"Variant Detonation"—this is a Sacred Gear capable of triggering an explosion upon impact, wounding the opponent. Compared to ultra-rare Sacred Gears like "Holy Sword Creation" or "Dimension Lost," its ability isn't particularly flashy; one might even call it mediocre. However, when its wielder is a warrior possessing a formidable physique, the threat of this Sacred Gear rises exponentially, becoming something truly terrifying.
Heracles—the Great Hero of Greek mythology who ascended to godhood after enduring the Twelve Labors. Now, the one who inherited his soul relied on a powerful body to press the attack against Utaha Kasumigaoka. Every time his massive fist swung down, it triggered the effect of "Variant Detonation," lashing Utaha with grand explosions.
Had Utaha not been a Barrier Master capable of manifesting barriers at a moment's notice to deflect the blasts, she would have been blown to pieces by Heracles' fists long ago. This displeased Heracles greatly.
"I chose the wrong opponent. Had I known, I would have picked the user of 'Holy Sword Creation' instead." After all, that opponent was a specialist in close combat, unlike Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was frustratingly resilient.
"That's not allowed. This little sister belongs to this big sister," Jeanne replied with a laugh as she and Asuna Yuuki entered the realm of high-speed combat. Their figures blurred into afterimages, both wielding twin holy swords and drawing out countless arcs of light. They traded blows frantically, letting blade-shadows and sword-glints ravage the area, leaving shocking gouges in the ground.
"What a pity."
Not far from their high-speed battlefield, a white-haired young priest spoke with a touch of regret. "As a fellow swordsman, I originally wanted to test my skills against that Holy Sword user, but Jeanne beat me to it."
Regretful as he was, the white-haired youth quickly composed himself and turned to face his own opponent. "However, getting to exchange blows with the legendary Holy Crucifix... for a former member of the Church like me, I suppose that counts as luck?"
Standing across from the white-haired youth was none other than Mahiru Shiina.
"—I heard Yukino mention this," Mahiru Shiina said after a moment of silence, staring at the youth's conspicuous white hair. "She said that Senpai—our Master—once told her there was a special organization within the Church whose sole purpose was to cultivate warriors possessing the bloodline of the hero Sigurd."
This was something Leon had mentioned back at the Yukinoshita residence. At the time, he had brought it up specifically to draw out Sharon's background. However, Yukino Yukinoshita had remembered it and shared the information with the rest of the Eligos Peerage.
"It is said that every warrior who emerges from that facility possesses distinctive white hair," Mahiru Shiina said gravely, looking at the man's priest vestments and hair. "If I am not mistaken, you must be one of them."
The white-haired youth raised an eyebrow. "You can just call me Siegfried."
"Well, I was indeed a top-tier Exorcist for the Church, one of their best," he continued. "But I left the Church long ago to join the Hero Faction. That nun over there currently in a deathmatch with the second miss of the Yukinoshita family is someone I brought over; after all, her circumstances were somewhat similar to mine."
Siegfried shrugged, the corners of his mouth turning up as if he were in a good mood. "By the way, just like the hero Sigurd, I am a Demon Swordsman. I am the opposite attribute to that Holy Swordsman fighting over there. However, I don't use a Sacred Gear that creates Demon Swords—I use actual Demon Swords."
With that, Siegfried drew a blade from his waist. Upon closer inspection, several swords hung at the waist of this former elite Church warrior. Almost every one of them radiated a malevolent aura—the complete opposite of a holy sword—dangerous and terrifying, as if looking at them for too long would result in a curse.
If Yuuto Kiba were here, he would instantly recognize these as Demon Swords. Furthermore, they were not created by a Sacred Gear; like Xenovia's Holy Sword Durandal, they were famous Demon Swords from history.
The one Siegfried drew radiated the most vicious, ominous, and terrifying aura of them all. The moment that Demon Sword appeared, a chill ran down Mahiru Shiina's spine. As the wielder of the Holy Crucifix, Mahiru felt instinctively that the blade was extremely dangerous.
