Ch. 28: A Strong Enemy Appears

The group consisting of Saji, Chacha, Momo, and Yumi had arrived at an abandoned manor on the outskirts of the city.

"Where is this place?" Saji asked.

"This is where me and the others in Rias's group defeated a Stray Devil here not long after Izuku joined," Yumi explained.

Right as they got close, they got the chills as they felt a killing intent aimed at them.

"Wait. Something's wrong," Chacha said. Then, her ears perked up as she picked up a sound. "Look!" She pointed toward the roof.

When they all looked up, they saw a familiar white-haired priest falling toward them with a long, jagged sword.

"YAHOOOOO!" Freed shouted in murderous glee.

Yumi quickly formed a Holy Eraser to block Freed's slash.

The white-haired priest then jumped and flipped backwards, before landing on the building. "I forgot to thank you earlier!"

"For what?" Yumi asked in a growl.

"Is that the Stray Priest?" Saji asked.

"Say, that's a different group than I remember you with. Where's the little midget and those other friends?"

"They're not here," Yumi replied. "And I don't need them to beat you!"

"Oh really?" Freed asked. "Y'know, I was really looking forward to some good ol' priest hunting tonight, but all I found was a bunch of Devils in costumes." He then licked his sword in a display of sadism.

Saji, Chacha, and Momo felt chills run down their spines while Yumi's eyes hardened at the sight of the bright holy aura the blade was producing.

"That sword. Is that…?" Momo asked.

"A Holy Sword," Yumi confirmed. "It's an Excalibur!"

The Devils ditched their disguises as they prepared for a fight. Momo also took the time to send a text message to the others about their location. Hopefully, they will get here soon.

"Oh my, my. Four of you in one night? I'm overwhelmed by my own popularity!" Freed grinned.

"Don't get too excited. I'm your only opponent," Yumi declared, jumping up to the roof to face Freed. She then charged at him with her sword in hand.

"What's hysterical is that no matter how many brave Devils sling themselves at me, they are no match for this sword!" Freed said as he moved at almost Knight-like speed to dodge, to Yumi's surprise.

She then had to sidestep to face Freed as he came down from the sky with the Excalibur raised high.

"Thank you for playing!" Freed brought his Holy Sword down on Yumi, who blocked with her Demonic Sword. "Some have called the Holy Sword of Heavenly Flashes the 'Excalibur Rapidly,' but I don't. I call it the 'Super Fast Sword!'"

The two sword users then vanished from sight and became fast-moving blurs as they clashed with each other repeatedly.

"I can't believe it! He's keeping up with a Knight like Kiba!" Chacha exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" Izuku's voice called out as he, Koneko, and Tomoe arrived. "What's happening?!"

"Freed's using a Holy Sword that makes him fast enough to keep up with Kiba!" Momo explained.

"Ooh, looks like the gang's all here!" Freed said as he noticed the arrival of the newcomers. "Don't worry! There's plenty left over for you, too!"

"No thanks," Izuku, with his Boosted Gear out, began powering up.

[Boost!]

Izuku kept an eye out for an opening to help Yumi, but there wasn't one. "Damn it. If there was some way I could stop Freed, I'd be able to transfer some power to Yumi!"

"So wait. You just need to slow him down, right?" Saji asked as he summoned Absorption Line. "Okay, Line, go!" Its blue line shot out, wrapping around Freed's ankle and stopping his movement. "What'd you think of my Absorption Line? This Sacred Gear will drain you dry!"

"Damn it! Damn! Damn it!" Freed tried in vain to cut the line. "This must be another one of those dragon sorts! I could really use an ice or fairy right now!"

"Alright, now's my chance!" Izuku revealed his wings and prepared to fly.

[Boost!]

"Yumi!" Izuku took off into the air and called out. The Knight raised her hand to meet Izuku's left hand.

[Transfer!]

With a tag, all the power that Izuku had accumulated went over to Yumi.

"This power that I've been given is a gift. I will use it gratefully!" Yumi declared.

"What?" Freed said.

"Get up!" Yumi demanded.

"Why can't I get this off?!" Freed complained as he continued trying to hack away at the Absorption Line to no avail.

"Sword Birth!" Yumi pierced her sword into the ground, causing hundreds of Demonic Swords to shoot up from the ground, heading towards Freed.

Freed actually had a look of panic on his face as he saw the swords coming at him from all directions. He barely managed to use his Excalibur to destroy the swarm of swords before they turned him into shish kebab.

