"He'll be fine."
Ichika took her hand off the window pane. She sighed and turned to see Rias standing behind her with a small, reassuring smile on her face. Ichika's shoulder slumped as she walked over to one of the couches and sat down, looking up at the ceiling.
"I don't normally worry about Shin like this," Ichika said.
"I get it. You're relatively new to all this. To know that someone you care about a lot is facing something potentially dangerous without you there is nerve-wracking," Rias replied.
Ichika gripped the fabric of her pants tightly. She bit her lip in worry as she waited for a message from Shin. Anything to say that he was okay. She knew she was most likely overreacting but she couldn't help it. "Am I really that obvious?"
"You've been pacing since we got here," Sophia turned away from the window and turned to face her. "I don't sense Kokabiel near here. He's probably either far or using some sort of magic to cloak himself from me."
Rias nodded and sat down behind her desk. The entire group was huddled inside the club room's office. Yuuto sat in the corner with concrete slabs stacked on top of his thighs as punishment for running off and attacking Ichika and Xenovia.
As they all sat in silence, waiting for an inevitable attack, Sona's image appeared in the room. The normally stoic president pushed her glasses up and sighed. "We've finished setting up at our positions outside. If push comes to shove, we can contain the battle inside the school but the problem is how long our barrier can last. You guys need to stall inside."
Rias nodded and took a sip of her tea.
"You seem awfully calm about this. You do realize there's a high chance we'll die," Sophia said.
Rias put her tea down and sighed. "That's why I sent a message to my brother. He'll be here before Kokabiel can strike—"
"About that," Sona interjected. "Tsubaki's detected an odd interference of unknown origin around the town. The space is all mangled and twisted. Teleportation magic is a no go from here on out. All of us are trapped in here."
Trapped? Wait, we can't teleport… That's just like with… Ichika's eyes widened as she remembered the ability of Shin's former master.
That God's ability to bend space and time to her whim as if they were just toys to her was terrifying.
Sophia placed a hand on her shoulder. Ichika's shaking calmed slightly.
"Shin's master is the only person I know that can twist space to such a degree. Did you guys detect any energy signatures belonging to Gods… or dragons for that matter?" Sophia asked.
"No. She was the first person that came to mind so we began putting out feelers to detect her. Whether or not we're fortunate, we didn't detect her which means this distortion is the work of someone else. Our siblings won't be able to arrive in Kuoh for at least a few hours because of how complex it is," Sona said.
Rias pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Of course. Nothing's ever easy."
"Did you expect it to be?"
"Spare me the lecture, Sona. We've been expecting this all week. All we can do now is hold out and hope Shin's gamble works out," Rias said as she pushed back her chair and got up. "How long until he activates the Curse?"
"Shouldn't be too long but it's not like him to not contact me or Ichika," Sona said.
Ichika's throat tightened. Shin hadn't called Sona either? She hadn't heard from Irina either. The worry began to grow in her stomach, weighing her down like a lead slab. "No Irina either, Prez?"
Sona shook her head.
"Give him time. He'll show up," Rias said. "For now, we'll need to deal with this ourselves. With or without Shin."
"Right so—"
The school suddenly shook violently. A blast of energy washed over them, causing the devils inside the room to wince from the intensity of it. The sheer holy power that had just slammed into their little home like a tsunami was far greater than anything they had seen from Raynare.
"Looks like…," Sophia's eyes turned violet as she looked in the direction of the blast. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead as she caught glimpse of a shimmering gold silhouette sitting on the outline of a throne. An aura of yellow radiated from him, making him shine as bright as the sun. "We've got company."
"Sona. We'll stall for time. Find a way to bypass the distortion," Rias said.
"Will do. My peerage and I will set up the barrier now." Sona nodded and her projection vanished from the clubroom.
Ichika clenched her fists as she got up. Her heart pounded in her chest. She wasn't a Devil and even she could feel that wave of pressure wash over her. "Right, let's do this."
