Chapter 269: First Appearance of the Khaos Brigade
A few days ago, thanks to Sona's thoughtful explanation and his own fragmented memories, Haruto was the first to react among those present.
He had originally thought that without Gasper's "Forbidden Balor View" and with the Three Factions summit moved earlier, the Khaos Brigade wouldn't appear. It seemed he had been naive.
No matter the circumstances, the Khaos Brigade would never stand by and watch the Three Factions achieve peace.
Since there wasn't enough time to formulate a plan, they resorted to a direct assault.
The Khaos Brigade didn't have the strength to confront the Three Factions head-on, but they never shied away from small-scale battles.
The Khaos Brigade didn't have many formal members, but their top-tier experts were no fewer than those of the Three Factions, as they had no restrictions on race or even mythological affiliations.
As long as one desired world chaos, the Khaos Brigade would accept them.
Among all factions yearning for peace, there was no shortage of hardliners. When these hardliners found themselves completely marginalized, it was the perfect time for the Khaos Brigade to recruit fresh blood.
Not only was the Khaos Brigade disrupting the peace among the Three Factions here, but they were also causing chaos in the Nordic regions.
They were a group of madmen who thrived on chaos, true to their organization's name—they were a blight upon the world, seeking only war and bloodshed.
The assembly-line mages and soldiers continued to wear each other down, yet there were no scenes of gore and carnage. Instead, swathes of light particles dissipated into the most basic elements, vanishing into the world.
However, this harmonious and dazzling spectacle quickly shifted to a realistic war scene as the key figures made their entrance.
Sirzechs suddenly turned to look at one side of the living room. "This magic circle... could it be...?"
Before he could finish, the magic circle rapidly took shape, and a dark-skinned beauty with square-framed glasses and dreadlocks appeared before everyone.
"Good day, Sirzechs-sama, the current Devil King, and Serafall-sama."
Katerea Leviathan placed one hand over her chest, performing a noble's salute as if she had come specifically for an audience.
Yet, under these circumstances, no one present was naive enough to believe she had come with good intentions.
"She is Katerea Leviathan, the one who inherited the bloodline of the original Leviathan," Sirzechs explained proactively to Rias and the others, who wore puzzled expressions.
Grayfia and Sona instinctively moved away from the magic circle, drawing closer to their respective Devil Kings.
Serafall, who had been dignified and composed all this while in her rare formal attire, finally revealed her true nature.
In a cute, playful, and lively girlish voice, she exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"Faced with the questioning from the black twin-tailed, busty beauty, the dark-skinned woman raised her staff and revealed a ferocious smile."
"Of course, for the destruction and chaos of the world."
As the staff unleashed its attack, the villa where everyone was gathered instantly turned into ruins.
Amid the towering flames and billowing dust, Haruto discreetly canceled the defensive magic he was about to cast.
Sirzechs, Michael, and Shemhazai jointly erected a circular protective barrier, which remained completely unshaken by Cattleya's assault.
"The three major forces joining hands to deploy a defensive barrier..."
The dark beauty covered her mouth with one hand, revealing a smile full of delight and mockery.
"What a disgraceful scene."
Within the defensive barrier, Shemhazai glanced at Sirzechs and Serafall. "It seems the signing of the peace treaty will need to be postponed."
"What are you trying to achieve, Cattleya?" Sirzechs asked.
"Nothing much, I simply hold the opposite view of this meeting," Cattleya replied calmly. "Since there are no longer any Devil Kings or gods, this world should undergo change."
Serafall clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Cattleya-chan... please stop this. Why are you doing this?"
Her demeanor was completely unlike that of a Devil King, instead resembling a cute and innocent girl next door. Haruto couldn't help but steal a few extra glances at her.
The dark beauty showed no intention of stopping, instead growing even angrier.
She said furiously, "Serafall, you snatched the Leviathan position right from my hands, yet you still dare to speak so arrogantly."
"I just..."
The black-haired twin-tailed beauty's tone turned somber, as if there were some hidden circumstances, but ultimately she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Don't worry, I'll kill you right here today, and then I'll be the one to carry forward the name of Leviathan."
As Katerea spoke, she began attacking the defensive barrier, appearing quite confident.
Unfortunately, the barrier jointly maintained by the leaders of the three major factions couldn't be shaken by her at all.
