The red Dragon was slammed hard into the ground by a humanoid figure in white armor, sending out a thunderous shock.
"How is that possible?"
Seeing the Red Dragon Emperor lose so quickly, Kokabiel cried out in disbelief. That opening was seized at once, and Arthur, Dulio, and Serafall worked together to knock him to the ground.
"Kokabiel, your subordinates can't hold out anymore. You and your Red Dragon Emperor have both been defeated. You've lost. Now tell us your objective and everything you've been doing behind the scenes. After that, during our negotiations with the Fallen Angels, we might still show you some leniency…"
Serafall kept a safe distance to avoid being dragged down if Kokabiel self-destructed. Ice continued to hover around her as she spoke with an imposing air.
Just as Serafall said, as more Church warriors and Devils gradually arrived, most of the ordinary Fallen Angels under siege could no longer hold out and had already been defeated, with only Yuuto Kiba and Vritra as exceptions.
But Kokabiel paid Serafall no attention at all. He simply lay on the ground, staring blankly at the unconscious red Dragon as he muttered to himself.
"Impossible… impossible. Aren't you the greatest masterpiece of us Fallen Angels? I gave you my most precious materials. Why did you lose to the most disgraceful White Dragon Emperor in history, the one who was defeated by someone else using the power of Divide?"
Damn it!
Vali, whose stamina was starting to fail after rushing to defeat the Red Dragon Emperor, heard Kokabiel's words and cursed inwardly without a second thought. If Kokabiel hadn't been watched by everyone present, including his own teammate Arthur, Vali would have gone over and smashed his head in.
Yeah, why did this Red Dragon Emperor lose?
Cid, who was lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse while texting Beta to buy vegetable juice for Delta, completely understood Kokabiel's disbelief. In terms of raw stats, that giant Dragon should have been the strongest one here.
The density of its Magical Power and life force was so absurd that even everyone else combined wouldn't have matched the Red Dragon Emperor. Unfortunately, battle wasn't just a numbers game. That red Dragon had practically thrown the fight and was defeated by Vali just like that.
Wait, Kokabiel lost just like this? Are you kidding me? After all that effort, after messing up my life as an extra and making me piece together all those clues to find the Boss, he turns out to be this weak?
Seriously, Kokabiel, are you just a preliminary Boss released by the mastermind behind the scenes? If you are, then hurry up and call out the final Boss already!
"Kokabiel-sama, things aren't looking good. Should we retreat?"
Yuuto Kiba leaped to Kokabiel's side, keeping watch on the others while making the suggestion to Kokabiel, who seemed mentally unstable.
"Yuuto Kiba, do you still recognize me?"
Stopping Serafall, who had been about to rush forward and take Yuuto Kiba down, Arthur slowly stepped forward. His tone was calm, but the anger in his eyes was plain to see.
"I do. I'm sorry for using underhanded means to take Excalibur from you."
"Hah. Give my Excalibur back, then surrender immediately. Since you weren't the one who kidnapped her, you might still be able to keep your life."
Arthur gave a cold laugh and held out his hand, demanding his weapon back from Yuuto Kiba. If possible, he did not want to fight his own weapon. For a swordsman, that would cut far too deeply.
"…I'm sorry. I have no choice."
Yuuto Kiba glanced at the frenzied Kokabiel behind him and fell silent for a moment. When he came to rescue him, he had never expected Kokabiel to go mad because of the Red Dragon Emperor's defeat.
"Are you planning to betray me and leave on your own?"
Just as Yuuto Kiba drew another Excalibur from behind him, Kokabiel, who had looked deranged a moment ago, suddenly spoke in a sinister voice.
"You can leave. But how my subordinates will treat her because of your actions, I can't say."
"…You're joking, Kokabiel-sama. You were the one who gave me the chance to destroy Excalibur. You were the one who let me see her again. You were the one who granted me such powerful strength. How could I possibly abandon you and leave on my own?"
Yuuto Kiba answered Kokabiel with an expressionless face. That was what he said, but as he looked at Arthur and the others already surrounding him, he sighed inwardly.
Fine. I'll use this chance to destroy Excalibur and Kokabiel together, then get to the base and find "her" before the Fallen Angels can react. After that, we'll run far away. It's just… I do feel a little bad for Captain Rias.