Ichika had to hand it to Sona. She knew how to make barriers look beautiful on the interior. The entire night sky was illuminated by a soft blue intricate series of matrices that interlaced across the sky. The silver moon served as a nice backdrop to what would amount as their graves as soon as this battle was over. Or at least, she tried not to think about the negatives. She slapped her hands on her cheeks.
"Don't show fear," Ichika repeated to herself.
Fear is okay. But do not give your opponent the sense that you are afraid. Fear serves to sharpen your senses but allowing yourself to be crippled by it will only slow you down.
The ever so wise words of her teacher came to mind.
As the track and field came into sight. A portly man dressed in similar robes as Father Marco stood at the center. A series of runes of unknown origin lay in a carefully traced array on the grass. A single sword lay in the center of the array.
"That's our target," Sophia growled as they drew closer. "Valper Galilei."
"So that's Valper Gallilei? He's rounder than I expected," Rias commented as they slowed to a stop.
Valper seemed to not notice their presence as he caressed the sword almost as if he were holding a lover. Before they could say anything, a figure burst through the brush of the school. His silver hair and white robes were easily recognizable as was the psychotic gleam in his eyes. However, Ichika noticed one thing that almost made her blood run cold.
Blood.
Calm down, that's probably not their blood, Ichika thought to herself.
[Remember to remain calm. Don't lose yourself, Ichika.] She heard Ddraig's voice inside her head.
"Huh…? Oh, well, well, well, I go away for a few seconds and I come back to see that we have guests! Hey, Old Man! You got visitors!" Freed said.
Valper finally looked up and turned to see them for the first time. His eyes flicked with almost a bored and disinterested expression until he landed on Sophia. His eyes widened and he rubbed his chin as he stood up straight for the first time in what seemed to be hours. "You really do look like her," Valper said.
"Hehe, it's like a family fucking reunion! You know her Old Man?" Freed asked.
"I knew her mother. A brilliant woman she was. Shame about what happened to her," Valper said with a cruel smile on his face.
Sophia felt a vein pop inside her head. She clenched her fists and took a step forward. She reached behind her back and unfolded her wicked scythe. The Burial Blade's silver curved blade gleamed in the moonlight.
"So eager to fight! I love that enthusiasm! But hold your horses now, I ain't here to fight. I'm here to drop these…," Freed opened his coat, revealing three blades stored inside his coat.
Two of them Ichika didn't recognize but the katana almost made her heart stop.
Iri…na's…
Her eyes began to flicker from brown to silver.
[Ichika, calm down.]
She took a deep breath and tried to calm her rapid heart rate.
"Like 'em? I went through a lot to get these. Unfortunately, I can't do shit until my boss says something, ain't that right, Boss?" Freed looked up.
Ichika and the others followed his gaze and her heart almost dropped into her stomach. Ichika could count on both her hands, a handful of times she had felt truly afraid. Shin's near death. Her encounter with Yaldabaoth. This man's presence was up there.
A terror aloft on ten black wings, seated upon a gilded throne as if he were the bored monarch watching an execution.
If power could be rated on a scale, Raynare would be a coughing baby while this man was a hydrogen bomb. The man's red eyes gazed upon them and a fanged grin twisted his lips. His pale skin only seemed to be further illuminated by the pale glow of the silver moon.
Ichika took a slight step back.
"Hmm? You…" His eyes narrowed as his gaze landed on Ichika. "Interesting…"
"Kokabiel," Sophia said.
"Gremory… and a pale imitation of Lucifer," Kokabiel said. "The sight of you two makes me sick. It reminds me of that bitch, Runeas Gremory. Tell me, Gremory. Who will it be that comes to rescue you this time? Will it be Sirzechs, or Serafall?"
Rias clenched her jaw as she tried not to let the fear show on her face.
Kokabiel seemed amused by her display of bravery and gave her a fanged grin. "Valper, how long will it take for the ritual to be complete?"
"At the rate I'm going, it will only take me five minutes, Lord Kokabiel," Valper said. "Though, I do have one tiny request. I humbly ask that you leave Maria's daughter alive."
Kokabiel raised an eyebrow. "The imitation of Lucifer? Ah, I see. So she's the one they want. The one with the Miracle Amplification."
