Chivalry of a Hollow Cryo Dragon Devil Knight

by Gaevontracey24

Ayato Kurozakuro Sparda will enter the world of Devils and learn more about himself as Rias Gremory's Pawn & Stella Vermillion Gremory Phenex's Queen , along with his mysterious family past which allows him to wield a legendary demonic sword... and he's the next Red Dragon Emperor. Harem with Stella,Rias and Mio being the main girls.

19. Chapter 19

Chapter 21

"" - Speaking

'' - Thought

{} - Sparda

[] - Ddraig

…

Inside the Kuoh Academy Old School Building, Ren was standing in the middle of the room that Koneko and Gasper were in when they were cornered by the Magicians. Fortunately, the two of them were now safe and sound, Gasper was sitting on the floor and Koneko was kneeling beside him. As for the Magicians, well….…

To put it bluntly, Ren's initial attack broke through any defensive magic they were capable of and immediately burned them to death. Now the room is littered with several scorched corpses in robes.

Ren sighed. "Well, that takes care of that."

"Ren-Senpai…" Gasper said quietly, still on the floor. "What should I do?"

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked though he had an idea on where this was going

"I didn't want this, I hated that I had this power, but I tried coming to terms with it and wanted to use it to help the Chief and my friends, and yet…" Gasper grit his teeth as tears threatened to fall. "So much trouble has happened because of my weakness and I even got Koneko-chan dragged into it. I'm just a useless coward who can't help but hurt his friends."

"…Gya-kun." Koneko said softly with sympathy.

"Well, for starters you can get up off the floor." Ren offhandedly suggested. "Secondly, you can stop being so hard on yourself and not pin the blame on yourself for things that were beyond your control."

"W-What?" Gasper looked up at him surprised.

"We just met a few days ago, so we're not exactly close friends nor I am going out of my way to make you feel better, that's why you know what I'm saying is my unbiased opinion on the matter." Ren clarified before he began. "This problem may have been caused by your powers, by you having no real control over it, plus you had no way of knowing you'd be targeted and captured so this couldn't be helped. This was just the result of circumstances that you got dragged into, that's all."

"…He's right." Koneko agreed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm here because I chose to be and I got captured because I couldn't beat those Magicians on my own, it wasn't your fault in any way."

"But still, I couldn't help you fight them." Gasper pointed out, still feeling down. "I wanted to learn how to use my Sacred Gear and become stronger, but I still can't do anything but let others protect me."

"Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?" Ren rebuked him. "You spent years locked inside a room fearing your powers, and you only just started training with them for a day. If all it took to learn how to fight with a dangerous power like yours was just one or two days of practice, everyone would be unrivaled." He lectured him. "Feeling guilty about something and needlessly putting the blame on yourself are two different things."

Gasper heard his words and then just stayed silent, Koneko then stood up and held Gasper to his feet as well. Ren then turned to the door.

"If you really want to help, then let's go." Ren urged him. "Right now, odds are there's trouble going on at the conference room and someone else there knows how to unfreeze time." He pointed out. "So, let's go and find out for sure."

Gasper still looked down, but then looked up with a renewed spirit. "Okay."

His spirited reply made Koneko smile at him as the three of them walked out the door and headed for the Main School Building.

...

FREEZING ZAP!

As the Kori Kirin Noble Art detonated from the sky into the school building, there was now a large gaping hole in the wall and an equally large cloud of smoke. Appearing from the cloud of smoke was a virtually unharmed Cattleya Leviathan, the only real damage the spell seemed to have caused was a small freeze on her shoulder.

"Well, that was mildly annoying." She commented that the smoke soon faded.

When the smoke cleared completely, floating a few feet in the air at the center of the cloud was Ayato, who still had a murderous expression glued to his face. Behind her, inside the remains of the conference room was a large, powerful, defensive barrier that was forming using the combined power of Michael, Sirzechs, and Azazel, with this barrier, everyone else in the room, including the people that were frozen, were protected and untouched by the explosion.

Though, Cattleya just found it to be amusing

."Adorable; The Three Great Powers put up a defensive barrier together." She laughed, clearly mocking them.

"Adorable and pathetic!" She then turned her attention to you.

"Almost like you, I can't believe you're that same brat from all those years ago, but it makes sense that'd you'd be a worthless Low-Class Devil I suppose."

"You better savor those breaths, they'll be the last ones you ever take." Ayato shot back, clearly not in the mood to play around.

Back in the conference room, the leaders lowered the barrier slightly by putting their arms down. Azazel then massaged his neck. "Geez, couldn't you have at least warned us that You were going to blow the place up, that could have been dangerous."

"Don't joke around." Ayato replied unconcerned. "You guys are the leaders of the Trinity Factions, aren't you? If you couldn't move faster than a medium-sized explosion, you'd be dead by now."

Azazel shrugged. "Harsh but true."

"Moving on, shouldn't we join the battle?" Sirzechs suggested with a serious tone. "Regardless of the situation, Cattleya is not an opponent to be taken lightly. It isn't safe to let Ayato-kun face her alone."

"Unfortunately, we can't do much at the moment." Michael pointed out. "Us leaders need to keep our attention on holding this barrier to protect those who are still frozen in time until Ms. Rias' Bishop returns, we'll have to refrain from fighting until then."

Sirzechs grit his teeth before he turned to Azazel. "Azazel, if you switched places with Serafall then you could go and the barrier would still stand, wouldn't it?" He questioned.

"That would be an option, but let's save that as a last resort." Azazel grinned, acting as though everything was fine.

"What are you saying?" Serafall questioned him, narrowing her eyes. "You have no intention of fighting?"

"I'm a lot more capable than you all seem to think." He told them, also with a serious tone. "Just let me take care of it, I'll kill that secretary-looking cow no matter what."

"Ayato, it's not as simple as you're making this out to be." Rias went up to him, worried. "Cattleya Leviathan is a Devil King descendant that has the power of an Ultimate-Class Devil and she's a survivor of two Wars." She reminded him. "It's far too reckless to let you fight her without help."

Shirou turned to look her in the eye, one glance from his glare was all it took to silence her.

"Hate to break it to you, but after seeing how trashy Kokabiel was, I don't believe in hype anymore." Ayato brushed off her concerns. "Whether I can win or not can only be answered after seeing us fight, and I'm betting on myself." He told her adamantly.

"Ayato.…" Rias said not knowing what else to say.

"Not to take sides, but I also say we let him fight this one." Azazel chimed in, still laid back. "After all, it's not like you can talk him out of this. Besides, if it looks like he's bitten off more than he can handle, I'll intervene, will that satisfy you?"

Azazel looked back at the battlefield. "The Descendant of the former Maou Leviathan—One of the Monsters of the End Vs The Descendant of Ryoma Kurogane—The Blazer who was the Legendary who won World War 2 for Japan." He declared with fascination. "This fight might go down in history someday."

Back with Ayatp and Cattleya, as the two of them were squaring off. Ayato was the first one to speak.

"Tell me, why did you come here today?" Ayato asked if he was ordering Cattleya to speak. "I know it wasn't just to assassinate the leaders of Summit, you came here to make some kind of statement, so what is it?"

"Ha, I'm surprised you could figure that out, but why should I speak of my motivations to an insect, like you?" Cattleya cackled.

"Just tell me already." Ayato told her annoyed. "I already know you just love hearing yourself talk."

Cattleya narrowed her eyes at his insult but spoke regardless. "If you must know; as I said before, we of the Old Satan Faction have joined hands with Ophis in order to fulfill our ultimate goal, which is world domination." She declared.

Ayato narrowed her eyes on her. "What?"

"We will destroy this world and rebuild it into a new world for Devils!" Cattleya continued, announcing her grandiose plans loudly. "Then, Ophis will become the God of the new world. It's fine if he's just a symbol. The system and laws, the doctrine will be constructed by us. After all, this world is decaying and filled with foolish Humans, so we'll seize control and reform it ourselves, that will be our inheritance from the former Maou who—"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Ayato interrupted her."

Cattleya stopped after being interrupted and turned her gaze to Ayato. Anger clearly saturated Cattleya's expression and words. "What was that?"

"For as long as I can remember, I always imagined what kind of person you'd be." Ayato went on. "But not once did I expect you to be just another copy and paste villain, this is so stupid." He hatefully mocked her.

Azazel, who heard her words, held his stomach as he laughed. Vali looked amused and most of the others seemed surprised by his attitude,

Meanwhile, Cattleya's eyes twitched and she angrily spoke. "You, a lowly wretched beast, dare to insult me?"

"Can you blame me?" Ayato sarcastically replied. "I mean, you came here by yourself, planning to assassinate others, yet you immediately reveal yourself to a group of people you know are stronger than you. On top of that, you say you want to take over the world even though you're just a bumbling, uncrowded successor to a dead lineage." Ayato then taunts her with a smile.

"It just sounds so.…. Stupid."

"She's not wrong." Sirzechs added.

Azazel tried harder to hold back his laughter. "Ku…Kukukukuku."

"You would ridicule us this far!"

Cattleya was enraged, and a magic aura was gushing out of her entire body. It was the atmosphere of an explosive situation.

