Her brow furrowed slightly.
These guys... what exactly are they after?
They even managed to snatch away her holy sword!
"Damn it!" Irina gritted her teeth. "If I wasn't starving right now"
"Ahahaha!"
"The power of four Excalibur fragments combined... what a beautiful thing!"
A silver-haired young priest strolled through the broken doorway, an insane grin plastered across his face. The holy sword in his hand was wrapped in blue flames.
Even just the aura coming off him made the devils in the room feel suffocated.
Well... except for one person.
Lynn.
Rias, sitting on the sofa, only froze for a second before regaining her calm.
"Akeno, Koneko!"
"Yes, President!"
Akeno and Koneko immediately stood up, eyes sharp, slipping into battle stances.
"Ho~?"
Freed Sellzen's crazy smile widened as he tightened his grip on the Excalibur fusion sword.
"How lucky~ Hmmm... five devils?"
Freed paused, needing a moment to count with his tiny brain before confirming it really was five devils.
Xenovia didn't bother listening to his nonsense. She swung her holy sword straight at him!
Buzz
Freed grinned like a lunatic, disappearing in a flash and reappearing behind her.
"Watch out!"
Irina's eyes went wide as she cried out.
Xenovia's pupils shrank sharply. It was the holy sword with teleportation abilityExcalibur Rapidly.
"Lightning Strike!"
A cool, clear voice rang out.
CRACK!
Golden lightning suddenly crashed down, forcing Freed to halt his sword mid-swing.
"Whoa there, dangerous, dangerous~!"
Freed quickly retreated, glancing at Akeno. "Ahh, as expected of a High-class devil, huh? This lightning's got some real bite."
Xenovia retreated to Irina's side, warning her seriously, "Be careful. That sword in his hands is a fusion of four Excalibur fragments."
After thinking for a second, Xenovia suddenly turned to Rias.
"Miss Gremory... I know we're technically enemies, but... could I ask for your help destroying that sword?"
"Huh?"
Irina was completely stunned. "You want to cooperate with them?"
"No."
Xenovia shook her head. "I'm asking for help."
"EHHHH?!"
Irina's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Us... asking devils for help?! We're church agents!!"
But Xenovia's expression darkened.
The power of the fused Excalibur was way beyond what they could handleeven with Durandal on her side.
Besides, with Irina having lost her holy sword, she was pretty much out of commission.
And worst of all...
That infamous Fallen Angel hadn't even shown up yet.
Xenovia gripped her sword tighter.
Her eyes gleamed. "There's no avoiding this anymore. They forced us here on purpose."
Freed clapped mockingly. "Wow~ Smart girl! I'm jealous, really!"
If it were him, he never would've figured that out.
Damn it!
Even after getting the power of four Excalibur fragments, why didn't he feel any smarter?
Hearing Xenovia's words, Rias slowly stood from the sofa, her gaze ice-cold as she stared at the crazed priest.
"I'll be taking this matter up with both the Church and the Fallen Angels later."
She crossed her arms, magical power surging from her body.
"Tch."
She glanced at Kuroka. That weird dark purple mist's influence hadn't completely worn off yet.
Rias raised her hand, firing a destructive magic blast straight at Freed!
Freed just grinned wildly, swinging down his holy sword without even dodging.
SLAASH
The magic was effortlessly cut apart like tofu!
Rias blinked, utterly shocked. "No way?!"
"That sword really isn't devil-friendly," Xenovia reminded her. "Just to be safe, everyone should support me. I'll take the lead in this fight!"
As her words fell, she raised her hand.
With a clang, a massive blue greatsword wrapped in chains appeared out of thin air.
The moment she gripped the handle, the chains shattered with a loud crack!
"Oh?"
"Durandal, huh?"
Suddenly, a cold, indifferent voice echoed from above.
BOOM!
An explosive shockwave blasted across Kuoh Academy!
The Occult Research Club's roof was completely blown off!
Rias froze in place.
Not far away, a gigantic spear of light stood upright, embedded deep into the ruined ground.
Looking up, Rias saw him.
Five pairs of black wings.
A man in an elegant robe floated in the sky, arms crossed, blood-red eyes looking down with chilling indifference.
An overwhelming pressure swept across the entire Kuoh Academy.
"Ugh..."
The sheer force weighed heavily on Rias and the others, their bodies sinking from the pressure.
"This is our first meeting, isn't it, Princess of the Gremory family?"
"Such beautiful red hair," the man sneered, his face twisting in disgust. "It reminds me of your damned brother. Makes me sick just thinking about him."
