The moment he saw her, Vali wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But when he steadied his breathing and focused, widening his eyes to take a careful look at the girl's face, he compared it with the figure in his memory. A few seconds later, when he finally realized that she truly was the same person he remembered, an expression of disbelief spread across his face.
Though the White Dragon Emperor's armor concealed his expression from others, the faint tremble of his body betrayed the turmoil within him.
"Lavinia… y-you… why are you here?"
Vali's voice was no longer cold. Instead, it carried a strained tone, almost like a suppressed groan.
Behind Rod, Lavinia seemed to have recognized him as well.
Her delicate features showed uncertainty as she asked hesitantly, "You're… Val? Is it really you, Va-kun?"
The moment Vali heard that voice, he finally confirmed that the woman before him was indeed the one he had met several years ago.
Back then, he had been far less mature than he was now. Yet Lavinia, whom he had only just met, had always treated him with warmth and kindness.
When she learned that he survived on nothing but instant cup noodles every day, she often took him to restaurants and made sure he ate proper meals.
Whenever he was injured during training, she would patiently apply medicine to his wounds.
At first, he had been irritated by such unprompted concern and would even lose his temper.
But Lavinia, with her naturally gentle nature, always dissolved his anger with quiet kindness.
Gradually, he had grown used to the warmth she showed him.
Unfortunately, those days did not last long.
Lavinia had been tracking the whereabouts of her master and hunting a witch from an opposing faction, while Vali had been ordered by Azazel to return to Grigori.
In the end, the two of them had gone their separate ways.
Even though several years had passed since then, Vali often found himself thinking about Lavinia, the woman who had treated him so kindly and occasionally teased him.
He had assumed that their paths would never cross again.
Yet unexpectedly, during this mission assigned by Azazel, he had run into her once more.
"Vali, did that woman once take care of you?"
At that moment, a gem on his armor glowed faintly as a calm, mature male voice echoed out.
Albion, the White Dragon Emperor.
It was the soul residing within Vali's Longinus, Divine Dividing: Wings of the White Dragon Emperor.
One of the once-arrogant Two Heavenly Dragons.
"I… I don't know."
Vali wanted to move closer for a better look, but hesitation filled his voice.
Just then, however, he noticed Lavinia gently tugging on the sleeve of the man standing beside her. She leaned close and whispered something into his ear.
Vali also noticed the expression on Lavinia's face at that moment.
Her eyelashes curved slightly, her cheeks lifted softly, and her expression was both expectant and gentle.
And Vali, whose instincts were keen, realized something else.
That gentleness was different from the way she had treated him in the past.
"I…"
Seeing that scene made his chest feel heavy, as if something were stuck inside and refused to come out.
"What's wrong, Vali? Aren't you going to greet your old friend? You've mentioned her to yourself many times over the years."
Albion asked curiously.
"Hmph."
With that, Vali let out a cold snort.
The warmth vanished from his eyes, replaced once again by the icy indifference he usually showed.
Immediately afterward, the four pairs of wings behind him burst into even brighter radiance, scattering particles of light like the thrusters of a Freedom Gundam.
The White Dragon Emperor shot upward at incredible speed, surpassing the second cosmic velocity in an instant.
His departure kicked up a storm of dust across the devastated center of Kuoh Town.
Rias and the others looked up, watching as a pure white meteor pierced the dark clouds overhead and vanished into the night sky.
It seemed like it might rain soon.
Everyone exchanged glances.
The intentions of that white figure had been extremely strange.
He had descended with the presence of an overwhelming powerhouse, scanned the battlefield, spoken a few words, and then left in a hurry.
It was almost as if there was something here he was afraid to face.
Still, his departure brought them a certain sense of relief.
After their battle with Kokabiel, they had finally realized just how vast the gap was between themselves and true powerhouses.
Thinking back to their earlier claims that they could fight Kokabiel on their own, Rias and Sona felt utterly ashamed.
Meanwhile, Rod was somewhat surprised.
When Vali had looked at him earlier, Rod had clearly felt an intense surge of battle intent.
But that didn't surprise him much.
The White Dragon Emperor Vali was a battle maniac by nature. In the original storyline, he had even joined the Khaos Brigade just to search for powerful opponents to fight.
Once he learned that Rod had killed Kokabiel, it was only natural that he would want a battle.
Rod had already prepared himself, wondering whether fighting Vali might trigger a new system quest.
Yet to his surprise, the man had suddenly retreated.
Rod had no idea what he was thinking.
However, Rod did notice that just before leaving, the White Dragon Emperor had glanced toward Lavinia behind him.
"Lavinia, do you know him?"
Rod asked, turning back.
"Mm…"
Lavinia nodded, then pressed her lips together slightly before speaking.
"I met Val about four or five years ago. Back then, he was still very small, about this tall…"
She gestured with her hand to indicate the height.
"He always tried to act like a little adult and ate instant noodles every day, even though they weren't nutritious. Since he was always alone, I looked after him a bit. Later we went our separate ways because of our own responsibilities. I never expected we'd meet again after so many years."
"Other than his appearance changing a bit, Val still feels the same as before. He likes to act cool in front of adults."
"I just don't know why he suddenly left. If it really was him, I wanted to catch up and talk properly."
"Ah…"
Lavinia sighed softly, looking a little downcast.
Seeing an old friend only for him to leave without saying anything made her wonder if he disliked her now.
Rod was merely surprised that Lavinia knew the White Dragon Emperor, but he didn't think much of it.
As for a love rival, that was even less likely.
Given the relationship between him and Lavinia now, they were practically only one step away from crossing the final line. Once her current period passed, their relationship would probably deepen even further.
After the White Dragon Emperor departed, Rias and Sona's group approached.
Their expressions were somewhat restrained.
Still, thanks to their upbringing, they politely expressed their gratitude to Rod.
"Thank you for your help today. Otherwise, we might not have survived."
"The Sitri family will not forget today's favor."
Rias glanced subtly at Sona before continuing.
"I will send your reward later."
Rod nodded, then asked, "I heard you were planning to talk to me tonight. What did you want?"
"Uh…"
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