Chapter 276: Capturing Katerea
Had she dressed like this earlier, Haruto might have agreed to a round.
But it wasn't too late now.
Vali looked down on Haruto's combat ability and was left stunned.
Since Katerea wanted to kidnap him back as a tool, it seemed only natural for him to take her home as a cultivation cauldron.
Besides, this was war—capturing a prisoner was perfectly normal... right?
Coincidentally, Haruto needed a Satan-Class dual cultivation partner to break through, and Katerea was an ideal candidate.
The only issue was this spirited horse had a fierce temperament—when realizing she was outmatched, she kept contemplating mutual destruction.
"Rei-chan, no need to be so agitated," Haruto said while pounding the black beauty until she spat blood, then asked: "Is this your first time? If so, I can be gentle.Katerea was a devil—an adult devil—how could she not understand Haruto's double entendre?
As a descendant of Leviathan, where had she ever suffered such humiliation? Though she indeed remained a pure virgin, she would absolutely never admit it now.
After several more rounds of exchange, Haruto continued to overwhelmingly suppress Katerea in one-sided combat.
His mouth might be full of playful banter, but his hands never showed the slightest mercy.
Capturing her alive would be ideal, but if not, it wouldn't matter either. It would be unfortunate if holding back led to an unexpected defeat.
Haruto never gave her any opportunity for a mutual destruction. Just as Katerea was on the verge of collapse, the sealing barrier suddenly emitted a crisp cracking sound.
Crack—a sound like shattering glass echoed across the entire battlefield as the pale red sealing barrier enveloping the sky abruptly shattered.
At the same time, a rare trace of anger surfaced on Grayfia's elegant and beautiful face.
The silver-haired beauty had worked diligently for so long, on the verge of completing her analysis, only to have the barrier destroyed at this critical moment.
This sealing barrier was primarily designed to restrain those inside, making it seemingly fragile from the outside.
The intruder was a handsome short-haired young man carrying a staff, with strength roughly at the Satan-Class level.
The somewhat roguish Haruto ignored the numerous Satan-Class powerhouses present and landed casually beside Vali.
"Bikou, what are you doing?" Vali asked indifferently.
"We still have to face the Aesir of the North. Hurry up and get back here."
"Is that so... It's already time..."
Vali, who had long lost interest, simply agreed.
"Who is this guy?"
Rias frowned as she looked at the young man who had suddenly barged into the battlefield and started talking to himself.
"This is Bikou, the descendant of the Victorious Fighting Buddha," Grayfia calmly explained after composing herself. "Simply put, he's the famous troublemaking monkey from Journey to the West, Sun Wukong."
Well, that last sentence carried a bit of personal sentiment.
At that moment, Haruto happened to clamp his hand around Katerea's slender neck, lifting her up single-handedly to face level.
Distracting a portion of his attention, he turned to look at the peculiarly dressed young man.
It was fine until he looked, but once he did, memories etched into his DNA stirred. Staring at the prominent golden fillet on the other's forehead, two words escaped his lips:
"Great Sage?"
The short-haired youth, whom Vali called Bikou, laughed heartily. "You flatter me. I can't be called Great Sage. Unlike the first generation, I just want to live freely."
Sirzechs remarked, "I never expected even you to join the Khaos Brigade. These times truly..."
Though the related memories had long grown hazy, upon seeing the real person, Haruto recalled quite a bit of information.
Not just Wukong, but Bajie was around too.
Speaking of which, did these two enlightened beings actually have bloodlines passed down?
As expected, this is just a parallel world.
Wukong, Bajie, plus the White Dragon...
Haruto suddenly chuckled. "Well, the White Dragon and Sun Wukong make a pretty good pair too."
Bikou burst into laughter again. Though the sound seemed strange, Haruto found it oddly familiar.
Even without the fur on his face, it was clear he had Brother Monkey's genes.
Just based on that laughter, Haruto acknowledged his identity.
As the laughter subsided, Bikou twirled his staff, summoning a dark whirlwind of magical energy. As the staff struck the ground, a large teleportation magic circle appeared.
Seeing that Vali and Bikou were about to teleport away, Ornis and the others decisively disengaged from their battles and teleported away separately.