Unaware of Yuuto Kiba's thoughts, Serafall and the others could only act based on his exchange with Kokabiel. Each of them gathered their own power, planning to take Yuuto Kiba down in one strike.
Getting close could let that madman Kokabiel drag someone down with him in a self-destruction, so long-range attacks were the better choice. In any case, it was only Yuuto Kiba. As long as they controlled the distance and their power, capturing him alive should still be simple.
As for whether ganging up on him was a bit underhanded… fighting with superior numbers had always been the simplest, clearest, and most effective way to fight. If you didn't like it, don't play.
Even Arthur, who seemed to have the strongest moral compass among the four, had no objections. He was not about to show chivalry to someone who had stolen his weapon and kidnapped his sister.
"Whoosh!"
Sword energy glowing with Holy Light, a Spear of Light streaking through the air, magic bullets compressed with tremendous Magical Power, and thousand-year ice laced with cold air all fired at once, surging toward Yuuto Kiba with overwhelming force.
"Hah!"
Yuuto Kiba undid the large bundle on his back, aimed along the paths of the incoming attacks, and threw all six Excaliburs out in one breath.
Just before they collided, several of the Excaliburs flashed faintly, and Yuuto Kiba's body gradually turned transparent.
"Not good! That's Excalibur Transparency, and the ability of Excalibur Rapidly! He's trying to run!"
Recognizing the glowing Holy Swords' abilities, Dulio shouted and rushed forward to grab Yuuto Kiba, but it was too late. The activated Excaliburs had already crashed into their attacks.
"Boom!"
Holy Light, thick smoke, and dust burst out from the point of impact. A powerful blast of air struck Vali and the others, and the smoke and Holy Light instantly blocked everyone's vision.
"As if I'd let you escape!"
The smoke around them blocked their sight, the Holy Light made Serafall uncomfortable, and with Yuuto Kiba's invisibility and acceleration abilities, there was a very real chance he could escape.
The thought of all four of them ganging up on one Yuuto Kiba only to let him get away made Serafall stop caring about consumption. She flew straight into the sky, blue Magical Power gathering in her hand before firing as a beam toward the edge of the battlefield.
An ice wall. A deep blue wall of frost instantly enveloped the entire battlefield. No matter how fast Yuuto Kiba was after being enhanced by Excalibur, there was no way he could leave the battlefield in an instant. So…
"All that's left is to take care of Vritra and break Yuuto Kiba's invisibility, and we'll be fine."
Serafall was breathing a little heavily. Creating such a sturdy ice dome, one that would not be easily broken, had cost her quite a bit. But that no longer mattered. Aside from Vritra, who was still fighting Delta, every enemy was already down. Only Yuuto Kiba could still…
"Wow, someone really is stupid enough to lock themselves in."
"How can you say that? This idiot Devil was clearly worried we'd waste time looking for them, so she kindly locked them all up for us."
"Oh, I get it now. Thank you, idiot Devil. Hahaha…"
Three identical voices, sounding almost like someone talking to himself, came from deep within the black smoke. Through the haze, Serafall could faintly make out the outline of an enormous creature.
A breeze scattered the black smoke, revealing the creature's true form.
It was a massive, standard Western black Dragon with wings, three heads speaking over one another, and malicious grins on every face.
Standing beside it was a mysterious figure covered head to toe in gray armor. In front of the figure was Yuuto Kiba, his entire body locked in place by several Magic Circles, unable to move.
Looking at the Demonic Dragon before her, Serafall stiffly turned her head toward her teammates.
She recognized the Demonic Dragon's identity. It was Aži Dahāka, the Forbidden Dragon of Demonic Origin, an Evil Dragon resurrected by the Khaos Brigade. A Heavenly Dragon among Dragons, with power at the very top of the world, and a monster that had plundered the Indian pantheon in its very first battle.
That was all she knew, but she did not need to know more. All they needed to understand was that the Evil Dragon before them had the power to single-handedly defeat… no, wipe out every last one of them.
"Seriously. The plan had already reached its final stage, so why did you, you idiotic Fallen Angel, fail to control your own desires and come out to steal Excalibur?"
"Coming out on your own would have been one thing, but you even took away the most important key figure in the plan, forcing us to come clean up your mess."
"Hey, Doctor, what do we do now? The plan's been exposed. Why don't we kill them all? That might buy you a little more time."