"Sword Birth, huh?" A new voice said.

"Who's there?" Yumi asked.

An old man wearing priest's clothes came out of the abandoned building. He had gray hair, a mustache, black eyes, and wore glasses. "Oh, Freed. Looks like your use of Holy Swords could still use some brushing up, couldn't it?"

"Look! It's Old Man Valper!" Freed said. Yumi's eyes widened at the mention of that name.

"That must be the guy Xenovia was talking about!" Izuku said.

"He's the mastermind behind the Holy Sword Project," Koneko said.

"VALPER GALILEI!" Yumi shouted in rage.

"Hmph. The one and only," Valper said.

"One and only what, Old Man?! Make yourself useful and get this lizard tongue off me!" Freed demanded.

"You need to pour all your energy into the blade of the sword," Valper instructed.

"Oh, is that all it takes? One energy cocktail coming up!" Freed did as Valper told, making the Excalibur Rapidly glow with a golden Holy aura. He then cut through the Absorption Line with ease, forcing Saji to reel it back.

"This doesn't look good," Tomoe said.

"It's making sense now. If I figure out the perfect way to use the Holy elements, I'll continue to gain power. I like this game," Freed said, turning to Yumi. "I have an idea! Why don't you all just stand there and become prey for my sword?!"

Freed lunged at Yumi, who removed her blade from the ground to defend herself. "You first!" However, his blade was stopped by a certain blue-haired Holy Sword user who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "What the?!"

"Xenovia?" Izuku said.

"Yoohoo!" Irina called out as she also appeared on the scene, discarding her hood.

"Icchan too?!"

"I contacted them as well when I texted you earlier," Momo informed.

Xenovia made her Excalibur Destruction glow with Holy aura as she locked blades with Freed. "You're both traitors! Hear me, Freed Sellzen, and Valper Galilei! I condemn your souls in the name of our God!"

"How dare you say that!" Freed hissed. "Don't you ever croak that disgusting name in my presence again!"

Yumi then leaped over Xenovia with her sword raised, bringing it down on Freed who leaped back to dodge, landing beside Valper.

"You're done," Valper said, to Freed's surprise. "All you had to do was get rid of those vermin from the Church who had snuck in. Easy. But there they are with Holy Swords and you're outnumbered. Time to pull back."

"Aw, so soon?" Freed reached into his coat pocket. "Well, see ya!" He then threw a flashbang, and in a flash, he and Valper disappeared before Yumi and Xenovia could get to them.

"Let's go, Irina!" Xenovia called out to her partner, who ran after her, along with Yumi.

"Hey guys! Wait!" Izuku tried to follow after them, but they disappeared out of sight before he could catch up.

"We lost Kiba," Saji said.

"The Exorcists are gone too," Koneko added.

"What now, Izuku?" Chacha asked.

Izuku was about to say something… only to feel the presence of new arrivals, and three voices.

"Goodness, what have you gotten yourselves into? I'm sure this will be a lively story," Rias said.

"Chacha, what are you doing here?" Latia questioned.

"Whenever you'd like to start explaining, I'm ready," Sona said.

Saji, Tomoe, Izuku, and Chacha all panicked, their arms shooting up as they screamed in fear, while Momo and Koneko managed to keep their fears in check.

The six younger Devils soon found themselves kneeling before their masters.

"So, you went and planned to destroy Excalibur behind my back…" Rias shook her head in disappointment.

"How troublesome…" Sona frowned.

"And I'm guessing Yumi isn't here because she went looking for that Valper, is that correct?" Rias asked.

"Yeah, along with Xenovia and Icchan," Izuku replied. "But I'm pretty sure if something happens, she'll let us know."

"I wonder. Her head is so filled with thoughts of revenge. Plus, I don't know that she could call if she wanted to."

"Right," Izuku agreed in a resigned tone.

"Koneko," Rias continued, looking over at the girl in question. "Why did you ever get involved with all this?"

"Because I didn't want Yumi to go away. Sorry," Koneko admitted meekly.

A downcast look appeared on Rias's face, fully understanding where she was coming from. "Well, there's no use dwelling on it now, is there? I need you to be mindful of your actions. The choices you make will always affect the rest of us. You understand that, right?"

"Yes. We're very sorry," both Izuku and Koneko apologized as they hung their heads.

