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The Golden Dragon Empress - Chapter 13: The Battle at Kuoh Academy
🕑 Added 2024-07-13 13:00:12 +0000 UTCThe Occult Research Club and the Student Council immediately rushed to Kuoh Academy once it became clear where Kokabiel was planning to start his war.
“We’ve covered the entire school in a large protective barrier, if nothing drastic happens, it should be able to keep anything within from getting damaged.” Sona said, watching as her Peerage collectively used their magic to form said barrier.
Sona then turned to Rias, “My servants and I will continue to place the barrier to reduce the damages. I want to minimize the damage as much as possible. It will be hard to prevent our school getting damaged. But it looks like we must since it’s the leader of the Fallen-Angels who is moving.”
“Thank you, Sona.” Rias replied.
“To tell you the truth, if Kokabiel were to fight seriously, not only this academy, but the whole region would be annihilated. Adding to that, he has already gotten prepared for that; my familiar has seen him releasing his power at the school grounds.” Sona explained.
A purple magic appeared behind the group, revealing the traveler to be Tsubaki.
“Tsubaki-senpai, how is Irina?” Natsuki asked.
“Her condition is not life-threatening; she can thank Asia for that.” Tsubaki answered as she walked past the ORC and towards her master.
Asia smiled, “What a relief.”
“Yeah, but we still haven’t heard from Kiba or Xenovia.” Issei said aloud, still worried about the two.
“They’ll be here.” Natsuki assured.
Issei turned to Natsuki, “How do you know? I mean we know they got away when Irina was attacked but a lot could’ve changed.”
“I don’t know Xenovia, but I know Kiba and he’s not an idiot. He most likely would’ve stayed low after he and the girls were originally caught. Besides, like Sona-Kaichou said, Kokabiel is releasing his power all over the place. It will be a beacon to pretty much every supernatural in the area." Natsuki explained.
You haven’t lost him yet, have you, Midnight? Natsuki thought, reaching out to her familiar through their link.
No, I still have the Knight's scent. He is heading in the direction of your school. Midnight answered back.
Sona made a sharp eye and looked in the direction of the school with eyes filled with hatred. “Rias. Our enemy is a monster with strength above ours. It’s still not too late. We should get your Oni-sama……”
Rias shook her head, looking at her friend with a smirk, “You know what I don’t see? You trying to contact your Onee-sama.”
Sona returned the smirk, only hers was more rueful, “With good reason too. Your brother loves you. Sirzechs-sama will definitely move, there’s no doubt that he’ll come here as soon as you call him. So, call him.”
Before Rias could respond, Akeno spoke over her, “There is no need, I have already informed Sirzechs-sama.”
“Akeno! How can you do that without asking me first?!” Rias snapped, shocked, and angered by her friend and Queen acting without her knowledge.
Akeno glared back at her King, her expression deathly serious, “Rias, I understand that you don’t want to cause problems for Sirzechs-sama or bother him unless we absolutely must. But our enemy is a Leader-Class Fallen Angel, he's not someone you can take down on your own.” Akeno then smiled, “I think that qualifies this as a must.”
Rias did not hold her anger for long, sighing, “Fine.”
Akeno gave her King a closed eyed smile, “I thank you for your consideration, Buchou. Sirzechs-sama is on his way, I believe that his forces should arrive here in just an hour.”
Rias rolled her eyes with a grin, “Good grief, girl. I cannot win against you, can I?” She then crossed her arms and turned back to face the school, “Should be a fun hour.”
Rias looked back at her servants, “Now my servants. We will be on the offensive; we will go inside the barrier and draw Kokabiel’s attention. Unlike the battle against Riser, this is a battle of life and death! Even so, I will not forgive you if you die! Do you hear me? We will survive this and continue to attend this school!”
“Yes Buchou!” The five Devils before her cried out.
The Peerage then moved through the barrier, making their way inside the school, preparing to fight the battle of their lives.
~X~
The moment they entered the school, Issei and Natsuki both promoted themselves from Pawns to Queens now that they were in enemy territory. Magically, their Queen states were still weaker than Akeno’s but having three Queens no matter the power level increased the Peerage’s strength.
“Issei, I need you to be on support this time.” Rias said aloud.
“Support?” Issei asked as they walked.
“I want you to use your ability to transfer your power to the rest of us to increase our strength.” Rias explained.
Issei grinned, “No problem, I'm all over it!”
Rias then looked towards the others, “And I think you can all stall until Issei can safely transfer his power to the rest of us.”
“I bet we can manage that.” Akeno smiled.
“Absolutely.” Koneko nodded.
“Natsuki, you’re going to be the key to our offense. Your ability to absorb magic is going to essential in fighting such a powerful foe.” Rias said to Natsuki.
Natsuki sighed; she knew Rias was going to say that but still held doubts. “I know, Rias, but I don’t know if that will be enough.”
