"Kekeke! Hahahahaha!"
Shin and Ichika both darted away, avoiding a massive halberd made of light that swept across the field. Shin landed on the halberd, running along its arm toward Kokabiel. The Fallen Angel grinned as he pulled his other arm back, forming a jagged spear. He threw the spear at Shin, causing him to vault over it.
Shin landed on Kokabiel's shoulders, wrapping his legs around the Fallen Angel's throat. He raised Excalibur into the air and prepared to stab it down when a bright flash of light came from Shin's peripheral vision. His eyes widened as a concentrated ball of light came within a hair's breadth from his skull. The converging blades within his left eye spun rapidly as he vanished from his spot, switching spots with slab of rubble.
"Not bad but you'll all need to come at me simultaneously," Kokabiel lazily raised his hand and caught a rogue ball of pure destructive energy from Rias. The marking on his chest continued to glow as the city-wide curse continued its corrosive job on the Fallen Angel's power.
"Got it?" He gave Shin a fanged grin before tilting his head to avoid Sophia's scythe.
Irina came dashing in from his side and thrust Sakuragiri into his flank, only for one of Kokabiel's wings to intercept the blade. She was thrown back by his wings before righting herself in mid-air and landing gracefully on the ground.
"Tch! We need time for the curse to fully take him," Shin said as he gripped Excalibur and Hirume tightly.
"Yeah, I can see that— WOAH!?" Sophia bent backward as Kokabiel's arm nearly took her head off. She jumped back before swiping her arm behind her. "Now the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah…" Sophia recited as a gargantuan basking shark made of light leaped out from the ground and swallowed Kokabiel whole.
Sophia's eyes glowed as she closed her fist. Black flames and mist gathered within the basking shark's mouth. "NOW!"
A bolt of lightning slammed down on the shark along with several bullets of destructive power. Xenovia and Yuuto rushed in with their swords at the ready and sliced through the fish. The basking shark exploded in a tower of black and white light. The black fire of Qemetiel spiraled into the sky, causing a wave of intense heat to wash over them.
"Well, well, I have to hand it to you brats. I never thought I'd see the day where I'm pushed to this level… not by a bunch of children…"
"...!?"
"No damage…," Rias gasped in shock.
Kokabiel walked out of the crater, his clothes dirtied and torn. He was relatively unharmed despite the onslaught he just withstood. His wings were frayed but otherwise there. The haunting brand on his chest continued to glow and drain his power. Yet, despite that, the odds remained stacked against them.
In his hand was a chunk of the spectral basking shark's fin. He bit into it before tossing the remnants aside. A sword formed in each of his hands. He popped a knot in his neck before grinning and disappearing in a burst of pure speed.
Shin's eyes widened as he looked around. Suddenly, a shift in the air caught his attention as he whirled to see Kokabiel appear between Yuuto and Xenovia.
"RUN!" Shin yelled.
But it was too late. The only choice the two had was to try and defend against the attacks and that was what they did.
Kokabiel's swords arced across the air, leaving a visible trail of light. Blood sprayed across the field as the blades bit into their target, piercing their defense and sending the two flying in two different directions.
"Yuuto!" Rias yelled.
"Xenovia!" Irina tightened her grip on Sakuragiri. "You bastard—!"
Ichika tackled Irina as a wave of light tore through the ground, splitting Kuoh Academy in half. She glanced over her shoulder, eyes wide as she saw the molten fissure mere inches from her feet.
"Asia! Go take care of the wounded!" Shin barked as he dashed toward Kokabiel.
Asia nodded and made a beeline toward Yuuto.
Ichika shakily got to her feet and winced as she felt a sharp pain in her side.
[One of your ribs is bruised, Partner.] Ddraig said.
"Thanks for saying the obvious," Ichika panted beneath her visor. She watched as the fight raged on before her. Kokabiel was taking on all their attacks simultaneously even with Shin's curse devouring his energy. Was this what skill was? Was the gap between them so vast that not even a curse designed to kill Japan's worst monsters could bridge that chasm?
She slapped her cheeks, causing her gauntleted hands to clang against the side of her helmet. "No, now's not the time."
"Ichi?" Irina said as she watched Ichika begin to run toward the battle.
Everyone's fighting so hard! I can't let them down! I'm not deadweight! I won't—
The image of Shin's body riddled with knives flashed across her mind.
[Oi, Partner, what are you…?]
