The stench of sulfur and rot filled the air as the twin Cerberus launched their assault, saliva dripping from their fanged maws.
Ryuichi faced one head‑on. The beast thundered across the scorched earth, its claws gouging deep furrows into the ground. Before it even closed the distance, one of its three heads opened wide and spat a blazing fireball straight at him.
Too fast.
There was no time to dodge—Ryuichi swung his Sacred Gear up before him.
BOOM!
Flames exploded outward, engulfing his entire body in a sea of fire.
Hot... too hot!
Even through the barrier projected by the Divine‑Sorrow Shield, he could feel the air searing. Sparks danced around him like molten rain.
With a surge of power, Ryuichi and his duplicate charged in simultaneously from opposite sides.
They split the wind in twin streaks of light, crossing paths with the Cerberus as the King's Sword slashed through the air.
One of the creature's heads lunged, jaws wide to bite the sword itself—
But it had underestimated the weapon's power.
Ryuichi poured violent demonic energy into the King's Sword; its silver glow turned blinding, pulsing dangerously in his grip.
SLASH!
The blade sang as it cleaved through flesh. A single stroke, and one of the beast's heads was severed cleanly. Blood sprayed in a crimson storm.
The monster howled, thrashing in fury. Two remaining heads snapped toward Ryuichi, but before it could strike, his clone leapt in from the side, shield raised high.
WHAM!
The Divine‑Sorrow Shield smashed down with crushing impact. The Cerberus hit the ground hard enough to make the earth tremble.
Far above, Kokabiel tilted his head, eyes narrowed in mild surprise. He studied Ryuichi's figure and the second body that fought beside him, then laughed.
"Well, well... what's this? Some new experiment the Devils cooked up?"
It was his first time seeing Ryuichi's Pawn duplication ability—one of the few things even the higher orders of Heaven and Hell hadn't prepared for.
Ryuichi pressed his advantage, blades flashing. Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Rias and her team were pushing their own Cerberus back as well.
"Too slow!"
Akeno stood boldly before the beast, lightning crackling around her fingertips. A bolt fell like judgment from heaven, striking the massive creature with a deafening crash. It roared in agony, its once‑glossy fur now charred black.
Before it could recover, Rias leapt high from behind Akeno, her crimson hair trailing like flame. Her curving form traced a sharp arc through the air as she gathered her immense magical energy.
"Perish!"
She unleashed it mid‑air—a fiery blast of destruction that lit the sky crimson.
The Cerberus retaliated instantly, its three heads throwing up waves of hellfire.
Flames and demonic power collided in mid‑air, creating a twisting vortex of heat. The shockwave scoured the academy grounds, turning the lawns brown and dead before igniting them entirely. Within seconds, the grass was gone, leaving cracked, scorched earth beneath their feet.
The triple-headed beast, however, still had one head free—and it swung toward Rias, jaws glowing.
But before it could strike, a smaller figure darted in like a blur of white and gold.
"Heeyah!"
Koneko Toujou, fists wrapped in her beloved gauntlets, launched upward and struck one of the Cerberus's heads with a perfectly clean, brutally direct uppercut.
THUD!
The entire ten‑meter beast staggered, crashing down with a heavy slam.
"Nicely done," Akeno said, laughing softly. Her outfit shimmered and changed—transforming into her signature shrine maiden attire. As the sacred patterns settled, her aura intensified dramatically.
"Let me reward you with a little extra blessing."
Thunder cracked.
Golden lightning poured down in torrents, engulfing the fallen Cerberus in blinding arcs of radiance. The monster shrieked in agony as if swallowed by the wrath of heaven itself.
Seeing it, even Ryuichi couldn't help but think—Akeno truly lived up to her title as Rias's Queen.
Still, the beasts were resilient beyond reason. Though scorched and battered, they continued to thrash and snap, their sheer vitality monstrous. Rias's team couldn't spare a single moment to rest.
Meanwhile, Ryuichi clashed blade‑to‑claw with his own opponent. The duplicate fought alongside him, keeping the Cerberus at bay. But his attention kept flicking toward Valper Galilei's ritual.
The four Holy Swords were already glowing faintly translucent, their energies spiraling together. If the fusion completed... they'd be finished.
All while above them, Kokabiel continued to lounge in his floating throne, watching the chaos with predatory amusement. He hadn't moved in some time—but the pressure coming off him was enough to make everyone's hearts tighten.
They had to stop this before it was too late.
Ryuichi's eyes hardened. I have to end this fast.
He gritted his teeth and unleashed the full capacity of his Sacred Gear's amplification.
The King's Sword ignited with a roar of power.
Whoosh—!
In a heartbeat, his magic output multiplied tenfold. Waves of dark purple energy rippled outward in concentric bursts, bending the air around him. His black hair whipped violently in the surge, his eyes blazing with determination.
Kokabiel's smile widened. "Oh? He's stronger than he looks. Interesting..."
Down below, the Cerberus sensed the danger. Its claws scraped deep furrows in the ground as dark flames erupted across its body. Its speed spiked sharply.
"Ryuichi! Careful—it's Hellfire!" Rias shouted across the field, her voice urgent.
But he didn't hesitate. The King's Sword's amplification was limited only by what he could endure—if he could withstand a tenfold boost, it meant he'd surpassed even his own expectations.
Tenfold power would be enough.
He raised the sword high.
The energy was so intense it distorted the air, forming visible ripples that spread like shockwaves across the yard.
The Cerberus roared and attacked first. Its central head unleashed a torrent of purple‑black Hellfire shaped like a dragon, roaring toward him.
Ryuichi's duplicate jumped in front, summoning the Divine‑Sorrow Shield once more. The barrier shimmered brilliantly, reinforced by Ryuichi's amplified power.
The Hellfire slammed into it, a storm of molten plasma colliding against the shimmering barrier—but it held.
Behind it, Ryuichi stood motionless.
Then the King's Sword began to glow—no longer silver, but a deep violet‑black, magic condensed into a blade hundreds of feet long, towering like a spectral titan above them.
"Hmm... that looks familiar," Kokabiel mused lazily, resting his chin on his hand. "Quite a resemblance to a Holy Sword, isn't it? Hard to tell which one's real anymore."
His laughter echoed down from the night sky.
Ryuichi ignored him.
Every muscle in his body moved as one. He brought the massive blade down, cleaving through the air with divine and demonic force combined.
The ground shook. The Hellfire roared.
And the sword fell.
.
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