Rias looked back at second Pawn, “What do you mean?”
Natsuki shrugged her shoulders, “We all saw Kokabiel, I felt his magic in the park, nothing we’ve faced before now has come close to matching him in terms of strength.”
Rias and the others had come to realize after the Rating Game against Riser that Natsuki was finely attuned to magical energy, able to sense it better than most. Rias had figured it had to do with the nature of Natsuki’s abilities; to absorb magic and use it to make herself stronger.
“We’re not fighting to beat him, only to stall long enough until Sirzechs-sama and his Peerage arrive.” Akeno spoke, trying to assuage Natsuki’s worries.
Asia looked Natsuki, “Is he really that strong?”
“I can’t put it in numbers, but I would say that Kokabiel is way stronger than Riser but weaker than weaker than Rias’ brother.” Natsuki answered, remembering just how strong Sirzechs felt when they met him.
“Don’t try and back out, Natsuki. We agreed to fight this bastard long before now, so don’t be getting scared!” Issei exclaimed, not used to Natsuki being so cautious and apprehensive about a fight.
Natsuki rolled her eyes, “I’m not, I’m just saying that this more serious than anything else we’ve dealt with, we can’t fuck around.”
“Natsuki is right.” Rias said stopping the argument from beginning, “This nothing like the Rating Game with Riser. This time our lives will be at risk.”
A gleam passed through Rias’ eyes as they reached the doors the main courtyard, “But believe me; I will not allow us to die here.”
As they entered the yard, a large golden magic circle could be seen spreading across the whole school field, four tendrils flowing out of it and towards the ground as they interlocked.
“That magic circle is enormous.” Asia said as they all looked at it.
“We don’t have time to focus on it; the Fallen is here.” Natsuki said, being the only one not looking at the magic circle, but at the large throne floating above them in the sky.
Kokabiel snickered, drawing everyone’s attention, “So you noticed me? I suppose I should not have been surprised by this; you are the newest Golden Dragon Empress.”
“Kokabiel!” Rias growled, glaring at the Fallen Angel.
“Valper still needs a few more minutes to finish, but I must know; is Sirzechs coming? Or is it Serafall instead?” Kokabiel smirked, looking down at the Devils.
“Right now, we’re the ones here ready to fight. That’s all that matters.” Rias bit back.
Kobabiel’s smirk remained as he snapped his fingers, and a blot of light formed in his hand. Without him moving, the bolt moved out of his hand and flew down, growing as it quickly slammed into the school’s gymnasium, destroying the building in a massive explosion.
When the glow died down, the gym had been destroyed, and in its place was a giant spear of Holy Light. Not only was the spear as larger as the now destroyed gym but it had three light blue rings surrounding the middle and another end pointing upward.
“This is so boring." Kokabiel complained, “But atlas, this will have to do as far as entertainment.”
“No fucking way.” Issei muttered, staring in awe and fear.
“What’s wrong, are you scared, partner?” Ddraig asked aloud, drawing Issei attention.
“I’ve never seen a spear of light that big before. It's on a different level than us.” Issei replied.
“Of course, it on a different level. We’re talking about a man who is so strong his name is recorded in the Bible, a man who survived fighting with God and the previous four Maou.”
“Do you really think we can beat him?” Issei asked, looking at Kokabiel.
“When it comes down to it, I’ll beat him even if I must turn most of your body into a dragon. And I’m sure sis feels the same way. Isn’t that right, Lux?”
Natsuki being the closest to Issei had heard the conversation and a glow appeared on her chest at Ddraig’s question as she slowly pushed herself off the ground.
“I will not be taking over my champion’s body again.” Lux started, “But I will help to ensure enough lasting damage is done until the Maous arrive.”
“Lux-" Natsuki said before being cut off.
“No, Natsuki. I will not take over your body, not ever again, not under any circumstances.” Lux said fiercely, the glow on Natsuki’s chest glowing hotter and brighter than before.
I will not be taking over your body to save any of your friends. Was what Natsuki heard in Lux's tone and that worried her.
But Natsuki did not have time to dwell on this feeling further for Kokabiel started to speak, “Since you came all this way to see me, I might as well let you play with my favorite pet!”
The Fallen Angel snapped his fingers once more, but this time the golden light that appeared flew straight to the ground, causing a green magic circle to appear.
A large pillar of fire exploded upwards, a shadowy figure emerging from the dark pot that had been created from the flames.
There was a sound of the ground rumbling as it came closer to the group, the form becoming larger, appearing to be more than ten meters tall.
Once the fire dissipated it became clear what the figure was, showing that it was a large, three-headed dog creature. The body had thick legs, each with a set of sharp claws and each head had a pair of red eyes and a mouth lined with sharp fangs.
“Cerberus.” Rias said, her voice filled with disgust.
“He-he's real?” Asia asked aloud, staring at the beast in horror.