"Tell me, why did you even start this 'mission' of yours?" Ayato questioned her in a condescending fashion. "What are you hoping to achieve through taking over the world? What are you planning for the final outcome?"

Cattleya regained her composure as she answered. "That's simple. We're going to reclaim everything that was taken from us, our titles, our positions, and our thrones. As the descendants of the original Devil Kings we.… I am the one who truly deserves the title of Leviathan! I am the most suited! Me!" She declared hatefully as if she was shouting at the world.

"Cattleya-chan…" Serafall muttered.

"This is the result of surviving the Civil War." Sirzechs said with a hint of regret. "Still with nothing their hatred and reset consumed them, leaving this as the result. It's almost sad."

"Really?" Vali thought, looking at Sirzechs. "I think it's just pathetic."

Cattleya then continued. "After we've accomplished that, we'll begin reforming this world. Just as the original Maou did before, we'll attack our enemies and quickly wipe out all the Angels and Fallen Angels, along with subjugating the Humans and guiding their souls to Hell, and then we'll purge all of those filthy Half-Devils and reincarnated Devils." She then proudly held out her arms. "That's when this one will truly become a world made solely for Devils, and we'll be the Supreme Rulers of it."

The expression of most of the people in the room darkened as Michael said. "That's madness."

"If our races are to survive, the last thing we need is more large-scale battles." Sirzechs agreed, glaring at her.

However, Ayato's reaction was completely different from theirs.

"Do you even realize how ridiculous you sound?" Mika ridiculed, which quickly silenced her. "Your plan is one that lacks structure, detail, or any kind of game-plan that a child might as well have come up with. And you yourself are an unstable person that sways between an outdated extremist with no ideology and an angry tween that hates society for petty reasons. How the Hell could anyone expect you to lead anything?"

"What would the likes of you know about what it means to rule?!" Cattleya angrily yelled.

"Apparently, more than you." Ayato responded. "But clearly that's not saying much."

Cattleya glared daggers at Ayato, her fists were clenched, she gritted her teeth and flared up her darkness-orange Demonic-Aura that was gushing out of her body. "You've angered me one time too many times, now I'll do what I should have done from the moment I saw you and take your life."

"I'm the one who's angry." Ayato said, with ice-cold hatred as his purple-red Demonic-Aura covered his body. "My parents & older Sister died because of you-people, and for what? It's not enough to kill you, I want you broken, beaten, and humiliated before you die!"

The two of them were enraged and wanted nothing more than to kill each other. It was the atmosphere of an explosive situation. Before they could begin, Sirzechs put down the barrier and took a step forward.

"…Cattleya, do you have no intention of surrendering?"

That was Sirzechs' final warning. Cattleya shook her head. "That is correct, Sirzechs. You were a good Devil King. However, you weren't the best Devil King. That's why we are aiming to be the new Devil King's."

"I see. That's too bad."

Seeing that confirmation, the Crimson Satan sighed before he recreated the defensive barrier around him and the others to keep them safe from the impending battle.

Ayato unfurled her eight wings as they levitated off the ground in order to be on eye level with Cattleya. The two of them rose in the air and suddenly Ayato raised his hand to begin what would be the start of a great battle.

Ayato began by summoning five magic-circles around his body and out of them fired five red ice lasers of Demonic-Power aimed at Cattleya.

Cattleya simply raised her hand and summoned a barrier, which easily blocked Ayato's attack.

"What was that?" Cattleya taunted with a smile. "Don't tell me that's the best you can do?"

"In that case, why don't I follow suit?" Cattleya then summoned a magic-circle and gathered her dark-orange Demonic-Power. "Hello!"

The Descendant of Leviathan proceeded to fire a blast of her own at Mika, only it was a single blast. Ayato responded by using a banishing shift as well, only this time, Cattleya's attack was much stronger than her's. Thus Ayato put in a lot of his magic to reinforce his banishing shift. In the end, Cattleya's attack sucked in and disappeared into Nothingness. Fortunately, the banishing shift absorbed the brunt of the attack and Ayato was himself relatively unharmed.

"Don't get cocky." Ayato warned her, raising his arm again. "We're just getting started."

Cattleya raised her arm as well, at that point the two engaged in a fierce battle that lit up the dark sky with flashes of bright light.

While the two of them began their bitter battle, Sirzechs turned to Rias and what remained of her Peerage. "Myself, Michael, and Azazel will continue to hold the barrier around us. Ayato-kun has Cattleya occupied; we'll need you to keep the Magicians off our backs until Grayfia has finished analyzing the magic-circle they're using.

Rias nodded, fully grasping the situation.

"I understand, Onii-Sama." She then turned to her two Knights. "Yuuto, Xenovia, can I count on the two of you to reduce the enemy forces?"

"We'll keep them off you." Xenovia stated confidently as she raised her Durandal in preparation.

"I'll go with you too!" Irina declared fiercely as she removed her white robes to reveal the same combat fatigue she wore when she was searching for the Excalibur blades with Xenovia.

"Are you sure you can work together?" Sirzechs asked as Irina joined the two Devil Knights, removing the frilly bracelet from her arm which then transformed into her Excalibur-Mimic as she did so.

"Yes sir!" Irina declared with no hesitation. "Xenovia and I became friends when we were a part of Lord Michael's guard. All three of us have worked together before.

"Good. We're counting on you three to hold them off until Gasper returns and we can break the others free from his power." The Devil King instructed them before turning to Rias. "Rias, you stay here and wait for Gasper."

"Yes, of course." Rias accepted his instruction.

Azazel then turned to Vali. "Vali, how about you?"

"I think I'll stay and watch as well." Vali answered, watching the fight with slight entertainment.

"Very well then." Rias then turned her attention to the three Sword-wielders in front of her. "The three of you will be responsible for dealing with the Magicians, we're counting on you."

In the sky above the schoolyard, Ayato and Cattleya's battle had now become serious and neither one of them was holding back. Cattleya held out both of her arms and unleashed another blast of Demonic-Power. This time it started out as a single, large blast, but then separated into six smaller ones that were spiraling towards Ayato.

"Teleportation-magic huh?" Cattleya summarized, unconcerned. "I suppose it makes sense, he dodges because she's too weak to defend against my attacks."

Deciding to give it a try, Ayato raised his arms and summoned five magic-circles around him, planning to use the same attack she fired at the start of this battle. Like before, he fired off five lasers at his foe.

Cattleya just looked at him as if he was a fool. "Are you honestly trying the same thing twice?" She summoned her barrier again. "It'll fail just like before."

However, this time as the lasers were halfway from reaching their target, Ayato held his arms out and then crossed his arms around His chest. In response, her lasers all shifted and changed course, now bending in different directions, which confused Cattleya. The lasers continued to move in different directions until they were all behind Cattleya and before she could respond, they all moved in the same direction again and targeted right towards her back where she was defenseless. Hitting her perfectly on target and creating an explosion on impact.

Ayato looked pleased by the result.

"It worked, then my hypothesis was right which means I can exploit this."

The smoke from the attack so cleared up and Cattleya was still floating there, looking more pissed off than damaged—That's not to say she was hurt by that attack, for on her back was a large burnt mark that looked similar to a second-degree burn, but she didn't seem too concerned with it.

"Tch, such a nuisance." Cattleya complained before going back on the offensive. "But it'll take more than that to hinder me!"

This time Cattleya fired a large ball of Demonic-Power at Ayato, but Ayato was more than prepared and held up two fingers as he created another magic-circle.

Then with a wave of her hand, the ball of Demonic-Power Cattleya fired changed its course and flew off in a different direction, crashing into a horde of Magicians and killing them immediately.

Cattleya looked flabbergasted at what just happened.

"What in the world just happened?" Cattleya gasped.

"A lesson in magic." Ayato answered, smugly looking down on her. "Magic, in essence, is simply calculation made in your head and activated using magic or Demonic-Power. However, if you figure out the calculations your opponent uses to create their magic and re-define it then you can redirect and even change its course."

On the ground beneath them, the others could hear their conversation and Rias gasped when she heard Ayato's words.

Back in the sky, Cattleya gritted her teeth at Ayato's answer. "Don't screw with me. Only High-Level Magicians are capable of re-directing magic, there's no way you could accomplish the same thing."

"And yet you just like me do, I mean it's not like we just imagined your spell going off course, right?" Ayato pointed out, smirking at her. "All it takes is figuring out your formula and knowing how to change it up."

"You're saying you already figured out the core of my magic?" Cattleya angrily questioned.

"Your core wasn't that deep, trust me." Ayato mercilessly told her. "I'll be a good sport and admit you're a tiny bit stronger than me at My Current Power Level, but when Wizard-Types battle it isn't always the stronger one that wins, rather it's the one that's but at using their magic to the best of its abilities. And sadly for you, the only trick you know is aim and fire." He then raised his sword and summoned Cryo wind Tornado. "I on the other hand!"

In no time at all, a gust of raging ice wind had enveloped the two, with Ryuuzetsu at the center. "Kori Kusanagi."

The Ice tornado sword descended upon Cattleya, the dragon's claw, cloaked in Icy wind, mercilessly dragged Cattleya by cutting her left arm and leg.