Michael and the others made no move to stop them, especially Shemhazai, who even seemed to be telling Kokabiel to return and confine himself voluntarily.
Only Katerea, still firmly gripped by Haruto's hand around her neck, remained unable to break free.
Just then, the Balance Breaker's time limit expired. Despite her severe back injury, the dark beauty relied on her Satan-Class foundation to forcefully break free from Haruto's grasp.
Haruto didn't mind - in his opponent's current state, he could achieve his goal even without using Balance Breaker, just by wearing her down slowly.
"Vali, Bikou... take me with you..."
Katerea flapped her slender black devil wings awkwardly, trying to escape through teleportation together.
Vali frowned but ultimately remained silent. Bikou glanced at him and slowed the teleportation process.
"Tch..."
Haruto glanced sideways at Sirzechs and Serafall, curling his lips in displeasure as the two still showed no intention of intervening.
Therefore, he decisively began chanting incantations - did they think they could leave just like that without his permission?
Both Bikou and Vali were Satan-Class beings. He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could stop them in his current condition.
[I, who awaken as the Two Heavenly Dragons that seized the principles of supremacy from God——]
[Scoffing at infinity, fretting over dreams—]
[I shall become the Crimson Dragon's Overlord—]
[And cast you into the crimson lotus inferno!]
[Juggernaut Drive]
In barely a second, Haruto transformed once more into a red dragon even more terrifying than before.
If his Balance Breaker leaned toward a humanoid form, his Juggernaut Drive leaned more toward that of a dragon.
No one had expected Haruto to suddenly erupt after the battle had already concluded, and they didn't even understand the reason for his outburst.
Haruto had no time to explain now. Although he could use Juggernaut Drive, every second of it consumed his life force.
However, thanks to his progress in strength, he didn't have to worry about ending up in the same awkward situation as last time.
As long as it didn't exceed one minute.
A vicious, crimson aura instantly enveloped everyone. Vali was the first to react, instinctively wanting to activate his own Juggernaut Drive.
[I am the awakened one...]
"Vali, stop. He's not coming for you," Albion's voice cut in, interrupting the incantation halfway. "Let's teleport away. That female devil can't be saved. That guy... the current Red Dragon Emperor seems to be angry."
After communicating with Ddraig, Albion had to admit that Haruto was indeed the current inheritor of the Red Dragon Emperor.
Haruto was indeed a bit angry. Sure, Satan-Class power was impressive, and they could play their games if they wanted, but did they have to drag others into it?
If it weren't for Sona's sake, Haruto wouldn't have lifted a finger.
Especially after realizing that Serafall had been acting all along—he'd already shown restraint by not walking away on the spot. How could he possibly continue fighting Vali?
Now that he'd beaten two of them up, not helping was one thing, but to let Katerea go at this point? Did they really think he had no temper?
Once Juggernaut Drive was activated, he cared for no one. If Serafall dared to interfere, he wouldn't hesitate to strike.
After one minute, he could just claim he lost control.
Clearly, Serafall wasn't foolish enough to go that far. The two Satans, after their initial surprise, quickly grasped Haruto's intent.
A crimson dragon's shadow tore through space, clutching the dark beauty tightly in its grasp.
"Gah—!"
Muscles and bones grated together with a horrific sound. For the first time since the battle began, Katerea let out a cry of agony.
But the scream soon faded.
She had lost consciousness.
"Hmm... seems I used a bit too much strength," Haruto's hoarse voice emerged from within the fearsome red dragon, white mist dispersing from his sharp maw as he spoke.
He didn't continue attacking Vali. If the other activated Juggernaut Drive, things would indeed be hard to contain, and besides, he'd already had his fill of beating him up earlier.
"Farewell, Red Dragon Emperor." Bikou suppressed his shock and chuckled, activating the teleportation magic circle.
Vali gazed at the overwhelmingly oppressive red dragon, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
"Next time... next time we meet, let's have an even more thrilling fight."
"Then you'd better get stronger quickly." Haruto deactivated Juggernaut Drive, throwing Vali's earlier words back at him.
His mastery of Balance Breaker might not match Vali's, but when it came to Juggernaut Drive, Vali was definitely no match for him.
Haruto had a feeling that once his power reached Satan-Class, he would be able to fully master Juggernaut Drive.