GRIGORI

"Haa… Haa, even after all these years, you haven't missed a beat, Armaros."

"Neither have you, Barakiel…"

Before the gates of Grigori, destruction was rampant. In the beginning, the defected forces of Armaros had the advantage, thanks in part to the magicians that bolstered their forces. However, after the arrival of the reinforcements from the Three-powers, it was clear that the attackers were on the back foot. This indicated to Barakiel that the peace treaty had indeed succeeded.

However, as the two Fallen-Angels continued their battle, with Barakiel visibly maintaining the upper hand due to sustaining less injuries, something unexpected occurred.

A majority, if not all, of the assisting forces from Khaos Brigade retreated by magic circle. Now, it was only the Fallen-Angel rebel faction that was left.

"Oh? Look at that, Armaros. It seems your new "allies" have abandoned you. Perhaps they don't intend to fulfill their part of the bargain after all. How unfortunate for you."

"That changes nothing. We will continue to fight even if it is on our own."

"You'll only be wasting lives!"

The battles continued, with the power dynamic shifting entirely in the direction of Grigori. But this momentum lasted only a few minutes, because yet another bizarre event took place.

For some reason, the majority of the allied forces Devils teleported away just like the magicians did.

"Oho, it seems the Devils have abandoned you as well, my old friend. Of course, it's unsurprising that they were the first to retreat from the fight."

Barakiel didn't register his former friend's goading, he was far too concerned with the circumstances.

'The Devils retreated? That can't be. Azazel assured me that Sirzechs Lucifer was the most enthusiastic about confirming this peace treaty between the Three-powers. He even told me that it was their idea. Why would they retreat in the midst of a battle? They couldn't have betrayed us, could they? No, I would've gotten word from Shemhazai. On top of that, for it to happen shortly after the magicians retreated..?'

Unexpectedly, Armaros redirected his attention to the communication circle hovering over his ear.

"Hmm? Oh, it's you. What do you want, boy...? Hmm?! What did you say?! That's happening right now?! Unbelievable… Such chaos. It's no wonder so many of my forces haven't returned… Oh, is that your suggestion? And what would the descendant of the victorious fighting Buddha gain in providing me with such "sagely" advice?"

"...!"

Barakiel's eyes widened in surprise.

'The descendant of the victorious fighting Buddha?! That means… Sun Wukong's..!?'

To Barakiel's continuous shock, Armaros visibly relaxed his posture.

"...Is that so? I see… If that's the case, then perhaps I'll take that advice. Mm, farewell then. —Barakiel. It's unfortunate, but it looks like we'll need to end our little encounter here. The circumstances have rapidly changed into something unexpected and unfavorable to us. I'm sure the moment you hear of it, you'll consider it unfavorable to you too."

"Armaros, what are you saying? Do you really think that you can just walk away from this after attacking our base?"

"I'm afraid so. You should also contact your own forces over in the human world. You might want to check on your daughter."

"..!?"

The shock overwhelmed Barakiel enough to allow Armaros to retreat. After disengaging his forces, allowing the enemy to retreat as well, Barakiel desperately attempted to contact his allies.

"Azazel, Shemhazai! Are you there?! Shemhazai!"

Eventually, he received a response.

"Shemhazai! I finally got through.. Armaros has retreated, Grigori is safe. But more importantly, what's going on over there?! Why did the enemy retreat so soon? Why did the Devils disengage? Is Akeno alright?!"

Barakiel couldn't have imagined the explanation that Shemhazai provided him with.

"...W-What did you say?!"


MISERY


Rumble

A few people let out a shriek at the sudden, but softer shake.

—Underneath the town of Kuoh, there was a collection of magically reinforced shelters, built shortly after the Kuoh disaster that took place ten years ago, and reinforced further after the events regarding the warmonger, Kokabiel. They were shelters that were built to withstand even near Satan-class level destruction, if not more. Of course, none of the human residents were aware that these shelters were constructed by non-humans, let alone Devils. This lack of knowledge also extended to the town officials as well. As far as anyone knew, these structures were contracted by the town officials and funded by high level benefactors that resided somewhere else within the heart of Tokyo, even providing their own contracted legion of "builders." Little did the humans know, these "benefactors" resided in hell, not on earth.

"Ah, shit, man… I've never been in an earthquake this bad. I don't know if I can handle it.."

The caramel headed dunce, Narutobi Hagakure, held his head anxiously while sitting up against a wall. His friend, Satoru Inoue, chastised the boy from beside him.

"Hey, keep it together, alright? You're a man, aren't you? A few shakes isn't anything to be scared about. This is Japan, it happens all the time. Besides, if you keep acting all anxious like this, you'll start making everybody else feel worse. Look at Maki-chan and Tsubomi-chan. Look at Sae-obaasan, for goodness sake…. You wanna make them feel worse?"

"Y-You say that like it's such an easy thing, ya damn pretty boy..! But news flash for ya— unlike you, I haven't been in a life-or-death situation before! This is my first time feeling scared like this!"

"Lower your voice! I just said you'd make everybody feel worse acting that way, didn't I?"

"Well, excuse me for not being a serial-killer survivor with nerves of steel, pitcher boy!"

As Satoru failed to ease the worries of his friend, he looked over to another one of his friends beside him, Akane Tsubomi, who was being held close by another Akane, Ms. Aikawa. Akane Aikawa also held her own daughter closely, with her husband on the other side of her, comforting his senior aunt, who was muttering incoherent sentences while wrapped in a trauma blanket.

Akane comforted the two girls in her embrace by rubbing their shoulders.

"It's alright, girls. Don't you worry about anything. We'll all be alright."

Tsubomi didn't answer and merely kept to herself, while Akane's own daughter, Maki, trembled helplessly. Akane whispered to her husband beside her.

"Darling, say something to the girls, they're scared."

Satoshi Aikawa appeared to snap out of some inquisitive stupor that he was caught in and responded to his wife confusedly.

"Ah, what? I'm sorry, honey, I was distracted. What did you say just now?"

"What is wrong with you? I need your help here. The children are scared half to death, this is no time to be daydreaming."

Satoshi answered his wife while returning his gaze to anywhere but beside himself again.

"Unfortunately, dear, I'm not daydreaming. I wish I could say that I was only imagining things, but…."

Satoshi's voice trailed off suspiciously, causing his wife to begin to worry. He was not often this way.

"But what..?"

Satoshi scanned the room warily, most of the time, his eyes landing on the figures at every corner of the large shelter.

"...Tell me, Akane. Did you notice anything odd when we were brought here?"

"Odd?"

"Yes, for example, like…. Like the fact that we're in an underground shelter, despite the Kuoh's great disaster being known for the most extensive damage done by an earthquake to a single town or city in Japan. On top of that, this location that we were taken to…. Did you notice that when we were routed to the closest shelter, we were relocated due to concerns about "crowding" within our shelter, despite the fact that our original shelter didn't appear overpopulated at all. And when I asked about that detail, those so-called "first responders" that relocated us just told me that it was because they were still expecting more people to come. But how many people are in this town really? I'm sure they've made enough shelters to re-route others away from our own, instead of relocating us. Plus, I don't know if you've noticed, but this shelter we're sitting in right now…is unnervingly empty. There's hardly anyone here compared to the other shelter we were at. And the people that are sheltered here besides us, they don't look like regular folks… There's only a few families, while the rest of them look like…important folks. Officials, possibly? And maybe a few of their families too? This suspicion is only compounded by the fact that there's "first responders" on every corner of this place, standing around like some sort of security or something…. Most of all, those security guys…they seem….off. They don't seem like regular people, somehow…"

"What do you mean, Satoshi? Are you trying to say that we've been singled out..?"