"Keep my mother's name out of your filthy mouth," Sophia said coldly. Her eyes burned with an all-consuming memory. "You dare to pervert my mother's research with your filthy ambitions."
"Pervert? Hahaha! Maria already perverted the natural cycle of life! You'd know of course, wouldn't you? They were all perfect! Yet she had one flaw," Valper pushed his glasses up. He smiled as Freed appeared in front of him.
Sophia's eyes were cold pits of death. The sickle of the Burial Blade was locked against the two blades of Excalibur Mimic and Rapidly.
"Heh, a bit impatient are we?" Freed said as he pushed her back.
Sophia landed on the ground, her three pairs of wings unfurling from her back. The tips of her feathers began to glow violet as an explosive amount of Holy Power flooded from her body. "I kill you…"
"You can be furious all you want but you and I both know your mother was no Saint. I'm sure you've seen and heard it. I was going to retrieve the rest of the files for myself but color me surprised when I saw you got to them first. How did it feel knowing the truth of what your mother did, MS-621?" Valper said.
Sophia gazed at him coldly before readying her blade.
"Because… Abbess Maria Asterope was a true monster compared to me," Valper said.
[Are you afraid, Ichika?]
Ichika kept her feet rooted to the ground as she watched the confrontation between Freed and Sophia. Her eyes flicked up and her body instinctively froze as she gazed upon Kokabiel's form.
Of course, I am! That thing isn't just beyond us! That's on a whole different level! It's like looking at Shishou.
[I guarantee you your master is stronger than that fool. But be careful. He is a being recorded in the Book of Enoch. A being that survived a war against both God and the past Maou.]
Not doing me any favors, Ddraig, Ichika thought.
[If push comes to shove, we will use that thing the White One taught you. And… if all else fails, I won't stop you from accessing that silver flame.]
Ichika gulped. If Ddraig was letting her use that flame, the one that white-haired woman from her dreams used, then this was serious. She clenched and unclenched her fists before summoning the Boosted Gear to her arms and legs.
"Alright then," Ichika said.
"Oh? That fire in your eyes. This is what I live to see, Sekiryuutei!" Kokabiel leaned forward in his throne. "Very well, then! Entertain me, worthless pests! Let's see how well you can fare against me! Through war, we can find the truth to our existence for people will only reveal their true selves when they are left with nothing but the skin of their teeth!"
A pillar of light shone in the distance, towering high into the sky. If there were any jokes Dante could make about this, it's that it reminded him of that day. The day their mother died. He clenched his jaw as he beat his wings, flying in the direction of the light.
"Slow down!"
He looked over his shoulder and noticed Klein jumping from rooftop to rooftop after him.
"Sophia's engaged in combat with Kokabiel! That damn girl never listens!" Dante hissed as he increased his speed.
"Worrying isn't going to do anything! We need to keep a level head about this! The enemy has disabled all means of teleportation across the entire city. I don't know if it's Kokabiel that's doing this or someone else but we have to be careful if we want to rescue them!" Klein said.
Dante ignored his words. He had a few choices regarding how he was going to deal with the Crow of Stars. First, he was going to tear his wings off one by one, then he was going to—
A gleam of silver and red flashed out of the corner of his eye. Dante twisted in midair, narrowly avoiding whatever it was that just tried to take his head off. He landed on the ground. His eyes narrowed as he felt a bead of warm fluid trickle down the side of his cheek.
"Dante!" Klein landed on the ground next to him. His eyes scanned the surrounding area as he tried to catch a glimpse of what just attacked them.
[Generating data…]
[? Lv. ?]
"To think that it would be this easy to draw you out. But then again, when family is in danger, people tend to act in ways that almost become… predictable~."
Klein stiffened as a gnawing presence began to nibble away at the recesses of his consciousness. He turned to see Dante staring up at the top of a house. There, sitting on the edge of someone's roof was a woman. Her long white hair glowed in the moonlight as she got up and dusted her red coat off.
"Second Praetor," Klein said.
The Second Praetor smiled widely as she ignored Klein and fixated on Dante like a hungry animal.