"This hasn't been done before right?" Ichika grinned as she began to run faster. Holy and Demonic power swirled and condensed into an unstable shroud of energy around her hand. "The Balance Breaker's Boost on top of Explosion and this ball of Holy and Demonic Power that can blow my hand straight off! I'll run that crow through!"
[Partner! This is dangerous! If that ball in your hand goes off then—]
I know the odds! Ichika said.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
The consecutive announcements echoed as Ichika sprinted toward the high-speed fight.
"And then…"
[Explosion]
Ichika felt a surge of power explode from her body, shrouding her in a light green aura. The mass of opposing elements in her left hand crackled with growing instability.
"I should name this technique!" Ichika grinned as she held it low, causing the ground to tear up from the arcing energy.
"You better survive against this crow!" Ex said.
Shin didn't even glance down at the pulsating holy sword in his hand. He sidestepped Kokabiel's overhead slash before delivering a round slash of his own. He was knocked back as two of Kokabiel's wings moved with blistering speed and parried his attack. He jumped into the air and created a platform with Reconstruction before launching himself at the Fallen Angel.
Onigari-Ryu…
Five cuts from both Hirume and Excalibur sliced through the air in a mere second, leaving wounds on Kokabiel's chest and arms.
Gotamashiki!
Several firearms formed alongside Failnacht in a bubble around Kokabiel.
"...Followed by this!" Shin jumped back and the guns all fired, peppering the Cadre Fallen with an onslaught of energy bullets.
"Our Stigmatas are connected! Take advantage of the fact that you're wielding me!" Ex called out.
Shin clenched his jaw. "Now's not the time for an impromptu driving lesson—" His body exploded into a swirl of paper as a spear of light punched right through him.
"You have no choice!" Ex yelled. The sword glowed and Shin's right eye glowed brightly. He felt instinctive muscle memory that didn't belong to him suddenly flood into his body. His arms moved on their own, creating a flash of cuts with his swords that sliced apart another light spear.
"What the hell was that?" Shin gasped as he landed on the ground.
"It's the ability similar to your Stigmata's. You know how to innately use the basics of the Stigma you have from the Abyss God and Vivian, right? This is like that. That old hag inscribed it into my body when she made me. It's called [Parallel Skill]. Be grateful! Using me lets you use techniques from my past wielder," Ex said.
Shin reacted instinctively again, moving and producing a storm of light slashes that defended him against a hail of steel feathers from Kokabiel. As the storm of feathers ended, Shin took a deep breath before vanishing in a burst of speed. He disappeared and reappeared across multiple points as he made a beeline for Kokabiel. His eyes flicked to the right slightly and he tossed Excalibur into the air.
Shin held Hirume at his side. In a flash of black flames, Hirume jetted out of its scabbard, nicking Kokabiel in the cheek, who dodged at the last minute.
"Not fast enough, boy!"
"—!?" Shin gasped as he felt the Fallen Angel's elbow slamming into the small of his back. He didn't have time to hit the ground as he was kneed in the stomach hard. He coughed up spit before he was kicked back.
He twisted his body in mid-air and landed on the ground. A grin spread across his face. Above Kokabiel, Excalibur glowed brightly before firing a beam of blue energy down on top of the Fallen Angel, causing an explosion that rocked the school.
Once the explosion died down, Shin kept his eyes fixated on the plume of smoke that rose into the air. A sharp burst of wind blew the smoke away and Kokabiel cackled while charging toward Shin like a mad rhino.
"It's over, boy!" Kokabiel said as he formed a massive axe of light. "You must be the pillar of this whole team! If you go down then, they all do!" He grinned as he brought the axe down atop Shin's head.
Shin returned his grin with one of his own. His crimson left eye flashed as Excalibur teleported back into his hand. He swung upward, catching Kokabiel off-guard at the last moment. Excalibur's blade moved at a blistering speed. With the distance between them, Kokabiel had no room to dodge.
Blood sprayed across the air as one of Kokabiel's hands was sliced off his arm.
"Wha—!?" Kokabiel was too shocked to even register the fact that he had lost a hand.
Shin's smirk grew infuriatingly wider as he flipped into the air, using Kokabiel's chin to vault and gain more height.
Suddenly, Ichika appeared in a burst of speed, catching Kokabiel off-guard.
"Huh! How is this brat moving so fast!?" Kokabiel reacted quickly, instantly forming a greatsword made of light.