"I'm sorry, President…" Saji's face became so blue that it was dangerous. He was truly scared.

"We're sorry, too," Tomoe and Momo said, more accepting of their punishment.

"I'm so sorry," Chacha said.

SPANK! SPANK!

"KYAAAAAH!"

"EEYAAAAH!"

The sound of slapping and the pained screams of Momo and Tomoe caused Izuku's head to turn in their direction.

Said two girls were on their hands and knees, getting their butts spanked by Sona and Tsubaki respectively, both their hands glowing blue with a magic circle. Meanwhile, Saji stood beside them with a look of dread in his eyes.

"I think you all need time to reflect upon your actions!" Sona said.

"We're sorry! Please have mercy!"

"It won't happen again! Please forgive us!"

Momo and Tomoe pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears as they each received another spanking.

"Not yet. Not until all of you have had a thousand spankings each," Sona firmly said as she continued spanking Momo.

"Sona's word is final. Accept your punishments," Tsubaki said before spanking Tomoe again.

Saji watched at the scene with fear in his eyes, dreading his turn.

Meanwhile, Latia looked down at her kneeling Queen, who was fearing for what her master had in mind for her.

"On your hands and knees. It'll be 1000 spankings for you as well," Latia sternly ordered.

"Me too?!" Chacha asked in fear.

"It's either this. Or That," Latia said with a dark expression.

"NO! I'll take the spankings! Not THAT, PLEASE!" Chacha begged as she presented her bunny-tailed butt to her master.

"Good. Now prepare yourself." Latia's expression eased as her hand lit up with a green magic circle.

SPANK! SPANK!

"AAAAAAAH!"

Izuku flinched with every spanking that echoed in the building. By the sounds of it, they seemed quite painful.

"Pay attention!" Rias called, pinching his cheek to get his attention while giving him an annoyed glare. "No rubbernecking."

"Yesh'm!" Izuku apologized.

"What is wrong with you kids?" Rias asked as she hugged Izuku and Koneko, pulling them into her bosom. "All you do is make me worry."

"How come they're just getting hugs over there?! It's not fair!" Saji complained.

"That's them, this is us," Sona replied while continuing to spank Momo. "Keep complaining and I'll add extra spankings to your turn."

Saji wisely chose to shut up.

Izuku felt entranced by the warmth and softness of Rias's hug as he felt relief that he was Rias's servant.

Then, Rias pulled away from the hug. "Alright. Izuku, Koneko. I need you two to bend over, please."

"What?" Izuku and Koneko slightly backed away. "But… I thought…"

"That's not how it works, you silly boy," Rias said with a smile, however, it was not the warm, loving kind. "A master is responsible for disciplining her servants."

Izuku's blood went cold as he feared what was coming next.

"Akeno, give me a hand. You'll take care of Koneko's punishment."

"You got it."

"Now then, both of you will also be punished with a thousand spankings."

"What?! A thousand?!"

"That's right! Give me your bottom, Izuku!" Rias ordered as she made a magic circle on her hand.

His eyes wandered over to Koneko, who was already getting spanked by Akeno. Seeing there was no way out of this, Izuku resigned himself to his fate.

SPANK! SPANK!

"GAAAHH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

After all the spankings were done, the group went their separate ways, with Izuku and Rias heading home.

"I can't feel my backside…" Izuku groaned.

"I know you want to be a Hero, but having power doesn't mean you can go after every injustice you find, Izuku," Rias admonished.

"I know, but…" Izuku sulked. "Yumi's still running about looking for Freed and Valper. She's gonna need our help," he insisted.

"Yes, I can't argue with you there," Rias agreed with a sigh. Yumi was Rias's Knight, which also meant she was Rias's responsibility, and there was no way someone with a passion for heroism like Izuku could ignore this.

Right as they arrived at the door, it opened, and greeting them was a sight they never could've predicted.

"Welcome home, you guys!"

Both Pawn and King stared in total shock at what Asia was wearing. She was dressed in a white apron with nothing underneath, being completely naked. "You must be exhausted after working so late. I'll start dinner right away. Any requests?"

"Just a question. Do you realize what you're wearing?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, yeah. Aika suggested it," Asia replied. "She said the best way to help a guy feel better after a tough day is to wear things like this."

'Kiryuu, why…? She's as bad as Mineta!'

"Impressive! It's simple, yet quite effective!" Rias complimented, to Izuku's surprise. "Well done. You are going to become a wickedly sexy Devil one day. I'm proud of you."

