The sky above Kuoh Academy cracked. Literally.
A gigantic lance of crimson and black light descended from the zenith with the force of a meteorite. Upon impact with the invisible dome protecting the campus, the sound was not an explosion, but rather the shattering of an ancient crystal. The barrier that Sona Sitri and her council had so painstakingly reinforced disintegrated into particles of purple energy that rained down upon the courtyard like dead ash.
The shockwave was so brutal that the windows of the old school building shattered inwards. Issei reacted purely on instinct, positioning himself in front of Asia and Rias to shield them from the impact with his body, while the ground beneath his feet cracked from the atmospheric pressure.
"Sona's barriers...!" Rias exclaimed, covering her face as the hurricane-force wind whipped through her crimson hair. "She destroyed them in one fell swoop!"
From the center of the crater of light that had formed in the courtyard, a figure began to emerge, rising slowly. Kokabiel unfurled his ten fallen angel wings, which spread like living shadows devouring what little moonlight remained. The air grew heavy, saturated with the scent of ozone and death.
"How disappointing," Kokabiel's voice boomed, resonating deep within everyone present. "Is this the level of defense the Maou heirs possess? If Azazel knew I'd come to this kindergarten to start a war, he'd laugh at me."
With a dismissive gesture, Kokabiel threw down a bloody bundle he was carrying in one hand. Irina Shidou's shattered body rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at Issei's feet. She was unconscious, her church uniform burned, a deep wound in her chest radiating a lingering, holy heat.
"Irina!" Issei knelt beside her, checking her pulse as his eyes became dangerously bright.
Kokabiel descended a little further, observing Issei with a maniacal smile.
"That human tried to protect her god's honor with a broken sword fragment. Pathetic. Now, you—" The fallen one gestured to the entire group with a hand charged with energy—"have the honor of being the first sacrifices so that this city may burn and the Great War may begin anew. Valper! Bring in the guests!"
From the shadows, Valper Galilei appeared alongside three massive creatures: the Cerberus, the guardian dogs of the Underworld, whose six heads growled with infernal hunger.
Issei carefully lifted Irina's wounded body into his arms. Despite the fury seething within him at the sight of his childhood friend in such a state, his movements were precise and gentle. He didn't waste a second on unnecessary words with Kokabiel; he knew that every drop of blood Irina lost counted.
He walked among the rubble and gently placed her on the ground, where Asia was already waiting for him with trembling hands, but with determination shining in her green eyes.
"Asia, now!" Issei ordered in a voice that brooked no doubt. "Use all your power. Don't let that dark energy of Kokabiel consume her life force."
"Yes, Issei-san!" replied the little nun, immediately kneeling down.
Asia activated her Twilight Healing . Her hands were enveloped in a warm, emerald-green light that began to bathe Irina's wounds. The contrast in the courtyard was stark: on one side, the oppressive, icy darkness emanating from Kokabiel and his Cerberuses; on the other, the pure, comforting glow of Asia's healing, attempting to keep death at bay.
Xenovia, who had just arrived at the scene after following the trail of destruction, was stunned by what she saw. Seeing an "excommunicated" woman using her bare hands to save a Church envoy with such devotion left her speechless for a moment.
Issei stood up slowly, turning his back on the girls to act as a human shield. His future eyes fixed on Kokabiel with a coldness that made the air around his feet begin to crack.
"Asia, no matter what happens, don't stop until she's out of danger," Issei said, as his left arm began to pulse with an intermittent red light. "I'll make sure nothing and no one interrupts your work."
Kokabiel, from the heights, let out a mocking laugh upon seeing the scene.
—Healing? In the middle of a battlefield? What a waste of energy. Cerberus, devour those children and bring me the nun's soul!
The three beasts of the Underworld roared in unison and launched their attack, their jaws dripping fire and shadows.
The three Cerberuses roared, launching themselves in a coordinated charge that shook the ground. Their mandibles dripped hellfire as they closed the distance to where Asia, utterly vulnerable, held her hands on Irina. Issei stepped forward, ready to act, but it wasn't necessary.
