It was a male fallen angel, framed against the moon and adorned by the black of night.
He wore an elaborately decorated black robe, and his features were rugged yet possessed a certain handsome nobility. However, his face bore an uninhibited expression, and his eyes were filled with arrogance. Behind him grew the pitch-black wings that symbolized his identity as a fallen angel—five full pairs of them, silently announcing his status to the world.
He was a ten-winged fallen angel, one of the six great cadres of Grigori, and a legendary figure who had survived from the age of myth to the present: Kokabiel.
At this moment, this cadre of the fallen angels hovered in mid-air with his five pairs of black wings spread wide, looking down from his heights at the scarred and battered members of the Gremory peerage with an attitude of haughty contempt.
"So this is Sirzechs' sister and the current Welsh Dragon? They are absolutely nothing special!"
In Kokabiel's eyes, there only seemed to exist Rias and Issei Hyoudou. Everyone else was utterly ignored, even Yuuto Kiba, who had reached a new realm, and the blue-haired girl holding a holy sword.
"I originally thought that being Sirzechs' sister and the current Red Dragon Emperor, they might provide me with a bit of diversion. Who would have thought they only amounted to this? Boring. Truly too boring."
The disdain in Kokabiel's tone was completely undisguised; even his disappointment was genuine.
"As expected, playing with children like you who don't even know the meaning of war is nothing more than playing house. To dispel this boredom, I'll have to wait for Sirzechs or Serafall to come over."
That tone and attitude were unbearable—not just for Rias, who possessed a strong sense of pride, but even for Issei Hyoudou, who often lacked a sense of limits.
"What kind of big talk are you spouting there?" Issei Hyoudou shouted, his rage reaching its peak. "If the Maous come here, a guy like you would have fled for his life long ago!"
"Shut up, Red Dragon Emperor." Kokabiel seemed completely disinclined to argue with Issei, sneering: "The person here who has disappointed me most is you. I didn't expect the dignified Red Dragon Emperor to be so weak. The White Dragon Emperor is much stronger than you."
At this point, a flash of gravity and indignation crossed Kokabiel's eyes.
He was a cadre of the fallen angels and a cadre of Grigori. Regarding the Sacred Gear users cultivated within Grigori, he was far more knowledgeable than others, even if he didn't know every detail.
Although he personally felt disdain and dissatisfaction toward the so-called Sacred Gears within Grigori, and was equally indignant and disappointed with Azazel and Shemhazai's focus on collecting and researching Sacred Gears instead of expanding the power of the fallen angel race, even he had to admit that among the Sacred Gear users Grigori had raised, there were indeed one or two individuals he dared not underestimate.
And the current White Dragon Emperor was one of them.
Even he could not say for certain that he could defeat that person's strength.
Therefore, before coming to Kuoh Town, Kokabiel had harbored a modicum of caution and expectation toward Issei Hyoudou as the current Red Dragon Emperor.
Who would have thought the current Red Dragon Emperor would be such a fraud? Never mind comparing him to the current White Dragon Emperor; he was far inferior even to the ordinary Sacred Gear users he looked down upon in Grigori.
If not for the fact that the ability of the Longinus "Boosted Gear" was truly powerful—not only able to double the possessor's power every ten seconds but also transfer that doubled power to others to strengthen them—Kokabiel wouldn't have even bothered to glance at Issei Hyoudou.
"Your only use here is to use that Sacred Gear to boost the power of Sirzechs' sister and the others so they can pose a slight threat to me. That might bring me some joy. Otherwise, I would have turned you into ash long ago."
Kokabiel sneered repeatedly, leaving Issei Hyoudou fuming with rage.
"Kokabiel!" Rias intercepted Issei Hyoudou as he was about to act impulsively. She glared at Kokabiel while rebuking him: "Do you truly wish to incite a Great War between the three factions?"
For a dignified cadre of the fallen angels to personally descend and attack the sister of a current Maou... such an action would absolutely shatter the delicate balance that the three factions had been working hard to maintain, causing the Great War of the past to erupt once more.
Even knowing this was Kokabiel's goal, Rias could not help but demand an answer.