"But, um, what if I don't want to be sexy or wicked?"

"Y-Yeah. Then you p-p-probably want t-to go change, r-right?" Izuku suggested, hoping to steer her away from the dark side. "I mean, what's gonna happen if Mom sees you?"

"Oh! I am just living for these outfits!" Inko's voice said as she peeked out from the kitchen, causing Izuku to turn pale. "Welcome home."

"She didn't know how to wear it!" Izuku quickly tried to make up an excuse.

"Of course not! That's why I helped her, Goofy!" Inko said, to her son's bewilderment. A nostalgic, flirty look appeared on Inko's face. "I remember doing this with your father once or twice when we first got together. He had the same look you do now."

"Are you kidding me, Mom?!" A completely mortified Izuku yelled.

"Mother? I'd like to wear one, too! Just like Asia!" Rias declared.

"Wonderful! I've got plenty. Let's find one for you!" Inko said as she waved Rias over.

"If you'll excuse me…" Rias said as she took off her shoes and leaned toward Asia. "Oh, by the way?"

"Yeah?"

"You were very close to outdoing me here. You should be proud of yourself," Rias said before walking off.

"Thank you," Asia said with a blush.

"What just happened? Nothing's making sense today," Izuku sighed.

"Izuku?" Asia said. "So you don't like what I'm wearing, or…"

"What? N-No! I-I mean…! Y-You look great," Izuku stuttered.

"Thank you, Izuku," Asia said. "So you know, I don't regret becoming a Devil. I won't ever forget my faith or love of God, but I realized that making this change has introduced me to something even more precious. Meeting Rias, our club members, other friends from school, your amazing mother and father who have been so kind, and you. That's something I know is real and moves me every day. I want us all to stay here together forever. I don't want to be alone anymore!" She then hugged Izuku, making the boy surprised.

Izuku started to experience a short circuit in his brain. Even though he had been making progress in getting used to all the female attention around him, this sort of thing was a whole new level of difficulty. The fact that the only thing keeping him from making contact with Asia's naked body was just a single piece of clothing, well…

"Izuku?" Rias called as she came out. She was wearing a pink apron with a big red heart on her chest, and like Asia, the apron was the only thing she was wearing. "What do you think?"

"I-I-I-I can't t-think!" Izuku blurted out before he collapsed from a nosebleed.

"It's already pretty late, so let's just make it quick and easy."

"Okay!" Asia nodded.

"It's almost like you've got two wives, isn't it?" Inko asked before heading off to her bedroom.

As the two naked apron girls moved around as they prepared dinner in the kitchen, Izuku instinctively averted his eyes in embarrassment, burying his face in one of his Hero notebooks… which he held upside down.

'Is this really my life now?' He thought to himself.

As he thought this, Rias and Asia accidentally bumped their breasts into each other's, causing them to jiggle. The two let out a small chuckle over this incident.

Later, Izuku, Rias, and Asia had finished their dinner, and mercifully for Izuku, the girls got dressed back into proper clothes.

They were about to head to bed when Hisashi came in, bringing Irina along. She had cuts and bruises on her body and her Exorcist uniform was slightly torn up.

"Icchan!" Izuku cried out when he saw the state of his childhood friend. "Asia!"

"Okay!" Asia came over and started using Twilight Healing to help Irina.

"What happened to you? Where are Yumi and Xenovia?" Izuku asked.

"I don't know. They got away," Irina answered.

"Got away from what?" Rias asked.

*Flashback*

In the wooded area where Yumi and the Exorcists had run into in search of Freed and Valper, there was Irina, who was all alone, and she was engaged in a battle against the mad priest.

However, it was a losing battle for the brunette Exorcist as she was knocked onto the ground.

"Hahahaha! Found you, little girl!" Freed mocked as he appeared before Irina in a blur. "You can run all you want, but it seems you're all alone now! So, who's gonna save you?!"

Irina extended her Excalibur Mimic at Freed, but he easily dodged before dashing in and slashing at Irina, causing her to drop her sword.

"Oh, yes. The Excalibur Mimic. Don't wanna leave without that, do I?" Freed said as he claimed Excalibur Mimic before using Excalibur Rapidly to increase his speed and attack Irina, slashing away parts of her clothes and making cuts on her body.

