beings! It's what we deserve! The only lie that we were ever sold was that of your "loyalty"!"

Raynare flinched. Although Mitlet and Kalawarner said nothing, it was clear by their expressions that they shared similar sentiments as Donasheek.

"You were our leader once… You had such passion, such ambition... And yet, the moment Sekiryuutei came into the mix, you caved. You cracked so easily under his influence and resigned yourself to failure. And when the Sekiryuutei's wrath finally came down upon us, you were ready to cast us aside for your own survival. Even while I was only half conscious, it felt like your cowardly pleas still reached my ears. As long as it was for yourself, you were willing to leave us behind without remorse. The Sekiryuutei wasn't even equally as punishing towards you. But even if he was, that doesn't change the fact that you had no hesitation in throwing us away for your own benefit… And you were supposed to be our "leader." Hmph, what a joke. I should've known better than to follow you, but your drive inspired me.. How foolish I was. To be inspired by someone whose drive was nothing but a shallow infatuation in the end..."

Raynare's guilty expression filled with shame the more that Donasheek spoke. She recalls all of the times she rationalized her actions through the idea of survival. Because she was a "survivor", she needed to do whatever necessary to keep herself alive. That's what she always thought, but…

It's true that these three "abandoned" her, leaving her behind in this town while they returned to Grigori together as failures. But it's also true that they were in this situation because of her in the first place, and she was the first one to leave them behind in a figurative sense. On just the flip of a dime, she was prepared to sacrifice them to the Sekiryuutei's wrath for her own wellbeing. But there's no pride there. There isn't pride or honor in being a "survivor", there's only the result. There's only living.

Raynare glanced at Asia, who was looking back at her with a worried face. It made Raynare smile.

'But that's not really "living", is it?...'

While holding her head down, Raynare openly admitted to all of her faults.

"Donasheek…. You're right… Everything you just said was true…. I was ready to abandon you, just like you ended up abandoning me. Because I was a "survivor." I did whatever it took to make it on my own, no matter what that was. That's who I've always been. That's how I've always lived…. But that's not who I am now. That's not how I live, not anymore. Because the truth is...that's not living. Everything I did for my survival, everything I did for my "ambition", it was all just nothing but selfish indulgence. Indulgence of my most primal desires. It's no wonder a being like myself fell from heaven so easily. Everything I was doing, my goals, my motivation… none of that was really "living." In the end, I had no true purpose. I was just as disposable as anyone else. It was only my ego and my fear of death that convinced me otherwise…"

Raynare glanced at Asia again before smiling.

"But that's all changed now. I… I don't feel like I'm just fighting to survive anymore. Now, the shallow depth of my ambition doesn't weigh constantly over my mind. My current goals, my current desires…. It's the first time in my life that I don't question them. It's the first time in my life that I don't regret them. —I'm not just a survivor anymore. I'm more than that. I'm.."

Raynare proclaimed it with a hand placed proudly over her chest.

"I am Raynare. I am Asia Argento's protector and friend. Despite what you may think, I do not live for the Sekiryuutei, nor do I serve him. I am no one's tool. That's right… I don't live for the sake of flimsy desires or misguided ideals. I live for my friend. I live for Asia! I don't only think of myself anymore! I don't just live for myself anymore! I live because I care about the person who's made my life meaningful again! Her kindness and hope are my only ideals, nothing else! And unlike before, I won't ever abandon or turn my back on her! I'll protect her until the end of my days, because that's what she means to me! "Survival" and "lust" can kiss my ass! My sole ambition is Asia's happiness!"

Raynare's declaration caused Asia's eyes to water up, and Raynare's former allies remained silent. Kalawarner and Mitlet still hadn't said a word yet. However, their faces said enough about their feelings. A complicated mixture of emotions contorted their expressions into confusion over themselves. Donasheek was the only one whose resolve was never once shaken.

"Ha! What a bunch of nonsense. Becoming the protector of the human you so coldly swore to rip open and steal a Sacred Gear from for your own desires— it's a joke! You've clearly gone insane. It must be Sekiryuutei's brainwashing. He and his Devil confidants have turned you into a mindless drone of their wills, and they've convinced you that it's what you want. Hmph. And you dare to call this "living"?"

Raynare snapped back at Donasheeek.

"And what do you call what you're doing here?! You think you're not brainwashed?! What are you fighting for?!"

"We're fighting for our ideals!"

"No! You're fighting for a madman's ideals! He's just brainwashed you into thinking that it's what you want! Tell me, how did he take you under his wings? Was it when you came back to Grigori as failures, broken and vulnerable, unsure of what to do anymore?! Is that when he came to you and pressed his ideals onto your weakened wills?! The same way I pressed my worthless ideals into you so many years ago?! Don't you see?! You're not his allies and these aren't your ideals! They're his ideals, and you're nothing but sacrificial pawns to him and his vendetta! Do you think he plans to carry you to victory?! He wouldn't care if the Sekiryuutei lopped your heads off right now! All he cares for is his war, and if you died before even witnessing the start of it, he'd simply spit on your corpse and call you a useless failure! Have you forgotten who "Kokabiel", who the "Raven of Treachery" is?!"

"Enough! All of that nonsense you spout is just your cowardice leaking onto the surface! The truth is that you know you'd never have the guts to take up arms at Kokabiel-sama's side and fight with him, as we will! And that fact drives you insane! Your weakness makes you sick, doesn't it, Raynare?!"

"Listen to me, Donasheek! This is a fool's errand! What you're doing here is nothing but suicide for all our races! Wake up and live for your own!"

"No, Raynare. It's you who needs to open her eyes. And if you won't wake up with even our words… then all that's left is to end your misery! As your former allies, this is the last mercy we can offer you! A swift, decisive, and honorable death as the enemy to all of Fallen-Angel kind!"

Donasheek spawned his light spears in his hands, and Kalawarner and Mitlet soon followed after. Raynare grit her teeth in frustration, but refused to give up.

"Everyone! Stay out of this! This is my fight, I'll take care of it!"

Rias objected to Raynare's declaration.

"Raynare! These three are already above your level in terms of power, you can't take them on your own! Let us help you!"

"No. This is my battle and my battle alone. These are the allies that I betrayed, it's my duty to face them."

"But—"

"Leave her be."

Just as Rias was going to object again, Issei approached Raynare from the side.

[Boost!]

"They're your responsibility, right? Alright then. Deal with them, but take this."

Issei placed his hand on Raynare's shoulder and transferred her a bit of his power.

[Gift!] [Transfer!]

"Thanks."

"You'll be fine."

Issei said it calmly, as if to reassure her, but Raynare smiled confidently.

"I know. You trained me."

Raynare separated herself from her group. That's when her former allies began attacking her as she evaded them on the ground with great speed.

Boom, boom, boom!

"Ise, are you sure it's alright to let her handle it alone?"

Although it was Rias who asked Issei that, Issei replied while looking at the worried Asia.

"Have faith. I didn't make her "your protector" for nothing."

With one issue currently being addressed came another: Freed Sellzen.

"Yayayaya! Hey, Devil shitheee~ads! Looks like we have some time to ourselves finally, huh? After receiving such a splendid gift as this, the fused Excalibur-chyaaaaan, what a perfect opportunity! Don't you think so?! Alright then! Who's gonna be my first opponent, huh? Who should I slice up first…."

Freed licked his lips and ogled the group of Devils with crazy eyes. He seemed more excited than ever before. It probably was the "best day" of the mad priest's life after all.

"I'll be your opponent."

Xenovia stepped in front of the group with Excalibur Destruction in hand.

"Huuuh? It's the bluebird bitch from earlier. What the hell? I was actually expecting the shitty pretty boy Devil to step up, you know?"

In accordance with Freed's expectations, Kiba did step up next, but with different intentions.

"Sorry, but I've got my own enemy to kill. There's an old man with rotten teeth begging to be beheaded over there. I'm going to take this opportunity to give him my undivided attention.."

"HA! And you think I'd just let you walk on by, playboy?"

"You don't have a choice."

Kiba and Freed's eyes both darkened, but Freed's expression was accompanied by a foul smile.

"Hahahahaha! Seems like you forgot about my little inbred treasure Excalibur-tan, huh! Cuz if you think I'm gonna let ya fly on past me just for that, you've got another thing comin'! And it ain't my dick, it's my sword, ya fuckin' fairy! Nyahahahaha!"

Kiba scowled as he and Xenovia readied themselves for a two-on-one battle.

"What did you say earlier, Gremory Knight? The enemy of my enemy, was it?"

"And this time our enemy is a perverted priest with the mental capacity of a vulgar child… Heh, it looks like we've downgraded."

"OY, OY, I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU SHITTY PRETTY FACED SWORDSMEN! I'M GONNA FUCKING RIP YOU APART AND FUCK YOUR CORPSES! Ah, I take that back, I should only fuck the pretty lady's corpse."

The two swordsmen ignored Freed's inane retorts and charged him from different sides.

"AH, so it's a threesome, HUH! Okay, but don't complain if my sword ends up somewhere it's not supposed to beeeeee~!"

"Shut the fuck up already!"

ZIN ZIN DIN ZIN ZIN DIN ZIN!

The three-way duel started, leaving Issei alone with the rest of the Gremory and Sitri peerages. Rias spoke while looking up at the sky where Kokabiel was.

"Alright… I guess that leaves us with him. Let's go, everyone—!"

"—Stop."

Right as Rias was about to take off, Issei prevented her from moving by grabbing her wrist.

"What is it, Ise? Should we come up with a battle plan first? I'm not sure how long the rest of the defense force can hold up if we keep waiting around."

"We can't go up there yet."

Rias was confused by Issei's statement.

"Why not?"

"Because he'll kill you."

(—?!)

Rias was shocked by his sudden declaration, but Issei had a dead serious expression.

"I don't understand, Ise."

"If you go up there now, you'll perish within a second's notice. That guy…. He isn't concerned with entertaining himself or holding back right now. He's in a bloodthirsty craze, an "kill-all" mode, so to speak. I can tell just by looking. He'll extinguish anyone that enters that vicinity without hesitation. If you were to go up there with him in that state, he'd probably one-hit kill you."

Rias looked back up at where Kokabiel was fighting and noticed the dwindling numbers of the defense force.

"...So are we supposed to just sit back and watch while he kills them all?"

"That's right."

"..?!"

Rias reluctantly backed down in accordance with Issei's command, but she was clearly upset about it. She isn't the type of character to passively watch her own people die, after all.

"...How can that be…"

Issei looked up with a grim expression and stated it morbidly.

"Besides… He'll be done soon anyway.."

—Up in the sky that the ORC was observing, Kokabiel has decimated the Yondai-Maou defense force. What was once an army of approximately three hundred Devils - has now been reduced to the point where there are only a mere 22 Devils left.

SLICE!

BOOM!

ZIN!

With only a few more varied methods of attack, Kokabiel reduced that already small number down to 14. They were indeed cannon fodder to him.

"Damn you, Kokabiel!"

"Nahahahahaha! What's wrong, commandant?! Didn't you say you would repay me in full for your comrades' deaths?! Where are those hungry words of retribution you were spitting only minutes ago?! From what I can see, you haven't repaid me at all for that! If anything, I've only racked up even more of a debt with the corpses scattered all about this academy right now! What say you now, chosen Devil of the Yondai-Maou?!"

The Devil commandant growled in frustration. The situation was far worse than he thought. Kokabiel's earlier slight wasn't entirely incorrect, unfortunately. It's true that since the Great War, the quality of High-Class Devils has gone down considerably. In times of "peace" or armistice, different peoples and their armies inevitably get weaker. This result was clear evidence of that fact.

"How disappointing, commandant. I was sure that I'd get more than a few scratches out of this. But it looks like all of the strongest Devils really are just in the [Rating games] now. The best of best, the true High-Class and Ultimate-Class warriors wasting their time in some stupid tournament of "games." How sad is that? I'm glad to be correcting that soon. Although, I'll give you props for these hits you gave me, commandant."

Kokabiel gestured to a bleeding gash in his right bicep, then to a red mark on his left cheek.

"This cut here is pretty deep, it'll certainly scar once it's healed. A good way to remember the day I restarted the war. And this hit right here, this'll bruise, for sure. I commend your efforts, commandant. Amongst all of these pretenders, you are certainly the only one who is deserving of the title "High-Class." Your leadership skills are nothing to scoff at either. You've earned my praise. But unfortunately, it seems like you won't live to see this Great War through. I suppose it's only fitting that the second one is the one that kills you. It's not a death to be ashamed of. Die proudly knowing that you lived to see this day and did everything you could to stop me. I do hope that they remember you once you're gone."

"We aren't finished yet, Kokabiel! We'll fight down to the very last of us! If we die here, then so be it, but we'll wipe that overconfident smirk off your face before we do! We'll make sure that you have no chance of running away from Satan's wrath!"

Kokabiel sighed, as if feeling pity towards the Devil. But his pity was soon replaced with a crazed smile.

"It's a good thing that I don't plan on running then, commandant!"

ZIN ZIN ZIN!

With one quick swipe of his arm, Kokabiel sent out three spears of light at bullet speed and skewered three separate Devils. Now there were only 11 left.

"Take this!"

The Devil commandant shot a tornado-like vortex out of a magic circle towards Kokabiel, enveloping the Fallen-Angel. He then enhanced the technique by creating a magical fire that combined with the vortex, creating a tornado of flames.

Fooooooooooooooom!

Kokabiel defended against the attack with his wings and laughed.

"Hahahahahahaha! Come on, commandant! This didn't work the first time, why would it work now?! My wings have a natural resistance to flames thanks to my history, I'll have you know!"

Kokabiel retracted one of his hands and spawned a light spear. He threw the spear with a mighty thrust, causing it to shoot through the vortex and split it along the way.

The Devil commandant hardly dodged the speeding light spear and suffered a slash against his side. More unfortunate for the five Devils behind him, the spear continued past him and even dispersed into dozens of smaller daggers of light. Those five Devils were then riddled by the shrapnels of light, tearing holes through their bodies and killing them.

"GUAAH!"

The five Devils fell from the sky, leaving their commandant with only 6 other Devils to support him.

"Damn it all!"

The Devil commandant created another multitude of magical circles, this time around Kokabiel. Sharp, magical wings began to blow out from the magical circles, almost bumping Kokabiel's body around slightly. Kokabiel chuckled at the attempt.

"Hahaha! What's this? Are you trying to knock me over, commandant? I'm not sure I'd drop dead from that, but a good try nonetheless!"

Kokabiel was laughing confidently, but he didn't notice the movement of the winds become more and more focused as the attack went on. It wasn't until Kokabiel was surrounded that he realized it.

"Hm? Oh! Haha, how quaint!"

The magical winds focused themselves entirely around Kokabiel, containing him in what looked like a "sphere" of powerful winds.

"Are you planning to hold me here until your Maou arrives? I'm sorry to say it, but something like this won't do if that's your strategy."

The Devil commandant ignored Kokabiel's taunts and ordered his last soldiers to follow his lead.

"Your demonic powers, men! Use whatever you've got left, now! Shoot it into the rotation!"

The Devils followed their commander's orders and shot out their greatest demonic powers towards the sphere. Instead of being destroyed, the demonic attacks were absorbed into the spherical mass, causing it to shift into different colors as the demonic energy flowed all around.

"Oh? You were able to absorb the demonic power instead of destroying it? Remarkable! Only a veteran with an expert amount of control can pull something like that off. Now THIS is a battle befitting of the Great War! You've got my blood pumping, commandant! What will you do now, crush me—"

Kokabiel's rambling was cut off by a short bombardment of demonic attacks. The absorbed demonic energy that circled the sphere was shot out from all around and shot at Kokabiel who was in the center of the sphere.

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

When the attack ceased, Kokabiel wiped his hair out of his face and smiled. His head was bleeding somewhat.

"..You didn't just absorb the demonic energy, you synergized it with your own attack and utilized it against me after it was taken in! This level of control..! What you lack in power, you make up for in skill, commandant! A level of control so expertly refined as this..! Only the current Lucifer and Beelzebub have demonstrated greater control than this amongst the Devils! You truly are something special—"

Again, Kokabiel was rudely interrupted by another volley of attacks from within.

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

Despite this, Kokabiel's insane expressions of exhilaration continued.

"Hehehehe… Do you have any idea how happy I am right now, commandant? I'm elated! I'm ECSTATIC! I'M OVERJOYED! There could be no better way to begin the Great War anew than this! I'm grateful to have fought against a Devil like you again! My passion for war was far from dead, and yet I feel as if it's been rekindled and set ablaze even stronger than ever before! They're going to remember you, commandant! I'll make sure of it! In the future, a new bible shall be transcribed, the codex of the Fallen-Angels! And you shall be written in it! I'll make sure of it, commandant! Mark my words, you will—"

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

Kokabiel was interrupted for the final time. After the final volley of attacks, a maniacal grin stretched from ear to ear on his face. Then, for some reason, Kokabiel covered himself in his wings and began rotating in place.

"He's spinning?"

Inside of the sphere, Kokabiel had begun rotating like a spinning top, at an even faster pace than the sphere itself. His voice echoed from the inside.

"Don't you remember, commandant? I was once known as the [Wings of Terror] during the Great War! Out of all the Fallen-Angels, it was I who was the most proficient at using his wings and feathers for individual attacks! That's why, using something like wind against a being like me, as proficient as you may be, IS FOLLY!"

(—?!)

"TAKE COVER!"

The Devil commandant ordered his remaining soldiers, but it was too late.

Kokabiel's spinning culminated into him expanding his wings and a powerful gust of wind being released. The blowout was so powerful that it destroyed the magical sphere, causing the trapped demonic powers to shoot out in different directions.

—And just as Kokabiel intended, the demonic powers collided with the remaining Devil soldiers, blasting fatal holes through their bodies. They were essentially killed by their own attacks.

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

One of the stray demonic powers also hit the Devil commandant, blowing his left arm entirely off his body.

"GUH!"

As if his world slowed to a crawl, the Devil commandant watched the bodies of his last remaining soldiers fall out of the sky like zapped flies, and he saw the mad grin on Kokabiel's face grow even further.

"—And so, history repeats itself. Aye, commandant?"

The Devil commandant was frozen in time.

"It's alright, commandant. I won't let it end like last time. You deserve my respect. This time, the story will have an honorable end to it."

Before the commandant knew it, there were spears of light flying straight towards him.

".?!"

He tried his best to defend, but the spears broke though his one handed barrier without difficulty. And as such, his body was pierced by every single one.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

"GUHA—!"

His life ended in an instant.

Foom!

—Down below, Rias suddenly took off into the sky.

"Rias, NO!"

Issei quickly followed after her, but she was still able to fire off a blast of demonic power before Issei could reach her.

"Kokabiel!"

DOOONN!

It was a powerful blast, but Kokabiel still blocked it with ease. It only took one hand. Because he was lost in the moment, Kokabiel almost didn't realize that he had blocked it. But as Rias would find out, Kokabiel hated when a good moment was interrupted.

"...WORM."

Chills!

Kokabiel glared down at Rias with a palpable killing intent, causing her to freeze in place. He then unhesitantly shot a light spear the size of a truck at the girl.

ZIN!

"RIAS!"

Issei collided with Rias at full speed to push her out of the way. The spear scraped by them only by a hair's length, crashing into the gymnasium below. The moment the collision happened, the academy grounds shook and the gymnasium was destroyed entirely.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Issei and Rias landed on the ground harshly after Issei's midair tackle. If Issei had collided with Rias any harder than he did, he might've broken a few of her bones.

Rias stammered in her speech from underneath him.

"Ise…. I-I'm sorry… I didn't listen and.."

"—Are you alright?"

That was all Issei asked with a concerned face.

"..Y-Yes, I'm fine.."

"Good."

Issei removed himself from atop Rias and glared up at the warmonger Fallen-Angel.

"Fucking hell…"

As Issei cursed the situation, Rias was left speechless. After Issei stood up, she immediately took notice of the giant, profusely bleeding gash on Issei's back. It was where the spear had nicked him.

"Ise.."

Rias felt an overwhelming sense of guilt overcome her. Issei, on the other hand, simply observed Kokabiel with a keen eye.

"Ugh… That was rash."

Kokabiel rubbed the bridge of his nose irritatedly, as if he had just woken up from a daze.

"I almost killed the Devil-king's sister there on a whim. That wouldn't have been very interesting for the long run. I really can't control myself when I get like that. I'll apologize for that, Sekiryuutei. I must've gotten lost in the moment. I hate when a good time is ruined, you know? I acted out of anger for that. My bad."

Issei scowled in annoyance with the self-indulgent Fallen-Angel.

"...Hmph… "My bad", he says… Fucking prick."

Kokabiel descended a bit, bringing himself a bit closer to the ground, but still floating high enough above everyone else.

"Hmm.. It looks like you were able to defeat that Cerberus after all, huh? Well, I suppose that's to be expected. In the end, it was only a "copy" so it can't be expected to live up to the real deal. It's supposed to be at least half strength, but I feel like that might not have been the case this time. Perhaps the performance of the Sacred Gear is dependent on how powerful the user is as well? Bah, whatever. These aren't questions I should be asking anyway. I'll leave those sorts of analyses to Azazel."

Kokabiel shook his head in annoyance and spoke aloud to himself. Issei was questioning his cryptic speech with Ddraig.

'Sacred Gear? Ddraig, do you know of any Sacred Gear that can "copy" legendary beasts like that?'

[No. My past hosts and I have never encountered such a thing. It's a new threat to me.]

'Fucking fantastic..'

As much as Issei wanted to continue questioning Kokabiel's intentions, he felt compelled to focus on how uncomfortably close the Fallen-Angel was to the ground at this point. Kokabiel was only 10 meters from the ground now. Issei had the feeling that the warmonger would soon descend fully and engage in proper combat with him.

Kokabiel must've noticed Issei's staring because the bastard started speaking to him unprovoked.

"Hm? Ah, I can see that you're eager to start already, Sekiryuutei. You'll have to forgive me, but I'm going to indulge in the environment for a bit while we still have the chance. I wouldn't want our last pieces of entertainment to go to waste after all. It's better to watch it before our battlefield is cleared and we can finally have our moment. After all, isn't it in our nature as higher beings to watch the insignificant ones strife and bicker from beneath us for a laugh?"

Issei despised the way that Kokabiel talked and acted. He always hated enemies that went on and on with irrelevant dispositions and meaningless conduct. But more than that, he hates Kokabiel's attitude towards him, because it was still somewhat of a mystery to him. No, it was entirely a mystery. For some reason, Kokabiel seemed to treat Issei with a simultaneous sense of respect and deep hatred. As if the Fallen-Angel acknowledged that they were on a similar playing field, but he also hated acknowledging that fact. Every bit of it implied some sort of shared history..

'Ddraig, you sure you don't remember anything about this dickhead in your past? He seems to have a special hate boner for us…'

[Not that I can recall, partner. Much of my time alive is a distant memory, it's very foggy to me. However, the longer that this goes on, the more that I grow into this lingering feeling that there must be something underneath the surface…]

'Well, with an enemy like this guy, he's sure to let us know about it himself…. But man, do I hate standing around like this.'

"Ise-san!"

The rest of Issei's group including Asia came up to him and Rias. Asia quickly began healing Issei's large back wound. All the meanwhile, Issei was staring up at the distracted Kokabiel, who had his attention on the other battles in the academy.

—In the battle between Xenovia, Kiba, and Freed, the mad priest was holding his own very well.

"Sword Birth!"

Kiba used his signature technique to try and surround Freed in a similar way that he did in their last duel, but it ended up proving fruitless thanks to Freed's fused Excalibur.

"MI ~ MI ~ MI ~ Mimicry~!"

As soon as Kiba's barrage of swords closed in on the mad priest, the tip of Freed's Excalibur split into a bunch of different tentacle-like whips and began destroying the approaching blades.

