Chapter 475: One Strike
The shattering of the barrier drew the attention of everyone present, including Loki, who had been pursuing Rias.
But before he could rejoice, a crimson figure flashed past, and in the next instant, the Mjölnir he so deeply feared appeared in the newcomer's hand.
"Red Dragon Emperor?!"
Loki finally got a clear look at the newcomer. He had long heard of the legends surrounding this generation's Red Dragon Emperor.
Awakening his Sacred Gear less than two years ago, he had already become a god-class powerhouse through the abilities of his Sacred Gear and his own unique talent.
But now, it seemed the rumors didn't tell the whole story.
This was no mere newly ascended god-class powerhouse. With such overwhelming presence, Loki would believe him to be a top-tier deity.
"Hello there."
Haruto gripped the heavy Mjölnir and raised it high. "And goodbye."
The Mjölnir was indeed incredibly heavy. Even with his Quasi-Dragon God Class strength and the boost from his Balance Breaker, he could still feel its weight.
But it was only heavy—when actually wielded, it moved as naturally as his own arm. Loki had no time to react before the seemingly effortless hammer of judgment struck him.
The Mjölnir's effect differed from Haruto's expectations. Instead of being sent flying or smashed into the ground upon impact, Loki was instantly enveloped and restrained by layer upon layer of lightning magic circles the moment the hammer touched him.
The powerful evil god now resembled a fly trapped in a spider's web—no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free in the slightest.
He could only watch helplessly as the powerful rule-based force suppressed, eroded, and ultimately annihilated him.
"Damn you! How dare you...!"
Loki was filled with shock and fury, but no matter how unwilling he was, he could only completely dissipate from the world in the end.
As Loki perished, the eerie crimson-dark sky gradually returned to normal.
But outside the barrier, the various faction leaders watched Haruto holding Mjölnir with utter astonishment.
They knew this generation's Red Dragon Emperor was extraordinary—stronger than the White Dragon Emperor who possessed the bloodline of the original Lucifer—but this was simply too powerful.
After all, facing the Red Dragon Emperor armed with Mjölnir, Loki hadn't been careless in the slightest—he had been fully vigilant.
Yet even so, against Haruto, he hadn't been able to put up any resistance whatsoever.
While much of his instant suppression could be attributed to Mjölnir's rule-based power, even in a direct confrontation, Loki would have stood almost no chance of fighting back.
Like Shalba Beelzebub, most leaders didn't think highly of Loki, but he was still a deity long-established in reputation, with power and realm approaching the peak of godhood—one step away from Quasi-Dragon God Class.
Even Odin, as a chief god, wouldn't dare claim he could handle Loki so effortlessly.
Compared to the shock of Odin and the others, Haruto himself felt rather indifferent.
Loki wasn't naturally skilled in combat to begin with, his most powerful familiar Fenrir had been taken by Vali, and Haruto wielded Mjölnir which perfectly countered him.
If he couldn't achieve victory in one strike under these circumstances, Haruto would seriously consider seeking out powerful deities of similar level for proper combat training.
Though Loki had fallen, the two Fenrir offspring and the dragon king replicas remained.
Having rarely obtained a legendary Sacred Gear like Mjölnir, Haruto took the opportunity to enjoy himself thoroughly with it.
Though he had no prior experience with hammer-type weapons, his innate mastery of weaponry allowed him to quickly wield it with considerable skill.
While experimenting with Mjölnir, Haruto also gained some new insights.
The Weapon Master talent had been dormant for quite some time; conventional weapons like blades, spears, and staves no longer offered any progress.
To advance further, it would be best to acquire talents for rare and unconventional weapons such as hammers, whips, claws, and the like.
BAM!!!
"Wait...!"Just as Haruto backhandedly smashed the Dragon King's replica's head and was about to swing his hammer at two snarling offspring of Fenrir, Rossweisse's startled cry reached his ears."
Whoosh—
The gust of wind stirred by the massive hammer halted right in front of the Fenrir offspring's heads, a mere centimeter away from their furry wolf skulls.
Despite its exaggerated, giant long-handled design—a hammer that even Satan-Class powerhouses like Rias and her peers couldn't even lift—it obeyed Haruto's command as effortlessly as a well-worn toy.
