The familiar clutter of amps, cables, and half-empty drink bottles filled the room.
Bocchi sat on the floor with her guitar hugged to her chest like a life raft.
Ryo glanced over while tuning her bass. "So… any luck confessing?"
Bocchi froze.
Completely.
She looked like a game had just softlocked.
"…C-confessing?"
Nijika leaned forward, hands on her knees, already smiling. "So, a no."
Bocchi's soul visibly left her body. "I-I wasn't going to— I mean— it's not like—!"
She curled in on herself. "W-we just talked…"
Ikuyo Kita clapped her hands together cheerfully. "See? That's already huge for Bocchi."
Then she tilted her head. "But yeah… it's not exactly easy."
She gestured vaguely. "I mean, Nate's kind of… surrounded."
Ryo, without missing a beat, started counting on her fingers.
"Kurumu. Mizore. Fubuki—"
"Blizzaria," Bocchi muttered weakly.
"—Kunou. Moka."
Each name hit Bocchi like emotional damage.
By the time Ryo finished, Bocchi was face-down on the floor.
"I'm doomed."
Nijika sighed. "You're not doomed."
Bocchi groaned. "I am. He's popular, strong, calm, terrifyingly competent, and I panic when someone says my name too loud."
Kita tilted her head. "But he talked to you normally, right?"
Bocchi hesitated.
"…Yeah."
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "That's not normal for you."
Bocchi peeked up slightly. "He didn't look at me like I was weird."
That made the room quiet.
Nijika smiled softly. "See? That's something."
Bocchi sat up a little. "A-and he said band fights are normal…"
Ryo smirked. "He's right."
Kita leaned closer, teasing but gentle. "So maybe don't think about confessing yet."
Bocchi blinked. "Huh?"
"Just…" Kita shrugged. "Keep talking. You're already doing something you couldn't before."
Bocchi looked down at her guitar.
Her grip loosened.
"…O-okay."
Ryo slung her bass over her shoulder. "Cool. Emotional crisis later."
Nijika clapped. "Practice time!"
Bocchi nodded, standing up.
Her legs were still shaking—
but she stayed standing.
And for Bocchi Hitori,
that alone felt like a victory.
Meanwhile — Another Place
Umaru Doma stared at the Y Academy leaderboard.
This school being competitive? No joke.
Y Academy prided itself on ranking every student, every year, without mercy.
Nana leaned over, eyes sparkling. "Umaru-chan, look—there's your name!"
Umaru blinked. "Second place…?" Her tone was polite, graceful, almost serene. "Oh… my. This is a first."
She had been first all last year. Second-year? She expected the same.
Then she saw it. The name at the very top:
Nate Adam
Umaru's smile remained, calm and graceful. "Very well… it seems I have been outgrown."
Nana's eyes shone. So composed… so elegant.
Meanwhile, Umaru's brain exploded.
'I HATE YOU!' she screamed silently.
'Now my brother won't get me that game I wanted!'
She clenched her fists under the table, teeth gritted.
Graceful on the outside, raging hurricane on the inside.
Meanwhile — With Nate
Nate sat on the couch, controller in hand, gaming with Kunou curled comfortably beside him.
He frowned slightly. "I wonder what Issei is doing right now."
Kunou tilted her head, ears twitching faintly. "Me too. There's a lot of energy coming from Kuoh."
Nate paused the game for half a second. 'That sounds… loud.'
Meanwhile — Kuoh Academy
Over the past few days, two exorcists had arrived, searching for the missing pieces of Excalibur.
They crossed paths with devils.
Things escalated fast.
Kiba had been having a rough few days—old scars reopening, old anger surfacing.
They chased Freed through the city.
And then…
Kokabiel descended.
A fallen angel governor.
A being meant to be untouchable.
Today should have been an uphill battle.
It wasn't.
Issei slammed Kokabiel into the ground, his Balance Breaker blazing as the earth shattered beneath the impact.
