– Sona –
This wasn't going as badly as she had expected it to, but Sona knew not to get complacent in the middle of a serious battle like this. Sure, they were pushing back with relative ease, but they were still outnumbered ten to one. Every time they killed one, two more came out of nowhere and took their place. They would eventually be worn out if this continued.
Just how many soldiers did Kokabiel convince to take part in this insane cause of his? How did he convince them in the first place? did they truly believe in whatever nonsense he was spouting?
"Momo, Tsubaki. You stay here and defend the Exorcists." She ordered. "Everyone else on the attack. Stick together and cover each other's blind spots."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Whatever their reasons, Sona would not let them harm anyone. She would not let these Fallen Angels restart the great war, not when they were so close to finally achieving peace between the three– no, four factions.
She would stand her ground and defend her territory, even if she had to kill all of them. This, of course, was easier said than done. Yes, these Fallen Angels were quite tough, but not so tough that they were in huge trouble. However, it wasn't them that she was worrying about.
Sensing the immense holy power in the distance made her frown, nervous sweat trailing down her brow. This was the first time she'd sensed Kokabiel, due to the tech concealing his power until now. It was huge, almost comparable to Serafall's. She didn't know if David could handle it, considering how much he was struggling.
This was insane. Sona had no idea how they were going to deal with such a dangerous foe. Where were the Yakuza? She had expected them to be here by now, and no matter how strong Kokabiel was, he should be nowhere near powerful enough to be able to handle Majima and Saejima at the same time. Hell, one of them should be enough.
Something had to be keeping them busy, and Sona had some ideas. They had to be the mysterious allies that had given Kokabiel the technology he used to hide right under their noses. Were they really so dangerous that it would keep two of the most powerful yakuza away from the main battle?
This situation was beginning to look a lot worse than it had on the surface. Sona was confident in herself, in Rias, and in their peerages, but to take on War General Kokabiel? Even with David's help, she didn't know if they could defeat him without suffering heavy casualties.
Up in the air, Sona easily swerved away from a light spear that soared toward her, responding with razor-sharp water saw blades that took the attacker's head off before rushing forward to slice another's throat with a water knife, ignoring the gushing blood that stained her outfit.
Strange. This was the first time Sona had ever killed anyone that wasn't a monstrous and brainless stray devil, and she found it rather… distasteful. But a battle was a battle. She had to defend herself and her allies.
She evaded a backstab, elbowing the enemy in the stomach before twirling and cleaving him in half, her knife easily going through his body and armor with barely any resistance. Her frown deepened as she saw the corpse fall down to the ground. What a waste…
Once again, Sona moved and barely dodged a slash that cut a few strands of her hair. She was relying on her sense of hearing because she couldn't sense them, but this was much more difficult than anyone would think. Sure, Sona was quite a lot stronger and faster than them, so she was having little to no difficulties, but when you're so used to sensing someone's magic, it feels a bit… 'trippy' when you can't use that to your advantage.
She raised her arms up, unleashing a powerful geyser that sent the enemy tumbling through the air. Clenching her fists tightly, she increased the intensity on her spell, the sudden increase in pressure smashing the body of the Fallen Angel and killing him in a near instant.
That's when several more spears and arrows of holy energy flew toward her, an especially powerful Fallen Angel attacking her specifically. Some kind of officer? He seemed to be around her strength, perhaps a tiny bit weaker. But Sona knew not to get overconfident, dodging the spells before responding with her own volley of water magic.
The devil played it safe, keeping her distance as she continued hurling powerful spells in the shape of animals. From ravens to tigers, everything chased the Grigori Officer with the intention to tear his throat out.
But he was no pushover, capable of defending himself quite well, closing the gap in magical strength with skill and experience. Sona still had the advantage, however, slowly but surely overwhelming him with the Sitri's Hydrokinesis.
Eventually, the officer changed his approach, ditching the defensive and ranged battle and instead charging at the devil. Sona narrowed her eyes and prepared accordingly, forming two water knives in her hands as the Officer swung his axe of light at her.
She evaded the attack, not bothering to block it because she knew that even the holy light of Fallen Angels is devastating to her. Sona kept dodging and weaving under his swings, looking for and quickly finding an opportune moment to counterattack, slashing at the Fallen Angel's side before stabbing his stomach.
With his resilience, he resisted and continued his assault, managing to land a scratch on Sona's face and knocking her glasses off. She scrunched up her face at the blistering pain of holy energy in her cheek but did not pay it any mind as she aimed at his neck, slitting his throat with her knife.
The Fallen Angel's holy axe disintegrated as he clutched the gushing wound, coughing and choking in his helmet. Sona, feeling pity for the enemy, slashed at his throat again, successfully decapitating him and ending his misery.
She looked at the falling dead body as sweat trailed down her brow. She didn't know what it was, but for some reason, this Fallen Angel felt like he didn't even want to fight. Sona couldn't quite understand it, but it almost looked like he had given up on life.
Did Kokabiel… Sona looked down at the battlefield, feeling her chest tighten uncomfortably. …Force them into this?
She had no time to ponder, though, as she heard the faint whistle of an arrow cutting through the air, prompting her to fly higher and evade the line of enemy fire. Several Fallen Angels continued throwing spells at her, but before she could use her own magic to beat them back, a wall of ice formed in front of her, easily blocking every holy spell.
Sona couldn't help but smile as she saw Akane behind her with her signature smirk, spreading her massive ice wings. The Tojo Princess snapped her fingers, reforming the wall into dozens of pieces of ice weaponry that shot toward the line of enemies, killing all of them.
All of them dropped to the ground like flies, torn apart by the sharp and powerful spells that put even Ultimate-Class beings to shame. Sona always thought Akane's magic felt weirdly heavy and sharp relative to how little mana she had.
That was kind of brutal. Her practicality is admittedly a very powerful trait, but Sona still found it rather distasteful, thinking a cleaner kill would be more graceful. She also didn't expect her to be wearing some sort of plated armor that only covered her chest, neck, and the right side of her stomach.
"Sorry for being late," Akane said. "Got ambushed."
"And I'm assuming you took care of them."
"Was that not enough of a demonstration?"
"Fair enough."
Akane's smile dropped as she stared at the huge battle in the distance.
"How many are there?"
"Dozens. Probably over a hundred," Sona responded. "But we're killing them fast."
"Kokabiel?"
"David is fighting him, though, I don't think he'd be able to keep it up for long"
"I see." Akane's frown deepened. "Let's go. The sooner we deal with these cannon fodder, the sooner we can support David. If he's taken out before that, we'll be severely overwhelmed and might lose the battle."
Sona nodded and listened, approaching the battle alongside her human friend. Aside from Rias and Akeno being the most competent in taking care of the Fallen Angels due to their higher power, Ichiban was doing an incredible job as well.
He wasn't killing every enemy he saw, but she didn't know how many boosts he activated to be zooming around the battlefield like this, knocking out every Fallen Angel he came across with a few hits. Sona silently commended him for a job well done, but she didn't think such softness and mercy were appropriate right now.
Not when the enemy's main objective was to kill them.
As the two descended on the battlefield, Akane snapped her fingers once again, prompting dozens of sets of animated ice armor to form around them all, making Sona's eyes widen in astonishment. The constructs moved, surrounding the enemy and attacking from all directions. Archers drew their bows and warriors swung their swords, injuring and killing several Fallen Angels.
Since when was she capable of doing that? Controlling so many constructs like this was immensely taxing on the mind. Only masters with decades of experience can do something like this, and yet…
Sona glanced at Akane, who had a neutral expression, in shock. She wasn't showing one bit of exhaustion. Just what the hell was she made of? Their training for Rias' Rating Game couldn't have done this for her. Unless she was always hiding her powers from them? That would explain it, but still…
"Amazing…" Sona muttered. "...Were you holding back? All those times we sparred…"
Akane didn't confirm or deny it verbally, but her chuckle told Sona all she needed to know.
With Akane's animated armor, the tide turned even more in their favor as they gained the numbers advantage. Quality and quantity were on their side now, with the Fallen Angels dying quicker than before.
And when Akane's feet touched the ground, just about every Fallen Angel had died. For some reason, Sona could've sworn that her human friend's powers suddenly spiked for no reason. That train of thought was cut when Akane spoke.
"How's everyone?" She shouted. "All of you still alive?"
"Yes," Rias answered her. "We've suffered no casualties. Some injuries, but nothing serious."
"Good," Akane muttered. "Twilight Healing would be real convenient right about now."