But before Freed could hurt her too badly, the Homurasaki suddenly came flying toward him, forcing him to stop and get back, lest he get pierced by the blade. "Damn! That thing almost neutered me!"

Then, Hisashi, in full Dragon Veil armor, came in and landed a dropkick on Freed's face, knocking him back.

"Wh-What?" Irina asked in confusion.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Hisashi asked.

"Uncle Hisashi, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Hisashi replied, revealing his face to her, but then he was forced to block a blow from Freed, who had already recovered.

"Who the fuck are you, getting in my way?!" Freed asked. "Wait, hold on. You remind me a lot of the green dragon brat. Ah, maybe I can use you to take out some of my frustrations toward him!"

"Sorry, but that's not happening!" Hisashi then stabbed the Homurasaki into the ground, creating a green wall of flames that separated him and Irina from Freed. And when the flames disappeared, so did Hisashi and Irina.

*End Flashback*

"I couldn't get away. He was too strong. I don't want to think about what would've happened if Uncle Hisashi hadn't saved me," Irina said. "And I even lost my Excalibur to the enemy."

"It's okay. You're safe and that's what's important," Izuku reassured.

"Irina, I think it might be best for you to stay here tonight and rest. You're in no condition to go after Freed, let alone Kokabiel," Hisashi advised.

"If Kokabiel is possibly planning another Great War, then I'm afraid we may have to break our agreement and get involved. Are you okay with that, Irina?" Rias asked.

"Yeah. It's probably for the best," Irina nodded.

The next day came and Izuku sat at his desk, lamenting how no one had heard from Yumi since last night.

Later at the ORC clubroom, he tried asking about it. "Has Yumi contacted you?"

"Nope. Not even one time," Akeno denied. "Even though we sent out familiars to search around town for us, we still got nothing."

"What should we do?" Asia asked.

"Let's meet up later tonight. We'll come up with a plan and head out to search," Rias suggested.

Later that evening, out on the street in front of the Midoriya apartment, Rias started to set up a plan to start their search for Yumi, the ORC all gathered, Irina, who had completely recovered, insisted on coming along, as she didn't want to just sit out and not help. With that, all of them prepared to head out.

"You guys didn't have to come," Izuku said, turning to Eijiro, Mina, and Itsuka.

"Hey, we're part of the club, too! Of course, we'd help!" Itsuka said.

"We appreciate it," Rias smiled. "Now then, we should…"

Just then, there was a hostile presence in the air, causing everyone to tense up.

"Well, well. Would you lookie what we have here? If it isn't my favorite gang of shitty scum Devils?" Freed said as he revealed himself from out of a corner, his default sadistic smile present. "Greetings, all of you."

"Freed!" Izuku growled.

Freed noticed a certain blonde among the group and smirked. "Asia Argento, the traitor nun who gave her soul to the Devils." This caused Asia to back away in fear. "How much do you love your new life as Devil scum?"

Then, he noticed Irina was with them as well. "Ah, you even have the weakass little Church bitch with you. Shame, I was really looking forward to some fun last night!"

Irina glared at Freed for her defeat the previous night.

"Shut up! You lay one finger on either of them and I'll do it!" Izuku said, his Boosted Gear ready.

He wasn't the only one as Rias, Ravel, and Akeno all readied a magic circle each, aimed at Freed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't blaze the messenger, alright?" Freed said as he held out a hand, signaling them to hold fire. "Someone wants to talk to you, Red."

"Which someone?" Rias inquired.

Freed chuckled and looked up at the sky. "My boss!"

Up in the air was a dark figure of a man in a black suit, long black hair with side bangs, piercing red eyes, and ten black wings on his back.

"Fallen Angel," Koneko noted.

"And he has ten wings. He's of the leader class," Akeno added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, daughter of the House of Gremory," the Fallen Angel sneered with faux politeness. "I am Kokabiel."

"The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure, and please call me Rias. So you're Kokabiel of the Grigori? It's nice to put a face with the name," Rias said, putting up a brave front. The dark Holy aura that Kokabiel exuded made all the Devils get chills, and even Irina, Itsuka, Eijiro, and Mina, who were humans, felt his raw power from merely being in his presence.

"Your crimson hair is quite breathtaking. Just as lovely as the scarlet-haired Devil King. Even the facial expressions are similar. That is absolutely nauseating," Kokabiel said. "And it's formerly of the Grigori."

"Is there something you'd like to discuss with me, or are you just here to review my appearance? Not that I'm rushing you. It's nice to see the mastermind so close-up."