"Yes. For whatever reason, it seems like…we've been given "special treatment."

"Did they possibly mistake us for someone else?"

"A mistake like that? Unlikely… This seems quietly intentional. We were relocated very shortly after we'd arrived. We only had time to sit down. And those guys came up to us the moment they saw us… Perhaps if I could've seen what was on their clipboards…"

Akane scoffed.

"Well, if that's true, then I think it's best we stop questioning it. If we really are in a more secure location, then I don't care if we've been mistaken for someone else. So long as my children are safe, the rest doesn't matter to me."

Akane looked down at her trembling hands, which she wisely hid from the children close to her.

"Still… Even if I know that we're safe, I can't get rid of this anxiety… Honey… Do you think…?"

"Yes. Our boy's alright. I'm certain he is. He's smart. He can take care of himself. He's been through this once already. He's been through…..much…"

Akane glanced down at Satoshi's hand on his side. She noticed the trembling in his arms that resembled her own.

'You say that, but… The truth is you're scared too, aren't you, dear? The entire time he's been with us, you've been so apprehensive about calling him "ours" out of fear of disrespecting Gorou and Miki-san. Yet now, you've said it for the first time, in a situation like this, and not even realized it… I can tell just by looking at you… You've never been more afraid in your entire life..'

Silently, Akane took her husband's hand in her own to comfort him. For a moment, he smiled, before turning away and shutting his eyes tightly. He felt a throbbing sensation in his head. What he thought was the pulsing of a headache brought on by the intermittent shaking of the earth was actually caused by the strain of holding his eyes closed in an unconscious attempt to prevent a quiet trail of tears from escaping the clutches of his eye ducts.

'Worthless… I'm so damn worthless… I'm so sorry, Gorou. No matter what happens, I keep failing you. At every single turn, I fail you again and again…. Your son should be here. He should be here, with us, where it's safe. Where we can protect each other. Where Akane and I can look after him. Yet instead, he's out there somewhere, probably managing all on his own…. It's just like when he was a child. Nothing's changed at all…. Gorou, forgive me. I haven't been able to change anything…'

Satoshi looked up at the wall beside him suspiciously, as if something were there, despite it being a blank wall.

'Worst of all, we're stuck in this…uncomfortable place. And I just can't shake this unsettling feeling...'

Little did Satoshi know, he was staring right at one of a thousand magical reinforcement circles that had been enchanted to be invisible to the human eye.


DRAGONS


[Vali! Vali, can you hear me?]

When Vali uncovered his eyes, he realized how far he had been blown away. He must have been nearly hundreds of meters high. Looking down at the town below, he noticed the object of his interest.

"Heh, he completely obliterated it."

Vali was unbothered at the sight of a crater the size of multiple football fields. It must've been 50 meters deep and hundreds of meters in circumference. The crater not only encompassed the entire size of the academy which was once present in its spot, but even surpassed it. The areas surrounding the academy must have also been destroyed to a certain extent.

And now, left in the academy's place was nothing but a meteoric crater— and a creature of unfathomable power.

GUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The beast— The dragon of misery— released a bellow of untold proportions into the night's sky, causing the moon above the Hakuryuukou's head to appear as if it was shaking in fear. Despite the monstrous power, Vali couldn't help but smirk at the sight of it.

"So he's finally done it… Albion, is that the Juggernaut Drive?"

[No… That…is something else. It is his equivalent to the drive…. He did it. He truly did assimilate the power and made it his own. Instead of being devoured by the Juggernaut Drive like all of those before him, he "devoured" it first. It is part of him, and now he, a part of it. It is no longer a "forbidden" technique sealed behind a hidden door. It belongs entirely to him and his Sacred Gear…. By doing this, he has definitively subverted the will of the Biblical God who cursed him...]

"Is it at the same level of power as the original Juggernaut Drive?"

[From the looks of it, no…. Perhaps that is the consequence of assimilating the seal, or perhaps he simply hasn't ascended to that power level just yet. I can't tell. His energy signature is much too unruly. It's fluctuating, that's all I know for sure. Things have become a lot worse than before, Vali… But this must've been what you wanted, isn't it?]

Vali smirked.

"That's right, Albion. With this development, I can safely say that it's possible to subvert the curse of the Juggernaut Drive. I can make it my own. I just need to figure out my own method is all."

[...]

Vali, seeing as there was no other alternative, summoned his own accursed power.

"Are you ready, Albion?"

[Vali, you can't possibly mean to… I should've known. You truly do wish for me to adapt to this power. Do you really think you can win? Even after everything we've seen? Do you think that just because his power level hasn't reached the same heights of the original drive that we can win? Is this how you plan to defeat him? Your hubris truly knows no bounds. No, perhaps that is simply your own madness…]

" I, who is about to awaken… "

[You are a fool, Vali. Mark my words, this recklessness will be your downfall.]


ALLIES


Somewhere on the outskirts of Kuoh, a vantage point on the entire town, the powers of the Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou could be seen from afar.

This was where the allied forces had escaped to, the place where Ajuka Beezlebub's transportation formula had taken them. Out here, though farthest from the centerpoint of the town, they were safe.

Finally, Rias Gremory fell to her knees and dropped the rosary in her hands, no longer able to bear the pain.

"Rias!"

Her brother Sirzechs supported her now unconscious body and Grayfia cooled her burning hands using her ice magic. Suddenly, Asia Argento stirred awake from her state of unconsciousness amongst all the commotion.

"Are you alright, Ise-san..? I heard something very loud. Ise-san?"

Akeno ran up beside Asia and Raynare worriedly.

"Asia-chan! Rias is hurt! We need you to heal her, hurry!"

"E-Eh? Buchou-san?!"

Despite her confusion, Asia ran to Rias unhesitantly and began healing her hands, which were bleeding and sizzling profusely. In the middle of Rias's bloodied palms, there was a physical imprint in the shape of Issei's rosary, which Asia noticed was covered in blood on the dirt.

"Serafall. This might sound outlandish, but I'm going to need your help for this."

Ajuka summoned Serafall over to his side and discussed a plan of action with her. She appeared surprised but agreed to it nonetheless. Raising her magical wand, she spawned a multitude of magic circles in front of her, all aimed at the town far below.

"Celsius Cross Trigger!"

Without warning, the entirety of Kuoh was covered in a thick layer of ice within seconds, structures and woodland alike. The freezing stopped just short of the mountain ranges on the outskirts of each end.

"Well done. I shall handle the rest."

Ajuka followed Serafall's action by placing what must have been millions upon millions of magical seals around the town's frozen exterior in order to reinforce it for protection.

Azazel stepped up beside the two Maou knowingly.

"I see. You used the Magical Girl Leviathan's unbeatable ice magic to freeze the town and reinforced it with your own defensive magic, huh? No doubt you must've concluded that it was safer to do so than just let it be destroyed by the Heavenly Dragons."

"Of course. Considering the outcomes, it's far preferable to have Serafall freeze the town over in order to maintain its infrastructure rather than it being destroyed. If the infrastructure is compromised, not only might we have a refugee crisis, but it would be far more difficult to keep a disaster like this as contained as possible. The first Kuoh disaster was already a catastrophe reported on a national scale. We don't need that again, let alone an internationally reported disaster, which this is bound to be if the Heavenly Dragons were left to run amok on the town. The cover-up process would be tremendously difficult. For now, this is the best we can do."