The Yakuza Princess approached the Exorcists, who were staring at her in awe and respect. As they should be. The moment she arrived, all the Fallen Angels were defeated in mere seconds. Sona felt somewhat proud of her, strangely enough.
"Are you two alright?" She asked them.
"Y-yes…" Xenovia nodded after a moment. "Thank you for the help, Ms. Akane."
Sona blinked and raised a brow. Ms. Akane? Just a few days ago, she was calling her a heretic and wanted to beat her up. How strong of an impression did she make to turn this clearly stubborn and prideful girl so respectful?
"Drop the Miss thing." Akane rolled her eyes. "You two did well. Glad you made it out alive, but you've done enough."
"What do you– but Father David–"
"We'll help him." She promised. "But I need you two to fall back. Kokabiel probably wants your Excaliburs, and with the state you're in, you'll only hold us back."
The two novice exorcists flinched at her harsh, but truthful words. Xenovia gritted her teeth and looked away, clenching her fist in frustration and anger. Irina looked down and held her arm, equally upset. However, neither of them tried to argue.
After waiting a moment and receiving no verbal response from either of the girls, Akane looked back at Rias and nodded, who nodded back in understanding. The redhead glanced at her peerage members and spoke.
"Koneko, Kiba, Akeno." She said their names. "Take them and fall back. Protect them from any hostiles."
Kiba was the only one who reacted negatively, glaring at Rias.
"But they–"
"Kiba, I understand how you might be feeling." Rias cut him off, looking at him with a pleading frown. "But please, not now."
He faltered, clearly respecting and liking her too much to refuse her. However, his eyes still burned with hatred and rage, and he spoke with a low tone.
"After this is over…"
"I'll grant you a duel with them, by any means necessary," Rias promised. "Go now."
He relaxed slightly and nodded seriously, moving along with Akeno and Koneko as they helped up the novice exorcists. However, as the white-haired girl was about to carry Irina, a whistle echoed as a light arrow flew directly toward her head.
Everyone close to Koneko moved. Akane cast an ice lance at whoever shot that arrow as Kiba, Akeno, Rias, and even Sona tried to get her out of the way. However, the arrow was mere centimeters away from Koneko's head. None of them were fast enough to–
It was at that moment when an explosion sounded out in the vicinity, and in the next instant, Koneko wasn't where she used to be. Instead, she was in the arms of Ichiban, who had moved faster than any of them could.
This astonished all of them, Sona especially. She knew he was strong, but just how many boosts did he activate to be this quick? He wasn't even near the girl– he was at the other side of the battlefield.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
Koneko, who had finally realized what happened, blushed profusely and nodded slowly.
"What was that?" Sona questioned, looking at where the attack came from.
"Bastard pretended he was dead." Akane scoffed, kicking the now surely dead body, an ice lance plunged into his throat.
"The cloaking tech," Sona realized. "...that could've been bad. Girls, check the bodies. There might be more of them that are alive."
"Were you hurt, Koneko?" Akane asked, looking back at the Nekoshou as Sona's peerage did as they were ordered.
She was put down by Ichiban before she responded.
"I'm okay." She replied softly.
"Good." Akane sighed in relief. "Take the girls and get to safety. We shouldn't wait here any longer–"
Immediately, most of the people present felt the immense power of Kokabiel heading toward them. Akane clenched her teeth and growled, casting several spells, from defensive armor to floating spears ready to skewer her enemy, to strange, floating ice spheres flying around her.
However, this was no time to marvel at Akane's ingenuity. Sona and Rias also prepared their magics. The Sitri's powerful water magic formed a massive dragon that awaited its master's mark as multiple magic circles opened behind Rias, Power of Destruction wildly sparking.
"Leave!" Akane yelled. "All of you! Sona's and Rias' peerages!"
All of them instinctively obeyed, falling back and taking the exorcists with them as Sona, Rias, Akane, and Ichiban were left, all of them with varying emotions. Fear and anxiety washed over them as David was sent flying past them, hacking and coughing blood as he hit a tree.
The veteran exorcist was heavily damaged, with open wounds and bruises all over him. His outfit was nearly in tatters from how many cuts there were, and he was bleeding from everywhere. However, to their absolute surprise, he still stood up, holding Galatine with trembling hands as he glared at the incoming threat.
Kokabiel casually walked toward them with his own injuries. From cuts to burns to scrapes, all with a wide smile on his face. His battle with David clearly left him damaged, but not as bad as his opponent.
"Oh?" He stopped, looking at them. "You were here all along, eh?"
Kokabiel looked around at the battlefield, seeing his massacred and dead subordinates before his grin widened.
"You lot are quite stronger than I anticipated. Defeating my own squadron like this without a scratch on you…" He said with a chuckle. "Interesting. Very interesting."
"Why are you doing this?" Ichiban was the first to respond, scowling at him. "For what purpose? Did you really send all of them just to die?! What kind of a leader are you?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know, Dragon Boy," Kokabiel replied.
Ichiban gritted his teeth and roared.
"You bastard!"
"Ichi, stop!"
Faster than even High-Class Devils could see, the Red Dragon Emperor charged at Kokabiel with impressive speed, creating a sonic boom that cracked the dirt ground underneath him. Ichiban threw a powerful punch with his gauntleted arm.
Even though Kokabiel caught the attack with his hand, the force of it generated a shockwave so strong, it destroyed a chunk of the forest behind him. Trees simply exploded and the earth ruptured, not being able to handle the pressure of the punch.
It even left the girls shocked. Ichi had a less-than-impressive mana pool, but such physical strength… It must be comparable to the average Ultimate class, possibly even higher than that. And he only first activated the Boosted Gear less than a month ago. This was incredible.
They might actually have a chance here.
"Impressive!" Kokabiel praised. "To think a simple attack from a whelp such as yourself would hurt me!"
Ichiban gasped as he was kneed in the stomach, eyes almost bulging out of his skull before he was sent back to them with a kick. To the amazement of the people watching, Ichiban managed to recover from that, flipping and landing next to Akane with a pained face.
"Idiot. You fucking moron. What the hell were you thinking?" Akane chastised quietly with a scathing tone as she crouched to his level, her gaze still on Kokabiel. "Don't lose control like this or you'll be killed. Keep a cool head you dumbfuck."
"Shut up…" He clicked his tongue.
"Akane's right, Kasuga." Sona said, also glaring at Kokabiel. "Channel the anger you feel effectively and do not charge like this blindly. This is no ordinary enemy, we must work together if we want to defeat him."
Ichiban paused and calmed himself.
"...Sorry."
"Just focus on survival," Akane hissed, keeping the insults to a minimum. "Beating him ourselves isn't our main objective."
"As long as we wait for the yakuza or anyone to arrive, we'll have won," Rias added. "Someone of high authority should be notified by now, even with a blackout like this."
"Got it." He nodded, standing up. "I'll do better, I promise."
"Good. Now listen closely, Ichi. You're the fastest and strongest out of us. Physically at least." Akane noted, whispering that last part. "You'll be on the offensive. Do everything you gotta do to pressure him."
"The rest of us will support you with magic." Sona continued. "How many boosts are you on right now?"
"Ten." He answered. "It's my current limit."
"Should be enough." The Yakuza Princess nodded. "Alright…"
Akane put a hand on Ichiban's shoulder and brought forth her magic, applying a few layers of strong magical ice. From thin ice that covered his entire body to thick blue armor. Sona blinked as she did the same to her and Rias, then all of them nodded to each other. They were ready.
All four stood in front of David, who was panting in exhaustion. Clearly, he wasn't in the position to fight anymore. He's too tired and wounded to do anything substantial. Though, thanks to him, Kokabiel wasn't at his full power anymore.
They could win this if they played their cards right.
"Done strategizing? Heh, so you four will be taking the place of that priest over there." Kokabiel deduced quickly. "From one experienced and mighty warrior to four decently powerful brats… Well then, it is decided."
The Warhawk of the Grigori spread his arms and multiple pairs of wings, smirking widely.
"To make this a bit fair to the two devils here, I will not use a single drop of magic." He promised. "Come, show me the potential of the next generation!"
It was now or never.
The true battle had only just started.
– Ichiban –
Perhaps it was the lack of experience, but Ichiban never truly understood the immense threat of Kokabiel. Sure, he knew it was serious enough that it got even Akane worried, but that didn't really click in his mind at the time.
The only time Ichiban had ever fought someone who was much stronger than him was the devil that kidnapped him when he was younger. Prior to that, and even after it, he had only beat up randoms on the streets or, recently, weaker supernatural entities.
