"Rias, do you really believe he's just a mercenary?" Sona couldn't hide her shock. When did such a powerhouse come to Kuoh Town without her noticing? Her best friend had kept him hidden well.
During the battle with the Cerberus, Sona had also been paying attention. Akeno and Koneko, whose strength wasn't supposed to be that high, had displayed levels they shouldn't have possessed as low-class devils. Especially Akeno, who was using Light Spears. Did this mean she had accepted her Fallen Angel bloodline? Although she didn't look very practiced, it was hard not to link their sudden growth to this impossibly strong mercenary.
"To be honest, I'm confused too. Why would someone this strong suddenly choose to settle in Kuoh?" Rias gave a bitter smile. While the official reason was to deliver a letter to Akeno, anyone with eyes could see that was just a side task.
As for showing favor to devils, that was unlikely. Someone who could slay a cadre like Kokabiel would receive high-spec treatment wherever they went. And if he hated Fallen Angels, he wouldn't be keeping those three weak ones around him. Coupled with the fact that he had a witch, a nun, and a wanted yokai around him—his household was incredibly complex. Rias had no idea what Rhode's true objective was.
Sona's eyes flickered. If even Rias didn't know, there was no point in digging too deep into his background for now. Such a powerhouse was someone worth befriending.
"Let's go over and talk to him," Sona said. He was, after all, their savior. As the successor of the Sitri family, she naturally had to show her gratitude.
Rias nodded. she had intended to talk to Rhode tonight anyway. Now that this had happened, she had a belly full of questions. Of course, her attitude would have to change. Although the Underworld had undergone centuries of reform and possessed civilization and laws that rivaled or exceeded the Human World, it was still fundamentally a society that valued strength. The strong were respected everywhere, even if Rhode looked about the same age as her.
And who knew? Maybe Rhode was actually much older. Devils possessed magic to lock their appearance and bodies; even if they were thousands of years old, they could still look like teenagers.
Just then, a sonic boom suddenly echoed through the sky. Akeno, Koneko, and Kuroka—all skilled at sensing energy flows—noticed it immediately. But Rhode and Lavinia reacted even faster.
Rias and Sona were a step behind. They saw a pure white meteor tearing through the night sky, descending from the heavens at incredible speed. An inexplicable sense of tension and fear surged through them—the overwhelming presence and the despairing power gap coming from that meteor were palpable. They felt this white meteor's power might even surpass the Kokabiel whom Rhode had just killed.
They hadn't received any reports of reinforcements from the Underworld, so they didn't think this was help.
"Prepare for impact!" Rias shouted. A meteor falling at that speed was bound to create a massive shockwave.
However, nothing happened.
When the meteor was about ten meters above the ground, it came to a dead halt in mid-air. The figure glowed in the night, a brilliant radiance in the blackout-stricken city center. There wasn't a speck of black on him. He wore pure white full-body armor, embedded with gem-like orbs. Through the visor, a pair of glowing pale blue eyes scanned the battlefield. Four pairs of light wings extended from his back, releasing a divine glow completely different from holy light.
So cool?
Rhode recognized him instantly. According to the plot, while Kokabiel was causing chaos in Kuoh, Vali Lucifer—the White Dragon Emperor—was supposed to come and capture him under the orders of the Fallen Angel Governor General, Azazel, to bring him back to Grigori for trial.
However, because Rhode had intervened, Kokabiel hadn't played around with Rias but had immediately gone on a rampage in the city. And Rhode had arrived instantly. Under the super-acceleration state, time had slowed to a crawl; the whole ordeal had taken less than thirty seconds in outside time.
Wait... if Kokabiel was already ash, where was Vali supposed to go?In the original plot, if the slow-paced game of predator and prey had played out to its end, the White Dragon Emperor would have had more than enough time to reach the scene. However, Rhode had struck so quickly that he left the outside world no time to react.
As the White Dragon Emperor scanned the area, he sensed something was off. He had barely managed to catch a trace of Kokabiel's aura, yet now that he had arrived, where was the man himself?
He soon found a clue. In the center of the city, where the battle damage was most severe, the White Dragon Emperor, Vali, spotted several severed black wings. Judging by the residual aura on them, the owner had been quite powerful. Furthermore, since Vali had met Kokabiel before, he quickly recognized them as belonging to the Fallen Angel.
This led him to a fact he was rather unwilling to accept: Kokabiel was most likely dead. Given Kokabiel's willful nature, he wouldn't have just vanished after causing such a spectacle.
"Was I still too slow?"
The voice coming from beneath the helmet was cold and calm. Yet, that single sentence made Rias and the others instinctively gulp. The pressure radiating from the white figure was immense—even greater than that of Kokabiel.
Who exactly was this guy? He lacked the aura of a devil, a Fallen Angel, or an angel. Was it being suppressed by that spiritual armor? Regardless, the girls' intuition told them he was not someone to be trifled with.
As the host, Rias felt she needed to speak up and assert her presence. She was, after all, the Lord of Kuoh Town. But before she could open her mouth, the figure suddenly looked toward Rhode.
"Was it you who killed Kokabiel? I didn't expect someone like you to be hidden in Kuoh."
Kokabiel had been no weakling. If it had been Vali himself, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Kokabiel without activating his Balance Breaker.
"You are strong."
Vali scanned Rhode's figure. He was even more surprised to find that the man's breathing was steady and his clothes were completely undamaged. To defeat Kokabiel without taking a single scratch meant his strength was at least at the level of an Ultimate-class Devil.
Whether Kokabiel lived or died didn't matter much to Vali; he had simply been ordered to bring him back alive. If he was dead, there was nothing to be done. However, Rhode was an unexpected delight in his eyes. Encountering a strong opponent made Vali's blood begin to boil; his soul, which craved the challenge of the powerful, was starting to stir.
But just as he was considering whether to have a "chat" with this man, he suddenly noticed the girl in the light-colored dress standing behind Rhode.
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (156 Chapters – Ongoing)
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