"Rias, do you really believe he's just a mercenary?"
Sona could hardly hide her surprise. When had someone this powerful arrived in Kuoh Town without her noticing?
Her good friend had hidden him remarkably well.
And during the earlier fight with the Hellhounds, she had been paying attention as well.
Both Himejima Akeno and Koneko, whose strength had originally been nothing special, had displayed power that clearly exceeded what a low-class devil should possess.
Especially Akeno, who had used the Spear of Light.
Did that mean she had already accepted the Fallen Angel bloodline within her?
Although she didn't look very proficient yet, it was hard not to connect the sudden growth of those two with that ridiculously strong mercenary.
"Honestly, I'm just as confused. Why would someone this powerful suddenly choose to settle in Kuoh Town?"
Rias gave a bitter smile.
The surface reason was that he had come to deliver a letter to Akeno, but anyone with eyes could tell that was merely incidental.
It also didn't seem like he was trying to curry favor with devils.
After all, someone capable of killing a Fallen Angel executive like Kokabiel could receive top-tier treatment anywhere.
If he truly hated Fallen Angels, he wouldn't have taken those three weak Fallen Angels in.
On top of that, Rod had a witch, a nun, and even a yokai wanted by the Underworld living with him.
His household composition was extremely complicated, and Rias had no idea what Rod actually did.
Sona's eyes flickered.
Since even Rias didn't know, there was no need to dig deeper into his background.
Besides, someone this powerful was worth befriending.
"Let's go take a look first."
Sona said.
After all, he was their lifesaver. As the future head of the Sitri family, she needed to show some courtesy.
Rias nodded. She had originally planned to talk with Rod tonight anyway.
After everything that had happened, she had plenty of questions.
Of course, her attitude needed to change.
Although the Underworld had developed legal and civilized systems comparable to, or even surpassing the human world after centuries of reform, its core still followed the principle of "the strong devour the weak, and the fittest survive."
The strong were respected wherever they went, even if Rod appeared to be about the same age as her.
And who knew, maybe Rod's real age was far older?
After all, devils possessed magic that could preserve their appearance. Even after living for thousands of years, they could still look like teenagers.
Just then, however, a thunderous sonic boom suddenly tore through the sky.
Akeno, Koneko, and Kuroka, who were sensitive to the flow of various energies, noticed it immediately.
Rod and Lavinia reacted even faster.
Rias and Sona realized it a moment later. A pure white meteor tore through the night sky, falling rapidly from the sky.
An inexplicable sense of tension and fear spread through their bodies.
The overwhelming presence radiating from that meteor, along with the terrifying gap in power it carried, made them feel as if its strength even surpassed the Kokabiel Rod had just killed.
They had received no report of reinforcements from the Underworld, so they didn't think this was help arriving.
"Prepare for impact!"
Rias shouted.
With the meteor descending at such speed, it should have created an enormous shockwave upon landing.
Yet nothing like that happened.
When the meteor descended to about ten meters above the ground, it suddenly stopped midair.
The figure shone brilliantly in the darkness. With much of the city center plunged into darkness after the earlier battle, the light it emitted appeared even more dazzling.
There was not a single trace of black on the figure.
Pure white armor covered the entire body, with gem-like spheres embedded all across it. The face, also hidden behind armor, had a pair of glowing azure eyes that scanned everything on the battlefield.
Four pairs of wings of light extended from its back, radiating a divine glow completely different from holy light.
That's pretty cool.
Rod immediately recognized who it was.
According to the original story, when Kokabiel rampaged in Kuoh Town, the White Dragon Emperor Vali would arrive under orders from the Fallen Angel Governor Azazel to bring him back to Grigori for judgment.
However, because Rod had intervened, Kokabiel had not followed the original plan of toying with Rias and her group. Instead, he had immediately begun rampaging in the city center.
Rod had also arrived at the scene right away.
Under the super-accelerated state, time outside slowed to an extreme degree. The entire sequence hadn't even taken thirty seconds.
In the original storyline, if Kokabiel had slowly finished his "hunter game," the White Dragon Emperor would have had plenty of time to arrive.
But Rod had acted too quickly, leaving no time for the outside world to react.
After scanning the battlefield, the White Dragon Emperor also noticed that something seemed wrong.
He had finally sensed Kokabiel's presence and rushed over.
But now that he had arrived… where was Kokabiel?
Soon enough, he found a clue.
In the heavily damaged city center, Vali spotted several broken black wings lying on the ground.
The residual aura on them indicated that their former owner had been powerful.
Since Vali had seen Kokabiel before, he quickly recognized them as Kokabiel's wings.
Which led him to a conclusion he didn't want to accept.
Kokabiel was most likely dead.
Otherwise, with his personality, he wouldn't simply disappear after causing such chaos.
"Was I too late?"
The voice from beneath the helmet sounded cold and calm.
Yet that very tone made Rias and the others swallow nervously.
The pressure from the white armored figure was overwhelming.
Even more so than Kokabiel.
Who exactly was this person?
He carried no aura of a devil, Fallen Angel, or angel.
Or was it concealed by that armor filled with spiritual energy?
In any case, the girls' instincts told them he was not someone to provoke.
Still, as the host of Kuoh Town, Rias felt she had to step forward and at least make her presence known.
After all, she was the lord of this territory.
But before she could speak, the figure suddenly turned its gaze toward Rod.
"So you're the one who killed Kokabiel. I didn't expect someone like you to be hiding in Kuoh Town."
Kokabiel was no weakling.
Even for Vali himself, defeating Kokabiel without activating Balance Breaker would have been impossible.
"You're strong."
Vali examined Rod carefully.
When he noticed that Rod's aura was steady and that he showed no signs of injury, his surprise deepened.
To defeat Kokabiel without suffering any wounds meant his strength was at least on the level of an Ultimate-Class Devil.
Whether Kokabiel lived or died didn't matter much to Vali. He had only been ordered to bring Kokabiel back alive.
If Kokabiel was dead, then there was nothing he could do.
However, Rod's existence was an unexpected delight.
Upon encountering a strong opponent, Vali felt his blood begin to boil. His soul, which longed to challenge the strong, stirred with excitement.
But just as he was considering whether to test this man's strength,
He suddenly noticed the girl standing behind Rod, wearing a light-colored dress.
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