Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
"Devils!!!"
"How is this possible?"
Sirzechs and the others stared in shock at the seven individuals across from them, unable to believe they were all devils.
"Hehe, we can't keep Kaito-sama and Rimuru-sama waiting. Would you all mind surrendering?"
Diablo flashed an elegant smile at the people before him.
"There's nothing more to discuss. Let's fight."
One of the Four Great Satans, Falbium Asmodeus, said with a grave expression.
"Oh dear. In that case, please die."
The moment Diablo finished speaking, a dark magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
"[Darkness: Erosion]!"
A thick black mist materialized out of nowhere and swept toward Falbium Asmodeus.
"[Absolute Defense]!"
Seeing the mist bearing down on him, Falbium hurriedly activated his orange flames to form an absolute defensive barrier.
The mist touched the orange flames and devoured them instantly.
Seeing his defense fail, Falbium's expression changed drastically. He activated his teleportation and reappeared several hundred meters away.
"Oh my, he escaped. Though to pull that off at only a few hundred years old, it is commendable."
"How is this possible? Why couldn't my [Absolute Defense] absorb your attack?"
Falbium stared at Diablo from a distance, shaken, while Diablo remained completely composed.
His orange flames had always been able to consume enemy attacks and convert the absorbed power into a counterattack. It had been undefeated throughout the entire Devil Civil War. He had never imagined it could fail.
"Absorb my attack? Hehe. When the gap in power between two sides is too large, all resistance from the weaker party is meaningless."
Diablo's expression shifted into a calm, mocking smile.
"Try this. [Azazel, Lord of Temptation], [Thought Domination]!"
Diablo's golden-red pupils flashed with a hint of black.
An instant later, Falbium, who had been staring at him, went completely blank.
"Falbium, what's wrong with you!"
"Wake up!"
"Damn it, what do we do now!"
Seeing Falbium's vacant eyes, the other three Devil Kings shouted his name in horror.
"Don't bother. Diablo's [Thought Domination] cannot be dispelled by anyone at his current level of strength."
"But I don't think you have the luxury of worrying about whether he lives or dies right now."
Carrera stood with one hand on her hip, looking across at Ajuka Beelzebub with an unruly expression.
"Little girl, I may not be a match for you, but aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?"
A flash of anger crossed Ajuka Beelzebub's eyes.
He was a transcendent who had surpassed the upper limits of the devil race. His power was not something that even a Super Devil like Asmodeus could compare to.
"Little girl... me?"
Carrera pointed at herself with a look of pure disbelief, then bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"This lady is tens of thousands of years old, you little brat!!!"
"How dare you call me a little girl! Die!!! [Golden Spear]!!!"
The enraged Carrera yanked out her divine weapon and hurled it at him without holding back in the slightest.
Pfft...
Ajuka Beelzebub looked down at the Golden Spear piercing his heart with an expression of pure disbelief.
"Ugh... Pfft!!!"
Blood poured from his mouth as he felt his life draining away rapidly.
Ajuka Beelzebub used the last of his strength to shout toward Sirzechs and Serafall.
"Run... run now! This... these are not enemies we can fight. While there's still a chance, run!!!"
His entire body fell from the sky.
The consecutive defeat of two of the Four Great Satans sent the remaining devil army's morale into freefall.
"Impossible! Both Satan Beelzebub and Satan Asmodeus have fallen!"
"We can't win. There's absolutely no winning against enemies like these!"
"I don't want to die. I haven't lived enough yet. I have to survive!"
The devil who said that abandoned his companions mid-battle, turned around, and flew off into the distance as fast as he could.
That single act flipped a switch. More and more devils began turning and fleeing. Morale collapsed entirely.
"Indeed, a routed army crumbles like a landslide. The old saying never lies."
Kaito watched the devil army breaking apart in the sky and nodded slowly.
"Though to be fair, there are still some tough ones among them."
He looked at the five hundred thousand or so devils still holding their ground against the Jura Tempest Federation forces, and his eyes carried a faint approval.
"Sirzechs, the army has completely fallen apart. What do we do?"
Serafall looked at the collapsing devil forces with despair, then at the several figures watching them with cold, measuring eyes.
Sirzechs felt it then, the full weight of helplessness. Fight — he couldn't win. Negotiate — he had no standing to do so.
He turned and looked down at his younger sister. The memory of her as a small child surfaced without warning, and his expression softened for a moment.
Then he looked back at the overwhelming forces across from him, and something resolute settled onto his face.
"Serafall, take Sona and Rias and get out of here. I'll buy you one last chance."
The strongest of the Four Great Satans steeled himself to unleash his true form, the Form of Destruction, for a final desperate stand.
Serafall looked at him, her face filled with grief.
They had known each other for hundreds of years. Though they were both Satans, he had always tolerated her unreasonable demands. He had always cleaned up after her messes. And now, facing an enemy they could not defeat, he was willing to die so she could live.
"Sirzechs, you..."
"No more talking. Go!"
"[Magical Power Release]!!!"
Sirzechs's blood-red magical power shot straight into the sky. The aura radiating from his body reached all the way to the Jura Tempest Federation soldiers who were still chasing the fleeing devils.
"Now that is something. So this is a Great Satan. You really can't underestimate them."
Kizaru pointed with his right hand, and a beam of yellow light instantly pierced through a body, striking an upper-class devil who had been fleeing in the distance.
"[Two-Pronged Spear]!"
"[Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger]!"
Kuzan and Fujitora used their abilities in quick succession, cutting down the remaining devils in droves.
Watching the three Admirals working at full tilt, Gobta, an Army General, scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.
'Doesn't this make me look lazy? Wouldn't it be better if everyone slacked off together?'
"Gobta, are you really not worried about Miss Sakuya finding out you're slacking off this much?"
Giyu Tomioka asked quietly, his expression unchanged as he cut down another upper-class devil without looking up.
At the sound of Giyu's words, Gobta went stiff all over. His eyes drifted involuntarily toward Sakuya down below.
It was as if she had sensed something. Their eyes met.
One look at Sakuya's cold gaze and Gobta snapped his head away, his expression shifting into something almost feverish.
As though the enemies in front of him had committed some unforgivable sin against him personally.
"You devils! Today I'm taking care of every last one of you! Secret Technique: [Severing Slash]..."