KUOH SHOPPING DISTRICT
"I've finished erasing the humans' memories." Akeno dismissed the last spell as she watched the civilians being escorted away from the massacre site.
"I'm done on this side too." Rias slowly exhaled as the last traces of blood disappeared from the ground. "Now where's Sona? I told Kiba to notify her, but it's taking too long."
"They're probably having trouble finding her." Gasper replied while keeping part of his attention connected to the bats spread throughout Kuoh.
The street was gradually emptying as the survivors were led away from the area. Magnus's and Lucien's corpses still lay nearby while the wind slowly carried the scent of blood through the shopping district.
Without any warning, a spear of light appeared in the sky.
The weapon tore through the air like a golden lightning bolt, leaving a brilliant trail behind as it plummeted at an absurd speed directly toward Rias's back.
The sound came afterward.
SHHHHOOOOOM!
The spear was practically upon her when Gasper vanished from his position.
His body appeared behind Rias in the same instant.
CRAAASH!
His bare hands caught the spear of light at the very last second, and the impact immediately cracked the ground beneath his feet. Holy energy burned the skin of his hands as smoke rose from the open wounds.
Blood flowed between his fingers.
Red droplets fell onto the shattered asphalt.
"Bitch."
Gasper's voice was low, but filled with killing intent.
"A-Ah..." Akeno's eyes widened as she saw the blood running down his hands. "Gasper-kun!"
"By Lucifer..." Rias immediately grabbed his arm as she realized just how close she had come to taking that attack herself.
A woman's laughter echoed above the rooftops.
"Lucky bitch."
Black wings cut across the sky as Luminara appeared hovering above the street. Her smile was wide and amused, as though everything that had happened was nothing more than entertainment.
Another figure slowly emerged behind her.
"Indeed." Seraphiel kept his eyes fixed on Gasper as he hovered in the air. "She's fortunate to have such a fast servant."
"Fallen Angels..." Rias's voice was filled with rage as she continued holding Gasper's arm.
The atmosphere of the street completely changed.
Rias's demonic power began spreading through the surroundings while black lightning crackled around Akeno. Above them, the holy light radiating from the two Fallen Angels illuminated part of the sky.
The shopping district seemed divided between two worlds as Rias's demonic aura and Akeno's black lightning pushed against the holy radiance surrounding the Fallen Angels.
'My hands aren't healing.'
The realization reached Gasper before the pain had even finished spreading through his arms. The skin burned by the spears of light remained open, exposed, and smoking, as if remnants of holy energy had embedded themselves deep within his flesh.
For a devil, divine power wasn't merely offensive energy. It corrupted demonic physiology, interfered with regeneration, and caused even simple wounds to remain open far longer than they should.
In Gasper's case, it was even more irritating.
His vampire body would normally close cuts, punctures, and burns within seconds, but the holy light clinging to his hands prevented his blood from rebuilding the flesh properly. His regeneration kept trying to work, failed, and sent waves of burning pain back through his fingers.
Rias noticed immediately.
His hands were still bleeding.
And that wasn't normal.
'Divine power is blocking his regeneration.'
The conclusion immediately hardened her gaze. If Gasper couldn't recover like he normally did, then this fight had to be controlled before the Fallen Angels exploited that weakness.
Rias slowly released his arm and stepped forward, placing herself partially between Gasper and the enemies above.
'I need to buy time for Gasper-kun.'
The Power of Destruction began gathering around her with even greater intensity, eroding small pieces of asphalt beneath her feet. Akeno noticed the movement and stepped beside her as black lightning intensified around her body.
Gasper slowly flexed his fingers, ignoring the pain as blood continued dripping from his hands. His crimson eyes remained fixed on Luminara, and this time there wasn't ordinary irritation in his gaze.
There was killing intent.
"Would you look at that..." Luminara leaned forward in the air while watching Rias and Akeno move in front of Gasper. "They want to protect their boyfriend."
"We'll kill the Gremory heiress." Seraphiel's expression remained cold as more spears of light began forming around him. "The others are irrelevant."
Gasper slowly raised his head toward the two Fallen Angels.
