— — — — — —
—[Anti-Demons Devil]—
•Devilization (Divine Punishment Spear: Summons or possesses a massive Snow wolf avatar that causes "Divine Core Collapse" along its path.)
---
Lynn rubbed his chin, eyes lighting up with interest.
He had never seen a familia activate his Devilizationso quickly. Yukina was the first.
Glancing over at another monitor to check on Kikyo and the others, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Lynn turned his full attention to Yukina's screen.
— — —
Main World — Lion King Org.
Yukina's white hair fluttered in the wind, and in the next instant, the Snowdrift Wolf in her hand vanished!
By activating Devilization, her skill Divine Energy automatically kicked in as well.
—[Divine Energy]—
•Faux Angel Mode.
•Can potentially evolve into an actual angel with enough divine energy.
(A/N: With this skill, Lynn is basically an angel now—Right? A fallen angel thanks to Mahira's ability... and technically a devil too. lol I can already see the end of DxD world.)
---
From Yukina's back, faint golden wings made of arcane symbols flickered into view.
Those metallic wings fluttered gently, leaving behind shimmering divine traces as they moved.
Her sudden transformation left everyone at the scene stunned.
"Yukina?"
Maintaining a barrier to block the beams, Endou's movements faltered, her eyes wide as she stared in disbelief.
"An Artificial Angel?!"
Endou and Kuraki Shirona in the command center shouted at almost the same time.
Yukina's current state was way too familiar.
The last wielder of the Snowdrift Wolf, Fujisaka Touka, had absorbed too much divine energy and ended up ascending to heaven as an artificial angel.
Now, was Yukina about to follow the same path?
But wasn't this happening way too fast?
"No—"
Shizuka Koyomi pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming strangely as he stared intently at Yukina.
"It looks a lot like an artificial angel, but… Take a closer look—there are differences."
Yukina's current state wasn't exactly the same as Touka's had been back then.
"She's already been tainted by devil blood," Koyomi said with a serious tone.
Shirona's expression calmed down.
Right. Yukina was already a devil.
Becoming an angel now? Practically impossible.
But then… what was this?
Even if she somehow were an artificial angel, shouldn't that be completely incompatible with being a devil?
From a theological point of view, wouldn't this be some kind of blasphemy?
If Heaven found out, would they smite her on the spot?
Shirona couldn't help but worry.
And there was something else bothering her. How did Yukina change so drastically, so fast?
"Phew…"
She let out a breath, trying to push her chaotic thoughts aside.
Whatever was going on, they'd find out soon enough by just watching.
And honestly, she wanted to see what Yukina could do in this state.
— — —
On the battlefield, Endou called out softly, worry in her voice. "Yukina…"
Her current angelic-looking form made Endou worry she'd suddenly ascend to Heaven in a flash of light.
Although becoming an angel didn't sound like the worst fate but from what Endou knew, Heaven wasn't exactly thriving these days.
Even their faith systems were starting to fall apart.
But Yukina shouldn't be welcomed—especially not with devilblood in her veins.
The thought brought Endou some comfort.
Still, her expression turned a little strange.
A devil and an artificial angel… in one body?
What even is that? Also… where's the Snowdrift Wolf?
That's when Endou noticed something off.
With Fujisaka Touka, the transformation had come after she absorbed a massive amount of divine energy.
But Yukina? She hadn't shown any sign of doing that.
On top of that… the Snowdrift Wolf was nowhere to be seen.
Endou narrowed her eyes, thinking hard.
Is this really artificial angelification?
She had her doubts.
Her gaze locked on the golden wings on Yukina's back. Divine energy shimmered faintly, and arcane text flowed along the wings like living light.
If she squinted, Endou could barely make out traces of the Divine Resonance Formula.
But this... this was something way more advanced. Even she had no idea what she was really looking at anymore.
———
Meanwhile, near the golden serpent—
"Artificial angel?"
Yukina caught the earlier shout and blinked in confusion.
Angel? Where?
Eyes wide and on edge, her amber gaze darted around.
She was a devil now—her instincts were screaming caution around anything angelic.
But she didn't see any angels.
Yukina: "…"
She tilted her head slightly in confusion.
Forget it.
She turned her focus back to Dimitrie Vatler, eyes sharp with resolve.
Ever since her transformation, she felt ten—no, maybe twenty times stronger!
Clenching her fist, an explosive surge of power pulsed through her arm.
This kind of raw strength was intoxicating.
Also, the Snowdrift Wolf had fused with her.
The silver glow in her eyes and the metallic wings on her back were proof of that.
Now? She could easily do things her old self would never have even dreamed of.
But— This power wouldn't last forever.
She had to finish this quickly!
With her gaze locked on Vatler, her eyes sharpened.
"..."
Vatler felt it instantly—an oppressive pressure like the very air around him had dropped a few degrees.
His body tensed for a second, but then he smirked, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Well now…"
"This is getting really interesting!!"
Whoosh—!
Yukina vanished, leaving behind only a burning trail of divine afterglow.
It was as if she'd warped through space. In the next instant, she was behind Vatler, swinging a vicious whip kick!
Crack—!
The air itself tore apart as her foot shimmered with the ghostly outline of the Snowdrift Wolf!
BOOM!
A deep, powerful thud echoed as Vatler was sent flying—but Yukina frowned.
In front of her, the blurry image of a snake familiar crumbled into particles.
So that's what blocked her attack. It softened the blow, leaving Vatler mostly unharmed.
Just how many of those familiars did this vampire have?
In the distance, Vatler landed lightly like a feather and let out a relieved sigh.
"That was close…"
His eyes narrowed as he stared at the divine energy swirling around Yukina.
"Divine, huh…"
He tensed up.
Getting hit by that probably wouldn't end well.
He liked a good fight, but he didn't like dying.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap—!
"ROAR!!"
Golden and purple serpents suddenly reared up, twisting around each other in a violent dance!
HISSSSS~~
A sharp, hissing sound filled the air.
Then—Gold and purple merged!
ROOOOOAR!!
A massive howl echoed from the sky above! A swirling whirlpool of air rushed across the battlefield!
And then it appeared.
A hundred-meter-long, twin-headed beast.
Its left head—a dark purple serpent with twin horns, almost dragon-like.
Its right head—a pitch-black serpent with liquid metal scales, its tail wrapped in a cloud of annihilation mist.
The sheer pressure it gave off slammed down on everyone present!
"Hahaha! How about that?!" Vatler shouted, arms wide, laughing like a madman.
"My masterpiece—Ananda!!"
"Beautiful, isn't it?!"
He cackled, clearly pleased with himself.
"Tch."
Endou clicked her tongue. "This snake guy's not just all talk after all…"
And seriously— Those other idiots are still just standing there watching?!
She was getting annoyed.
Yukina looked up at the massive twin-headed serpent, fists clenched tight.
Taking a deep breath, her eyes hardened.
Vwooooom—!
A brilliant silver light shot into the sky!
Divine energy exploded from her body, wrapping around her like a storm.
And in the next moment—A massive Snow Wolf formed behind her!
No hesitation.
Yukina raised her arms high and hurled the wolf's image straight at the beast!
SHRAAAK—!
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