"I'm thinking I'd like to do a little damage while I'm here, starting with that institution for humanity's 'Heroes' before moving on to the rest of the city," Kokabiel revealed.

"Why would you want to harm our school?" Rias asked.

"I figure if I do, Sirzechs will have to emerge to help out his sister. What do you think?"

"If you choose to do that, then you will be starting the war between God, the Fallen Angels, and the Devils all over again," Rias warned.

"Hahaha! Better than what I got after stealing the Excaliburs, I thought for certain Michael would come after me, but all I got were some amateur Exorcists and two pathetic Holy Sword users," Kokabiel laughed. "Honestly. It was disappointing."

"So wait, that was your goal?" Akeno asked.

"You actually want to start a war?" Rias asked in disbelief and with hatred directed towards the warmongering Fallen Angel hovering above them.

"Yes. Yes!" Kokabiel confirmed. "After the first three-way war ended, I was so bored! There was nothing to do! Azazel and Shemhazai weren't so keen on another war. Not only that, Azazel is busy being distracted, spending time collecting Sacred Gears and unique Quirks. He always gets completely immersed in his collections. However, Fallen Angels, God, Devils– we are just barely in a state of equilibrium." Kokabiel snapped his fingers. "Which means I can start the war at any time with my own two hands!"

"You're a complete war maniac!" Rias said.

"Obviously!" Kokabiel confirmed. "Why do you think I'm using Devils this time? I've got you, Rias Gremory– Lucifer's little sister. Then I also have Sona Sitri– Leviathan's sister. I even have Latia Astaroth– Beelzebub's niece. I have no doubt there's an abundance of power hanging over the school the three of you attend. Not to mention, that's where the humans' Symbol of Peace teaches. I think it'll make the perfect war zone. I know I will enjoy it immensely."

"He's insane!" Ravel said.

"Hahahaha!" Freed let out a maniacal laugh with his tongue hanging out. "Don't you just love it when he lets his psychotic side shine? I'm starting to get excited about war, too! And look! I even have toys to bring to the party!" He opened his robe to reveal four swords, all radiating Holy power.

"All the swords he has, are they all Excaliburs?" Izuku asked.

"That's what it looks like," Akeno said.

Out of the four Excaliburs, one of them was especially familiar.

"Excalibur Mimic! Give that back!" Irina demanded.

"Sorry, finders keepers, losers weepers!" Freed taunted. "Besides, I don't see your name on it, so, boo hoo!"

"Why you…" Irina growled.

"Anywho, you've already seen Excalibur Mimic and Rapidly. This one is Excalibur Nightmare, then there's Excalibur Transparency," Freed pointed at each of the swords. "The fun part is that every one of them is in hyper state and ready to be used. With these Excaliburs and the Holy factor I got from Old Man Valper, I'm feelin' mighty invincible!"

"What do you say, dear little sister of the Devil King? Nice day for a war, isn't it?" Kokabiel said. "As a matter of fact, I think now's the perfect time for a new War, and do you wanna know why?!"

Rias gritted her teeth but chose to play along. "And why is that?"

"Because compared to the previous war long ago, there's a good chance that it won't be just a three-way between Fallen Angels, Angels, and Devils! I can think of at least one or two new factions who might join!"

"What?"

"I'll give you a hint, it has something to do with humans, especially in recent times," Kokabiel said.

Izuku quickly picked up on what Kokabiel was implying. "Don't tell me, you want to get Heroes and Villains involved in this war as well?!" The others all blanched in shock, and the cruel cackling from above pretty much confirmed it.

"Haha! Well done, Red Dragon, bravo! Yes, that's exactly what I want! Imagine, opportunistic Villains who would take advantage of the war for robbery, murder, destruction, all sorts of chaos! And the Heroes who will try to keep the innocent populace safe, even if it means annihilating us non-humans to do so! I'm already getting goosebumps just picturing the kind of bloodbath this new Great War will bring!"

"I'll never let that happen!" Izuku vowed.

"Hehehe. If you want to stop me so badly, then meet me at your school! I look forward to it!" Kokabiel smirked as he finished and disappeared in a snow of black feathers before Rias could have said anything.

"Don't keep us waiting, bitches!" Freed also disappeared after throwing off his flash-bang.

"Hey, didn't they say they were gonna start at U.A.? What's exactly up next anyway?" Mina asked.