"True, a refugee crisis would only scale the level of disaster up even more than necessary. And thankfully, since all of the town's citizens are underground, we don't need to worry about freezing any of them accidentally. Now it's all a question of whether these defenses will truly hold or not."

Shemhazai approached from the side and inquired of Ajuka.

"But why didn't you transport the Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou away from this place instead of moving us? Wouldn't it be best to just send them far away from a place with civilians?"

Ajuka shook his head.

"Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Considering the power being released by the Sekiryuutei, there was no guarantee that the spell to transport them would've been effective. For all I know, it might've just been dispelled or destroyed like the failsafes of Michael and Sirzechs both were. Perhaps it might've worked on the Hakuryuukou, but I couldn't risk it not working on his rival. It was far safer to move us instead."

Azazel nodded his head in agreement with that assessment.

"Mm, a wise last-minute decision. In the best case scenario, the seal would've been disrupted so quickly that you would've had time to consider another option. But in the worst case scenario, the magical formula would have struggled against the Sekiryuutei's power until the last moment, where there was nothing else we could do but die. If you ask me, I'd rather stick with life."

Shemhazai frowned frustratedly.

"So in the end, our only option was to run away. Tch, damn it all! I knew we should've acted sooner!"

Although his companion was perturbed, Azazel kept his composure.

"Calm down, my friend. We might've been placed on the backfoot, but we haven't completely run out of options yet. Sirzechs."

With a deep sigh, Sirzechs left his sister's side, entrusting her care to Grayfia and Asia. When he stood beside Azazel, the Fallen-Angel retrieved something from his jacket pocket.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do..? If you ask me something like that, my answer will no doubt come up short.."

"Right. In that case, I'll ask this instead: what do you think we should do?"

To that question, Sirzechs appeared hesitant to answer. Shemhazai voiced his frustrations.

"Sirzechs! You already know what needs to be done, don't you? Why are you still hesitating? Look at the destruction that's been wrought! At this point, we have no choice! You and Michael are the only two here that can do anything about it!"

Azazel sighed and lifted the item he retrieved from his pocket, revealing it to be a golden dagger with a purple jewel that resembled the Heavenly Dragons' own armor jewels on the bottom of its hilt.

"I still have my [Downfall Dragon Spear] so I'm sure that I can at least get close to them without much trouble. But my own ability will still be limited compared to you two. I've only got my holy-light spears and magic to boast about, and a lot of that is going to be rendered useless by something like the Juggernaut drive. I might have a chance against Vali's if I concentrate the holy element in targeting his Devil nature, but with that level of dragonic aura, that isn't guaranteed to work. Plus, Michael's holy element is off the charts compared to my own, so he'd be the better choice. And you, Sirzechs. You've still got that form that you showed to me the first time we discussed peace negotiations. If anyone can get close to those two and have a chance at "erasing" them, it's undoubtedly you."

Sirzechs furrowed his brow worriedly. He looked to Michael for his opinion.

"Michael, what do you think?"

Michael's expression was even more conflicted than Sirzechs.

"...I do not know. I believe that we must do what is necessary to reduce the damage done by the rampaging dragons just as we did centuries ago… However, I also believe that there is a possibility that the soul of Hyoudou Issei can be saved… Perhaps that is just my ignorant nature as an Archangel, but even so… I had hoped to avoid resorting to anything reckless…. But now, all I can think of is….that I might have no choice but to retrieve [lahat hahereb]... That is the only judgment that could possibly stop these two in their tracks… That's something I'd never wished to unsheath from its resting place. It isn't my place to."

"Well, unless Sirzechs does something, you might not have a choice."

Sirzechs groaned irritatedly at Azazel's implication.

"I've heard enough of this, Azazel. Don't you understand that if I were to use that form here, I'm likely to create more destruction than prevent it? It's far too dangerous. Even Serafall's ice magic and Ajuka's defenses will be rendered meaningless. The very earth's crust will begin to crumble away. The destruction will no doubt reach the magically reinforced shelters, as they have no chance of holding up against it. It's even more dangerous than letting these dragons run rampant."

"Hmm. Well, I can understand your hesitation. But if that's the case, then we're really fresh out of options. All we can hope is that the four of us together can manage something. The rest of the Maou besides you should probably stay here with the kids."

"Agreed… We'll need to make something work with just us then. Serafall, continue reinforcing the ice surrounding the territory for as long as it sustains damage. Ajuka, use your own magic to analyze the Sekiryuutei's power and ascertain whether he can be forcibly relocated or not. With enough time, I'm sure that you can construct a formula capable of moving him. We're going to need to bank on that possibility as our main plan of action for now. And Falbium, focus on reinforcing Serafall's magic with your own defenses. No doubt Ajuka's will only hold temporarily. It might be a lot to ask, but you'll likely need to be constantly maintaining it in order to protect everything effectively. If worst comes to worst, Grayfia can also assist with her own magic. So until Ajuka is done constructing his formula, Azazel, Michael, Shemhazai and I will hold them off. Our main objective is to buy time and minimize destruction. If possible, target their weaknesses and defeat them both. Falbium, seal them inside of a barrier with us. We're going to try and keep their space limited to that meteoric crater where the academy used to stand. If we maintain their focus while in that battlefield, we can keep them from going berserk on the rest of the town."

"Understood. Although, don't expect it to hold up too well, considering."

"I know. But as long as we can contain them to a space away from the town's surface, that'd be best. We have to try whatever we can."

Boooooooooooooooooom!

Suddenly, the night's sky was dyed red with light, as if a blinding flare had been set off. The power of the Sekiryuutei was blasted into the air, straight towards his shining opponent, who had also taken on a new form.

Once the attack collided, it was split apart into a multitude of rays that cascaded across the sky, indicating that the Vanishing Dragon had defended against it with its armor. Soon after, the monstrous roars of both dragons shook the air.

GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

RUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Azazel passed out communicators to his fellow leaders. The four leaders then collectively unfurled their wings, preparing themselves for the upcoming fight.

"Let's go."

With Sirzechs' word, they took off into the sky towards the destruction.

"So they're really going then…"

Serafall watched as her fellow leaders flew off in unison, worried about what the result of all of this catastrophe might be. As she did, an unknown intruder had infiltrated Kuoh. Sitting leisurely on a golden cloud right above their heads, masking his presence using sage techniques foreign to them.

"Aaah, you've really gone and done it now, Vali. Now I've gotta think up a way of how to get you out of this situation. Geez… "

—As the leaders closed in, Azazel relayed the orders.

"Shemhazai! You hang back and use your eyes to read their abilities! We can strategize based on that!"

"Roger that!"

Shemhazai halted his flight and held fast in the air. As he did that, Azazel lifted his golden dagger.

"Balance Break!"

Suddenly, a golden armor with purple jewels surrounded Azazel's body, resembling the Scale Mail armors of the Heavenly Dragons. Upon completing his transformation, Azazel caught the attention of both Heavenly Dragons.

Meanwhile, Shemhazai summoned his own power.

"[Strigiformes: Great Grey Analysis!]"

Turquoise colored flames burst out from Shemhazai's eyes. Progressively, the flames diminished and all that was left on Shemhazai's eyes were glowing magical symbols. In Shemhazai's vision, he could see things that were invisible to the naked eye, even for most supernatural beings.