"Whether I'm hurting you or not doesn't change the fact that my attacks are landing." Ayato argued, still looking pleased. You may be a War-veteran, but the only fighting you know is straightforward direct combat. Meaning you aren't used to nor are able to keep up with unconventional, strategy based fighting, like me." He noted. "Basically, you're too one-dimensional."

"What difference does that make?" Cattleya questioned, narrowing her eyes. "Do you honestly believe you can stop me with cheap tricks and gimmicks? Don't insult the power of Leviathan."

"Tricks and gimmicks you say?" Ayato asked, still sounding defiant. "It doesn't matter what you call them or how much damage they cause, the fact is they're still landing on you." She then squinted her eyes. "Now, I think I've gathered enough data on how you fight, it's time I start taking you apart, piece by piece."

Back on the ground, as most of the people still inside the building kept their eyes on the battle raging above them, Vali was now paying more attention to it. At first, he only watched with mild interest, but now he was giving it his full attention.

"I'm surprised she's doing so well against an opponent like that." Vali commented, trying towards Rias. "The World Clock's Nephew is quite impressive."

"Really? From my point of view, it's more like the other one is unimpressive." Ayato argued, though he never took his eyes off the fight that was still going on as they spoke. "Kokabiel and every other Pure-Blood Devil I've seen fights just like this, they're strong but they're so transparent. Even War-veterans fight like amateurs."

"Heh, I suppose you have a point." Vali looked back at the fight as well. "But can you really expect to win despite the lack of power?"

"It's like watching a fox face an eagle." Ayato told him, using an example. "Despite the fox being a strong able clever predator, the eagle uses its superior cunning and the technical advantage in the form of its wings to stay beyond the fox's reach and slowly tear away at the fox with its talons, until it's ready to make the kill."

"But even if that is possible, the eagle only occasionally preys on the fox, and more often it's the fox that preys on the eagle." Vali pointed out. "So the question is; which predator will win on this occasion?"

"It's it obvious?" Ayato questioned whether it wasn't worth thinking about.

"Hmph…" Vali shrugged, slightly amused. "Still I find it surprising, I assumed that given your intense hatred for the Old Satan Faction, you'd be more impulsive and lose control of yourselves." He casually noted. "I didn't expect you to be so composed, & to be able to fight with such a clear mind."

"Don't underestimate me." Ayato warned him. "Vengefulness and hatred are a strong source of power, but if you can't control it you're just asking to make a mistake, which you can't afford to make during a death match." He explained. "I've been waiting my whole life for a chance like this, there's no way I'd mess it all up by letting my rage swallow me."

"Is that so?" Vali questioned, not expecting that response but somewhat not convinced. "Well, let's see how long that lasts."

As the two Dragon Emperors finished their conversation, they went back to giving their full attention to the battle taking place in the sky above them.

pSLICE! SLASH! SLICE!/p

"Unless you had a wider attack range." Ren pointed out, confident stepping forward. "Just step back."

The Half-Youkai then held up both of his arms, aimed at the Magicians blocking his path, and gathered the flames in palms of his hands, preparing to fire his signature move at them.

PROMETHEUS CANNON!

FLAAM MEEE!

With that, Ren released a strong column of fire from his hands that blasted forward, scorching through everything that got in its way and soon came into contact with the barrier protecting the meeting room, though it didn't do any real harm to the barrier itself, the flames also came into contact with a large number of Magicians surrounding the barrier and burned them to cinders. Now clearing a path for them.

Ren lowered his arms, pleased with the result. "Okay, that takes care of that."

The other three just stood behind him, processing the results of his actions.

"Woah… That was amazing." Gasper uttered, clearly impressed.

Koneko nodded. "…Hmm, destructive power is Ren-Senpai's specialty."

"It's more than that." Kiba admitted, now smiling. "When it comes to ranged attacks, Ren-kun's got more firepower than anyone, no pun intended."

"Enough small talk, let's go!" Ren instructed them and he, along with Koneko and Gasper ran forward.

"Chief!" Gasper cried out as he reached Rias.

Rias wrapped her arms around Gasper and held him close. "Gasper, you're safe. Forgive me, I never should have let you be put in danger like that." She then turned to Koneko. "You as well, Koneko. Please forgive me."

Koneko shook her head. "…It wasn't your fault, don't apologize. Besides, Ren-Senpai saved us." She said, looking up at Ren.

"Yes, I know." Rias then let go of Gasper and looked at Ren with gratitude. "Ren, I can't thank you enough for saving them, and bringing them here."

Ren held up his hand. "You don't need to worry about thanking me. We're friends, remember, it's what I'm here for."

"Regardless, you've done us a great service, all of us." Sirzechs chimed in, also grateful. "Now that we have Gasper back, we can get started in trying to fix this time stop." He turned to Azazel. "Now Azazel put the armband on him."

Azazel reached into his pocket. "Sheesh, now you're giving me orders?" He jokingly complained as he took out the armband and threw it over to Rias. "Here, you do. He's your servant after all."

Rias nodded and took out and gently adjusted the armband around Gasper's right arm. "There you are. This should keep you more in control."

"Still though, the armband will just keep his powers in check and stop them from activating anymore." Azazel informed them. "We still need to get rid of the magic-circle the Magicians are using to keep teleporting here if we want to unfreeze time."

Sirzechs then addressed his Queen. "Grayfia, how much longer until you've finished analyzing the magic-circle?"

"A bit longer, this is a very complicated formula." Grayfia answered, still working on it.

Back to the battle at hand, Cattleya kept firing Demonic-Power at Ayato and Ayato was soaring through the air and dodging her attacks while firing back, but Cattleya's Demonic-Power was strong enough that her barrier was able to block most of Ayato's attacks.

While he was dodging the attacks, Ayato spoke. "You're wasting magic, those attacks will never hit me."

"Then I'll make sure this will happen!" Cattleya shouted as she gathered power.

Cattleya then created a larger magic-circle, one that quickly separated into six magic-circles that were rotating clockwise around her body in front of her. She then fired blasts of blackish-orange Demonic-Power that was in the shape of snakes from each of the magic-circles that honed in on Ayato.

Ayato used defensive magic to block Cattleya's attacks. Fortunately, the snake blasts didn't all attack at once so Mika was able to defend to an extent. Unfortunately, it was a continuous attack so after one fired from one of the six magic-circles another followed after, meaning Ayato couldn't defend against it for long.

"Grr, I'm getting really tired of being on the defensive!" Ayato cursed as he was blocking.

Unlike previous attacks, Ayato couldn't redirect the attacks Cattleya was firing off right now because they were attacks he hadn't used until right now so he couldn't get a full grasp of their formula yet, and they were too strong and coming too fast that he didn't have the time to concentrate on that.

Cattleya wasn't done though, as Ayato was concentrating on the current continuous attack spell, Cattleya created another. She created three more rotation magic-circles in the sky a few feet above Ayato's head. And from them fired three large pillars of Demonic-Power that spiraled around each other as they came down before merging into one larger pillar of Demonic-Power.

The pillar of Demonic-Power came down quickly, and since he was using both of his hands to block the first attack, all He could do was put more magic into his ice barrier and spread it around his body to try both attacks. Unfortunately, her barrier wasn't strong enough to fully block both and it soon shattered, allowing both attacks to break through and hit him directly.

"Well, that took longer than I would have preferred." Cattleya brushed off. "But still, it's always fun to kill the weak."

"I'm sure it is."

Cattleya's eyes widened when she heard that voice coming from the smoke cloud. As the smoke cleared, Ayato was revealed still floating there. He was damaged though, the front of his shirt was signed off and completely gone, revealing the scars with the well toned body. There was also a small trail of blood leaking from his forehead. Yet, despite that, he still floated there with a look of unhindered confidence.

"Killing the weak must be fun for you. After all, it's the only way a loser like you can ever feel strong." He finished her sentence.

"Still, he didn't get out of that one unscathed." Vali pointed out.

Cattleya sneered at her with annoyance. "Well, aren't you clever?" She said sarcastically.

With a great impact, the stone fist smashed Cattleya into the ground and left a large imprint on the ground beneath her. Cattleya laid there with her back against the ground and her face looking up at the sky. More specifically she was looking at Ayato, floating in the sky, who was also looking down at her.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it? The last time we met one of us was defenseless and in pain and the other just kept dishing out more punishment." Though Ayato's tone sounded calm, her eyes were burning with rage as strong as an inferno. "But this time our roles are reversed. Now watch this—"

He was absorbing both the Ice and Wind in the Battlefield everywhere. The Ice windstorm born of that power was turned into an Ice cyclone within Ryuuzetsu, and devoured the surrounding atmosphere. The atmosphere, the debris, the flame & the Ice―anything and everything in the surroundings. Before long, what he had made was a sword of raging storm-Ice-winds, layers and layers of mass stacked together―

"Kori Kusanagi."

The sword of Ice windstorm shaving through to Cattleya with an Ice cyclone spinning like a rock drill.

They kept Drilling her body deeper and deeper into the ground, tearing apart the ground beneath her and burying her in it. Fortunately, her dulled sense of touch also exacted her pain receptors and lessened the pain a bit.

But right now Cattleya might have preferred otherwise considering that pain was the only thing keeping her conscious, which is something she's really regretting right now.