Break, break, break!

As this was happening, Freed yawned mockingly.

"Ha-aaah~, boooooooring! With this power of mimicry that I stole from the chestnut haired bimbo, none of your attacks will reach me, pretty boy. Your gimmick gets old really fast, doesn't it?"

Xenovia glared at the made priest.

"So you did take her Excalibur for yourselves after all."

"Oh, I did much more than that, bluebird~! Let's just say that if she's a masochist, we had a real good time together…"

The mad priest licked the blade of his weapon in a repulsive manner. The disgust and hatred in Xenovia's eyes increased tenfold.

"You lowly, rotten ex-priest scum! I'll have you drawn and quartered at the church's discretion!"

"Hahahahaha! You think your medieval type executions scare me, bitch?! I'll have you know, my dreams at night time are a lot more exciting than something bland like that! Come on, aren't you Catholic?! I'm sure you could come up with better!"

Xenovia dashed at Freed, but Freed quickly dodged her attack, causing the ground underneath her to shatter with Excalibur Destruction's power.

"Try again, bitch! Nightmare!"

Freed utilized another power from his Excalibur, Excalibur Nightmare, and multiple versions of himself appeared all around Xenovia.

"Clones? Hmph, and here I thought that Excalibur Nightmare was the "scariest" of them all. Looks like the sisters at the Vatican didn't know what they were talking about after all."

Freed started smacking his Excalibur in confusion.

"Eh?! Clones?! Is that really all you're seeing?! I thought this thing was supposed to be way better than that though?! It worked well on the playboy Devil!"

"Looks like your technique is too shotty, rotten priest!"

Xenovia attacked three of Freed's "clones" and disrupted them with a single slash.

"Too bad! Those were faaakes!"

One of Freed's images came up from behind Xenovia to split her in half, but Xenovia quickly ducked and evaded the attack, following up with a counter slash to his belly. The image of Freed was split in half, but it merely distorted as if it wasn't real.

"BZZ! Wrong again!"

Xenovia clicked her tongue in frustration as the multiple images of Freed surrounded her again.

"Tch. Intimidating or not, Excalibur Nightmare's power is certainly a nuisance."

From the sidelines, Kiba watched their battle with interest, wondering why he could also see the visions of multiple Freed instead of what he saw last time.

"Hmm, intriguing. In the past, it was theorized that those who held no specific fears or "nightmares" that related to trauma or their nature would end up seeing nothing but simple "clones." I suppose that's why the exorcist can't see anything special. So she has no true fears, huh… It was also recorded in the data that the user of Excalibur Nightmare could cause those observing the battle to see things as well, but with not as much effectiveness as the primary targets. Hence why even I can see the visage of Freed right now as I watch. You see them too, don't you?"

The one who was speaking to Kiba casually from not too far behind him was none other than the murderer of his family, Valper Galilei. He spoke to the boy as if they were both completely regular people watching a baseball game.

Kiba, realizing that Freed was momentarily preoccupied with Xenovia, made an eerie turn towards Valper.

"...Are you talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to? I may be old, but I haven't gone senile just yet."

The killing intent in Kiba's glare couldn't be any less forgiving, and yet, Valper seemed relatively unbothered by everything.

Kiba began approaching the vile Archbishop menacingly.

"Valper Galilei…. You, for the great crime you committed against my family.. YOU WILL PERISH HERE!"

Kiba charged the unfazed Valper without hesitation, he was only a mere meter away when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"KIBA, ON YOUR LEFT!"

—When Kiba looked, there was a spear of light sent by Kokabiel heading straight towards him.

(—?!)

ZIN!

Kiba threw his body out of the way at the last second, causing the light spear to pierce the ground in front of Valper, who didn't even flinch. But even after Kiba had evaded the attack, Issei still warned him of another incoming attack.

"AGAIN, KIBA, DODGE!"

Kiba didn't understand Issei's command, but he didn't have to. He got away from the light spear as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The spear in the ground lit up and exploded into multiple daggers of light that shot right in Kiba's direction. A majority of them missed him, but two still pierced his left leg and left him on the ground.

ZIN ZIN!

"Aaah!"

Kokabiel snickered in amusement.

"Heh. So you were able to avoid two direct attacks, huh. You're a quick little rat, aren't you?"

As Kiba gripped his bleeding leg, Valper inexplicably approached him and began rambling to him.

"You know, I'm grateful to you kids. It's thanks to your sacrifice that I was able to complete the project in the end."

Kiba growled in rage more than pain.

"..Sacrifice? When the hell did we agree to die for you, you maggot ridden demon?"

"Haha, the Devil is calling me a demon. How amusing. But it really was a sacrifice, you know? After all, it's because of your deaths that anyone is able to wield Excalibur nowadays. It came with a cost, but the gain was so much more."

Kiba gripped his leg harder, causing it to bleed more. But there was no pain for him, only fury.

"Cost? Gain? What kind of man has the capability to look at the corpses of children with such "pragmatic" eyes? You aren't even a human being anymore.."

Valper ignored Kiba's seething growls of hatred and continued with his proud rambling. He might not have been "senile", but the pride and excitement he expressed from explaining his success was enough to classify him as insane.

"You subjects simply didn't have enough of "the gene" to use the holy-swords. I thought that I could increase it by artificial means, but all of those experiments proved unsuccessful, as you know. However, increasing the gene wasn't impossible. I realized this when I used the corpse of that "defiant" boy that was brought to me long before I discarded you lot."

Kiba's eyes widened with horror at the immediate realization.

"...Joshua.."

"Thanks to that, I was able to come to an invigorating conclusion. Feeling as if God himself had blessed me with the fruit of knowledge, I shouted it into the sky: [All I have to do is take out the gene from the test subjects!]"

(—?!)

Valper retrieved something from his pocket that looked like a jewel. Somewhere within it, there was a "power" contained. Was it power, or was it something more? It seemed more like it was "alive"...

"From that point, all we had to do was succeed in crystallizing them, which was a much simpler task. This jewel here contains the genes from that time in their crystallized form, although this is the last one. I kept it as a bit of a momento for my great success."

Valper held the crystal up in the light, as if proud of its design. Kiba only looked up at it in horror.

From where Xenovia and Freed were battling, Freed giggled in amusement.

"Nishishishi! All the other guys than me died halfway in because their bodies couldn't take in all the genes! When you think about that way, don't you think that means I'm super-duper special and amazing after aaaa~aaalll?!"

Xenovia recognized the uniquely designed object even from a distance.

"That's… When a holy-sword user receives the blessing, something like that is put into their bodies…. So that was to make up for the deficiency in genes?"

For the first time, Valper appeared to speak with a tone of anger as well as amusement.

"Those hypocrites! After excommunicating me as a "pagan", they shamelessly use my research for themselves without accreditation. It's because of me that anyone in these decades was even able to wield Excalibur anyway! It's also because of me that those three deserters under Kokabiel's command were able to receive the power that they did! I was able to utilize Grigori's stolen technology and combined it with my research, allowing me to extract and crystallize portions of Kokabiel's power so that those underlings could have a fighting chance! Even after my work is done, I'm still able to make such advancements in my research with the right resources! And yet, they cast this genius, my genius, out?! Bah! Naive fools! Of course, it's to be expected, we're talking partly about Michael here after all. Even if he took the genes out of the succeeding test subjects, I'm sure he didn't kill them. He probably wasted countless church resources to investigate ways of extracting the gene without killing the subject, which only decreases the crystal's percentage of efficiency! For those who aren't scientists to meddle with the proper methodology, it sickens me to my stomach!"

Kiba muttered as he stared down at his profusely bleeding leg, not even feeling an ounce of pain from it anymore.

"...That's what sickens you?"

Kiba struggled to stand up and maintain his balance with a weakened leg.

"There was no need to kill us either… You could've done something to spare us… Is a mere "percentage of efficiency" worth more to you than the lives of innocent children?"

Valper almost appeared confused, as if completely detached from human empathy entirely.

"Hm? What are you saying? In scientific research like that, producing the greatest, most effective result as consistently as possible is the goal. You were all nothing more than the materials used in a top secret project. Of course once the data is collected and the research is completed, there's nothing left to do but dispose of unnecessary materials. You wouldn't keep a sample frog long after it's already been dissected and studied thoroughly if you've already collected the data and drawn up the diagrams, right?"

Kiba was already aware of the depths of the Archbishop's depravity. He understood it just by the evil acts committed upon his family long ago. And yet, still, hearing Valper's cold words of indifference almost completely shattered his heart.

"...What are you saying…. Samples? Data…? My family…. All of their hopes, all of their dreams…. All that they were…"

There were tears falling out of Kiba's eyes.

"..They were just…..project materials to be disposed of?"

From afar, Asia covered her mouth with her hands and wept quietly in sorrow. Meanwhile, Issei's hands trembled at his sides.

"Ise.."

Rias watched Issei's body shake in its place as his voice came out in a growl. His hand was tightly wrapped around the cross on his neck.

"...Devils, Angels, Fallen-Angels, God….. At the end of it all, it's always the acts of man that remind me of where evil truly lies.."

Valper heartlessly tossed the crystal of genes onto the ground in front of Kiba.

"If you want it that badly then here. We've already advanced to the point that we can mass-produce them at greater rates. They might not be of as high a quality, but if there's enough material then the result is the same. It's only the lack of integrity towards science that disturbs me."

Kiba fell to his knees and gently took the crystal into his hands.

"..Everyone.."

—The memories of his family flashed through his mind. Their smiles, their hopes, their fears, their ambitions, their struggles, their voices, their playfulness… All reduced to the insignificant little crystal that he held in the palm of his trembling hands.

As the tears of sorrow and anguish overflowed from his eyes, he brought the crystal lovingly into his chest.

"...I'm so sorry… I should have died with you."

As Kiba held the crystal to his chest, a dim light began to emerge from it. As the light grew, shapes of light began to appear around Kiba's figure.

"..People?"

Issei narrowed his eyes, noticing that the shapes of light were gradually taking forms of people. Issei could only deduce one thing from their appearance.

"His family…?"

[There were times in the past where my past hosts witnessed similar phenomena. Sometimes, the mixture of different powers in one location can bring about certain things. And sometimes, it can happen just based on the influence of a person's heart, their spirit.]

—The light surrounding Kiba took the forms of different people, most of them children. Only one, who stood directly in front of Kiba, appeared to be of a mature age.

《..Isaiah.》

Kiba raised his eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. When he looked up, he saw the face of his dearly beloved brother.

"...Matthew…?"

The ghostly spirit of Matthew smiled softly.

《Isaiah.》

The various spirits surrounding Kiba began dancing around him in a ghostly but innocent manner, giggling happily, just like real children.

And they all called out his name, together again.

《Isaiah!》

Ruth.

《Don't cry, Isaiah!》

Nathaniel

《It's okay.》

Joshua.

《We're right here.》

Tosca.

《We're always with you.》

Thomas.

《No matter where we end up, we'll be together.》

David.

《Even if there's no God, it's okay.》

Joseph.

And finally, Matthew, who smiled down from above at him with love.

《Live, Isaiah. Find the happiness that you deserve. Don't be afraid of it, don't be ashamed of it. We will experience it all from alongside you. There is nowhere in this world that you can go where we will not be with you. Our hearts will always be..》

An overwhelming amount of tears spilled from Isaiah's eyes, more than he had ever let out before. But as he held the crystal ever closer to his heart, he smiled.

"...One.."

—And with a great shimmer of light, the spirits of Isaiah's family began to flow into his heart and the crystal disappeared.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINN!

"This is..?!"

For the first time, Valper exclaimed in shock. He realized it as Isaiah followed his instincts and lifted his arm into the air, shouting it with all of his heart.

"[Sword Birth!]"

Another great formation of light followed, some of it even appearing to be holy in nature. It took form in Isaiah's palm. It was a sword. A sword of both holy and demonic power.

SHIIIIIIINNN!

"W-What?! What is this?! That looks like..! A sword of both holy and demonic powers?! That's not possible! It can't be!"

[That knight has peaked.]

Ddraig stated it with a keen interest.

"You're saying that's his [Balance Breaker], Ddraig?"

[His heart and the hearts of his comrades have all aligned in accordance with his will. He has surpassed the limits bound to his Sacred Gear. That is his Balance Breaker.]

Issei smirked in satisfaction, ignoring the silent tear that fell from his eye only a moment ago.

"Heh. Well, whaddya know. Looks like we've got more than just one thing in common after all, ey, pretty boy?"

As the light from Isaiah's Balance Breaker died down, he held it firmly within his hands. The unyielding hatred in his eyes from before seems to have diminished and been replaced by a clear determination. But there was hope somewhere in his eyes as well.

"Valper Galilei… My family didn't wish for me to live a life dictated by vengeance… I know, because I wouldn't have wanted that for them either. All this time, I've been wondering whether it was truly alright for me to live in their places… But I've been naive. I know that if it was any one of them in my position instead, I would hope that they look on to their lives with hope. I would want them to find happiness, no matter what. Living a life full of hatred, that isn't living… That isn't what they wanted. That isn't what they gave their lives for."

Isaiah began to approach Valper again, but this time, there was no menace in his step. And yet, it was only this time that Valper seemed somewhat frightened.

"But I felt like I had to defeat the evil before me… So that there were no others like us… No, I feel that way even now. That's why, I will still do what must be done. But not for vengeance. Not for myself."

In an uncharacteristic act of desperation, Valper called out for Freed.

"Freed!"

"Roger, bossman!"

Freed responded immediately and landed in between the two.

"H-Heh, fool. You should've just let yourself be disposed of like the rest."

Valper said it unconfidently as he remained behind Freed. From the sidelines, Isaiah heard Issei's voice.

"Kiba!"

When he looked, he saw Issei standing there with a rarely seen smile.

"We made a promise, didn't we? Destroy the Excaliburs. If it's the two of us… No, if it's you, then I know you can pull it off."

"Ise-kun.."

Rias delivered a similar sentiment as well.

"Do it, Yuuto. As well as your own family, you are part of my family, the Gremory family. You are the [Knight] of Gremory. No Knight of mine would lose to something like Excalibur."

The rest of Isaiah's friends cheered him on.

"Yuuto-kun, we believe in you!"

"Fight!"

"Kiba-san!"

Even Tsubaki and crying Saji from the Sitri clan cheered for him.

"Y.. You can do it!"

"Uuoooooooooooh! Kibaaaa! Beat the shit out of that lousy priest and that crazy old bastard, pretty boy! Sniff, sniff! Take 'em dooooooooown!"

Isaiah felt his heart warm over everyone's support for him. Freed mocked the display.

"What's this moving scene that you're all creating? Just listening to it makes my skin crawl~ I can't take it anymore! I need to hurry up and cut you all into pieces so I can feel better!"

Isaiah looked down at his newly formed sword and noticed the jewel in its hilt, which resembled the crystal he absorbed into his heart.

"Heh."

He smiled briefly before fearlessly pointing his sword towards Freed.

"Sword of the Betrayer, a sword vested with both Holy and Demonic powers! Stop it if you can!"

Xenovia landed beside Isaiah.

"Rias Gremory's Knight. Are we still on the same side?"

"That's what I'd like to think."

"Good. Then let us destroy that Excalibur together."

"Is that really okay?"

"Yeah. At this point, even though it's the Excalibur, I don't know that it can be called a holy-sword any longer."

"I understand."

Xenovia planted her Excalibur Destruction into the ground and raised her hand to the side. She then began chanting something which made Isaiah's skin tingle.

"—Peter, Basilius, Dionysius, and the blessed Virgin Mary—! Please hear my prayers!"

Suddenly, something which resembled a tear in space beside her, opened.

TEAR!

And from out of that place, a sword larger than even Excalibur Destruction emerged. With a blue blade and golden accents, the sword emerged while covered in chains.

"In the name of the saint living in this blade… I set you free!"

Xenovia retrieved that sword by the hilt, destroying the chains that held it in place and wielding it properly.

"—Holy-sword [Durandal]!"

[—?!]

"A holy-sword?!"

As Isaiah exclaimed his shock, Xenovia explained the sword.

"A sword on par with Excalibur, said to cut everything in this world."

Once again, Valper expressed an unfitting moment of shock.

"That's impossible! My research didn't go into how to use Durandal!"

"Unlike Kiba or Irina, I'm one of the few naturals."

"Natural? One who is perfectly suitable from birth, otherwise known as a true holy-sword user!? That can't be! Wasn't it said that the only true holy-sword user for this generation was already found?! Marie Bellerose, the Blade of Rouen! It was I who discovered her potential in the first place! There can't be two of you!"

Xenovia smiled confidently.

"Unlike the Blade of Rouen, my true nature was kept a secret by the Vatican when I was discovered. You're a man of science, Valper. You know something about probabilities, don't you? It may be extremely unlikely, but it's not impossible for things like this to occur, right? Heh."

Valper lowered his head in sudden contemplation. He started muttering incoherently to himself.

"Two natural holy-sword users… A holy and demonic sword…. These impossible circumstances… No, theoretically, they aren't impossible, are they?"

Xenovia lifted her giant blade and stated it firmly.

"This wild guy cuts to pieces anything he touches. He doesn't always listen to me, either. Besides that, he's infinitely dangerous if he's not shut up in another space."

Freed mocked Xenovia's explanation before quickly attacking using Excalibur's mimicry ability.

"Haaah?! Is there really even such a thing?! Stop bragging about your dick length if it's just for show!"

The tip of Freed's Excalibur morphed into malleable points like whips, the same as before, and went towards Xenovia. However, she easily destroyed the whips that attacked her with Durandal.

Break, break, break!

"And here we have a super-dramatic plot twist!?"

"Yours is just a broken holy-sword, it's no match for my Durandal!"

Freed dodged Xenovia's counter-attack, feeling the sudden pressure in his position.

"That kind of character trait is unnecessary!"

"That sword—!"

Isaiah appeared behind Freed, ready to strike without warning. He and Freed clashed, with Isaiah clearly having the upper hand.

"—isn't enough to sever our hopes!"

ZIN ZIN ZIN!

And with one well placed and well timed strike, Isaiah destroyed Freed's Excalibur.

BREAK!

"It broooooke?!"

Freed exclaimed in shock as his sword shattered in his hands.

"Y-You've got to be kidding me! Me, the great Freed Sellzen, has been defeated by… by..! BY A FUCKING SHITTY PLAY BOY DEVIL FAAAAG—?!"

Freed's yell of anger was interrupted harshly by Xenovia.

STAB!

Her Durandal was plunged straight into Freed's torso, with the other half of it popping out from his back.

"—A devil and an exorcist. Your two worst enemies."

Xenovia retracted the blade from Freed's body, allowing him to die on the floor.

Thud!

"You can continue screaming in hell, traitor."

Isaiah then turned toward Valper for the last time.

"Valper Galilei... Prepare yourself."

Valper, however, still appeared to be lost in his own little world.

"..Yes, in theory, the fusion of both holy and demonic elements, two polar opposites, it's impossible… That possibility is only tangible under specific circumstances.. The balance of these two traits must be undone. But for that, the source, the origin point which maintains it must be.."

Valper's eyes widened to the umpteenth degree and he shouted into the sky, as if coming upon a world changing revelation.

"THAT'S IT! If the balance between the holy and demonic is disrupted, it could be possible! Because the circumstances for that would have to be..! Yes, YES! THAT MEANS THAT NOT ONLY THE DEVIL, SATAN, BUT EVEN GOD HIMSELF HAS—!"

ZIN!

Unexpectedly, Valper's body was pierced straight through by a spear of light. It was Kokabiel's.

[—?!]

"Valper, you were a truly talented man. Your aptitude must have helped you reach that conclusion."

Isaiah looked down at Valper, who was hunched over and still had his final breaths of life in him. For some reason, it looked as if Valper was trying to reach out to Isaiah.

"...G...od…..has…."

Slice!

With one quick swipe of his sword, Isaiah decapitated Valper, quickly ending the man's misery.

Within himself, Isaiah felt unsettled. He didn't know why, but it felt as if Valper was trying to say something important. As if his last dying wish as a scientist was for the world to know what knowledge he had just discovered, and Isaiah could see the final bit of desperation in the old man's eyes. That was the sense Isaiah got from it and it was disturbing him greatly.

"What in the world was he…"

Rias shouted at Kokabiel, suspicious of his dubious action to kill Valper.

"Kokabiel, what on earth are you trying to do?"

"Hmm… I suppose that just leaves my underlings versus Sekiryuutei's underling over there, huh."

"Answer me, Kokabiel!"

Kokabiel completely ignored Rias's calls and instead focused on the ongoing conflict between the four former Fallen-Angel allies.

"Leave him, Rias."

"But, Ise.."

"We'll be getting his undivided attention soon enough."

Seeing no other option, Rias resigned herself to watching the scuffle between the four Fallen-Angels, as Issei and Kokabiel both have.

—In the battle between Raynare and her former companions, it was Donasheek's side that had the advantage.

Boom, boom, boom!

Raynare evaded an especially explosive set of light spears tossed her way. Unlike her former allies, she was grounded. She dodged and attacked from the ground using only her legs for rapid movement.

A few weaker light spears came down towards Raynare, this time being sent by Kalawarner and Mitlet. Instead of dodging these, Raynare deflected them using her own light spear that she was keeping in hand.

DIN DIN DIN!

She defended against those attacks with only a few quick swipes. In her training with Issei, she not only focused on physical ability, but also the refinement of her spears. Thanks to that training, she's able to focus a greater amount of power in her individual spears, making her spear far more durable than practically any one that her attackers are using. On top of that, she has a considerable pool of stamina thanks to her training as well. Unlike her former allies, she's only just broken a sweat during the ten minute ordeal.

Donasheek's side still had the power advantage, but neither side had done significant damage to the other.

As their duel came to a momentary pause, Raynare attempted to get through to her comrades again.

"Haven't you had enough already? Let's stop this meaningless conflict and talk! We can work things out, I know it!"

"The time for talking is over, Raynare! Now, there is only the war.."

"You say that, but you haven't tried to seriously kill me even once, have you?... I can tell that you're still holding back. Even you, Donasheek."

"You're mistaken. That's only the lie you want to believe in to make things easier for you. You're a stubborn fool who doesn't realize what position she's in, Raynare."

The longer this goes on, the more that it sets in for Raynare that she won't be able to save Donasheek. His will is too firm. There isn't even an ounce of leeway in his heart, he is resolved to do what he thinks he must do.

Raynare looked up at Kalawarner and Mitlet's eyes.

'But those two are different… I can still save them. I just need to play this right..'

Raynare prepared herself for the final attempt to convince her former allies. Hopefully not "former" for long.

"I can see it in your eyes, you know? Your sense of confusion, your sense of uncertainty.. I know that you're lost, even now! I know that you realize that these aren't your ideals at all, you're just living through the will of a warmonger who wouldn't care if you died right here, right now. There's more to life than this suicidal pursuit of death and destruction! Trust me, I know.."

In truth, Raynare was communicating only to Kalawarner and Mitlet at this point. Even so, Donasheek retorted.

"Trust you?! After everything that's happened, you still have the audacity to say such a thing?!"

"Please, listen to me! I know you're lost right now! We can find your place, we can find who you are and what you really want! Together, we can do it! I mean, we're Fallen-Angels, aren't we?! We live by our own ideals, not by the ideals of others! We live by our own wills! Don't live and die for the sake of those who would so easily cast you aside! You don't have to return to Grigori, you don't have to live by anyone's rules, you don't even have to live by my rules! Just please, walk away from all of this! Walk away so that you can find yourself and whatever path belongs to you! Because I can't bear the thought of letting you die like this, for a bastard like him! If you're gonna die, die on your own terms, fuck everything else! Walk away, Kalawarner, Mitlet!"

