Cracks appeared on the old building of Kuoh Academy, caused by the brutal magical exchanges between Rei and Grayfia.
At first, the infrastructure of the old building had held up reasonably well.
Unfortunately, the duel between the two devils increased in intensity.
The protective barriers that Grayfia had installed were never designed for combat between two ultimate-class beings.
Yet, the two devils on the roof remained focused on their fight and relegated the possible collapse of the building to a minor problem.
'Destroy... destroy...' The word "destroy" repeated in a loop in Rei's mind like a prayer.
His mind was focused on using the power of destruction to further bridge the gap in strength and experience between them.
A concentration bordering on madness, which Grayfia noticed.
If at first it was a combat similar to a formality for Grayfia, things were now different.
'He's not yet at Serafall's level, but...'
Rei... was evolving before Grayfia's eyes.
More precisely, his use of his destruction power was constantly adapting to various situations.
"Frozen..." After completing an incantation, the roof was covered in ice in an instant.
However, Rei was frozen for just one second.
The chaotic energy emitted by him devoured the ice, before he charged again toward the magician to provoke close combat.
A domain where Rei can dominate the strongest queen, thanks to the nature of their respective powers.
The ice of the Lucifuge clan restrains, while the destruction of the Bael clan sweeps everything in its path.
That's why he can afford to chase after Grayfia like a dog tracking its prey.
During this mad act of pursuing Lucifer's wife, Rei never stopped firing bolts.
Why? He wanted to prevent Grayfia from using large-scale spells, regardless of her condition or that of her equipment.
Even if she possessed more demonic energy, Rei didn't want to let her exploit it properly.
As for the strongest queen?
She didn't intend to let herself be pushed around by the young devil she had labeled as a combat maniac.
Because of Rei's berserker fighting style, Grayfia's maid outfit was damaged in various places.
She had even received scratches, while facing a young man who was two months old.
A shame.
Even if Rei seemed physically intact, it was clear he was mentally exhausted.
His obsession with destruction was proof of this, according to Grayfia's analysis.
Thus, she decided to activate the trap placed thanks to subsequent ice magic.
Grayfia had drawn several unknown magic circles thanks to ice magic.
Immediately, she teleported to a reasonable distance, out of range of the chainsaw sword, and chained several elemental spells.
Unfortunately, these were simply slashed (destroyed) by Rei's chainsaw sword.
Not only that, but this more aggressive tactic from Grayfia destroyed the old building of Kuoh High School.
"... Rei"
"W-what?"
"What's happening?"
"Miss Grayfia is facing Hunter?!"
Finally, the building collapsed completely.
The din of the collapse quickly gave way to the metallic roar of the chainsaw sword.
Perhaps by instinct, the members of Rias's peerage surrounded Rei.
"I... I must continue to destroy."
A single sentence... but it carried within it Rei's visceral wish, even before the consumption of a large part of his memories engulfed him.
He no longer even knew why he was there, nor what the initial reason for this fight was.
However, deep in his subconscious, he strove to preserve three key memories: his birth, his meeting with Gorou, and Asia.
As for Issei?
He couldn't care less at this stage.
Originally, he only wanted to avoid an accident during the confrontation with Riser Phenex, but this concern had been relegated to the background.
Now, he intended to burn all his energy to prevent a demoness from daring to consider his master's city as common trash.
'That's why I'm Gorou's real daughter.'
The memories related to Alpha were consumed, carried away in smoke with the dust that dispersed after the collapse.
Even if Rei maintained an execrable relationship with her, a tear unconsciously flowed down his cheek as he stared at his adversaries.
"I... is he crying?"
Rei didn't notice that his mask had been torn off by Grayfia's repeated assaults.
The face of a teenager with scarlet hair and golden eyes was exposed to the Gremory clan.
Yet, he felt no fear.
"Rias... hang on."
The young girl wanted to question her sister-in-law, but she was suddenly caught in a magic circle with everyone else.
In an instant, all the people present found themselves in a pocket dimension resembling Kuoh High School.
"N... no... He's a friend of my father."
Issei rushed toward a macabre scene, which had unfolded in an extremely short time interval.
Just after the teleportation, Rei had never lowered his guard despite his confused mental state.
All his attention was focused on Grayfia.
That's why Rei didn't notice the true nature of this pocket dimension, nor the presence of supernatural entities that were observing him.
All these factors explained the tragic scene under the helpless eyes of Issei Hyoudou.
Rei was pierced by an attack from behind, launched by a man resembling Rias Gremory.
Sirzechs Lucifer.
(Image)
"Cough M... Master... m... my..."
"It's really a waste to lose such a promising young devil, but you clearly represent a danger to our race... Don't hold it against me too much... W-what?!"
While Sirzechs was monologuing, after having literally destroyed Rei's heart, he noticed an unexpected problem.
His arm couldn't be withdrawn, since Rei was holding it firmly with both hands.
Sirzechs immediately deployed his power of destruction to free his hand, but Rei imitated this action.
Their confrontation produced a shocking phenomenon for all the spectators who had come to witness the combat between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex.
An unknown devil, possessing the power of destruction, had been able to rival Sirzechs Lucifer.
"I... I would have... loved so much that..."
This sentence would never be spoken to the end.
Grayfia decapitated Rei thanks to her ice magic, after noticing his attempt at self-destruction.
Until the end, Rei found neither the courage nor the strength to express his true thoughts toward his creator.
...
Somewhere in universe 7.
A man in a white coat was flirting with his assistant, but suddenly interrupted his little pleasure.
He couldn't explain in detail why he had stopped in a logical manner, but the exact word to use here would be: an unknown bad premonition had invaded him.
"Are you alright, supreme guide? You seem worried."
Faced with Nancy's question, the head of Millennium vaguely calmed these concerns with a nod.
He didn't want to worry this young girl who was too kind for her own good with something as vague as a premonition.
Yet, he still unconsciously cast an eye toward the window.
As if his gaze was searching for someone.
At that moment, Gorou didn't know it yet, but the Gremory clan had just taken another son from him.