After a few seconds but what felt like longer, the Kori Kusanagi finally stopped and the Raging winds vanished into particles. As the dust around the ground cleared, Cattleya was seen laying on the ground covered in bruises and open wounds, on top of that her hair was let loose, her glasses were destroyed and no longer on her face, and the front of her dress was torn up, revealing her left breast.

"…Au….Auh…" Cattleya grunted and coughed in pain.

Ayato looked satisfied by the result of the attack and seemed confident in his victory. "One more shot should finish it. But honestly, at this point, even a peashooter could kill her."

Back inside the conference room, almost everyone watching was left speechless by the direction this battle had taken.

"Simply amazing." Michael breathed out.

"Indeed, I never would have thought he could have driven Cattleya to this point." Sirzechs added, equally impressed.

"I honestly don't know how to respond to this." Serafall agreed, also blown away.

Azazel just smiled while scratching his beard. "Well, at the start of this fight Ayato was definitely lacking in terms of power a bit, but he was able to use his brain to turn it around, he was just lucky it worked this time. Still, I gotta say it was a pretty damn impressive display." He commented, being the only one who still looked relaxed. "Guess I didn't need to intervene after all."

Still hovering in the sky above the school grounds, Ayato pointed his sword towards Cattleya and gathered the Cold Raging Wind Again "I'm going to survive this final blow."

Cattleya, regaining the use of her arms, quickly held up her hand and a small magic-circle appeared over her palm.

"Guess I have no choice…" Cattleya thought to herself."I wanted to save this, but it's better than dying."

From her magic-circle, a small stream of black Demonic-Power with glowing orange outlines leaked out of it, and that power soon took the shape and form of a large number of snakes. Snakes that shot out and all wrapped themselves around Cattleya's body.

Ayato noticed this and became confused as he frowned. "Snakes?"

The snakes continued to wrap themselves around Cattleya, much to her delight. Until soon, the color of her skin transformed into a pulsating, kaleidoscope purplish-blue, but it only stayed that way for a second, and then her skin turned back to normal, at the same time the snakes vanished. Then Cattleya grinned manically as she flared up her aura.

None were more surprised than Ayato as; he just stared at Cattleya with a look of disbelief. "What the hell is going on?!"

Cattleya's attack continued its forward march and sailed through the sky before heading towards the forest area on the school grounds, before long it hit the ground and created an explosion upon impact.

Once the Demonic-Power hit the ground, the resulting explosion was so great that it lit up the night sky and got everyone's attention. It was like a large number of explosives went off in the forest and detonated at the same time. When the explosion passed, there was a large gaping hole in the patch of land that was once part of the forest, from a bird's eye view it was like a black spot suddenly appeared in the forest.

When Cattleya saw that, she looked satisfied for two reasons, one she saw how much stronger she had become and was pleased with this newfound power. Two, she saw that Ayato was no longer where she was before she fired that attack, this let her believe that she was eviscerated by the attack and was no more.

Sadly for her though, she looked to her right to see Ayato was still alive and floating in the air not far from herself. Thanks to teleportation magic, He was able to escape at the last second.

"Tch, still alive huh?" Cattleya looked at him with annoyance. "You're harder to kill than a cockroach." She then smiled. "But that's fine, it just means I can enjoy this power for a little longer."

Cattleya grinned when she saw his expression.

"I take it by the look on your face, you grasp how outmatched you are. Well, let me say I hope you enjoyed that momentary feeling of victory because I can assure you, all you are feeling now is pain, shame, and never-ending despair."

Ayato summoned his Boosted Gear over his arm. "We'll see."

He uttered the two words that shattered the very balance of the world.

[BALANCE BREAK!]

[Welsh Dragon—Balance Breaker!]

Already in his Scale-Mail, Ayato charged forward with Ryuuzetsu already drawn, but Ayato followed up by bringing out Ascalon too, with both Holy Sword & The Nodachi out Ayato continued his assault by powering up.

"What on earth is going on?" Serafall asked, now as shocked and taken aback as everyone else watching. "Where did this sudden burst of power come from?"

"I'm not sure, but this is a disastrous situation." Michael said, with an upset frown. "Not only has her power increased, but it also looks as though a majority of her injuries have recovered."

Sirzechs simply turned to Azazel. "Azazel, do you know what this is?" He asked, noticing the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels' expression changed. "How could Cattleya have possibly attained this power?"

His smile and casual nature had completely vanished, now his expression was completely serious and glared hatefully. "

"…Tch, only one answer comes to mind, that volume of aura that swelled up earlier is way more than a Devil King descendant should have, she must have gotten it from that bastard Ophis."

"Looks like it." Azazel grimly confirmed. "I'd say she is one or two levels above Kokabiel right now."

Back in the sky, Ayato and Cattleya continued their face-off as Ayato spoke in His Scale Mail Armor on. "Fine, I'll ask; where the hell did this random power-up come from?" He asked, irritated.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Cattleya bragged, looking over herself. "Even I didn't think I'd get this much stronger after using the snake given to me by Ophis."

"Ophis?" Ayato repeated, surprised.

Cattleya smiled at his question. "Yes, he is the Dragon that possesses infinite power. For the sake of the world's reformation, I borrowed a little of his power. Thanks to that I can fight against the leaders of the Three Factions."

"You're still weaker than Michael and Sirzechs." Ayato pointed out.

"Infinite power means infinite power." Cattleya brushed off without concern. "What I'm using is less than a tip of the iceberg, as long as we have Ophis on our side, we of the Old Satan Faction can increase our power as much as we need to until we eclipse everyone else in the world." She declared proudly, but then her expression changed into a displeased one. "Still though, I planned on saving this power for my fight with one of the leaders, that fact that you of all people forced me to use it is a disgrace, one that I won't forgive!"

Ayato just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I feel so bad for you, let me play you a song on the world's smallest violin." He sarcastically replied.

"Haha, always so clever, aren't you?" Cattleya chuckled, grinning evilly at her. "This whole time you've kept yourself alive by using that wit of yours. But, I wonder if you can make up for your lack of power with this time using your scale mail armor. Let's find out, shall we?"

"Don't I always?" Taking off into the air I crossed my arms as I floated in front of Loki while a red/gold aura danced around my body. "Cattleya, you want to see the end of the world, I got it for you right here." The devil looked at me with a smirk on her face but seemed rather interested. Spreading out my arms, green orbs began to fly out of my body. "I who shall awaken…."

It's starting, the time has finally come." A female voice said within my ear, but I ignored it.

Growling the helmet of my armor began to grow out into a full-on dragon's head. "I'm the Heavenly Dragon who stole the principle of Domination from God." I said that my arms grew longer and my fingers became more claw-like while the parts of the boosted gear spread up on my arms.

It has always been this way." The same female voice repeated.

That is correct, always and forever." A male voice spoke next, I couldn't listen to them.

My feet began to grow larger and more dragon-like. "I mock the infinite and fret over the dream." From my back, the thrusters spread out and became large claw-like wings.

What the world always desires…." A new male voice said.

What the world rejects…." Another woman's voice spoke.

"You'll die!"

"I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination." I spread out a large cloud of smoke.

Spreading out my claw like wings they began to glow as my new dragon tail swung behind me.

"I shall drown you in the depths of Crimson Purgatory! Juggernaut Drive!" Letting out a massive roar and an explosion of energy.

With that Cattleya held up both of her hands and created a magic-circle as large as her body in front of her, with it she unleashed a ferocious attack.

But it didn't work on Ayato in His Juggernaut Drive State Then He sonido to her and stabbed her with a light sword.

Cattleya's eyes widened. "What?"

"There are times when the gap in power between two people is so great that no strategy can change the outcome, and when you powered up thanks to that snake, your power did reach the point where that was the case, at least that's what you believed and that's what made my plan come together so flawlessly." Ayato smugly told her.

, but you didn't." Ayato pointed out. "I knew that you would prefer to torture me instead of just killing me and being done with it, that's just your nature." Cattleya grit her teeth because Ayato was technically right.

"Because you were so predictable all I needed to do was stay conscious and wait for the right time to spring my trap.

No matter how strong a Devil becomes, Light will always be a fatal weakness, and getting stabbed by a blade of Light will mess up even you.

I just needed to wait for the moment where your guard was completely down, then summon that disposable Light-Sword from my pocket dimension, and well I'm sure you get the drift."

"Come." Ayato stated, Cattleya's aura growing extra large before she flew out at an extreme speed "Don't look down on me!" Cattleya dived at Azazel who responded with the sword he held, before fresh blood gushed out of Cattleya's body as she feebly fell down to her knee on the spot.

"—It isn't over!" Cattleya shouted as she changed her arm into a tentacle-like thing and try to wrap it around his arm

[Repel]

She looked down to see that her abdomen had been pierced by a sword of light from Ayato.

"It didn't Enough you will still die" Ayato Said as he slice her with the Light sword

And with that, Cattleya Leviathan was nothing but a memory.

"Honestly, I feel relaxed." Ayato said in a refreshed tone. "It's like there's been a weight on my chest for years that's suddenly been lifted and I don't feel it anymore."

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would've believed it." Azazel noted with a good-natured smile.