A huge dragon claw slammed down onto Kokabiel on the ground and sent him flying dozens of meters away. Two of Dahaka's heads chattered excitedly with each other, while the third turned to the mysterious figure beside him, staring at Serafall and the others with a bloodthirsty look.
"They're really looking down on us. Are you that confident you can defeat us?"
Vali strode forward and entered Balance Breaker again. Silver-white armor appeared around him, and he met Dahaka's aura head-on without backing down.
"Hm?" "Hee!" "Ha!"
"Take Yuuto Kiba away and activate the plan early. The base has been infiltrated, so we're out of time. As for them… let them go. They can spread the news to him for us."
The mysterious figure raised one hand to stop Aži Dahāka, who was eager to step forward and fight Vali. Then the figure swept a gaze over everyone present, and a voice that sounded neither male nor female came from inside the armor.
Cid could not tell whether it was his imagination, but when that mysterious figure looked over them, he felt as if the figure lingered on him for a moment longer.
"Hmm…"
Hearing that, all three heads looked at the mysterious figure with strange expressions. Unfortunately, the armor completely hid every trace of emotion, and all they could see was the mysterious figure looking toward Vritra, who was still fighting Delta.
"Vritra, stop playing. Playtime is over."
"Hm!? My apologies, mighty Therianthrope. The one who pieced my body together has arrived, so our battle will have to wait until next time."
Vritra took a direct hit from Delta and was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of black blood. Still laughing wildly, he immediately swept Delta away with his tail, then flew to the mysterious figure's side.
"You think we'll let you leave that easily? At the very least, shouldn't you ask our permission before leaving?"
Having reached the same decision as Vali and the others, Dulio fired a bolt of lightning to block Dahaka and the others' path.
"I admit I can't use Juggernaut Drive right now, but that doesn't mean we can't beat you. We have no intention of obediently playing along with your plan."
Besides, it was only one Transcender. It wasn't as if they didn't have any on their side.
The corner of Vali's mouth curled up as he looked at Le Fay in the sky, seated on Fenrir, and excitement began to rise in him.
Because his body had been pushed too far, he could no longer use Juggernaut Drive today. But that did not matter. With Serafall, Kuroka Toujou, Arthur, Le Fay, Fenrir, and Delta, they had plenty of powerful fighters. So what if their opponents were a Heavenly Dragon and an Evil Dragon King? Perhaps today they might finally get a taste of what it felt like to bring down a Heavenly Dragon.
"Hahaha, wonderful, wonderful! This is the kind of battle I wanted!"
Watching Aži Dahāka grow excited, the mysterious figure's chest and abdomen visibly rose and fell once before letting out a sigh.
"Who told you I only had two Dragons on my side?"
As the mysterious figure said that, they took out something and pressed it.
"ROAR!!!"
The Red Dragon Emperor, who had been knocked down by Vali and left unconscious on the ground, suddenly awakened and stood up in one motion. Unlike before, when he could only shout "Oppai," a pure Dragon roar now resounded through the sky.
"Boost, Boost, Boost…"
If it had been the Red Dragon Emperor from earlier, Serafall would not have cared. It was only a defective product. Anyone with a little intelligence could beat it. But now, the Red Dragon Emperor's aura and energy swelled continuously, reaching the level of a Transcender almost instantly.
With a flap of his wings, the Red Dragon Emperor also arrived beside the mysterious figure. Now they had to face two Heavenly Dragon-class Dragons and one extremely bizarre Dragon King-class Evil Dragon.
"Vali, I just realized something. It seems we've been overlooking a problem this whole time."
"What is it, Albion?"
Albion's ancient voice came from the blue gem embedded in the chest of Vali's white armor.
"The Red Dragon Emperor… has been in Juggernaut Drive from the very beginning. Even after you defeated him, the Juggernaut Drive on him never deactivated."
What!
Vali did not let the shock in his heart show. His expression remained calm, with no intention of revealing it.
For Vali, his Juggernaut Drive could be sustained by paying the price with his immense Magical Power, but that immense Magical Power came from his bloodline.
And during the battle just now, Vali had already recognized the Red Dragon Emperor's true identity. An ordinary high school student.
Which raised the question. How could an ordinary high school student survive this long under Juggernaut Drive, which drained away life itself?
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