Before the beasts could leap, two flashes of steel crossed the battlefield like lightning.
Kiba Yuuto and Xenovia Quarta stood in the way of the monsters. Rias's Knight and the wielder of Excalibur Destruction moved with a synchronization forced by necessity, blocking the advance of the creatures from the Underworld.
"Issei-kun, take care of Asia-chan and Irina," Kiba said without looking back, his voice laced with icy seriousness as his demonic swords clashed against the fangs of one of the Cerberus dogs. "We'll handle these dogs."
Xenovia, wielding her heavy golden sword, unleashed a horizontal slash that forced the other two heads back. Her gaze met Kiba's for a moment; despite being natural enemies due to their differing ideals, at that moment they were simply two swords defending the same front.
"Don't get confused, demon," Xenovia declared, resuming her fighting stance. "I'm only protecting my companion. Once these beasts are dead, we'll get on with our business."
"That seems fair to me," Kiba replied with a bitter smile, launching himself into the attack with a speed that even the Cerberuses struggled to keep up with.
Issei nodded, standing firm as a wall before Asia. Seeing that the path was blocked by the swordsman duo, Kokabiel let out a cackle from above, flapping his wings in disdain.
"What a pathetic spectacle!" cried the fallen angel. "A demon and a Church emissary fighting shoulder to shoulder. Valper, look what you've done with your little experiment. They've forgotten who their real enemies are!"
Rias and Akeno exchanged a look of absolute understanding. They didn't need words; years of fighting together had made their coordination instinctive. While Kiba and Xenovia kept the Cerberus busy in a whirlwind of steel, the two most powerful women in the club began to channel their energies.
—Akeno, now! —Rias ordered.
Rias's crimson aura erupted with violent intensity, while Akeno raised her hands to the sky, summoning storm clouds that began to swirl unnaturally over the academy courtyard.
—[Power of Destruction] —Rias declared, launching a sphere of dark red energy that split into three, seeking the beasts' blind spots.
—[Fallen Thunder] —Akeno whispered with a sadistic smile, lowering her arms forcefully.
A massive, yellowish beam, charged with sacred and magical energy, descended from the clouds just as Rias's spheres struck the Cerberus monsters' backs. The combined attack was devastating: Rias's destructive magic began to disintegrate the monsters' flesh, while Akeno's beams paralyzed their nervous systems, leaving them vulnerable.
"Now, Yuuto! Xenovia!" Rias shouted.
The impact of the magical explosion created a perfect opening. Kiba and Xenovia, taking advantage of the fact that the Cerberuses were stunned and smoking from the punishment they had received, launched themselves forward to deliver the final blow.
Kokabiel, seeing his pets being punished, frowned in annoyance.
"Noisy flies..." she muttered, creating a lance of light of colossal proportions in her right hand. "If you so desperately wish to die together, I will grant you that wish before the Red Dragon decides to move."
Issei, who had not taken his eyes off the fallen angel, felt the air become charged with a murderous pressure.
"Rias, watch out," Issei said, taking a step forward as his gauntlet glowed with an emerald light. "That spear is coming for you!"
Kokabiel released the spear with a downward motion laced with contempt. The projectile of light, several meters long, whistled through the air, intent on reducing the entire courtyard to ashes, including Rias and Akeno, who were still recovering from the energy expenditure of their combined attack.
"Disappear!" roared the fallen angel.
But before the spear could touch the ground, Issei moved. It wasn't a jump; it was a burst of pure speed that placed him directly in the attack's path.
[BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [EXPLOSION]
Ddraig's voice didn't just resonate, it roared with a power that shook the very foundations of the academy. Issei didn't summon the full Balance Breaker; he didn't need to. He concentrated all the increased power into his right fist, which became enveloped in a red aura so dense it resembled liquid blood.
Without a hint of fear, Issei threw a direct punch at the tip of the sacred spear.
¡BOOM!
The clash of forces generated a shockwave that swept away the mist in the courtyard. To Kokabiel's horror, the light spear didn't explode or pierce its target; it simply shattered. The impact of Issei's fist was so powerful that the holy energy disintegrated into harmless particles before it could cause any damage.
