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"This vampire... you should have simply brainwashed him, used him as a tool. That would have been a far more efficient use of his talents," the lead magician sneered, her voice dripping with disdain.
"If you had dropped him in enemy territory, let his Sacred Gear run wild, you might have even taken out a Fallen Angel Cadre. But no, you had to treat him like...family. What a foolish sentimentality."
"SILENCE!" Rias roared, her voice laced with a cold fury. "You will not speak of my servants in such a manner—"
A wave of destructive energy erupted from her, its raw power pressing down on the magicians, their earlier arrogance replaced by a primal fear.
As Rias's aura stunned them into submission, Xenovia acted, a blur of motion as she charged towards Gasper.
The magicians guarding him barely registered her presence before their world went dark.
They were dead—killed by Xenovia.
She swiftly dispatched the remaining guards, then returned to Rias's side, Gasper in tow. He had been rescued.
"How?? How is this possible?? You shouldn't be this strong!" The lead magician, recovering from her shock, stared at them in disbelief.
She knew the consequences of failure.
The thought made her tremble.
"And what, in your estimation, should our strength be?" Rias's voice was cold, her hands gathering the familiar crimson energy of the Power of Destruction. She looked at the terrified magician, her expression unreadable.
Their fate had been sealed the moment they laid hands on Gasper.
Death was their only salvation!
Rias clenched her fists, and the destructive energy erupted, engulfing the room.
The magicians vanished, their bodies turned to ash.
———
"It's over, Gasper. You're safe now. You don't have to blame yourself," Rias said gently.
"But—?" Gasper, still shaken, couldn't quite accept her words. He felt responsible for the attack, for putting his comrades in danger.
Rias sighed, frustrated by his continued self-recrimination. "I'll leave this to Issei. He seems to have a knack for dealing with you. Besides, you listen to him."
Having no other solution, she decided to delegate the task to Issei. After all, they had a close bond.
"Now that Gasper is safe, we need to return to the new school building," she mused. "But how? Teleportation is still out of the question. Do we have to fight our way back?"
Just as she was considering her options, a figure crashed from the sky, slamming into the ground outside the old school building, creating a massive crater.
"Is that...?" Rias rushed to the window, her eyes widening in disbelief as she recognized the figure in the crater.
It was Azazel, Governor General of the Fallen Angels.
———
Azazel and Katerea's duel had been incredibly intense, their power shaking the very foundations of the barrier Sirzechs and Michael had created.
As the former leader of the Fallen Angels, Azazel's strength was far greater than Katerea's.
After their initial clash, Azazel had gained the upper hand, his attacks were relentless and his experience and skill evident.
However, just as he was about to secure his victory—Katerea had consumed a strange, snake-like substance from a vial—
—Her Demonic Power had surged, her strength increasing exponentially.
The tide of the battle had turned once more, their duel now a stalemate.
And then, a sudden attack had broken the deadlock.
Vali, the White Dragon Emperor, had betrayed them, his attack striking Azazel and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Vali, you chose now to betray me?" Azazel said, climbing out of the crater, his voice filled with a weary resignation. He had anticipated this.
He knew Vali craved endless battle, a desire that clashed with his own desire for peace. Their alliance had always been a temporary one.
But he hadn't expected the betrayal to come so soon.
Or perhaps he had. After all, he knew Vali better than anyone.
However, he couldn't allow this to disrupt the Three Factions meeting. The war had lasted long enough.
"It seems I'll have to get serious," Azazel said with a wry smile, looking at Katerea and Vali.
———
"Our plan was to use the half-vampire's Sacred Gear to disrupt the meeting, then, with the White Dragon Emperor's help, eliminate one of the Three Factions' leaders. That would have been enough to shatter any possibility of a truce," Katerea explained, her voice filled with a smug confidence.
Their target hadn't been to eliminate all the leaders, but to kill one, reigniting the war.
And if that one had been Michael or Azazel, even better.
After all, with Katerea leading the attack, their deaths would have been a catalyst for a full-scale conflict, plunging the world into another devastating war.
This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Khaos Brigade to act.
Rias and Xenovia, who had rushed to Azazel's side, were stunned by her words. They hadn't realized the true extent of her treachery.
They instinctively adopted a fighting stance.
Azazel, however, simply chuckled. "I'm getting old..."
He turned to Vali. "When did you decide to betray me?"
"When you sent me to deal with Kokabiel. I met them on my way back. They were persuasive. And their offer was intriguing."
"So you've pledged your loyalty to Ophis?"
"No. We're merely...collaborating. She offered me the chance to fight the Asgardians. And since you're so averse to war, I couldn't refuse," Vali explained.
Azazel simply sighed, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"You knew this was coming, Azazel. You simply chose to ignore it," Katerea taunted.
Vali, however, wasn't interested in their banter. He turned to Rias. "My name is Vali Lucifer," he declared, as if making a solemn vow.
"What?? That's impossible!" Rias exclaimed.
"It's not. I am the descendant of the original Lucifer. My grandfather was the Old Satan, and my mother was human. That's why I possess the Divine Dividing. A coincidence, perhaps, but it created me—the true heir to Lucifer, and the White Dragon Emperor. If there's such a thing as destiny, then I am its embodiment." Vali's words stunned Rias into silence.
While it seemed unbelievable, there were precedents. Gasper, a half-human, half-vampire, also possessed a Sacred Gear.
Normally, Sacred Gears were exclusive to humans, a gift from the God of the Bible. And Devils and vampires, being inherently opposed to divine power, shouldn't be able to wield them.
Their existence, before the God of the Bible's death, would have been impossible.
———
Rias, unable to accept this, looked at Azazel, seeking confirmation. He was the one who had trained Vali. He would know the truth.
Azazel nodded. "It's true. If there's a being in this world who embodies a cruel joke, it's him. From the past, to the present, to the future—he is, and always will be, the strongest White Dragon Emperor."
Such a miracle was unlikely to be repeated.
"So it's true..." Rias was at a loss for words. The existence of such a talented descendant of the Old Satan Faction would undoubtedly disrupt the current power structure of the Underworld. And as Lucifer's heir, he was a direct threat to Sirzechs's position.
However, she quickly regained her composure. Sirzechs was one of the world's top ten strongest. While Vali might be talented, countless geniuses had existed throughout history, but only a handful had ever reached that level.
In the face of true power, talent was insignificant.
She was confident in her brother's ability to handle this new threat.
———
"That power surge earlier...did Ophis give you something?" Azazel asked Katerea, his voice laced with suspicion.
"She did. She is the Dragon of Infinite Power. I... borrowed a bit of her strength. With it, I can face you—and even Michael and Sirzechs."
"Therefore, Azazel—die with pride." Katerea's Demonic Power surged once more, her killing intent palpable.
However, Azazel remained unfazed.
"Kill me? I don't think so."
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