As expected, this interrogation did not make Kokabiel hesitate; instead, it made him grin broadly.
"How many times do I have to say it for you to understand? This is exactly what I want!"
Kokabiel's voice echoed throughout Kuoh Academy.
"How could children like you, who haven't even seen a hundred years of age, possibly understand my feelings?"
"Do you know how many wars the three factions have fought, and how many people have been sacrificed in those wars?"
"Do you know how much hatred and blood feuds have accumulated between us over these long years?"
Kokabiel clenched one hand into a tight fist, his emotions spiraling out of control.
"Those fellows from the Angels and the Church have eliminated countless devils and fallen angels in the name of God, and the Devils have killed countless of our people. It is a number you absolutely cannot imagine!"
"And despite having such deep hatred and such blood feuds, whether it's Azazel or Shemhazai, they actually claim that fighting to this extent is enough, and we cannot continue? How could such a thing... be allowed?!"
The five pairs of wings behind Kokabiel spread wide, seemingly blotting out the sun and casting a darkness that was turbid and foul.
"I simply cannot stand it! On what grounds do we fight for thousands and tens of thousands of years, only to suddenly say we won't fight anymore?"
"Do those bastards have any idea how many times I've bled and how many crises I've endured in those thousands and tens of thousands of years?"
"I've dreamed of destroying the Angels, destroying the Devils, destroying every race other than the fallen angels, until there isn't a single eyesore left in the entire world besides us!"
"During these years of ceasefire, I have been so bored—bored to an unbearable degree!"
"Therefore, I will incite the flames of war once again. As long as I trample you—the Maou's kin—to death, as long as I trample Sirzechs' sister and Serafall's sister to death and drag the Maous onto the battlefield, then no matter how passive Azazel and Shemhazai are, they will have no choice but to enter the fray, right?"
And if a war broke out between the Devils and the Fallen Angels, how could the Heavens and the Church remain quiet? Even if they wanted to stay quiet, Kokabiel would not allow it.
Thus, in addition to coming here himself, he had joined forces with heretics within the Church, allowing them to steal the Holy Swords treasured by the Church in an attempt to lure them to Kuoh Town and entangle them in this situation.
The blue-haired girl holding a holy sword was the warrior sent by the Church to recover the lost holy swords.
In this way, all three factions had stepped onto the chessboard of Kuoh Town; no one could escape.
"God is dead. The Maous of the past have also perished. Compared to the age of myth, the three factions have become much weaker. But even so, this war cannot stop, and should not stop. Until a winner is completely decided, I will not allow any side to continue being indolent!"
Kokabiel's tone had become entirely fanatical and insane.
"You damn war-maniac...!"
Issei Hyoudou clicked his tongue, while Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba, Koneko Toujou, and the others all wore expressions of disgust.
"God..."
The blue-haired girl closed her eyes, wanting to pray, but suddenly realized she had lost the object of her prayers.
Just as Kokabiel had said, during the ancient war, not only did the four original Maous die in battle, but even God died. Yes, that existence recorded in the Bible, hailed as the Lord, the Almighty, and the Creator, had long since passed away.
Furthermore, it was the kind of death from which there was no resurrection.
Generally speaking, even if a deity dies, as long as faith in them remains, there is a way to be resurrected regardless of how many times it happens. However, there are some deities who, if they die, can never be resurrected.
For example, deities killed by ultimate god-slaying weapons; some cannot be resurrected, and even if they can, it is extremely difficult. For instance, being devoured or suppressed and killed by a deity whose divine power far exceeds their own; such deities also cannot be resurrected unless very strict conditions are met.
The death of the Biblical God was even more absolute. He died after completely exhausting His own power, in a state of extreme weakness and exhaustion, losing almost all ability to resurrect, leading to an eternal slumber.
Thus, the blue-haired girl could no longer pray to the God of her faith.
Thanks to this, she had actually lost some of her fighting spirit and will to battle, even entertaining the thought of simply dying here.
In contrast to her, the other swordsman on the field burst forth with even stronger battle intent.
"I—We will not let you have your way! Kokabiel!"
Yuuto Kiba stood there with difficulty, yet his hand gripped his sword with immense force, pointing it high toward Kokabiel.