“Cerberus?” Issei asked, not being as well versed in myth and magic as the others.
“The famous creature of myth that protects the gates of the Underworld from intruders. The Guard-Dog of Hell.” Natsuki explained.
The Guard-Dog of Hell? Just how dangerous does it have to be to get a name like that?! Issei thought.
“What are we going to do?” Asia asked.
Rias glared at Cerberus, “Bringing him to this world is forbidden. Let’s send him back! Akeno! Koneko!”
“Yes, Buchou!” The two exclaimed, following Rias as they went to attack the creature.
“Issei, use your Sacred Gear to enhance our power!” Rias ordered as she summoned her wings and flew towards Cerberus.
“Right! [Boosted Gear]!” Issei shouted, causing his Sacred Gear to appear on his arm.
[Boost!]
“Asia, get back!” Issei told the girl.
Asia followed, moving behind Issei and Natsuki.
“We’ll be fine. Trust me; our girls will have no problem taking care of that puppy.” Issei smirked.
“Let’s hope not. [Ethereal Domination]!” Natsuki said as she summoned her own gear.
One of the heads then looked towards Rias who was flying at it and breathed out fire.
“Too naïve.” Akeno said as she flew in front of Rias and froze the fire instantly.
“Take this!” Rias jumped from behind Akeno and released an enormous black and red block of demonic power, knocking the dog to the ground, a tear forming in its side.
As Cerberus tried to stand again, Koneko jumped down and slammed her foot against the top of its middle head, causing loud cracks to primate through the area.
Akeno let out a dangerous chuckle as she watched the beast continue to push itself to its feet even while being attacked by Koneko. “I think he wants more…”
Akeno then pointed her fingers up to the sky, only a second passed and Cerberus was surrounded by a violent storm of lightning.
This added to the blow that Rias had given it earlier, causing dark black blood to begin oozing out of monster dog’s stomach.
But what was still shocking was that the beast could still move even after receiving those attacks.
“Damn it, just how strong is this bitch?” Issei asked angrily.
If only I was stronger, then I could enhance everyone in a split second. Issei thought bitterly.
“Eeeeeeeehhhhh!” Asia screamed and quickly the two Pawns turned around.
Another Cerberus had appeared and was staring Asia down. Just as it opened its mouth to breathe fire, Issei ran and grabbed Asia, pulling them both out of the way.
“What the hell? There’s more than one?” Issei shouted.
The second beast geared up to attack again, a stream of flames flew out of its mouth, but Natsuki stood in front of the other two Devils, shielding them from the attack.
“Natsuki!” Issei and Asia shouted as they watched her disappear into the flames.
The fire was not continuous as it had been before, quickly being sucked downward and disappearing just as quickly as it came. Natsuki was still standing in front of Issei and Asia. Her body was completely free of damage, but her necklace was glowing brighter.
“I guess fire from a demon dog is still magical.” Natsuki said as she looked over herself.
Issei felt relieved as he glared at Natsuki, “Don’t do that again you asshole!”
[Boost!] Issei’s Sacred Gear cried out, causing him to look at his gauntlet confused.
Did the multiplier just rest? Issei thought.
“Yeah, yeah.” Natsuki waved off, “Hey Lux, you think this much will be enough?”
“To deal with this lowly thing? Most definitely.” Lux answered.
Natsuki smirked, “Good.”
The Pawn quickly ran, closing the distance between her and Cerberus, jumping up and upper cutting the left head, causing it to slam into the other two and pushing the creature back a couple of feet.
Natsuki looked back at the other two when she landed, “Issei, take Asia and run. I’ll handle this thing.”
Issei wanted to argue, “But-"
“But nothing, your gear just reset because you went to save Asia. If we want to use, you affectively then we need to give you as much time as possible to charge up.” Natsuki explained, “Besides, I have a dragon gear too, dumbass. I’ll be fine.”
Issei was reluctant but followed Natsuki’s order. He picked Asia, carrying her bridal style as he tried to put as much distance between them and the dogs as he could.
“This sucks!” Issei shouted as he ran towards the school.
“Issei! Behind you!” Asia shouted as she pointed to something over his shoulder.
When Issei turned around, he saw that a third Cerberus had appeared and was running straight towards them, its mouths open as it tried to swallow them.
Issei was about to use his [Boosted Gear] to defend himself and Asia when Koneko flew at the newest Cerberus and punched one of its heads before latching onto the back of its neck.
“Get out of here!” Koneko shouted, hanging onto the dog head as it vigorously tried to shake her off.
“But you can't take him alone!” Issei yelled, finding himself stuck between wanting to help Koneko and maintaining his gear’s [Boost].
“I’ll just stall for time then. Now go!” Koneko shouted.
Issei gritted his teeth but once again did as he was told, running away. “Be careful!”