When Raynare ended her speech, Donasheek's voice came out in a lower, more intimidating volume.

"Mitlet and Kalawarner?..."

His voice gained an ominous tone.

"...You're talking to them specifically…. Hmm... Maybe you know something I don't, Raynare?... Or maybe your eyes can see something I can't…."

Donasheek's suspicious way of talking caused Kalawarner and Mitlet to flinch. The two glanced at each other before looking away. At this point, they had no choice but to say something in order to rest Donasheek's doubts about them, even though they still had doubts of themselves.

The real question that they failed to ask themselves, however, is whether or not those doubts were justified. Perhaps they were still too afraid to confront it…

"[Raynare].."

The voice of the person who spoke was slightly distorted and almost sounded artificially amplified. —It was Mitlet. She was holding a hand up to her neck, where there was a little magic circle. It was some kind of spell that was allowing her to speak even without a tongue.

"...[I loved you, you know?]"

Although it may have been initially difficult to tell, Mitlet spoke with a pain in her voice.

"..[I thought you were amazing. I thought you were everything I couldn't be. I admired you so much, I wanted to be just like you. And I wanted to be closer to you than anyone else…. But when push came to shove, you were nothing like how I'd hoped… Instead of taking the initiative, you cowered in fear. Even to us, the Sekiryuutei was terrifying, but we still didn't give up! So why, of all people, why was it you that gave up?! Why was it you who couldn't move an inch to do what we came to this town to do?! Where did all of your spirit go, where did all of your ambition go?! You didn't even try to fight, you just tried to flee and pleaded using our lives as recompense! You were nothing like the Raynare-sama I admired! You were just a coward who was willing to scapegoat us for your own survival!]"

Raynare didn't have a response to any of Mitlet's grievances. Everything she said was true after all. Even so, it filled her with guilt.

"..[Do you really think it's okay? Do you really think it's fair for someone like you to have the gall to ask us to come to your side again?!]"

"...No. It's not…. But I'm not asking you to come to my side, I just want you to get away from his!"

Mitlet averted her gaze from Raynare's and frowned.

"[Who cares what side we're on anymore…. It's all meaningless in the end anyway, isn't it... If we're left behind, then so be it…. It's all the same anyway…. Nothing changes..]"

Raynare cursed herself internally, worse than she ever had before. It truly was no one else's fault but her own that these three were in this position today.

"Raynare.."

The next person to speak was Kalawarner. Unlike Mitlet however, she held no anger, only hurt.

"...We trusted you…"

"...I know."

"I trusted you…. The two of us….we were surviving together for almost fifty years, weren't we?…. Did all of that mean nothing to you?... How could only one enemy render all of that time meaningless with just a few threats?... I was sure that, even with the possibility of death, we wouldn't betray each other…. The others were different, but you and I… Maybe I was the one who had the wrong idea.."

Raynare could only lower her head in shame, no longer having the willpower to look at Kalawarner face-to-face.

Donasheek planted the final nails in the coffin over Raynare's heart.

"...Do you understand now, Raynare? If it wasn't for your foolishness, if it wasn't for your cowardice— none of us would be in this "unfortunate" situation that you detest so much. In the end, you're the one to blame."

Raynare lowered her head even further. All she could do was hold her head down in shame. At the end of the day, every word of what they said was true. She failed them entirely, not only as their leader, but even as their "friend." No, perhaps it was inaccurate to even call them her friends, because if anything, she certainly didn't treat them as such. Not when it mattered most…

"Don't listen to them, Raynare-san!"

—Raynare heard the voice of Asia shouting in the distance.

"I know who Raynare-san is, and I know she is not what these people say, not anymore! Raynare-san has done bad things in her past, even I know that, but..! But she is a different person now! She is more than her past sins! Everyday I have witnessed Raynare-san's guilt for her past actions! She has constantly been trying her best to be a new person, and she always wishes that she could make up for what she's done! To me, Raynare-san is an admirable person, no matter what you say! And if you can't appreciate the fact that she's trying to save you even now, then..! Then, you don't deserve to have her as a friend!"

….

None of Raynare's former allies had any words for the girl. Donasheek was indifferent and had an emotionless expression. Kalawarner and Mitlet simply turned away, refusing to believe a word of it.

Raynare looked over to where her group was. She had never thought about it until now, but… are these people that she could call "friends?" All this time, she was convinced that her only friend in this world was Asia. But maybe that wasn't the case?

When she looked at Rias, she could see a small smirk on the woman's face that said "I believe in you..." Rias? The one who Raynare bickered and argued with all of the time, even more so than she and Issei did? Maybe all this time, Raynare was wrong… Perhaps she was only just coming to learn what friendship really was, and these people were the ones teaching her.

Friendship, a bond that reminds you that even when things seem dire or strained between yourselves, you're still there for each other in the end.

Yes, that's what friendship is. And if that's the case, then…

Raynare switched her gaze from Rias to Issei. Although he wasn't smiling like anyone else, there was a firm look in his eyes. It reminded her of the look he'd give her when she was feeling her weakest, during their training sessions.

It made Raynare smile to herself.

"..Heh…. You're right. There's no reason to give up, is there?"

As Raynare whispered to herself, a determined expression came over her face.

"Donasheek, Kalawarner, Mitlet."

She lifted her spear of light and then planted it upright into the ground next to her.

"—I'm not giving up on you. Even if it kills me, I'm bringing you out of this. Because I'd like to think that we truly were friends once. And if that's the case, then I have no reason to give up here. I'm going to make up for my mistakes, I'm going to rectify my folly in putting you in this position, or die trying!"

A silence lingered for a moment after Raynare's proclamation. Kalawarner and Mitlet said nothing, but Raynare could see their hearts swaying through their eyes.

As for Donasheeek…

"—Then die, Raynare."

ZIN!

"...Eh?"

Before she knew it, Raynare was lying flat on her back on the ground. In confusion, she tried to lift herself, but found it difficult due to the obstruction in her abdominal area. When she looked at what was in front of her eyes, it was bright and large..

—One of Kokabiel's spears had pierced straight through her abdomen and pinned her to the ground.

[—?!]

"RAYNARE-SAN!"

Asia yelled in shock and horror as Raynare was impaled into the ground, stuck there like a dart on a board. Raynare coughed blood out from her mouth as her allies quickly rushed to her side.

"Well said, Donasheek. We aren't going to be needing weaklings and cowards in the new age. They can be weeded out in the coming war."

Kokabiel stated it coldly as Raynare's former allies floated silently in the sky. Kalawarner and Mitlet were both speechless, but Donasheek appeared unfazed.

"..Yes, Kokabiel-sama."

—Asia, Rias, and the rest of the Devils came to Raynare's side and assessed the damage. Rias looked at the light spear grimly.

"An attack of this level is too powerful for us Devils… If we were to touch it directly, we would sustain considerable damage. That is, if it doesn't kill us…"

Asia glanced at the large spear in horror, but she still attempted to remove it with her bare hands.

"Asia, no! Even if you're human, it can still do damage!"

Asia didn't listen to Rias's warning. She tried to remove the light spear with all of her might, but to no avail. The power in it was too much and her hands were being burned severely just from touching it.

"..D-Don't, Asia.. Even if you're a human, these spears are powerful enough on their own for their light to— Cough! —damage your skin… E-Even if you could touch it, you wouldn't be able to remove it from the ground I'm impaled onto…. It's settled in tightly…"

Raynare explained it weakly as an excess amount of blood poured out from her wound, each of her coughs only worsening the spillage.

"P-Please don't talk, Raynare-san! I will help you as soon as I can remove this spear!"

Despite the futility, Asia grabbed onto the spear and pulled with all of the strength her human body could muster, steam arising from her burning palms as she made contact. Inevitably, desperate tears began to build up in Asia's eyes.

"O' Lord, g-give me strength… Please.."

Rias looked toward Sona, but Sona shook her head. As Devils, there was nothing they could do. Rias looked back, hoping that Issei had a solution.

[Boost!]

For some reason, he was boosting his strength while looking down at Raynare with an incomprehensible expression that Rias couldn't read. What he could be thinking right now, only God could know…

"Hehehe.."

—Ironically enough, they could all hear Kokabiel laughing about "that" in the distance.

"Even now, the little girl prays. How amusing. Even though your Father is missing, your faith still remains as strong as ever, huh."

Xenovia was the first person to call attention to Kokabiel's suspicious phrasing.

"What are you talking about, Kokabiel?!"

"Oho, my bad. I let it slip out."

Kokabiel's attitude only raised Xenovia's suspicion even more, causing everyone else to take note of it as well.

"Answer me! What do you mean by [your Father is missing]?!"

Kokabiel started laughing. Soon, that laughter became a full blown cackle.

"Hehehehe…. Hahahaha! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's right, I'm trying to start a war here! What's the point in even hiding it any longer? What a pathetic force of habit, haha!"

—Kokabiel then revealed the greatest and most secret truth in the world, all with a maniacal grin stretched across his face.

"IN THE LAST GREAT WAR, NOT ONLY DID THE ORIGINAL SATANS PERISH, BUT EVEN GOD OF THE BIBLE HIMSELF DIED!"

[?!—!?]

….

….

….

"W...what…?"

Xenovia fell to her knees in shock.

"That….. that can't be…"

Asia's grip on the light spear stuck in Raynare's abdomen released and her hands fell to her sides in despair.

"A-Asia…"

Raynare was too weak to lift her hand and touch Asia's face.

"God….is dead? That's impossible…. I never heard such a thing!"

Rias shouted at Kokabiel in disbelief, but he merely snickered in amusement.

"Heh, of course, that goes without saying. It was kept a secret after all. During that war, the Devils lost all their kings and most of their high-level Devils, and the Angels lost almost everyone except their leaders. We Fallen-Angels were the ones to suffer the least casualties, but the losses were still great. The pure Angels couldn't increase their numbers anymore, many leftover Angels fell due to depravity from the war, and purebred Devils are rare. All sides have been ruined to the point where they have to rely on humans to survive. Angels, Fallen-Angels, Devils. The leaders of the Three-factions had to seal away this information so that the God fearing humans would continue on."

Xenovia's body began to tremble beyond belief. Even the Devils around her began to have similar reactions.

"Lies… All lies…"

But Kokabiel scoffed, as if bothered by an entirely different subject.

"Not like I care about any of that. It's meaningless to me. —What I can't stand is the fact that with God and the Devil-kings dead, it was decided that continuing the war was pointless! I can't take it! I CAN'T STAND IT!"

At this point, Kokabiel devolved into an incoherent rant of insanity.

"You want me to calm down after raising my first?! DON'T FUCK WITH ME! IF WE HAD CONTINUED FIGHTING, WE WOULD HAVE WON! VICTORY WAS IN THE PALM OF OUR HANDS! BUT THAT SPINELESS BASTARD AZAZEL EVEN DECLARED THAT THERE NOT BE ANOTHER WAR EVER AGAIN?! QUIT FUCKING JOKING AROUND!"

From her place beside the downed Raynare, Asia lifted her head only for a moment.

"...God does not exist anymore…? Then what about the love that is given to us?"

Kokabiel visibly calmed himself down enough to speak again.

"..Heh, well, Michael is doing a good job, you know. He's keeping the Angels and humans together in God's place."

"Archangel Michael is acting as God's agent..? Then… all this time, we've been..."

"As long as the system operates, prayers and exorcisms will still function to a certain degree. Although, not as effectively as before. And if there is anyone listening to your prayers, it's probably just a few select Angels who can't actually do anything about it, haha."

Once again, Asia lowered her head and went silent. Some of the light in her eyes must have faded away.

"With the balance between good and evil being disrupted thanks to God and the Devil's absence, it's no wonder that something contradictory like the "holy-demonic sword" can come to be. Otherwise, it would be unthinkable for such things to mix… I'll continue this war, even if I have to start it myself by taking all of your heads!"

Everyone was left speechless with Kokabiel's explanation. After all, what could be said in response to such an earth shattering revelation? There were no words left to say.

...

"...Hm… Hm, hm…"

Rias looked to her side, where Issei was standing, she saw his body shaking. He was making an odd, muffled sound that almost sounded as if he was crying…

"Ise.."

"Hm, hm…. Hm, hm, hmm.."

But the more the sound continued, the more Rias was stricken with the eerie feeling that it wasn't the sound of crying.

"Ise…?"

Issei didn't respond, he just kept making that noise, progressively getting more frequent and louder. It wasn't too long until she realized…

—That was laughter.

"HMMM— MHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

.

.

.

.

Issei placed a hand over his face and muttered.

"...I was right, huh…"

—In his mind, he recalled the memory of sitting outside of an abandoned factory with Marie Bellerose, after having just discovered a pile of rotting, child corpses. He looked straight at the girl he loved and said:

《Your God isn't listening.》

….

….

"Hehe…. It all makes sense now… No, I knew it already, didn't I? I should've known…."

Issei lifted his eyes towards the truly empty sky. There was a sense of melancholy in his voice.

"...From the beginning, there was never anyone listening…"

.

.

"Kokabiel… We have one thing in common.."

Issei addressed Kokabiel directly, and for a brief moment, a bit of his old darkness returned to his eyes.

"—I don't give a fuck about that either. I just want to erase you from this world."

Despite Issei's threatening tone, Kokabiel still grinned madly and happily at his words.

Sizzle!

A crisp, burning sound could be heard from Raynare's place. Asia had put her hands back on the spear in Raynare's abdomen and attempted to remove it again.

"Asia.."

Asia knew full well that God was dead now. And yet, she desperately pleaded for his aid with a shaky voice, tears freely streaming down her cheeks.

"...L-Lord, please….. Even if it's in a world where you no longer exist, I need your strength… I have to save Raynare-san…. In a world without God, I need Raynare-san the most…"

Somewhere within herself, Raynare felt an even greater pain than the one caused by the hole in her abdomen.

"Oh Asia.."

Rias looked at Issei one more time. He still had his back to them, facing towards Kokabiel.

"Ise… Are you just going to let her die..?"

Whether or not Rias's whisper reached Issei's ears, she couldn't tell. He didn't react at all.

"Asia.."

Raynare gently placed a hand against Asia's cheek and smiled softly.

"It's alright, Asia.. Don't make such a heartbroken face… This is okay…. I know it may sound strange, being who I am and all, but I'm fine with this… From the beginning, it was Asia who saved my life. I always owed you that much. Someone like me… Despite being the person who planned to take your life...you still showed me mercy. You showed me kindness… It was something I never deserved. I, who was a selfish killer, wanted nothing but to be recognized by those superior to me. I wanted my existence to have worth to those above me and I wanted to be worshipped by those below me… And to that end, I dragged my allies into a perilous situation, ready to abandon them at a moment's notice, and I even tried to extinguish such an innocent soul like you who had been left behind by God, just like I was…. This is what I deserve. That's why, I'm fine with this. In the end, Asia gave me what I wanted— No. You gave me what I needed most and what I didn't deserve…. At the end of the day, my life was yours to begin with. It was always yours to take, whenever you needed… That's why, even if I were to perish here, I would be fine with it… So long as you're able to leave this place safe and sound, that's enough for me…. I'll gladly lie down and take my punishment.."

Asia took hold of the hand that Raynare placed on her cheek and held onto it tightly. She shouted with tears in her eyes.

"No, Raynare-san, you're wrong! You don't deserve to die! Raynare-san is a good person! Even if you have committed sins in the past, Raynare-san has changed! You have done so many things for my sake a-and you always protect me no matter what! Raynare-san is not just a heartless person! You have shown me your kindness, your smile, your sadness! Raynare-san has shown me the many sides of herself that no one else has seen! I… I may not understand much, but I know— In my heart, I know that Raynare-san has changed! A-And even if there is no G-God, I know that, if He were listening, He would forgive you! A-A-A-And even if He didn't forgive you, then—then..! I forgive you! That's right! Even if the Lord himself wouldn't forgive you, I do! T-That's why, you have to live, Raynare-san!"

Raynare couldn't help but smile. It took every ounce of what little strength she had left not to cry.

"Hehe…. Thank you, Asia…. Yet again, you offer me a kindness that I don't deserve.. A forgiveness I don't deserve…. But it's alright…. It was only a matter of time before it ended this way. I was never the one best suited to watch over you anyway…. It's only fitting that I end up skewered by the very allies I thought so little of and tried to abandon…. This is my fate."

Asia shook her head incessantly.

"No! No, no, no, no! Raynare-san is supposed to live! Raynare-san is supposed to come back home with us! To our home, to the place where we belong! You have to live!"

Raynare smiled sadly.

"Oh Asia…. I never belonged. You know that. I was nothing but an intruder…. There was never a place where I belonged.."

Asia shook her head even more and, once again, took hold of the spear in Raynare's gut.

"No! That's not true! Raynare-san belongs with me! Raynare-san's place...that is beside all of us!"

Asia pointlessly attempted to remove the spear, once again. And though she used all of her strength, the spear didn't budge even a centimeter, causing Asia to weep hopelessly.

"O' Lord…. Please, Lord…. Without Raynare-san, I'm..!"

In her desperation, Asia begged the only other person she thought she could rely on.

"I-Ise-san! Please, help me! I-I don't know what to do! Please, save Raynare-san! Please don't let her die!"

Issei, still with his back turned, said nothing.

Xenovia, who was standing at the side, looked down at the blade of her Durandal. Although she had reservations about saving an Angel who fell from heaven, she wasn't the type of person to watch someone die when a person was praying for them so earnestly. Besides, God is dead..

Just as Xenovia was about to step forward, Issei stopped her with his hand. After a moment of silence, he went forward with an undisturbed expression and knelt down next to Asia.

As Asia pleaded to Issei with a level of desperation he'd never seen from her before, he looked down at the fallen Raynare. Raynare merely looked back up at him with a distant gaze. She was ready to die. That's right, it was easy to tell just by looking into her eyes. Her eyes said it all.

….

No… Out of anyone else in this world, Issei knew. Her eyes didn't say all of it. There was still something more locked behind them. Something which only he understood, and only he could bring that out now.

That was…

"Raynare."

Issei spoke to Raynare with a straightforward tone, ready, and knowing what needs to be said.

"—Are you really alright with just leaving it like this?"

Raynare's eyes widened slightly.

"..W...What?"

Despite what everyone had previously thought, Issei's eyes weren't devoid of emotion. It's true that he didn't appear afraid or even worried about Raynare, but there was something there, deep in his eyes. It's just something that none of them could really understand.

None of them, except for Raynare.

"Are you really alright with this? Are you fine having just left it alone like this? Despite knowing what you'll miss, are you really okay with this outcome?"

"..What... what are you…"

"Raynare… There's still a lot of things in this world that Asia wants to experience. Many things that Asia hasn't done. —For example, Karaoke. Asia still hasn't gone to karaoke yet. I'm sure she'd like to sing a duet at some point. The beach too. Asia has never made a sandcastle and she's certainly never played in the ocean before. She'd probably build something like a "mini chapel" if she went. And snowmen. Asia's never built one, you know? The church didn't even let her play in the snow when she was a child. She's gonna need a partner in a snowball fight…."

No one really understood Issei's intention with him speaking about all of these random things. But Raynare knew full well what he was saying. And as a result, she found herself lost in the depth of Issei's eyes as an inexplicable swath of emotions started to build inside of her.

"...Raynare. Is it really fine for you this way? Are you actually okay with this? Asia wants to do lots of things, you know. And you….. Are you really okay with not being by her side when all that happens?"

Raynare's eyes widened to their fullest extent and tears gradually began to emerge.

—Suddenly, Raynare's mind was bombarded with the visions of those memories that are yet to be created. All of those countless, priceless experiences which Asia has still not yet had the luxury to have. All of those smiles which Asia hasn't worn. All of that happiness which Asia hasn't felt.

All of these things which, if Raynare were to die here, she would never get to witness…

"I…. I…"

—As Raynare stared into the depth of Issei's understanding eyes, the eyes of the only man who truly understood her, the dam within Raynare burst, and the tears streamed freely down her cheeks.

"I want to see it..! I want to be there for all of it! I want to see Asia's happiness for myself! I..! I don't want to die yet! I want to be with Asia! I..! I WANT TO LIVE!"

Raynare announced her true feelings.

"—Well said."

BREAK!

With one swift movement, Issei destroyed the light spear sticking through Raynare, leaving her wound open to treatment.

"Asia, don't let Raynare die."

Issei commanded Asia while transferring his boosted power into her. He turned away from the two again. Asia's tears overflowed in her eyes and she immediately began healing Raynare's wound.

"R-Right!"

Issei turned his head back to Raynare one more time.

"Raynare."

He said it with a firm, but kind tone.

"If you want to live, then live. If you're so resolute on dying for someone, then you should be resolved enough to live for them too. Live, Raynare. Live, so that we can go back home together and make plans to do all that stuff Asia wants us to do."

Issei smiled down at Raynare, a smile he had never given her before, and said it unreservedly.

"Let's both get dragged along to all of the annoying places she wants to go."

From that point, Raynare's waterfall of tears seemed endless.

"...Y-Yes, Issei-sama!"

Issei turned his attention towards Raynare's former allies, who seemed frozen in time for a bit.

"...T-This is our chance..! We can do something now, while she's down! Even if she's being protected, we can get one hit in at least with Kokabiel-sama's support!"

Donasheek shouted that to his two comrades while staring at Issei. Although he was acting confidently, his body was shaking. It was likely because of the figure of the Sekiryuutei who was shooting him a deathly glare from underneath the shroud of his hair and the blind crow could feel it.

Donasheek shouted in frustration to his comrades.

"Oy, what's wrong with you two?! You, Mitlet, who always had something to say, now you never speak! Even in a moment like this, you say nothing! Weren't there more things you wanted to say to her when you saw her?! Where is your usual gloating?! And Kalawarner, you're always ready to do what needs to be done, aren't you?! Yet at a time like this, you hesitate?! What's wrong with you?! Has the Sekiryuutei truly broken your spirits so much that you two are no longer functional at all?! Just like Raynare?! Don't fuck with me! Get it together already!"

Despite Donasheek's command, his two comrades still didn't move a muscle. In fact, from what Donasheek could tell with his hearing, it almost sounded as if…

"...I can't…"

The voice of Kalawarner came out meeker than he had ever heard before. And more than that, he could hear something falling off from her stoic face.

"...I can't do it…"

That was the sound of tears.

"...Hmm. I see."

STAB!

—Suddenly, Kalawarner was pierced by a pair of light spears from behind. It was Donasheek.

"Then die."

[—?!]

"KALAWARNER!"

Despite the massive hole in her stomach still in the process of healing, Raynare screamed with all of her lungs.

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

Kokabiel burst out into a sudden laughter, entertained by the unexpected turn of events. There must have been an iota of pride in his voice as well.

Donasheek removed his spears from Kalawarner's back, allowing her to fall out of the sky and thud harshly onto the ground.

"[YOU BASTARD]!"

From behind, Mitlet charged Donasheek, but he blocked her attack.

"Grr! So you too have decided to betray Kokabiel-sama, have you? I should've known that you were broken beyond repair after all!"

"[You son of a bitch! She didn't betray you, you betrayed her! Just like with Raynare, she was nothing to you—! No, YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN RAYNARE!]"

As Mitlet fearlessly took on the more powerful Donasheek, Raynare weakly called out to Kalawarner, who had fallen far away from her.

"Kala..!"

Kalawarner struggled to look Raynare's way. Unlike Raynare, the attack from Donasheek went through her chest. It was an attack filled with killing intent.

"Kala!"

Once again, Raynare called out for Kalawarner, this time with more power in her voice.

Kalawarner was able to muster up the strength to reach out for Raynare with her blood smeared hand. But it was only a matter of time.

"...Ray….nare.."

With her final breath, Kalawarner uttered Raynare's name. And…

"...Kala?"