"Whimper..."
A low growl escaped one of the Fenrir offspring as it belatedly realized the danger. Baring fangs no more, it cautiously retreated several steps, putting some distance between itself and that terrifying... no, monster-terrifying hammer.
The other one hadn't fared much better. Mjölnir had swept right over its head; had Haruto not adjusted his angle in time, its skull—and perhaps its sibling's, maybe even a sister's—would have been shattered first.
"Rossweisse, is something wrong?"
Haruto turned to the silver-haired, green-eyed Valkyrie with her impeccable figure.
Though this was their first meeting, Haruto had a vivid impression of Rossweisse.
She was a heroine introduced after the DxD storyline unfolded. In the original timeline, following the Loki incident, she would stay behind, eventually becoming a demon herself and even taking up a homeroom teacher position at Kuoh Academy.
Hailing from a rural Valkyrie family in the Norse realms, her grandmother Göndul was a renowned mage among the Valkyries, and both her parents served as divine warriors.
However, as the eldest daughter, she couldn't master the family's inherited Seiðr necromancy rites but instead excelled in combat-oriented attack magic used by Valkyries.
This led to the family inheritance passing to a distant relative.
Consequently, she buried herself in studies and magical research from a young age, becoming a Valkyrie through her atypical offensive magic, with no time to pursue romance with heroic spirits like other Valkyries did.
She once attempted to research the Beast 666 from the Apocalypse, starting from the heterodox "616" theory, but abandoned the study without reaching a conclusion.
Amid downsizing Valkyrie ranks due to changing times, she worked hard to become the bodyguard of Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, serving as his protector.
Often speaking out to correct Odin's unbecoming behavior, she earned his teasing remarks about being rigid and unlikely to find a man. She resignedly labeled herself as "the incompetent one," "the virgin," and "the Valkyrie whose years without a boyfriend equal her age."
Later, after staying in the human world, she even earned the nickname "Hundred-Yen Store Valkyrie."
Her character design strongly appealed to Haruto, coupled with her teacher attribute and starkly contrasting personality, making Rossweisse particularly memorable to him.
Gulp—
Under Haruto's intense gaze, Rossweisse nervously swallowed.
A Valkyrie who had been single for years couldn't decipher the meaning in Haruto's eyes, mistakenly thinking that her interruption had displeased the mighty Red Dragon Emperor.
Haruto then realized his abruptness. No matter how interested he was in Rossweisse, he ought to be more reserved during their first meeting.
He took such an interest in Rossweisse not only because he was intrigued by her personally, but also because he wanted to study the Valkyrie bloodline along the way.
He had never forgotten his idea of transforming the many beautiful girls around him into Valkyries. However, Valkyries seemed to be unique to the Norse mythological system, and he wasn't sure if they could be replicated.
"Ahem... Rossweisse, what did you want me to wait for?"
"Ah, well..."
Though she couldn't see Haruto's expression through the red armor, his noticeably softened tone put her somewhat at ease.
After a brief pause, she quickly said, "Lord Red Dragon Emperor, could you please spare the two Fenrir cubs? We will discipline them properly from now on."
As if worried that Haruto might get angry, she added, "With the original Fenrir taken away and Lord Loki fallen, it might take a long time, but these two Fenrir cubs might be able to grow into true Fenrirs."
Haruto nodded in understanding. Fenrir held a significant position in the Norse mythological system, its name even more widespread than some deities.
As the two spoke, the two wolf cubs wisely lay flat on the ground, not daring to attack or even move.
Having lost both their mother and master in quick succession, and nearly beaten to death by the red-clad figure with Mjölnir, their instincts told them this was the best course of action.
Glancing at the two Fenrir cubs behaving more obediently than puppies—almost wagging their tails and panting—Haruto lost any desire to kill them.
"Alright, I'll leave these two little ones to you. I'm going to check on how the President and Chairman are doing."
Before leaving, Haruto took Mjölnir with him and casually remarked, "If these two cubs misbehave, just call for me."
Legendary magical beasts were highly intelligent. Though they couldn't speak, understanding human conversation was effortless for them.
