"Creuserey, Katerea, what is the meaning of this?"
Sirzechs and Serafall were both taken completely by surprise.
"Heh, at this point, don't stand there pretending to ask, you thieves who stole the Maou positions. We've obtained Ophis's power, and today, all of you will be buried along with this town!"
When enemies met, hatred flared all the more fiercely. Creuserey's hatred for the current Maou government had not built up over just a day or two.
Even in his dreams, he yearned to return to the capital, Lilith, and sit upon the throne of the Maou Asmodeus.
He had schemed and endured for years for that very purpose, and it was only after Ophis appeared that he finally saw a sliver of hope.
"Ophis?"
The people who had not known immediately stiffened at the sound of that name.
The Infinite Dragon God's name was known to all. If Ophis was backing the Old Maou faction, then perhaps the three great factions really were in grave danger today.
Seeing the reaction from Sirzechs and the others, Creuserey sneered in disdain.
"Hmph, don't get it wrong. We are not Ophis's subordinates. She is nothing more than a symbol of power and status for us to use. We're only borrowing her power to destroy the existing world and rebuild it."
"And the new world will be ruled by us!"
"Katerea, let's finish this quickly together! Shalba's army in the Underworld has already assembled. The moment we succeed here, he'll immediately launch an attack on the capital, Lilith!"
With that, Creuserey swiftly pulled a glass vial from his clothes, then tilted his head back and swallowed the twisted black serpent-like thing preserved inside it.
The next instant, magical power surged like a tidal wave, shaking the very air. Dense fluctuations of power swept through all of Kuoh Academy.
A moment ago, Azazel had still been wearing an amused expression.
He had thought that the two of them, mere underlings with only ultimate-class devil strength, had actually dared barge in here.
But the magical power now erupting from Creuserey made Azazel's expression change.
The power leaking from him had already surpassed his own, had it not?
"Creuserey, was that thing you just swallowed the power Ophis gave you?"
Azazel reacted at once.
"Katerea, move already! Bury these damned fools here once and for all!"
Creuserey paid no attention to Azazel's question, his expression vicious as he shouted the order.
At that moment, Serafall looked at Katerea with eyes filled with sorrow and confusion.
The two of them belonged to the same generation of young devils.
Before the civil war had begun, they had even spoken to each other several times.
"Katerea, why are you doing this? I... I thought we were friends..."
Hearing that, Katerea, who had been just about to move, instantly shot Serafall a look full of resentment.
Even now, this woman still had the nerve to say they were friends.
If they had really been friends, then she should never have so coldly exiled her to some forgotten corner of the Underworld back then.
Overcome by emotion, Katerea glared fiercely at Serafall, whose eyes had begun to fill with tears.
"Serafall, you stole the position of Leviathan Maou from me, and you still have the face to say something like that?! I am the true heir to the Leviathan bloodline!"
"Katerea, I... I..."
Serafall was left speechless.
Because what Katerea said was the truth.
Even in today's Underworld, there were still devils who privately felt that they were not legitimate.
For devils, who valued bloodline inheritance so heavily, that was only natural.
"Serafall, but don't worry. Sooner or later, I'll take back the throne of the Leviathan Maou. You just keep being that naive little girl of yours!"
At that, dense magical power burst from Katerea's body.
"Good, Katerea, let's join for-"
Boom!
Before Creuserey could finish, an intense sense of danger exploded in his heart.
By instinct, he wrapped himself in magical power, but even so, the violent shockwave still blasted him several steps backward.
Loose objects in the conference room were flung everywhere by the raging magical storm.
"Damn you, Sirzechs, attacking by surprise, "
Creuserey ground his teeth, the hatred on his face deepening.
Yet what met his eyes was the equally baffled expressions of Sirzechs, Michael, and the others.
Only then did Creuserey realize what had happened.
The moment he had been attacked, he had naturally assumed it was Sirzechs and the others who had made the move. But after sensing the magical aura lingering in the air, he turned toward Katerea's position in disbelief.
Katerea was standing there with her right hand slightly raised, azure magical power slowly coiling in her palm. The blow that had just struck Creuserey had come from her.
"Katerea, why?!"
After confirming that it really had been Katerea who attacked him, Creuserey's face twisted with disbelief.
"Sorry, Creuserey. I cannot agree with the path you and Shalba have chosen."
Suppressing the pain of betraying a comrade, Katerea spoke with a cold expression.
Seeing that Katerea was not faking it, Creuserey's expression turned vicious.
"Katerea, you'll regret this!"
"I am the true heir to the Leviathan bloodline. It is not your place to tell me what I should do."
At those words, Creuserey was completely overtaken by rage.
A few days ago, he had already noticed that something about Katerea was off. But since the plan was about to begin, he had only reminded her a few times not to let anything interfere with its success.
What Creuserey had never imagined was that the reason Katerea seemed off was because she had betrayed both him and Shalba.
"Sirzechs and the others deserve to die! And so do you!"
Black magical flames exploded from Creuserey's body. Immediately afterward, dozens of magic circles appeared before him, and after less than a second of charging, they all fired at once.
Ferocious energy burst forth. Countless bullets of magical power poured down toward Katerea, forming a barrage so dense it could not be dodged.
The new school building was torn apart in an instant, and Katerea's figure was swallowed by the surging torrent of energy.
Such a fierce assault naturally snapped Serafall and the others out of their stunned disbelief over the Old Maou faction suddenly turning on itself.
They still did not understand what exactly was going on, but one thing was now clear, the only enemy should be Creuserey.
At that moment, Rod had already moved outside with Lavinia.
The plan he had laid out earlier was proceeding smoothly, but seeing Katerea swallowed up like that still made him worry a little.
After all, Creuserey had no sense of fair play. Before the battle had even properly begun, he had already used Ophis's power to strengthen himself to Maou-class, while Katerea was only at the peak of ultimate-class devil level.
But Rod quickly noticed that the green marker on the system map representing Katerea had not disappeared, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The smoke and dust from the explosion gradually cleared, revealing Katerea's figure in a rather miserable state.
Although she had done her utmost to put up defensive magic, Creuserey's current strength was far beyond hers, and she had still suffered significant injuries.
At that moment, Katerea thought to herself that if Rod's plan failed, then once this was over, she would definitely lock that bastard in a little dark room and make him 'work' for a whole month before letting him out!
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