—A moment later, Kalawarner's hand fell limply to the floor and the life faded from her eyes..

"KALAAAA!"

Raynare hopelessly cried out for Kalawarner as Asia continued Raynare with tears in her eyes. In the duel between Donasheek and Mitlet, Mitlet realized her comrade's death and paused.

"[Kalawarner..]"

Donasheek took advantage of Mitlet's hesitation and slashed at her, cutting her chest open.

ZIN!

"Aaah!"

The cut wasn't enough to kill Mitlet, but it would certainly leave a mark.

"Damn, too shallow! The next one will kill you, traitor!"

While Mitlet was recovering, Donasheek dashed at her again, ready to kill her with his next strike. However—

ZIP!

"Wha—?!"

The Sekiryuutei appeared in between the two and interrupted the Fallen-Angel's attack. Issei parried Donasheek's spear with his Boosted Gear and quickly raised his clasped fists, slamming down over Donasheek's head and sending him straight into the earth.

DOOOOONNN!

Donasheek lost consciousness upon impact. His body lied there unconscious for the moment. Had he maintained the same power level as when he and Issei first met, that slam would've easily killed him.

"Rias!"

Issei called out to Rias from the sky with a serious gaze.

"If there was any time that you could do a favor for me, that would be now!"

"What do you.."

For a moment, Rias didn't understand, but she soon came to the realization.

"Ise… Are you saying what I think you are?"

"I'll take responsibility for it if it goes south later. Just do what you have to do."

Rias nodded and reached into one of her skirt pockets. She whispered to herself with a smirk.

"..You've really changed, haven't you, Ise?"

The item that she brought out was a uniquely designed, velvet bag containing some mysterious objects.

"And how exactly do you expect to take responsibility for something like this, human named Ise?"

Rias said it jokingly, but Issei responded seriously.

"I'll figure something out."

Rias then turned to Raynare and asked the Fallen-Angel for her permission.

"Raynare. Is it alright?"

Raynare realized what Rias was asking when she looked at the bag. She recognized it vaguely, and the crest of Gremory on the outside of it said enough. Raynare glanced over at the deceased body of Kalawarner and held back her tears. She nodded reluctantly.

"..Do it."

With Raynare's confirmation, Rias walked over to Kalawarner's body.

"Hoh?"

Kokabiel observed the situation keenly once he noticed the item that Rias retrieved from the bag: three crimson colored chess pieces, specifically pawns.

"Hmm. Only two, huh?"

Rias placed one of the three pawn pieces back in the bag after noticing it's lack of glow. The other two, she kept in hand. Rias knelt down and turned the body of Kalawarner over, exposing her penetrated chest. She then placed the two pawn pieces on an undamaged area on the Fallen-Angel's left side, allowing the pieces to be absorbed into her being. Once that was done, Rias stood up and lifted her arms, spawning a large magic circle with the crest of Gremory underneath Kalawarner.

SHIIIIN!

Rias then began reciting a certain chant.

"I command thee— Kalawarner— in the name of Rias Gremory, become my servant and once more return thy soul to this world and become a Devil!"

The light emitted from the magic circle increased dramatically, only dying down after a few seconds. When that was over, Rias called Sona over.

"Sona! This girl needs medical attention!"

Sona walked over with her vice-president.

"Tsubaki, take this girl back to my home and make use of the spare medical rooms. She's going to need overnight care so don't come back to this place. We'll rendezvous when this is over."

"Yes, Kaichou."

"And remember, this girl is no longer an enemy, she is now a servant of Gremory. Make sure that you both understand that during and after the treatment in case she wakes up. Don't let her die."

"Understood."

Tsubaki took the unconscious body of Kalawarner into her arms and teleported away.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Rias."

"I do, Sona. I trust Ise's judgement."

Mitlet was speechless as she watched the scene unfold. She just witnessed what she believed was her only ally left in this world die and turn into a Devil. Now what was she to do..?

"Hey."

Issei snapped Mitlet out of her stupor. She immediately flew back and created a distance between the two of them out of instinct. Despite this, Issei bore no ill will or negative intention in his eyes, nor did he have an outward reaction. He simply pointed down towards his friends.

"You need healing, right? Get down there. Asia will heal you next."

For a moment, Mitlet was confused.

"...What?"

"I need you out of the skies. That bastard boss of yours might get impatient again and do something crazy, so go down there with everyone else and get some healing."

Despite Issei's non-threatening suggestion, Mitlet was still equal parts suspicious and flabbergasted. The monstrous Sekiryuutei who haunts her dreams is now telling her to join his allies' side and receive treatment for her wounds. It felt like a nightmare that would turn ugly right before rudely waking her up.

"Mitlet-san!"

From the ground below, Asia called out to Mitlet. She was motioning for the Fallen-Angel to come down as well. Raynare, who Asia was healing, also looked up at Mitlet expectantly, as if hoping that she would come down.

"Mitlet, is it?"

Issei caught her attention again with a serious proclamation.

"Listen. We aren't enemies here. My one and only enemy is the heartless bastard with twelve wings behind us. We may not be "friends", but you're someone who Raynare values. So I can't kill you and I certainly can't let you die. If you understand the situation we're in, then go down there, get healed, and be ready for anything."

Mitlet took a look at everything around her, wondering exactly what she should do. It was only when she caught a glimpse of Kokabiel's indifferent gaze that she realized it. Somewhere in his eyes, there seemed to be a subtle sense of killing intent…

"...[Shit.]"

Mitlet reluctantly flew down to where Raynare and Asia were, kneeling beside them.

"Mitlet! I'm glad you're alright.."

Mitlet didn't say anything in response to Raynare and simply averted her gaze.

"Asia. I'm fine now, you can start healing her instead."

"Eh? But the wound hasn't fully disappeared yet."

"It's okay. At this point, it's a minor thing. Just focus on her."

"B-But if I leave it like this, it could end up scarring even after I heal it."

Instead of being bothered by it, Raynare smirked at Asia's warning.

"That's fine.. If I walk away from all of this with just this scar, then that's enough for me. It'll serve as a good reminder for what happened here. I'll wear it proudly."

Asia was still reluctant to leave Raynare be, but Mitlet interjected while she was thinking it over.

"[...No. Just….finish with Raynare first... I'm fine..]"

That was Mitlet's suggestion. She still refused to look either of the girls in the eye and simply held an arm over her wound, trying to ignore the pain. At this point, she hardly even cares about her physical injuries. After all, it was the only feeling she understood in such a confusing time as this.

Shiin..

Unexpectedly, Mitlet began to feel a warmth over her chest and she noticed a green shimmer from the corner of her eye. When she looked down, Asia was holding both hands out and healing her wound.

"If you don't mind, Mitlet-san, it's a little difficult to treat it with your arms there.."

Mitlet was surprised by the sudden act and looked over at Raynare. Raynare simply smiled.

Mitlet turned her head away from the two, still not understanding the complex mixture of emotions flowing within her. She hesitantly removed her hands from where she was covering her wound, allowing Asia to heal it properly.

"You've got this, Asia."

Raynare placed a gentle hand on Asia's back and gave her some words of reassurance or motivation. The reason why was clear to tell just from a glance.

"Haah, yes, Raynare-san.. Hah, haah…"

Asia was panting heavily. She's been healing life threatening wounds almost non stop for the last fifteen minutes. She's running dangerously low on stamina. Although she's used her powers constantly to heal Raynare and Issei after their daily training sessions, none of those wounds were ever almost fatal wounds that came in quick succession of each other. As a result, Asia is now running low on fumes.

This only further drove the conflict in Mitlet's heart, but she tried her best to ignore it.

—Kokabiel, who was watching everything unfold up to this point, scoffed at the scene before looking down at the unconscious body of Donasheek.

"Hmph.. What a disappointment. This has become quite the borefest already."

Kokabiel sighed in dissatisfaction, disappointed that the atmosphere of the academy grounds no longer fit the description of a war setting. But his disappointment would soon leave him..

"—Kokabiel."

Kokabiel noticed Issei's figure floating in the air across from him, staring him down. In every way, the boy's expression indicated how ready he was.

"It's enough, isn't it? Why don't we put an end to this already?"

Gradually, Kokabiel's face was once again overtaken by an unnervingly happy smile filled with anticipation.

"..Yes, I suppose you're right… We've waited long enough, haven't we, Sekiryuutei..?"

---

FATE

---

"Ise..?"

Rias looked up at the sky, worried about the man she loved, who was currently staring down the big boss of the opposing side.

In some sort of silent understanding, both Issei and Kokabiel descended onto the ground, still standing across from each other with a few meters of distance in between them. Neither of them said a word to each other for a good while.

Foom!

Rias flew over and landed beside Issei, ready to head into battle with him.

"..What are you doing, Rias?"

"I'm going to fight alongside you, Ise."

"No, you're not. Go back with everyone else."

"I'm not going to let you face Kokabiel alone. He's a powerful enemy. You need help."

"No, what I need is for you to go back with everyone else and maintain a defensive position for yourselves. Things are going to get messy and you'll need to take cover, all of you."

"Then that's even more reason for me to help you! We can divide his attention! Like with Cerberus, we can all overwhelm him with numbers!"

"No, Rias. He isn't that type of enemy. That strategy won't work, all that it'll do is quickly increase the casualty rate. You saw what he did before, didn't you?"

"Yes, but..! I can't just leave you to fight him on your own! It's too dangerous! If anything were to happen to you because of him, I..! I would..!"

Issei finally broke his staring contest with Kokabiel and turned to face Rias. He placed a firm hand over Rias's shoulder.

"You promised me, didn't you, Rias? Before we came in here, you promised to do as I say. Are you not going to uphold that?"

"But, Ise..! I…"

"—Are you, Rias?"

Rias's face contorted as her feelings of conflict rushed through her. The truth is, she was afraid, deathly afraid. She didn't want to lose Issei. This became even more clear as she grabbed Issei's hand off her shoulder and held it in between her own. She firmly grasped his hand and brought it in front of her nose, almost mimicking a praying gesture. She then looked up at Issei one more time with an obvious fear and doubt in her eyes.

But Issei's expression of determination never changed. Somewhere within herself, Rias found a comfort in his firm gaze. Rias then took a glance at Kokabiel. The warmonger never removed his glare from Issei, he kept on staring at the boy as if he was the only one true enemy present on the battlefield. This solidified it for Rias.

"Okay…"

Rias reluctantly let go of Issei's hand and unfurled her wings again.

"I understand, Ise…. Just...please, don't die."

Issei smiled.

"Not until I've gotten rid of all the pesky Gremory."

For some reason, that made Rias smile too.

"...Good."

Rias turned away, ready to fly off. For a moment, she hesitated, shooting one last glance towards the Cadre-class Fallen-Angel. Despite her worries, she flew off and joined everyone else.

Foom!

Issei and Kokabiel returned to their silent glaring again.

…Kokabiel and Issei began walking forward, closing the distance between themselves bit by bit. Without realizing, the warriors came to a simultaneous stop and stared each other down again. Now, there was only about 5 meters of distance between them.

"Sekiryuutei— No. Human. Tell me, what is your name?"

"...Hyoudou Issei."

"[Hyoudou Issei], huh… I see. —Then, Hyoudou Issei. Let me ask you something. Do you know the story of the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou, and how they came to be trapped within Sacred Gear?"

Issei was suspicious of Kokabiel's outwardly innocuous question. He had to assume that there was an underlying intention behind everything the Fallen-Angel said and did.

"...Yeah, I do."

"Is that so? Good. In that case, it will be much simpler for me to explain. Say, Hyoudou Issei. Human. If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you a story before we start."

Issei raised a suspicious brow.

"...A story?"

"That's right, a story. You said you know the story of the Heavenly Dragons, but honestly, do you know it truly?"

Issei narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You seem confused. Let me rephrase. I'm saying: Do you know the story of the Heavenly Dragons from the perspective of us, the Cadre-class beings who witnessed their powers and destruction firsthand?"

Issei was perplexed, but that didn't matter. Kokabiel was wasting time with talk, and although it's something Issei doesn't like experiencing, he won't detest it now, of all days. Any chance that Issei has to regain stamina and plan out his approach can't be wasted. He needs every bit of his energy to defeat Kokabiel, even if it means humoring Kokabiel's narcissism.

"Heh. Of course you don't know it. It's not a story that just anyone knows. It's true that many have heard the story, but they don't actually know it. No. To know it, you must have lived through it. It's an experience that can only be known through the eyes of those who were present. Yes, I'm referring to that day... That specific day. When the conflict with the Heavenly Dragons and the Three-factions had just started."

For what seemed like the first time to Issei, Kokabiel's eyes had a morbidly serious look in them.

"The very day….that the Heavenly Dragons first interfered with the war between the Three Biblical Powers through their reckless rampaging."

—And so, Kokabiel's story began.

---

It was a great battle, like always. Unlike some other times, every leader was present during this battle. The Satans, the Fallen-Angel Cadres, the Seraphs, and even God himself.

A magnificent battle.

—Then, in the midst of that battle, they appeared.

A great quake had shaken the earth below us and the air above our heads quivered. Soon, a tear appeared in the skies and through it, the Heavenly Dragons entered, entangled in a violent clash against one another.

The two dragons were rampaging so greatly that their duel had suddenly split across dimensions, exiting and entering from earth into different realms. And so, their battle extended even into our world, the Underworld.

Even in a dimension filled to the brim with darkness, their shadows somehow encompassed the battlefield. The moment they descended upon our war zone, it was ours no longer. Soon, it had become nothing but their personal playground of indiscriminate destruction.

Without a chance for recourse, our battles and duels were halted in an instant. I couldn't even recant to you the number of beings that perished from all sides thanks to their clash that day.

In the bible, it was once said that God had created "myriads of myriads of Angels", and that hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of those Angels fell, with some becoming so engulfed in darkness that they became thousands upon thousands of Devils. This is all true. And those numbers only grew greater until the days of war brought them to an abrupt end.

However, despite still having "eons" of Angels in God's arsenal— those Heavenly Dragons were able to slaughter thousands of every being from each side with merely the swipes of their tails and the weight of their bodies, unconcerned with the "smaller, lesser" ones beneath their claws.

The battle of the dragons was too great, every side had realized that retreat would be the only option.

However, something incomprehensible occurred.

The God of the bible, with divine command ordered his Angels— Nay. All of his forces to attack the dragons. And as if to answer his call, every side turned their ire towards the dragons and attacked alongside one another.

For the first time in all of history, and perhaps truly for the only time, all of God's children and former creations, Lucifer and all, simultaneously aligned their will and forces to fend off the Heavenly Dragons.

But this action alone enraged the dragons beyond measure. The two of them turned their heads to all who surrounded them and said:

[THERE EXISTS NOT A BEING IN THIS WORLD, NOR IN HEAVEN, THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH OUR BATTLE— NO ANGEL, DEMON, OR FALLEN-ANGEL, NOT EVEN YOUR GOD HIMSELF— BEGONE.]

Which of the Heavenly Dragons had spoken those words is still unknown to this day. Perhaps it was both of them. All that is known is that this day, the day on which they had placed their backs against each other and opposed the Three Biblical Factions, this was the moment that these two mighty incarnations of power had truly become: ["The Twin Dragons of Disaster."]

And so, they bellowed their mighty roars which shook even the pillars of the heavens themselves and wreaked havoc across the lands.

In retaliation for our actions, the "Vanishing Dragon" took to the heavens, while the "Oppressing Dragon" persecuted Hell.

The Vanishing Dragon laid waste to the sixth and seventh heavens, destroying the circle of the Seraphs and God's own abode, up to even His Heavenly throne as an insult to Him. And so, the Vanishing Dragon then became the ["ShiningSilver Dragon of Ruin."]

The Oppressing Dragon scorched the earth of the Underworld, devouring even the flames of Hades and the Egyptian Netherworld like they were candlelight. His flames engulfed an entire section of the Underworld, leaving it raging in an unquenchable fire that still burns to this day. And so, the Welsh Dragon then became the ["BloodiedScarlet Dragon of Misery."]

In the end, it took God and all of His Seraphs to deter the Silver Dragon. And as for the Scarlet Dragon, it took all four of the original Satans and the strongest of the Fallen-Angels, including myself to push him back.

It isn't something that's spoken about, but the truth is, during the war, we sustained more losses from that single rampage of the Heavenly Dragons than we ever did against each other. Just the retaliative efforts of the Dragons alone was enough to wipe out almost half of Heaven and Hell's forces, leaving us Fallen-Angels at the greatest advantage in terms of numbers.

At this point was when the three sides came together and temporarily put aside their differences in order to rid themselves of the perilous twin serpents.

You might be wondering, how could beings with so much power end up cut into thousands of pieces and trapped within Sacred Gear? What did it take for this event to occur?

Well...

---

"Hehehe…"

For some reason, Kokabiel began laughing to himself while telling the story.

"Hahahahahaha!"

To Issei, this didn't seem like a good sign. Kokabiel then made a similar face as when he revealed God's death. How fitting..

"Well, Sekiryuutei! The truth is that God died precisely to do just that! That's right! It was the Heavenly Dragons' fault that God died! He gave his life in order to curse the Heavenly Dragons and became an invincible lance that Michael used to slay the monsters entirely!"

[!?—?!]

Yet another shocking revelation. The truth was revealed. God had sacrificed himself in order to destroy the original Heavenly Dragons.

"...God...sacrificed himself?"

Issei inquired confusedly, wondering exactly how such a thing was possible. Kokabiel explained it further while folding his arms.

"That's right. There are many different pantheons in this world that made a habit of mocking the God of the bible, stating that He was always the most self-important. Unlike other gods, Yahweh was the one who was always portrayed as being omnipotent by His followers. The other gods despised the "Jehovah", "multi-omni" image, especially since it was all fluff. In the end, He wasn't much different from the other gods in terms of having a limit. Although, I suppose if you wanted to say anything was special about God, it would probably be His divinity. Because even though God has died, all of His curses and His influence remained in this world. The holy and demonic elements which represented "good and evil", His heavenly "system", and His curses most of all. If you think about it, you technically have more of a gripe with heaven than hell for cursing you, since you're the Sekiryuutei."

Issei narrowed his eyes suspiciously again.

"Curse? What curse are you talking about?"

"Hm? Surely you're aware of the misfortune that all Heavenly Dragons experience in their lifetimes? What, did you just assume that was some sort of coincidence? Heh, no, human. It's very much an intended consequence. Some said that God could not hate, that He was incapable of it. Bah! What a joke. God of the bible loathed serpents after Samael and Lucifer conspired against Him, Samael taking the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden. And the events surrounding the Heavenly Dragons only deepened His hatred even further. That's why, He cursed the "Dragons of Disaster'' just as He did Samael, plaguing them with the greatest [curse of suffering] that He once allowed Lucifer to place on the pious man, Job. It was God's curse as well as His transformation into a lance which ended His "everlasting" existence. As a result of God's curse, every host of the Vanishing Dragon and Oppressing Dragon is bound to lead a life of terrible suffering, by His divine commandment. This is how far the hatred of God of the bible went for dragons, so far that He spared no hesitation in cursing the lives of the countless human beings who would inevitably harbor these beasts. "God is love, He cannot know hatred." HA! If only some of these blind fools of Christain faith understood the truth. Out of every being in this world, it might've been God Himself who knew hatred the best."

For a long while after Kokabiel finished his explanation, Issei was silent.

[...I'm sorry, partner. This was something I had forgotten. Much of my past is shrouded for me, you know this… Forgive me….. If you come to detest my existence…...then I understand...]

At some point, Issei must have looked down at his necklace and laughed.

"Heh… Hehe…. I guess we were bound to hate each other then, huh."

Issei said it to no one at this point. This must have been one of the first times, if not the first time in his life, that he looked down at his necklace with such disgust.

"You know what... At this point, I'm glad the Devil is my friend..."

Issei looked back at Kokabiel with darkened eyes. But unlike his usual darkness, there was an unusual, red glean sitting in the boy's eyes now.

"Well, it's not like I care about any of that. I made that clear earlier. All I care about is our history, Sekiryuutei. You do understand why I am regaling you with this tale now, don't you, Hyoudou Issei?"

Everything that Kokabiel was telling Issei would likely render him speechless under regular circumstances, but in this scenario, he maintained his focus.

"..Is it to stroke your own ego?"

Issei replied sarcastically, but Kokabiel simply chuckled.

"No. You see, human, this story is one from my own past. The past that I have lived through. I have faced the [Dragon of Misery] myself. And although it pains me beyond reason to admit it, I didn't face the beast on my own. But there is one thing that was my accomplishment. Mine and mine alone…. That was.."

Kokabiel grinned at Issei as if he was telling the boy of some mischievous misdeed from his past.

"I was the first to injure the "Scarlet Dragon" in the united battle effort against the Heavenly Dragons!"

[—?!]

"That's right! I, out of every being that comprised the Three Biblical Factions, I was the first to injure the Welsh Dragon Emperor during our "United Effort" against the Heavenly Dragons! Using my power of the "Heavenly Stars of Demise", I damaged the wings of the Red Dragon Emperor, tearing a hole through one of its leathery instruments of flight! I had done it! It was my achievement, my accomplishment! Even God himself hadn't injured the Disastrous Red Dragon yet! Nay, it was I! To hell with what happened afterward, I did it FIRST! Myself, and no one else! It was me! ….However…"

For some reason, Kokabiel appeared to be shaking in fear… No, that wasn't fear. It was rage. A quiet, building rage… With a hand pressed against his face, Kokabiel rambled angrily.

"...That beast… That damned, accursed serpent..! That fucking thing!"

Issei furrowed his brows confusedly, slightly disturbed by Kokabiel's sudden shift into what looked like a maddening level of anger. The Fallen-Angel was recalling something unpleasant…

---

Back then..! Yes, I remember it so clearly!

After I had finally managed to put visible damage on the Sekiryuutei, something which even Azazel failed to do at first, that accursed dragon..!

—It looked down on me.

I remember it so clearly.

I was face to face with its emerald, serpentine eye. A massive organ which dwarfed my own physical size. And in that moment, when it had set its vile gaze upon me…

I froze.

As if compelled to immobilize myself by some unseen force, my body and mind had remained ever still, as the eye of the beast stared me down in anger.

---

"...Grrgh…"

Kokabiel was grinding his teeth in a palpable rage. His eyes appeared to display the sheer insanity contained within his hateful speech.

"THAT WORTHLESS, FLYING WORM! IT DISHONORED ME! IT HUMILIATED ME! TO HOLD ME IN PLACE WITH ITS FOUL GAZE AS IF STRICKEN BY FEAR—! NO! I WAS NOT AFRAID! IF NOT FOR THE INFLUENCE OF THAT ACCURSED AURA OF "OPPRESSION" WHICH FORCES THOSE PLACED UNDER ITS VEIL TO BEND TO ITS WILL, I WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED THERE! EVEN AZAZEL HAD THE GALL TO SAY THAT HE WAS PROVIDING ME "COVERING FIRE" TO LET ME GATHER MY BEARINGS!? WHAT THE FUCK?! I WAS NOT AFRAID! RIDICULOUS! ABSURD! BULLSHIT!"

Kokabiel shouted into the sky with all of his fury, piercing the ears of all those around him.

"[THE OPPRESSING DRAGON]!? THE [DRAGON OF DOMINATION]!? DON'T FUCK WITH ME! NO ONE CAN CONTROL ME! NO BEING CAN CALL ME "LESSER!" I BOW TO NO ONE! NOT EVEN GOD HIMSELF, MY CREATOR, COULD BEND MY KNEE!— DAMN YOU! FUCK YOU! CURSE YOU! SEKIRYUUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!"

Kokabiel released a howl so powerful into the sky that it shook Issei's bones. Even he himself doesn't know of any time that he's let out a bellow of that magnitude. Perhaps after his final moment with Marie, but even then, there wasn't enough psychotic rage contained within that cry to compare to this.