Sirzechs also smiled, only his one was like that of a proud family member. "It goes beyond being just amazing, his victory over Cattleya was extraordinary. He never fails to amaze me."

"Yes, it truly was magnificent." Michael praised him as well. "Not only the awe-inspiring mastery of his magic & a Skill of using a sword but her ability to create analytical and precise strategies he can incorporate before and during battle is something I've never seen in one so young, all I can say is that it is incredible."

"What's truly incredible is that both power and his mind are still growing, and He 's nowhere near his full potential yet." Serafall pointed out.

"Just thinking about what she'll be in the future, that's what I find incredible."

"Well, it shouldn't be too surprising, after all. that boy also carries the blood of Ryouma Kurogane & Sparda within him." Azazel reminded them nonchalantly. "Going above and beyond just runs in the family."

After a few seconds passed, the light surrounding Gasper dissipated into nothing and Gasper's eyes went back to normal as his strength gave out and he lost his footing. Fortunately, it caught him and helped him stay up. As they looked outside, they saw that the purple sky that represented time being frozen and vanished and returned to the previous red sky, along with all the soldiers of the Three Faction in the sky were now unfrozen and moving freely.

"It seems that he succeeded." Sirzechs noticed.

"He stopped the enemy gate too." Grayfia pointed out.

Just like she said, the large teleportation circle in the sky that the enemy was using to appear on the battlefield dissolved into nothingness and was gone, meaning the Magicians could no longer summon reinforcements or escape.

"One less thing to worry about." Serafall added.

While that was going on, everyone in the meeting room who was frozen until now was finally unfrozen and the first thing they did was look around in understandable confusion as everything looked different and things had suddenly changed in the blink of an eye from their perspective.

"What was that?" Akeno asked the second she was unfrozen.

Sona turned to Tsubaki. "Any idea what just happened?"

"I don't have a clue." Tsubaki replied as she shook her head.

Serafall then caught her Sister by surprise as she ran over and threw her arms around Sona. "Welcome back, Sona-chan~!"

She chirped happily while Sona blushed with embarrassment. "Will you get off of me?!"

"What's going on?" Asia asked as she looked around.

Please Heal Me Asia Ayato asked

Asia nodded and Ayato placed HImself on the floor as Asia held out her hands and began healing. As Ayato felt the warmth of being engulfed by the bright emerald green light of Twilight Healing, his injuries slowly started to vanish.

While she was doing that a voice called out.

"Chief!"

Upon hearing a familiar voice Rias and the others turned to see Kiba appeared on the scene with Xenovia and Irina right behind him.

"Yuuto, have you three finished off the Magicians?" Rias asked upon their arrival.

"Well we took out a large number of them, but when we saw the enemy gate vanish and that time was unfrozen we rushed over to see how things were back here." Kiba explained.

"As for the Magicians, after the Angel, Fallen Angels and Devils were able to move again they quickly began attacking them as well." Xenovia added to the explanation. "There are only a few left but they should be taken care of before long."

"I see, that's good to hear." Rias nodded, pleased.

"Cattleya has been defeated, the enemies have all but been taken care of and all of our allies are free." Michael listed down. "It would seem that this conflict is finally over."

"Not yet" Ayato Said

"…Tch. So you're betraying me under these circumstances, Vali." Azazel spoke gravely injured

"That's right, Azazel." Vali replied, his white armour dazzling radiantly before Ayato looked at him

"My feelings are wavering on what to do. To be honest, I wasn't expecting for him to be there."

"Geez, I've also lost my edge. For one of my followers to do this…" Azazel laughed at himself, Ayato slipping into a battle stance quickly as he pulled Kuraokamitsu from off his back, Vali storing his mask away to show his face. "

When? When did you decide to do this?"

"I got the offer while I was en-route returning to headquarters. Sorry, Azazel. This side seems to be interesting." "Vali, has the [Vanishing Dragon] capitulated to Ophis?"

"No, I'm just cooperating stubbornly. They gave an attractive offer.

'Wouldn't you like to fight against Asgard?'

When they said that, as someone who wants to test my power, I couldn't decline. Azazel, you dislike the idea of fighting with Valhalla—the Asgard, right? You dislike war." "

I told you to 'become strong', but I should have also said 'don't only make factors that will destroy the world'."

"That's unrelated. I just want to fight eternally."

"…I see. No, I may have anticipated somehow in my heart that you would leave my side.—From the time we met till now, you wanted to fight with strong people."

Vali hit his hand against his chest and spoke to Ayato

"My real name is Vali. —Vali Lucifer."

Ayato's eyes widened slightly at that, guessing that Vali was probably a descendant from the original Lucifer as Vali continued

"I'm a descendent of the previous generation's Maou Lucifer who died. However, I'm a child of mixed blood born from a father who was the old Maou's grandson and a blazer mother.—I obtained the [Vanishing Dragon]'s Sacred Gear because I'm half-blazer.

It was just by chance. However, I, who is a true blood relative of Lucifer and is also the [Vanishing Dragon], was born. If there really is such a thing as fate and miracles, I may be just like Ayato Kurogane. —Just joking." Several folds of devil wings grew from his back along with his wings of light.

Ayato decided to speak up. "Of course it could." He answered without looking at him. "After all, just look at how unbelievable the Red Dragon Emperor is." He pointed out. "Why wouldn't the White Dragon Emperor also fit into that category."

Even Azazel looked a bit troubled as Vali's wings disappeared. "Yeah, you got that. I have a feeling these two will be the best Dragon Emperor's this world has ever seen, past, present, and future."

Yukio's eyes narrowed as he stared at Vali who nodded to him amused "I investigated you a little. Your father was an office worker but was also a Shinigami Blazer from the Kuchiki & Kurogane Clans. Your mother was registered as a doctor but also had roots with the Dark Knight Sparda. Your sister is a Kok Top League Member but still does Shinigami work on the side. Other members of your family have been killed by Shalba Beelzebub. Your Extended Family Hates you for being a Generation throughout your whole life. …Even with those two Sacred Gears,that Hollow & dragon Powers inside of you just are enough."

"Yes, my thought exactly. When I learned about you, whose existence was as remarkable as my own, I laughed out of joy. 'Ah, so this is my rival. How wonderful.' Everything about you surpassed my expectations Ayato's serious expression grew as he slipped into a fighting stance as Vali continued

"I'll kill your aunt and your friends. If I do that, your personal history will become more interesting. If they're killed by a valuable existence like me, don't you think you'll be able to openly devote yourself to a solemn destiny? Yeah, I'll do that. After all, your aunt will, from now on as well, live ordinarily, grow old ordinarily, and die ordinarily.

The two Dragon Emperor's fists clashed against each other in the sky. The impact caused a massive shockwave that reverberated all over the battlefield and pulled back everything around them, it also created a burst of wind from all sides, knocking them both back.

Immediately after they were separated, Ayato and Vali regained their balance and charged at each other once again.

The fight became more intense as trails of Red and White lights were crashing into each other, dashing all around the sky with such great speed and agility, it resembled the sight of two sparks dancing across the battlefield.

Once again the two fists of the Dragon Emperor's crashed into each other, this time both fists were covered in Dragon-Aura. The shockwaves were even greater than before but this time neither one of them was blown back. Vali continued his assault by bringing up his leg for a kick aimed at Ayato's head, but Ayato leaned back and dodged it.

Ayato then held out his palm and fired a blast of Demonic-power at Vali. Using the speed of his Light Wings, Vali not only evaded the blast but he circled around Ayato and appeared behind him in the blink of an eye. He brought back his fist and was about to punch him, but Ayato, without turning around, used wind-magic and created a blast of wind around his body that blew Vali back.

Now gaining the momentum, Ayato used his speed to get in front of Vali while he was off balance and threw a Haymaker aimed at his face. But before he could make contact, Vali's magic-barrier protected him and completely blocked Ayato's punch.

Ayato didn't stop his offense though and using both hands, he summoned Lightning-magic which he discharged at Vali, but the White Dragon Emperor was slick and closed in while sailing past the Lightning as if it was never aimed at him. Once he got in close range, Vali threw another punch and Ayato used his palm to deflect his punch before throwing a counter punch which Vali blocked with his forearm.

Now that they were both back in close range, they both unleashed a storm of blows at each other that was too fast for an untrained eye to follow. Ayato threw a punch at Vali's head which Vali caught with his hand. Vali threw a punch at Ayato's stomach which Ayato blocked with his knee. Ayato aimed a kick at Vali ribcage which Vali dodged by circling to his right. Vali threw a punch at the side of Shirou's head which Ayato dodged by ducking. Time and time again they both struck only to be blocked or for their blows to hit nothing but air.

They clashed once again and as if by some unheard signal, both fighters shot downwards towards the ground at a break-neck speed.

Like a boulder hitting the ground after a rockslide, the impact they created kicked up a large amount of dirt and dust, which blocked them from sight. But they could still be heard and as the cloud of dirt faded away, the two youths could be seen still exchanging blows no different from when they were in the air, only now their feet were planted firmly on the ground.