"Gram, the Demonic Emperor Sword. It is the Demon Sword once held by the dragon-slaying hero Sigurd, and it is known as the strongest 'Emperor Sword' among magic blades. It once slew Fafnir, the 'Golden Dragon King.' It is a Demon Sword that possesses both a vicious sharpness capable of cutting through anything and powerful dragon-slaying properties."
Siegfried raised the legendary Demon Sword, letting a ferocious flame of energy rise from the blade. "If you aren't careful, you'll be swallowed whole by this sword's power."
As he finished speaking, Siegfried swung the Emperor Sword down violently.
Boom!
In the next instant, the malevolent energy coiled around Gram exploded outward. It detached from the blade, tearing through the ground as it spiraled toward Mahiru Shiina, causing her expression to change sharply.
Boom!
Without a second thought, Mahiru Shiina raised a slender hand and released her Purple Flames. A crucifix composed of pure purple fire slammed into the incoming malevolent energy, clashing head-on.
Rumble!
A deafening roar echoed as the two colliding forces erupted like a massive explosion, sending a shockwave expanding outward. Mahiru Shiina was blown back several steps by the impact. Siegfried also retreated two steps, but the smile on his face grew wider.
"As expected of the Holy Crucifix that can purify all demonic nature and evil. To think it could even block the demonic aura of Gram. It seems this battle won't be too boring."
Gram possessed the property to sever anything. Had anyone else tried to block it—even Utaha Kasumigaoka's barriers—they would have been sliced through instantly. However, the "Crucifix of the Purple Flame Altar" was one of the three Great Holy Relics. It possessed incredible holy power and purification abilities, making it a supreme counter to demonic energy. While Gram was the strongest Demon Sword, it was still a Demon Sword; as such, it could not avoid being suppressed by the Holy Crucifix. Its "destructive" nature was neutralized by the purification within the purple flames, resulting in the two forces canceling each other out.
"Just like Heracles, the opponent I chose doesn't have the best compatibility with me. But that is exactly what I want." Siegfried drew another Demon Sword from his waist.
"—You will lose your life," Mahiru Shiina said, her voice holding no sense of being overwhelmed by Siegfried's words, but rather a hint of pity.
Siegfried's smile stiffened slightly. He knew Mahiru wasn't saying this because she was confident in her ability to defeat or kill him. In fact, if the two were to fight, Siegfried was certain he would be the one holding the upper hand. As a former elite Church warrior armed with the strongest Demon Sword and several others, Siegfried's strength ranked near the very top of the Hero Faction—essentially the second strongest after Cao Cao.
In the Hero Faction, Siegfried held a position akin to a Vice-Commander, serving as Cao Cao's right-hand man. His strength was enough to rival, or even surpass, an Ultimate-Class Devil. Within the Eligos Peerage, aside from Leon, only Yukino Yukinoshita and Ram could likely deal with him.
In other words, Mahiru Shiina was no match for Siegfried. However, the "Angel's" words were not without merit.
"Demon Swords are cursed weapons to begin with. Even if you were the Church's top warrior, using them will never be without consequence—let alone using so many at once, with one being the strongest Emperor Sword." Mahiru Shiina looked at Siegfried with a gaze full of pity. "Using these swords so recklessly... can you really hold out forever?"
Her words plunged Siegfried into silence. Then, he indifferently threw back a sentence. "Whatever. I never planned on living long anyway."
As if he didn't want to continue the conversation, Siegfried swung his Demon Swords down once more. Mahiru Shiina immediately released her Purple Flame Crucifix to meet him.
Boom!!!
The vicious magic aura and the purple flames clashed again, resulting in a violent conflict and a thunderous roar.
With this, the four veteran members of the Eligos Peerage were all locked in combat with warriors of the Hero Faction. Meanwhile, Ravel, Ram, and Rem were not idle. They were also engaged in fierce battles with enemies, and the scale of their combat was not at all inferior to the other four battlefields. Their opponents were quite extraordinary—at least, their backgrounds were daunting.