Using this special vision of his, he analyzed the Hakuryuukou first. From what he could see, there were symbols representing the Hakuryuukou's demonic power, translated into the devil alphabet floating right above the monster's head. There was also something else that resembled a countdown somewhere near that.

'His demonic power is fluctuating… No, it's decreasing! And this bizarre "timer"... It isn't counting down in tandem with the decreasing demonic power. But if his demonic power is draining despite just sitting there and doing nothing… I see! That must mean that Vali is substituting his life force drain with his demonic power, in order to avoid risking his life! Azazel was right! He really was trying to find an avenue to utilize the Juggernaut Drive in secret all this time! But then what does this timer represent..? Hmm… His sanity? Yes… Yes, that must be it. If the timer and the decreasing demonic power aren't related, then that timer no doubt represents Vali's time limit for his diminishing sanity! From the looks of it, he only has 2 minutes and 30 something seconds… If that's the case, we'll need to take him down before then. We can't risk him going berserk and furthering the devastation. At the very least, when he's retained a modicum of sanity, he's still beatable. There might even be a chance that he'll deactivate the form himself once his demonic power runs out..!'

Shemhazai pointed to Michael.

"Michael! Vali's currently running on a time limit. He has a small window of time before he not only runs out of demonic power, but also loses his sanity. Your best course of action is to deplete his demonic power as quickly as possible. The more times he uses his power, the more demonic power he uses. The purity of your holy power is matched by no other creature in Heaven. If you attack him using abilities which utilize the most potency for your holiness, he'll have no choice but to use his power to defend. Considering the battle he just had with the Sekiryuutei, his fuel tank has already taken a good hit to its supply. Once he's out of demonic power, he'll keep expending his life force, and eventually, he'll die. Either that, or he'll need to deactivate that form himself somehow. Whatever the case, you need to "bleed him dry!"

Michael nodded his head and made his way towards the Hakuryuukou, all the while muttering to himself.

"You're wrong, Shemhazai… There is one who matches my holiness.."

Shemhazai returned his attention to the Sekiryuutei and began his visual analysis. However, an issue presented itself.

"What the? Where is..?"

For reasons he didn't understand, Shemhazai could not read the Sekiryuutei's "stats" as he could with the Hakuryuukou.

'I can't read him… As I thought, if I don't understand a power's functionality or its origin, I can't "scan" it. This power that he's using is completely foreign to me on every level. It doesn't even resemble Vali's Juggernaut Drive all that much. At this stage, it's something completely unique…. With that being said, what on earth is going on with his aura? It's exceedingly potent and brimming with malice, but… it's also unstable. It appears to be fluctuating. I can't tell if it's increasing or decreasing… Agh, all we can do for now is find out the hard way!'

"Azazel, Sirzechs! Sorry, but I don't have much to give you. I can't analyze his power just yet, I don't have enough vital information about it. For now, all I can tell you is that your best course of action is to keep his focus trained on the two of you in order to minimize damage to the surrounding environment. Azazel should prioritize distracting the beast while Sirzechs can try to destroy him using his Power of Destruction. See if you can create a weak point that'll allow you to strike at the source. He might be a monster now, but no matter the circumstances, his body is still that of a human. It's entirely destructible. If you can get through his armor with Sirzechs' power and hit him with a light spear, that could be enough, or vice versa. Either way you decide to do it, just try to create an opening somehow!"

Azazel chuckled morbidly.

"Heh, an enemy with no obvious weaknesses for us to exploit. Plus it's the Sekiryuutei again. Just like the first time. We've just got to brute force it. Looks like we pulled the short straw again, huh, Sirzechs?"

"...More than you can believe, Azazel.."

—And so, centuries after their original destruction and subsequent sealing, the Scarlet Dragon of Misery and the Silver Dragon of Ruin were once again "back to back," pitted against the united forces of Heaven and Hell.

As Azazel and Sirzechs closed in on their target, Michael had already begun engagement with his.

He summoned a mighty and gallant light spear, concentrating as much holiness as he could into the attack. When he launched it at full speed towards the Hakuryuukou, the Hakuryuukou used its power to decrease the spear's power until it disappeared.

[Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide!]

It took a considerable amount of division for the spear to dissipate, but it eventually did. What was left behind was nothing but holy essence. Michael recalled those particles of holy light back to himself and used it to form a bracelet around his wrist.

Shemhazai analyzed the Hakuryuukou's actions closely.

"He absorbed the energy of the spear but not the holy element..? And he did it without even needing to touch Michael once. That limitation must be removed in this form. To think that the Divine Dividing could separate the holy element from its power source… The original Dragon never did that... No, wait. If I think about it, that's something the original didn't need to do. The holy element didn't affect the original White Dragon Emperor. But this host is a Devil, which means he is vulnerable to the holy element. I see! So that's why he isn't absorbing it. He can't absorb the holy element without receiving damage so he has no choice but to separate it. But that renders the holy element useless since it can't attack its target without a conduit… Unless.. Michael! Do you have any attacks that could surround the Hakuryuukou in an overwhelming amount of aura? Something filled to the brim with your holy element?"

Michael nodded his head in realization.

"I see! Yes, I know what to do."

Michael clasped his hands in prayer before separating his palms, revealing that divine magic circles were present on them. He aimed his palms at the Hakuryuukou, causing a pair of divine circles to appear both above and below the monster. Once they appeared, Michael concentrated his holy element to be released at full blast from both ends onto the dragon. The Hakuryuukou was swallowed by an intensely blinding, holy light.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINN!

[Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide!]

Unsurprisingly, the Hakuryuukou used its power to diminish the holy power, but upon doing so, the dragon began to howl in what seemed like pain and staggered.

"Ruuuuuuooooooooooh!"

Just as Shemhazai had theorized, the Hakuryuukou suffered damage from being forced to absorb the holy element.

"Yes, Michael! That's our avenue! This probably only works because it's an incomplete transformation, but even so! Keep using the holy element in a way that he can't defend against! As long as you continue to force him into using his powers, he'll sustain damage. And if he stops using his Divine Dividing altogether, then he'll be forced to use his already diminishing demonic power. That'll bleed him out quicker and he'll either be forced to deactivate the form, or let his life force be consumed entirely, preferably before he goes berserk and the transformation is completed. Keep at it, Michael!"

"Understood.—?!"

Out of nowhere, the Hakuryuukou recovered unexpectedly quickly and attacked Michael without warning. The dragon crashed into him, bringing him down to the earth and digging its claws into Michael's sides.

DOONN!

"Michael!"

Shemhazai ushered to intervene but stopped himself when he noticed Michael's aura increase and surrounding both him and the dragon. The Hakuryuukou separated itself from Michael, allowing the Archangel to regain his bearings.

"Michael, are you alright?"

"Yes, no need to worry. I have sustained much greater damage than this from the original White Dragon Emperor."

Michael wiped the sides of his ribcage where the claws of the Hakuryuukou had pierced his armor. Some blood was leaking out, but he didn't appear to be dissuaded.

"The last time my army and I had faced you, I displayed an unsightly performance. My Lord had entrusted me with defending his Heaven whilst he battled the Red Dragon Emperor, and I allowed the White Dragon Emperor to bring down "ruin" upon His magnificent Kingdom... It even got as far as decimating Our Lord's nigh indestructible holy throne… Once I allowed his Kingdom to be infected by a serpent in the garden, and once by a serpent in his throne room. I am ashamed of that to this very day. Although it is unbecoming of a Seraph, I'm certain that the will of My Lord would not protest to me exacting justice in exchange for that sin.."

