While Leon and the others were discussing how to handle the aftermath and what to do with Kokabiel, a white shadow suddenly appeared in the sky some distance away from Kuoh Academy, like a white meteor piercing the night.
It appeared so holy and pure against the darkness—a brilliant white without a hint of gloom or dullness. It felt like a dream or a fleeting illusion, beautiful yet surreal.
The white shadow quickly landed on top of a building, revealing its full form.
Upon closer inspection, it was a person clad in pure white full-body armor.
The armor was shaped like a dragon; not only was the helmet fashioned into a dragon's head, but the hands and feet were also in the form of dragon claws. A steel chain resembling a dragon's tail trailed behind, and on its back grew a pair of light wings with a white skeletal frame and blue membranes. Adorned with symmetrical blue jewels across its surface, the armor radiated a divine glow. Despite its draconic shape, it didn't look the least bit ferocious.
Bang!
Suddenly, the pure white dragon armor dissipated into particles of light, exposing the true face of the person within.
It was a silver-haired foreign youth.
He looked to be about the same age as Leon, with a slender build and long limbs. He was strikingly handsome, possessing a pair of clear blue eyes that could steal one's soul. He looked exactly like a "Prince Charming" stepped straight out of a fairy tale, capable of enchanting thousands of young girls.
The faint, lingering smile at the corner of his mouth was particularly captivating, making it hard for anyone to look away.
The youth stood at the edge of the rooftop, facing the night wind and looking toward Kuoh Academy. With one hand in his pocket, he raised the other to deploy a small magic circle.
A figure was projected from the magic circle.
"Yo, Vali. Is everything going smoothly?"
A second later, a lighthearted voice drifted from the projection.
Though the voice sounded casual, anyone familiar with its owner would instantly feel an overwhelming pressure.
The reason was simple: the owner of this flippant voice held a status and position beyond most people's imagination.
"Are you busy, Azazel?"
The youth named Vali spoke, uttering the name that could make people blanch.
Azazel, the Governor General of the Fallen Angels, the leader of Grigori, and the highest-ranking Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel.
Indeed, the figure and the voice belonged to the head of the Fallen Angels himself.
He was once an attendant of God but chose to fall because he was dissatisfied with the desireless life of the Heavens, becoming one of the first angels to ever fall.
He was the leader of the countless angels who chose to fall, providing them with a sanctuary when they had nowhere else to go. Ultimately, he turned the Fallen Angels into one of the Three Great Powers and seized half of the Underworld's territory.
He was both the most rejected figure by the Angels and the most feared existence by the Devils.
He founded Grigori, and the countless Sacred Gear users within were researched, developed, and trained by him personally. It would be no exaggeration to say he was the person who understood Sacred Gears best in this world.
Currently, this head of the Fallen Angels—a man viewed by many as a villainous boss—was speaking to the youth named Vali with a voice so casual it made one wonder if he was just a wandering drifter.
"I'm incredibly busy. I already had a mountain of scheduled research to do, and now I have to deal with the mess Kokabiel made. Honestly, can't they just let me relax for a bit? That bastard!"
Azazel spoke as if complaining and sighing at the same time, but it elicited no response from Vali.
"Things didn't go very smoothly on my end," Vali said, still looking toward Kuoh Academy with a smile. "Sorry, Azazel, but Kokabiel has been defeated."
Upon hearing this, Azazel's speech momentarily halted.
"Defeated?" Azazel seemed to gain some interest as he asked, "Now that is truly unexpected news."
"That guy Kokabiel might not be the strongest, but he's still one of our Cadres. How could he lose in a place like Kuoh Town?"
"I don't believe the Gremory or Sitri families have that kind of strength. Did Sirzechs and the others get there in time?"
"Or... was the one who defeated him your rival?"
Faced with Azazel's rapid-fire analysis and questions, Vali shook his head.
"It wasn't him," Vali said calmly. "Though I didn't see him, I can feel that he is still far from being able to defeat someone of Kokabiel's level."
"Unless... he activates the power of 'Juggernaut Drive'."
Hearing this, Azazel remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"That's the most unlikely scenario. He's currently a hundred thousand miles away from the realm of 'Juggernaut Drive.' Even if he were to enter it in a state of loss of control, there would need to be a specific catalyst to induce it."
"If his opponent were you, it might be possible."
"After all, the history between the Two Heavenly Dragons is enough to make him touch that cursed power in a state of insanity and crisis."
As the person who understood Sacred Gears best, Azazel was certain of this.
Thus, Azazel dismissed the idea and asked again.
"So who exactly defeated Kokabiel?"
Vali did not withhold the answer for long.
Or rather, he had no intention of keeping him in suspense.
"The one you've been paying attention to lately," Vali said with a smile, as if remembering something pleasant. "He has grown stronger again. The likes of Kokabiel are no longer his match; he was defeated with ease."
Vali's somewhat cheerful tone caused Azazel to raise an eyebrow on the other end.
"Leon Eligos?" Azazel laughed as well. "I see. If it's him, then it's understandable."
Azazel's voice also sounded quite amused.
"If it were his past self, it would have been quite difficult to achieve this, right?" Azazel remarked. "When he fought Luffy Trix, he was only an Eight-Winged level Devil. It was only after unleashing the power of the Zenith Tempest that he successfully defeated the enhanced Luffy. At that time, while he had the strength to stand on the same stage as Kokabiel, he certainly couldn't have finished him off so easily."
"True," Vali agreed. "Back then, his only noteworthy trait was being the host of 'Zenith Tempest.' But now, it's different."
