The location was an abandoned factory somewhere in the city.
All members of the Gremory household's servants had gathered here. As the one in charge of managing the city, Rias naturally wouldn't always rely on others for help. Most of the time, when dealing with invaders, the proud young woman would personally lead her servants into battle.
Yoru also knew of the girl's pride and chose not to intervene—after all, if he took action, there would be no suspense at all. However, since this matter involved the Khaos Brigade, he naturally couldn't turn a blind eye this time.
As the sun set in the west, the sky gradually darkened. Inside the dim factory, several presences could be felt, filled with killing intent and hostility.
"So, Gremory's servants, huh? Quite the keen noses you've got."
A man wearing a black coat emerged from the darkness. Around him, several black, humanoid-shaped alien creatures stirred restlessly—no less than twenty in number. In total, this cramped factory probably held over a hundred of these black humanoid monsters.
Rias took a step forward and asked in a cold voice, "You're from the 'Khaos Brigade'—the Hero Faction, correct? Greetings, I am Rias Gremory, a high-class devil appointed by the Three Great Factions to govern this city."
Upon hearing her greeting, the man smirked.
"Ah, I already know that—little sister of the Maou. Our purpose here is to purify you devils and save the city."
The man looked at Rias and the others as if he were staring at garbage.
The Khaos Brigade had been quiet for a long time, but it seemed their ideology hadn't changed. Recently, small squads from the Hero Faction had been attacking this city. In fact, many important locations of various factions had also been targeted by the Hero Faction members.
It was obvious these attacks were tests—or perhaps something else entirely. Otherwise, attacking a city that housed the Governor of the Fallen Angels, a Seraph, and a Maou would be nothing short of suicide.
Still, these sporadic attacks had provided Rias with plenty of real combat training.
Two more figures emerged from the man's side—this time not monsters but humans: one wearing sunglasses and the other dressed in traditional Chinese clothing.
As for the alien-like creatures, to put it bluntly, they were just cannon fodder—the Hero Faction seemed to use them as disposable soldiers. Even so, their individual strength was enough that lower-class devils couldn't handle them alone.
"With that kind of strength? They don't even qualify as cannon fodder."
Yoru had been planning to loosen up his body a little, but seeing their strength, he clicked his tongue in disappointment. Still, he figured it would be good training for Rias and the others.
"You must be that so-called 'strongest soldier.' You're pretty famous where we come from. Don't worry—our leaders will personally deal with you. Our job is just to take down one of you at random."
Apparently uninterested in Yoru, the man turned to Rias and the others, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face.
"Even if we have to risk our lives, taking down just one of you will be a huge achievement. Now, attack!"
With that, the black-coated man released something like white flames from his hands. At his signal, the hundred-odd alien monsters charged forward, while the two stern-looking men disappeared into their ranks.
"Another Sacred Gear user?" Rias frowned at the fire-wielding man.
"Ara, ara~ Seems like all the Hero Faction members who pick fights with us are Sacred Gear users. Looks like the Khaos Brigade has gathered quite a number of them," Akeno said with a mischievous smile, clearly excited at the prospect of toying with them again.
"What a pain… it feels like all we've been fighting lately are Sacred Gear users." Rias sighed in mild exasperation, but her hands didn't stop moving—crimson demonic power gathered, forming a powerful ball of destruction.
"Ara, ara~ Destruction is the best, isn't it? I rather enjoy it~" Akeno's cheeks flushed faintly as dazzling lightning crackled in her palm.
The battle itself was easy. Though their opponent's Sacred Gear possessed light-based abilities—a deadly weapon against devils—the gap in overall strength ensured they were quickly annihilated. The combined assault of two former Holy Sword wielders and Kiba Yuuto with his Balance Breaker was devastating.
Meanwhile, the Nekomata sisters, joined by their sister Kuroka with her Senjutsu, and Akeno with her long-range lightning strikes, provided heavy firepower support. The fight ended so quickly that Rias barely had to lift a finger.
Although they emerged with a complete victory, one opponent managed to escape via a magic circle. Yoru could have easily stopped them, but chose not to.
He finally understood the meaning behind the Hero Faction's seemingly suicidal actions: they were forcing their Sacred Gear users to reach Balance Breaker through life-and-death combat.
Upon hearing Yoru's analysis, Rias and the others frowned slightly.
"What a cruel tactic… Just what is the Hero Faction thinking, using such a forceful method to strengthen their members?"
"Perhaps… they're preparing for a large-scale battle in the near future. Achieving Balance Breaker would be the bare minimum—if their level is too low, they won't even count as part of the fighting force."
"A large-scale battle…"
Rias's mind turned to some unpleasant possibilities. The Khaos Brigade remained a thorn in everyone's side—no one knew what this dangerous organization might do next.
"In any case, we need to inform my brother about this immediately. Not just him—the angels and fallen angels should know as well."
After cleaning up the battlefield and erasing all traces, Yoru, Rias, and the others returned to Kuoh Academy.
Gabriel and Azazel were already at the school. Rias first explained Yoru's deduction to the two of them, then immediately set off to inform her brother.
As expected, upon receiving this vital information, all three factions took it very seriously. After some discussion, Azazel, Sirzechs, and Michael all reached the same conclusion as Yoru.
The Khaos Brigade was cultivating elite fighters—and they were willing to spill oceans of blood and make heavy sacrifices to do it.
Every Sacred Gear wielder was a precious asset, and their current actions left no doubt: they were preparing for a desperate, all-or-nothing battle.
Whether it was Azazel, Sirzechs, or Michael, all of them felt the same looming sense of crisis—like a storm about to break. The three factions began preparations at once, ready to repel a possible large-scale attack from the Khaos Brigade's Hero Faction at any moment.
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