The red magic circles shattered like glass, and the cold did not stop there.
In a split second, the white frost rushed over the earth. It climbed up the legs of the three devil commanders. It covered their chests, their arms, and the shocked looks on their faces. Behind them, the remaining devils of the Old Satan Faction were caught in the freezing wave too. The blast swept through their entire line, turning every single warrior into a still, blue ice statue.
The battlefield became completely silent. Hundreds of powerful devils stood frozen in place, unable to move a single inch.
Up in the high sky, Azazel let out a low whistle, a very pleased look on his face. "Well, look at that. She froze their magic and their bodies at the exact same time. I say Lavinia sure has grown up from that little girl who was scared of her own Sacred Gear."
"Hmm, her control over the sacred gear is something praiseworthy. Azazel, when this is over, you will go and teach her to achieve her abyss form. Only with the abyss form could one bring out the true power of the sacred gear. No, it should be said that as long as her desire and willpower are enough, the sacred gear would try its best to fulfil its host's wishes." Azrael explained as she looked at Lavinia with a satisfied expression.
Azazel's playful smirk softened slightly, his eyes reflecting the blue glow of the frozen field below. "The Abyss Side, huh? You're setting the bar high, My Queen. But you're right. She's got the heart for it. If anyone can tame that giant frozen doll to its absolute depths, it's Lavinia."
Down on the field, Tobio didn't waste a moment. Seeing the entire enemy force frozen solid, he took the chance right away.
"Jin, let's finish them!" Tobio barked through his black armor.
Moving like a flash of shadow, Tobio ran straight into the frozen army. His six shadow tails whipped through the air, flaring with dark energy. Jin lunged forward right besides him, his bladed body glowing as he tore through the cold air.
Together, they unleashed quick shadow strikes, smashing the frozen enemies. Every time Tobio swung his black sword or Jin used his sharp claws, the ice statues shattered into sparkling dust that blew away in the wind. Hundreds of high-ranking devils were completely erased from existence in a few moments. The terrifying vanguard was nothing more than dust.
Tobio landed softly right next to Lavinia, his shadow armor still pulsing with power. The immediate threat was gone, but the battlefield remained eerily quiet.
Suddenly, a loud, slow clapping sound echoed from the dark portal at the edge of the horizon.
"My, my, what a wonderful show," a mocking voice called out through the cold wind. "You truly are talented children. No wonder Azazel is so proud."
It was a lanky young man with a sharp, square jaw and bony cheeks. He had short black hair that was swept back cleanly, and a small amount of dark stubble covered his chin. His brown eyes gleamed with a cold, calculated light as he looked over the group. In his hand, he casually held a legendary, dark-aura sword—Arondight.
The person who appeared was none other than Satanael, the former Cadre leader who had betrayed Grigori. And this person is also the founder of Khoas Brigade. But as a researcher, he inherently just wanted to find a place to do his experiments in peace, so he found the scapegoat to inherit this burden and went back to his research.
And the person he found was our adorable mascot, Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, as the perfect figurehead to take the blame. With the powerful dragon acting as the face of the group, Satanael was free to slip back into the dark and focus on his experiments without anyone bothering him.
He had originally planned to stay in his quiet lab forever, letting Ophis take all the spotlight. But with his vanguard completely wiped out and his plans falling apart, he could no longer act invisible. Satanael had no choice but to show his face.
Up in the high sky, Azazel's playful smirk vanished completely. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the man holding the dark-aura sword, Arondight. His killing intent completely exploded as he looked at the arrogant Satanael. No, it wasn't just Azazel; every single fallen angel, whether they were cadres or even normal soldiers of Grigori, they all looked at Satanael with pure rage and killing intent.
In his long life, Azazel had seen many of his former comrades choose to betray him when the Queen was absent. But even at those times, he didn't care much, as he knew that all fallen angels were never loyal to Grigory. Their loyalty is only to their Queen Azrael, who took them in when they were abandoned and helpless.
But just as they say amongst every group, there exists an anomaly. And this person was Satanael.
Satanael was actually a researcher who was incredibly talented, but he lacked any form of empathy or loyalty. To him, the fallen angels, Grigori, and even the Queen were nothing more than data and tools to be used for his endless experiments. But this man knew how to hide this.
Satanael joined Grigori at the end of the Great War. In fact, he was the last person to join Grigori before their Queen went into slumber.
He had acted like a quiet, hardworking scientist who only wanted to help Grigori rebuild after the devastating war. For a long time, he fooled everyone. He worked day and night, helping to build their sacred gear research division, and Azazel had genuinely trusted him. Azazel had thought Satanael was just a brilliant mind who wanted to find a safe home, just like the rest of them.
But all this was a complete lie. He had used all the resources that he could get from Grigori to complete his research. He used fallen angels and humans as resources to be mined. In his eyes, there are only those who are useful for research and those who are not.
But this isn't the main reason why Azazel hated him. The main reason why Azazel and every single fallen angel hated him was that he was the one who had betrayed their queen, injuring her and forcing her to go to sleep in Heaven.
This was something Azazel found out when Satanael tore away his disguise. The man himself admitted this, and when they broke down his secret laboratory, there was evidence proving all their conjectures.
"Satanael, how dare you show your face in front of us?" Azazel shouted, his voice trembling with a terrifying mix of rage and hatred. "You traitor ... I will personally tear you into pieces! "The golden light spear in his grip flared so bright it looked like a miniature sun, crackling with pure, destructive energy. The sky around him turned a deep, angry gold as his massive, twelve black wings flared outward to their absolute limit.
The heavy pressure of Azazel's killing intent pressed down on the entire area, making the air freeze even more than Lavinia's magic had. Every fallen angel soldier behind him raised their light spears, ready to drop a rain of golden death on the man below.
Just then, a cold voice cut through the battlefield, making everyone freeze in place. "That's enough, all of you. Calm down yourselves."
******
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