But now, after only receiving a single hit from the Warhawk, he understood just how vastly different this enemy was from anything he's ever faced before. This was so bad, it got his heart pounding in genuine dread… as well as slight excitement.
Because this was a chance to finally test out the strength he'd accumulated during his training. A test to see if he was worthy of joining the Arakawa family even though he was so young. He internally promised his future Patriarch that he would win.
He would defeat Kokabiel and make Arakawa proud.
Ichiban barely dodged a sweeping blow from Kokabiel, backstepping before twirling around and throwing a roundhouse kick. The Warhawk blocked it with a grin as several spells from the girls surrounded him. Spears, orbs, and blades soared toward the Fallen Angel, but he moved quicker than any of them could react and vanished out of sight.
Ichi gasped as the spells were now heading toward him instead, but Akane acted quickly, creating a thick barrier that protected him from the damage. However, she was not quick enough to defend him from Kokabiel's strike as he reappeared behind him, kicking him in the back.
Ichiban bit down a cry of pain, landing on his knees before charging again at the cadre. He started throwing quick punches and kicks toward the older warrior, who either evaded or blocked all of them.
Kokabiel, being much faster than Ichi, slapped his arm away, throwing a jab to his chest. Thankfully, his best friend reacted to this, casting a thick block of ice that defended him from the attack. It came as a bit of a surprise that the ice was actually tough enough to withstand it, but he thanked his lucky stars. That would've been very painful.
Several charges of destruction barely missed the cadre, singeing a few feathers of his wings. However, he only smiled more at that, looking both impressed and excited at the display of teamwork. Kokabiel grabbed Ichi's extended arm, fliping him over and throwing him in the air at Rias.
The redhead gasped, but she reacted just in time to catch him, sent a few meters away from the force. Before they could do anything else, Kokabiel leaped at the two, prompting Rias to throw Ichiban away and bring both of her arms together in an attempt to defend herself as multiple magic circles opened over her head.
Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to unleash her Power of Destruction, suffering a heavy blow that sent her careening to the ground. Ichiban growled as the cadre turned to him, looking at his falling body. As the Fallen Angel approached, ice spears rained down on him, managing to hurt him a bit.
Kokabiel turned around and was kicked in the face by Akane flying down at him at hypersonic speed, making him crash through the woods and into the dirt, forming a massive crater down below.
"Check on Rias!" Akane told Sona as she caught Ichiban by the arm, letting him down slowly.
"Understood!"
Sona flew away in Rias' direction as the two humans landed on the ground, watching Kokabiel stand up and roll his neck, not as damaged as any of them hoped for. He looked at them, the grin had never left his face.
"Daughter of the legendary Immortal Dragon." He stated. "Yes, he has told me about you."
Akane paused.
"'He'?"
"An ally of mine, you could say." He answered vaguely. "What extraordinary existence. Most might think you're merely hiding your true power, but that isn't true, is it?"
Akane narrowed her eyes, and so did Ichiban. What was he saying?
"Your magic is far, far more powerful than the two devils there." He nodded in the direction of said devils. "Yet you don't have even half the amount of mana, and you're not sick or cursed to explain it. Such a thing goes against every magical law ever conceived. Fascinating. Why is that?"
Ichiban didn't really fully understand what he was saying, but he got the gist of it. So she had some weird power that makes her more powerful than she really is? Akane didn't say anything, though, merely deepening her glare on him. The three did not move for a moment, and Ichi took this moment of respite to think up a new plan.
This guy was much stronger than any of them, so much so that h was holding back by not using his magic. He was beating them with physical prowess only, so what should he be doing right now? How could they gain the upper hand?
He glanced at Akane, who was focused on Kokabiel with a sharp glare. Ichi's eyes trailed down and saw the trembling in her hand, frowning even more. She was scared? But she'd always been so confident, no matter what. Was it all just a facade she put on?
…No, that couldn't be it. They'd never faced a threatening foe like the cadre in front of them. This was the first fight where it'd be a miracle if all of them survived without serious injuries. There was no telling what could happen next. She had every right to be terrified, and Ichiban would be lying if he said he wasn't scared either.
But they had to be strong.
Ichiban's gaze returned to Kokabiel. Still, if she really did have a magic so strong he would mention it…
"Akane." He muttered, getting her attention. "Let Sona and Rias take the supporting role. I'm the Tank. You're the DPS. Just like before.."
A few seconds passed, but then Akane responded.
"Are you sure?"
"This is our best chance. We can't waste your mana on support when it's better suited for offense." He said. "We can handle it. Just try whatever you can to overwhelm him via firepower."
Or icepower in this case, but he digressed.
Akane thought about it for about two seconds then nodded.
"Well, no matter." Kokabiel shrugged. "As interesting as you are, I'm afraid I can't let any of you go. Prepare yourselves."
As soon as he said that, a massive water dragon surrounded by dozens of destruction orbs emerged from behind him. The Warhawk acted quickly, flying away as Ichiban jumped at him with a battle cry.
Kokabiel blocked his attack, but Ichi grabbed onto his shoulder and delivered a few body shots. The cadre tore Ichiban's arm off himself then was hit directly by a giant hammer of ice that sent him descending at Mach speed.
An ice platform formed under Ichiban, which he used to propel himself at Kokabiel, spearing him and dragging him across the dirt. As the cadre moved to counterattack, Sona reacted by casting a water whip that pulled Ichiban away, and in the next instant, dozens of ice spells rained down on him from above.
The Warhawk struggled to dodge this, especially when tens of frost constructs ambushed him from all directions. Rias joined in the attack, using a considerable amount of her magic to unleash orb after orb, overwhelming the cadre.
But as it was clear to them before, he had merely been holding back as this was when Kokabiel vanished, reappearing in front of Akane and punching her in the face. Before any of them could react, the cadre was already next to Rias, slamming her down in an instant. He dashed faster than they could even move, grabbing Sona by the neck and choking her slowly.
"Sona!" Ichiban yelled in concern.
He cursed his inability to fly like the rest of them, but he had to act, and as he was about to leap, a familiar line of magic managed to stab Kokabiel in the leg, making him narrow his eyes.
"Use that, Kasuga!" Issei shouted, aiming his Absorption Line at Kokabiel. "Go, I'll support you!"
Ichiban listened, inwardly thanking his friend for the assist while also cursing him for getting himself in a dangerous fight. However, he still ran at Kokabiel, who broke the line that pierced him. Ichiban jumped as a line shot right under him and directly at the cadre, sprinting on it until he was close enough for a punch.
Kokabiel grinned and was going to block the punch, but magical water formed around his arm and pulled it away just enough for the attack to land, prompting him to let go of Sona. That's when several more orbs of destruction flew at him from Rias who was on the ground.
"Tsk, pesky Bael Heritage…" Ichiban heard him say as the Warhawk put two arms and his wings in front of him.
Sona once again pulled Ichiban away with a water whip, and he was about to ask her what the hell was she doing. Kokabiel was too busy defending himself from Rias' magic, Ichi had a perfect opportunity to wail on the guy.
That was until he saw the mountain-sized ice spear in the air, held up by a slightly bleeding, but very angry-looking Akane, which shut him up immediately. Everyone moved away as they saw the massive amount of magic in the sky, and Rias kept Kokabiel in his place just enough for the spear to fall on him, the redhead getting out of the way just in time.
For the first time since this fight started, Kokabiel's grin dropped as they saw genuine panic in his eyes. He was hit by the attack directly, crashing to the ground with the spear slowly piercing his chest. The cadre struggled to get it away, finally using his magic to cast a barrier around him just in time for the attack to not do serious damage. However, he was stuck in the ground, trying to push the gigantic spear away.
"What are you morons doing?!" Akane yelled at them. "Show him hell! NOW!"
Broken out of their stupor, Sona, Rias and Issei combined their powers and shot at Kokabiel's back. After the first few water spells, destruction orbs, and absorption lines hit him, the cadre gritted his teeth and extended his barrier further, protecting him from their attacks.
Akane landed next to them and did the same, casting dozens of ice spells ranging from bullets to axes and throwing them at him. The barrier around him was incredibly tough, though, withstanding everything. But their efforts were not futile as cracks began to show.
Only for a second layer to form around the first one.
"He doesn't have infinite mana!" Akane persisted. "Keep at it!"
"You damned brats…!" Kokabiel cursed.
He cast three more protective layers as he began pushing the spell away. All of them knew, probably even Kokabiel, that the giant spear was beyond him in strength, and no matter what, he couldn't push it off completely.
