Kiba's face twisted with anger. He crouched down and started punching the asphalt again and again. The skin on his knuckles was ripped open, and blood dripped down his hand.
"For fuck's sake! I should have sliced his neck off right away!"
"Irina, let's chase them. I can still sense the Holy Aura coming from their swords."
"Right!"
Xenovia and Irina exchanged quick nods, then immediately took off at a sprint.
Kiba's ears twitched. He was not as skilled at sensing as he was at his other abilities, but he still reacted at once. Without even looking back, he dashed after them.
"H-hey! Kiba! What do you think you're doing, dammit?!" Issei shouted after him.
Just as Issei was about to run after Kiba too, a huge amount of pressure slammed into him head-on, making him snap his head back.
Standing there were Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. Both of them were releasing their power.
"Issei, what is the meaning of this? Explain yourself."
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Rias looked at Issei's sleeping form and sighed. Ever since she met him, he had always been like this, throwing himself into dangerous situations and worrying her endlessly. She gently brushed his hair back. He was a reckless idiot, she knew that. But she also knew he never acted out of selfishness, he acted for his friends. He was always throwing himself in harm's way to help others, and that was one of the things she liked about him.
Asia sitting on his other side shifted slightly adjusting her position, she too was sleeping peacefully.
"Idiot…" she muttered to herself.
CRASH!
Suddenly, the window shattered inward. An enormous wave of energy filled the room, pressing down on everything. Issei's eyes snapped open, and Rias froze. Slowly, she turned her head toward the window.
A pale, sharp-featured man with dark messy hair and glowing red eyes sat at it's edge, a thin scar cuts across his face.
"What a dull little room," he said as he slowly looked around.
Then his gaze shifted to the three people on the bed. The boy's eyes were trembling, and there was a girl on each side of him.
"So you're the Gremory girl." His lips curled in disgust. "That crimson hair of yours looks exactly like your brother's. Just seeing it makes me sick."
Rias frowned, she was still shaken. She hadn't sensed him approaching at all, but now it was obvious. From what she knew, only one person in this town could feel this overwhelming.
"How do you do, Kokabiel?" she said, forcing herself to stay calm. "You're one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, correct? My name is Rias Gremory. If you came here hoping to make political contact, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time and going about it the wrong way."
Kokabiel smirked. "I actually brought you a gift."
He reached behind himself, grabbed a girl, and threw her into the room. She hit the floor, rolled twice like a lifeless doll, then stopped in the middle of the room.
"Irina!" Issei jumped out of bed and rushed to his childhood friend's side. Her face was covered in blood, several bones looked badly broken, both of her arms were twisted at unnatural angles, and one of her legs was gone.
Issei quickly pressed his ear to her chest. Her heartbeat was still there, but it was faint. Her breathing was weak too.
"She and her little friends came to pay us a visit at our base," Kokabiel said with a cruel smile. "So I gave them the welcome they deserved. Though it's a shame one of them managed to crawl away."
"Wait! Who else?" Issei shouted.
"Lower your voice, brat."
In an instant, Kokabiel was in front of him. He grabbed Issei by the neck and lifted him off the floor like it was nothing.
Crimson power crackled in Rias's hands, but just as she was about to attack, she suddenly stopped.
"Good girl," Kokabiel said, amused. "Do you really think this boy would survive your Power of Destruction? I would. Him? Not so much."
Rias swallowed hard. She glanced at Asia, who was trembling, then looked at Irina. Irina needed to be healed immediately. If they waited any longer, it would be too late.
Then Kokabiel kicked Irina toward the two girls.
"I'm feeling generous," he said with a cruel smile. "You have three seconds to take her and leave, or I kill her." Asia instantly grabbed Irina and ran out of the room.
Issei's eyes rolled back, his face turned deathly pale, and saliva dripped from his mouth onto Kokabiel's hand.
"Tsk… Disgusting."
Kokabiel flung Issei out the window, then flicked the spit off his hand.
Rias instantly rushed after Issei, but Kokabiel stepped in front of her and blocked her path. He leaned closer and pressed a finger against her forehead.
"Don't even think about leaving," he said softly. "I'm still standing right here."
Rias froze again. The aura pouring from Kokabiel was unbearable. "…What do you want from me?" she asked.
A grin spread across Kokabiel's face.
"I'm going to crush your territory. Kuoh Academy, the whole town around it, all of it will be turned into ruins. That should be enough to get our dear Sirzechs' attention, don't you think?"
"You do realize that if you do that, you'll throw all of us back into a three-way war between the Fallen Angels, the Devils, and the forces of God… right?"
"Oh, that's exactly what I'm hoping for."
Kokabiel's smile widened.
"When I stole Michael's Holy Swords, I expected the great Archangel himself to come raging at me. Instead, he sent a bunch of nameless exorcists and two half-baked little swordswomen. Can you imagine my disappointment?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"So now I'll just have to drown your dear brother's precious little territory in chaos instead. Maybe you devils will entertain me more. Try not to bore me, Rias Gremory. I'd hate for all of this to be a waste."