Michael removed his cape and shoulder guarded armor, leaving him with only his red and golden under armor, representative of Heaven's divine armies.

"So, come then, foul serpent of "ruin." Come and receive the Lord's blessings. For even if He is no longer present in this world.."

Michael raised his arms and expanded his multitude of golden wings, combining them into one pair of iridescent wings shining brilliantly in a myriad of colors. His holy aura increased to match the blinding light of the sun and he spread his arms out widely.

"The Blessings of the Lord are Everlasting."

SHIIIIIIIIIIINNN!

—Across the crater, Azazel and Sirzechs had already begun their battle as well.

Sirzechs surrounded the bloodstained emperor with another bubble shield of his power of destruction, sealing him inside and decreasing the space within. However, the beast countered by expanding its aura, keeping the shield at bay from touching him.

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

"Hold him there, Sirzechs!"

Azazel charged the beast with a double pronged light spear, forcing Sirzechs to disable his shield bubble. Azazel aimed to take the creature's head. Of course, the beast simply caught the spear and stopped Azazel in his tracks.

{"Sorry to say, but it's just a body double."}

Just as Azazel said that to the berserk monster, Azazel's visage faded away like an illusion, leaving only the light spear behind. Then the light spear ignited, causing a massive explosion that covered the entire half of the large crater that the beast and his opponents occupied.

BOOOOOM!

"As the [Ash Crow], I've always specialized in utilizing the explosive power of my light spears, oddly enough. Here's hoping that I did something."

For Azazel, that was just wishful thinking, however. Soon, the beast revealed that it had sustained little to no damage.

"GUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"Tch, no effect, huh? Alright, piercing power it is then. Sirzechs! Send him into the air!"

"Understood!"

Sirzechs quickly descended onto the crater and placed his hand upon the dirt below. He funneled his power of Destruction finely onto one point below the Sekiryuutei's feet. After the ground began to raze away, as if being sucked into a sinkhole, the Sekiryuutei inevitably dodged the rising power of destruction.

It was when the Sekiryuutei was in the air that Azazel formulated a legion of jagged spears with edges sharpened to the finest extent. He then sent them down upon the beast

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

However, instead of being left vulnerable to the attack by its own momentum, the Sekiryuutei did something unexpected.

[MAXIMUM JET!]

It boosted upward towards the spears at full blast, but the instant they were bound to make contact with its armor—

[CONSUME!]

The spears were suddenly absorbed by the dragonic eyes trapped within the armor's jewels.

"AH! SHIT!"

And after that, it was too late for Azazel to avoid the Sekiryuutei barreling towards him with such velocity that their collision almost broke the sound barrier.

DONNNNNN!

The impact sent the two hurtling through the sky, instantly breaking a great amount of the armor covering Azazel's body. But before the pair could ascend anywhere near to the clouds' altitude, the foul beast halted their momentum by using its jetpack and shot them back down to the earth. Using its grip on Azazel's head and arm, the beast dragged Azazel's body across the jagged surface of the ice laden town, cracking it along the way.

CRAAAAAAAAAACK!

The beast dragged Azazel until finally, it tossed him up and grabbed him by the leg, using its grip to throw Azazel with unbelievable force towards another wall of ice covering one of Kuoh's governmental buildings. Luckily, the ice held strong against the impact, despite the immense cracking.

But the beast was relentless, boosting right towards the bloodied Azazel again. Azazel used the sudden closing of distance to his advantage and spawned a powerful orb of light in front of him. The Sekiryuutei's collision with it created a massive explosion which sent the monster flying back.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Before the beast could correct its flying pattern, Sirzechs appeared to capitalize on Azazel's attack by clotheslining the Sekiryuutei with a fist covered in power of destruction, straight to the beast's mask.

DONNNN!

The beast collided with the fist and crashed into the ice. Sirzechs immediately felt the backlash of the impact against his shoulder, but ignored the pain. He only hoped that the attack had some sort of effect.

"Guuoooh…."

When the beast lifted its broken mask to look at Sirzechs, he saw something he didn't expect. He had expected the face of a human boy contorted into a furious glare, but instead he felt a chill down his spine when he was met with the icy cold stare of a monstrous dragonic eye surrounded by scales instead of skin.

[JET!]

Without warning, the Sekiryuutei charged at Sirzechs. Sirzechs attempted Azazel's strategy of spawning a sphere of power of destruction in front of himself for the Sekiryuutei to collide with. Unfortunately, the beast was wise enough to fire a blast out of its mouth and destroy the sphere, but Sirzechs used whatever cloud of smoke there was to his advantage and tossed his cape onto the beast. He followed that up by expanding the particles of destruction he planted on the cape, igniting it in his power almost instantaneously. Before the power could touch the beast however, it flared its aura and blew the cape off of itself in that almost inescapable window of time.

Still, the pair's assault didn't stop. Azazel lobbed another explosive spear at the Sekiryuutei's unprotected backside, causing an explosion upon impact which sent the beast crashing back into the crater they were originally fighting in.

Not wishing to allow the beast a chance to recover, Azazel sent another one of his forked spears at the monster, pinning it into the ground by trapping its neck.

"There, Sirzechs! Now's your chance!"

In accordance with Azazel's call out, Sirzechs prepared a sphere of destruction much denser than any he had before during the entirety of the battle. Hesitantly, he sent it down towards the pinned Sekiryuutei.

Then, as the sphere closed in, power quietly began to congregate above the monstrous eye in the center of the Sekiryuutei's chest.

[VENGEFUL CANNON!]

A blast of energy lit the sky red once again, completely destroying the sphere composed of power of destruction. If it had only been more concentrated, it might've eaten away at the blast, but instead, it was dissipated. Azazel clicked his tongue frustratedly.

"Che! It feels like we aren't making any progress at all. How're things on your end, Michael?"

{Good. Thanks to the innate Devil nature of my opponent, the odds are increasingly in my favor. I believe I might be able to defeat him.}

"Heh, wish we could say the same over here… Our opponent doesn't seem to have any obvious weaknesses."

At that moment, Michael recalled something vital.

"That's right!"

Michael used his magic to summon something from thin air. When the blinding light diminished, he tossed the item towards Shemhazai, who then quickly tossed it to Azazel in realization of what it was.

"Here, Azazel!"

Azazel caught the item without even looking at it. A moment after grasping it, he realized what it was. A blade blanketed in a holy aura. But not just any holy aura…

"This is..!"

{It's the holy dragon-slaying sword that belonged to Saint George, Ascalon. I had originally obtained it in case my personal negotiations with the Sekiryuutei had gone sour. Clearly, they have now… It should assist you in dealing some considerable damage to the beast, if not at least create an opening.}

Azazel cackled somewhat triumphantly, but also somewhat sarcastically.

"HAHA! You're telling me you had this all this time and didn't think to give us a heads-up? Our plan of action might've been different if I knew you had this."

{My apologies. I had become too focused on my own opponent's weakness as a Devil that I had almost forgotten our opponents are both dragons.}

"Well, it's water under the bridge. Now that we've got this, we can make this work. Sirzechs, I'll create an opening in the armor using the blade and you find a way to make contact with your power of destruction. I can tell that you're still apprehensive about killing him, so go ahead and try using your power to eat away at the armor instead. Maybe you can force him out of the transformation if you destroy his Scale Mail from the inside."

