Miu, Alice, and I regrouped, descending from the sky to set foot once more on the soil of Agreas.
There, right before our eyes, was Rizevim. He was hunched over, blood geysering from every pore of his body. It seemed the combined blast from Miu and Alice had struck with devastating precision.
Rizevim hacked up a thick glob of gore.
"Dammit…! To think I'd be broken through by such… such mindless brute force…!"
I noticed then that his voice had returned to its original pitch. The monstrous doping agent—the form that had personified "Evil" and "Demonic"—had worn off. He had reverted to his original appearance: a middle-aged man.
Perhaps the drug had a time limit, or perhaps he had exhausted every last drop of his remaining strength just to survive the girls' bombardment. Either way, Rizevim no longer possessed the power to even lift a finger against us.
I looked down at the fallen devil.
"Sorry about the 'brute force.' It just seemed like the quickest way to end this. But don't get it twisted—this isn't just my power. You couldn't even touch us because you never understood that."
It was true. This rainbow radiance wasn't mine alone. It was the hopes and prayers of Miu, Alice, Rias, and all the others that had become my strength. If I had been alone, I don't know how this would have ended.
Ignis spoke up within me.
"But it is your power, Issei. It's because it's you that you could accept their feelings and forge them into a weapon. You have the soul of a vessel. No… let me correct that."
As she spoke, Ignis materialized.
She stood there, her crimson hair flowing as usual, but something was different. Like me, she was wreathed in a prismatic, rainbow aura.
Ignis looked Rizevim dead in the eye.
"Rizevim Livan Lucifer. What defeated you was the power of 'Bonds.' Strong emotions eventually connect, and they can overcome any absurdity. Until you understand that, no matter how much you inflate your power, you will never defeat Issei or his friends. Not as long as you refuse to believe in the light of the human heart—"
Connection is strength. An unshakable bond can push back any threat.
Just as we were doing now.
Miu and Alice stepped up to my side. When our eyes met, they both gave a firm, resolute nod.
Rizevim clawed at the rubble, using a broken pillar as a crutch to heave himself up. He spat out a mouthful of bile and glared at us with eyes full of loathing.
"Gah… cough… The daughter of an otherworldly Demon King, a princess, and the Red Dragon Emperor who crawled back from another world. Fine… I see it now. I should have slaughtered you three first. If only… if only you weren't here…!"
Just as Rizevim's face contorted with a mixture of rage and panic—
A sudden breeze swept between us.
In that split second where our focus wavered, a single boy appeared between us and Rizevim. He wore a white hoodie with the hood pulled low over his face, sporting his usual, playful grin.
I whispered his name.
"…Asem."
The boy—the god from another world—pulled back his hood and offered a bright, sunny smile.
"Hey there, Hero! It's been a little bit, hasn't it? Hmm, hmmm~ Wow, look at that aura. What a pleasant frequency. It seems you've actually managed to exceed my expectations!"
Unlike Rizevim, who was repulsed by my power, Asem seemed genuinely delighted by it. Was he truly enjoying himself, or was he simply so powerful that he could afford to be casual? With him, it was always hard to tell.
Seeing Asem, Rizevim's expression flipped instantly. He broke into a slimy, desperate grin and nodded frantically.
"Oh! Asem-kyun! Yes, yes! I knew it! You came to rescue Uncle Rizevim in his hour of need, didn't you?! Come on, let's kill these bratty kids right now! Actually, let's violate those little girls first and turn them into used rags! We'll break them body and soul! Hyah-hah-hah-hah!"
Rizevim clearly thought he could turn the tables now that Asem had arrived. And he wasn't wrong to think so.
We still hadn't measured the depth of Asem's power. He was like a bottomless swamp. Even with our awakening, I wasn't sure if we could stand against him.
He was in a different league entirely from Rizevim.
Asem spun around on his heel to face Rizevim. His expression didn't change; that same, vacant smile remained.
"Hey, Grandpa Rize. You really got the stuffing knocked out of you, didn't you? Now, Hero, you can't do that. You have to be kind to the elderly. The world is getting older, you know? Eldercare is a vital skill."
Asem spoke cheerfully as he took one slow step, then another, toward Rizevim.
Something felt… wrong. What was he doing here?
Rizevim, oblivious to the shift in the air, spread his arms wide to welcome Asem with triumphant glee.
"Exactly! That's what I'm saying! You really get me, Asem-kyun! That's why we need to—"
Before Rizevim could finish his sentence—
Fresh blood sprayed into the air.
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