"You…," Dante growled as violet flames crackled around his hands.
This is bad. If she's here, then we won't be able to get to the others. Kokabiel will kill the kids and get the Miracle Amplification from—
Klein froze. Wait... something's off here. Miracle Amplification. He said that the Praetors were after the Miracle Amplification and—!?
"You know there's a saying."
The Second Praetor hopped off the roof and landed on the ground gracefully. She produced a sleek MP7 and a serrated dagger attached to a segmented chain in a flourish. "When two dogs fight over a bone, the third dog runs away with it."
Dante's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"My, my, I didn't think you two would be this slow. But I have to applaud you. You did exactly what I thought you'd do. You delivered exactly what we wanted on a silver plater, CM-002."
Klein's eyes widened and he sent a series of black strings at the Second Praetor.
The woman merely stood there as a flash of blue light appeared in front of her, parrying the razor wire with deadly precision.
Klein felt his arm being forcefully pushed back as his strings scattered across the street, slicing apart garbage cans and concrete.
"You took your time, First Praetor. Did seeing that boy again make you all nostalgic?" she said in a sickly sweet voice.
The Masked Praetor said nothing as she summoned a Black Talisman to her hand. "...My personal matters are none of your concern."
"Heh…? That's not fun. Oh well, I'll ask you about it later. I'm sure our esteemed Red King would love to get all the details," the Second Praetor said as she pointed the MP7 at Dante. "But for now, let's come to claim our prize."
A howl pierced the relative silence of the night sky. Ichika readied herself as Kokabiel's light leveled the entire gymnasium in a single blow, leaving a gaping chasm in the Earth. A dim orange light came from it, accompanied by another howl.
[Partner, be ready.]
Ichika nodded as she braced herself.
A massive hound that resembled a pitbull crawled out of the pit, if pitbulls had three heads. Its dark blue fur seemed to radiate a black mist and its three pairs of red eyes gleamed in the darkness. It reared its heads and sniffed the air before unleashing an abhorrent howl into the night sky.
"What… Is that what I think it is?" Ichika asked as she took a step back.
Rias nodded and gazed upon the dog with wariness and disgust. "A Cerberus."
"I borrowed these dogs from Hades. I hope you can entertain them. They haven't been fed in a week," Kokabiel cackled. "To struggle is to live! To fight is to evolve! Only through combat can we truly know one another! Only through war can we overcome the oncoming tide of Entropy!"
"Ichika, stay by me. We only have three katashiro on each of us. And Asia can only heal so fast. We essentially have three lives," Sophia said as she readied her scythe.
"Sophia, about your—"
"Whatever you heard from Valper… it's all… true," Sophia said. "But still, I won't let him use my mom's research. In the end, Mama did love us. And that… I want to believe in that at least. So… please…"
Ichika nodded and prepared herself as the Cerberus began to charge at him.
"I'll give you an opening. Go for Valper," Ichika said as she began to gather red cubes around her. She dashed forward and met the Cerberus head-on. "HEY!" she slid underneath the pouncing Cerberus's jaws and slammed her palm into its belly, sending a shockwave through it.
"Haaah!" Ichika redirected its momentum and threw it several meters until it crashed through the trees in the yard.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Shin's not here," Ichika said as she straightened her form.
[Boost]
"So I'll do what I can until he gets here," Ichika said. A small drop of blood fell from her nose as the holy matter swirled around her. "Go after Valper. We'll hold off the dog."
Sophia finally snapped out of her stupor and nodded. She turned on her heels and clenched her jaw as the Cerberus got back up. She almost flinched as it charged at her, flames licking its fangs as it prepared to swallow her in one snap of its massive jaws.
And then, a series of lightning strikes and red energy bolts slammed into it, knocking it aside.
"Did you think we'd let you fight alone?" Rias asked as she held her hand out.
[Partner. Remember to use the Explosion and your Miracles. These are creatures of the Underworld. The Holy Element is super effective against them. You can't keep using the Armor of God Miracle to go on the defensive forever. Trust your skills and your comrades.] Ddraig advised.