"...Very well."

As they agreed on their plan of action, the Sekiryuutei released itself from its place in the ground by crushing the spear in between its claws. Once it was free, Sirzechs and Azazel separated, and the beast targeted Azazel.

Azazel wasted no time in trying to impale the Sekiryuutei through the head, but the beast narrowly dodged the attack, causing the sword to land between its jaws instead. The sides of the blade still cut the edges of the beast's mouth, causing blood to leak out, but it maintained a grip too tight for Azazel to immediately pull away. Cleverly, the beast used its grip on the blade to its advantage and closed the distance with Azazel. It slid its way up the blade while holding it between its teeth, all the while slashing itself, but ultimately getting close enough to punch Azazel's stomach at full force.

DOOONNN!

"GUHA !"

Azazel was sent flying as blood flew out from his mouth. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought all of the blood in his stomach lining was gone already. He quickly recentered himself in midair and prepared to throw the sword like a spear.

"Damn monster! Do you feel any pain at all?!"

He launched Ascalon with such ferocity and precision that it ended up hitting the Sekiryuutei's left arm directly, completely severing it at the base.

SLICE!

"Bullseye!"

Azazel spawned what appeared to be a whip made of the same light material that conjured his spears and brought Ascalon back to himself before it could descend any further. However, just as Azazel celebrated the only real damage they had done to the beast, something unbelievable happened.

Ggguuguu!

A bundle of "strings" that resembled blood vessels burst out from the spot of armor where the Sekiryuutei's arm had been cut and attached themselves to the severed limb.

"WHA—?!"

In one swift motion, the vessels caught and pierced the severed arm in midair and pulled it back to its owner with great speed. Then, with a repulsive sound, they reattached the arm, acting as stitches for the affected area.

"You've got to be kidding!"

Azazel wasn't lucky enough to relish the irony. Once again, the Sekiryuutei tried to tackle him, but using Ascalon, Azazel impaled the beast right through the abdomen.

PIERCE!

Unfortunately, this didn't deter the monster. Without pause, the beast chomped into Azazel's shoulder and ripped his right arm clean off his body.

TEAR!

"Agh!"

"Azazel!"

For reasons unknown to both Sirzechs and Azazel, the beast immediately separated itself from Azazel the moment it took his arm and began feasting on it.

[CONSUME!]

"It's..eating the arm?"

In his confusion, Shemhazai focused his vision on the Sekiryuutei's aura.

"Wait… His aura is stabilizing! The consumption is stabilizing its aura's wavelength! So its not consuming to gain power but instead to maintain its form..? But if that's the case…"

Just as Shemhazai realized that, his ability began to take effect. More "stats" began to appear above the Sekiryuutei's form in his vision.

"That's…another timer. Just like with Vali's. No, this one is…increasing?! Wait, it's increasing as a result of the consumption! T-That means…! It's prolonging its transformation through consumption of power! That's what it's doing as a substitute for using its life force! Which means… So as long as it keeps consuming, the transformation will continue! Wait… What is that..?"

However, despite his epiphany, when Shemhazai focused his vision again, he noticed something despairing. A symbol that resembled the indicator for Vali's demonic power supply appeared. But this one was far more foreboding.

"...Y-You're joking, right..? Azazel… Something terrible has happened.."

{Besides losing my arm? You mean the fact that this guy's armor is basically a part of him so it's impossible to destroy it without killing him? Besides all that, what the hell is it this time?}

"...Ouroboros.."

{Oro..?! What the hell are you talking about?}

Shemhazai could see it. Right above the Sekiryuutei's head, there was the symbol of "the infinite."

"...The indicator for its power supply… It's bottomless, Azazel… So long as it maintains its transformation through consumption….it will continue to grow stronger, endlessly."

[—?!]

{Seriously?! Shit… It must've happened at that time. During the original moment of mutation… Now a singular aspect of "that creature's" existence has become a part of this transformation… That's the difference between this form and the original "Juggernaut Drive." Even though it doesn't start out at the same power level as the original, unlike the original, this form does not have a "power cap"… That's not good.}

{Azazel! This is no time to be getting distracted! We need to stop him now!}

Wasting no more time after this revelation, Sirzechs concentrated multiple fine bullets of power of destruction and sent them at the Sekiryuutei, aiming specifically for the opening in which Ascalon was planted. However, the Sekiryuutei sensed the attack fast approaching from behind and tossed its "meal" aside. Gripping the Ascalon that was piercing its stomach by the hilt, it did the most unexpected thing.

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

[Gift!] [Transfer!]

Shockingly, the beast transferred power into the blade of Ascalon, increasing the holy dragon-slaying aura almost tenfold and causing the quickly approaching demonic bullets to disappear.

[—?!]

"It used the aura of Ascalon to "exorcize" the demonic power concentrated in Sirzechs' bullets of destruction, causing the particles of the power of destruction to lose their form and disperse?! I thought it was just a mindless beast, but what unbelievable instincts! That was no doubt an even better solution than dodging since Sirzechs could just chase him with his power, but seriously, does this bastard not feel any pain at all?!"

Azazel didn't have much opportunity to complain after the beast forcefully removed Ascalon from its abdomen and tossed it aside. Azazel quickly retrieved the blade as the monster's aura exploded.

"GUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

The air shook, but Azazel and Sirzechs stood fast, ready to attack once again.

"..Ready, Sirzechs?"

"Yes."

Azazel held the blade up near his face and Sirzechs spawned another concentrated sphere of power of destruction, but this time, far smaller and far denser.

"Then let's go."

FOOM!

Azazel flew towards the Sekiryuutei at mach speed, holding the blade out as he did. Naturally, the Sekiryuutei caught the blade in between both of its claws. But this left the beast's backside open to attack.

"Now, Sirzechs!"

And so, Sirzechs approached from behind with his sphere in hand.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Narrowly dodging the frenzy of instinctive attacks from the Sekiryuutei's wings, Sirzechs closed the gap and aimed to plant the sphere of destruction directly into the opening on the back of its armor.

The killing blow…

.

.

.

But…


From afar, the sagely monkey sitting on his golden cloud could see the various explosions and other displays of power. And despite sitting on a cloud in the middle of the air, he could also still feel the shaking of the earth.

"Aaah, man… At this rate, Vali is seriously gonna die. What should I do, what should I do~ Hmm?"

The man then noticed something peculiar. He placed a hand over his eyes, as if to increase his vision towards what was occurring in the distance.

"...What is that?"


RUMBLE!

Once more, the shelter the Aikawa family was stuck in shook intensely.

"Aaaah, aaahhAAAAAAHH!"

"Obaa-san, it's alright, it's alright! It's just a bit of shaking, it'll be okay, I swear. Just please calm down."

Satoshi desperately tried calming down his borderline senile aunt, who was continuing to howl traumatically. Meanwhile, Akane made her best effort to comfort the children huddled around her.

"Shh, it's okay, kids. Everything's gonna be alright."

Her daughter Maki, asked her while trembling profusely.

"Mama…. I-I want my Nii-Nii… I'm so scared… I want him back.."

