I launch myself forward with everything I have left—no refined technique, no tactics, just a desperate, ugly charge fueled by the final embers of my power.
Reach him! Please, reach him!
"REACH HIIIIIIIIIM!"
How much time has passed? Less than a minute, though it felt like an eternity.
The crimson Holy-Demonic Sword is buried deep in Valus's chest, his blood tracing down the steel to dye it a deeper red. Slowly, the armor of the Crimson Knight King dissolves into particles of light, leaving only the blade pinning the enemy.
Valus gently touches the sword piercing him. "A fine... charge. Brighter and truer than any polished technique or calculated exchange..."
"Could you... have dodged that at the end?" I gasp.
His ability reads hearts and sees into the immediate future. He should have seen it coming.
Valus shakes his head softly. "No... the result would have been the same. Like you, I had reached my limit. This temporary body created by magic could never surpass its bounds the way you humans do."
His fingertips begin to crumble into ash, carried away by the wind.
Looking up at the sky, he whispers, "God of the Bible... I know not what you envisioned when you bestowed these Sacred Gears. But this much I know: you left behind something magnificent. The power you created expanded their potential infinitely. Look... he surpassed his limits and brought his blade home."
He smiles with deep contentment. "Go forward. Your power and your potential will carve out the future..."
With those final words, his body dissolves completely.
The three of us collapse onto the earth, unconscious.
[Kiba POV End]
[Maurice POV]
Yuto and the kids' fight with that clone guy is finally over.
I've been training them for a while now, but man...
"Terrifying kids."
Muttering under my breath, I start patching up Yuto, Xenovia, and Irina. All three are in terrible shape. I'd love to have Asia heal them, but it's faster to call her here than carry all three myself. I ping Asia on the comms and shoot them up with hemostatic agents. Glad I brought these along.
I put this sword trio through hell in training so they'd survive this war. But honestly? Their growth rate is unnatural, even to an old-timer like me. Same goes for Rias and the others. I damn sure wasn't this strong back when I was their age.
Finished with the first aid, I stand up and walk over to the real Valus, who is slumped nearby in rough shape.
"Hey. Still breathing?"
"...Barely, thanks to you. You really are an anomaly, Sword Saint-dono... You held back a bit, didn't you?"
"Holding back implies disrespect. I just avoided your vitals."
"Astonishing," he mutters with a weak scoff. "Are you truly human?"
"Nope. Reincarnated devil now, remember?"
"Still abnormal."
"Calling a fragile old man abnormal is plain rude."
"If you are fragile, the world would have ended long ago."
"Stop reading my mind on the sly, Jimmy."
"Must you call me Jimmy while I'm on the verge of death?!" he snaps, still having enough fight left in him to banter.
Jokes aside, I plop down beside him, taking a swig from my canteen. "Alright, there's something I need to ask. Consider it the main reason I didn't cut your throat. You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"
Valus sighs, staring up at the crimson sky. "Regarding what comes next... the Isolation Barrier?"
"Bingo. You guys knew about it in advance, which means you knew the Great Beast Trihexa would be sealed. What is your boss actually plotting? A guy like him doesn't just sit on intelligence without using it."
When he first let slip about the barrier, one thought stuck in my head: If they knew Trihexa's movement would be contained, why didn't they make a move to counter it?
Trihexa is their ultimate trump card. They wouldn't just let it get shut down without a contingency plan. Issei and Alice said these guys aren't interested in generic world domination, but anyone starting a war this scale is up to something massive.
Valus closes his eyes for a moment before speaking.
"The truth is... from the moment Rossweisse-dono's thesis on sealing Trihexa was identified, we had already predicted how your side would respond in the worst-case scenario."
"!"
They had time to prepare for our countermoves. A nasty feeling sinks into my gut.
Valus continues, "Yes, your instincts are correct, Sword Saint-dono. My father will turn even your traps to his advantage. Trihexa is about to—"
As he reveals what comes next, a cold sweat breaks out across my back.
Be careful, Issei... The bastard you're fighting is planning something insane...!
[Maurice POV End]
~ Afterword Mini-Story ~
Brutal Issei: "Listen up! This is the ultimate fusion of the Straight Man and the Funny Man!"
Issei: "Why the hell would you do that?!"
Miu: "Ah, they fused."
~ Afterword Mini-Story End ~
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