Quick as a flash they separated from each other again and dashed around the grounds while shooting blasts of Demonic-power at each other. Destroying many parts of the ground as they fired at their respective targets. Once they stopped shooting, they both charged forward like bullet trains and were covered in trails of Red and White, they clashed, broke apart, and clashed again. To those watching, it was like seeing two beams of lightning continuously strike each other and massive impacts each time.

After several clashes, they ceased and became involved in a power struggle where both were trying to push the other back. As A result, they both leaned back and opted for a headbutt which ended in both Devil's smashing their heads into each other with an equal driving force. If they were in any pain they certainly didn't show it.

Ayato kicked off the ground to initiate another attack as he spun his body around while coating his entire right leg with Demonic-power. Increasing his speed, Ayato made sure to aim his kick at Vali's head. Vali raised his forearm and caught the attack with little effort even though he was a little caught off guard by how fast it was.

However, that kick was merely a feint as Ayato's Demonic-power flowed from his leg to his arm, that coupled with the speed of his reflex and the fluidity of his control over his body gave him a great advantage when in close range. As he clenches his fist, Ayato leans in and duhs his fist directly into Vali's gut. Vali focused enough Demonic-power to harden his muscles and took the attack with virtually no damage.

This exchange chained into the next one as they went back to throwing a flurry of blows at each other at intense speeds. While exchanging punches both combatants steadily levitated upwards in the air until before long they were back in the sky. The long exchange ended after they both punched each other at the same time, both were aiming for a headshot but both fists only barely grazed each other's heads.

They followed up with kicks, Ayato coated his leg in Demonic-power again and kicked at Vali, this time intending to strike for real. However, Ayato was a sharp opponent and after seeing it once before, he replicated the move almost perfectly and coated his own leg in Demonic-power, unleashing his kick at Ayato. Both kicks clashed and canceled each other out, forcing the two back.

After that, they both moved back to gain some distance and stopped when they were a few meters apart from each other. Not missing a beat, Ayato and Vali gathered a moderate amount of Demonic-power in their hands and both fired a one-handed beam of Demonic-power.

The two beams were locked in a power struggle as they pushed against each other. It was a blinding sight of Red with green-outlines clashing against White with blue-outlines, both struggling for Dominance and Supremacy over the other. Sparks of excuse power were discharging around the beams and struck the ground like Lightning. In the end, like all their other struggles, this one ended in a stalemate as both beams exploded in the center and faded.

As both of them saw that neither one of them was making any kind of progress since their battle had started, Ayato and Vali had only one response.

[Tch…] They both clicked their tongue with mild irritation.

While the Rival-showdown raged on in the sky, on the grounds beside the School Building, everyone was watching the battle take place. They all watched with anticipation, some were in awe, amazement, or interest in how this fight would turn out.

"…Amazing." Kiba breathed out.

"I've never seen two people so evenly matched before." Xenovia commented, in awe of the fight.

"It's impressive that Vali is able to match Ayato-kun so well." Sirzechs stated as he watched, socially.

"No, it's actually the other way around." Azazel argued. "As a Devil King's descendant and since he's had his Sacred Gear for much longer, Vali's base stats are much higher, the fact that the Red Dragon Emperor is able to at least keep things in a state of equilibrium is a testament to his great fighting sense."

"Which probably means they're still gagging each other's abilities before they switch to a higher gear." Serafall reasoned. "Meaning this fight may take a while before it progresses."

Back in the fight, the two wielders of the Heavenly Dragons merely floated there.

[You're doing well to hold your ground, Partner. If you keep pushing forward, you might be able to gain the momentum at some point.]

Instead of responding to Ddraig's words, Ayato just let out a sigh and muttered. "…I'm tired of this."

[He's doing better than expected, but we still have the upper hand, Vali. Just don't be too reckless, before long the chance to strike will present itself.]

"No, Albion…" Vali replied silently to his Dragon. "These past few exchanges have helped me realize….… Fighting by ordinary means against this man won't get me anywhere."

At that moment, as if they were synchronized, both the Young Devil's powered up their Aura to incredibly high reserves. So much so that they were covered in a sphere of deep Red and glistening White. Following that, White used his Aura to summon a Long Bronze Sword that was as large as his body and held it in both , whilst Ayato brought out Ryuuzetsu and held it with both hands while covering the blade with Raging winds.

Vali gathered two black tornadoes and fired at Shirou, as they traveled towards him, the two combined into one that was twice their individual size. Meanwhile, Ayato raised Ryuuzetsu above his head and brought it down upon the black winds of Blazer-power, as if he was trying to cut the tornadoes in two.

[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]

After increasing his power with the Boosted Gear's ability, Ayato's Sword succeeded in cutting through the Demonic-power and cleaved it in two before the two half flew past him and exploded.

With that down, Ayato raised one of his swords and fired his own blast of Blazer-power at Vali.

KORI KUSANAGI!

His attack wasn't as large as Vali's but it was still powerful in its own right. However, Vali made no attempt to block or evade the attack and merely floated there without any kind of concern. As the attack reached him, the Light Wings of Divine Dividing lit-up.

[REFLECT!]

With an effect that caught almost everyone watching off-guard, Ayato Kori Kusanagi didn't damage Vali but instead changed its direction and bounced back at its user with speed even greater than the original speed it traveled in. In less than a second, the attack made contact with and exploded on Ayato.

After the explosion surrounding Ayato cleared away, he was revealed to still be floating there looking almost unaffected by the hit, though he raised his arm to block the attack, and thus the armor around his arm was slightly cracked in a few parts.

"Surprised you a little, didn't I?" Vali spoke in a relaxed manner. "That was the second ability of my Sacred Gear, Reflect. I can reflect all magic or energy-based attacks back at my opponents with double the speed."

"Yeah, I noticed." Ayato said, looking over his arm. "This is the closest thing to damage that I've received all day, but I can't be too surprised considering it was my own attack."

"Hmph, your hubris seems to know no bounds." Vali commented with amusement.

Ayato chuckled slightly. "Heh, like you're one to talk." He retorted while fixing the cracks in his armor.

On the grounds, those watching kept their eyes peeled as it looked like the fight was about to start up again.

"How do you think this fight's going to turn out?" Tsubaki asked, with a bit of sweat.

Sona shook her head. "I can't even begin to guess, both of them have outrageous levels of power."

Back to the battle, Ayato now held Ryuuzetsu with only one hand while he held out the other hand. "Since we're done flexing our muscles, I think it's about time I deal some real damage."

Spouting an aura from the magic power jets his back, Shirou rushed towards Vali with great speed. While holding Ryuuzetsu in one hand, he gathered power in his other hand and made a declaration. "Ascalon!"

[BLADE!]

Yukio's left eye twitched, turning to glare at the Governor for making the perverted comment before he heard Vali spoke up

"So you don't care enough for your master to use such a dangerous power" Something snapped with Vali's latest comment, Yukio relaxing his stance as he smirked darkly under his dragon armour and started to leak black reiatsu as he spoke

"You want to see it that badly…?" "

Of course" Vali replied, watching as Yukio's black aura grew in size as he spoke

"Well I guess I can't turn down a fan's request"

{Ddraig!} Sparda shouted, working on suppressing the Hollow power as best as he could, Ddraig helping him as he spoke [Right Sparda!]

The black aura waned and shifted, his red armour glowing as the clothes from around Kuraokamitsu's hilt moved to wrap around his body. A loud roar came from Yukio's mouth before the black light exploded out.

"Bankai"

Ayato was soon engulfed in a large pillar of black energy, the force from it blasting wind towards everyone around him as shocked looks filled the summit place. Moments later a black bladed katana dispersed it to reveal Ayato in his Bankai form with the Balance Breaker.

The light flickered and faded as Ayato's new form appeared, the gauntlets of his [Boosted Gear] covering both of his hands while clawed greaves covered his feet, both with thick white X on his forearms and shins. The helmet of his scale mail covered his head with two thin white lines running down from the green lens covering his eyes.

The chest plate was visible under the long black coat of his Bankai, a thick white X covering the front of it with the green jewel set in the centre while the coat was buttoned at his waist.

The coat also had red triangular hip guards atop of it, a space to sheath a sword in each one while four small jets poked out of his back in lines of two on either side of his spine.

His black slacks looked thicker, almost scale like, and were tucked into his greaves. Tensa Kuraokamitsu's sword is the same blade as before while the chain on the pommel had red and black links running in a pattern.

He seemed to stand slightly taller than before and his silver hair seemed to have suddenly grown two inches to frame his serious purple eyes.

[Subspecies Balance Breaker: Red Dragon Spirit Mail] Ddraig roared out as Ayato swung his sword to knock away the excess energy around him, forcing friend and foe alike to brace themselves from the shockwave.

"So what's this…?" He asked, Ayato smirking as an idea crossed his mind before mentally directing it to Sparda

{That mad but it could work} Sparda retorted, surprised at what his host had thought of as Ayato smirk grew before he started to put his idea to work.

The chain from Amonusen lengthened before wrapping himself around the pommel of Ascalon. Closing his eyes, Ayato focused on the aura of Ascalon, the Holy sword glowing white with a blue edging which started to travel down the chain before covering Kuraokamitsu. "

No way…" Azazel spoke surprised as Ayato started to walk forwards calmly as he spoke to Vali

"Come now Hakuryuukou let us fight" Ayato shot off from where he stood, the ground cratering from where he had stood as Vali launched waves of magic bullets at him only for Ayato brought both blades in front of him before swinging out to the sides as he called

"Eight Flower Praying Mantis!" Eight white and blue slashes launched out from the two swords, spiralling as they slammed through the bullets, Vali having to block as Ayato closed the distance between them and swung both swords down at his shoulders.