Upon hearing Haruto's words, the two Fenrir cubs visibly shuddered, then meekly whined at Rossweisse in a placating manner.
Rossweisse, well-versed in numerous Norse magic spells, quickly renewed the contract with the two magical beasts, sending them back to another dimension with their active cooperation.
Sona was severely injured, but Rias had acted decisively. The moment Haruto shattered the barrier and subdued Loki with a single strike, she had already taken Sona away from the battlefield.
Now that everything had settled, Rias had handed the critically injured Sona over to Serafall.
When Haruto arrived, he happened to see Serafall hurriedly taking Sona away.
Phoenix Tears were difficult to collect again so soon, but with a top-tier Bishop providing healing, Sona would recover quickly.
Though it might have been uncertain if they had been any later.
Just as Haruto returned carrying Mjölnir, Sairaorg, who had originally come as reinforcements, arrived.
Seeing Haruto's imposing aura, the next heir of the Bael family and the top young devil seemed eager for a challenge.
Haruto glanced at him but said nothing, simply deactivating his Balance Breaker and casually tossing Mjölnir over.
Sairaorg was taken aback, instinctively reaching out with his right hand to catch it...
Thud—
The top young devil staggered, barely managing to react in time and grabbing the hammer's handle with both hands to avoid being thrown off balance.
Though he didn't stumble, the heavy Mjolnir wasn't successfully lifted either. Instead, its head slammed downward into the ground with a dull thud.
Not bad. He's slightly stronger than Rias is now. At full power, he can indeed wield Mjolnir.
Haruto silently evaluated this before shifting his attention away.
After this incident, Sairaorg lost any desire to challenge Haruto.
His greatest pride was his physical strength—the specialty of the Bael family.
While Haruto had tossed Mjolnir with effortless ease, Sairaorg had to exert his full strength just to hold it. Anyone with basic intelligence could see the vast gap between them.
Even without his Balance Breaker amplification, Haruto could still wield Mjolnir. His Quasi-Dragon God Class strength, combined with physical prowess that ranked among the top in his tier, was more than sufficient.
It just wouldn't be as effortless as when using his Balance Breaker, since Mjolnir wasn't his Sacred Gear.
"Lord Odin, Loki is an important deity in your pantheon. Will this be acceptable?"
As Sairaorg returned Mjolnir to Odin, Sirzechs seized the moment to ask.
Originally, their plan had been merely to suppress Loki. Though being suppressed by Mjolnir made reappearance nearly impossible, there had still remained a slim chance.
No one expected Haruto's power to reach such heights—with just one strike, and on his first attempt using Mjolnir, he had directly obliterated Loki.
While Sirzechs, Michael, and others were pleased with this outcome, they still needed to consider the feelings of Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, for the sake of establishing the peace treaty.
Age brings wisdom, especially for veteran gods of Odin's caliber.
His composure and calmness far exceeded what Sirzechs and the others had anticipated. Even Haruto was surprised by how well the one-eyed old god took it.
"Hmm... The times have reached a point where change is inevitable."
Odin's words brought finality to the incident.
Beyond sacrificing his mythical beasts and his life, Loki's schemes had caused no substantial impact on the major factions. The alliance was successfully formed as planned.
If anything, his actions had revealed a glimpse of Haruto's true power.
Though only two short years had passed, no one dared underestimate this generation's Red Dragon Emperor anymore.
Fortunately, Haruto had only made one thunderous strike. Combined with the influence of both the Boosted Gear and Mjolnir, while everyone was shocked by his strength, only Sirzechs knew he had reached Quasi-Dragon God Class—not far from the Dragon God Class, the pinnacle of combat power in the Three Realms.
The residual energy from Quasi-Dragon God Class battles could already destroy the world. If Dragon God Class beings fought, even through layered dimensional barriers, the Three Realms would be affected.
Thus, Dragon God Class represented the true apex of power in the Three Realms.
This was precisely why the Khaos Brigade could oppose numerous factions and remain undefeated—they enjoyed the protection of the Infinite Dragon God, Ophis.