But they also knew that he only needed a few centimeters to give himself enough of an opening to move away, so they did everything they could, destroying his barriers as quickly as they could to reach his body and break his balance.
If they did that, then they could possibly win this.
Kokabiel made some progress, though, moving the spear off him at snail speed, and just as things looked grim for them, a powerful beam of holy light cut through every single barrier in an instant, hitting Kokabiel's back and making him slip.
The spear hit him, crushing the Fallen Angel and creating a crater so big, it caused a mini earthquake that split the ground. Ichiban shielded his eyes from the debris and ice flakes, and once everything calmed down, he looked around to see who it was that helped them.
David stood there, still gravely injured and panting from exhaustion, his hands quivering as he held Galatine tightly. He fell to his knees moments later, his holy blade hitting the ground next to him as he breathed heavily, prompting Ichiban to rush to his side.
"Are you okay?!"
David slowly nodded, still gasping for air.
"Don't worry about me." He rasped as he grabbed Galatine, using it as a crutch to support himself. "I've been through worse."
"Oi, what are you doing? Sit down." Ichiban said. "You're gonna bleed out faster like this."
"No, we're not done yet," David responded. "I don't believe it. It can't be this easy."
Well, Ichiban didn't think it had been easy. There had been way too many close calls. Still, he looked around at where the girls were staring, all of them as tense as the beginning of the fight. Akane clenched her fist and growled.
"He's hiding his energy." She concluded. "There's no way that took him out. He must've dodged."
"Are you sure, or are you just being paranoid?" Rias glanced at her.
"I'd wager being paranoid might be smarter in this situation. We are against a cadre after all." Sona quipped. "Get ready for anything that could happen."
As soon as those two words left her mouth, a giant dome of holy energy burst forth from the ravine Akane created, making them all flinch in terror. Just how much had he been holding back? Not using magic aside, he must've been toying around with them.
From the blinding light, the Warhawk walked out, his usual grin nowhere to be seen as he glared at Akane. His best friend scowled in response, unconsciously taking a step back. Ichi stayed by David's side, who took his stance with the powerful holy blade in both hands.
"That was quite foul. If that spell hit me directly, I would've died in an instant." Kokabiel said, wiping some blood off his nose. "I knew you were powerful, too strong for your age, but I didn't expect that. You forced me to use my magic."
"There's more from where that came," Akane growled. "Next one might even be shoved in a very unpleasant place."
"How endearing." He snorted, tone laced with sarcasm. "But since I've broken my promise…"
Kokabiel moved and Akane was sent flying across the battlefield by a blow none of them even saw. Ichiban flinched as he realized that without the armor, that would've turned her into a red paste.
Ichi and David both charged quickly, but Kokabiel acted quicker, creating a ring of light around Ichiban's neck that attached itself to the ground. However, David suffered a worse fate as a sword of light pierced his chest, making him drop Galatine and vomit out blood.
"I have no incentive to stick by it anymore."
Rias, Sona, and Issei attacked the cadre with their powers, but he created a shield of light that easily blocked every single attack. Not even Rias' orbs of destruction did anything– the difference in power was that vast for it to be far less effective.
However, David, in a last-ditch effort that not even Kokabiel anticipated, lunged at the cadre, grabbing his arm and forcing the blade of light deeper into him and taking a concealed dagger that was strapped on the back of his hip before using it to stab the cadre in the eye, actually landing the blow and hopefully blinding his right eye for at least the rest of the battle.
Kokabiel roared in agony, pushing David off him and slicing his arm off. The veteran exorcist fell down on his back and finally lost consciousness. It was a miracle that he didn't die instantly, but the bleeding would take him out quickly if they didn't act soon.
"No!" Ichiban screamed, trying to get the ring off his neck. Before he could, however, two more rings formed his arms, dragging them away from his neck.
"I'll deal with you later, Dragon Boy," Kokabiel growled, hand on his bleeding eye. "Be thankful I was told to keep you alive."
Ichiban didn't even comprehend what he said as he struggled to get away.
The two devils, tired of their magic not doing anything, charged at him, with Sona creating two daggers of water as Rias coated her fists with destruction magic. Ichiban screamed at them to stay away, knowing they didn't stand a chance on their own like this, but he was too late.
Kokabiel grabbed Rias' arm, and in one swift movement, bent it in a very grotesque way, breaking it. The redhead couldn't even cry out before she was knocked out by a powerful blow to the stomach, coughing and eyes rolling to the back of her skull.
As for Sona, she was greeted by a light spear to the thigh, dispelling her knives and instantly breaking her concentration as a piercing scream escaped her. She was held by the neck, cutting off her agonized cry as she was choked.
Ichiban struggled to get the rings off him, kicking and growling as his heart pounded in his chest. He needed to do something– he had to do something! He couldn't let his friends die like this.
Ddraig, please!
His partner did not answer, but Ichiban almost felt his pity, and that drove him mad. As his eyes flashed green, he felt his power rising, only for that to stop once Akane returned to the fray, landing a kick on Kokabiel's head.
This was just enough to make him drop Sona, but he reacted just as quickly and swung a spear of light that, to his and everyone else's surprise, Akane dodged with highspeed movement, spinning around and kicking him in the face again.
It pushed Kokabiel away a few meters, making him wipe the blood off his mouth. Akane dropped to the ground, scowling at him with rage as she got Sona out of the way by kicking her lightly.
"Issei!" She shouted. "Stop standing there like a loser and get everyone to safety! We don't want the priest dying on us!"
Issei, who was justifiably terrified out of his mind, flinched but obeyed her orders. He first approached Rias, carrying her in his arms before approaching Ichiban, who shook his head.
"Go, I'll be fine," Ichiban said. "You can't break this even if you tried. Use that time to get them out of here."
Issei hesitated, but nodded, creating a bed of lines for David and letting Sona on his back. Kokabiel, out of mercy or arrogance, didn't even stop him, content with looking at Akane with a serious look.
"Hmph, he might've been onto something here," Kokabiel said as he seized her up. "So young, yet so powerful. So… different. Perhaps you really are the key to our survival."
"What the hell are you saying?"
"...Did you know that I've been told to capture you?" He revealed. "As well as that boy over there."
"Doing a real good job at it." Akane scoffed. "You know just how many times you almost killed us?"
"Oh please, you've taken everything I dished out quite well. Don't be such a whiny brat."
"So what, you're not trying to start a war?" She questioned, ignoring the insult. "You'd think killing us would be the fastest way to do it."
"No, that was most certainly my intention, to start one last war, that is," Kokabiel answered. "But that would make my partner rather… displeased, and I always keep my word, you see."
Akane paused for a moment, processing his words. Ichiban did so as well, listening intently.
"One last war?"
"You wouldn't know, just as I doubt anyone else would." Kokabiel shrugged. "But we're living on a timer."
"What are you even talking about?" Akane growled. "Either cut the cryptic bullshit and spit it out or shut the fuck up."
"A feisty one, aren't you? Well, regardless, you've proven your strength today. I'm quite impressed." He snorted. "Unfortunately, after that little trick you pulled, I'm afraid I've gotten a little annoyed."
Akane stood her ground, barely blocking a sword swing with an ice shield with impressive reaction time. However, she didn't evade the kick to her stomach, which was thankfully tanked by her admittedly crude-looking but still awesome incomplete mech armor.
She was… not planning to fight him alone, was she? Ichi struggled to get those rings off him once more. She couldn't take him own on her own. He had to help her.
His best friend was sent rolling backward from the force, but she jumped and flew away, only for two holy lances to pierce her wings, forcing her back to the ground. Kokabiel rushed forward and slammed her head to the dirt. Akane's eyes widened in pain, but she smashed his chest with her feet, as several chains of ice held Kokabiel back, forcibly spreading his arms and legs out to keep him from moving.
Akane snapped her fingers and dozens upon dozens of spells formed around her. But the cadre merely scoffed, creating multiple shields that protected him well enough. While he was busy with that, the Yakuza Heiress rushed forward and circled around him, swinging two ice blades at his neck.
Unfortunately, Kokabiel was still faster, breaking the chains before twirling around and kicking her in the stomach once again. This attack actually broke the armor this time around, but it was just enough to take the brunt of the damage, protecting Akane from the blow.
His best friend was sprawling all over the grass, falling on her rear as Kokabiel slowly approached her. Ichiban growled, trying to get these stupid things off him, feeling his power slowly grow.
