Gaio yanked the demonic sword Dante free from the ground. Even though the entire underworld was shaking like crazy, it didn't faze him one bit; every ounce of his focus was locked onto the blade in his hands.
He held Dante horizontally in front of him and instantly felt it, an insane surge of power rewriting his body from the inside out. Every single cell was screaming with joy, greedily soaking up the energy pouring from the sword. His strength was skyrocketing.
At the same time, Dante was dumping a flood of crazy techniques straight into his brain: flashy, over-the-top sword combos and wild ways to wield demonic power, all rushing in like a tsunami.
Gaio slowly closed his eyes, totally losing himself in the connection, fusing with the sword on a whole different level from Vergil's cold, precise, no-nonsense fighting style.
Nope, what Dante was giving him was pure Dante energy: stylish, unpredictable, and dripping with swagger.
His body, mind, and power were gobbling up Dante's combat know-how at warp speed. And that wasn't even the best part.
Behind him, the phantom image of his true devil form started to change. The original solid dark-blue color split right down the middle: one half stayed that icy Vergil blue, sharp and arrogant like the ultimate lone wolf chasing pure power… while the other half blazed into Dante's signature fiery red, radiating reckless passion and the vibe of someone who's always down for a good brawl.
The metal walls of the monitoring station were still trembling from the leftover devil flames.
Falbium had already blown away all the orange mist back in the valley; his real body was holed up in the control room just outside. Right now his fingers were shaking so hard against the console that the defensive runes on his fingertips were glitching out, burning random scorch marks into the metal.
"That guy… why the hell is he so terrifying?" He stared at the figure inside the red-and-blue pillar of light on the screen, goosebumps crawling under his tactical armor.
That soul-crushing pressure from earlier was still ringing in his ears. Even his so-called "absolute defense" magic that eats any attack had started flowing backward like it was scared.
Suddenly, there was a crisp crack as the air behind him froze solid.
A half-transparent green figure stepped straight out of the rock wall, frost still clinging to the hem of his coat. It was one of the four great demon kings of the underworld: Ajuka Beelzebub.
Falbium didn't even notice until Ajuka's hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump like he'd been shocked.
"You're scared?" Ajuka's voice was low, his blue eyes scanning the flood of data on the monitors.
Falbium forced a bitter smile and glanced at his still-trembling fingers. "If you'd felt that up close, you'd be shaking too."
Ajuka's brows knitted into a deep frown. The guy who could turn tactical analysis into freaking poetry was standing here with his armor's auto-defense arrays flashing red warnings left and right.
"You've seen the person who pulled out the 'great sword'? What race is he?"
"Demon."
The second those words left Falbium's mouth, Ajuka's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas.
A demon?! That means he and Falbium were right all along! That sword really is tied to demons!
Falbium saw his best friend get that rare excited grin and just shook his head. "Ajuka, pump the brakes on the excitement."
The excitement drained from Ajuka's face in an instant. "What do you mean?"
Falbium's bitter smile got even worse. "Because…"
"REPORT!!!"
A intel officer's shout cut him off before he could finish.
Both guys whipped around as the officer yelled, "The ten-winged fallen angel Kokabiel is personally leading his army! They're only thirty kilometers from the Forbidden Valley! Estimated numbers: around fifty thousand fallen angels!"
Ajuka's frown deepened. "Kokabiel himself? That warmongering psycho actually showed up? Looks like we need to mobilize the other legions."
"Do we really, though?" Falbium chuckled.
"Falbium! I don't know what the hell you just went through in that valley, but Kokabiel is clearly here for blood! Why are you acting so damn relaxed?!" Ajuka snapped.
Falbium didn't get mad; he just tapped a few keys on the console. Magic circles lit up around the room, projecting live feeds from every angle outside the valley.
"Take a look, Ajuka. Then you'll get why I'm smiling like this."
Ajuka kept frowning hard at the screens, but his left index finger was already glowing green as he started typing out orders to the major underworld families to send reinforcements.
He'd barely sent half the message when his finger froze. His eyes went wide, pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
Back in the valley, the towering red-and-blue pillar of flames was shrinking, then vanished completely.
Gaio slowly opened his eyes, pure excitement shining in them, a wild grin spreading across his face.
"This is gonna be fun, Dante," he muttered.
The sword hummed back like it totally agreed.
Right then, Kokabiel and his fifty thousand fallen angels swooped in fast. The second they saw the flames die out, Kokabiel shot straight above the valley, his army fanning out behind him.
When he spotted the sword in Gaio's hand, he burst out laughing. "Kid! So you're the one who pulled the 'great sword'! Join me! Or hand it over!"
Gaio looked up at the ten-winged, devil-looking fallen angel and tilted his head. "Oh? You're trying to take my sword?"
Kokabiel wagged a finger. "No, no, no, not take, you're gonna offer it to me!"
Gaio's eyebrow shot up, his grin getting wider. "Offer it? Man, that's a good one."
Kokabiel's face darkened instantly. Fifty thousand fallen angels unleashed their aura all at once; dark and light energy churned in the sky like a storm.
"Brat, you better not turn down a toast just to drink a forfeit! That sword doesn't belong to some nobody like you. Give it here, and I might let you live."
Gaio spun Dante playfully in his hand, that cocky grin never leaving his face. "Let me live? You really think you've got what it takes?"
"Hmph. Ignorant little pest!" Kokabiel roared. His ten pairs of black wings snapped open, and a massive black scythe materialized in his grip. "Today I'll show you what real power looks like!"
With a single command, fifty thousand fallen angels attacked. Countless black energy spears rained down like a thunderstorm.
Gaio casually slung Dante onto his back, where the sword just floated there at a cool angle, defying gravity like it belonged there.
His usual ice-cold killer vibe was gone. Right now he looked… excited. Like a kid who just walked into an arcade with unlimited quarters.
He started laughing, stretched both arms out, and struck the classic dual-gun finger pose.
"Great!! It's showtime!"