Ichika nodded and exchanged glances with Rias.
Ichika's foot shifted and she charged forward.
The Cerberus howled and unleashed a torrent of flames toward her.
"Ichika! Keep going!" Akeno yelled. She swiped her arms, creating a massive magical array that froze the flames in place.
As expected of Himejima-senpai, Ichika thought as she slid underneath one of the Cerberus's jaws. She jumped to her feet and delivered three palm strikes to the side of its neck.
It howled and snarled, swiping its paws at her.
"Ichika!"
She jumped instinctively as Xenovia's sword came whirling in from behind.
"Oh? She has another Excalibur Fragment?" Valper mused. "That one looks like Destruction… Hmm, Freed."
"Gotcha," Freed said as he prepared to charge.
However, Sophia appeared in a blinding flash of Valper. Freed rounded back, using Rapidly's ability to enhance his speed to block the attack in time.
"Hah! With a tactic like that, I'd think you were one of the bad guys!" Freed applauded.
"Shut up!" Sophia snarled.
Valper merely smiled in a taunting manner as he stood behind Freed. "You really do look like your mother. CM-001 and CM-002 took after that Devil that Maria got the DNA from but you, MS-621, you got your mother's looks. Maria was always easy on the eyes, even if she wasn't as beautiful as an angel or one of the other Exorcists."
Sophia's eyes glowed as she swiped her scythe, unleashing a swirl of violet flames. She rose into the air, her black wings beating powerfully. "I said shut your damn mouth."
"Hohh? The Miracle that belonged to the Fallen Archangel Lucifer, Qemetiel, along with the Miracle Amplification," Valper said. "The Light that bears God's judgment and purifies the world by burning it in divine light. Maria really was a monster. We did the world a favor by eliminating her."
"Shut your damn mouth!" Sophia snarled as she gathered the light into her palms and formed a massive sphere above her head. She threw it down, only for Freed to block it by morphing Mimic into an impregnable shield.
Ichika glanced over her shoulder briefly and saw Sophia engaging Freed. She jumped into the air as the Cerberus attempted another swipe.
[Boost]
How many is that?
[7, I believe.]
"That means my power's increased 128 times," Ichika said as she landed next to Rias and Akeno, who were unleashing a barrage of demonic power at it. Lightning and destruction rained down on the beast that refused to die.
"Ichika. If this keeps up, I might have to pull out my ace," Xenovia said as she dodged an attack from the Cerberus.
Ichika bit her cheek.
"Um, Ichika. I can hold the Cerberus down long enough for you all to finish it," Asia said.
"What? You can? How?" Ichika asked.
Yuuto darted in, causing a field of swords to erupt from the ground and pierce the infernal mutt's paws. It roared and tried to swallow Yuuto in a single gulp but missed as the Knight used his natural agility to jump into the air and deliver a series of rapid slashes.
Koneko followed up by slamming her powerful fist into the side of its snouts, sending it careening into a tree.
"Just trust me," Asia said as she clasped her hands together. A series of golden symbols began floating around her and a shroud of holy energy surrounded her body. "Oh, God. Oh, Angels. Grant me the power to deliver justice upon this demon. In the name of the Father… and of the Son… and of the Holy Spirit…," Asia's eyes opened to reveal deep pits of molten gold. "Amen."
She raised her hand into the air and a series of golden chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the Cerberus.
"To Bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with shackles of iron…," Asia prayed as she closed her fist.
The golden chains constricted with each movement the Cerberus made as it thrashed around, against its bindings.
"Ichika! Go!" Asia said as she struggled to contain the foul beast.
Ichika nodded. "Prez! Make a launch pad for me!"
Rias stopped firing and nodded. She snapped her fingers and set a magic trigger on the ground in front of Ichika.
Ichika took a few steps back before sprinting forward. The red circle glowed and she was launched into the air.
Ddraig!
[Explosion.]
Ichika felt her stockpiled power rush out in one go. A crimson aura with shimmering green embers erupted around her. She raised her hand into the air as she connected with the System. A drop of blood fell from her nose as she began to chant. The amplified power of the Boosted Gear fed into the Holy Power she collected within her body as a series of symbols appeared around her.