This presence... this was the first time Rias had faced someone of such legendary status.
"Kokabiel..."
Rias's voice trembled as her hand shook uncontrollably.
As expected from a Cadre of the Fallen Angels... terrifying.
But even so
"What do you want? What's your goal?!"
Kokabiel's crimson eyes locked onto her, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "If you were to die here... Sirzechs would definitely seek revenge, wouldn't he?"
Rias's eyes widened in shock. "Are you trying to start a war between Devils and Fallen Angels?!"
"No, no, no..." Kokabiel shook his head, his grin widening to reveal sharp fangs. "Not just Devils and Fallen Angels. I'm talking about a war between Devils, Fallen Angels, and Heaven itself!"
"You're insane!" Rias shouted angrily.
"Hah, says you! The last war between Heaven and the Fallen Angels... we were so close to winning!" Kokabiel sneered. "But that fool Azazel got obsessed with Sacred Gear research instead! So now, I'm going to start another war myself!"
Rias didn't hesitate for a second. Her power of destruction exploded out without any reservation.
A gigantic purple magic circle appeared in front of her.
BOOM!!
The next momentAn all-out strike from a High-class devil was unleashed!
Akeno didn't hesitate either. She knew Rias alone wasn't enough.
ZAP!
Golden lightning shot down from the sky, aiming straight at Kokabiel.
"I'm with you!" Xenovia stepped forward, wielding Durandal.
In the blink of an eye
A blast of holy light energy shot toward Kokabiel!
Three overwhelming attacks came crashing down, but Kokabiel merely scoffed. A massive magic circle rose up before him.
BOOM!!
The three powerful attacks slammed into the magic circle
Yet Kokabiel simply waved his hand, easily dispersing them.
Rias's face darkened.
As expected...
This kind of opponent was completely out of their league!
Akeno and Xenovia panted heavily.
Clearly, they'd used up all their power just now.
Xenovia couldn't help but question in her heart
Could she and Irina really take back the Excalibur swords from someone like this?
Wasn't that... too naive?
Despair crept in.
Kokabiel looked down at them. "Gremory... your Power of Destruction is nothing compared to your brother's."
Rias bit her lip hard, glaring at him.
But Kokabiel paid her no mind. His gaze shifted to Xenovia. "Durandal... it's a fine sword. But in the end, it all depends on the wielder."
Then he turned to Akeno. "Ho? The daughter of Baraqiel, fallen to becoming a reincarnated devil, huh..."
Hearing that name, Akeno clenched her fists tightly.
Having said his piece, Kokabiel lost interest. "Freed, I'll leave the rest to you. These guys aren't worth my time."
"Heheh, sure thing, Boss!" Freed licked his lips, his face twisted in madness. "Ahh, Devils and church people fighting side by side against me and my Excalibur... this is freakin' beautiful!"
Freed's eyes gleamed as he charged at Rias, swinging the Excalibur with a crazed laugh.
Rias's pupils shrank. She wanted to cast another spell, but her body wouldn't move.
Damn it!
All her magic power had been drained from her earlier attack.
In that moment, an image of Lynn flashed through her mind.
A sense of helplessness rose within her.
Damn it!
She's the heir to the Gremory family!
Was she really going to fall here?
She hadn't even broken off her engagement yet...
She hadn't even told the one she loved that
Right then, a voice sounded out.
"Kuroka."
"Nyaa~"
In the next instant
Kuroka appeared in front of Rias, her golden eyes radiating danger.
Facing the incoming Excalibur swing, she didn't even flinch.
WHOOM
A purple barrier formed instantly. The Excalibur struck it, producing a sharp sound.
Freed's eyes widened in disbelief.
What the hell?
Something his Excalibur couldn't cut through?
This was the fusion of four Holy Swords!
But before he could react further
A wave of gray flames, formed from a mix of Senjutsu energy and Yokai power, surged toward him!
Freed's pupils shrank in terror. He tried to activate the Excalibur's ability
ButHe couldn't move!
Rias stared at Kuroka's back, stunned. "Kuroka..."
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!"
"M-My soul!!"
"My soul is burning!! AAAAAHHHH!!"
Freed let out a blood-curdling scream!
CLANG!
The Excalibur dropped to the ground.
In the next second
Freed was completely incinerated!
Body and soul, burned to nothingness!
Everyone was left speechless at the sudden turn of events.
And then
Lynn's voice rang out.
"So, Rias... what do you think of my offer now?"
.
.
.
