Rhode quickly threw on a jacket from his storage. Sensing her sister was in danger, Kuroka felt the food in her stomach go cold. Lavinia grabbed a magic wand. Asia looked dazed; her perception wasn't sharp enough to know what was happening, but seeing Kuroka's grim expression, she guessed it wasn't good.
The Fallen Angel trio was shaking. Under careful concentration, they too sensed the aura of a cadre. Before being defeated by Rhode, they had acted secretly in Devil territory; after their defeat, they had become his servants, which was equivalent to betraying Grigori. They assumed the high command had come for them.
"Raynare, w-will we die? I'm so scared..." Mittelt didn't even dare look out the window, afraid a Fallen Angel's face would be pressed against the glass.
"I don't know," Kalawarner said, her voice calm, but her legs were shaking like sieves.
"Tch! You two cowards!" Raynare cursed under her breath, though her heart was also racing. She still felt a slight sense of belonging to Grigori, but on one hand, Rhode had cursed her, and on the other, she had actually been happy living here lately. At least it was better than in Grigori, where anyone could step on her.
Rhode looked at the three of them and said directly, "Relax. Given your level, a cadre wouldn't go out of his way just to deal with you."
Fodder was fodder. Even if many died, to the high command, they were just numbers. What truly mattered were the cadres. In the original story, Kokabiel's crime of starting a war was enough for a death sentence, but Azazel only froze him in a "Permanent Prison," which was actually a form of protection.
Hearing this, Mittelt and Kalawarner breathed a sigh of relief. They remembered they were indeed just small fry. No problem then. A cadre really didn't need to waste time on them.
Raynare, however, felt a bit slighted. What's wrong with being small fry?! Even small fry have dreams!
Rhode told Asia to stay home. Kuroka, worried for her sister, had already bolted out the door. Rhode picked up Lavinia and took to the sky. As the strong wind blew, he formed a barrier of Qi around them to block most of it. That way, their hair wouldn't get messed up.
Kuoh Town wasn't large. If the city center was the midpoint, including the suburban residential areas, the diameter was only about ten kilometers. In less than a minute, Rhode reached the battlefield under the night sky. From a distance, he could see several monsters with two dog heads—sized like four-wheeled trucks—wreaking havoc in the city.
"Those are Cerberus, demonic beasts that only live in Hell," Lavinia said, her arms around Rhode's shoulders.
"Seems the enemy is definitely a Fallen Angel then."
This was Rias's territory. Aside from the Old Satan Faction, no other devil would dare attack this place. And the Fallen Angel territory was located not far from the Devil's, separated by a vast primeval forest inhabited by countless monsters.
Rhode found a rooftop and set Lavinia down, not choosing to strike immediately.
The plot wasn't supposed to be like this. Kokabiel was supposed to slowly lure Rias's group to Kuoh Academy and then watch them struggle in his hands. From beginning to end, other than the school field being destroyed, no buildings in Kuoh were supposed to be harmed. But now, he had dropped Cerberus directly into the downtown area.
Rhode wasn't sure if Kokabiel was acting more rationally as a villain now that the plot had derailed, or if he had been provoked by that "If you're a real one, come cut me" note. Of course, even if it was the latter, Rhode wouldn't admit he did it.
Regardless, the impact this time was much larger than in the original story. It was also more logical. After all, if you were Kokabiel—a villain trying to start a war and risking your life—waiting at a school like a game boss for the protagonists to challenge you seemed like you'd played too many video games.
Ignoring the Cerberus for a moment, Rhode looked for Kokabiel's location. Soon, he saw a dark figure floating high in the sky. By the city lights, he could clearly see the man's face.
His features were sharp, his skin a pale, nearly transparent white that made his crimson eyes look particularly demonic. His long black hair draped loosely over his shoulders. A cruel, mocking smile played on his lips, and five pairs of pitch-black wings announced his high status.
He had a bit of a "long face" though. Compared to the Satanael he had killed in Kyoto, this guy looked more like Sephiroth.
Currently, Kokabiel was looking down with a contemptuous and feral grin as the people below struggled in the jaws of the Cerberus.
That damn sister of Lucifer. A mere high-class devil dared to mock me to my face.
This evening, because he hadn't heard from his subordinates for a long time, Kokabiel had emerged from his hiding spot and gone to the base in the suburbs. There, he found his men lying in a heap of corpses, Valper and his test subject both dead, and the Holy Swords missing.
But what truly caused Kokabiel's sanity to snap was the sentence written across the backs of the corpses: "Rias Gremory was here. If you're a real one, come cut me!"
Kokabiel didn't bother thinking about whether it was logical for Rias to write that. He only knew that he, a noble cadre of the Fallen Angels, had been mocked by a "filthy" high-class devil whom he viewed as mere prey. Enraged, he immediately scrapped his plan to play with her and came straight to the city center to unleash several Cerberus, drawing out the sisters of Lucifer and Leviathan.
The sisters of Lucifer and Leviathan, drawn by the chaos, were currently acting like firefighters, fighting the Cerberus to prevent them from harming the citizens.
Compared to Sona Sitri's team, which was struggling, Akeno and Koneko seemed much more at ease. Having accepted their bloodline powers, even though they had only trained for a few days, their strength had undergone a massive change. Akeno could now expertly summon Light Spears—which were toxic to monsters—and with Kiba and Koneko's Senjutsu support, they quickly brought one Cerberus down.
But the situation was still grim. The real threat wasn't the Cerberus, but the ten-winged Fallen Angel who hadn't made a move yet. His mere presence made everyone feel a crushing weight, as if they were in an abyss. The malice radiating from him made even the high-class devils Sona and Rias feel their skin crawl.
They couldn't win. They couldn't win at all. Akeno suspected that if that Fallen Angel made a move, none of them would last a minute.
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Spring Sale Special – 20% OFF!
High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (156 Chapters – Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────