"Haaah! Take this you stupid mutt!" Ichika threw her hand forward and the air ignited into a torrent of orange flames.
Xenovia, Yuuto, and Koneko jumped back, avoiding the massive swirl of flames that engulfed the Cerberus.
Ichika landed on the ground in front of them and pointed her finger toward the beast. "A pillar of flames followed up by an original special from your Red Dragon Empress!"
Red energy collected at the tip of her fingers, swirling into an abhorrently loud cyclone of power.
Know how to use all powers at your disposal. Remember that the Holy Power from the System is not all you can access…
Bea's words echoed in her ears.
Ichika closed her eyes as the orb at the tip of her finger glowed a brilliant shade of red. She smirked as she covered her right eye with her right hand. "I can feel the power of the Devils flowing through me." The beam surged forth.
Using it was a risk. She hadn't accessed the power of the Pieces… or whatever was left inside her that mimicked the Pieces since the battle at the Church. Her training with her Master had opened her mind to several avenues.
And this was one of them.
[Dragon Shot.]
The beam fired from Ichika's finger, piercing into the flames.
"You know what happens when holy energy and pure demonic power comes into contact with each other!" Ichika smirked.
The flames turned red and a catastrophic chain reaction took place.
Rias, noticing the sudden surge of chaotic power, covered herself and everyone near her in a barrier.
The flames exploded outward, uprooting all the trees nearby. The goalpost of the soccer field melted and twisted due to the intense heat. Inside the swirling dome of flames, the Cerberus roared in agony as its body was ripped apart by the conflicting elements that erased each other in a swirling maelstrom inside the expanding dome of bursting energy.
As the explosion died down, there was nothing left of the Cerberus, not even ashes. The collision of holy and demonic energies had completely ripped the beast apart in the wake of its destructive interaction.
"Impressive. You're not half bad, Sekiryuutei."
Ichika turned as she heard the somewhat impressed voice of Kokabiel.
The Cadre sat upon his golden throne, clapping his hands together before throwing his head back in laughter. "Hahaha! To think such talent could be hiding among humans! But then again…," Kokabiel's eyes narrowed. "You're no longer completely human, are you?"
Ichika stood her ground, eyeing Kokabiel carefully.
The Cadre made no effort to move or attack. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on her as if analyzing her. "You smell just like them."
Ichika raised an eyebrow.
"The Praetors. That stench is something I haven't smelled since the Great War. Could you be… one of them?" Kokabiel asked.
A shine of golden light alerted them all to the situation at hand. Valper began to laugh. His fingers twitched as his cheeks flushed. His breathing became erratic and heavy as if he were nearing a state of absolute bliss.
"Yes! Yesss! Freed! Acquire Destruction at all costs!" Valper demanded.
"Gotcha, old man!" Freed said as he parried her attacks. He threw the swords into the air before pulling out two flashbangs. He kicked them toward Sophia and shot it, causing it to detonate in a flash of blinding light and thunderous boom.
Everyone was momentarily blinded by the attack, allowing Freed to use a combination of Rapidly and Transparency to blindside Xenovia.
"I'll be taking this!" Freed cackled as he thrust the blade of Rapidly into Xenovia's midsection, causing the girl to gasp. He kicked her off the blade before taking Destruction from her injured body and making his way back to Valper. He placed the swords down at the center of the circle.
"X-Xenovia!" Ichika yelled as her vision came back slowly. "Asia!"
"I got it!" Asia said as she ran in the direction where she thought Xenovia was.
"Hahahaha! Years! Years of waiting! Of sacrificing! I've finally achieved it!"
The swords rattled and levitated into the air. They spun in a rapid circular motion before melding together into a singular weapon. Another burst of bright light engulfed the entire school, outshining the moon and all the stars in the sky before fading.
As her vision finally returned, Ichika caught sight of what remained of the Fragments.