"…"
"Five minutes."
Kokabiel coughed, wings twitching.
Nearby—
Koneko and Raynare crushed the Cerberus copies with brutal efficiency. No hesitation. No mercy.
Rias and Akeno tore through Kokabiel's army like a storm, magic and lightning ripping formations apart before they could even react.
Kiba stood at the centre of it all, gripping his sword.
Not a demonic holy blade.
Not cursed.
His friend's souls were finally free.
Freed lay defeated, staring up at the sky, laughter gone. For the first time in a long while… he was at peace.
Silence followed.
Rias blinked. "…Maybe Nate really did overtrain us during those ten days."
Akeno smiled calmly. "Ara~ I did wonder when we became this strong."
Kokabiel screamed, panic cracking his voice.
"What is happening?!"
No one answered him.
They didn't need to.
Xenovia blinked, gripping Excalibur loosely.
"…So God is dead?"
She was clearly remembering Kokabiel's earlier rant, the certainty in his voice, the weight he'd tried to throw around with those words.
Issei glanced at her, then at the crater where Kokabiel was struggling to get up.
"…Nah," Issei said flatly. "Why would I believe someone that weak?"
Kokabiel snapped, veins bulging as he screamed,
"It's true! God died with the Original Four Satans during the Great War!"
Issei didn't even let him finish.
His axe came up—
THUD.
Straight to Kokabiel's head.
The Fallen Governor dropped like a sack of bricks, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Issei rested the axe on his shoulder.
"Yeah, sure, grandpa. Take a nap."
Silence.
Xenovia stared.
Rias stared.
Akeno raised an eyebrow, impressed.
Xenovia slowly nodded to herself. "…I see."
Rias exhaled, rubbing her temple.
"This was supposed to be a catastrophic incident."
Akeno smiled sweetly. "Ara~ Nate really did leave us spoiled, didn't he?"
Issei scratched his cheek, genuinely confused.
"…Wait, was that guy important?"
Somewhere far away—
Nate sneerzed.
And destiny quietly crossed out another "canon event."
The sky rippled.
White wings of light tore through the clouds as a figure descended, clad in sleek white armor almost identical to Issei's Balance Breaker—cleaner, sharper, colder.
Issei squinted up at him.
"…White Dragon Emperor."
Vali Lucifer hovered there, arms crossed, staring down at the battlefield.
Then his eyes drifted.
Past Rias.
Past Akeno.
Past the unconscious Fallen.
Straight to Kokabiel.
There was a long pause.
Vali slowly lowered himself to the ground, looking genuinely… disappointed.
"…I had a whole speech ready," he said.
"Dramatic entrance. Ideological clash. Power escalation. I was expecting you all to be losing."
He looked at the crater.
At the broken formations.
At Kokabiel, unconscious and drooling slightly.
"…This was supposed to be my moment."
Issei scratched his head.
"Uh… sorry?"
Vali sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"…Can I at least take him back to the Fallen?"
Everyone looked at each other.
Rias nodded.
Akeno shrugged.
Koneko crossed her arms.
Xenovia gave a thumbs-up.
Issei waved lazily. "Yeah, sure. Knock yourself out."
Vali stared at them.
"…You're all way stronger than your reports said."
Akeno smiled sweetly. "Ara~ we had a very strict trainer."
Vali paused.
"…Red Dragon Emperor."
Issei blinked. "Yeah?"
Vali smirked.
"Next time we meet, I'm fighting you."
Then he grabbed Kokabiel by the leg like a trash bag, wings flaring as he shot back into the sky.
Silence followed.
Rias finally spoke.
"…So."
Akeno tilted her head. "Threat neutralized?"
Issei nodded proudly.
"Guess so."
Somewhere in Kyoto—
Nate Adam looked up from his coffee.
"…Huh. That was fast."
The world, once again, quietly rewrote itself around him.
To be continued
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