Above Dragon God Class was Super Dragon God Class, and beyond that, Evil God Class.
These corresponded to Quasi-Saint and Saint realms, where combat within the Three Realms became fundamentally impossible.
Even the mighty Primordial World shattered during battles between Saints. The Three Realms of the DxD world simply couldn't withstand conflicts involving Super Dragon God Class entities.
Even across the vast cosmos and dimensional spaces, battles at Super Dragon God Class and Evil God Class levels could destabilize the Three Realms.
It is precisely for this reason that world-level conflicts are almost entirely concentrated in the Eternal Battlefield.
Rather than belonging to the DxD world, the Eternal Battlefield is more like a convergence point of multiple realms.
Thanks to the reinforcement of numerous worlds, the Eternal Battlefield's durability far exceeds imagination, barely capable of withstanding battles between Saints.
Of course, living and fighting are two different matters. As long as they control their power, Evil God-level experts can still stroll through the human world.
...
After confirming that Sona was out of danger and leaving Tsubaki to care for her, Haruto and Rias' group returned to the human world after a day.
Upon arriving home, Haruto's first priority was to find Koneko.
Kuroka's appearance, collaborating with Arthur to abduct Fenrir, indicated that the sisters ultimately failed to reach an agreement.
Koneko couldn't persuade Kuroka to stay, and Kuroka couldn't take Koneko away either.
Koneko wouldn't have gone with her originally, and now that she had become Haruto's... cat, it was even more impossible.
Unable to win in a fight, Kuroka naturally had no choice but to give up.
However, Kuroka's behavior had clearly changed significantly compared to the original timeline. Haruto was curious about what exactly had happened between the sisters, and whether Kuroka had escaped or Koneko had deliberately let her go remained a question.
With Haruto present, Rias had no intention of intervening in the Toujou sisters' affairs.
Because, compared to Koneko, Akeno was facing her own issues.
After many years, seeing Baraqiel again—her biological father—Akeno was once again reminded of her childhood trauma and the deeply buried emotional knot in her heart.
Himejima Shuri, Akeno's biological mother, was attacked and killed by people who despised Fallen Angels during Akeno's childhood.
If not for protecting the young Akeno, Himejima Shuri could have escaped.
The attackers weren't particularly strong, which was why they chose to strike when Baraqiel was away on a mission and not by the mother and daughter's side.
The young Akeno was naturally influenced and came to believe that Baraqiel was responsible for Himejima Shuri's death.
There were three reasons for this:
First, Baraqiel was a Fallen Angel, and the attackers targeted them precisely because of this.
Second, Baraqiel failed to protect Himejima Shuri.
Third, if she didn't think this way, the young Akeno couldn't bear the fact that her mother had died protecting her.
In reality, this was unreasonable.
Himejima Shuri's death was undoubtedly caused by the attackers—it wasn't because Baraqiel was a Fallen Angel, nor because he failed to protect her, and certainly not because Akeno was a burden.
Although the attackers had long been reduced to ashes by Baraqiel, the dead could not be brought back to life, and Akeno's emotional knot remained unresolved.
To help her let go of this, only another powerful emotion could dispel the cold and darkness in her heart.
On the other hand, if Akeno wanted to advance further and become a god-class powerhouse, this was a hurdle she had to overcome.
In the original timeline, Akeno naturally came to terms with it by observing those around her and feeling their sincere emotions.
To be honest, such emotional knots were almost impossible for outsiders to help with.
Even Rias, who had known Koneko and Akeno since early on, could only silently care for them, unable to take any proactive steps.
Especially since Akeno was the type of mature, highly intelligent older sister who didn't need others meddling in her emotional affairs.
As those around her opened their hearts one by one, it was likely that one day she, too, would fully reveal her truest self and emotions to Haruto.
While Rias silently watched over Akeno, accompanying her childhood friend, Haruto also learned from Koneko what had happened.
After being subdued, Kuroka obediently returned to the human world with Koneko.
But a sister was still a sister. Once things settled down, Kuroka chatted with Koneko and managed to extract all the details of what had happened to Koneko over the years.
In contrast, Koneko wanted to know how Kuroka had been all these years but received almost no useful information.