Upon closer inspection, the sword in Yuuto Kiba's hand was completely different from before. Not only did its entire body emit the demonic nature and curses expected of a demon sword, but it also radiated the divine fluctuations expected of a holy sword.
It was actually a sword that fused the two completely opposite powers of the holy and demonic attributes—the Holy Demonic Sword of Twin Supremacy.
Having experienced this incident and entangled with both the fallen angels and the holy sword users sent by the Church, Yuuto Kiba had completely transcended his own suffering. He had set down his hatred for the holy sword and reached that realm.
The ultimate realm of Sacred Gears, a power capable of breaking the world's balance—Balance Breaker.
Yuuto Kiba had successfully outpaced all his peers to be the first to reach the realm of Balance Breaker.
A sword that possessed the power and properties of two completely opposite weapons—the Holy Sword and the Demon Sword. Once Yuuto Kiba activated Balance Breaker, he could create it.
"Sword of Betrayer"—this was Yuuto Kiba's Balance Breaker.
Having completed this Balance Breaker, Yuuto Kiba's strength far exceeded his past self during the battle with Asuna Yuuki, and he surpassed every one of his colleagues on the scene.
Among the Gremory peerage, the strongest had undoubtedly been Rias and Akeno Himejima. But now, the strongest person might have become Yuuto Kiba.
Unfortunately...
"A Holy Demonic Sword of Twin Supremacy is indeed strong. Even an Ultimate-class Devil would have to be somewhat wary of it, wouldn't they?"
Kokabiel's gaze toward Yuuto Kiba was like looking at an ant.
"But do you think that can truly threaten me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kokabiel casually raised his hand, condensing a spear of light. Then—a spear of light as massive as a pillar took shape and was hurled toward Yuuto Kiba.
"Danger!"
Rias, Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, and the blue-haired girl all lunged toward Yuuto Kiba at the first opportunity, constructing a defense alongside him.
"Boom!!!"
A startling explosion instantly erupted. The spear of light falling from the sky blasted the earth apart, gouging out the ground while simultaneously blowing Rias and the others away.
"President! Kiba!"
Issei Hyoudou watched this scene and angrily spread his devil wings, charging toward Kokabiel.
"You... bastard!"
Incredible anger caused Issei Hyoudou's will to swell, directly affecting the Sacred Gear on his right hand. The green gem on the back of the dragon-claw-like gauntlet burst forth with blinding light.
"Boost!"
A cold voice emanated from the gem, and the Sacred Gear's ability activated, increasing Issei Hyoudou's power.
"Bang!"
Issei Hyoudou swung a fist toward Kokabiel's face, but it was caught by Kokabiel's casually raised hand.
"It's useless, Red Dragon Emperor," Kokabiel sneered. "With your power, no matter how much you double it, it is impossible to reach my height."
"The activation of a Sacred Gear's ability requires the consumption of stamina or magic power, and even if a power that is too great is poured into your body, you cannot bear it."
"Weak as you are, even if you exhaust yourself to boost your power, you'll hit your limit at the High-class Devil level at most."
"That level can't even harm a single hair of mine."
Saying this, Kokabiel tightened his grip on Issei Hyoudou's hand and yanked him closer.
"Bang!!!"
The next second, Kokabiel also swung a fist, smashing it into Issei Hyoudou's face and sending him flying. Issei's body turned into a cannonball, hurtling down and crashing into the ground, kicking up countless plumes of dust.
"Issei-kun!"
The only golden-haired girl who had not entered the battlefield cried out in sorrow once again, her tears falling.
"It's over."
Kokabiel issued a heartless sentence. With a cruel smile, he held his hand high and condensed a spear of light.
Despair—it began to envelop everyone present.
"Buzz!"
At that moment, the barrier around Kuoh Academy fluctuated.
An entrance quietly opened, allowing a figure to streak in at incredible speed, instantly arriving behind Kokabiel.
"!!!"
The smile on Kokabiel's face changed. He turned around without hesitation, intending to thrust the spear of light in his hand behind him.
However, a hand grabbed the wrist of Kokabiel's hand holding the spear of light, stopping him.
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