"I am Georg, a descendant of Georg Faust." The young magician who had previously approached Leon alongside Cao Cao introduced himself. He wore exquisite mage robes and glasses, looking every bit the expert in magical formulas.
But that wasn't his most striking feature. What truly forced one to be on guard was that, besides being a high-level magician, he was the host of "Dimension Lost," one of the high-tier Longinus.
"You're the one who sent us here, aren't you?" Ravel spread her fiery wings and hovered before Georg, questioning him with a stern face.
"That is correct. The one who dragged you into this place and locked you in is me," Georg admitted readily, pushing up his glasses.
Beside him stood a young boy, tanned with pale hair, silent and somber as if he had wandered onto the wrong set. However, behind the boy, a colossal creature emerged from the shadows, roaring at Ram and Rem.
"A new monster—!" Rem blocked the incoming wave of the roar, her expression shifting rapidly.
"Is that brat the wielder of 'Annihilation Maker'?" Ram, her body surrounded by whirlwinds, completely ignored the sound waves. She stared at the boy and muttered under her breath.
"His name is Leonardo, a descendant of the genius artist Leonardo da Vinci. He is the host of 'Annihilation Maker' and the youngest member of our Hero Faction. He rarely speaks, so I ask for your patience," Georg said, resting a hand on Leonardo's shoulder with a slight curl of his lip. "The two of us shall be your opponents."
Though it was three against two, neither Ravel nor the twins dared to relax. They were facing two Longinus hosts, both of whom held high-tier Longinus.
"If the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels were here, he'd probably be very excited," Ravel said with a touch of gallows humor.
"True Longinus," "Zenith Tempest," "Annihilation Maker," and "Dimension Lost"—four high-tier Longinus were gathered here. Not just Azazel; anyone who saw this scene would struggle to stay calm. Especially when the first two were the leaders of both sides currently battling in the sky, having the remaining two Longinus in front of them put significant pressure on Ravel and the others.
"Be careful, Rem." Ram glanced at Georg before focusing her serious gaze on the massive monster behind Leonardo. "That monster won't be easy to handle." Ram could already sense a significant crisis emanating from the creature.
"Please rest assured, Sister. Rem can do it." Rem gripped her morning star tightly, her eyes fixed on the monster. Her eyes began to glow with a faint red light, and dots of white brilliance gathered on her forehead, giving her an aura as if she were about to explode at any moment.
"—!!!"
Another wordless roar erupted from the massive monster's mouth, whipping up a majestic wave of sound that swept in all directions like a storm. Soon, the monster lost its patience; bypassing its silent master Leonardo, it charged forward. Ram and Rem did not shrink back, meeting it simultaneously.
As for Ravel... "I'll be your opponent!" Burning with flames, she charged toward Georg.
"Excellent," Georg said, refusing to be outdone. Magic circles expanded around him. The five-way battle erupted instantly, causing this corner of the battlefield to tremble.
In the sky above Kuoh Town. By this time, Leon and Cao Cao had moved away from the plaza, expanding the scope of their battlefield to the entire artificial space.
Bang!
As a mass of scorching flames exploded in front of Cao Cao, he was sent flying back as if blasted, crashing into a skyscraper. He smashed through the walls and glass, turning them to powder.
"This is really..." Cao Cao pushed away the debris covering him and stumbled out of the building, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.
Leon's figure appeared outside the building. The five pairs of devil wings on his back were spread to their maximum extent, creating an impression of blotting out the sky.
"How is it? Different from last time, right?" Leon said, looking at the swaying Cao Cao.
"Ten wings..." Cao Cao wiped the blood from his mouth. Looking at the wings on Leon's back, he gave a bitter smile. "Last time, it was clearly only eight..."
"That is why you were able to collect data on me with such ease last time," Leon said calmly. "This time, I want to see if you can still face me with strength to spare."
Around Leon's body, various phenomena such as wind, fire, thunder, and lightning manifested, painting his figure like that of a god.
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