Koneko was not able to hold on for long as the head soon bucked her into the air, and one of the others quickly followed her and bit down, trapping her within its teeth.
The head was not able to swallow her as Koneko used her legs to slowly pry its mouth open. A large scratch was visible on her leg, and she was covered in blood and saliva.
The Rook summoned more of her strength and kicked the upper jaw all the way up, breaking a few of the head’s teeth and allowing her to jump out of the mouth and escape.
“That was absolutely disgusting.” Koneko muttered, glaring at the creature.
“Are you alright?!” Asia asked, she and Issei circled back when they saw the beast trying to eat her.
“I’ve been better.” Koneko replied as she watched Issei put Asia down and the girl use her [Twilight Healing] on her leg.
“Don’t worry; I’ve got this.” Issei said, stepping forward as Cerberus got back up, the beast looking angrier than before.
The beast let out a roar, but it soon turned into a whimper when the second Cerberus was suddenly thrown into it, causing them both to go flying backwards.
The trio turned to the side and saw Natsuki calmly walking towards them, boredly staring at the two dogs.
A smirk soon appeared on her face as she stopped in front of the other Devils, “I believe it's time to finish this.”
Natsuki extended her right arm, her hand now covered in a mass of black energy as she pointed it in the direction of the two Cerberus’.
Before Natsuki could release her attack, a gust of wind blew past the Devils and towards the first Cerberus causing one of its heads to fall off, having been severed from its neck.
“You need a little help here?” The Devils saw a certain blue haired human had jumped in front of them, turning to look at them with an amused smirk.
“No, I didn’t.” Natsuki deadpanned, annoyed by the other girl’s interference.
Ignoring Natsuki’s snarl, Xenovia turned around and charged at the now two-headed dog, lifting her sword, and cutting through the Cerberus, causing the creature to burst into flames.
“And that is exactly the damage one can expect a Holy Sword to have on evil.” Akeno said aloud, she like the others taken aback by the power of Holy Swords.
“If you didn’t need my help, then why didn’t you kill it earlier?” Xenovia asked, turning her head towards Natsuki.
Natsuki felt her eye twitch as she stared Xenovia down, “You are truly begging for me to kill you, aren’t you?”
Rias smiled, “I’d rather we didn’t need the help, but I am glad you’re here.”
Natsuki clicked her teeth and ran at the second Cerberus, intent on killing it herself. Xenovia saw what Natsuki was doing and ran to join, keeping pace with the Devil. The two jumped into the air; Xenovia with her Holy Sword and Natsuki with the same black energy in her hand, slammed their attacks against the dog, causing it to explode.
“Whoa, they’re amazing.” Issei whispered as he watched how easily the two were able to kill the demon.
Before he knew it, a bright light began to emanate from his gauntlet, shining brighter than he ever saw before. “What is that?”
“It's the signal; we’ve reached an appropriate multiplier for fighting. The Cerberus can be defeated if you transfer it to Rias Gremory or Himejima Akeno.” Ddraig explained to him.
Issei looked back at the fight between his seniors and the last remaining Cerberus, “Seems kind of convenient to have that built in.”
“Just chalk it up to you and the Sacred Gear maturing, it has made possible what you desired. As you cannot tell the power difference between you and the opponent, you didn’t know how many boosts you needed. It has started to tell you now.”
Issei smiled, realizing that his [Boosted Gear] was responding to his weakness and compensating for it, reacting to the power difference between himself and his opponent. “Buchou! Akeno-san! I have enough power to take down Cerberus!”
Issei ran towards them as Rias and Akeno flew closer to him, allowing Issei to place his hands on their shoulders.
[Transfer!]
A green aura surrounded Rias and Akeno as they absorbed an enormous amount of demonic energy, both shocked by the power that was flowing through them.
Rias smirked as she looked down at the two remaining dogs. “Akeno?”
“Of course. Now, ring out, thunder!” Akeno pointed her fingers to the sky, a magic circle appearing as she started to control the thunder before her fingers were now aimed towards the closest Cerberus.
The Cerberus tried to run from the spot as if it predicted the upcoming thunder.
The creature was unable to get far as countless swords sprung from the ground and pierced through the Cerberus.
“I won’t let you escape.” A voice was heard coming from the forest.
The person who appeared through the clearing was Kiba, the Knight, walking towards the group with a smile.
“Kiba!” Rias said with a look of relief.
The second Cerberus ran towards the Knight, intent on killing the Devil.
Rias then summoned her own magic circle, looking back at her Queen, “Let's end this, Akeno!”
“With pleasure.” The lighting that Akeno summoned went down with blinding speed, going through Rias’ magic circle, causing the lighting to become even larger before it flew at the two Cerberus.’
The lightning bolt was so large that it covered more than half of the school grounds.
The moment that the two beasts were killed, Rias turned her attention to the Fallen Angel above them, throwing a giant mass of her destruction magic at him. “Take this, Kokabiel!”