However, a blast of black flames slammed into the sword, causing it to corrode.
"You—!?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sophia panting while holding her arm up.
He glanced back down at Ichika as time slowed to a crawl. He could see the girl's fierce gaze through the eyes of her visor. I won't be able to dodge in time—!
"Ryūsei Sou!" Ichika's hand tore through Kokabiel's body as she shot through the other side. The Holy and Demonic energy reacted immediately, tearing through the Fallen Angel's body like a swarm of piranhas devouring meat. The sound of his flesh being ground to mush echoed through the battlefield and more of his blood spilled across Kuoh's campus grounds.
"Guh… Gahk!" Kokabiel coughed up blood.
Ichika landed with a roll. The holy and demonic powers had faded from her hand. She shakily got to her feet and eyed her handiwork.
Kokabiel looked down at his side with wide eyes. He had managed to move at the last second but the results were there.
A whole chunk of his torso had been torn off. All of the skin, down the muscle and tissue, had been completely erased and his organs were showing. "W-What the hell!?"
"How's that for a kill move, you feathered bastard?" Ichika panted. "I told you… Today, as the Red Dragon Empress who rules 10,000 worlds…, I'll clip those damned crow wings of yours."
Kokabiel frowned as he touched his hand to his exposed insides. He licked the blood before a warped smile twisted his already malevolent features. "I see… Hahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Ichika immediately went on guard and raised her arms.
"Then, come girl. All of you… This shall be my final stand!" A swirl of angelic power burst from Kokabiel's body. His eyes glowed intensely as small representations of the sky's constellations began to form around him.
"I hope you all keep up! Even with this city-wide curse, I'll be sure to give you all my full effort. I will fight you, as a Fallen Angel should."
A pillar of light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire town. If the town didn't notice the battle, then they did now. That flash was simply too noticeable not to go unseen. She wouldn't even be surprised if the people in the next town saw it.
The Second Praetor glanced over her shoulder as she dug her heel into the top of Dante's skull. She wiped some blood from her lips. "Eh? It looks like your sister and her friends are doing a good job at taking care of Kokabiel, wouldn't you say, CM-002?" she said in a sickly sweet tone.
Danta struggled to get to his feet. His feathers and hair were matted with blood. His body was littered with numerous wounds, both from bullets and blades. He glared at her fiercely. His wounds began to glow as they slowly stitched themselves shut.
"Oh? You're re-emerging from heavenly matter? That's annoying," the Second Praetor said as she pointed her MP5 at the man's head. "How about we put you down for now?" Before she could pull the trigger, Klein's strings tore through her skull.
Her head exploded in a shower of brain matter and skull fragments as her body stumbled back like a headless chicken.
Klein panted, his body showing signs of fatigue. "Khh!" He swung his strings, causing them to revolve around him in a high-speed rotation as the First Praetor's chokuto clashed with it.
"Dante! Can you get up and run?" Klein said as he forced the First Praetor back.
"I… can try," he said as he spread his wings.
"Go. Go and get to the others. Now before it's too late! I'll hold them both off for you," Klein said. He opened his eyes, showing deep black sclera with purple irises.
"A Sacred Gear?" Dante gasped. "You had two?"
"Ah. This one is a special one from a Dragon King who got sliced to multiple pieces."
"Delete Field…," the First Praetor landed a distance away and stared at him. Her faceless mask bore into his flaming black eyes. She watched as the strings began to shimmer with a misty black energy. Her grip on her chokuto tightened. She made no move before vanishing in a burst of speed.
Klein prepared himself for defense but his eyes widened when the First Praetor shot past him. He quickly turned to see her making a beeline for Dante.
"Damn it!" He shot the strings toward her, causing the razor-black metal wires to fly toward her like a swarm of venomous snakes.
The First Praetor glanced over her shoulder. She jumped into the air, avoiding the strings before twisting her body and unleashing a flurry of high-speed slashes.
In an instant, the strings were sliced apart like paper, reduced to thin strips of useless metal.
"W-What…?" Klein's eyes widened before he scanned her.
[Scanning… Demonic Power identified…]
[Worthless]
"Hah. How unfair," he said. Klein smiled wryly before clenching his gloved hand into a tight fist.
The First Praetor landed on the ground before holding her hand out. A red light gathered in the palm of her hand. The red light pixelated before forming into another sword. She gripped the sword tightly before swinging it at Klein.