After confirming their safety, Haruto's mind became active.
The powers of demons, angels, and fallen angels didn't conflict and could even be combined to create a defensive barrier—this was truly fascinating.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Since the three races could intermarry and produce mixed-blood descendants, power fusion should be expected.
A strange thought flashed through his mind as he turned to more important matters.
Since the Khaos Brigade had chosen a frontal assault, they definitely wouldn't have sent only Katerea. On their side, there were openly four Satan-Class powerhouses.
Katerea would most likely lose even in a 1v1 situation, let alone 1v4.
Wait... Haruto glanced at the restless Vali—it should be 2v4.
Because this was a frontal assault, the battle-thirsty White Dragon Emperor probably wouldn't have a chance to pretend.
But even 2 against 4, the other side still had no chance of winning...
While Haruto was deep in thought, the impatient Vali immediately betrayed them.
Since Vali attacked from within, the three leaders were forced to abandon their joint defensive barrier and dodge the attack separately.
Haruto, worried that Rias and the other girls might get caught in the crossfire, had been closely watching Vali's movements. Fortunately, the four Satan-Class powerhouses weren't just for show, and even the White Dragon Emperor didn't dare to get trapped in their encirclement.
After breaking the barrier, he decisively retreated.
With the defensive barrier destroyed, Sirzechs and Serafall covered Rias and the others as they retreated to a safe position.
The upcoming battle wasn't something they could participate in—they even had to carefully defend against the aftermath.
The three leaders didn't continue their joint defense, mainly because Michael and Shemhazai wouldn't assist any further.
They had helped earlier due to the sudden situation, which already showed sufficient goodwill.
They couldn't just defend purely to protect a group of demons without counterattacking.
Because of the White Dragon Emperor's betrayal, everyone's attention shifted to Shemhazai.
The white-haired scholar-like Shemhazai twitched his mouth. He had just been watching the drama on the demons' side, never expecting it would be his turn so quickly.
"Vali, so you've really joined the Khaos Brigade after all?" he asked while explaining Vali's true identity to everyone.
Vali Lucifer was the full name of the current White Dragon Emperor, who inherited the bloodline of the original Devil King Lucifer, but his mother was human.
Because of his half-human bloodline, he had the opportunity to be hosted by the White Dragon Emperor's light wings.
"That's right. My father is the grandson of the true Devil King Lucifer, and my mother is human."
As if cooperating with Shemhazai, several pairs of slender black spikes suddenly appeared behind the gorgeous white dragon-shaped armor—those were demon wings.
Like angels and fallen angels, the stronger the power, the more wings one would have.
Hmm, this design is indeed better-looking than bat wings. If six pairs of bat wings appeared, just thinking about it would feel strange.
I wonder when Rias and the others will be able to increase the number of their wings. Dual cultivation in demon form should offer a unique experience.
Haruto observed Vali in the sky while secretly pondering.
"So that's how it is..." Sirzechs said gravely. "No wonder none of us knew."
The demon wings dissipated, leaving only magnificent azure light wings, with the handsome white armor standing alongside the dark beauty.
"Haruto."
"I am the strongest of this era, inheriting the bloodline of the Devil King and obtaining dragon power."
Vali's arrogant voice emanated from the armor. "But you're just an ordinary person - nothing more than a completely average high school student before being reborn as a demon."
"In other words, you have nothing but the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet."
"Boring, so boring it makes me laugh. They call it a rival Sacred Gear, yet there's a natural gap in our strength..."
Watching Vali show off so freely in the sky, Haruto who had been keeping a low profile felt utterly speechless.
The White Dragon Emperor who had mastered Balance Breaker indeed possessed stable Satan-Class power, making him slightly stronger than Haruto at the moment.
But Haruto had defeated Azazel back when he was only S-class, let alone now that he had reached SSS-class.
It's just that with four major powers present - while he wasn't sure about Shemhazai and Michael, Sirzechs and Serafall definitely possessed power beyond Satan-Class.
Haruto figured with such strong allies around, he could just focus on protecting Rias and the others. He never expected to get dissed like this...
Did Vali not bother to research his achievements and abilities? Was he just a pure battle maniac?
Only after Vali finished showing off and expressing his feelings of "invincible loneliness" did he notice everyone present was looking at him with strange expressions.