As the Power of Destruction hurdled towards him, Kokabiel smirked, lazily lifting a single hand in front of him.
The Fallen Angel slapped the attack away, sending it flying back. Rias flew out of the way as her spell hit the ground, creating a large crater behind her.
“Impressive.” Kokabiel said, staring down at the group, ignoring the smoke that had begun to waft from his hand. “Look at how much stronger you have become due to the power of the Red Dragon Emperor. How fascinating.”
“That bastard!” Issei growled, shocked, and angered that he was able to deflect Rias' attack.
“It is complete!” Valper’s voice rang out.
Everyone turned to see that the four Excaliburs that were placed in the center of the school field started giving out incredible amounts of light.
Kokabiel started applauding, “The four Excaliburs are going to become one.”
Divine light began to spread throughout the school field. Because of its brightness, the group were forced to cover their eyes with their hands.
The four Excaliburs were put on top of each other and when the bright light was gone, there was one Holy Sword at the center of the field giving out a blue-white aura.
“No!” Kiba shouted.
Valper began to laugh maniacally, “Finally, it is done!”
~X~
“Seriously? Now what?” Issei asked aloud, looking back at the others.
Valper smirked at the boy, “I would suggest leaving quickly. You only have about twenty minutes before everything in this town is nothing but rubble.”
Kokabiel took this time to stand from his throne, releasing his ten black wings. “If you want to save this town then you’ll need to defeat me. So, are you ready, Rias Gremory?!”
“More than!” Rias growled as she threw an even larger beam of Destruction at the Fallen.
This time, Kokabiel caught it, holding the sphere of Demonic power in his hand.
Akeno used this as an opportunity to fire a bolt of lightning at the Fallen, only for him to do the exact same thing to her attack.
Kokabiel slammed the people spheres together, creating a large mass of red and black magic, with sparks of electricity flowing around it.
He then threw it back at the two Devils, hitting Akeno directly and causing her to slam into Rias.
The two went flying backwards, Rias righted herself midair, but Akeno continued to fall to the ground.
Natsuki summoned her own wings, flying up and catching Akeno in her arms. The Pawn was able to slowly float them back to the ground.
“Are you okay, Akeno?” Natsuki asked the girl once her feet touched the ground.
“I'm fine.” Akeno said before looking to the other Pawn, “I’m sorry, Issei. You wasted all that power on me.”
Issei shook his head, “I’m not worried about that right now.” He then looked up at the Fallen Angel, “Hey asshole, how could you do that to her?!”
Natsuki took this moment to place the older girl gently on the ground. “I’m going to make that bastard pay.”
Akeno let out a small laugh, “Ever the passionate hero, huh, Natsuki-chan.”
Asia then ran towards the older girl as Rias float back down, landing next to her.
The Bishop began using her [Twilight Healing] on Akeno.
“It doesn’t look like we'll be able to hold out. What is taking Sirzech-sama so long?” Akeno asked.
“It doesn’t matter we have to find a way to win.” Rias said before looking around, “Kiba?”
Natsuki stopped in place, causing Issei to do the same, looking back seeing that Kiba was slowly walking towards Valper. “Kiba?”
Kiba stopped about a yard away from the man, staring him down venomously. “Valper Galilei. I am a survivor of the Holy Sword Project, or more accurately, of those you tried to murder. I was able to live because I was reborn as a Devil, I refused to die because I knew that one day I would avenge the death of my comrades!”
Valper grinned, “Is that so? Freed!”
The white-haired boy priest then emerged from the darkness. “What's up, boss?”
“Use the Excalibur in the circle. It shall be the last entertainment. Fight while using this new powerful Excalibur.”
“Yeah, yeah. Geez. My Boss sure uses people recklessly. But I’m so honored to use the Excalibur, I will use it to chop up you worthless Devils!” Freed put on a crazy smile while holding the Excalibur.
Valper grinned, “You see, I like Holy Swords. I had been fascinated by the legend of Excalibur since I was a child. That is why when I found out that I could not use Excalibur I fell into despair.”
“Why is this geezer trying to tell us about his past?” Natsuki muttered.
“I held admiration for those who can wield it because I could not. That feeling became so powerful that I started an experiment to create those who can use them. And after years of research and experimentation my everything is completed, and it is thanks to you and the others.”
“What? Complete? You disposed of us after finding us to be a failure.” Kiba said incredulously.
Didn’t they dispose of them because they found them to be a failure? Kiba thought but Valper shook his head.
“I realized that there was an essential gene needed to wield Holy Swords. So, I used the numerical value of these genes to investigate their capability. Most of the test subjects had the right genes but they didn’t have the numerical value needed to wield the Excalibur. Then I reached a conclusion. Is there a way to take out the genes and gather them?”