"If he wanted to, it would be easy for a Fallen Angel of his class to wipe Musutafu off the face of the map," Rias answered.

Hearing this, Izuku imagined the whole city being annihilated, along with all the innocent civilians, his friends from U.A., and his family. No way he would stand by and let that happen!

"Not if we can help it!" Eijiro slammed his fist into his palm.

"It's time. We need to make our way to U.A. before Kokabiel can destroy it," Rias said, turning to leave.

"Right!" Everyone responded as they followed after Rias.

Over at U.A., Valper was in the center of the sports field, standing in the center of an ominous golden magic circle with the four stolen Excaliburs surrounding him. "This'll be fun. I can't wait."

Then, a golden light shot into the sky from the center of the magic circle. This was noticed by Xenovia and Yumi from their respective locations as they turned to stare at the beam of light coming from U.A.

"Today is the day all my dreams finally come true," Valper said with an evil grin. Freed stood by his side with his own sadistic smirk, looking just as eager for what was to come.

As the ORC headed for U.A., Izuku had contacted his father to let him know of the situation, who informed him that he would be there ASAP. Irina split off from the group to go retrieve a second Holy Sword she had brought, stating that she would meet up again at U.A. Rias also contacted Sona, Latia, and their peerages, informing them of the current events.

When they all arrived at U.A., it was decided that Rias's group would face Kokabiel while Sona and Latia's peerages stayed back and erected a barrier to ensure that the damages would not spread beyond school grounds. And with two Devil peerages to maintain the barrier, they had a better chance of preventing things from getting out of hand.

"I made a quick stop to the security room. All the camera drones are set to recharge, and the surveillance footage is set on a loop. I'll set it all back to normal after this is done. And it seems the campus is empty for the most part," Sona said.

"Have you heard from Kiba at all?" Tsubaki asked.

"No, we haven't seen her at all. But I know she'll be here," Rias said.

"I just contacted my uncle. Unfortunately, it may take him too long to get here," Latia said. "Rias, Sona, you two should call your siblings as well."

"You know that my family situation is… complicated," Sona muttered.

"Sirzechs loves you. You know he would want to assist us. There's no doubt that he'd come here as soon as you call him. So call him."

"There's no reason…" Akeno said. "I've already contacted Sirzechs."

"How could you do that without asking me first?!" Rias scolded her Queen with annoyance.

"Look, Rias. I understand you don't want to bother your brother unless we absolutely must. Our enemy is a leader-class Fallen Angel. He's not someone you can take on your own," Akeno argued.

"She's right, Rias," Hisashi added. "Besides, if Akeno hadn't done so, I would've. Not to mention, I even called for help from some of my Keeper colleagues."

"Fine. I guess I've lost this one," Rias relented with a smile.

"Thank you for your consideration, President," Akeno said. "Sirzechs is on his way. I believe that his forces should arrive in just about an hour."

"That's about the same time my reinforcements will arrive," Hisashi noted.

"Still, we can't ignore offense too much in favor of defense," Latia said. "While we need the barrier in case things go south, we also need to make sure the offense team lasts until reinforcement arrives."

"That's a good point," Sona admitted. "With two peerages keeping the barrier up, we have plenty of numbers, so I suppose we can spare one or two members from our peerages to go with Rias."

"President!/Lady Latia!" The two Pure-blooded Devils in question turned to their servants, Momo, Tomoe, and Chacha.

"In that case, please let us go," Chacha said.

"We couldn't catch Freed and Valper back then," Tomoe said.

"So please let us make up for that blunder now," Momo pleaded.

After a moment, Latia was the first to speak. "I say we should. They want to make up for their mistakes and who are we to deny their wishes? Besides, they're training to become Heroes, and Kokabiel IS, by every definition, a Villain. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose it would be a good way for them to redeem themselves," Sona gave a small smile. "Alright, you three have your roles. Don't let us down."

The three Hero students smiled and bowed. "Thank you."

"Everyone, it's time. Let's go," Rias said.

"Right!"

As Rias and the others entered the school grounds, Sona and Latia's groups formed a large, blue and purple, crystalline dome around the school.

Done. The battle against Kokabiel is about to get underway. How will the ORC and their allies fare?

Hisashi managed to save Irina from Freed, so now, she's joining the fight, too. Let's hope she can make it there quickly, along with Xenovia and Yumi.

See you next time. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!