"You've fought well until now." The cadre praised. "But I'm afraid this is the end of the line."
Akane responded to that by drawing out a revolver and pulling the trigger just as fast. The loudness of the bang nearly ruptured their eardrums, but to their dismay, Kokabiel was just quick enough to evade the bullet, leaving only a scratch.
A scratch that seemingly burned him as his eyes widened, and in a very quiet tone that Ichiban barely picked up on, he spoke.
"Uriel…?"
Akane was going to shoot again, though she wasn't as fast this time as the cadre kicked the gun away from her hand.
"I do not know where you got that weapon from–" Kokabiel rubbed the scratch and glared. "But I do hope you're out of surprises now. It's getting rather frustrating."
Akane tried to crawl away as her angry facade fell apart, replaced by a look of pure terror once Kokabiel grabbed her by her collar. She kicked and struggled with none of the strength she used to have, the fear seemingly having drained her power to nothing. And when Ichiban saw that…
Something inside him clicked.
He could feel the primal fury and fiery aura surrounding him, his powers rising rapidly. He would not– could not let this happen. No matter what he had to do, he had to move, and defeat this warmonger before he let any harm befall his best friend.
But… what could he do, really? What could he do to someone who is leagues above him in practically everything? Speed, skill, strength, experience– he had no advantage and all the odds were stacked against him.
He was at his max boost and his stamina was waning. Even achieving his Balance Breaker wouldn't make much difference…
Isn't it simple, partner? Ddraig suddenly said with an amused tone. All you need is power.
Yes, the answer was as simple as they came.
He only needed more power. More than what his Balance Breaker could give him. More, so he could face a tremendously powerful foe. More, so he could triumph over the enemy, defend his loved ones, and prove himself to those who mattered to him.
He had to go beyond his limits and the limits of every Red Dragon Emperor before him.
With his mind set and his emotions bursting forth, the Boosted Gear listened to his desire and gave him exactly what he wanted.
A mix of green and red power exploded once Ichiban let out a powerful roar that shook the ground, instantly disintegrating the rings keeping him in place and making Kokabiel flinch, dropping Akane.
He looked around at Ichiban. Kokabiel was in awe, and right before he was attacked by the revitalized Red Dragon Emperor, a quiet mutter escaped him.
"Impossible…"
Ichiban moved faster than even Kokabiel could react, punching him so hard that it sent him above the clouds, splitting said clouds apart like it was nothing to him. Even Akane was amazed by the power on display.
Ichi blinked at the lack of a gauntlet around his fist, looking down at himself to see that he wasn't in any kind of armor. He was confused for a few moments. Wasn't this supposed to be his Balance Breaker? That's when he heard the fluttering of cloth, prompting him to turn his head around and see a…
Red cape.
"Eh?" He uttered.
Hahaha! Ddraig howled in delight and excitement. I can't believe it! You're the first person in history to ever achieve a subspecies of the Boosted Gear! Incredible job, Ichiban Kasuga!
"What?" His eyes went as wide as saucers. "I thought I'd get some kickass armor! What the fuck is this cape?!"
Ddraig continued laughing, however, which made him even more annoyed.
"Explain this you stupid lizard! What the hell is a subspecies?!"
"Holy shit…" Akane muttered in shock, getting back up on her feet. "I never thought you'd actually pull off something like this."
"Huh?" Ichiban looked at her. "What is that even supposed to mean? Is this a good thing?"
Before she could answer, they sensed Kokabiel's approaching presence, making Ichiban frown seriously.
"We'll talk about this later," Ichiban said, suddenly floating. "I'll take care of him."
Wait, hold on, I can fly now?! He realized, instinctively knowing how to do it. Holy fucking shit, that's awesome!
Be quick about this, partner. The Red Dragon of Domination said. Your body can't handle this power for long.
Ichi narrowed his eyes and took Ddraig's advice, flying toward Kokabiel as fast as he could.
He was going to end this fight here and now.
– Akane –
Watching Ichi take off to the skies to continue the fight against Kokabiel on his own for now, I lean on a tree behind me and slowly fall down, closing my eyes and letting out a huge sigh of relief. Holy fuck, that was way too close for comfort.
I take a moment for myself before opening my eyes, scowling as I notice the trembling in my hands still persisting, then groan in frustration once my gaze trails to the broken armor on the ground next to me. Fucking hell, a few hits is all it took before it got destroyed. None of them were magic either.
But this wasn't really the fault of the little reactor the yakuza gave me. No, that thing still had a considerable amount of power. The case I made for it just wasn't good enough, and that is to be expected. The armor wasn't even finished in the first place.
And the gun did fuck all, too. Goddamn it. I can't believe it failed me like that.
No, calm yourself. You're alive, and that's what matters at the end of the day. Ichi even got a motherfucking subspecies of the Boosted Gear out of it too with none of the dumb bulky armor and instead a silly-looking cape. We should be fine now, hopefully.
…The number of times that one-thousand-DEX perk helped me made me so fucking glad I invested in it. It didn't work every time, but the times it did, it saved my life. The bastard is stronger than I expected- as strong as Grayfia even.
Name: Kokabiel
Title: The Warhawk
HP - 168,104/700,000
MP - 212,344/820,000
SP - 102,031/370,000
Race - Fallen Angel
LVL - 883
STR - 6911
END - 6850
DEX - 5511
INT - 2850
WIS - 2911
CHA - 2600
LUK - 100
Thoughts about you – Respects your strength, but is suspicious of you. Thinks you're aware and hiding whatever's making you stronger than you are.
Reputation - -1
Affection - 0
Obedience - -100
Loyalty - -100
I look at the sky where the battle is taking place, seeing both in a relatively equal bout. Ichi seems to be still somewhat struggling, but he's doing far better than any of us. He's actually landing good hits, too.
"Ah, so that's what it was." Lucifer snaps his fingers. "The Red Dragon Emperor. My, how could it have eluded me for so long? Hmm, I suppose I'm simply not used to Ddraig being in a Sacred Gear."
My eyes widen in worry as he's stabbed in the side by a light spear, but before I rush in to help them, the Boosted Gear announces something… new.
"[ENDURE!]"
Right before my eyes, the spear instantly disintegrates, and Ichiban continues fighting like nothing happened. My jaw almost drops at what I'm seeing, both proud of and annoyed at Ichiban's growth. Fucking hell, he's already surpassed me. I need to get to devouring something soon. I can't let him stay ahead of me for too long.
My eyes narrow as I watch the fight for a little while. You know what, I'll admit one thing. As stupid as the cape looks, it kinda looks pretty cool on him. It suits him weirdly enough, that fucking hero wannabe.
Bastard. Sacred Gears are fucking cheating.
Ironic.
Shut up.
Now I'd go help him out a bit, but there's been one thing going through my head throughout nearly the whole fight. I give Ichi one last glance before taking my gun back and rushing toward the other direction, where the battle against Kokabiel's minions took place. I keep my focus on sensing, though, in case anyone's there waiting for me.
I need to be alone if I want to do this.
"Running away, are you? Quite selfish, don't you think?" Lucifer raises a brow, floating beside me. "Aren't you going to help your friend?"
"Be quiet." I hiss.
Lucifer chuckles but doesn't say anything after that. As I arrive, I look around the place, only seeing dead bodies around the battlefield, drenching the grass and dirt in blood. We weren't exactly… clean with the kills.
Decapitation, amputated limbs, bisected bodies– all types of bloody horror. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't really bother me, and not because I'm a sociopath or whatever the fuck. I've seen a lot of gore on the internet when I was younger – not out of my own volition – so I'm pretty desensitized.
…Well, okay, it is different when it's in person. Way worse than on screen, but no worse than that half-eaten face back in my hometown when I was looking for the Stray Devil.
But I digress.
I look for the most 'intact' bodies around and store them in my inventory, making Lucifer tilt his head at me in interest. He doesn't say anything yet, though. I need these– not the bodies themselves, but the tech they have. I don't have time to search for whatever it is that hid their energy, so I'll just take the entire body with me for now.
This concealing tech. I need it. I need to learn how it works so I can replicate it– no, improve on it even, so I can finally go on actual leveling sprees. I'm very close to level 150, which would unlock the new dungeon, but I don't think this quest defeating Kokabiel would be enough to get me there. Killing him myself? Probably. But I'm not counting on it. Besides, I doubt I'd be able to devour his soul.
I also need them to advance my own tech. To make better armor, better weapons, and gadgets. I can't let this opportunity go to waste. This, alongside the gravity belt, once I dismantle it, I'd have everything I need to fully counter the Tojo Clan tech.