Issei stood there, arm outstretched and fist smoking, as the remnants of Kokabiel's light faded around him like snowflakes.
Kokabiel froze in mid-air. His ten wings ceased beating powerfully for a second, and his face, once filled with maniacal arrogance, transformed into a mask of utter disbelief. The silence that gripped the courtyard was sepulchral; only the crackling of Issei's residual energy could be heard.
"No... it's not possible," Kokabiel murmured, his voice trembling for the first time. "No one... no human... can destroy a spear of my caliber with brute force. That's an abomination!"
Issei lowered his arm slowly and looked up at the fallen man. His green eyes shone with a cold intensity that promised an imminent end.
"I told you, Kokabiel," Issei said with terrifying calm. "You came looking for a war, but you found something you can't comprehend. Come down from there and face me like a warrior, or I'll take you down myself in the most painful way possible."
Valper Galilei, from the shadows, took a step back, feeling for the first time that his "experiment" and his plans were about to be erased from existence by a single man.
Taking advantage of Kokabiel's stunned silence, Kiba darted into the shadows where Valper was trying to hide. The old man, finding himself cornered by the Knight he himself had "discarded," let out a nervous laugh and pulled from his robes a dark crystal that pulsed with a faint light.
"Come closer, number 2.2!" Valper shouted maniacally. "Do you want to know why you're the only one who survived? Do you want to know what happened to your dear friends after the gas filled the room?"
Kiba stopped a few meters away, the tip of his demonic sword grazing the ground, trembling with rage.
—Speak, you bastard! Tell me what you did to them!
"The Church wanted the swords, but humans were mediocre," Valper spat, raising the crystal. "So I extracted the only thing of value they possessed: their soul fragments. I compressed them, purified them, and forged them into this crystal of sacred energy. Your friends are not dead, Kiba! They are here, fueling the power that now unites the Excaliburs!"
Kiba fell to his knees, dropping his sword. The horror of knowing his friends had been turned into a spiritual "battery" struck him harder than any attack from Kokabiel. Tears began to stream down his face as he stared into the crystal with utter despair.
"It can't be..." Kiba sobbed. "All this time... they were suffering like this..."
"Exactly! And now their souls belong to me!" Valper raised the crystal to give the final command to the fragments of Excalibur, but a firm hand rested on Kiba's shoulder.
It was Issei. His presence was like an anchor in the midst of his friend's emotional storm.
"Kiba, listen to me carefully," Issei said, his voice cutting through the air. "Their souls don't belong to him. That crystal is just a prison. They don't want to see you cry; they're waiting for you to free them so they can fight by your side one last time."
At that moment, the crystal in Valper's hands began to vibrate violently. Small white lights began to emerge from the jewel, surrounding Kiba in a whirlwind of warmth and nostalgia. Issei stepped back, giving him space.
"Issei-kun... I sense them," Kiba murmured, slowly rising as the lights merged with his own aura. "I can hear them... they're smiling."
Kiba extended his hand, and for the first time, a light that was neither purely holy nor purely demonic burst forth in his palm. He had achieved balance: the union of his demonic power and the faith of his fallen friends.
"Valper Galilei," Kiba declared with a terrifying calm. "For my friends, for their pain, and for their freedom... Balance Breaker!"
Valper Galilei, finding himself cornered, let out a maniacal laugh and raised the crystal containing the souls of Kiba's companions towards the fragments of the Holy Swords that Kokabiel had collected.
"Behold the miracle of my intellect!" cried the old man. "The union that the Church deemed impossible!"
A burst of distorted, golden light engulfed the area. Valper used the energy of the soul fragments to force the fusion of four Excalibur shards into a single, massive, and deformed weapon: Excalibur Nightmare . The sacred pressure emanating from the sword was erratic and violent, an affront to the very nature of the divine.
"Freed! Take it and show them the power of a unified God!" Valper ordered, throwing the sword to the renegade priest.