The two strikes easily cut through the gauntlets of Vali's armour before Ayato started to slash out to destroy the rest of Vali's armour before kicking the White Dragon wielder in the stomach and slamming him into the ground.

"…Interesting… Truly interesting." Vali spoke pained as his armour started to reform, looking over Yukio's appearance as Albion spoke up

[Vali, I finished analyzing his power…He's managed to coat his other sword with Ascalon's aura through that chain and his spiritual power is stronger than before]

"I see." Vali spoke as he picked himself up from off the ground as he asked "Albion, do you think he's worthy enough to show the Hakuryuukou's [Juggernaut Drive] if it's the current Hosomaki Ayato?"

[Vali, it's not a good choice in this place. If you recklessly enter "Juggernaut Drive", Ddraig's curse may be removed.] Albion replied, Yukio wondering what he was doing as he crossed the swords in front of him to guard against whatever Vali did.

"It'll all work out, Albion. —[I, who am about to awaken, in supreme justice—]" Vali started to chant only for Albion to speak up again angry

[Don't act rashly, Vali! Is it your desire to be at the mercy of my power!?]

Ayato slipped into a ready stance deciding to wait rather than charge forwards to attack Vali, a silhouette swooped down from the sky in between the two Heavenly Dragon users.

It was a man wearing armour that would be worn by a military commander of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

"Vali, I've come for you." The young man spoke cheerfully to Vali, Yukio looking confused as Vali spoke

"So it's Bikou. What have you come for?"

"Isn't that cruel? I made a long journey and came all the way to this island country because my partner is in a pinch, you know? The other guys were making a fuss at headquarters, you know? Because we're joining together to fight the northern country gods, you were supposed to flee and return right away if the mission failed, right? Cattleya failed to assassinate Michael, Azazel, and Lucifer, right? In that case, your observation role is also over. Come back with me." Bikou replied

"…I see, so it's already time."

"Who are you?" Yukio asked, pointing Amonusen towards the new person

"—He's the descendent of the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Let me say it with a name that you can grasp. He's Son Goku. The famous damn monkey in the Journey to the West" Azazel explained

"Son Goku!?" Ayato asked surprised, sparing a look towards the Governor who nodded as he continued

"To say it correctly, he is a monkey youkai that has inherited Son Goku's power. However, it really is the end of the world if you have even joined the [Khaos Brigade]. No, you're the Son Goku to the [Vanishing Dragon]. You're also well-matched."

Bikou laughed at Azazel's words before speaking

"I'm different from the first-generation that became a Buddha. I just live doing as I like. My name is Bikou. Nice to meet you, Sekiryuutei."

The youkai called Bikou spun around a cane that had appeared in his hand, and then pierced it into the ground. Instantly, a black darkness spread over the ground. It seized Vali and Bikou, and made them completely sink into it

"Guess we'll see you later, and don't worry about Vali, I'm sure he'll be glad to fight you again after you've both healed up a bit."

With that last sentence just there, the Hakuryuukou vanished into the darkness along with Sun Wukong. Once they were gone, Ayato just groaned as he put away his Boosted Gear & Swords.

"Man, I wasn't able to kill him."

"True, but you still won, that's something no one can deny."

Azazel pointed out with a smile, though Ayato still looked unsatisfied.

"Maybe…" Ayato then walked away as he muttered. "Geez, I need healing."

Ayato looked at one of the blue jewels from Vali's armour as he set foot onto the school grounds with Azazel, Rias and Gasper, glancing up to see the armies of the three big powers coming in and processing everything after the battle.

'I wonder if this would be useful' He thought to himself as he looked over the jewel again, Ddraig deciding to voice his own opinion

[Well it's all down to you…but it wouldn't be without pain. He and I are opposite existences]

"You thinking about breaking another balance?" Azazel asked with a curious and amused gaze as corpses of dead magicians were being carried away as the armies cleaned up the battlefield

as he pocketed the jewel as he advanced towards the centre of the school grounds.

"Maybe…" Ayato replied as he spotted Sirzechs, Serafall and Michael. Each was giving orders to people who seemed to be their subordinates, Sirzechs catching sight of them and raising his hands only for Serafall to barrel past him and knock Yukio onto the ground.

"Ay-tan! I'm so glad you're safe" She shouted happily, Rias looking angrily at the Maou, who was peppering kisses over Ayato's face for a few moments before Rias pulled the magical girl cosplayer from off him.

"Levi-sama! Leave Ayato alone" Rias shouted red faced, Sirzechs chuckling at his sister's red face and the dazed Ayato before turning to speak to Azazel

"So you're alright. Thank goodness."

"He's fine for the most part. I… Caused trouble with Vali."

"…So he betrayed you."

"From the start, he was a guy that poured into only power. If you look at it from the results, it's possible to understand and say 'Ah, I see'. —However, it's my responsibility that I didn't stop it from happening."

Azazel's eyes seemed lonely somehow. It seemed that a part of him was going to miss the now rogue Dragon Emperor. Shirou then spoke out.

"Michael-san!" Ayato spoke up as he approached the archangel, Serafall and Rias arguing childishly where he had stood.

"What is it, Sekiryuutei boy?" Michael asked

"There's just one thing I'd like to ask of you."

"Very well, there isn't time, but I'll hear this one thing."

"It's because of the [system] that Asia and Xenovia receive damage when they pray to God, right?" Ayato spoke calmly

"Yes. If Devils or Fallen Angels pray to God, the [system] moves and decides to give them light damage. Because this was included in the system with or without God's presence, it moves naturally. What about it?"

"Can't you make it so that there is no damage when only Asia and Xenovia are praying?" Ayato asked, remembering that he'd seen Asia and Xenovia both force smiles at the idea that they couldn't pray like they normally could before.

Michael looked surprised at Ayato's request; Asia and Xenovia who were on either side of him were also surprised before Michael gave a small laugh and nodded in agreement

"I understand. If it's only two people, I may be able to do something about it. The two of them are already devils and can't get near church headquarters. Asia, Xenovia, let me ask you. You know God is absent, right? Even so, will you still pray?"

The two of them shook their heads in surprise and then nodded.

"Yes, I want to pray even if there is no Lord."

Michael smiled at both of their responses, Ayato smiling at himself as he looked over to see Xenovia looking at him.

"Very well. I'll do that right away when I return to headquarters. Fufufu, it should be fine if there are only two devils who don't receive damage when praying. How interesting." Michael spoke

"With this, you can pray to God without problems, Asia, Xenovia" Ayato spoke, turning to see Asia teary eyed before she embraced him

"Ayato-san!"

"Ayato, thank you." Xenovia spoke with gratitude, her cheeks red as Ayato gently stroked both girl's heads as he spoke

"It's fine. You can pray without restraint from now on."

"Michael-sama, about the aforementioned matter, please do as you said." Yuuto spoke to Michael who nodded as he replied

"Following your advice, I swear on the Holy Demonic Sword you gave us that I will not allow Holy Sword research to produce any more victims. It was a huge error for us to flatly reject important believers to this extent."

"That's great! Yuuto!" Ayato called

"Yeah, thank you, Ayato-kun." Yuuto replied happily.

"Michael, I'll leave the explaining to the Valhalla guys to you. Since it would be problematic for me to move imprudently. Afterwards, you'll have to convey what happened today to Mt. Sumeru as well." Azazel spoke to Michael as they watched Ayato talking to Yuuto, Asia and Xenovia.

"Yeah, since there would be no persuasive power if either the Governor of the fallen angels or the Maou explained, I'll have to tell them. I'm accustomed to reporting to [God], after all." Leaving it at that, Michael took a great number of his subordinates and flew to heaven before Azazel declared ahead to the Fallen Angel troops.

"I have chosen peace. The Fallen Angels won't fight with the Angels and Devils at all from now on. Those who are dissatisfied with this may leave. However, I'll kill you without reservation the next time we meet. Only those who want to follow come with me."

[We will live for the sake of Governor Azazel till the day we die!] The subordinates' loyalty became a roar. Azazel saw this and expressed his gratitude with a small "Thank you".

After Azazel issued orders to his troops, the Fallen Angels deployed magic circles and returned.

The Devil troops also transferred away with the magic circle, the school grounds rapidly becoming desolate and only a few people were left. Azazel let out a big breath and started to head in the direction of the school gates.

"I'll leave the cleaning up to Sirzechs. I'm tired, so I'm heading back." He spoke, trying to wave his hand and head back but stopping just to point his finger at Ayato as he spoke

"That's right, Sekiryuutei. Since I plan to stay here for a little while, I'll help that [Bishop] of Rias Gremory. Because I can't stand it, to see a Sacred Gear which can't be controlled and I'm curious at how you used the power of Ascalon like that"

"Oh?" Ayato asked understanding that his aura coating probably surprised everyone who watched it

"For the red, it's family. For the white, it's power. —Either one is so purely simple that it's shocking." Azazel spoke amused before whistling.