Going out of town to level up would become a breeze. I won't have to worry about getting caught anymore. And after getting cockblocked earlier, I REALLY want to taste some souls right now. I am not getting cucked out of my meal damn it.
"And what–" Lucifer starts again. "–Do you plan on doing with those?"
"You'll see soon enough," I reply vaguely, getting the last body. Too much and it might get a bit suspicious once the yakuza clean this up. "Now to put me in danger again…"
I look back at the skies, seeing the clouds spread apart by the clash of the two overhead. I recast my wings, but my legs refuse to move. My quivering intensifies at the thought of fighting him again, as the idea of running away becomes more and more tempting.
…Do I really have to fight him? I can just… get someone here to help? That would be the more intelligent and safer option. But the yakuza are nowhere to be seen. They're probably being held back by even stronger foes or something. What am I supposed to do? I have to help Ichiban. Maybe we can beat Kokabiel now that he has a subspecies Balance Breaker.
But at the same time, I don't want to die, and I don't want to be put in that situation again. Helpless, afraid, and weak to do anything.
It's… humiliating.
"Hmm…" Lucifer glances at me. "...You're afraid."
I clench my hands and glare at him, trying to muster any kind of bravado.
"Piss off, I'm not scared," I say, not really believing myself either.
"Now now, there's no reason to be ashamed, Akane." He says. "Fear is an emotion natural to all living things. Even I feel fear, you know."
I stay quiet and look away in shame and anger. What the fuck is he trying to comfort me for?
"If you lacked fear, I'd say you're not very well in the head." He continues. "After all, bravery comes from moving forward regardless of how afraid you are. Being fearless makes you an idiot, not brave."
"...What are you trying to say?"
"It's simple." He puts his hands on my shoulder even though I can't feel them. "I'm telling you to willingly put that fear into your head… and move on to fight with it. That's how you conquer it."
He tilts his head closer to me.
"Besides, you're not out of options," Lucifer smirks. "You still have Excelsis, after all."
…That's true, I still have that unfairly overpowered artifact, and if I pull it out right now, then Kokabiel would be turned to paste seconds later. However, that would end with me probably being wanted across dimensions, so if I'm going to use it, I need to get Ichi away from him first.
It's a last resort. Once Ichi runs out of steam, I'll lure Kokabiel some distance away from him and use Excelsis. That way I can kill him, put it back in my inventory, and no one would realize what the hell happened.
Yes. I can do this. I have to be smart. Hell, I might not even need to use it if I play my cards right. Ichiban is beginning to pressure him– he's growing in strength as he fights. My magic combined with his Balance Breaker will give us the win.
With newfound confidence and a backup plan, I force my legs to move, jumping and flapping my wings toward them. I still keep a distance, though, that isn't really difficult with how fucking fast they're moving. My god.
They clash fists near me, prompting a shockwave to erupt and push the clouds further. In that instant, I notice two things. One: Kokabiel is very clearly struggling more than when all of us fought against him. With one blind eye and injuries all over his body, it's clear that he's not at 100%.
But it's not very clear-cut for Ichiban either. Sure, he has the upper hand right now, but with how he's trembling and gasping for air, it's easy to tell that he's close to hitting his limit. Perhaps a minute or two is all he can go on for before collapsing.
So that means we need to finish this quick.
I keep a slight distance and charge several spells with additional mana as I watch them trading blows. Ichi is faster and stronger, but Kokabiel is vastly more experienced and skilled. Even though some hits landed on him, he's able to deal more damage to Ichiban, parrying and blocking a lot of his strikes.
I wait patiently, charging more and more magic as my eyes narrow. They haven't noticed yet, too immersed in the battle to see or even sense me preparing my spells. Ichiban tilts his head, dodging a jab, and responds with a body shot to the cadre's side, making him grunt in pain.
Kokabiel grabs Ichiban's arm and forces him closer, landing a very painful-looking headbutt that made him flinch, head thrown back and eyes losing their color for a split-second. Ichiban being Ichiban answers with his own headbutt, dealing considerable damage.
The cadre holds Ichiban's arm with both hands and begins to spin him around, throwing him far away at massive speed. This, however, gives me a wonderful chance as the idiot has his back on me, still noticing as he laughs.
"Incredible! I've never thought I'd live to see this day!" He screams to the skies. "To think I'd be fighting the first-ever wielder of a Boosted Gear subspecies! I'm honored–"
That's when I decide to release the overcharged spears, but unfortunately, that's when Kokabiel notices, barely evading those spears. Fortunately, at least one of them actually does land, stabbing his shoulder. He bites down a scream and waves his hand at me, unleashing several light spells my way.
I cast a thick wall of ice in front of me and narrowly dodge whatever makes it beyond, suffering a few scratches and shallow cuts that takes way more HP than they should. For fuck's sake, Game. This Gamer's Body bullshit is almost worse than a normal body.
My heart threatens to leap out of my chest as despair takes its grasp over me, the fear from before returning once Kokabiel breaks through the ice wall. I try to cast another one, but he was too close to me. I can't do anything.
My body moves on its own, my survival instincts kicking in as I quickly cast lances, hammers– and anything I can think of from directly under him, all flying upward. Those spells hit, but he just fucking ignores them as he grabs me by the neck.
With his other hand, Kokabiel makes a light sword.
"He said he wanted you alive." He growls in anger, raising his sword arm up. "But not unharmed."
Fear overwhelms me the second he swings, aiming to cut my arm off, but to my absolute relief, Ichiban saves me just in time, kicking Kokabiel in the head and sending him plummeting to the ground, crashing through a mountain on the way.
"Are you okay?!" Ichi looks at me in concern.
"Y-yeah, I'm good. A second too late and I'd be down an arm." I respond, feeling a lot calmer in his presence as I look at where Kokabiel was sent. "Thanks."
"Oh thank god." He sighs deeply, falling on my chest.
I catch him, noticing how extremely tired he is. I can hear and even feel his labored breathing. He is on the verge of losing consciousness, and I'm both surprised and impressed that he's managed to make it this far.
Ichi shakes it off and gets off me, looking like he's going to pass out any second.
"Can you still fight?" I ask him, getting worried.
"...I don't think so." He answers quietly, his breathing getting heavier with every passing second. "Don't think I can hold up for long. One more hit and I'm done for."
"Shit…"
Ichiban then pauses, seemingly deep in thought, then he looks at me after getting an idea, hazy eyes signifying just how much he's pushing himself. I think. His attention looked somewhere else for a second there, so I'm not sure.
"I know you're worried about him." He says while taking my hand, which makes me realize just how bad he's having it once I feel his erratic shaking. "But I need you to do something for me."
"What?" I frown in confusion.
"You gotta take him on your own."
"Are you crazy?!" I scowl at him. "He's going to tear me a new one. You're the only one who can actually fight him right now."
Ichiban chuckles at that.
"This is the first time I've ever seen you look so hesitant." He responds. "But I'm giving you everything I have before I'm out because I believe in you."
Then his grip on my hand tightens and I feel overflowing power coursing through me, my stats skyrocketing to unbelievable numbers. The loud shout of the Boosted Gear echoes throughout the entire region as the cape on Ichiban's shoulders disintegrates and reappears on mine.
"[Transfer!]"
"You got this."
That's the last thing I hear before Ichiban finally loses consciousness.
– Kokabiel –
Contrary to what many believe, Kokabiel did have a lot of self-restraint. No, he didn't think of war 24/7, he never wanted to start a war in the first place. Because even though he did love war– even though he thought of the battlefield as his home… His loyalty still lay with Azazel, and by extension, the Grigori.
He respected the man, far more than any other person, Fallen Angel or otherwise, and was always willing to work for that peaceful world his leader always dreamed of. Sure, he didn't exactly agree with it per se, but Kokabiel wasn't an idiot.
Yes, he had his urges to start something, and yes he hated peace, but peace was his kind's best path for survival, and if he wasn't loyal to Azazel, then he was damn well loyal to the Fallen Angels and would do anything to make them survive for as long as he was alive.
He could work with other races for that future, even if he hated it. He could rein in his feelings about the many issues he had with Azazel's decisions in the past few centuries… but he couldn't stop the feeling of despair when he learned of the truth.
Two years ago, on December 31st, he was visited by a very peculiar individual who managed to easily sneak into the Grigori HQ, slipping by every guard and detection ward, just to see the cadre in his office.