Freed Sellzen caught the enormous sword with inhuman agility, feeling the corrupting power course through his arms. His smile grew even more deranged as the Nightmare sword's aura began to devour the air around him.
"Oh, yes! This feels incredible!" exclaimed Freed, slashing at the air with a slash that created a shockwave. "Come on, you little dogs! Let's see if your little swords can stand up against true justice!"
Kiba and Xenovia looked at each other for a brief moment. They didn't need words; Kiba's hatred for the creator of the experiment and Xenovia's sense of duty to recover the stolen swords united them in a common cause.
"Kiba Yuuto, don't let hatred blind you now," Xenovia said, drawing her Durandal with icy determination. "That sword is an abomination. We must destroy it right here."
"I know," Kiba replied, summoning his demon blades as his eyes glowed with the light of his newly attained Balance Breaker. "For my friends... and for the end of this nightmare."
They both launched themselves at Freed in unison. The battle was a whirlwind of sparks and explosions. Freed used the combined abilities of the shards (Destruction, Mimicry, Transparency, and Blessing) to teleport and unleash heavy attacks, but the synchronization between Knight Gremory and the Vatican envoy was astonishing. Kiba provided speed and an infinite number of swords, while Xenovia delivered devastating blows with the brute force of her holy weapon.
Issei stood beside Asia and Irina, watching the duel with his arms crossed. He knew this was their moment. His gaze flickered for a second toward Kokabiel, who was observing the fight from the sky with boredom, waiting for his turn.
The academy courtyard became a whirlwind of destructive energy. Freed, empowered by Excalibur Nightmare , moved with unnatural speed, using the Mimicry fragment to create illusions and the Destruction fragment to repel his opponents' attacks.
"It's useless! They're just trash compared to the power of a unified God!" Freed shouted, slashing at Kiba's face.
However, Kiba stopped abruptly, closing his eyes for a moment. The white lights of his friends' souls surrounded him completely, merging with his own demonic aura. In his right hand, the air began to distort until a unique sword took shape: a blade that shone with celestial purity on one edge and exuded abyssal darkness on the other.
" Sword of Betrayer ," Kiba declared, opening his eyes, now filled with absolute calm. "The weapon that unites what should never have been together. The light of my friends and my own darkness."
At the same time, Xenovia stepped forward, shedding the cloak that concealed her true strength. Her blue eyes shone with unwavering resolve as she invoked the name of her true weapon.
"Appear, sacred sword of annihilation! Durandal!" roared Xenovia.
The ground beneath his feet cracked as he drew the legendary sword. Unlike Excalibur, Durandal needed no shards; it was a mass of pure, violent holy power that made Freed's own Excalibur Nightmare look like a toy.
"Durandal?!" exclaimed Freed, taking a step back in fear. "That's impossible, nobody can control that thing!"
"Now, Xenovia!" Kiba shouted.
Both launched their final attack. Kiba moved at speeds beyond the limits of human perception, using the holy power of his new sword to neutralize Freed's defense. The Sword of Betrayer sliced through Freed's illusions as if they were paper, striking directly into the guard of Excalibur Nightmare .
"Damn it! How can a demon use holy energy?!" Freed shrieked, struggling against Kiba's pressure.
That was the moment Xenovia had been waiting for. She leaped over Kiba, raising Durandal above her head. The sacred sword's blue aura grew to several meters high, illuminating the entire academy.
"Disappear along with your sins!" Xenovia declared, delivering a downward blow with the force of divine judgment.
The impact of the Durandal against the Excalibur Nightmare was absolute. Freed's corrupted weapon could not withstand the combined pressure of Kiba's light and the Durandal 's brute force ; it exploded into a thousand useless fragments of metal. The blast sent Freed flying into the remains of the courtyard fountain, leaving him unconscious and bleeding, while Valper watched in horror as his "masterpiece" was destroyed by those he despised.
Issei nodded, watching as Kiba finally found peace amidst the battle. But from the sky, the beating of Kokabiel's wings grew more intense. The leader of the Fallen was no longer bored; he was furious.