Neither Great Enough Nor Bright Enough
Xenovia and Irina looked at Lynn sitting there all calm and relaxed, completely dumbfounded.
Seriously? Did this guy even understand what kind of situation they were in right now?
Rias also froze for a moment.
Was he talking about his earlier suggestion?
Instinctively, she glanced at Koneko.
Was he talking about handling what's coming next... as in dealing with Kokabiel?
She had thought Lynn was talking about that crazy priest from before.
But hearing his words reminded her of something important.
Sure, Kokabiel was strong... but they had Kuroka on their side!
Even if Kuroka wasn't a match for Kokabiel, she could at least buy them some time, right?
As long as Sona realized something was wrong, she'd definitely contact the Devil Kings!
And besides... Lynn was strong enough to tame someone as dangerous as Kuroka. He had to be stronger than anyone present here.
With both Lynn and Kuroka buying time, holding off Kokabiel until reinforcements arrived shouldn't be impossible!
"Hmph."
Suddenly, Kokabiel's voice interrupted Rias' thoughts.
"Pathetic." His gaze then shifted to Freed and his tone turned ice-cold.
Clearly, he was calling Freed useless.
Then Kokabiel raised his eyes, finally taking a good look at Kuroka, a trace of surprise flashing through his heart.
"Well, well... never thought a junk town like Kuoh would actually have an Ultimate-class Devil lurking around."
He clicked his tongue in amusement... but still...
An Ultimate-class Devil? That wasn't enough to impress him.
Kokabiel narrowed his eyes, locking onto Lynn, who was still sitting lazily on the couch, acting like he didn't care about anything happening around him.
Hah...
Relaxing like that in front of him?
"Should I say... ignorance is bliss?"
His voice turned cold.
"To sit there drinking tea in front of me... you've got guts, kid."
Every other Devil would be trembling in fear before him. And yet this guy was just... sitting there sipping tea?
The more Kokabiel thought about it, the more pissed off he got.
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted from him like a Demon King descending upon the world!
Winds howled violently!
The already-damaged Occult Research Club building finally collapsed completely!
Rias's heart skipped a beat. Just that aura alone...!
She gritted her teeth, trying desperately to resist the pressure.
But with her magic already nearly depleted, she barely lasted a few seconds before being blasted away!
Xenovia stabbed Durandal into the ground, bracing herself against the surge.
Irina clung tightly to Xenovia to avoid getting blown away like Rias.
Akeno and Koneko staggered backward, almost unable to hold their ground.
Just then, Kuroka appeared in front of them, shielding them from the brunt of the pressure.
"Sis!"
Koneko let out a breath of relief seeing Kuroka but quickly panicked again. "President Rias?!"
Kuroka clicked her tongue. "Relax, you don't need to worry about that person."
"Huh?"
Koneko blinked in confusion.
Akeno subtly nudged her.
Following Akeno's gaze, Koneko turned her head...
And froze.
There was Rias, sitting on Lynn's lap, blushing furiously with her arms wrapped around his neck.
Koneko: "? ? ? ?"
Leaning back on the couch, Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Rias, you couldn't bear to see Koneko leave, so you decided to offer yourself instead?"
He stroked his chin. "Not bad, actually."
"Of course not!!" Rias shouted, her face burning.
She just accidentally got swept over here by the blast!
But...Her body felt really hot...
No, no, no! Now wasn't the time to think about stuff like that!
She quickly scrambled off Lynn's lap...
Then froze.
"That pressure... it's gone?"
Did Kokabiel stop?
Rias looked up in confusion, only to see Xenovia and Irina still struggling desperately against the pressure.
"Huh?"
What was going on?
Then she noticed it.
The entire Occult Research Club had been obliterated by Kokabiel's aura.
Except...Everything around Lynn remained perfectly untouched.
Even the cup of tea sitting on the table in front of him hadn't so much as rippled.
Thump.. thump
Rias's heart began pounding wildly.
W-What the hell was this?
An insane thought suddenly popped into her mind.
Could it be... Lynn was way stronger than she had imagined?
But... was that possible?
Could it really be true?
After all...
When she first met him, Lynn was just a Mid-class Devil!
"Ha?"
Kokabiel narrowed his eyes, carefully studying Lynn now that he had noticed the anomaly.
"Still got time to flirt and ignore me, huh? You've got guts, kid."
Kokabiel's blood-red eyes burned with killing intent.
He raised his hand, instantly forming a spear of light.
As his magic poured into it, the terrifying power within grew stronger and stronger, making every Devil present feel a chill run down their spine!