"Now, not only does he possess ten wings, but his mastery over 'Zenith Tempest' has improved by several levels."
"Although I didn't see him use Balance Breaker, that feeling of using a Sacred Gear with such ease... it's impossible that he hasn't reached the realm of Balance Breaker."
Azazel seemed somewhat surprised by this.
"Ten wings already?" Azazel said with considerable surprise. "I thought he defeated Kokabiel using Balance Breaker."
"As it turns out, Kokabiel couldn't even force out the opponent's Balance Breaker?"
"It seems the data on Leon Eligos needs to be updated."
At the same time, Azazel understood why Vali had contacted him.
"Kokabiel being defeated by the Eligos kid and falling into the hands of the Devils is a bit of a headache."
The moment Azazel learned Kokabiel intended to spark a war between the Three Powers, he had sent Vali out to find a way to bring Kokabiel back.
He didn't want a war to break out, nor did he want Kokabiel to fall into the hands of others and become a bargaining chip—or a reason for prosecution—against the Fallen Angels.
He believed that with Vali's strength, bringing Kokabiel back wouldn't be difficult.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
"I just wanted to ask you, should I move in to take him back?" Vali continued to gaze toward Kuoh Academy as if he could see someone there, his expression full of restless anticipation. "If you hadn't warned me beforehand not to have too much contact with the Devils, I would have made a move just now."
Azazel knew that Vali had such thoughts not for any other reason, but because his "old habit" was acting up.
"You're just excited by the prospect of a hunt, aren't you?" Azazel said with total certainty, as if seeing through Vali's heart. "You want to fight 'Zenith Tempest'?"
"It is, after all, a Longinus with a ranking and status above mine," Vali replied with a smile, side-stepping the question. "His current self is finally worthy of a proactive challenge from me."
To be honest, if Azazel hadn't warned him beforehand, he certainly wouldn't have been able to resist making a move against Leon just now.
He couldn't help it; his competitive spirit had been stimulated by the immense strength Leon displayed.
His blood, his instincts, and the "Dragon" within him were all telling him that this person was a rival worth going all out for.
And this was exactly what he had always been pursuing.
Azazel, of course, knew this better than anyone.
In this world, no one understood better than he did what kind of existence the "Child of the Dragon" he raised was.
Therefore, he had warned Vali before he departed not to have too much contact with the Devil side.
Who told them there was a Red Dragon Emperor over there?
That was his fated arch-rival.
If Vali couldn't help but make a move, things would become quite chaotic.
Who would have thought that the current generation's Red Dragon Emperor didn't provoke Vali into action, but the current host of "Zenith Tempest" did?
And this matter might be even more serious than being provoked by the Red Dragon Emperor.
"If you attacked the Red Dragon Emperor, it would be somewhat justifiable; at least it could be explained away by the ancient feud between the Two Heavenly Dragons. But if you attack that kid from the Eligos family, the Devil world will probably explode."
Azazel spoke with a bit of a headache.
"So I'm asking you, Vali, set aside your overwhelming desire for battle for now. I don't want to clean up another mess."
Azazel's words caused the smile on Vali's face to vanish, replaced by a disappointment that was hard to hide.
"I guess it's no good after all," Vali muttered to himself. "It's rare to encounter a strong enemy I'm interested in, only to have to give it up because of so-called 'power balance' and 'preventing war'?"
The strange emotion in those words caused Azazel to fall silent for a long time.
Then, as if wanting to change the subject, he spoke about the follow-up.
"Since Kokabiel has been taken by the Devils, there's nothing for it. Give up on bringing him back," Azazel said helplessly. "At worst, we'll just have to go to the negotiating table. It's actually a good opportunity to bring up that matter I've been considering and finally implement it."
This time, it was Vali who fell silent.
"Have you already decided?" Vali asked tonelessly. "From now on, will there be no more wars?"
"—At least that's what I hope. Sirzechs and Michael probably feel the same way," Azazel laughed meaningfully. "This must be quite a disappointing thing for you, right?"
"Yeah," Vali did not deny it, speaking as if to himself. "I often wonder why I was born in this era."
"Everyone is trying their best to avoid war and promote peace. Even though God is dead, the world hasn't fallen into chaos."
"There are clearly so many strong people in this world, so why can't I challenge them to my heart's content?"
"I... want to defeat them."
Azazel had heard these words more times than he could count.
Precisely because of this, he felt that this "Dragon Child" he had raised personally was perhaps being pushed to a dead end.
He was almost at the limit of his patience.
But he still had to say—
"A singular pursuit of battle is indeed typical for a Dragon Host, but usually, people like that don't live very long, you know?"
Azazel spoke slowly.
"It doesn't matter," Vali said without hesitation. "I never had much interest in longevity anyway."
"That's very much in character for you," Azazel asked, as expected. "But even if you could defeat all the strong, what would you do after that?"
By then, there would be no opponents left worth fighting.
That was Azazel's underlying meaning.
However, Vali's answer remained just as unhesitating.
"In that case, I would have nothing left to do but die."
A world with no strong people left to challenge?
That would be too boring.
He had no interest in a world that dull.
"—Come back as soon as possible, my White Dragon Emperor."
Azazel sighed as if his head hurt and said one last thing.
"Perhaps I'll have to personally make a trip over there later."
With that, Azazel cut the communication.
Only then did Vali withdraw his gaze from Kuoh Academy and look at the darkening magic circle in his hand.
After a long silence, Vali whispered a single sentence.
"Sorry, Azazel. The world you're about to create... I have no interest in that either."
Therefore, he was going to leave.
Being with those guys who were about to become enemies of the entire world would probably be much more interesting.