If Issei wasn't rendered speechless before, he certainly was now.

"Haah! Hah! Haah…!"

Kokabiel had howled so powerfully into the night that his lungs were inhaling and exhaling at a rapid pace, desperately trying to catch his breath. It left Issei questioning whether it was Kokabiel's boredom that had driven him mad, like he said, or whether it was actually his resounding hatred for the Sekiryuutei. If it was the former, then Issei definitely didn't want to know how bored Kokabiel was all this time.

After a minute of heaving, Kokabiel seemingly caught his breath and began speaking fairly normally.

"Haah….. Forgive me for that. I can be prone to these outbursts sometimes. Think nothing of it."

'Think nothing of it', the Fallen-Angel said. Forget being an impossible task, that sounded like an absolute joke to Issei.

"...Now that I've revealed this to you, or should I say "reminded you of our history between us", I'm sure you now understand what I meant by this being a "fateful" encounter for us when I said that earlier this night... Do you understand, human?"

Kokabiel asked in an almost threatening tone, as if at risk of losing himself to rage if Issei denied it. But Issei was no coward.

"Yeah, I understand it perfectly."

So he sneered at Kokabiel for the pathetic fool he was.

"You're mad at my pet lizard for making you piss your pants during a fight."

SNAP!

—Kokabiel sent a glare that pierced straight into Issei's soul, freezing him in place. No level of hatred or anger compared to what he saw in the Fallen-Angel's eyes. It was as if the fires of hell were visible in his eyes. Issei must've heard Kokabiel pop a blood vessel thanks to his intense glaring.

Gradually, Issei began to feel the ground around him and Kokabiel start rumbling ever so subtly.

"...Heh…. I see….. Good. Yes, it's good that we can reach an understanding…. I suppose that means we both know what must be done then… Hehe.."

Kokabiel laughed eerily as his aura continued to rise ever so slightly.

"Say, human... Hyoudou Issei. Did you know? As Cadre-class beings, each of us leaders of our respective races has the privilege of earning a legendary title, which are defined by our deeds. Being the Sekiryuutei, you understand that best, [Red Dragon of Domination], [Scarlet Dragon of Misery]... The same goes for us Fallen-Angel representatives. For Azazel, it is the [Ash Crow]: the Fallen-Angel whose feathers would spread across the battlefield and blend in with the ash colored earth beneath his slain enemies' bellies. For Shemhazai, it's the [Owl of Despair]: the Fallen-Angel of wisdom and magic whose watchful eye lacks any blind spots and could catch a passing shadow even during the black of night. For Barakiel, it is the [Lightning of God]: the Fallen-Angel whose affinity with holy and lightning elements was so great, that God himself found his fall from heaven to be the most regrettable out of all. As for me… Would you like to know what they called me, Sekiryuutei? Welsh Dragon Emperor. Do you remember my name?"

Issei assumed that Kokabiel must have been referring to Ddraig specifically this time. Even so, anyone who knows Issei knows that he despises enemies who ramble on about worthless topics such as these.

"I don't fucking care."

Despite Issei's disregard for Kokabiel's speech, Kokabiel still smiled and boasted about it "proudly" (madly).

"Nehehehe— Hahahahahahaha! You remember it, don't you?! That's right! I am the [Raven of Treachery!] The [Dark Angel of the Fallen Stars!] The [Wings of Terror!] The treacherous crow who said not a word to his former, Angel brethren upon their reunion on the battlefield, and instead LAUGHED in their faces as he painted the war zones with their PRISTINE LITTLE BLOODSTAINED FEATHERS!"

FOOM!

Kokabiel extended his wings and took to the sky. He stretched his arms out, causing a multitude of magical circles to spawn above the academy grounds. And out from those magic circles formed light spears of equal power levels. Decently powered, but that wasn't the main problem. Rather, it was an issue of sheer quantity over quality.

SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN SHIN!

Saji looked up at the sky in horror, as did his fellow group members around him.

"...No way…. How the hell were we ever supposed to beat that…?"

—There were hundreds of light spears filling the sky, aimed straight down at the academy.

"Everyone! Take formation! Anyone who's weaker or low on magic stays near the center, anyone who has energy left over or can hold up a barrier, stay in front!"

Rias commanded her group hurriedly. As the Devils began taking formation, she turned to Asia.

"Asia. We need to get you out of here. I'm going to send you, Mitlet, and Raynare to Sona's home."

"What?! No! I have to stay with Buchou-san and everyone else!"

"No, Asia! Only those who can fight properly should stay! Having you here is too great of a risk!"

"But what if someone gets hurt?! I need to be here to heal you all!"

"We can send people back to be healed!"

"NO!"

Asia's unexpected yell silenced Rias.

"No… If Ise-san gets hurt, I need to be here, no matter what… I won't leave him behind just to be safe and sound at home… If you're so worried about me getting hurt… then protect me!"

Asia's eyes were uncharastically determined. Those were the same eyes that Rias had when she convinced Issei to let all of them inside the school grounds with him. Raynare came up beside Asia and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's right, Rias. After all, we're Asia's last line of defense. We're going to protect her no matter what, aren't we?"

Raynare's eyes shared the same firm look as Asia's. Because of this, Rias glanced over towards Issei and sighed.

"Haah… Forgive me, Ise. But I'm an idiot just like you."

And so, Rias conceded.

"Alright! Asia, stay in the center! Everyone, form around her! Protect her as well yourselves at all costs!"

[ "Yes!" ]

As the Devils prepared themselves for what was to come, Issei did the same.

"Suu… Huu.."

Issei took in a calming breath. He could hear his heartbeat thumping at a normal pace, loudly in his head.

Badump…. Badump…. Badump…. Badump..

As he felt his breath and his heart rate stabilize, the jewel in Issei's Boosted Gear began to shine brighter and brighter, as if gradually building in power.

Issei then took the sheathed sword that was strapped around his waist and unsheathed it.

"An Excalibur!?"

Kokabiel was surprised to see the blade that Issei brought out. He questioned why Issei would be in possession of such an item and why it appeared as if it was responding to him.

'The Sekiryuutei is a natural wielder of Excalibur?! That can't be, can it? Was this something that ever happened in the history of the Sekiryuutei? What are the odds of it? No, I won't consider it! But then how?'

Kokabiel then noticed something. The fluctuating aura around the Excalibur and the design of it.

'—Wait! From the looks of it, that sword is Excalibur Blessing. Valper showed me the diagrams of that one before I stole the Excaliburs. It's the Excalibur gifted with the ability to "bless" others and its user with special power. Considering this, could it be…'

Kokabiel's mind began to race with excitement.

'..According to Valper's research, amongst the Excalibur, Excalibur Blessing is considered like an anomaly. Unlike other Excaliburs, Excalibur Blessing has the ability to respond to its user's will, allowing it to "bless" anyone that its wielder recognizes as "allies!" Because Excalibur Blessing has the ability to respond to its user's will specifically, much like a Sacred Gear would, it is a blade that will only respond to the will of its original wielder. It creates something similar to a "bond!" If Sekiryuutei is not the original wielder but is still provided with a blessing, then that must mean that the spirit of the previous wielder developed an unbelievably strong connection to Sekiryuutei and the blade recognizes it! Considering the phenomena that can take place in a world without God, could it be possible for a non-Excalibur wielder to wield an Excalibur? —Yes, but not just any Excalibur! Only this one! This Excalibur is no regular Excalibur after all! It contains within it the power to "gift" others with power— with [blessings!] It could be theoretically possible that the specific ability that Sekiryuutei is being blessed with….is the power to wield this Excalibur! A self-sufficient blessing! So then is it permanent?! —No, not likely! It's most likely a temporary blessing, just as all other blessings the blade would provide are! If that's the case, then one must take note of the blade's aura! Once the aura begins to dwindle, he will likely no longer be capable of wielding it! Until then, I should avoid being hit by it!'

Once again, a maniacal grin split Kokabiel's cheeks.

'How long has it been since my mind has been granted with the opportunity to strategize and prepare myself for battle? How long has it been since I have experienced this thrill of uncertainty in combat?!'

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, WHAT BLISS! THIS IS BLISS! I AM OVERJOYED, SEKIRYUUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!"

As Kokabiel howled madly into the air again, Issei planted Excalibur Blessing into the ground beside him. Then the earth beneath Issei's shoes started to rumble and his body was surrounded by a dull green aura.

RUMBLE..!

As Issei's power increased further and further, sparks of green lightning began to appear in the air around him and run across the ground. Following those sparks of green lightning, cracks ran along the ground.

CRACK, CRACK!

Issei opened his eyes, emitting the same emerald-green brilliance as his Boosted Gear's jewel.

"...Are you ready, Ddraig?"

His partner scoffed confidently.

[Hmph. Let's show him what you've got, boy.]

Issei chuckled.

"...That's the fucking spirit, partner."

—And so, the announcement is made - and the full power of the Red Dragon Emperor was unleashed.

[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire school shook and the academy grounds cracked all the way to the place where Rias Gremory's group stood.

From the place where Hyoudou Issei formerly stood, there was now something more. Something much greater.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!"

Kokabiel cackled erratically as he realized the form which shook the earth below him and even the air he breathed. A familiar tingling sensation overloaded his synapses. Every memory from a millenia long past played in his mind, as if reliving it all just to lead up to this point.

"SEKIRYUUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEII!"

—Enveloped in a green aura which overflowed from every section of his body, there was the Sekiryuutei, Hyoudou Issei, clad in a true red armor. Every emerald jewel on his armor shined, every fine point of his armor sparked with green and red lightning, and the crater below him burned so hot that it almost looked like lava was rising through the cracks.

" [KOKABIEEEEEEEL!] "

As the combined voices of the Sekiryuutei bellowed into the skies, a wave of energy blew off of the Sekiryuutei's body, and Kokabiel launched his attack. The abundance of light spears in the air came down on the academy at once...like shooting stars.

"HEAVENLY STARS OF DEMISE!"

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

—As they came down, time slowed to a crawl for Issei. He took one quick leap into the air and focused every bit of his power into his hands.

[Dragon Barrage!]

Without hesitation, he shot a continuous volley of blasts into the sky, aimed exactly at every single descending spear sent by Kokabiel. The sky was once more filled to the brim with explosions.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Rias Gremory's group maintained their barriers as they struggled to keep their eyes on the scene. At this point, nothing except the light from every explosion was visible. Judging from some of the shakes that the ground experienced, some spears actually made contact with the academy as well.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOM!

As the sequence of explosions came to an end, the sky was left filled with smoke. From what Rias's group could observe near their level, multiple sections of the academy were already in ruins. Their signature fountain and gated entryway were destroyed, and there were an abundance of craters all over the field.

However, the space around Rias and her group was completely untouched. There was only one section that looked as if it wasn't damaged and that was the general vicinity surrounding all of them.

Clap, clap, clap!

As the smoke filled sky cleared up, the silhouettes of Kokabiel and Issei were revealed. For whatever reason, Kokabiel seemed to be clapping with satisfaction.

"Well done, Hyoudou Issei! You were able to stop more than half of them! That's a feat on its own, you know. Although those weren't maximum power output, it's still a magnificent display. As expected, it doesn't seem like you'll disappoint me."

Kokabiel praised Issei, but Issei had enough of the Fallen-Angel's overconfident attitude.

"You want a war, don't you? Then shut the fuck up and fight like a real warrior."

Kokabiel's smile widened. He expanded his wings to their greatest extent.

"A FINE SUGGESTION!"

Then, he charged Issei at full speed.

FOOM!

"Ddraig!"

[Right!]

Issei quickly went back and retrieved Excalibur Blessing from its place in the ground before reciprocating Kokabiel's action, blasting towards the Fallen-Angel at full speed.

[Jet!]

PSHYOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Issei and Kokabiel collided in the middle of the academy, arm against arm, causing a massive shockwave to release from their impact.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOONNN!

The shockwave almost blew away everyone's protective barriers and reached as far as the new school building, destroying every window on its exterior. Upon their collision, Issei and Kokabiel immediately separated and began clashing, Issei using his Excalibur, and Kokabiel using two blades of light spawned from his hands.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Issei was slashing at full speed, with full intent to kill. Kokabiel defended and countered every attack, visibly enjoying every moment of it. In terms of physical skill with a sword, Issei wasn't as proficient as someone like Kiba, but he was not an amateur. As if Marie Bellerose would let him get away with such a thing. Issei's swordsmanship was something Kokabiel commented on during their clash.

"Hahahaha! Not bad, Hyoudou Issei! Clearly you have some experience with a blade! But this level won't be enough to defeat me! Let's see how successful you are in scratching me up with it, ey!"

"I'm gonna slit your stupid fucking mouth open first!"

Their clash continued with Issei nearly landing a strike on Kokabiel's face. Kokabiel dodged the stab and caught Excalibur Blessing's blade in between his swords of light. He then parried the attack, causing Issei's arm to be thrown back and be left open for a mere moment. Kokabiel seized the opportunity and slashed in a downward motion, cutting into Issei's armor easily and leaving an X in Issei's torso.

SLASH!

The cut was shallow, but it still made it clear that Kokabiel's power was capable of damaging his armor. Kokabiel then quickly followed up with a kick to Issei's helmet, but Issei collided with Kokabiel's knee intentionally, cancelling the attack out.

Issei used that brief second his counter bought him to slash at Kokabiel's face. He was just barely able to land it.

ZIN!

"Agh!"

Kokabiel retreated due to the unexpected pain. He had only a second to realize that there was a cut across both sides of his mouth, confirming that Issei effectively did indeed slit the Fallen-Angel's mouth across as he said he would, albeit not too deeply.

"You little—!"

Issei rushed Kokabiel again, forcing Kokabiel to block his attack with his wings. Seeing this, Issei boosted the power of Excalibur Blessing upon contact with the Fallen-Angel's feathers.

[Boost!][Gift!]

The added power that Issei transferred into Excalibur Blessing allowed for him to cut deeply into Kokabiel's wings with his slice, causing many feathers to scatter with his downward swing.

SLICE!

"Gaah!"

Right before Issei could capitalize on the opening created by his successful attack, Kokabiel spawned a light spear behind Issei. Issei felt his instincts activate and he quickly flipped around and destroyed the spear. When he turned around, Kokabiel came up with his light swords to attack again.

Clash!

"So you increased the volume of power into Excalibur Blessing, huh! How long do you think you can keep that up before the blessing ends and the blade starts rejecting you, human?!"

Unlike before, Kokabiel wasn't smiling. It looks like the successful attacks landed by Issei angered him quite a bit. As a result, Kokabiel became more aggressive and went on the offensive. Gradually, Issei was being pushed back.

At some point. Kokabiel was able to catch the tip of Excalibur Blessing again and used the opportunity to disarm Issei, leaving Excalibur Blessing to fall to the ground.

"Haha, maybe you don't have to worry about running out of time using it then!"

Kokabiel laughed in amusement before charging Issei. However, unfortunately for Kokabiel, Issei's performance in battle only improved after losing his weapon.

As Kokabiel slashed at Issei relentlessly, thinking the human might be in a disadvantageous position, Issei dodged every attack and countered through any opening he could find. One missed slash allowed Issei to punch Kokabiel in the face, another allowed him to punch Kokabiel's solar plexus, and another in Kokabiel's chest. Issei continued narrowly dodging Kokabiel's attacks, and Kokabiel suffered the boy's flurry of counter attacks each time.

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

One last punch landed in Kokabiel's nose, breaking it. Kokabiel pulled back with blood leaking from multiple places in his face.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

In his anger, Kokabiel spawned five powerful light spears somewhere behind Issei and had them close in on his back.

[Dodge, partner!]

In accordance with Ddraig's warning, Issei used his jet pack to shoot upward and evade the incoming attack. However…

SHUN!

As soon as the spears reached Issei's former position, they immediately corrected their direction and faced him again, shooting towards him like homing rockets.

(—?!)

[Jet!]

Issei blasted off across the academy's sky, the group of spears tracking behind him the entire way.

"Nahahahahaha! Don't expect so little of us Cadre-class beings, Hyoudou Issei!"

It wasn't until Issei was on the other side of the academy entirely that he redirected himself towards where Kokabiel was. Kokabiel, expecting this development, braced for impact. Issei charged him at full speed and they collided, causing the two to shoot upward, toward the barrier surrounding the school.

PSHYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The two collided with the barrier, causing the academy to shake once again. As Kokabiel's back was held up against the barrier by the grip Issei maintained on his collar, Issei flipped their positions and left Kokabiel's back exposed to the incoming spears. But Kokabiel smiled as the attacks closed in on them. Once the spears were close enough, they suddenly broke apart into many shards of light, similar to previous attacks.

PAKA!

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Three of the spears broke apart into harmless shards that Kokabiel defended his back against using his wings. However, two maintained their original form, allowing Kokabiel to grab them from behind him as soon as they came close enough.

Using these two spears, Kokabiel attempted to stab Issei on both sides of his abdomen. Issei stopped Kokabiel's hands at the very last second, only allowing his armor to be pierced. Then, Issei quickly lifted his legs and pushed them into Kokabiel's chest, kicking the Fallen-Angel away as far as he could.

DON!

Fortunately, Kokabiel was able to correct himself before making it halfway down the 100 meter drop to the academy. Unfortunately, Issei had also blasted off after Kokabiel, chasing after him immediately upon being thrown away.

"Persistent little runt!"

Kokabiel flew at top speeds around the academy sky, evading Issei as much as he could. The boy didn't let up on his pursuit, continuously pumping power into his jet pack as he chased the Fallen-Angel down. Every now and then, Kokabiel would quickly toss light spears back at his pursuer, hoping to deter him. Some of these spears made contact, causing Issei to take considerable damage, but he still never relented. He continued chasing Kokabiel until he caught the bastard.

Eventually, Issei did catch up with Kokabiel. As they were cutting through the air like a pair of speeding bullets, Issei caught onto two of Kokabiel's wings. He then quickly reversed the direction he was boosting in, allowing him to utilize inertia and tear the wings he grabbed onto right off with ease.

RIP!

"GAAH!"

Kokabiel continued flying off without a pair of his wings as Issei fired off two blasts of energy towards the Fallen-Angel. Due to his momentum and his shock, Kokabiel couldn't dodge the attacks and crashed into the ground with a pair of explosions following afterward.

DON DON, DOONN!

"Haah, hah! Haah!"

Issei huffed and panted as a result of exhaustion. This is the most he's ever exerted himself in his life.

"Haa… Ddraig, can you repair the damaged portions of my armor? Haah.."

[Done, partner. But I don't think I have to tell you that you're already nearing your limit. You've never expended this much energy before.]

"I know, haa… But will I still be able to use my Scale Mail once I reach my limit?"

[No, of course not. But I suppose you aren't asking me a normal question, are you? You're asking me if you'll still be able to force Balance Breaker out even after your body starts giving up.]

"Yeah, that.."

[I've seen you break past barriers and overcome your limits many times now, partner. But never to the extent that this event might require you to. Maybe you can do it, but then the questions become: How many times can you do that before the Boosted Gear stops responding to you, and how long can you do it before it just ends up killing you entirely?]

Issei chuckled morbidly.

"Hehe… Well, I won't know till I'm dead, will I, Ddraig?"

[Remember that this is a Cadre-class Fallen-Angel from ancient times. He caused damage to me in my original life and he's a being who has fought in countless battles. If it's a battle of attrition, we will lose, without a doubt. Our type of fighting is the type that suits overwhelming, but short bursts of power. You might be able to overpower him if you put your all into it, but you can't outlast him, not even in your wildest dreams. So if you want to defeat him, then you'll need to do it quickly, all at once.]

"All at once, huh. So I need a killing move of some sort… Do you think I can even kill this guy in the first place?"

["Kill", no. At the end of the day, this is a Cadre-class being with a high level of resilience and durability. I doubt that you'd be able to destroy him. We should be aiming to incapacitate him for when the Devil-king arrives.]

FOOM!

—As Issei was discussing with Ddraig, a cloud of dust shot out from the place that Kokabiel was last at. Issei quickly realized it once he noticed Kokabiel flying straight towards him at rocket speed.

"SHIT—!"

Before Issei could defend himself, Kokabiel collided with him at full speed. Kokabiel then wrapped his wings around Issei's body, trapping him in an iron grip that the boy couldn't escape.

"Fuck!"

As much as Issei tried to break out, Kokabiel's wings were simply too strong. The ensnared Issei was taken for a joyride above the academy until Kokabiel flew over the new school building. Kokabiel took them up as high above the new school building as he could, then spiraling downward with Issei in his inescapable grasp.

"I'm getting real dizzy in here, Ddraig!"

[The jetpacks power isn't enough to break us out, partner!]

Once the two were about 40 meters over the new school building, Kokabiel released his hold on Issei, causing Issei to hurtle down towards the building at an unstable trajectory. Kokabiel was able to stop himself thanks to his proficiency with his wings, but Issei wasn't so lucky.

"Ddraig, I can't stop myself!"

[I can't either! Brace for impact, partner!]

Just like that, Issei crashed into the new school building, leveling a large section of the top floor with his impact.

DOOOOONNN!

Issei struggled to bring himself onto his feet after the crash. Most of his Scale Mail was falling apart.

"Ugh… Fuck me sideways… That hurt.."

Issei grunted in pain. But unfortunately for him, he wasn't given much of a chance to register it all.

[PARTNER!]

As Ddraig called out to his partner in shock, Issei saw the cloud of smoke surrounding his area split down the middle. That's because a large, powerful light spear came down at his location.

"DDRAIG—!"

—Issei's armor took form and Issei's aura covered his body at the last moment, then the spear made contact. With this, the entire new school building was devoured in an explosion.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The academy shook greatly and the field was covered in smoke and dust. But once the explosion and quaking was over, it was quiet.

….

Inside of their multi-person barrier, Rias Gremory's group was silent, some of them not even maintaining their footing and falling over from all the shaking. Their barrier was cracked, but Sona soon replenished it using her magic.

Saji was the first one to say something, with a very bleak tone.

"Oy…. Hyoudou didn't just die, right?... That guy, he was our only hope.."

"Saji!"

Sona reprimanded Saji for his words. Saji only realized it a moment later when Sona looked at Rias beside her.

"Rias.."

"—He's okay."

Rias said it in as confident of a voice as she could, but her eyes displayed her fear.

"...Ise is fine… I know he is.."

During a legendary battle of this level, all they could do was protect themselves until it was no longer possible.

"Ptu!"

Kokabiel spit out some blood and wiped his face. His hand was smeared with blood too, indicating that his face had a lot of it.

"Hmm… Did I kill him?"

Kokabiel wondered to himself. The last attack he sent was in a blind rage, so it was definitely filled with the intent to kill. But he would feel slightly regretful if that were the case.

"...Cough…. Cough, cough!..."

Kokabiel heard the sound of coughing emanate from inside the plume of smoke where the new school building used to be. It was clear to tell with a glance that the entire building was obliterated and nothing but a crater remained. When he looked closer, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of Hyoudou Issei within that crater.

"...Ugh…"

As Issei brought himself up on all fours, he let out a whimper. His body was in pain and his outfit was almost completely in tatters. At this point, his Scale Mail was completely gone, only his Boosted Gear remained. If it wasn't for Ddraig just barely reforming his armor and focusing all of Issei's remaining aura into defense, Issei wouldn't have survived it.

[Partner… I'm sorry, but this is our limit. It took what we had left to defend against that..]

Issei stumbled onto his feet, hardly maintaining his balance.

"...No…. Fuck limits… I need more.."

ZIN!

Then, out of nowhere, a blue spear of light came and pierced Issei's right leg.

[—?!]

"Aaah!"

Issei fell to his knees in pain.

"W-What the fuck..?!"