Klein launched his strings forward to intercept the blade, however, the strings he deployed were blasted away and reduced to nothing. "She cut through Delete Field!?" He dove to the side as the wave of cutting air tore through the street, destroying cars and walls in the process.
The First Praetor held her hand out. Swirling streams of red light clumped together around her, forming a mechanical monstrosity. A robotic entity resembling a gargoyle stood next to her. Its body hissed as steam flew out of small exhaust ports between its plated armor. It creaked as it reared its featureless gaze at him. The lights on its head flashed, acting as its eyes. The mechanical monstrosity tracked his movements before lumbering forward.
Dante prepared to flee while the First Praetor was distracted, however, before he could flee, the Second Praetor's whip wrapped around him. He struggled as the segmented whip constricted and tied him down where he stood.
"Hah…? Using your Rule to fight him?" The Second Praetor's body got to its feet as blood swirled around it, clumping together. The wound hissed and steamed as her head began to regrow, first forming her skull, then muscles, then her brain and eyes. The veins grew like trails of frost across a window. "So this is one of the Seven Stars…"
The First Praetor said nothing as she pointed her finger at Klein.
The Drone lunged forward, raising its metallic claws, and slammed it down on top of him.
Klein jumped back avoiding the drone. He manipulated and infused his remaining strings with the properties of Delete Field to restrain it. But to his surprise, the Drone tore through them, nullifying the deleting properties of the strings.
He clenched his jaw as he prepared to fight the drone, however, a flash of blue light caught everyone's attention. A series of glowing blue swords impaled the drone, pinning it to the ground.
A final weapon, a greatsword, slammed into the drone's skull with the force of a missile and finally killed it. Its body spasmed for a few seconds before it dispersed into a shower of glimmering red lights.
"...," The First Praetor suddenly jumped into the air as a sword flew in her direction. Her eyes widened beneath her mask as the sword pushed her back, sending her toward the restrained Dante and the Second Praetor.
"An ability that's similar to mine. But I don't remember handing out my Authority to anyone other than Shin."
A swirl of butterflies flew around them before they clumped together. Vivi appeared at the center of the swarm, her blue eyes staring down at them.
"That's our cue to leave. As confident as I am in our ability to hold the both of you off, spending too much time here will increase our chances of failure," the Second Praetor said as she tightened her whip around Dante.
"But before that," Vivi said as she raised her hand. The air shimmered with a soft blue light as several weapons formed in the air behind her. "I'd like that boy back."
The First Praetor readied herself to fight against Vivi.
Vivi snapped her fingers. The weapons reacted, firing blasts of intense magical energy at the First Praetor.
The First Praetor held her hand out, creating a red cube in her hand. Strings of holographic text swirled around the cube before a pulse of light expanded from it, nullifying the magical energy heading toward them.
That ability. It's almost similar to mine but the objects aren't magical in nature. They're all properties that can be created by human civilization so why is it capable of matching supernatural weapons? Vivi narrowed her eyes as she observed the cube created by the First Praetor.
"Second Praetor, I'll deal with our target. Cover me so I can ensure our escape," the First Praetor said as she turned away from them.
"My, my, look at you. Since when did you decide to step up to your leadership role~?" the Second Praetor said as she stepped past the masked woman. She smiled as she tapped her foot against the ground.
Vivi and Klein both reacted immediately, jumping as the ground beneath them ruptured open. Several strings of earth flew upward, attempting to impale them.
"Hehe, ahahaha!" the Second Praetor laughed as she warped the air, causing it to become solid behind them.
The two slammed into the seemingly solid atmosphere. Vivi turned to see the rapidly approaching spears of concrete and pointed a finger toward it.
"Exterminate Ray."
A beam of highly condensed magical power tore from her finger and plowed through the spears. As the blast approached the Second Praetor, she merely smiled. "Are you finished?" She held her hand up and the world shifted again as limbs formed from the concrete and the roofs of houses. The arms slammed into the energy beam, holding it back.
The First Praetor said nothing as she looked down at the bound Dante. She took her mask off slightly, allowing her left eye to be revealed. It glowed with an ominous shade of blue, pulsating softly.
The light in Dante's eyes faded as he struggled to maintain his sense of self. However, the overwhelming hypnotic ability of her eye was too much. Dante slumped forward unconscious.