His left eye glowed a deep crimson, and the pressure surrounding the shopping district changed as though the very air had been sealed inside an invisible box. Luminara and Seraphiel tried to move their wings, but their bodies froze completely before they could launch another attack.
The Forbidden Balor View held them motionless in the sky.
Rias and Akeno noticed immediately.
The destructive energy surrounding Rias paused for a moment while Akeno's black lightning continued crackling around her body. Both of them quickly glanced at Gasper, surprised that he was using his Sacred Gear despite his hands still being burned by holy power.
"What are you waiting for?" Gasper flexed his injured fingers while his regeneration struggled to function. "Finish them so we can go back to the mansion."
"Gasper-kun..." Rias frowned as she saw smoke still rising from his hands. "Are you sure you can use your Sacred Gear in that condition?"
Akeno also looked at him with genuine concern.
"She's right." Her voice completely lost its teasing tone. "If divine power is interfering with your regeneration, forcing the Forbidden Balor View now could make things even worse."
"I can handle it." Gasper kept his eye fixed on the immobilized Fallen Angels. "But I won't be able to hold it for long."
Rias understood immediately.
"Akeno, let's exterminate these Fallen Angels." The Power of Destruction condensed in her hands, forming two dense crimson masses that eroded the air around them. "Now."
"Yes."
Akeno raised her right hand as black lightning gathered above her into a violent sphere of energy.
The sky above the shopping district was consumed by two different powers at once. Rias's Power of Destruction glowed a deep crimson, heavy and absolute, while Akeno's black lightning spread like electric serpents, tearing through the air with violent cracks.
KRAK-KRAK-KRAK!
Akeno attacked first.
The black lightning shot straight upward and struck Seraphiel directly in the chest, piercing through the holy light still surrounding him. The Fallen Angel's body convulsed in the air, unable to react because of Gasper's temporal control, while his black wings were torn apart by successive bursts of electricity.
BOOOOM!
The energy exploded around Seraphiel and scorched part of the sky above the street, leaving black feathers slowly disintegrating in the air. His body lost all stability, cracking under the pressure of the lightning before beginning to crumble into blackened fragments.
At the same time, Rias unleashed her Power of Destruction toward Luminara.
The crimson sphere crossed the distance effortlessly and struck the Fallen Angel directly in the center of her chest. Unlike Akeno's lightning, there was no explosive impact—only pure erasure, as though her very existence were being consumed from within.
CRRSHHH.
The crimson energy slowly devoured Luminara, beginning with her torso before spreading through her wings, arms, and face. Her expression remained frozen by the Forbidden Balor View until the very last second, unable to turn her arrogance into despair before disappearing completely.
The two Fallen Angels were annihilated above Kuoh before they could ever touch the ground again.
Gasper slowly let out a breath and deactivated the Forbidden Balor View. The crimson glow in his eye faded immediately, but the pain in his hands returned with even greater intensity the moment his concentration slipped.
"Good."
He slowly lowered his arm.
"They're dead."
Rias immediately returned to his side, taking one of his injured hands before Gasper could even try to hide the wounds.
"Are you alright, Gasper-kun?"
"Yeah." His voice remained calm, even though the burned skin was still taking far too long to heal. "I just need some blood to recover completely."
Akeno stepped up beside him, looking at his hands with restrained anger directed not at him, but at the entire situation.
"Then let's leave."
Gasper quickly glanced at the unconscious civilians and the devastated shopping district. Part of him hated leaving the scene unfinished, but Kokabiel was still hiding somewhere, and remaining there with limited regeneration would be foolish.
'I don't want to leave the humans like this... but if Kokabiel attacks while I'm in this condition, it'll be far too dangerous.'
He slowly closed his hand, ignoring the pain shooting up his arm.
"Yeah."
Gasper finally nodded.
"Let's go."
Rias raised her free hand and activated the Gremory House's magic circle beneath the three of them. Crimson light spread across the cracked asphalt, enveloping Gasper, Rias, and Akeno as the shopping district gradually faded around them.
SHUUUN.
Seconds later, the three vanished from the scene, leaving behind nothing but corpses, ruins, and the distant echo of a war that had just become far more serious.
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