—When Issei looked at where the light spear came from, there he saw Donasheek with a mad grin over his blood drenched face. He looked half-dead already.

"HAHAHA! Got you, Sekiryuutei!"

Issei was shocked at the Fallen-Angel's sudden appearance.

'He's alive?! I was actually trying to kill him when I hit him, goddammit!'

As Issei gripped his leg in pain, Donasheek shouted with glee to his superior.

"Look, Kokabiel-sama! I got him! The Sekiryuutei is down! Now is our perfect chance to strike and finally rid ourselves of this human nuisanc—"

ZIN!

Donasheek was interrupted.

"K….K..a…"

With an odd noise released from his throat, Donasheek realized that there was a spear of light that went straight through his mouth and popped out of the backside of his head. It was Kokabiel's.

"Silence, fool."

ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Three more light spears pierced through Donasheek's torso.

"Who do you think you are to interfere? You lowly worm."

Donasheek's body collapsed onto the floor, dead. Issei chuckled morbidly at the sight.

"Hehe… "Raven of Treachery", huh…. Never saw that comin', did ya, ya blind son of a bitch. Should've listened to Raynare..."

Kokabiel scoffed and looked down at Donasheek with disappointment.

"Ugh, blind fool. I have no use for malcontent whose ambition only takes him as far as wishing to be exactly like me. I admired his drive a bit, but at the end of the day, there are less foolish and more ambitious soldiers back at Grigori that I can make use of. It's a shame that he was the only one of the three under me that understood true loyalty though. What a waste."

Kokabiel then turned his attention to Issei and sighed.

"..As for you, Sekiryuutei.."

Kokabiel grinned again, but there was a slight tone of disappointment in his voice.

"Heh.. So this is as far as you can take it. Well, for a human, it was a commendable effort, but there's always a limit to lesser beings. No matter."

Kokabiel clapped and smiled fully, seemingly regaining his smug attitude.

"Well done! It was a splendid battle! You've certainly gotten me fired up! I suppose I can think of this as a perfect warm-up to prepare me for my long desired world war! Exceptionally done, Sekiryuutei— No, Hyoudou Issei! Well done!"

Kokabiel lauded Issei in a victorious manner, but he quickly set his sights towards Issei's allies below.

"It's unfortunate, but it looks like I'll have to settle for your allies now. It's sad, really. They won't be able to put up anywhere as good of a fight without you. Well whatever. The sisters of Satan can die here without much resistance, and then when Sirzechs arrives, I'll present him with the head of his beloved sibling! Then, he will have no choice but to start war with me! Now that really gets my blood pumping! It's a perfect scenario! Hahahahahaha!"

Kokabiel once again cackled devilishly, but his laughter was cut short when Issei's battle hardened voice came out from the smoke of his destruction.

"...Limit?…"

"Hm?"

Issei ripped Donasheek's light spear out of leg with a grunt and tossed it to the side.

"...Who said.."

Issei limped forward without care for his wound. There were a few green sparks coming off of his shoulders.

"...Who the hell said…"

And beyond Kokabiel's greatest expectations for him, Issei somehow mustered enough strength to release a battle-cry that reverbarted off of the academy grounds.

"WHO THE HELL SAID THAT WAS AS FAR I COULD GOOOOOOOO?!"

—And with that, another blinding flash of power exploded from within the crater, and Issei's Scale Mail returned.

[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"What?!"

As much as Kokabiel's shock wanted to tell him that it wasn't true, it was. The Sekiryuutei's armor had indeed materialized over Issei's body in full form. Once again, the human's body was brimming with strength like before and he was ready to fight.

"UUUOOH! GO, HYOUDOOOU!"

Saji cheered Issei on from within his group's barrier. Everyone else appeared to be filled with hope again as well.

—Despite this turn of events, Kokabiel's face split into a maniacal grin.

"I see…. I see! I SEE! NOW I UNDERSTAND, SEKIRYUUTEI! HYOUDOU ISSEI! IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN COME UP AND HERE AND DEFEAT MEEEEEEEE!"

Kokabiel spawned what looked like 50 light spears in the sky, less abundant but more powerful than before. This was undoubtedly his signature move. And without hesitation, Issei boosted himself to stop them.

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

As soon as Kokabiel released the attack, Issei took to the sky.

[Jet!]

PSHYOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

This time, Issei knew he could stop all of them, but he couldn't waste enormous amounts of energy. So he opted to destroy the spears that were going to land in the direction of his allies by zigzagging across the air at an intense speed and tanking him with his body.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom!

By this point, all of the structures by which someone would identify Kuoh academy with were already gone. The academy had truly become nothing but a battleground. Issei didn't have any energy to spare, he needed every ounce of it to defeat Kokabiel, so he couldn't defend against the spears by usual means. He had no choice but to stop the spears by taking them out with his armor. As a result, parts of his armor were already broken off, namely half of his faceplate.

[Partner. You've already expended almost half of the overall energy you gained through this current explosion of power in order to defend against those attacks. We can't waste anymore. You need to use the rest of what you have left to try and end it! Use the "Dragon Dive!"]

'That technique, huh? Heh, and here I was convinced that you thought it was too tacky..'

[It's bizarre to have a host who names certain abilities and attacks after his favorite entertainment media, but it's a powerful technique nevertheless. At times like these, we have no choice but to give it everything we've got. Besides, so long as the technique is cool and flashy, our enemies will either burn it into their minds well enough or die from it!]

'That's the fuckin' spirit, red!'

Issei concentrated his energy into his fingers and created miniature shards of energy at his fingertips. The energy resembled light needles that a Fallen-Angel would be capable of creating. Issei released the needles into the sky above Kokabiel's head and began creating more. Soon, the air above Kokabiel was covered by nearly 50 small needles of red light.

"Hoho! So you can mimic the attacks of light made by Fallen, ey, Sekiryuutei? Is this supposed to be a homage to my attack? Amusing! They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. However, it seems like your limit is still just pin needles! Even a child of ours could do better! Even your priestess of lightning who likely hasn't even trained her ability to create spears can do better!"

Kokabiel chided Issei smugly, but even through his half-broken mask, Issei kept a confident smirk.

"Pin needles, huh?"

Suddenly, Issei raised his gauntlet into the air and began boosting his power.

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

While Kokabiel's confusion quickly shifted into suspicion, Issei inexplicably transferred a portion of his power.

[Gift!] [Transfer]

'That's..! That announcement is made at the transfer of power. But from what I've deduced, he needs to be touching another person or thing in order to transfer his power. There's nothing near him. Does he plan to make use of his allies? No, he values them too much, he wouldn't endanger them. Then what on earth is he..'

Kokabiel's instincts shouted at him to look up. He realized it at that moment.

"..!"

Just as Kokabiel expected to see, the needles of light which were above his head rapidly doubled in size multiple times, until they were eventually each the size of Kokabiel's own body.

"He can transfer power to his own attacks even after they've been released!?"

—It was just like the original Welsh Dragon, who doubled the power of his flames even after they had already begun scorching the earth.

Kokabiel immediately started creating his own volley of spears to counter Issei's own, and with another announcement made on Issei's gear, the red colored rain descended.

["DRAGON DIVE!"]

As the spear shaped energy attacks came down on Kokabiel, he made quick work of them using his own spears of light. It took precision and speed, but the resistance from Issei's volley was surprisingly easier to handle than Kokabiel expected. It didn't seem like spears even had that much energy pumped into them… Perhaps Kokabiel assumed too much?

"..Hahaha! It looks like your imitation was nothing but a cheap copy in the end! I daresay that I'm disappointed, Hyoudou Issei. I expected more from such an ostentatiously named technique!"

Kokabiel would never admit it, but he felt a slight relief. Perhaps it was better that the attack was just a fluke..

—What Kokabiel didn't realize - was that the attack was merely nothing but a distraction. The majority of Issei's boosted power went to something else.

"Kokabiel!"

Kokabiel's eyes widened in shock as he heard Issei's voice come out from the sky, but in the area behind him. His blind spot.

"That attack— wasn't the [Dragon Dive!]"

Kokabiel whipped around to look up, seeing Issei descend towards him at an intense speed, with his left gauntlet outstretched in a "superhero" like fashion. The powerful green aura surrounding Issei's body was concentrating itself around him in a peculiar manner. As if it was taking on a particular shape..

"Wha..?!"

Perhaps Kokabiel could have dodged the attack, but he was awestruck by the appearance which the energy around Issei began to take. That form… Kokabiel had seen it before, millenia ago. Yes, that overwhelming amount of aura that took shape and surrounded the Sekiryuutei's armor along with a bounty of flames.….was the Sekiryuutei itself.

It was undoubtedly the form of…

—The Welsh Dragon Emperor.

ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARR!

[—?!]

Kokabiel rushed to defend himself with a barrier, but it was destroyed the instant the Sekiryuutei's attack collided with it. Issei's punch then connected with Kokabiel's abdomen, and the Welsh Dragon made out of energy clamped its jaws onto the Fallen-Angel's body, hurtling Kokabiel into the ground with lightning speed. A tall and brilliant explosion of fire and aura shot out from where Kokabiel crashed.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!

The magnificent crash almost split what was left of the academy grounds in half by causing a break in the earth straight across the school, even extending past the barrier where Issei's friends were located.

"K-Kaichou!?"

Saji exclaimed worriedly, noticing the crack in the earth that had even run past their position and reached the academy's exit, but Sona kept her eyes on the barrier.

"Focus, Saji!"

The more that time passed, the more beads of sweat rolled down Sona's head. They only needed a few short minutes more until the Yondai-Maou would arrive. But how long can this destruction last before it reaches them entirely? With so many bombastic events, it feels as if time itself has been passing at a snail's pace.

—It took some time for the entire battlefield to clear itself up enough to be visible. While a few of the occult research members coughed from the dust residue that spread around them.

[Jet!]

Even though the battlefield had seemingly gone quiet, the announcements from Issei's Boosted Gear were still audible. Following the announcement, something could be seen elevating and quickly descending into the crater that Kokabiel was in.

PIERCE!

"AAGH!"

—Kokabiel was dazed for a moment after the [Dragon Dive] attack landed successfully, but he was rudely brought out of his stupor when Issei appeared out of nowhere and rushed him with his retrieved Excalibur Blessing. Kokabiel had defended himself, covering his body with his wings, but the blade stabbed right through his wings and landed in Kokabiel's rib cage. If not for this last second defense, Issei might have succeeded in piercing Kokabiel's heart.

"How's that feel, you treacherous shithead?!"

"GRR..!"

With a painful grunt, Kokabiel used all of the strength in his wings to send Issei flying away from the blowback.

FOOM!

Issei was sent into the air, but he corrected himself easily.

"His blowback ain't as powerful as it used to be… Looks like we're finally making some fucking progress.."

Unfortunately for Issei, any sense of optimism he had would soon be destroyed.

[Partner, the power of Excalibur Blessing has diminished. We can't use it anymore. Soon, it'll reject you and we'll start taking massive damage.]

"..Fuckin' seriously? Damn…"

Issei looked down at Excalibur Blessing and smiled.

"Sorry, babe… Looks like I should've left the sword fighting to you after all, huh."

Issei couldn't help but feel warm inside thinking back to his memories of being taught swordsmanship by Marie. She was always so confident in her skill to instruct, despite her usual clumsiness.

Issei then reared his arm back with Excalibur Blessing in hand, as if ready to toss the sword with all of his might.

"KIBAAA!"

Issei shouted across the battlefield, catching the attention of his friends.

"Up there, there's Ise!"

"It sounds like he's calling the pretty boy?"

Rias looked back at Isaiah, who had a confused face.

"Yuuto?"

Although Isaiah was confused, he was ready for whatever Issei had in store for him.

"CATCH!"

Then, with all of his might, Issei threw the Excalibur halfway across the academy, towards his friends' location, causing it to land a few meters ahead of them.

"TAKE CARE OF IT FOR ME!"

Isaiah jumped out from the safe spot in the barrier and went to retrieve Excalibur Blesssing. When he removed it from the ground, he looked at it with a complex mixture of emotions moving in his heart.

—Excalibur. The weapon he's hated all of his life, responsible for his family's demise. Valper was now dead and the executioners of his brothers and sisters have been slain. All that remains is Excalibur.

Isaiah knows that his family never wanted revenge for him, they wanted more for him in life. He knows it very well. But…. Can he really just put aside all of those years of hatred and despair...to "protect" an Excalibur of all things?

Isaiah looked across the field to Issei, who was in the sky. Although he was far away, Isaiah could still make out the expression on Issei's face.

—He was putting all of his trust in Isaiah.

….

Isaiah lifted the blade and announced it to his brother in arms.

"I'VE GOT IT!"

And with Issei's reassuring nod, Isaiah quickly returned to the barrier with his friends and defended Excalibur Blessing with his life.

"..."Dragon Dive", huh?..…"

Issei heard Kokabiel's voice echo out from within the crater he was left in. At this point, both he and Kokabiel were in "unfortunate" physical states, to say the least. Bleeding, in tatters, and out of stamina. The only difference between them being that Kokabiel almost appeared as if he was burnt to a crisp.

No… Even with the state that Kokabiel was in, Issei could still tell that he had some energy left. Issei on the other hand…

"Hehehe… I see.."

For some reason, Kokabiel was laughing a bit.

"Dragon Dive... So the initial attack was a feint, huh…? Well, Sekiryuutei..."

When Kokabiel lifted his face, he had an insane grin that reached up to his ears.

"...IMITATION IS THE GREATEST FORM OF FLATTERY!"

FOOM!

Without warning, Kokabiel flew up into the air and spawned a light spear over his head. But this time, it was different . This time, this light spear appeared to be the size of a bus, and it was ready to explode with power.

"DIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

—And so, Kokabiel released the light spear with all of the might in his swing, but not towards Issei. Instead, he hurled the spear straight at his friends.

[—?!]

"DDRAIG!"

[JET!]

Issei blasted off with the maximum power his jet pack could release, power that he didn't even have anymore, all in a desperate attempt to save his friends who had no chance in defending against the attack.

[PARTNER, WE CAN'T TAKE THAT HIT!]

"I'LL STOP IT EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"

PSHYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Finally, Issei made it above his friends before the spear did. He forced out what little aura he had remaining, hoping to take the brunt of the inevitable one-hit kill explosion.

"ISE!"

—As the spear closed in, something within Ddraig's memory clicked.

[—?! PARTNER, WAIT!]

The moment the spear made contact with Issei's armor—

PAKA!

—It dissipated into nothingness.

"..Eh?"

In that split second that Issei was frozen in time, both he and Ddraig realized it.

Thanks to the exposition given to Issei from Kokabiel, Ddraig was able to recall more from his past when he was alive. And one thing the dragon just remembered was something called: "Hollow spears." Hollow spears were concentrations of small amounts of power with the appearance of being devastating attacks, but they were nothing more than fakes. A technique only available to those with great proficiency in managing their powers of light.

—They were feints for the real attacks.

"Too bad, human."

That's when Issei noticed Kokabiel throwing yet another light spear of smaller size but of great power, this one aimed straight for Issei.

ZIN!

And unfortunately, this attack pierced right through Issei's abdomen and sent him hurtling into the ground way past his friends. A direct hit.

DOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!

"ISE!"

As Rias's group's barrier was completely destroyed by the sheer velocity from how Issei was launched past them, Rias shrieked with worry. An attack of that level would have easily killed any High-Class Devil without a single trace left behind.

Foom!

"Rias!"

Without hesitation, Rias flew into the mass of smoke and dust that Issei was generally lost within. The rest of her group inevitably followed after her.

"Ise! Ise, where are you?!"

Rias called out fearfully for Issei, as did her comrades. Some of Sona's peerage began using wind magic to blow away the dust as they searched. But it wasn't until they heard a weak voice that they found him.

"...M..arie…. It's...okay…. I'm here…"

When Rias turned around, she saw the fallen body of Hyoudou Issei somewhere behind her, impaled onto the ground by the large spear in his gut.

[—?!]

"ISE!"

Rias flew over to Issei's side straight away, joined by the rest of the group shortly after. From the looks of it, Issei was barely even alive at this point.

"No, no, no, no! Ise-san! Ise-san!"

"It's okay, Ise! I'm here! Everything's going to be okay!"

"Hang in there, Issei-sama!"

As Issei's housemates desperately called out for the hardly conscious Issei, Isaiah eyed the powerful spear piercing Issei's abdomen. He assumed that it must be stuck through him and into the ground, just like what happened with Raynare before him.

Without regard for his own physical well being, Isaiah attempted to remove the spear with both hands.

SIZZLE!

He pulled the spear up with all of his might, causing his hands to burn severely due to its holy effect. However, the spear was brimming with such power that it inevitably blew Isaiah's body back with a shock of energy.

BUZZ!

"Yuuto!"

Isaiah was launched back, sustaining major burns on his hands and even his forearms. It was clear that a Devil could not remove it.

"Mitlet, help me! If it's the two of us, we might be able to take it out!"

Raynare pleaded with her confused ally for her assistance. Mitlet looked down at the dying Issei with conflicted feelings, remembering what he's done and who she's been fearing all of this time since she nearly died at his hand.

"Mitlet, please!"

Raynare pleaded once more. As Mitlet looked into her comrade's eyes, she noticed the sense of desperation and fear in them. It was something she didn't understand. Those eyes weren't the eyes of someone who was brainwashed. These were Raynare's true feelings.

'Raynare…. You, of all people…. for someone like him, you're….'

Mitlet spared a final glance around at the rest of Issei's allies, watching them desperately cry out for him and think of ways to save his life.

—With one final push to her will, Mitlet shouted and cast aside her feelings, taking hold of the spear with Raynare.

"God fucking dammit!"

Raynare and Mitlet pulled up on the spear simultaneously in an effort to remove it. And although they weren't being damaged by its holy element like Isaiah was, the power contained within the spear was still trying to blow them away.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Mitlet was blown back a couple times, but she still reluctantly continued in her attempts to remove the item. Raynare refused to release the spear no matter how much power was blown into her. The two of them appeared to be making progress, little by little. However, as Sona observed their efforts closely, she noticed something dangerous about the spear. The two were stopped by the Devil's voice.

"Wait, stop! Let go of the spear!"

The two were blown back as a result of releasing the spear and Rias chided her long time friend.

"What's wrong with you, Sona?! Why are you stopping them?!"

"Look closely, Rias! This light spear is unstable. It's full of power and it's ready to burst at any moment. If we agitate it any further, it's likely to explode right in our faces and destroy us all. I'd say that the only reason it didn't explode upon impact was because the aura of the Sekiryuutei as well as Ise-kun's flesh put up too little of a resistance in the collision and it went right through. Ironically, it was Ise-kun's lack of energy that kept him from being blown up.."

"Then what on earth do you suggest we do?!"

To that question, Rias received a morbid answer.

"I don't know…"

Rias's heart was filled with a frightening sense of despair.

"Out of the way."

Xenovia stepped forward with her Durandal in hand.

"I'll get rid of it."

Xenovia stated it confidently, but Sona protested again.

"No, don't! Doing that will only cause an explosion immediately."

"If I can destroy it with Durandal, then we won't have to worry about an explosion."

"No, that's not how it works. If your weapon makes harsh enough contact with that spear, it'll explode no matter what and destroy us all."

"Seriously?…"

Then, Saji made a suggestion.

"Kaichou! What if I use my line to suck out the power from this spear until it reaches a stable level? Then we can remove it!"

"Unfortunately, that won't do either, Saji. We don't know that sucking up powers containing holy elements won't damage you. On top of that, it would take too long for you to bring this attack down to a manageable level. Ise-kun doesn't have that kind of time left."

"N-No way… That was the only idea I could come up with.."

Rias desperately cried out to Issei with tears in her eyes.

"Ise! Please, you need to tell me what to do! I can't save you if I don't know what to do! Please, speak to me, Ise! Tell me what to do!"

Issei's eyes appeared vacant, as if he was drifting between reality and some sort of dream or vision. Rias, in one final act of desperation, brought out a bag with the symbol of Gremory's crest on it.

"Rias, it won't work. You've seen what he can do. Reincarnating someone of his level probably isn't something you're capable of."

"I won't know until I try, Sona!"

Rias hastily spilled all of her remaining Evil Pieces onto the ground, trying to spot one that would lead to a successful ritual.

"Rias, how do you expect reincarnation to do anything when we can't even remove this spear?"

"I don't know, Sona! But I…!"

Rias hopelessly scrambled through her Evil Pieces with unsteady hands.

"I-I can't just do nothing! I can't let him die..!"

As if to mock their current situation, Kokabiel's laughter came down from the sky.

"It's too late, Rias Gremory. The Sekiryuutei has fallen. It's over for him. He may have been an exceptional host, but at the end of the day, he was still merely a human, just like all other Heavenly Dragon hosts. In fact, be grateful that he was only a human. If not, the holy element may have turned him to dust upon contact with many of my attacks. —As a matter of fact, thanks to him, I'm going to let you leave this place alive, as my personal gratitude for his commendable effort. It was a fantastic battle. You lot can honor his sacrifice when you are sent out to war and we inevitably meet on the battlefield again. Hope that you can surpass even your now deceased commandant one day. Ah, however.."

Kokabiel's eyes darkened as he looked at Rias Gremory's group, specifically at the two Fallen-Angels among them.

"As I thought, I really can't stand failures.. I'll have you leave those two behind. The rest of you can run off with your tails between your legs, behind the cloak of Sirzechs."

Mitlet flinched, but Raynare covered her with her body and glared intensely up at Kokabiel. Her glare wasn't the most intense of the group however..

OOOOHHMM!

Rias's body was surrounded by a powerful aura as she stood in defiance to Kokabiel.

"For what you've done to my school… For what you've done to my home… And most of all, for what you've done to my precious Ise… Your punishment is death!"

Her enraged glare burned into Kokabiel's figure scornfully as her power exploded.

"KOKABIEL!"

Without hesitation, Rias took into the sky and began firing off waves of demonic energy and power of destruction at Kokabiel. Kokabiel blocked the enraged Archduchess's attacks with his bare hands.

"Give it up, Gremory! This is an act of futility! Even if the Sekiryuutei has weakened me, someone of your level is never going to be able to take me down!"

Then, from behind Kokabiel, a continuous stream of thunder shot towards him.

"Thunder!"

BUZZ, BUZZ!

Kokabiel defended his backside from the thunder using his wings. Although it didn't damage him severely, it caused great pain to rise from where Issei's Excalibur had pierced him.

"Tch! So you're trying to get in my way too, huh, daughter of Barakiel!?"

"DON'T LUMP ME IN WITH THAT SCUM!"

DON, BUZZ, DON DON!

Rias and Akeno both continued to attack Kokabiel with little to no success. Even with the help of Sona and Rias's peerage altogether a few moments later, it still wasn't enough. They were all being fended off and countered by Kokabiel without difficulty.

"Are you all really planning to throw away the lives that your Sekiryuutei sacrificed himself for?! Even for your own allies, you Devils have no respect!"

Kokabiel incapacitated a few of their groups' members easily with just the use of his wings. To a Fallen-Angel like him, they were the same as extra limbs, and he easily made use of them against foes with greater numbers.

"[SWORD BIRTH!]"

Despite the onslaught of attacks from the Devils, Kokabiel still managed to keep up.

WHIP, WHIP, SLAM!

—As many Devils from Sona and Rias's peerage were being blown away by Kokabiel's wings, Xenovia looked down at Issei with sympathetic eyes. Raynare, Asia and Mitlet all sat beside him, unable to do anything despite their best efforts. Even just from a glance, Xenovia could see the light fading from Issei's eyes.

"...It looks like this is the end for you, Hyoudou Issei…. I'm sorry, Irina. But it seems like you won't be able to make up after all."