"…You war fanatic," Rias spat bitterly.
"Exactly," Kokabiel said with a grin. "That's precisely it. I've been bored out of my mind ever since the end of the last Great War. Neither Azazel nor Shemhazai had any interest in starting things again. Far from it. They buried themselves in that ridiculous Sacred Gear research."
He spread his arms slightly, like he was welcoming the chaos to come.
"So here's to the next war. I've decided the stage for the first skirmish will be the school where Sirzechs's and Leviathan's precious little sisters study. Can you feel it? The air is already filled with magic and chaos. It'll be a massacre!"
A bright yellow teleportation circle formed underneath Kokabiel's feet and he disappeared with a flash of light.
Rias flew out the window at once, searching wildly for Issei. She quickly found him sitting against the wall of the Hyoudou house, rubbing the back of his head. She landed in front of him and crouched down, gently holding his face with both hands.
"Thank goodness… you're alright." Then she pulled him into a hug.
"Rias… he might've gotten Kiba or Xenovia. I led them to Freed, and Freed led them to Kokabiel. This is basically my fault."
Issei lowered his head, but Rias lifted his chin and made him look at her.
"No, it isn't. This was bound to happen sooner or later. What matters now is stopping it…"
"Can we even win? I couldn't even follow his movements."
"We have to. There's no other choice."
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"Rias, we've raised a barrier around the school. It should keep most trouble out unless something especially nasty shows up," Saji reported.
The members of the Occult Research Club and the student council had gathered in a park a short distance away from Kuoh Academy. Everyone was there except Kiba and Asia. Asia was still with Irina, healing her, so they were going into this fight without a healer.
After hearing what had happened from Rias, Sona had immediately called in the rest of the student council and placed a large barrier around the school. Its main purpose was to make sure whatever happened inside would not spread to the town outside.
"This should help reduce the destruction," Sona said calmly. "But to be honest, Kokabiel could destroy this entire area if he truly wished to. What is worse, he seems to be preparing to do exactly that. My servants have already seen him releasing his power at several points around the academy. To limit the Fallen Angels' room to attack, my servants and I will continue setting up more barriers. At the very least, we want to keep the damage to a minimum."
"Still, wouldn't it be better if Lady Sona fought alongside us?" Akeno asked politely.
Rias shook her head. "To be honest, it wouldn't change much," she said. "He would still be stronger than all of us. So it's better for Sona and her peerage to focus on keeping the damage down. We'll handle the fight ourselves."
"Rias, the one you are facing is a monster with power beyond reason. You cannot defeat him. It is still not too late to call Lord Sirzechs," Sona said firmly.
Rias shook her head at once. "And yet you have not called Lady Serafall either," she replied.
Sona narrowed her eyes slightly. "That is different. Your brother adores you. If you asked for him, Lord Sirzechs would come without hesitation. Which is precisely why—"
"I have already contacted him," Akeno said suddenly.
"Akeno!" Rias snapped, clearly displeased.
"Rias, I understand that you do not wish to trouble Lord Sirzechs," Sona said in a calm but firm voice. "I also understand that you want to protect your territory with your own strength, especially after everything that happened recently with your family. However, the situation has changed. We are now dealing with one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels. This is far beyond what we can manage by ourselves. We should accept the Demon King's assistance."
Rias looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end, she only let out a deep sigh and gave a small nod.
Only then did Akeno show her usual gentle smile. "Thank you for understanding, President. Lady Sona, Lord Sirzechs's reinforcements should arrive in a little over an hour. Though he did say someone will come to help us sooner."
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They moved at once. They had no idea when backup would actually arrive, and they could not just stand by while Kokabiel destroyed the town.
When they reached the school grounds, all of them froze.
In the middle of the area was a girl with short blue hair streaked with green. She was hanging upside down on a cross, her body covered in injuries, with several bones clearly broken.
In front of her, four swords floated in the air, each one shining with a brilliant, holy light. The four blades hovered at the center of a large, threatening magic circle that covered the entire area.
Standing in the middle of the four weapon was a short, bespectacled elderly man with gray hair, a mustache, and black eyes. He was wearing a priest outfit.
"Hello, hello, the show was just about to begin." He said with a large smile on his face.
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Yo, I didn't post for a few days since I was taking a break.
I also changed Kokabiel quiet a lot, he was too basic for a fallen angel leader.
Now from next week I'll be posting less than before, Uni shit and work, unfortunately I have a life. Chapters will be 1800-2000 words and I'll drop 3-4 chapters/week. I'll drop more if we get more Power Stones. Let's set a goal of a 100 for now.
Characters that appeared in this chapter.
Rias Gremory
Issei Hyoudou
Kokabiel
Asia Argento
Irina Shidou
Xenovia Quarta
Sona Sitri
Genshirou Saji
The old man
Akeno Himejima