"BALANCE BREAKER NIGHT CELESTIAL SLASH DOGS"
The air cracked under a sudden, heavy pressure. Darkness exploded outward like a wave of pure midnight, swallowing everything in sight.
When the shadows snapped back, Tobio stood completely transformed. A sleek, pitch-black armor covered his body, shaping him into a six-tailed, half-human hound. Jin stood right by his side, growling with a dark aura. This was the true, original power Tobio had possessed since birth, now mastered to its absolute limit.
With a single step, the entire battlefield became his territory. His shadows shot outward, stretching far beyond what the eye could see and turning the ground beneath the enemy into a boiling black sea.
In a split second, countless black blades erupted from the earth. The massive sea of spikes covered the horizon, skewering hundreds of mass-produced Grim Reapers and beasts at once. With a swift swing of his sword, Tobio sent sharp, crescent-shaped shadow slashes, tearing through the frontline. Besides him, Jin lunged forward, his bladed form shredding through the remaining mythical beasts like paper.
But the enemies kept coming. Seeing their front lines crushed by the black blades, hundreds of Reapers raised their glowing scythes together. They chanted a dark spell, turning the purple fog into massive, poisonous balls of dark magic right behind Tobio.
Before they could attack, the battlefield suddenly grew freezing cold. The heat from the explosions vanished. The air became so icy that the reapers froze completely solid in mid-air.
"My, my, it seems we arrived just in time," a sweet voice called out through the cold wind.
Floating down from the sky was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. It was Lavinia Reni. Right behind her stood a giant ice doll that gave off a freezing aura—the Absolute Demise, one of the strongest Sacred Gears.
"Lavinia!" Tobio said, his voice sounding a bit strange through his armor.
"Leave the front lines to me, Tobio," Lavinia said with a gentle smile, though her eyes were sharp. She pointed her finger at the frozen crowd. "Forever Cry."
The giant ice doll let out a massive wave of freezing magic. A bright blizzard swept across the field, instantly turning thousands of reapers and beasts into still ice statues.
Tobio took the chance right away. Moving like a flash of shadow, he ran through the frozen army. Together with Jin, he unleashed quick shadow strikes, smashing the frozen enemies into sparkling dust that blew away in the wind.
Up in the high sky, Azazel watched the young squad and the huge blizzard clearing the field, a very pleased look on his face. He looked at Azrael with a look that clearly said, ' Praise me for teaching such good students. '
Azrael simply ignored his smug look, her eyes narrowing as she kept her gaze fixed on the battlefield below. She knew better than to celebrate early when dealing with an unpredictable opponent like Rizevim.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Azazel," Azrael said coldly, her voice snapping him back to reality. "The vanguard was just the opening act. Look there."
Right on cue, the distorted space at the edge of the horizon cracked open completely, shattering like glass. A massive, pitch-black dimensional portal rippled into existence, and the heavy pressure of high-tier demonic energy flooded the entire area.
Sensing the sudden shift in power, Tobio and Lavinia immediately halted their advance, stepping back into a defensive stance alongside Kouki, Natsume, and Sae. The remaining mass-produced Reapers parted ways, creating a wide path as a group of figures stepped through the portal.
Leading the march was a small group of high-ranking devils from the Old Satan Faction, their eyes glowing with malice as they looked at the fallen angel outposts.
"So this is the trash that has been delaying us," one of the enemy commanders sneered, drawing a massive, dark-infused broadsword. "You managed to clear some trash, but let's see how you handle some real warriors!"
Down on the field, Tobio didn't say a word. The six shadow tails behind his armor flared with dark energy, and Jin let out a low, menacing growl. Besides him, Lavinia's giant ice doll raised its massive arms, ready to unleash another freezing wave.
Up in the skies, Azazel's sharp smirk returned as he gripped his light spear firmly. "Well, it looks like the main course is finally here. Shall we join the kids, My Queen?"
Azrael simply shook her head after considering it, her eyes remaining cold and calculative.