Seeing as there was nothing she could do, she too left to fight off Kokabiel with the others.

"Ise-san! Please, get up, Ise-san! Please don't die! P-Please, don't leave us behind!"

Asia called out to Issei in futility, praying as she did. But she already knew well enough that no one was listening.

"Issei-sama.."

Raynare looked at Issei's vacant expression one last time, seeing the color in his eyes grow more and more dull with time.

He's dying.

—Hyoudou Issei. My partner. My friend. The greatest Sekiryuutei to have ever lived.

I still remember everything he saw in those last moments as he faded away. As if they were my own memories, I could see every piece of it, and yet, I could not reach him. I could only watch from somewhere far away.

---

HYOUDOU ISSEI

...

….

《...Ise…》

….

《Wake up, my boy. It's time to get up.》

….

….Kaa-san, Tou-san… Is that you?

《Ise…》 《Our little boy..》

I see you… I'm coming…

《No, my son. It's not your time.》

What? What do you mean?

《My love, my greatest gift of all. Turn away, my beautiful baby boy.》

I don't understand, Kaa-san. What are you saying? Why are you moving so far away from me?

《You must live, Ise. There are still people who need you, son.》

Tou-san? What are you talking about?

《Until then, we'll be waiting here with your grandfather.》

Jii-chan? —Wait, don't go!

《You are Hyoudou Issei. Don't ever forget who you are, son.》

KAA-SAN! TOU-SAN! NO, DON'T LEAVE ME! COME BACK! LET ME STAY WITH YOU!

《Go on, my little Ise. Be honest with who you are. And always fight for those you love, just like how we raised you to.》

KAA-SAN! TOU-SAN!

NO!

DON'T LEAVE ME!

...Not again…

….

《Tsubasa!》

Wait… That voice…. It's familiar…

《Damn you, Kokabiel!》

And that one…. I know both of those voices… That's...Sona Sitri. And… Rias.

《If you don't act quickly, she'll die, sister of Leviathan! And if you continue with this foolish effort, soon, the rest of your peerages will follow as well!》

That voice… That's...Kokabiel!

《Écaille!》

..?! Marie! Marie, is that you?! Where are you?!

《Get up, Écaille! Get up!》

...Marie? Is that really you?

《You can't die here, Écaille! You have to get up!》

That's not Marie… That's..

《Please, Ise-san!》

..Asia!? Asia, is that you?!

《Ise-san..! We need you! We can't win without you! We can't live without you! Please, don't leave us! Please come back to us!》

Asia…. That's right… I'm supposed to be protecting you… That's what I was doing…

《Issei-sama!》

Raynare… That's right, she isn't finished training. I can't leave Asia in her care yet. She still needs guidance. She still needs to overcome her trauma. We're supposed to go everywhere with Asia together... I need to make up for what I've done to her… I need to protect her too.

《Ise!》

And Rias…. She's the most irritating person I've ever met in my life… But she's my friend…. I need to protect her as well. She needs to know that I don't blame her for what happened anymore… We need to protect our home together.

That's right…... My school…. My home... My friends…. I have to protect all of it. That's the promise I made.

My promise to mum and dad.

《You are nothing but a child— There is simply nothing you can do.》

….wrong.

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

I'm…..the Sekiryuutei.

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

..I'm the son of Gorou and Miki Hyoudou.

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

I'm Hyoudou Issei.

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

—And I refuse to do "nothing" any longer.

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

《There is simply nothing you can do》

《There is simply nothing you can do.》

….

I'll never let it happen again.

---

[—?!]

Issei's shot open as life re-entered them.

SLIDE!

"Ise-san!?"

A rough, squelching sound was made from beside Asia, along with blood filling the cracks all over the ground, and she soon realized why.

"KK—KUH!"

With a willpower unlike any other, Issei's body struggled from underneath the light spear. A terribly painful sounding noise kept emanating from the place where the light spear impaled Issei. And still, Issei continued to push up against it, sliding his upper body upward, forcefully lifting and grinding himself up through his brutal impalement, bit by bit.

SHIIIIIIIIN!

Issei's Boosted Gear released a radiant glow more brilliant than any other he had ever released and almost blinded those near him.

"Issei-sama?!"

—With the sound of what seemed like his own voice resonating through his mind, and a powerful bellow unlike any his lungs had ever let out, Issei's body was engulfed in a green magnificence.

《"This time, I'll protect it all, even if it's the last thing I do."》

["RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"]

[WELSH DRAGON OVERBOOSTER!]

A powerful boom leveled the entire field around Issei, causing those around him to be sent hurtling back.

"What?!"

"Ise!?"

Kokabiel as well as Issei's companions recoiled in shock. Issei focused so much of his strength into his aura rather than his Scale Mail that he didn't even have the full armor covering his body. Instead, he maintained a shattered version, but with overwhelming power bursting out from his tattered body.

And he released a howl towards Kokabiel that shook the warmonger to his very core.

["KOKABIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!"]

[JET!]

"..?!"

Before Kokabiel was offered even a moment to react, Issei had already closed the distance and slammed into Kokabiel's body with his own.

PSHYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Issei's power was so overwhelming that both he and Kokabiel were completely engulfed in green aura. With Kokabiel in his grasp, Issei propelled the two of them upward, crashing into the barrier above the academy.

DOOOOONN!

The entire barrier surrounding the academy was completely destroyed upon impact, and yet, Issei continued sending both of them up into the night sky like a green shooting star.

Issei focused his power into his wings and detached himself from Kokabiel, sending the Fallen-Angel off with a ball of energy stuck to his abdomen. Thanks to his power, Issei was able to come to an abrupt stop. Kokabiel, however, continued his journey upward.

'Shit—! Too fast—! He focused his aura into his wings and somehow managed to stop himself!? Damn it all!'

Kokabiel struggled to stop his momentum, so much so that he felt his wings might break from his attempts at resistance. And just below him, Issei began preparing for a final attack.

Issei spread his arms apart and gathered his energy. But something about it was wrong. He wasn't gathering his energy into his palms like he usually would.

[BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST!]

Ddraig exclaimed his shock.

[What, this..!? This power..! No, it can't be! Partner, what are you..?!]

As countless unrecognizable voices emanated from somewhere in Issei's armor, the jewel centered within the Scale Mail's chest plate began to gather energy.

《Has it begun?》《Has it started?》

《Something is swelling.》《Something is leaking.》

《The chains are loosening.》《The bars are bending.》

[Can it be?! No, this isn't it's true form! Then what is this?! What on earth have you done, partner?!]

The energy continued to quietly build and build around the jewel on the Scale Mail's chest, rumbling the air as it did. When it was finally ready, he aimed it straight up at Kokabiel.

FOOM!

Finally, Kokabiel was able to stop himself by crushing the ball of energy pushing against his abdomen and propelling him upward, correcting himself in midair. However, once he unfurled his wings, in only a brief moment…

"Wha—"

[LONGINUS SMASHER!]

—A blast of unknown proportions had already engulfed his figure.

Time came to a standstill for the Fallen-Angel. As the blast of power inched ever closer to him, he recalled his encounter with the Red Dragon Emperor one last time.

He stood there, frozen in place by the Sekiryuutei's glare. Looking back at it always left him with a sense of humiliation. But in what he perceives to be his final moments, he realizes what it was about the Sekiryuutei that made him freeze. It was what he saw in the reflection of its eyes.

What he saw that day…..was the very same death that the Sekiryuutei has now brought upon him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"SEKIRYUUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIII!"

The blast of energy dyed the sky red and only a brief howl of demise was the last thing to be heard before fading out into the night.

The last of Kokabiel.

….

….

….

—As Hyoudou Issei slowly descended from the sky in tatters, the academy grounds were quiet. No, all was quiet, as if the world was silenced by the power of Sekiryuutei.

When Issei's feet finally touched the ground, the last pieces of his armor silently fell apart, leaving him in a viciously torn up and bloody attire. And as the sound of silence passed through the air, Saji Genshirou muttered it with disbelief.

"He did it…."

The silence returned, but only briefly. Soon, it was Saji's cry which filled the air.

"UUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOHHH! WE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

A cry of victory. Just as he said, they had won. Kokabiel was defeated.

And so, many of them began to smile gratefully and breathe heavy sighs of relief. As Sona Sitri's peerage collected themselves and attended their wounded, Rias Gremory's peerage, including Asia and Raynare, ran over to Issei.

"Ise!"

"Ise-san!"

"Issei-sama!"

Issei didn't respond, nor did he acknowledge them. He simply stood there unsteadily, swaying back and forth with vacant eyes. He was ready to drop.

"Ise!"

And just as he was about to fall over..

STOMP!

Issei slammed his foot firmly into the ground, stopping his fall.

"Ise, are you alright?! Asia, hurry, heal him!"

"Y-Yes!"

Asia bent down and began healing the gaping hole in Issei's abdomen. She felt disturbed and afraid looking at it because she could see right through it to the other side. Even worse, Asia's serious lack of stamina was affecting her healing capabilities. The healing light from her hands was dimmer than a night light at this point. Despite her exhaustion, Asia pushed through with everything she had.

"I-It's okay, Ise-san.. I will definitely heal you… I will."

Asia looked up at Issei's face hopefully, but she was surprised to see an actual expression sitting there.

—For some reason, despite the dullness of his eyes, Issei was holding a serious, battle-ready glare.

SHIIIN!

Out of nowhere, Issei's Boosted Gear began releasing an odd light.

"What's happening?! Asia?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Issei-sama?!"

It wasn't until they all felt the chills run up their spines that they understood what the cause was.

"Ho… So it wasn't Juggernaut Drive after all, Albion. What an anomaly."

—CHILLS!

The atmosphere was filled with a pressure that resembled the Sekiryuutei in nature, but at the same time, unlike anything they've ever felt before.

Instead of the Sekiryuutei's overwhelming pressure, which gave off the impression of being on death's door, being overpowered entirely, and being forced to lose the strength of your spirit— This felt different. This pressure - was that of "inferiority."

As if the pressure in the air itself was telling you that you were simply "less than." You weren't worth anyone's time, because the gap between you and "it" was too great. And any gap between your strength, no matter how small, can be increased at any moment. Each and every one of you standing in its presence - is nothing more than "gasoline" for its "engine."

Similar to the Sekiryuutei, and yet somehow, it couldn't feel any more different.

And so, the sparkling, white figure that appeared with the moon to its back, simply ignored all but one.

"Bal was right… This certainly was worth a look, wasn't it, Albion?"

In their confusion, Rias questioned the descending figure on behalf of her group.

"...W-Who are you?!"

The figure encased in white armor surveyed the area without responding to those around it.

"Hmm… What destruction. It's certainly befitting of a battle between the Sekiryuutei and the Fallen-Angel of the stars. If not for the barrier around this place, this devastation might have reached the outside. I'm glad. If this is the level that my archrival is at, then the future bodes well for me, don't you think? Although, I could've done without the deaths of Kokabiel and the stray priest. I am surprised to see Mitlet and Raynare as well. So it seems like one part of Shemhazai's intel was wrong, and Bal was keeping even more secrets."

"I said, who are you?!"

The figure in white armor finally noticed the shouting Rias.

"Rias Gremory, huh? Hmm, so Bal wasn't lying about this guy having bedded the heiress to the Gremory clan. I wonder what else it is that Azazel's been hiding about you, my archrival."

"...Archrival?"

Rias's nerves were offset as the glaringly obvious conclusion that she was in denial of became clearer to her.

The white figure proclaimed his identity with a tinge of pride in his voice.

"I am this generation's current Hakuryuukou. The Vanishing Dragon, Albion. As for my true name, that's a privilege that I'll bestow you when you've earned it."

[!?—?!]

"The Hakuryuukou?!"

In their shock, they could only look over to Issei, who was standing still in the same position as before. He was like a statue with his head hanging down all the way.

The Hakuryuukou also glanced over at Issei's position and stared at him, prompting his friends to cover him with their bodies. They appeared as if they were ready to fight, but the Hakuryuukou didn't react.

Instead, with the glow of his sapphire colored wings, the Hakuryuukou spoke aloud. But this was a different voice. It was the true Hakuryuukou.

[—So we meet again, Red one.]

The voice trapped within Issei's gauntlet, Ddraig, responded to the Hakuryuukou.

[..Albion.]

Rias looked at Issei's gauntlet in confusion.

'...The dragons are speaking to each other?'

[It's been a long time, Ddraig.]

[..Indeed it has, Albion..]

[We've never met under such bizarre circumstances, have we, Ddraig?]

[..No, not like this.]

[Your host appears to be a strong one.]

[..As does yours.]

[Yes, he's likely the strongest.]

[..Yes, mine too….. The strongest..]

For a moment, the talk between the two dragons went quiet.

[...I feel not the usual hostility, nor the usual fire from you, Ddraig.]

[..Yes, well, likewise, your animosity is at a surprising ebb.]

[Perhaps. But to the extent of yours is… I feel not hostility, but something far more…"subdued." It's unlike you.]

[...I suffer, Albion.]

Then, the voices of the dragons changed. They spoke to each other as if they've never previously had such a conversation before.

[Suffer? Spirits like us who are not amongst the living cannot suffer, Red one.]

[I once thought the same, my rival…. But you're wrong…. I was wrong….. I suffer.]

The silence between the spirits returned. The white figure clad in armor looked to his wings, as if confused by the turn of events. Rias as well looked at Issei and his gauntlet. She couldn't see his face due to the hair draped over it, but she wondered what exactly this unique exchange between these two dragons meant.

The Hakuryuukou spoke once more, in an almost solemn tone.

[Ddraig. Your host is…?]

[Yes… For quite some time now…]

[I see…]

After another quiet moment, the Hakuryuukou spoke directly to his host.

[Let's go, Vali. There's nothing more for us here now.]

"...I suppose you're right."

The white figure then turned away from everyone, ready to fly away.

[Ddraig.]

[..What is it, Albion?]

[...No, it's nothing. Until we meet again. I hope your host survives this.]

[...As do I, Albion.]

Saying not a word more, the Hakuryuukou flew off into the night.

"What the hell even happened tonight..?"

Saji asked in an awestruck manner. The sound of Ddraig's voice emitted from Issei's gauntlet again.

[Partner….. It's over….. You did it. You can rest now….. You protected your home. You protected your family….. It's all over, boy… You did it.]

Ddraig spoke to his partner in a gentle tone that was unfitting for a voice like his, as if calming a child to sleep. In response, Issei's body began to creak forward ever so slightly.

"...Ise-san?"

Perhaps they should've realized it sooner just by the look in his eyes, but it was obvious now.

—Issei had already lost consciousness long ago..

Thud!

"ISE!"

Isaiah caught Issei as his body fell limply to its knees, right before Issei could hit the ground entirely. He laid the boy down flat on his back, wincing harshly at the sight of his wound.

'A human being shouldn't be capable of surviving a wound like this', the swordsman thought, but he refused to say it. As Asia continued desperately trying to heal the massive wound with what little power she had left, something else appeared on the battlefield.

—Spread across the academy grounds evenly, four magic circles appeared in unison. It had been 10 whole years since their very first, fateful appearance in this town.

SHIIIIINN!

Out of one of these magic circles - came Sirzechs Lucifer.

"..?! This is…"

Unexpectedly, the sight which Sirzechs was greeted with upon arrival wasn't that of an academy, it was a wasteland. As he surveyed the area, he quickly caught sight of a head the same color crimson as his.

"Rias!"

Sirzechs flew down towards where his sister's peerage was, noticing her face was red from crying.

"Onii-sama!"

For a moment, the Devil-king must have scanned the academy grounds with a dark glare.

"What happened?"

Rias clung to her brother's cloak and rambled incoherently.

"Onii-sama! Help us! Ise is..! He was..! Everything, it was all so..!"

Akeno came up beside the two and clarified.

"Ise-kun needs help, he's dying..!"

Sirzechs then knelt down beside Issei and assessed the boy's condition.

—As this was happening, the other three Yondai-Maou observed their surroundings. Namely, Serafall Leviathan.

"Sona-tan! Where are you?!"

In the spot where the new school building existed previously, Leviathan called out to her sister.

"What the..?! A magical girl?!"

Leviathan only noticed her sister's peerage after hearing the shocked voice of Saji Genshirou.

"Sona-tan!"

Leviathan flew over to her sister's side without hesitation, but her sister couldn't pay her any mind.

"I-It hurts.."

"It's alright, Tsubasa. This is nothing major. You'll be fine."

Sona spoke to her servant, Yura Tsubasa, in a calm manner. From the looks of it, Tsubasa sustained damage from six of Kokabiel's "daggers" of light. As such, Sona was easing the wounded Tsubaba.

But Sona's sister knew her best, and she recognized the hint of worry deep in Sona's eyes.

Oooooohhmmmm..

Saji flinched and almost fell back as a malignant aura surrounded the female Maou's body. Saji could see the eyes of a demon in her gaze.

"...Where is the enemy?"

As Serafall Leviathan was on the verge of losing herself to rage, another Maou walked up behind the group of Sitri.

"Calm down, Serafall. From what I can tell, the enemy is already gone."

Leviathan's aura dissipated, but her low tone of voice remained the same.

"..But the question is who the enemy is, Ajuka-kun."

"I know the enemy, Serafall. It's Kokabiel."

"The General of the Fallen-Angels?"

"Yes. These spears, no matter how small, I could never mistake them. They are undoubtedly his."

"Well, where is he?"

It was Sona who answered their question, without removing her eyes from her fallen servant.

"—Defeated, thanks to the Sekiryuutei."

"The Sekiryuutei?"

Before the two Maou could ask further questions, Sirzechs called out for Leviathan.

"Serafall!"

Leviathan saw that Sirzechs was calling her over, but she hesitated to leave her sister's side.

"Go, Serafall. I'll stay here with them."

"..Fine… I'll be back, Sona-tan, I promise!"

Leviathan flew over towards Rias's group where Sirzechs was, about 20 meters away.

"What is it, Sirzechs-chan?"

"This boy is running out of time. We need to save him."

As if Leviathan understood Sirzechs' implication, she waved her magical girl wand and encased the body of Hyoudou Issei entirely in ice using magic.

"This will keep him alive for now, Rias. Serafall, he'll need immediate medical attention once we've unthawed him. Can you set up a high-profile operation for him at one of the Sitri hospitals? He's human so it'll need to be a hospital that treats reincarnated Devils."

"Of course, I'll do it now. But… this is the Sekiryuutei, isn't it? So the rumors amongst the High-Class about the Sekiryuutei that broke up Rias-chan's marriage are true?"

"I'll explain it all to you later, Serafall. For now, let's just handle the wounded and call in Devils who specialize in creation magic to repair the academy."

"Understood."

The Maou Ajuka Beelzebub looked up into the sky as another Maou, Falbium Asmodeous approached him from behind.

"Am I needed here? If not, I'd like to go back to my study and nap."

"Look, Falbium… My barrier is gone…. They destroyed it."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Did you work hard on it?"

"The formula's "history" doesn't indicate that it was destroyed by holy or light magic… It suggests a brute force impact reinforced by dragonic energy…"

"I'll never understand how you fiddle around with those magical circles so well, Ajuka. It's like you're using a computer."

"...Through sheer brute force?... Interesting…"

"Ah, not even listening, huh."

—And so, with the death of the Raven of Treachery and the destruction of the Yondai-Maou defense force, there was no record to the acceptance of a declaration of war. Kuoh was protected and war between factions was narrowly avoided.

The last thing that my partner saw before losing consciousness must have been the image of him and his parents happily sitting together around the dinner table - with the members of the occult research club roaming freely about his home.

---

FALLEN

Somewhere far from Kuoh Academy, at the same time as what was happening in said academy, something fell out of the sky.

—The charred body of the Cadre-class Fallen-Angel, Kokabiel, was falling out of the sky.

"...Wh..at…?"

Kokabiel was free falling from the night's sky over Kuoh town, having been blown somewhere far away by the Sekiryuutei's blast. His body looked like a piece of charcoal and he was missing all of his limbs. Only his right arm was still present, but the right hand was gone from it. His wings also appeared to be incinerated.

As Kokabiel fell, his perception of time skewed once again, allowing him to feel as if he was falling in slow motion.

With all of his perceived time, he thought to himself.

'...I survived the Sekiryuutei's attack..? I see.. My body is…. My limbs are destroyed. My wings are nothing but feathered nubs… I can't even stop myself from falling….. But it's alright… None of that matters.. What matters is that I survived the attack. So long as I still have breath in my lungs, I can come back from this. Even without my arms and legs, I can recover. There is technology in Grigori that will help me. Azazel won't let me die, that fool will save my life. And then, when I'm fully recovered, I can fight again. War has already begun. The Devil commandant reciprocated my declaration, and I've caused enough damage to a place under special protections. Even Azazel can't talk this one away. He can't claim that I was just a defector who had motives separate from Grigori, not as long as I'm alive. In the end, I'm still a leader. As long as I'm alive, the world will recognize my actions as an action of war and I won't let him push the narrative that it wasn't our shared mission as an organization, especially after I rally the inevitable uprisers in Grigori's ranks. —Yes, I've done it..! So long as I live and breathe, war is unavoidable. I've done it. My wish is finally fulfilled! I can come back from this and fight in the war that I've created! And then, when the Sekiryuutei and I cross paths again, I will finish him! This time, it will be different! Sekiryuutei! This time, I WILL—!'

ZIN!

—Suddenly, Kokabiel felt as if he was pushed up against a tree by some powerful force. No, the apt way to describe it would be "nailed to a tree."

"...W...hat…?"

Kokabiel uttered with his burnt out vocal cords, feeling the crisp of charred lungs. In confusion, he looked around with his eyes, only to realize that the right half of his vision had gone dark. So he looked at his right side the best he could with his left eye, noticing something sticking out of his face.

It was then that he realized that there was an intricately designed spear impaled through his eye socket, pinning him to the tree.

"...H...ow.."

Kokabiel followed the direction from which the spear must have come. His vision led him to the roof of a far away building. And although the distance was great, Kokabiel could still make out the figure standing atop this building. It was a familiar figure, striking a pose that suggested they just threw something with all of their might.

That was the figure of the mischievous Fallen-Angel, Bal— [He who tested Christ]— smiling gleefully and speaking in the "Enochian" language that Angels once used long ago during the rule of Jehovah:

His lips very simply read: 《"Bullseye."》

"A...za….zel…"

Kokabiel uttered the name with his dying breath as the spear lodged in his skull lit up. From afar, a small explosion of light could be seen somewhere in the forests of Kuoh.

---

AFTERMATH

---

….

….

《..Écaille, wake up.》

….

《Écaille~》

….

….

"...Ugh…"

Issei groaned as his eyes fluttered open.

"...Geez, who leaves the curtains open like this? That's the last time I'm lettin' devils sleep in my fuckin' house."

Issei pulled the curtain over his window to the side, covering that single streak of sunlight that was blinding his eyes. After rubbing his face, he came to realize something with the slow passing of the seconds. Because the memories flooded in like a waterfall.

"KOKABIEL!"

Issei jumped out of bed, only to fall back into it with weak legs.

"What the fuck? My legs are dead asleep! How long was I out for? And why am I in my boxers?"

As Issei was fixing himself up to sit on the bedside properly, he heard some thumping from outside his room. Someone was ascending the staircase. He heard the approaching person's voice before they opened the door.

"Oh, Ise. Did you fall out of bed again? You're such a rowdy sleep..er..."

The person who opened the door had their voice trail off when they entered. It was Rias.

"I don't know if I should ask if everyone's okay first, or why the hell I'm in my boxers."

"..."

"...Why the hell am I in my box—"

"ISE!"

Without warning, Rias ran over to Issei and jumped on him.

"Whoa— hey! What are you—!"

"Ise! Ise! My Ise! You're finally awake! I was so worried! I've wanted to hear your voice for so long!"