"Let's go," the First Praetor said. She held her hand out and a small winged creature formed from a band of red light above her palm.
The entity's wings fluttered curiously before it spread its arms. A door opened on the wall behind them. Without even thinking, the First Praetor threw Dante through the open passage before walking inside.
"And this is our cue. I quite enjoyed your performances, Onyx Star, Lady of the Lake. But for now, I'll have to ask for a rain check on our little date," the Second Praetor waved before walking through the door.
The wispy fairy-like being vanished as the door closed behind them. The arms made of concrete and roof tiles crumbled to dust and the beam surged forward, tearing apart what remained of the street.
Klein landed on the ground, panting as he stared at the empty spot where the Praetors and Dante once stood. "Damn it, they got away!" He clenched his fists.
Vivi remained silent as she stared at the space where the fairy-like entity once existed. Her eyes narrowed considerably. No… it's not possible. If it's a creation born from humans, is she creating… singularities?
Vivi shook her head as she was snapped back into reality by the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"Enough about that," Vivi said as she walked past him. Her gaze fixed on the school ahead where the signs of battle raged on. "We have more pressing matters to attend to. We can deal with the fallout later."
Klein glanced at the Lake Spirit before composing himself and nodding.
Explosions of light littered the skies above Kuoh Academy. A rain of weapons pelted the ground, forcing everyone to scatter. Above them, Kokabiel fought. The holy aura around him grew more intense despite his waning power. He grinned as he held his hand out. "Don't get so cocky. I'm still in it."
The aura around Kokabiel dispersed into countless specks of light that spiralled until it resembled a galaxy. "Sefer HaMazarrot - Star of Annihilation: Spiral Galaxy."
A flash of light lit the night sky up and the galaxy unleashed a torrent of searing divine energy.
"Everyone! Get behind me now!" Shin yelled. He gripped Excalibur and Hirume tightly and stabbed them into the ground. He made a hand sign with his right hand and formed a crackling ball of violet energy in his left. "Perfect Cube!"
A massive flood of star-like holy power slammed into Shin's barrier, causing him to buckle under its weight. That Curse should have sapped a little over half his power! Hah! So this is a Cadre Class Fallen Angel! Shin grinned wryly as he used both hands to maintain the barrier. "When this attack goes down, all of you need to make your move!" Shin commanded.
Everyone behind him nodded.
Cracks in the barrier began to appear. "Ready…?"
The cracks grew even larger before an explosion detonated, annihilating over half the school grounds.
"GO!"
From the smoke, a series of magical attacks shot forth.
Kokabiel sliced them with his sword before flapping his wings and diving toward them. Sophia burst from the smoke, swinging her scythe at him.
The Fallen Angel spun and locked blades with her. Sparks flew from their clashing blades. "Not bad but… I saw that coming as well." His wings shot out, blocking the swords of Irina, Xenovia, and Yuuto.
"Too bad for you… we're just a distraction!" Irina said as she jumped back. Xenovia and Yuuto pushed against his wings before jumping back as the razor sharp feathers threatened to reduce them to ribbons of meat.
"Distraction—!?" Kokabiel looked up to see a swirl of light gathering in the sky.
Sophia grinned as she swung her scythe, cutting into Kokabiel's injured side.
The Fallen Angel hissed as the blade bit deeper and deeper.
"This is for my mom… and for everyone who had the unfortunate luck of seeing that sick face of yours," Sophia snarled. Her eyes and halos glowed. An explosion of black mist and flames sent a wave of heat washing over the academy and the surrounding area.
She jumped back and threw her hand down.
A Miracle of pure holy light amplified by her abilities slammed down atop Kokabiel, sending him crashing violently into the ground.
"You…," Kokabiel stood under the light. His ten wings spread as specks of light began to spiral around him. It spread evenly around Kokabiel's body, repelling the light and formed into an open eye made of stardust. "Sefer HaMazzrot - Helix Nebula."
The eye began to charge an intense amount of energy and a screeching sound echoed across the campus.
"Oh no you don't! As if I'd let you pull this off again!"
The technique was interrupted as Ichika slammed into Kokabiel. Her armored hands gripped Kokabiel's wings tightly as she leaped over his shoulder. Her grip remained steadfast as she hyperextended the joints on his wings until a sickening crunch and pop resounded across the battlefield.
"HAAAAAH!" Ichika flipped Kokabiel over her shoulder, using his wings as leverage, and slammed him violently onto the ground.