Kokabiel, amused, impressed, and yet slightly worried, indulged the stranger. After all, he was going to kill him soon anyway, so might as well let him say what he came there for, no? What was the worst that could happen anyway?
And so, this stranger, introducing himself as "Warrior", revealed something horrifying. Gods of unbelievable might would be coming here very soon– soulless, mechanical lifeforms far beyond anything they could comprehend, living past the dimensional gap would be coming to their world and destroy all life in it.
He proceeded to offer Kokabiel a job where he could get everything he wanted at the cost of abandoning his current position and obeying Warrior's orders.
At first, Kokabiel laughed at that absurd notion. Unknown entities from beyond the void? Soulless machines, disconnected from the lifestream? Preposterous. He didn't know what this Warrior person wanted to get out of this lie, but at the very least, he could've put some effort into this insane story of his.
So Kokabiel extended an arm and prepared a blast that would wipe out the man in an instant before the stranger did something, and the cadre was forced to see it.
He saw it. The thing he was talking about. The Mechanical Abominations.
And they saw him back.
He knew deep in his soul that this was no trick or illusion. Nothing, nothing could ever produce that much dread and fear in the Warhawk's heart. Those things instantly broke his spirits. There was no possible way they could defend against them. They would need centuries– no, thousands of years of preparation just to stand a chance. They were completely and utterly hopeless.
The only person who could've possibly even stopped them was Yahweh.
Their only hope was dead.
So if they were all doomed to die or even worse against those things… then would it matter if he indulged his desires one last time? Could he start one last war where his hide had an actual winning chance? It was either proving their superiority, defeating their arch-enemies once and for all or being slaughtered like livestock.
And Kokabiel knew what he wanted, and took the hands of the Warrior.
Returning to where the two brats were, the cadre stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. The Red Dragon Emperor was out cold, held up by the Yakuza Heiress whose power was unbelievable compared to seconds ago.
It was then that he noticed her white hair and the cape strapped on her shoulders as she cast a platform that carried the boy down safely. So he transferred his powers to her at the last second? He seemed to have gotten tired rather quickly when he activated the Balance Breaker. It's quite impressive to see the girl easily containing the power with no issue.
Her yokai heritage seemed to be showing more as well.
The girl… Kokabiel narrowed his eyes. Along with the transferred power, her power far exceeds that of the boy's.
"How nice of you." She snorted, looking at the boy before smirking confidently at Kokabiel, her earlier distress nowhere to be seen. "I should be nice to him the next week or two, don't you think?"
"Arrogance is unbefitting of you, girl." The cadre said. "Do you perhaps need a reminder of who I am?"
"Calling me arrogant in your current state? Injured, half-blind, and exhausted?" She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Please~"
His brain hadn't caught up with what happened until he felt immense pain in his face. Kokabiel gasped as he caught himself mid-air, in disbelief at the girl's insane speed. What the hell was that? He couldn't even see her!
He wasn't even given a chance to recover before she appeared in front of him, kicking him down before rushing forward, delivering blow after blow. Each hit felt like the weight of the world crashing down on him, hurting him far more than anything he'd ever felt in this battle prior.
Kokabiel had to act. This girl's power enhanced with the Boosted Gear was a threat. A very big threat, but a temporary one. The power-up isn't permanent. He could still win this.
Sent to the ground, Kokabiel flipped and dragged his feet across the dirt, using his remaining mana to stay on the defensive, unleashing holy energy all around in an omnidirectional blast. Even still, the girl just pierced through the blast and punched him so hard he blacked out for a moment.
But he's had worse, and continued the fight regardless, forming pikes and blades to stab and slash at the girl. In response, she stomped on the ground, and a massive ice spike protruded from the ground, nearly stabbing him in the chest had he not moved away at the last second.
Kokabiel flew away, cold sweat running down his cheek as he saw the spike grow to be larger than the mountain range in mere seconds. This power…
It was like that of a god.
Akane sped toward him and landed a devastating gut punch that knocked the wind out of him before backhanding him into the giant ice spike she made moments before, making him crash into and through the hard and thick ice.
He tried to regain his balance, but then two blades caught up to him, and in one swift movement, sliced his multiple pairs of wings. A piercing, pained and enraged scream escaped the cadre, the loss of his wings being one of the worst and most dishonorable things that could happen to a Fallen Angel.
Kokabiel acted quickly, mimicking the girl and forming wings out of his holy magic that took the place of the black-feathered ones. He panted in pain and anger, glowering at the girl's infuriating smirk.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Arms crossed, she taunted with a giggle, her white hair and red cape fluttering in the wind. "Were those important?"
The cadre roared, rushing mindlessly at her with dozens– no, hundreds of light spells, aiming to barrage and skewer her until she stopped moving. He did not care about his part of the deal anymore. He would kill her for what she did.
Akane's smirk widened as she extended an arm, snapping her finger and creating a burst of frost that froze damn near everything in front of her, including all of Kokabiel's spells, Kokabiel himself, and the entire mountain in the distance.
The cadre was still conscious even while frozen, trying his hardest to break free from the unreasonably tough ice. Akane floated down alongside him, keeping eye contact as he fell. She casually rolled her arm before throwing a jab, breaking the ice prison and sending him across the region, going through mountains, trees, valleys– and everything else.
Once he hit the ground, he gasped, head spinning and sight darkening. He was reaching his limit at a rapid pace– the girl wasn't playing around even with how cocky she was acting. He did not know why she didn't just go straight for the kill, but Kokabiel was lucky he was this resilient.
He needed to do something. Fast.
Akane landed in front of him, her smirk having never left her face, and waited for him to do something. Kokabiel obliged, using every ounce of his strength to continue attacking, throwing punches and kicks at amazing speed.
Unfortunately, she dodged every single thing she threw at him, lightly kicking him in the knee to break his balance before delivering a nasty uppercut to his chin, making him flip in the air a few times, landing on his back.
But this wasn't enough to put him down as he rushed forward again, making two blades slash and swing at her. To his surprise and shock, she actually somewhat slowed down. Not yet struggling to dodge, but she lost a considerable amount of power.
That's it, just a bit more and–
Seemingly noticing herself, Akane kicked him in the chest and knocked him on his back again, trapping his limbs in ice. Kokabiel tried to move, but the cuffs around his arms and legs didn't budge.
With a perfect opportunity to end it all, the girl… didn't kill him. No. Instead, her right arm suddenly darkened, turning pitch-black before she plunged it into his heart. No blood or gore spurted out, but Kokabiel felt something far more horrifying.
Something was pulling at his soul. It had taken him a second to comprehend, but after realizing what the hell she was doing, Kokabiel reacted quickly, letting his instincts guide him as two arms formed out of holy energy emerged from his shoulders, pulling the girl's hand back in.
The two struggled– Akane tried to take his soul out of his body, for what purpose Kokabiel did not know. However, he was not going to let her get away with this. He would NOT let his soul be stolen so easily!
The girl– no, thing grunted, slowly overpowering him even with the fading power of the Balance Breaker, but Kokabiel refused, creating more light arms that pulled her arm back in and weapons to attack her while she was stationary. The resilience she gained from the boy's Sacred Gear made her able to easily resist his magic, however.
He didn't know what kind of entity he was facing after seeing this. There was no possible way that this thing was a human– to try to steal his very essence like this was monstrous. Taking the essence of anything was an unforgivable act. The only being who was ever capable of doing such a thing was the Devil King Lucifer.
What in God's name was he looking at?
The thing in human skin let out a mighty roar, white hair fading back to its original color, her draconic aura fading quickly as she began to lose her strength, casting shields all around her to stop his spells from damaging her. Kokabiel started to overpower her, forcing his soul back to where it belonged as soon as the cape disintegrated.
Her eyes widened in fear, frustration, and incredible anger, but before she could do anything, Kokabiel moved one millisecond faster, throwing a light spear that pierced her heart and sent her flying to the other side through the thickets of the woods they were in.
Kokabiel took a long, deep breath, clutching his chest in agony at having his soul almost ripped out of him. He had to take a moment to rest, even for a minute. That… was the most unpleasant and painful thing he's ever had the displeasure of going through.
He gritted his teeth as his scowl of fury returned, looking at where he threw the beast. That bitch was going to pay a thousandfold for this.
That he swore.
– Akane –
[Desperate Persistence] Activated!
It takes me a moment to actually understand what's happening, and the sharp, agonizing heat in my chest wakes me up to the severity of the situation quite fast. I look down and see the holy spear in my chest, trying but failing to pull it out as it pinned me to a tree.