Xenovia's eyes widened, “I understand now. The thing that is put inside the Holy Sword wielders when they received a blessing is these genes.”
Valper smirked, “That’s right, girl. We take out the genes from those who have them and crystallize them. Just like this.”
Valper took out an orb that was giving out light that contained this so-called holy aura in it. “With this, the research on Holy Sword wielders improved. Even so, those fools from the Church banished me for heresy and took away my reports on the research. But looking at you, I see that the project was succeeded by someone. That Michael. He made me look like a criminal and this is the result? Well, even if he takes the genes out from the test subjects, he will not go as far as to kill them. That would only make him more human than me. Kukukuku.”
It became clear to everyone what Valper was saying. At present, to create Holy Sword users artificially, it requires a sacrifice. So Kiba and Xenovia were victims of the project started by Valper.
“……You killed my comrades and took genes needed to wield the Holy Swords?” Kiba asked Valper, his voice filled with killing intent.
“That is right. This orb is from back then. I have used three of them on Freed though. This is the last one.”
Freed began to laugh, “Hyahahahaha! Other guys besides me died because their bodies couldn’t synchronize with the genes! If I think like that, that makes me special.”
Kiba’s body began to shake, his anger palpable. “……Valper Galilei. How many lives have you sacrificed for your greed and experiments?”
Valper playfully pondered Kiba’s question and tossed the orb in his hand to the Knight. “Hm. My research has reached the stage where it is possible to mass produce them in the right environment. So, to start, I will destroy this town with Kokabiel. Next, I will gather the legendary Holy Swords stored around the world. Then I will mass produce Holy Sword wielders and start a war against Michael and the Vatican with the combined Excaliburs. I’m going to show the result of my research to those foolish Angels and their followers who have convicted me.”
“……Everyone……” There were tears on Kiba’s cheek, his expression was filled with sadness and anger.
The orb that Kiba held started giving out shallow lights. The lights started to spread, and eventually covered the whole school field. From the ground there were lights coming out and it started to form a shape.
It took the shape of people, boys and girls giving out blue-white lights and surrounding Kiba.
“The various powers that are present on this battlefield made the spirits within the orbs appear.” Akeno said, making Natsuki and Issei question how things like this happen.
The boys and girls that appeared looked at Kiba with dear and sad expressions.
Kiba looked at the spirits surrounding him in shock, “Everyone! H-how ar-how are you all here?”
It was understood by all that they were also involved in the Holy Sword project, used, and disposed of.
“……I have always……always thought about it. Was it all right that I was the only one that survived? There were those who had more dreams than me. There were those who wanted to live more than me. Is it all right that I am the only one to have a peaceful life?” Kiba said tearfully, barely holding himself together.
Then one boy’s spirit smiled, and it seemed like he wanted to say something. He was moving his lips no sound could be heard from him.
Unlike everyone else, Kiba could understand what he was saying clearly.
[Do not worry about us anymore. You are alive at least].
There were tears coming out from both of his eyes because it seemed like their thoughts reached him. Then the spirits of boys and girls started to move their lips in a rhythm.
“…The sacred song.” Asia mumbled, as the voices of the children could now be heard, recognizing the tune.
As they were singing, Kiba started to sing while shedding tears.
When they were going through the painful experiment, this was the only thing they obtained to keep their hopes and dreams. This was the only support they had to continue living during their harsh life.
Their bodies started to glow blue and white, these lights glowed brighter, with Kiba in the center.
[We were no good alone.]
[We did not have enough to wield the Holy Swords. But.]
[It will be okay if we are together.]
[You must accept the Holy Sword.]
[It is not scary.]
[Even if God is not watching over us.]
[Our hearts are always…]
[ONE.]
Their spirits went up into the sky and they turned into a big light that fell over Kiba.
The ORC watched on sadly, moved by the scene in front of them.
“That's sweet.” Akeno remarked.
Asia had her hands clasped beneath her chin, crying silent tears.
Issei was the opposite, sobbing at the sigh as he vigorously wiped his own tears away. “Damn it, Kiba! You’re breaking my heart!”
The light that split the abyss night looked as if it was giving blessings to Kiba.
Kokabiel became very intrigued by this new development. “Oh?”
Kiba glared at Valper once the lights disappeared, his resolve strengthened. “My friends never wanted me to seek revenge. They wanted me to be free, but I’m not. First, I need to destroy the evil in front of me, then no one else will have to suffer.”
Kiba then summoned one of his Demonic Swords, pointing the blade at Valper. “No one but you!”
A twinge of fear appeared on Valper’s face as he took a step back. “Freed! Help me!”
Freed smirked, “Don’t you worry, I’m here!”
“Kiba! Kick that bastard’s ass and destroy those shitty Excaliburs!” Issei yelled, cheering his friend on in his pursuit.