"Hey, hey! Knock it off, will ya? And whaddya mean "for so long?" How long was I out for even?!"

—After calming Rias down, Issei got her to explain what was going on.

"A week?!"

"Yes. 8 days exactly."

"Holy shit… I can't believe I was out for that long… But if that's the case, what about my family back in Nagoya? I told Maki that I'd call her back the morning of that day."

"It was difficult under the circumstances, but I was able to use a vocal manipulation spell that Sona knew of to sound like you for a bit. I was worried it wouldn't work, but it didn't seem suspicious to your...um, sister?"

"You acted like you were me over the phone?"

"Yes. I was only able to pull it off because I saw the way you interacted with her before. I didn't want to take any chances so I kept it short. I was far more worried about your guardian, Satoshi-san, possibly getting involved somehow. I get the feeling that my act might have fallen apart if it was him."

"Well, he doesn't know magic so he wouldn't technically know, but he'd definitely figure out it wasn't me. That would have the police called on you."

After taking a breath, Issei chuckled.

"So…. I beat Kokabiel then, huh."

"Yes, you did, Ise. All on your own. You protected us all."

For some reason, there was a new level of warmness in Rias's eyes when she spoke to Issei. Issei tried his best to ignore her loving gaze in order to avoid feeling awkward. He rubbed his chiseled belly.

"..I remember getting stabbed here, I think. My wound is completely gone now though. I didn't know Asia was capable of healing something that huge."

"Oh, actually… that wasn't Asia."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you see… That night that you defeated Kokabiel, you were in a critical condition and Asia no longer had the stamina left to heal you…. You were dying... So, we had no choice but to have you treated at a medical facility in the underworld owned by the Sitri clan. You stayed overnight there getting treated…. It was a long night."

"Kaichou owns a hospital?"

"Her family does. They own many, actually. They're considered one of the top clans from a professional standard due to their proficiency in medical practices."

"Wait, wait. I went to hell?"

"Yes, Ise. Technically, you did."

"Huh... Surprised I didn't get stuck there."

"Hehehe."

Rias giggled at Issei's remark. She placed a hand softly over her chest and smiled.

"Hearing you joke around like that again…. I'm so relieved…. You have no idea how much weight from my heart is being lifted just by talking to you like normal."

"...Were you guys at the hospital too?"

"Yes. We refused to leave until you were released…. They didn't want to let us in your room either. In retrospect, it's obvious why. They needed to do serious work on you because you were on the verge of death…. Even so, we contested their decision. In fact, I even argued with the head doctor and said many things I'd never say under regular circumstances…. I'd say that I'm embarrassed about it, but the truth is, I'm not. Thanks to how much trouble I caused, word came back to the hospital's director and then to Sona's father. They give me permission to enter your room after that, but only me, because I was a High-Class Devil. They wouldn't let anyone else in. One of the many problematic issues of Devil society. I stayed with you that whole night until you were ready for release…"

"Seriously?... Sorry about that."

"No, Ise. Don't apologize. I would've waited a thousand nights if it was for you. As long as you're ok in the end, I don't care."

Again, Issei found himself feeling awkward with Rias's heartfelt words. He never responded well to such affectionate treatment, unless it was from his family.

"Well, uh… What about the other seven days? I just kinda stayed knocked out while everybody took care of me?"

"Yes, sort of… After we finally got home, everyone stayed here and started taking care of you in shifts. Me, Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto. And of course, Asia and Raynare who already live here. Everyone's still here now, actually."

"Everybody's staying in my house right now?"

"Well, not staying. They only stayed over the day we got home. They stay in their own houses, but none of them ever fail to show up to help take care of everything for the day."

"Geez.. You Devils sure know how to waste your time, huh. Must be nice having thousands of years to your lifespan."

"It's not a waste of time if it's for you, Ise. Not to us."

Issei looked down at his chest and noticed his necklace still around his neck.

"Huh… You didn't give me any pants but you at least put my cross back on."

"Yes, sorry about that. You kept mumbling in your sleep and complaining that you were hot, so we just left you that way…. As for your cross, we had to remove it the night you went into the hospital. I just put it back on you this morning, actually."

"You did?"

Issei looked at Rias's hands, but she held them up near her chest and covered them before he could get a good look at the burns on her palms.

"Yes, but don't worry. It was a quick procedure so I didn't sustain much damage or anything."

"..."

Issei remained silent in his confusion. He wondered why she didn't just ask Asia or Raynare to put it back on him, but he also knew that there must've been some personal reason behind the action for Rias. He'd rather not go down that road.

As more of Issei's memory from the fight with Kokabiel returned to him, he asked other pressing questions.

"Hey…. What happened with Raynare's people? I remember the long haired one getting killed and revived, and the blonde one was defecting. Are they still around?"

"Um, yes, well… somewhat."

"Somewhat?"

"Well, Donasheek is dead. He was murdered by Kokabiel during your fight. Kalawarner, the one who became my servant, is staying in my house currently. Actually, they both are, Mitlet and Kalawarner. Because the two of them had nowhere to go, and one of them was now my pawn, I offered them refuge into my estate right here. They're both fairly….unresponsive. Neither of them say much to anyone besides Raynare, it seems. And even then, they both seem uneasy towards the rest of us. Mitlet doesn't speak to us Devils at all, Raynare constantly acts as an intermediary despite the girl living in a different house. And Kalawarner…. Well, she responds to me at least, but the way she does it is…. It gives me the impression that she feels like I've somehow taken all of her free will and left her as a former husk of herself. Like she doesn't know who she is anymore…. Honestly, it makes me feel kind of guilty.."

Issei rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and sighed.

"Yeah… I know how you feel.."

Issei then asked what was probably the most important question.

"...What about the war?"

"There is no war. Kokabiel and the leader of the Yondai-Maou defense force are dead. There's no record of any declaration of war having been made and the Fallen-Angel organization is only claiming responsibility of Kokabiel as a traitor but distancing themselves from his intentions publicly, making him the only prosecuted party of the incident. And the rest of us certainly didn't imply that there was any sort of declaration made in our testimonies involving the situation… So, no war."

Issei sighed and laid his head back with a subconscious sense of relief.

"Huh.. So I guess that's "all's well that ends well" then, ey.."

"Yes… All thanks to you, Ise.."

Issei lifted his arm and spoke to it.

"Hey, Ddraig."

But there was no answer.

"Ddraig?"

Issei sat up confusedly.

"What is it, Ise?"

"I don't know, it's just..Ddraig."

Rias asked with what appeared to be a genuine sense of concern.

"Is there something wrong with him?"

"Huh? Oh, nah, he's just…"

[...Zzzz..]

"..Sleeping."

Issei was relieved to eventually hear the loud snoring, but he still appeared somewhat confused.

"..Sleeping? Is that bad?"

"No, it's just…. Usually, when Ddraig is asleep and I can't wake him up, it's because he's "exhausted"… But using up a bunch of the Boosted Gear's power isn't really something that tires him out so.. it's a little confusing."

To his explanation, Rias frowned sadly.

"Oh… It must be because of that.."

"Hm? Because of what?"

Rias shifted on the bedside uncomfortably, as if she knew something.

"Well… It's a bit..complicated."

"What happened, Rias?"

Issei inquired sternly. He needed to know what it was. Rias thought the same. So, with a sigh, she began explaining it.

"Haah….. The night that you were in the hospital, when they let me in your room, there was a lot of commotion. It was quick to understand why they didn't want anyone in there… It's because they weren't sure they could save you... The type of wounds that Kokabiel left you with were...something else. That last attack he used against you left you with a type of residual damage that required lots of time to operate on. Many tiny shards of light that prevented you from being healed properly that needed to be removed with precision. It was undoubtedly the killing blow fitting for a Cadre-class being. But the doctors weren't sure they could keep you alive long enough during procedures, many specialists needed to be contacted and teleported there, which was taking too long. To tell you the truth, I've never felt more helpless in my life than when all of that was happening in front of me. It felt like I was just a regular human watching their own family die from a terrible accident. I can finally say that I understand what the desire to pray to something feels like.….. I kept thinking that if there wasn't anything I could do, then I at least wished I could switch places with you. I would've preferred to be in that state myself than see you like that…"

"—Shut up….. Don't say stupid shit."

Despite Issei's words, Rias smiled lovingly. She continued her morbid tale.

"..During that time, when things seemed to be at their bleakest, Ddraig… He spoke to me. He reassured me."

"Ddraig did?"

Rias nodded her head.

"Yes… He told me…. He told me that you were going to survive, no matter what. He told me that you wouldn't die. He seemed so confident about it that it almost calmed me down…"

"Heh. Well, guess he knew I wouldn't go down so easily."

"No… That wasn't it… It was something more.."

Rias's eyes gained a somber look to them as she continued.

"The truth is… the only reason you're alive...is most likely because of Ddraig."

---

As you lay there, dying, all of the doctors scrambling to save your life with all of their focus on you, Ddraig said it to me as I held your hand.

[Rias Gremory…. I need you to listen.]

"What is it, Ddraig?"

[There is something I must do. At this rate, my partner will die within a matter of minutes.]

"W-What?! N-No, that can't be!"

[But it won't happen. He will survive. This, I guarantee.]

"..How can you be so sure?"

[Rias Gremory. In my "life" as a spirit trapped within this Sacred Gear, I have heard many countless beings make many countless "promises." Some kept, too many unfulfilled. But never in all of my existence have I, the Welsh Dragon Emperor, made any promise to any being. Not I, the Dragon of Domination….. But know this. Know that this boy will not die, not so long as my spirit continues to reside within this realm of existence. —He will not die, not until the day I have known it with my own soul that this boy has finally reached "it."]

"..It?"

[Happiness.]

"..?!"

[He will not die, not so long as this lowly consciousness of mine remains in this world. Not until he has reached that place of peace that he had only once tasted so briefly in his life. Because that is my promise to him, my partner. My one and only promise to any being in this world. And I'll not allow him to perish until such a promise is fulfilled.]

"...Ddraig.."

[That's why, I need you to listen. I am going to do everything in my power to prevent the current outcome. Since the very first day that he "unlocked" me, my partner and I have always had a strong spiritual connection due to his high potential with the Boosted Gear. It was something that kept him alive in the past and it's going to be the thing which keeps him alive now. —But to do this, Rias Gremory, I have to put it all on the line. This task that I am committed to undertake might not go unpunished. Despite this, I won't allow myself a hesitation. It may cost me this only existence of mine, but if that is the risk, then so shall it be.]

"Ddraig… Are you saying…"

[I will succeed in my endeavor. Failure is not an option. The true challenge arises from whether I will be able to maintain this form or lose it to the eventual realm of nothingness..]

"Ddraig… For you to go this far… How could any of us ever show you our gratitude?"

[Do not thank me, Rias Gremory. It's not an action taken on your behalf…. Instead, there is a favor I'd like to ask of you.]

"Anything, Ddraig."

[...Even without me, the Boosted Gear will function. I will make it certain. However…. Should I not be capable of maintaining this form, I wish for there to be one person in this world who understands him….. I wish for there to be one single person who truly understands him, as I have… That's why, if you would do me a k-indness…. I'd like to tell you his story…. So that you may know him truly, as I have… Will you listen to me, Rias Gremory?]

"Of course, Ddraig. I will."

[Thank you… And if only one more favor, I'd like to ask you to…. To help this boy find happiness. Not now, but perhaps one day. It is my only wish.]

"I will, Ddraig. No matter what. I promise you."

[...Heh. A promise, ey?... I was hoping to limit it to one…. But I suppose this as well can be viewed as simply an extension of my own promise….. My one and only promise, to my one and only friend.]

---

Rias spoke solemnly as she explained it.

"As a human, you are the most susceptible being to death. Ddraig knew this and put his very spirit at risk…. He focused every part of his consciousness into maintaining the flow of your "life energy" that was dwindling and in disarray from the deadly wounds, allowing the doctors the precious hours of operation on your body that they needed…. Some call it "Ki" or maybe even "chi", but the principle is the same. It was the energy that kept you living in this world, and under normal circumstances, could only be managed by a master in Senjutsu. But Ddraig did everything in order to hold it steady, putting himself at risk of being completely absorbed into your being and becoming nothing…. All the meanwhile, he made use of the ability to "draw out memories from others" that you possess and reversed it, allowing me to watch your life play out before my eyes in only a few moments….. In the end, it was Ddraig who saved your life, Ise…"

—A truly long and incomparable silence was born in Issei's room. For all of that time, the two said nothing, and Issei simply held his head down.

….

….

Drip… Drip..

Then, Rias heard the sound of small drops of water tapping human skin.

Issei looked down at his trembling left hand with a "blank" expression, but there were countless tears falling from his eyes.

"Ise…"

Issei rubbed his eyes and said it with a shaky voice.

"...What the fuck is that….? Where does a dumb fucking lizard like you get off doing something heroic like that….? What gives you the right to act so stupid? You're trapped inside of my Sacred Gear. You're supposed to bend to my will. When the hell did I give you permission to try and leave me behind like that….? Doing something that stupid….for someone like me…. You're just a stupid gecko who doesn't know any better….. You fucking idiot…"

For a moment, Issei held his forearm over his eyes and his lip quivered childishly, causing Rias to softly embrace his body from behind.

.

.

.

A few minutes later, after Issei recovered, he asked Rias in a low voice.

"...So you saw my memories, huh?"

"...Yes."

"Everything?"

"...Everything that made you into who you are."

Hearing this answer made Issei ask the most important question of all.

"...Did you see Marie?"

"...Yes… Although, it seems that even in those dire moments, Ddraig was reluctant to share everything regarding her. He seemed protective of those memories…"

"...How much did you see?"

"..Enough."

The two went quiet. It wasn't until Rias placed her hand over Issei's own hand that the silence was broken.

"Ise. No matter what happens in the future, I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I promise.."

Issei averted his gaze from her and scoffed lightly.

"Hmph…. A stupid dragon and a stupid Devil that I can never get rid of…. Just my luck, huh…"

"A stupid Devil who loves you."

"...Love? You know that I don't know anything about that..."

"And you know that I know...that that's a lie."

As the overbearing silence returned, Rias laid her head against Issei's back. But as overbearing as it was, one wouldn't call this silence an uncomfortable one.

"Rias?"

—But the silence was short lived, because soon there was the sound of thumping approaching the bedroom's entrance.

"Is everything alright? Did Issei-sama fall out of the bed after all?"

When Raynare reached the doorway, she saw the upright Issei sitting beside Rias.

….

"ISSEI-SAMA!?"

Raynare shouted outside of the door at the top of her lungs.

"ASIA! ISSEI-SAMA IS AWAKE!"

Suddenly, the harsh crashing and clanging of what sounded like pots and pans was heard from the first floor. This was immediately followed by a rapid thumping up the staircase and the eventual shouting of the person who ran through the doorway.

"ISE-SAN?!"

"A-Asia.."

When Asia noticed the conscious Issei, she jumped on him without hesitation, dropping him fully onto the bed.

"Ise-san! Ise-san, Ise-san, Ise-san, Ise-san!"

"W-Whoa, Asia, calm down, will ya? Geez, were you always this strong or am I just weak right now?"

"Ise-san! I'm so glad! For a moment, I-I thought you might not wake up! Rias-san and everyone seemed so confident, but I was scared! Ise-san and Raynare-san are my last important treasures! In a world without God, I-I need you two more than anything! Without you, I-I-I would be..!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Just take a breath, okay? I'm fine so everything's alright, yeah?"

Issei was able to soothe the manic Asia a bit, but she never loosened her grip on his body and remained glued to him for a long time. Raynare walked up to the two.

"Issei-sama.."

"Raynare."

She gave a rare smile of relief.

"I'm glad you're alright.."

The unusual situation left Issei averting his gaze and rubbing his neck awkwardly again.

"..Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for lookin' after me, I guess."

"Of course. Whatever you need."

"Uh, yeah, right..."

"—Speaking of things that you need, Ise, is there anything we can get you right now?"

Rias inquired curiously, causing Issei's stomach to answer before his mouth.

Growl…

"Ah… well, maybe some food first?"

Issei's words made Asia shoot up with a shocking realization.

"Ah! The potatoes! Raynare-san, I dropped the potatoes!"

"Oh shit, really?! Maybe if I go get them now I can still salvage them!"

Issei sighed heavily at the rambunctious antics of the people who "selfishly invaded his life and his home", as he would put it.

"Haah.."

But there was an irremovable smile stuck on his face.

"So much for peace and quiet, huh, Kaa-san, Tou-san..."

---

GRIGORI

—Somewhere within the underworld, a stirring would commence.

"Azazel."

The Fallen-Angel sighed as he stepped away from his microscope, seeing that a group of his underlings had entered his laboratory unannounced.

"So you've come."

"Yes, Azazel. We've come to announce our departure."

"Departure? Is that what they're calling a "coup d'etat" nowadays?"

"We have no interest in usurping you. This is merely a defection."

"And you've come to announce it to your Governor. An interesting choice, I must say."

"It is our last courtesy towards you. Despite your ineptitude as the leader of the Fallen-Angels, we still have some sense of respect for you. This amicable parting can be viewed as our display of that."

"Ineptitude, huh? Hmph… Thanks to everything that's been happening, I'm starting to think that way too now. For me to have let it come to this, perhaps I still have a ways to go as a leader."

"You were always the most sensible one, Azazel. But that sensibility dulled your potential for war. Fallen-Angel kind demands new leadership."

"In war, there is no future. Why can't you lot who are amongst the younger generation see that? Or have the ideals of the old ones long corrupted your minds?"

"Only those who have lost themselves to your senseless research are the ones who are corrupted, Azazel. What meaning is there in researching the potential of artifacts like the Sacred Gears if not to be used for war?"

"Knowledge. It is the nature of all curious beings who become scientists to know as much as possible."

"Research for the sake of research. In other words, it's meaningless."

"Knowledge is never meaningless. Only those who don't understand it's worth could be naive enough to say such things."

"The legacy of the Fallen-Angels is nothing but research papers under you, Azazel."

"And what's so wrong with research papers?"

The Governor sighed deeply.

"So then… Who is it that came to head this little "incursion" of beliefs after Kokabiel?"

"Our current leader is Armaros. He and many others have already silently defected just a few hours ago."

"Ah, so that was the "mass exodus" that Shemhazai made me aware of before your arrival here."

"We disabled Grigori's systems before our initial departure. It isn't possible for you to have known that it was already happening."

"Heh, "systems." It really shows just how young and naive you are that you thought you could sneak away undetected when someone like Shemhazai exists in our ranks. Maybe it's for the best that you came to me instead. You understand so little about your own leaders. You probably think that Shemhazai is a docile little fellow through and through, when in reality, the lot of you would've been all but bits and pieces the moment you tried to explain yourselves to him. Oh well… In the end, coming to me only bought you some minutes of life more. Either way, the result will be the same.."

"...We thought you reasonable, but…. Are you threatening us, Azazel?"

"I'm not threatening you. Although maybe I should've. Maybe I should've listened to Barakiel and been a tad bit more "iron fisted." Perhaps if I had done that, things wouldn't have gone this far, and maybe my people would respect me more instead of having the gall to announce their departures to me… Haah, no, you lot… I am not threatening you. —I am mourning you. Perhaps ineptitude is the right way to describe me now. Perhaps I've been too lenient and allowed too much freedom for some of you. But I can't be that way anymore. A new dawn is on the horizon, and people like "traitors" and "rogues" are going to be the enemies of the new world. That's why, I am going to take responsibility for my failures as a leader and allow what's about to happen, to happen. Even so, I will mourn…. Youngsters like you should have never fallen to such a low point. For that, as your Governor, I am truly sorry..."

The group of the Fallen-Angel defectors felt uneasy as they noticed their Viceroy look upon them with remorseful eyes. As a few of them turned towards the doorway, they noticed the exit seal behind their large group.

With this, the Fallen-Angel Governor sighed once more.

"Haah, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised… You wanted this outcome, didn't you? For Kokabiel to become a martyr and lead to this possibility, it's exactly what you were planning from the beginning, wasn't it? And for what? From the Angel who fell after his open display of mockery towards Christ, should I assume it was for amusement..? Perhaps you and Kokabiel are similar in that way. But it isn't war that you desire….. If this is the outcome, then surely, you must enjoy "chaos" more... It seems I'll need to have a word with you after this is over….Bal."

It took a moment, but the group of Fallen-Angels realized that their Governor wasn't speaking to them.

—It wasn't until they lifted their eyes towards the ceiling that they noticed the shadow that had stuck itself to the top like a spider was glaring down at them. And soon, only the white of his crooked smile would be the last thing they saw - before the room was colored in their remains.

---

TO BE CONCLUDED

---

BOOOOOOOOM! Okay, there it is ladies and gentlemen! The end of the Kokabiel arc! Well, not entirely. There's still one short chapter that I'm going to release soon that is supposed to wrap everything up nicely. So if you still have some questions after that that need to be answered, it will probably be addressed there.

Okay, so, first off: I think it goes without saying but, Kokabiel was stronger here than in the anime, I think that's pretty clear. Hell, I made that clear in previous chapters and yet for some reason, there were still readers who were saying that this Issei would stomp Kokabiel. you forget that I not only did I say I would buff Kokabiel, but also that Issei is someone who has trained with Balance Breaker alone. Remember, he didn't have a training partner the entire year that he had Balance Breaker. Stuff like that makes a difference, you know. It's pretty difficult to get stronger when the most you would be fighting is small time stray devils and have no one else to test your skills. There's a limit to how much you can grow under those circumstances. Well, aside from that "one enemy", but that will be shown in the extra chapter that comes out when this arc is over… (Plus if you paid attention to what Valper said, you'd know why it was a closer fight. If you didn't catch it, wait till next chapter.)

Second: this chapter is ginormous, lol. Originally, it was longer, because of course it fucking was LMAO. But, I seperated it. That's why there's going to be another chapter after this one that wraps up the arc entirely. I've still written longer chapters than this tho, the OGs remember the legendary "A fool's heart" mega upload spree… That shit was different… Also, sorry this one came out late. I literally put a time limit on myself and didn't stick with it lol. Shit just got in the way at the worst times. That's life. It's okay tho. In the end, it's probably better that the chapter comes out long and refined instead of being rushed out.

Third: HOLY SHIT, THERE IS SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT. For this one, you would genuinely need a notepad to write down the shit you wanna talk about, lol. I can't even remember what people did for "A fool's heart" when we had the BIG ONE. I can't even imagine. I appreciate any of you who write the long reviews, they're always my favorite reviews. If any of you hold up your tradition of long reviews, thank you, I'm sorry lol, and I'll make sure to read all of them.

Fourth: I think it's clear just by reading, but it has been revealed, Ddraig is the main narrator for this story.

Lastly, please excuse the few bits of "shonen-ism" that can be caught in certain parts of this arc. You know, the "characters didn't kill each other immediately when they came face to face" sort of stuff. Sometimes, these things are just unavoidable in storytelling if you want certain moments and story beats to take place properly. Hell, there's way more of that type of shit in canon, but I try to reduce it as much as possible or give a specific reason in order to remain within a proper field of logic. And hopefully, all of the story beats are great enough so that you can easily overlook such minor transgressions.

Anyway, since this is such a giant chapter, I'll do some leg work for you guys and try to make it easier for you to review. Ahem..

So what did you think?: How was the fight? Was Issei as powerful as you expected, more or less? What do you think about the major character developments that have taken place in this arc and even just in this chapter? Did you think that war was genuinely going to happen for a second there? Which change did you find to be your favorite or the most interesting? What surprised you the most or just made you glad that it happened? What development is making you more interested for the future? Hell, who's your favorite character so far? Was this chapter long enough for you (if any of you say no, I will burn down my house)?

Read, Rate, Review go crazy.

Stay Frosty.