"I-I know, honey. It's okay. He'll be alright. You know that he's a smart boy. He's a strong boy. No matter what happens, he won't leave us. He won't leave you. He'llcome back to us, no matter what. I'm sure of it…"

Akane knew her daughter very well. And so she knew very well that her daughter's fear was not for herself, but for the boy she loved so dearly. But as much as it pained her, the only thing she could do as her mother in this situation was offer simple words of comfort.

Still, her daughter trembled, fearful of what could be.

Tightly, Maki hugged the black kitten for comfort and prayed internally.

'Please, if there's anyone listening…. Whether it's God or Buddha or any greater power that could be out there…. If there's anyone out there, I beg you, please…. Please bring my Nii-Nii back to me…. Please, let him be alright…. I beg you…. Bring him back to me.'


THE BOY


…..

…..

So this is the darkness… Yeah, this is….

This is where I belong…..

….

SHIIIINNNN!

Huh? W-What's that? A light…?

It's time, Ise.

…!? That voice! I know that voice!

Okaa-san!? Is that you?!

Time for you to come back, son.

O-Otou-san?! That's..! You're here!? That's really you, isn't it?! You're both really here!?

It's time for you to return, my boy. Your family is waiting for you.

Y-Yes! Yes, I can feel you! It's really you! Okaa-san, Otou-san! It's really, really you!

Hold on! I'm coming, Okaa-san! I'm on my way!

They miss you, son. They've asked us to come and get you. You need to return to where you belong.

I know, Otou-san! I know! I'm coming! I'm almost there! Soon, we'll be together again! We can be a family..!

Oh my sweet little boy…. You already have a family. And they're waiting for you now.

….Okaa-san…?

Go home.

…Home?

Nii-Nii… Where are you? Please come back...

….

….

Maki…?

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINN!


Sirzechs closed the gap and aimed to plant the sphere of destruction directly into the opening on the back of its armor.

The killing blow…

.

.

.

But, suddenly….

PAKA!

The armor surrounding Hyoudou Issei's body completely disappeared, indicating that the transformation had come undone.

[—?!]

Sirzechs halted his movements, as did Azazel, leaving Ascalon hovering right over Hyoudou Issei's forehead and Sirzechs' sphere of destruction a mere centimeter away from Issei's backside.

"..."

Quietly, the unconscious body of Hyoudou Issei fell out of the sky.

"AH! AH! That's totally my cue! Perfect timing!"

The monkey sage used his flying cloud to close the distance between him and the battlefield. Once he closed in, he approached the area where the berserk Vali was being suspended in the air.

Arms spread apart in the pose of the "stigmata." Right behind Vali, there was the thing that was keeping him suspended in the air, a giant golden crucifix made of pure holy essence. His arms were bound to it by holy chains, and it looked as if he was about to be crucified. No, he was being "Exorcised."

Michael, who had captured the Hakuryuukou, performed a catholic style prayer of placing his fingers against his forehead, chest, and shoulders. The "Sign of the Cross" prayer.

"..In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…."

Just as he did, the crucifix behind Vali began to glow brilliantly.

"...Ame—"

Michael was interrupted when he instinctively dodged the elongated staff that abruptly appeared from behind him. Said staff touched the defeated Vali's chest jewel and suddenly…

"Return, Vali!"

PAKA!

Vali's transformation came undone.

"...!?"

Due to his merciful nature, Michael instinctively released Vali upon seeing his regular form, causing him to fall to the ground. However, the moment he fell, the stranger caught the Hakuryuukouand flew off with him.

"Sorry, but we'll be departing here!"

Michael immediately spawned a destructive holy spear of light to toss at the monkey with his unmatched accuracy, but he stopped himself, allowing the enemy to escape.

"...That child... He was using Yojutsu? Was he able to reach the Hakuryuukou's spirit directly with his technique?"

Watching his enemy disappear into the distance, Michael turned away and went to retrieve his cape and guard.


When Hyoudou Issei opened his eyes, he could see the stars up in the sky above him. He could only assume that he was lying flat on his back.

"..."

Wordlessly, he brought himself up to his knees. It was just then that he began inspecting his own body.

—Blood, everywhere. He was covered in it from head to toe. It was like he had dipped into a literal bloodbath. His arms looked like they had been dug into by rows of shark teeth. It felt like his skin was on fire, no doubt due to the countless penetrative wounds that he didn't recognize. Was something trying to crush him? Whatever the case, this obscene amount of blood was still his. He could tell just by the scent.

Even more bizarre than that were his left arm and his abdomen. His left arm, specifically his shoulder, had been stitched up by something. A group of strings that resembled blood vessels, but with reddish tint to their purple exterior. Despite the obvious "graft," he could still control his arm perfectly fine. He whipped his arm, rotated his wrist, and moved his fingers individually. Everything was functioning.

Most concerning and disturbing of all, the obvious wound on his abdomen. Looking closely at it made him uncomfortable, because he could tell with a glance that this wound must've been a gaping hole in his stomach. At least, that's what it used to be. Now, he could only see this repulsive "growth" or "mass" of vessels that congregated to seal the wound. Was it….mending? Or did it heal already? That, he could not tell. Even so, it disturbed him. It wasn't a sight he thought he'd ever see.

Vooooooooo….

The next moment, Issei was surrounded by what he could now recognize as a sphere of destruction again. When he looked to his side, he could see Sirzechs and Azazel standing a bit aways from him. Both were still visibly on guard despite their ragged appearances.

"You're…..Hyoudou Issei, right?"

Sirzechs asked Issei cautiously, as if assuming that there might've been a different answer. Issei couldn't recall anything that occurred after his transformation, but judging by the size of the crater they were in, it likely wasn't anything good.

The first question Issei asked was..

"...Kuoh…. Is it destroyed….?"

Sirzechs narrowed his eyes, internally surprised by his question.

"No, thankfully. The damage was limited to the Academy thanks to our combined efforts."

"...And my friends?"

Once again, another unexpected question.

"They are safe."

For a moment, Sirzechs noticed Issei's expression softened. The boy lifted his hand to touch his face, feeling the area around his eyes. They were covered in scales. But then, the scales disappeared and the boy's eyes reverted to a regular state, as if regressed intentionally. It was only when Issei moved his eyes around the battlefield robotically with a cold-blooded gaze that Sirzechs realized he was in complete control of himself now.

"—Where is Vali Lucifer?"

Azazel and Sirzechs' postures stiffened. Internally, they wondered if the boy still had enough stamina to continue fighting, but even if not, they refused to underestimate him now.

"He escaped. By now, he must be far from this place."

For a moment, it was quiet and Issei held still. Eventually however, his expression and his posture changed once again to a more emotionless state.

"I see… In that case, I no longer have any enemies to target as of right now. Would you mind releasing me?"

Sirzechs hesitated, looking to the other leaders that gathered beside him. Clearly, he could tell that Azazel and Shemhazai were both internally hoping that Sirzechs might opt to use this opportunity to capture Issei. Michael, on the other hand, appeared to share his hesitance.

Remembering the horrified expression his sister cursed him with, Sirzechs sighed shamefully. The bubble surrounding Issei dissipated slowly and the leaders maintained their guards. Eventually though, to their confusion, Issei simply stood up and tried wiping some of the blood off of himself. He soon realized that was futile and sighed once himself.

Then he looked up at the stars.

"Okaa-san… Otou-san…"

But his face became serious when he looked off somewhere into the distance.

"Maki.."

FOOM!

Without warning, Issei summoned his wings and flew off into the sky, likely in the direction of his home.