Kiba looked back in surprise, “Issei…”
“You are the Knight of the House of Gremory my comrade! Fight Kibaaaaaaa! Don’t waste those spirits feelings and lives!”
“Yuuto!” Rias herself began to speak, “Fight like member of my Peerage. Do it; you must finish this yourself! Surpass Excalibur! You are the servant of I, Rias Gremory, and a true Knight of mine will not lose to a pathetic foe!”
“Come on, Yuuto-kun! We believe in you!” Akeno yelled.
“……Kiba-senpai! Please do your best!” Asia shouted.
“Spill this fool's blood.” Koneko added.
“Oi, what are you still standing around for? Hurry up and beat these worthless fuckers, make them pay for their crimes.” Natsuki exclaimed.
Everyone… Thank you. Kiba thought to himself.
“Gross! Another touching scene from the House of ‘Gag me' Gremory! It’s totally the worst, now my skin is crawling, I don’t want to hear it anymore. I’m totally at my limit! I’m going to cut you into pieces to make myself feel better!”
Freed Sellzen. My friends’ spirits reside within you. I can’t allow you to do evil deeds with them any longer! These tears I have are tears of determination.
“……I will become a sword.”
My comrades. My comrades who have merged with my spirit. Let us overcome it together. The feelings we couldn’t say back then! The wishes we couldn’t fulfil back then! Right now, right here!
“I shall become the sword of Buchou and my comrades! Please respond to my feelings now! [Sword-Rebirth]!!”
“He has done it.” Lux said aloud, drawing everyone’s attention to Natsuki’s Scared Gear.
Ddraig added his own voice, “She’s right, that Knight has reached it.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Natsuki asked.
Lux explained what they were seeing. “Sacred Gears change and evolve while using the feelings of the possessors as a key. It happens when the thought and feelings of the user oppose nature, when they go against the natural order of things in this world. The Sacred Treasure then peaks as it reaches this new stage. Yes. This is……”
Ddraig made a laugh of enjoyment. “Balance Breaker.
Kiba's Sacred Gear and the spirits of his fallen comrades began to mix, taking root in the sword he was holding. The demonic the holy powers were combining.
Yes, this sensation. My Sacred Gear is………my comrade is telling me—that this is sublimation.
“Balance Breaker: Sword of the Betrayer! The power of this sword that has both the power of light and demonic powers!” Kiba yelled, raising his newly empowered sword into the air.
Valper looked on in shock, “A Holy-Devil Sword? That's impossible! Two opposing elements cannot mix, something like that is an aberration!”
Xenovia moved, standing next to Kiba, and putting away her Excalibur Destruction. “Rias Gremory’s Knight, if the cooperation is still valid, let us destroy that Excalibur together.”
Kiba looked at the human from the corner of his eye. “Is it okay?”
Xenovia laughed fearlessly at Kiba’s words. “At worst, it won’t be a problem if I collect the fragment of the Excalibur that is acting as the core of it. Since Freed is the one now wielding it, that blade is a Holy Sword no longer. That is a sword of heresy.”
“Heresy?” Issei asked.
“Holy Swords can change depending on its user, taking on that person’s traits. And how twisted Freed is I can only imagine what that Excalibur is capable of.” Rias explained.
“Oh, Saint Peter. Oh, Basilius and Dionysius, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. I ask you to please her my prayer!” A golden magic circle appeared next to Xenovia, and a chained gold and blue sword slowly emerged from it. She then grabbed the sword, pulling it free from the chains that it was wrapped in. “In the name of the Saint living within this blade… I hereby set you free! Durandal!”
“Durandal?” Kiba asked in surprise.
“It’s a Holy Sword!” Natsuki exclaimed, unable to take her eyes off the legendary blade.
“A sword on par with Excalibur, said to be able to cut everything in this world.” Akeno said in awe.
“That's impossible! My research did not go into how to handle Durandal; no one should be able to wield that thing!” Valper exclaimed.
“You’re wrong. Unlike Kiba or Irina, I’m one of the rarely found naturals.” Xenovia said.
“One who is perfectly suitable, a True Holy Sword user! So, you are not the wielder of the Excalibur!?”
“I was originally the wielder of Durandal, but I was also chosen as the holder of the Excalibur Destruction.”
Not just Valper and Freed, but not even Kokabiel, could hide their astonishment.
Xenovia began to smirk, “Durandal is a sword that ravages beyond what people can imagine, cutting anything it touches. It doesn’t even listen to me most of the time. That's why I have to keep it in another dimension, even I, its holder, has a hard time with it. Now, Freed, thanks to you, we can have the decisive battle between Excalibur and Durandal. Right now, I'm shaking with enjoyment. Don't die in a single strike, okay? At least use the Excalibur to its fullest!”
The blade of Durandal started to give out more Holy energy than the Excalibur Freed held.
That aura! It had more power than my Holy-demonic sword! Kiba thought to himself.