A beautiful blue blade levitated slightly off the ground. It had a gorgeous oceanic sheen to it, adorned with a golden cross-hilt that contained an aquamarine gem at the center along with a blue handle and a golden pommel. But the power it exuded far surpassed any of its fragments.
It was truly a Holy Sword among Holy Swords to the point where if Ichika had to describe what she was looking at, she could almost call the blade a…
[God.]
Ichika gulped as Ddraig completed her thoughts for her.
"So beautiful. This beauty. This divinity! A true Holy Sword among Holy Swords!" Freed moaned in pleasure as he took in the sight.
Kokabiel watched in amusement as the blade hovered. But, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his head. The blade seemed to stare back at him.
"And now that the spell is complete, the light and divinity generated by the weapon is complete. The spell will destroy this town in 20 minutes. And the only way to dispel it is for all of you to overcome Kokabiel," Valper laughed hysterically.
"Freed."
"Yeah, boss?" Freed asked.
"This will be the final entertainment. Now that we have our prize, we can officially cut off all loose ends. Once you finish eliminating them, destroy the one called the Second Praetor," Kokabiel ordered.
"With pleasure, boss man," Freed said as he picked up the Fused Excalibur. He took a step toward them. Each step he took cemented a feeling of dread and foreboding within them as they took in the sight of Holy Blade in Freed's hand.
"You know, I never thought I'd get to kill not once but twice in one day!" Freed cackled as he performed a few test swings. He specifically locked eyes with Ichika as a cruel smile twisted his lips. "Hey, girlie. Ever wondered why your boyfriend is late?"
Ichika froze as Freed continued walking.
"Ichika, don't listen to him," Sophia said as she rubbed her eyes. She glared at Freed.
"Hahaha, you can deny it all you want buuut… shouldn't your friends be here by now?" Freed said. "I mean, that girl I wasn't able to finish off but she should've bled out by now. Pity. Bitch didn't even scream for me and I even made extra holes in her body for it."
Ichika felt something crack. Her blood began to boil as she picture what Freed had done to Irina. Her eyes began to flicker from hazel to silver.
"But the real kicker was the boy! Hahahaha! I think his name was Shin! You should've heard the twin tail girl scream 'S-SHIN!' Ahahaha! Funniest shit ever!" Freed laughed when he saw the look of barely restrained fury in her eyes. "Oh… you look mad but I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's probably buried under a ton of rocks by now, hah!"
As if she could hear it, something inside Ichika audibly broke. A proverbial dam of her emotions—rage, fury, despair, loathing, and a whole slew of erratic thoughts and feelings— all poured forth.
"You bastard!" Sophia hissed. But before she could do anything, Ichika took a step forward. A surge of energy poured forth from her body.
"You're lying…"
[This feeling. Her emotions are running wild.]
"Oh? Am I? I'm pretty sure I'm not. I saw his body get crushed by 10 tons of rubble," Freed taunted.
"I refuse. He'll come back. He promised me… I won't lose anyone ever again… I refuse to lose anyone EVER again," Ichika repeated to herself. Her eyes glowed with a deathly shade of silver.
[You might want to stand back.]
Ddraig's voice echoed from the gauntlets of Boosted Gear - Superbia.
"You're the—"
[Sacred Gears respond in tandem to the feelings of their users. This girl… has reached her "peak".]
"You mean…?" Sophia said.
Ichika didn't pay attention to Ddraig's words as a crimson aura tainted with sparks of silver lightning poured forth from her body, shaking the ground.
[When a user of a Sacred Gear reaches a state of emotional flux, the wielder will shatter their limitations and change the flow of the world.]
The red light exploded from Ichika's body. Her body was clad in scarlet red armor, the plating extending around her arms and legs with the plating around the fingers and toes morphing into talons. Her chest was covered in a slightly curved breastplate with a slight silver gem at the middle. A pair of pauldrons were on her shoulder and her face was clad in a visor with glowing silver eyes. Her ponytail extended outward from the helmet, radiating a slight crimson glow.
[Yet, she managed to maintain control of herself. I thought she was going to lose it like last time at the Church and let that thing take over but… it seems that she's using Shin as an anchor and holding onto him for dear life. To think that an attachment could push her to go this far…] Ddraig thought as he watched her with admiration and pride in his eyes.