The Fallen Angel let out a soundless gasp of pain and spit.
She raised her foot and brought it down atop his head.
Yet, even with all his injuries, the Fallen Angel Lord caught her foot and threw her off to the side. He quickly got onto his feet and dashed after her. He created a massive spiked hammer made of light. "Nice effort, girl. To be able to break my wings like that and deal me this grievous wound is nothing short of extraordinary! As a reward, I'll make sure your death is painless!"
He brought the hammer down on top of her.
However, Ichika vanished in an instant, replaced by Shin. He brought both swords up to meet the hammer. A resounding boom shook the school. The ground beneath Shin's feet cracked under the immense weight of the hammer.
"Keh! Sorry but… we'll have to take a hard pass on that!" Shin suddenly let go and slipped past the hammer.
Kokabiel let go of the hammer and he swiped his remaining hand at Shin. A sword of light formed rapidly, arcing across the air and sliced right into Shin's chest. Blood sprayed across the air and onto the ground.
"SHIN!" Ichika yelled as she stared in mute horror.
Shin's mouth opened slightly before morphing into a crazed grin. He slammed his foot on the ground and darted forward. The wound on his chest began to rapidly heal as a katashiro slipped out of his pocket, the paper doll having been sliced in half after taking on the brunt of the damage he took.
"W-What? Impossible—! How could you—!" Kokabiel never finished his sentence as Shin slammed his knuckles into the underside of his chin. He was thrown forcefully into the air. He looked through squinted eyes to see his vision being filled with red.
Ichika let out a roar as she slammed her armored fist into his face. His nose crumpled underneath the speed and force of her punch and he was sent plummeting back down to the Earth. She threw her hand forward. "Let those who turn their backs on the divine blessings be shot down by the arrow of the gods! Rekku Madan!"
Balls of red energy clumped together in front of Ichika's hand and flew forward, piercing Kokabiel in the chest.
"Ghk! You little—!" He landed on the ground and was about to fly up when he saw Shin standing in front of him with his posture low and his hand to his side. "Excalibur!"
The Holy Sword flew past Shin's shoulder and pierced Kokabiel's shoulder, stunning him momentarily.
This is… my first time using this technique in four years! I'm going to be so sore after this! Shin thought wryly as blue flames of energy surged around Hirume's sheath. He breathed rhythmically, calling upon the ki and spiritual power in his body to fuel his technique.
Zonshi! Heiban!
A faint white shroud surrounded Shin. The veins on his arms became more pronounced and the muscles in his legs coiled and tightened like a spring.
Onigari-Ryu: Ougi - Mugenzan!
He drew Hirume from its sheath at blinding speeds, slashing into Kokabiel. His eyes tracked rapidly as he swung his sword, each slash growing faster and faster, leaving more and more cuts on the Fallen Angel's body.
Kokabiel tried to counter his attacks, but the Curse had drained too much of his strength, leaving him unable to keep up with Shin's attacks.
Another blinding slash flew across the air, severing his remaining hand from his arm. And then, Shin circled back, holding Hirume at his side. His heel shifted slightly and he vanished, almost moving instantaneously past Kokabiel. He slowly sheathed Hirume back into its black scabbard and with the final click of the blade into its sheath, blood sprayed like a crimson shower across the air.
Kokabiel's body, now resembling a scarlet water fountain, stumbled forward. Four of his wings had been severed by Shin's final slash. The Fallen Angel stumbled forward, blood flowing freely from his wounds and the stump on his hand. He took a few steps before falling to one knee, panting as blood loss and the sapping of his power began to overwhelm his willpower. His vision swam as he tried to fight to stay conscious, despite his injuries.
"S-Splendid, perhaps maybe… you two can be the ones to—" Kokabiel collapsed onto the ground, his blood pooling underneath him. His red eyes caught glimpse of Ichika and Shin before he fell unconscious.
"It's… over?" Sophia asked as she limped forward, holding her shoulder.
Shin panted as he almost fell forward, but he was caught by Ichika before he could completely collapse.
Her visor hissed before opening, revealing her scratched-up and smiling face. She grinned widely, causing him to return a smile of his own.
"Yeah," Shin said. "It's over…"
Ichika's eyes flicked to Kokabiel's unconscious body and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Operation Daybreak… complete."
Kokabiel
One of the Cadre of the Grigori.