"Haah, so that's it, huh?"

Azazel sighed. The disaster ended as unceremoniously and unexpectedly as it began, leaving all of the leaders with an unsettled feeling.

"In the end, we allowed them both to live.."

Shemhazai stated it regrettably. Azazel shrugged at the outcome.

"It was your call, Sirzechs. From this point on, whatever happens now is going to be on you more than anyone else. I hope you have a plan for how you're going to keep him from going berserk again."

"—That won't be necessary."

Michael approached from the sidelines while replacing his cape and guard over his shoulders.

"Michael. Looks like you came out of your spat still looking pretty. So, I assume you've got a plan you'd like to share with Sirzechs instead?"

"Not one of my own, I'm afraid… But in regards to the worrisome wrath of the Sekiryuutei, there is still something to be done. I just wish it hadn't come to this…. Such a drastic measure is…"

Michael looked off into the direction that Issei flew in and shook away his thoughts.

"No, once I've given the approval, it will be out of my hands…. I need only face the results afterward. —I must return to the Heavens now and inform them of the treaty, as well as the outcome of this catastrophe. I leave the rest of the work down here to you all."

Michael spread apart his arms and disappeared into a blinding light.

"Farewell."

SHIIIIIIN!

Azazel scratched his head awkwardly.

"He's not even going to help out with the rebuilding? Well, I guess our forces can handle it. You mind leading the masses, Shemhazai? I'd like to stick around and help you, but as you can see, I've got an arm to replace."

"Ugh… Yes, of course.."

Despite Shemhazai's tired sigh, Azazel patted his back jovially.

"Cheer up. After tonight, you've got a whole wedding, honeymoon, and vacation ahead of you. As repayment for helping out here, I'll make sure to cover every single expense and upgrade whatever you've got planned. Hell, I'll even throw in some luxury time in the Devil's underworld capital if that tickles your fancy. You don't mind accommodating either, right, Sirzechs?"

But Sirzechs wasn't listening. His gaze, like Michael's before him, was caught onto the direction in which Issei took off. In the distance, he could observe Serafall's ice magic being gradually dispelled as instructed.

"...The first thing he asked about were his friends….. And the very last thing…was his enemy…"

Sirzechs didn't know what it all meant, but he could do nothing except desperately cling to the hope that his sister might be able to do something about this sleeping monster..


RIVAL

Hours later, in an unknown location.

"Ooooooy, Vali. You awake?"

"...Yes, I'm awake, Bikou.."

"How're you feeling? Kuroka had to spend the whole night healing you. Not in the way you think, though."

"What happened to Hyoudou Issei? Which one of us won the battle?"

"Neither of you, I think. The Three-powers "heads" kind of interrupted your battle. In the end, they defeated both of you. Well, Michael defeated you. The Sekiryuutei, on the other hand..."

"What about him?"

"Uh, well, he wasn't so much as defeated as he was...released, I guess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dunno for sure, but... I think sometime during the middle of the battle, I noticed something weird on top of the Sekiryuutei's head. It didn't go away after the battle either."

"Weird?"

"Yeah... It was something like a "thread," I guess you could call it. A thread connecting him to the Heavens."

"Did Michael perhaps place some sort of restriction on him?"

"Ah, naw. It's nothing like that. I wasn't talking about his Heaven, you see."

"Oh?"

"Mm, maybe it's nothing. Could've just been a fluke. Things like that usually only come from the [Enlightened One] anyway. There's no way that's the case for him."

"...Is that so?"


1:33 AM

"Nii-Nii! Nii-Nii, where are you?!"

A few hours after the "earthquake," the Aikawa family and their guests were instructed that it was safe to depart from their shelter.

Maki Aikawa ran into the Hyoudou household, ahead of her family, desperate and afraid. She looked around, noticing that some of the windows were broken and some things had fallen over, but for most part, the home was intact. She continued her search through the house for her beloved "cousin."

Eventually, she was able to find him sitting in the shrine room of his parents, with what seemed to be a dim candle on the floor in front of him, barely illuminating his figure.

"Nii-Nii!"

"...Maki. You've come home. I'm relieved."

He responded in a low voice without turning around. In that moment, Maki's emotions overflowed and so did her tears.

"Nii-Nii… I'm so glad… I'm so glad that you're okay—!"

But just as Maki was about to run to Issei's side, she was halted by her father who grabbed her wrist.

"Tou-san..?"

Never before had she seen him make such a pale face.

"...Issei-kun.… Are you alright…?"

Satoshi wasn't certain because it was difficult to tell in the overwhelming darkness, but he swore that he could see that Issei was drenched in blood.

Again, Issei replied in a flat tone.

"...Yes, Oji-san. It's nothing major to me."

For a moment, Maki felt unnerved by the atmosphere and looked around the room.

"Nii-Nii? Have you seen "kuroneko-chan?" I couldn't find her when the earthquake happened. Has she come back yet..?"

There was a pause.

"...I'm afraid that she hasn't returned, Maki. Odds are…she might never come back at all."

"But…why makes you say that?"

To that, there was no response.

For some reason, Satoshi felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, just like the rest of his body. Akane asked curiously.

"Ise-kun, what on earth are you burning there? It doesn't smell like a regular candle.."

"...It's just an offering."

"An offering?"

"...Yes. An offering to my parents…"

That didn't answer Akane's question at all. But due to the vagueness of the answer, she decided not to press the matter.

Eventually, Satoshi felt compelled to ask a question that wouldn't leave his mind.

"...Are you…really Issei-kun…?"

His wife and daughter didn't understand the premise of the question and were confused. But Issei chuckled lightly and Satoshi felt his blood run cold when he realized that Issei was locking eyes with him through the reflection of his parents' shrine photos. It was only in that moment that Satoshi believes he caught a glimpse of Issei's eyes, which hadn't resembled that of a human being.

"...[You have your mother's eyes]…. You said that to me once, didn't you, Oji-san? Heh, that's funny.… I think Otou-san said the same thing when I was a kid.."

Issei looked down at the dwindling, burning pile of ashes in front of him.

—Ashes which previously held the shape of a "black kitten's" remains just a few minutes before his family arrived.

"Well... I suppose it's too late for that now…"


END


And so, this insane arc finally comes to a close. What a wild ride eh? I hope I kept things interesting all the way through. Things are going to be different from here on out. Much different. Well, okay, not entirely, but yeah, very different. You'll see.

SO MUCH shit has happened, I don't even know where to start. So much action, so much destruction, and so many dynamics have shifted. I guess, first off, were you satisfied with the action for this arc? I've probably not written that much action in a singular arc since the Ragnarok arc in Red Dragon of Golden Light. I should get back to that story at some point… Don't know if I can soon though, I promised myself and multiple readers that after this arc was over, I'd redirect focus to A Fool's Heart. That story is in desperate need of an update. And I already have a chapter that's been in progress since like August. Now I can actually put time into it again.

Anyway, just tell me all of your thoughts for this chapter and for this arc. There's way too much to cover to be specific, but I wanna hear your thoughts on the things that stuck out in your mind the most. Whatever you keep thinking about or can't get out of your mind, let me know! Of course, I'll still read any reviews that wanna go in depth on everything that's got your attention (y'all know how much I love deep dive reviews). Tell me all about it. Action, relationships, twists and turns, shock and awe, intriguewhatever's got your mind in a vice, tell me all about it!

Read, Rate, Review, go crazy.

Stay frosty.