I panic, throwing up blood as tears well up in my eyes. Hopelessness begins to set in as I cannot come up with a single plan to save myself. Even still, my survival instincts kick in, prompting me to act by breaking the spear with an ice blade.
I fall to the ground, coughing and throwing up more of my blood. Not being able to hear the pounding of my own heart makes me let out a pathetic, pained, and fearful whimper, but I try to survive anyway. Not like this.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die like this.
I force myself back up, not knowing how many seconds passed already as I look for a solution. I ignore the studious gaze of Lucifer, phasing through him with quivering legs. I don't want to die.
"Hmm…" I hear a hum. "It's a miracle you even survived that, but what will you do now?"
I'm scared.
So scared.
Desperate to do anything, I quicken my pace, walking with no clear goal. I need to heal up. Before the timer runs out. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
"Still, that was quite the bold move." The voice continues to talk. "Trying to steal the cadre's soul, hm? Had you succeeded in that… Who knows what would've happened."
Only one word resonates with me, echoing out in my head and giving me an idea.
Soul.
I need a soul. Something's soul. Anything living…
For a split second, my eyes land on one of the hundreds or thousands of trees. I rush toward it, using every bit of my strength to force my darkened arm into it and pull once I feel something.
A tiny white flame flickers in my hand, and I crush it without hesitation.
Perk gained–
In an instant, my HP, SP, and MP all restore to full, making me wheeze and pant. The gaping wound in my chest is gone and my heart is restored. I stare at my shaking hands, twitching and quivering before a hearty, relieved laugh escapes me.
My newly reformed heart is pounding with a mixture of dread and overwhelming happiness. I didn't know if this would've worked- I didn't even know if trees had souls, but it worked.
I did it again. I lived. I lived when the odds were against me. I cheated death twice!
"Hahaha!" My laughter continues to echo out through the woods. "I-I'm still alive!"
"What a vile, but clever way to save yourself." Lucifer chuckles. "I do not know where you got such power from, but I must say that it gave me quite the shock when you first demonstrated it back when you were ambushed."
"I'm alive. I'm not dead." I continue to mutter, barely acknowledging his existence. "I'm alive…"
"Hm?" Lucifer blinks. "Are you alright?"
"Alright?!" I whip my head at him with a still terrified, but relieved grin. "I took a spear to the heart and still lived! I escaped certain death!"
"I suppose…"
My Sublime Perception suddenly activates, shaking me out of this weird high I was in and prompting me to evade a light lance by a hair's breadth. My grin turns into a scowl as I see Kokabiel walking toward me, with barely any magic or power left.
…He's not really a threat anymore, not when I'm at full everything. The realization makes all the fear I should be feeling turn to burning fury.
"I do not know who you were talking to just now, nor do I know how you survived that–" Kokabiel starts, glowering at me. "But I've decided that a monster such as yourself does not deserve to live."
"Me? I'm the monster, you warmongering fuck?!" My scowl deepens. "You're the dipshit who invaded my fucking territory and tried to kill all of us!"
"Act like you care all you want, vermin." He easily deflects, glaring at my very soul. "Both of us know just how twisted you really are. Only the darkest and most wicked would even dare to do such a thing."
"Because I tried to take your soul?" I raise a brow. "Please, what's the difference between that and dying normally? Really, I'm doing the world a favor here, getting rid of you permanently."
"What a fool you are." He scoffs. "Some things are taboo for a reason, girl."
"Bullshit." I spit out. "Otherwise, Sacred Gears wouldn't fucking exist you moron."
The cadre bares his teeth at me and hurls more spells, but I simply overcharge and cast a shield that blocks all of them, then rush from under it, managing to land a hook to his stupid fucking face. Yeah, he's way weaker than before. I can take him on as I am right now.
However, he isn't completely helpless, actually capable of fighting back well enough to hit me a few times, kneeing me in the stomach and punching me in the cheek. I answer with my own punch to the kidney, making him grunt and step back.
Kokabiel fails to dodge a dropkick to the chest, sending him rolling back and falling on his front. You know, maybe… Maybe I can still steal his soul. Yeah, he's too injured to really do anything. I can still get this power up.
As that thought crosses my mind, Kokabiel suddenly lunges at me with renewed vigor, creating swords with the last drops of his magic in an attempt to cut my head off. He isn't close to fast enough to do that though, as I cast a big block of ice in between us.
And once I quickly cast a knife to stab him in the leg, the air suddenly got warmer around us, making the two of us stop our fight for a moment to see the huge, red comet approaching us from the distance.
As it gets close enough, I sense a familiar energy, feeling a pit in my stomach when I see my uncle kick Kokabiel in the head. Flames dance around Akiyama's body, his once brown eyes now burning a fiery orange.
"Sorry for being late." He says, trying to sound cool.
Nooo…
No, no no no!
"But everything's gonna be fine now, Akane-chan."
No, you fucking moron! Why did you have to show up?! Now I can't fucking devour his soul!
God fucking DAMN IT!
I bite my scream down, doing everything in my power to rein in my rage. What the fuck is my luck?! Couldn't you have done something to prevent this, Game?!
FUCK!
Kokabiel, still somehow alive, manages to stand back up impressively enough, looking worse for wear. He scowls deeply at Akiyama, almost frothing at the mouth in rage that almost rivals mine.
"More and more of you keep showing up…" He growls. "Like annoying cockroaches that refuse to die…!"
"Stand down, Kokabiel." Akiyama says, flames bursting forth. "Before you get yourself killed."
"Silence." The cadre hisses, getting into a stance. "I will not give up. Not to you, you pathetic lowlives."
"Kokabiel…" My uncle repeats warningly.
"I will continue to fight, even if it kills me!" He announces. "Get ready, Vermilion Bird!"
And as soon as Kokabiel takes the first step toward us, a spear of even more powerful holy energy goes through his heart, making my anger flare significantly before I look up at who stole my fucking kill.
But it was none other than Azazel, who looks down at Kokabiel in displeasure and contempt. Kokabiel turns to him with a shocked look before he falls down.
"I had faith in you, you know," Azazel says. "I thought that maybe you'd drop this insane plan of yours and come back to the Grigori."
Silence. None said anything as the leader of the Grigori continued.
"...It looks like I was wrong." He mutters, eyes closing as he floated down to the ground. "...Why did you have to go and do all of this, Kokabiel? You know more than anyone just how much I hate having to kill my own kind."
Kokabiel… laughs, blood sputtering out of his mouth as he gazes up at his leader.
"I had to–" He coughs. "W-we're… walking toward our own demise… without stopping…"
Azazel doesn't say anything.
"We'll all die as soon as five or six years…" He takes a sharp breath. "I wanted to… have my last wish granted."
"At the cost of the lives of so many innocent people?"
"What difference does it make…?" The cadre chuckles.
"...I do not know who filled your mind with so many lies–"
"They're not… lies…" More blood comes out of his mouth. "I've seen them, Azazel… They're coming…And Father isn't here to save us…"
Once again, Azazel remains silent.
"You know it… deep in your bones…" Kokabiel gasps, actually tearing up, but with the smile never leaving his face. "Our father is long gone…"
Azazel sighs deeply, shutting his eyes and looking away. I wait for this unbelievably stupid scene to end as I seethe and stew in my own fury… until a very risky idea pops up in my head. You know what? Fuck the consequences. The Akane of tomorrow can take care of it.
I didn't get his soul, and I probably lost the 'keep everyone alive' bonus objective, but I'll be damned if I let one more thing slip by me. I don't fucking care how this affects me in the future, but I refuse to let this go.
Fuck him. Fuck all these morons standing around doing nothing. I'm getting what I fucking want. I suffered enough today and I deserve it.
From behind Akiyama, who doesn't notice me, I pull out Angel's Sorrow from my inventory and aim at Kokabiel, who starts to speak once again.
"Azazel… the girl over there is–"
I pull the trigger, and neither Akiyama nor Azazel expects the loud bang from my gun or a bullet to go through the downed man's skull, killing him instantly. I resist a wide, almost manic grin from splitting my face, keeping the angry facade.
The two adults look at me in pure shock as Lucifer fucking loses it over there next to Azazel once I say the first thing that comes to mind.
"That's for David, you war-loving fuckhead."
And that's the kokabiel arc done. Just one more chapter for the aftermath before the next arc.
Writing Akane getting and stealing Kokabiel's soul would've probably completely trivialized the next arc, but I'd be too mean if I didn't give her the kill at least lol.
And yes, she did get a new perk from devouring the soul of a tree.