"No," she replied softly, her commanding voice cutting through the wind. "We stay put."
Azazel raised an eyebrow, his playful smirk faltering slightly. "Oh? You're going to let the kids handle all the heavy lifting? Those aren't just mass-produced puppets anymore, you know."
"They are strong, but not strong enough to warrant our interference," Azrael stated firmly.
Her mind traced back to the tactical briefings and the silent understanding she shared with her daughter. Just like Roxanne had predicted back in the palace, this entire setup was far too loud, far too obvious. Rizevim was a madman, but he wasn't stupid. If the Khaos Brigade truly thought a few high-ranking devils from the Old Satan Faction could take down Heaven and Grigori's defense lines, this whole invasion would be nothing but a farce.
There had to be a hidden card. A trump card specifically meant to lock her down or catch them completely off guard. If she moved now, she would be playing right into their hands.
"Baraqiel, Armaros," Azrael commanded through the communication magic circle. "Support the Slash/Dog team from the flanks. Do not let the enemy commanders isolate them. But keep your main reserves hidden."
"Understood," Baraqiel's deep voice crackled back through the lightning-infused magic line.
Down on the battlefield, the Old Satan Faction commanders didn't wait. With loud roars, they charged forward, their dark demonic power flaring as they kicked up storms of dust.
Tobio didn't hesitate. With his balance breaker fully active, he became a blur of midnight. He met the leading commander head-on, his black sword clashing against the enemy's massive broadsword with a deafening ring. Sparks of dark energy exploded outward as Jin leapt from the shadows, forcing the other enemy officers to break their formation.
CLANG!
The heavy impact echoed across the field as Tobio pushed the commander back, his six shadow tails whipping through the air to swot away a barrage of dark magic fired by the trailing officers.
"Take this, you bastard!" Kouki yelled. He lunged into the gap Tobio had created, his glowing Gleipnir chains wrapping tightly around the arms of a second devil commander. With a sharp twist of his torso, Kouki violently slammed the massive devil right into Natsume's line of fire.
Suzaku, hovering high above, dropped a rain of exploding fire feathers that blanketed the area in loud, crackling blasts, forcing the enemy's rear guards to scatter.
"They're trying to circle around Tobio!" Sae warned, her voice sharp as she tracked the fast-moving targets. "Two more are closing in from your left!"
"I've got them!" Kouki roared, throwing his chains out once more, catching one of the flankers by the throat and dragging him into the dirt.
But the Old Satan Faction commanders were veterans. Realizing they were being pinned down, the three remaining officers grouped together, unleashing a massive, combined wave of dense, dark crimson demonic energy. The blast tore up the ground, heading straight for the squad like a roaring tidal wave.
"Lavinia!" Tobio called out, darting backwards to stand besides her.
"On it," Lavinia replied calmly. The air grew so cold that even the wind stopped blowing. Tiny bits of ice floated in the air, glowing like stars. The devil commanders felt the sudden chill and froze in place, feeling a sudden wave of fear.
Lavinia raised her hands. "Balance Breaker!" she called out.
A bright light flashed around her. The giant ice doll broke apart into a huge cloud of white frost. The frost wrapped all around Lavinia, hiding her for a second. When the frost cleared, Lavinia was wearing a beautiful dress made entirely of hard, glowing ice. She looked like a queen of snow, and the air around her felt freezing. This was the absolute limit of her power.
"Forever Cry," Lavinia whispered, pointing her hand at the enemy army.
A huge wave of freezing air rushed across the field. It did not make a single sound, but it moved incredibly fast.
The dark red magic the devils had fired froze solid right in the air, turning into hard red glass. The three devil commanders tried to cast a spell to protect themselves, but their magic circles cracked and broke before they could even finish.
Author's Note: I'm currently balancing my university studies with writing, and things can get pretty tight. If you enjoy my work, even a $1 donation on P.a.t.r.e.o.n makes a massive difference in helping me cover my education expenses.
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