…

"And so, from today on I'll be the advisor of this occult research club. Please call me Azazel-sensei. Or the Governor is fine too." Wearing a worn-out suit, Azazel was in the clubroom of the occult research club.

"…Why are you here?" Rias asked with a perplexed look, a hand on her forehead

"That's forbidden! Or rather, why would Sona do such a thing?" Rias countered

"You're so stubborn, Rias Gremory. I was told by Serafall's sister & World Clock that this was requested by Sirzechs. That's why she requested me."

"But there's a catch right?" Kiba questioned. "Lord Sirzechs wouldn't request this of you overwise."

"You got that right. The condition for me staying at this school is that I make the immature Sacred Gears possessed by the Devils of the Gremory family grow. Well, my knowledge as a Sacred Gear enthusiast is useful, after all. You guys have also heard about it, but there is a weird organization called the Khaos Brigade. As a future deterrent against them, the Welsh Dragon and your family have become famous around the world through the selection battles tournament. Rather than that, I'm an expert on the opposing Vanishing Dragon. From the information I got on him, I know that Vali has his own team. We're temporarily calling it the Hakuryuukou Team. Several people are gathering around the ones who've been identified at present, Vali and Sun Wukong."

"Seriously, Hakuryuukou Team?" Ayato repeated unimpressed. "What kinda tasteless name is that?"

Azazel shrugged his shoulders. "Don't get mad at me, it's a working progress. Fortunately, we probably won't be dealing with them for a while. Their current opponents are Heaven and the Underworld. In the Underworld, all the Fallen Angels under my orders have joined together with the Devils. The Underworld won't fall so easily. The Seraph guys in Heaven also wouldn't remain silent. Also, there are the free-loading strong Sacred Beasts in Heaven and Demonic Beasts as well."

"So where do you rate the Khaos Brigade on a threat level?" Rias asked with concern.

"Right now, it's still at the skirmish level. You could say both they and us are in a preparatory period." Azazel answered her before he adopted a position outlook. Don't worry, something like war won't occur until you people graduate from university, let alone this school's High School division. Enjoy your school life fully & win the reminder of the selection Battle tournament for the Seven Stars Festival. However, it is the long-awaited preparatory period. So you'll be doing various preparations, right?"

"Preparations are fine and all, but I'd rather not waste time on stupid School stuff." Ayato argued. "If they're still in the preparation phase as well, why not use this chance to press the attack?"

"It's not that simple, this alliance literally just happened yesterday, we'll need time to establish all the necessary changes to our individual Factions as well as work things out with neighboring Factions." Azazel explained. "Besides, we still have time before the real fighting starts so it's better not to rush things."

"Are you sure about that?" Ayato asked, still not convinced. "You say we have a lot of time but what if you're just assuming that and we don't have nearly as long as you all are thinking, events happening differently than you expect aren't exactly rare."

"Even if that's true, you'll make no progress if you worry too much. Your enemy is White Dragon Emperor Vali to the bitter end. Just don't forget that single fact."

"It's not about being worried, it's about being ready." Ayato corrected him. "Besides, he's not my only enemy. If the Khaos Brigade is as deadly as everyone says then I'll need to be prepared to fight enemies of all races and types. There's nothing simple about this."

"Right now, they mainly consist of Vali's Team and the Old Satan Faction." Azazel reminded him. "They're a threat but not one that we aren't aware of."

"They have Ophis." Ayato reminded him, quickly silencing Azazel. "That alone gives their side the advantage considering just having Ophis means you have more military power and influence than all Three Factions, even together."

The two of them stared at each other for a bit until Azazel got up from his chair and sighed.

"You're one straightforward guy aren't you? You might have a point but it's better not to be pessimistic about it and assume the worst, we're safe for now and that's the main focus of the situation, so let's leave it at that."

Rias came up to Ayato. "He's right, Ayato. You shouldn't worry too much about things that haven't happened yet."

At that point though, Azazel shook his head. "I wouldn't go that far, after all right now you're still not at the level where you would win against Vali."

"Azazel, Ayato already defeated Vali the night before, you saw that." Rias reminded him.

"He was only able to repel Vali because he combined the Dragon-Slaying Sword he got from Michael with Boosted Gear's power. Also, while he and Vali might've appeared evenly matched when they fought, Vali has a Trump Card that he doesn't, the Juggernaut Drive. You all saw the result when he used that. Rather, you could only win that fight thanks to special circumstances that were in place this time, but it'll be impossible for things to play out the same way next time. If you happen to fight Vali or just an opponent who possessed power of Vali's level the way you are now, you will be killed."

Azazel's logic was sound and made complete sense. Anyone who watched the fight would know that before the addition of the Power of Darkness Ayato was cut down and moments away from death. His victory was the result of the interference of a third party and to expect the same result a second time was beyond wishful thinking.

"Azazel, since you don't seem to know, let me explain something to you. I am Cryo Gale Sword Emperor , the one who makes the impossible possible and turns despair into hope. It doesn't matter at all if things are different next time, I'll just get stronger and come up with a dozen more plans." Ayato declared with total confidence. "No matter who I'm up against, any outcome besides my victory is just a fantasy."

Ayato looked completely serious in what he was saying, but what Azazel focused on wasn't the person standing in front of him, but the ones who were behind Ayato. Everyone in this club room. Each and every one of them appeared wholeheartedly and believed Ayato's declaration.

"Moving on, can you use the Hakuryuukou's power that you stole?"

Ayato held out his right arm and summoned the Dividing Gear.

"Sure can. It actually took a lot of effort and brainpower to fully integrate the power into my body, but it worked. Now I can use it, the only problem is that it eats away at my stamina like crazy."

"That's right, Holy-Demonic Sword kid. How long can you fight in a Balance Breaker?"

Kiba answered Azazel's question."Currently, one hour is my limit."

"That's not good. At the very least, you need to make sure that you're able to continue using it for 3 days."

"Mine is around 1 month."

Azazel scratched his chin as Ayato also answered his question.

"That's good. The Hakuryuukou can stay in the Balance Breaker for one month. That's no difference between you."

Next Azazel's gaze turned towards Akeno as he asked "Do you still hate us—no, Barakiel?"

Ayato's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Akeno who answered with a stern expression "I have no intention of forgiving him. Since it's that person's fault that my mother died."

"Akeno, when you fell down to being a Devil, he said nothing."

"Naturally. That person isn't in a position where he can say something to me."

"I don't consider that person as my father!" Akeno declared clearly

"I see. But, I don't think it's bad that you joined the Gremory family. If things were otherwise, what would Barakiel think, I wonder?"

Akeno remained silent and was deep in thought from Azazel's last comment, who turned to look at Ayato again

"Hey, Sekiryuutei—is Ayato fine? Shall I teach you about harems? Even though I look like this, I'm a man who has formed hundreds of harems in the past, you know? You won't lose anything

by hearing about it."

Ayato looked shocked at the Governor as he said "Hell no!"

"Why not...? You are a virgin, right? Or could you be scared of girls" Azazel spoke with a smirk as Ayato scowled

"I'm not scared of girls…I-"

"Alright, I'll also teach you about women. It's better to become a man that properly ensnares even beautiful women. The story of how I feel like this was because I rubbed the breasts of human women. I don't compromise when it comes to ero." Azazel interrupted

[Haha… What a man! You should learn from him, Ayato]

Ddraig replied, happily crying as Ayato sighed

"Great…another pervert I have to deal with"

"Ooh, Ddraig really is sensible. That's right, if you're a man, live in a state of desire. Devour woman! If you sleep with them and have sex, strength will follow along with confidence. —I shall produce your graduation ceremony. I'll introduce you to some of the beautiful Fallen Angel women among my subordinates. They'd also probably be happy to have sex if their partner is a legendary Dragon." Azazel spoke, Ayato's face turning red from embarrassment as he summoned Kuraokamitsu, pointing it at the pervert threateningly.

"It's fine, isn't it? At this age, it's perfectly healthy to be acquainted with one or two women. Or is there something wrong with your servant being acquainted with women?"

" We're the ones who manages Ayato's chastity!" Rias and Stella declared, Ayato's eyes widening as he looked over to see their red faces before his grip on Kuraokamitsu disappeared along with the sword.

"Ayato-san is staying with me…" Asia spoke seriously

"Ara, ara, Ayato-kun, We'll have to be careful with you," Akeno and Yukina spoke with a laugh.

"…Ayato-senpai is honorable" Koneko spoke with a small smile

"If Buchou is managing, it won't be easy to produce a child…Muu." Xenovia spoke seriously.

"You sure are popular, Ayato-sempai! As a hikikomori, I admire you!"

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to use your personal power and your Sacred Gear's power. And there are plans for the matches to be set during your training camp in Donrou academy as well.

I believe they're doing it in Rating Game style. I've already finished probing Sirzechs about it."

After saying that, Azazel started giving out a dangerous laugh.

"Kukuku, there's the Boosted Gear which has begun an unknown evolution. And there's also the Holy-Demonic Sword. Furthermore, there's the Forbidden Balor View. I'll drive my research results into them and explore their original evolved forms."

...