Ichika took a deep breath and took a step forward. A swirl of holy and demonic power, mixed with the power of a Dragon, exploded from her body, barreling into Freed and sending him sliding back. Her silver eyes glowed as she raised her hand.
And all that came from her was a single announcement made by her Sacred Gear.
[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]
His head throbbed as he came to. His mind struggled to fill in the gaps of his memory. As the haze faded, his eyes snapped open and he sat up, panting and gasping for air.
"Shin? Shin! Calm down!"
Shin whirled around as the details of his surroundings came into view. The railway depot was all but ruined by their fight with Freed. Scorch marks littered the ground and some of the train cars were torn open by their clash. He held the side of his head and groaned in pain as he felt a slight throb in his head.
"Wha…? What happened?" Shin asked.
"Shin, thank god you're okay!" Irina hugged him tightly.
Shin smiled and patted her back.
"What happened?" Shin asked. "All I remember is Freed and then…" He turned and his eyes widened when he saw the service tunnel collapsed behind him.
"Freed collapsed the tunnel when you ran in there. The Masked Woman saved you and left you out here before leaving."
Shin looked up and saw Ran standing above him.
"Masked Woman?" Shin asked as his mind struggled to remember what happened between him going unconscious and him chasing after Freed. He furrowed his brow as he drew multiple blanks except for one thing that he managed to hold on to.
"Getsumei Tengan…," Shin whispered.
Ran's eyes widened as she heard Shin's whispered words.
"Master, are you sure you saw—"
A pillar of golden light shined in the direction of Kuoh Academy. Shin gently pulled away from Irina and stood up.
"Ichika," Shin said. His right eye flickered and glowed blue as he stared at the light. He felt drawn to it. Something there was calling out to him, calling out to the Stigmata within him.
"We have to go," he said.
"Yeah," Irina nodded.
And with that, the three took off from their spots and headed in the direction of the academy.
Housekeeping
RoyalRain20xx: Don't worry man, there are only 4 of them for now. The other 3 haven't even appeared. Yeah, but I gotta put respect to Irina's name. She is my favorite of the DxD girls so I gotta make her metal as hell. But yes, I am glad you like Shin's developing fighting style. I do plan to have him be able to use multiple weapons in combat seamlessly since... one of his Covenants is to be able to recreate any weapon he sees. As for his main weapons in the future, it is going to be like Dante where he uses a gun and a sword so expect some gun-trick-sword stuff as Shin continues to develop himself down this new path.
A few things...
The Miracle Amplification: I know this word's been brought up several times over the past couple of chapters but I do hope you all kept track of who has it. That's all I'll say about it but it will be important combat-wise for Sophia and lorewise for later stories. I'll reveal more later when the arc is closer to the end as to why they want it so bad.
Maria: I hope I didn't make it too obvious that Maria was Sophia's mother in the earlier chapters. I felt like I did an okay job leaving crumbs of who Sophia was related to and why she was so obsessed with Project Daybreak. Don't worry though. Maria will continue to play a big role in the events coming up to the future, especially since the Praetors want the Miracle Amplification that her kids possess so expect the research from Project Daybreak to return in the near future.
Ichika's Balance Breaker: Ichika's Balance Breaker. yes. The moment I've been waiting for. If you've noticed, her Balance Breaker has influences from that little thing inside her that Yaldabaoth says she has. It's a bit different in design from the canon scale mail but it works the same way... for the most part. I did base most of the design off Blood-Red Commander Igris from Solo Leveling and mixed it with the canon version so it will be the primary design for her Balance Breaker for the entire series. As for why I did it like that, it was a personal design choice. She's a girl so I think her Scale Mail would be a bit more slender than canon Issei and Vali.
Anyway, I believe that's it. I hit the points I wanted to discuss. Haha, see you guys next time. There won't be a Red Sky chapter next next week since I might be busy with other things but I do plan to put up a Doomsday Option chapter since we are entering a new arc there. Same drill. Drop a review.