Freed growled before charging at the pair, “Just shut the fuck up already!”
His Excalibur started to twist as if it were alive, moving randomly as it came towards Kiba with intense speed.
The Knight realized that this ability had to be from the Excalibur Mimic, showing that the sword had the abilities of the four that used to make it.
Then Freed’s sword split into two at the tip of the blade and started to come at Kiba even faster than before, with God speed.
This was the ability of Excalibur Rapidly, its trait was its velocity. It accurately tried to pierce Kiba from every direction, but he blocked each strike. Kiba had found it easier than before to read Freed’s killing intent, allowing him to know which direction the man was trying to attack him from even though he could not physically see it.
Freed became more frustrated, “Why!? Why isn't it hitting!? This is supposed to be the unrivalled Holy Sword!? Fine, then! Then I just have to add this as well!”
The tip of the Holy Sword disappeared completely from view, a transparency pheromone of Excalibur Transparency, the ability to make the blade transparent.
GIIN! GIN! GIN! GIIIN!
The transparent sword and Kiba’s sword made sparks as they clashed against each other, the Knight still able to parry all of Freed’s attacks.
Freed narrowed his eyes and made a shocked face, even as he used the powers of his Excalibur, he was still unable to harm the Devil before him.
“Yes, keep him there.” Xenovia suddenly intruded, and with a single side slash, the Excalibur shattered. Because of the pressure given by the swing of Durandal, there was a big hole in the school field where Freed had previously stood, having been sent flying backwards.
“So, it's just a broken Holy Sword, huh. It can’t even compete with my Durandal.” Xenovia sighed while looking bored.
“Are you serious!? Are you really fucking serious!? The legendary Excalibur, shattered into pieces!? And by Devil scum and a worthless bitch no less! Was it wrong to use something that was broken from the start? Is this all the shallowness of humans can accomplish?” Freed cried out, his killing intent dissipating as his resolve began to falter.
A shallow shattering sound echoed across the school field and the broken pieces of the Excalibur began crumbling away into nothingness.
Kiba smiled before using his Knightly speed to rush towards Freed, using his Holy Deomic sword to cut the rouge exorcist down, blood beginning to flow from the wound that was made from his shoulder to the side of his stomach.
“Gah! Fucking damn it!” Freed hissed as he clutched his wound.
Kiba smiled to himself, “Did you see it? Our powers have surpassed Excalibur!”
Valper stood gob smacked, “How is this possible? In theory, the fusion if Holy and Devil powers is-”
Kiba then turned to face the man, remembering that just because he and Xenovia destroyed the Excalibur did not mean that his mission was over. “Prepare yourself, Valper Galilei!”
Valper then started to laugh maniacally, “…I see! I understand now! If the balance between Holy and Demonic powers is disrupted, then it could be possible! Which means that not only the Maous but God has also……”
Before the man could finish his explanation, everyone watching was shocked when a spear of light fell from above, piercing Valper through the chest, killing him instantly.
“Oh, Valper, you were a remarkable mind. Unfortunately, you were not supposed to figure that part out.” Kokabiel said aloud as he slowly descended upon the group.
“What are you doing, Kokabiel?” Rias asked, like the others she was confused as to why would kill his ally like that.
Kokabiel chuckled, “I’m destroying everything I find tedious. Now, I’m even more bored than before.” He then looked at Issei, “You there, Red Dragon Emperor! Raise the dragon’s power as much as you can and transfer it to one of them.”
He was pointing at Rias and Akeno as he said this before looking at Natsuki, “And you Golden Dragon Empress, do you need me to fire some spears of light at you? I can send as much as I can to empower you to your limits.”
Natsuki narrowed her eyes, “Why would you allow us to do any of that? You know that you give us the edge over you.”
Kokabiel laughed, “That is exactly what I want; You all are going to need as much help as you can get to even last a minute against me. I would not want our battle to end too quickly by squashing you too fast.”
Natsuki looked back at her King to get her orders, “Rias-Buchou.”
Rias continued to look at Kokabiel as she spoke, “We’re out of time, my brother should have gotten here by now.”
“So, we’re doing this?” Natsuki asked.
Rias looked towards her Peerage; she saw how everyone was looking at her, their faith in her unwavering, fully prepared to follow her into this battle, even as the odds were stacked against them. A sigh escaped her as she grabbed Issei’s hand, “Akeno.”
Akeno nodded her head, moving towards Natsuki and placing her hands on the Pawn’s back, her hands glowing as she pushed her magic into Natsuki. The Pawn’s Sacred Gear shining brightly as it absorbed the magical energy that was being given.
“Let’s do this.” Rias said as she and Issei began walking towards Kokabiel.
The Fallen Angel grinning from ear to ear as the sounds of Issei’s Scared Gear could be heard as it charged up, excited to see just what the group before him was truly capable of.