A bloodthirsty Angel who seeks the thrill of war and combat. Unlike his pacifistic leader, he relishes in bloodshed and seeks to prove the supremacy of the Fallen Angels.
With his power to command the Stars, his combat prowess amongst Fallen Angels goes almost unchallenged.
Almost.
—
Notes:
Shin: Even after having 60% of his power drained by the Murder of the Gods, he still gave us a run for his money.
Ichika: Let's use this crow as a future measure for our training. As the Red Dragon Empress, I refuse to allow one setback to define our path forward to the enlightenment of Akasha. With the power of the Heavens and the Hells at my disposal we shall—
Housekeeping:
RoyalRain20xx: Sophia's mother is a very complicated person. She's basically a mad scientist who regretted everything she did but still decided to perform a big suicide bomb to take out a bunch of people alongside herself. So yes, she's a very unhinged yet from Sophia's words, loving mother. Speaking of Shin and Excalibur, Excalibur isn't going to be at the peak since she only has five of her fragments with her. That and Vivi is going to do something to her to stabilize her form but it's gonna have a big cost to her. Shin, on the other hand, is pulling out all the stops. He's basically using every technique and spell he's ever learned for this fight. Batman with preptime am I right? He hasn't fought properly in over 4 years and it's showing. BUT the rust is coming off and soon, he'll be almost at the level he was at 4 years ago. He can do a lot more with his Stigma from Yaldabaoth other than just teleport but he can't do all of the things she can do like cut space. Yet. YET.
I'm glad you continued reading. You're one of my consistent viewers and reviewers and it makes me happy. I really appreciate you taking a few minutes out of your day to do so.
We have reached the final chapters of the Daybreak arc. Soon, we'll have an entire short... I want to say short, training arc before moving on to the Kyoto Arc. I won't be showing too much of the Peace Summit since the group isn't really involved in it. They'll just mention it before we head to Serikawa. I have to say... factoring Akane out of this fight made it seem a lot better in my eyes. And so, let's go over some things I feel like people might ask about in this chapter.
The First Praetor's ability: Aside from her Stigma, which lets her use freaky illusions, she has the ability to create weapons and items. As Vivi explained, her ability seems to be limited to creations of human origin and objects used by humans. Which means... well, it will be later. But Vivi uses the word "Singularity" when describing them. She's referring to a technological singularity, which is a point at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and cause irreversible consequences on civilization. But, her singularities are more in line with singularities from Limbus Company and Library of Ruina. All of her weapons are basically items that human civilization will be capable of making in the future. Crazy, right?
Parallel Skill: You've seen it before. Shin can make weapons he's never seen because of Vivi. BUT, there is an encoded ability for it called Parallel Skill. Ex has it in her body which allows her to encode certain techniques into her blade. Shin used one of them. It has no name. Parallel Skill will help Shin later on, especially in the training arc when he starts to learn about technique creation. From old Azure, the Genesis Onigari-Ryu is making a come back.
Ichika's martial arts: It's been something I've been cooking for a while. Her martial arts is based on her prior skills with Judo since... I don't know if you all forgot, Ichika is in two clubs. The theater club and the judo club. She's not just your typical flamboyant chuuni girl. She's actually pretty active in school activities. But yes, it will be getting a proper name during the training arc. Ryuusei-Sou or Meteor Spear and every technique she displayed so far is part of it.
Kokabiel: Yeah, he got drastically buffed. Or wait, did I just play on his strengths? Anyway, his Miracle is the highlight of this. Sefer HaMazzarot, basically hebrew for Book of Constellations. It's a star-based Miracle power that lets good ol' Kokabiel use Holy Power to create heavenly bodies. So far, Kokabiel has created star formations. It's pretty cool right? I got the idea from reading Dark Gathering. It's a nod to Taisai Seikun from the manga. But the techniques we see aren't at full power since Kokabiel got most of his power drained by the Murder of the Gods curse. I never thought I'd enjoy writing Kokabiel this much, hahaha! It's a shame that he's only a villain for this arc. Having a battle-hungry crow using all these cool techniques. Who knows? I might bring him back for a future arc as an ally.
Yeah... but anyway, this chapter title is a Granblue Fantasy soundtrack. Hehe. Anyway, see you guys. I might go dark for a bit since I finally GOT Monster Hunter Wilds! Damn! But yeah, drop a review and I'll see you all later.