Within the ring of light in the Underworld's sky, twelve white wings unfurled, and one of the Four Great Seraphs appeared.
He was Michael, once known as the supreme ruler of Heaven!
Now, he was carrying out the will of the God of the Bible, which was...
A blitzkrieg on the Underworld!
Whether it was the earlier information blockade or the current surprise attack, everything had been done to prevent the Underworld from reacting in time and catch them completely off guard!
Under these circumstances, the Underworld had no time to assemble any forces and could only passively endure the assault.
Of course, the primary targets were still the Underworld's Four Great Satans. Through Azazel's intelligence network, Michael and the others had quickly obtained information from the Noble Council, which was at odds with the Four Great Satans, learning that Sirzechs and the others were already holding a meeting inside the Satan Castle...
That presented them with the perfect opportunity!
No matter how many powerful individuals the Underworld possessed, as long as its Satans were defeated, Heaven would seize the initiative in the negotiations that followed and further suppress the devils!
Sirzechs and Ajuka, the two Super Devils, were especially important. They were effectively the pillars supporting the devils of the Underworld. Their defeat would inevitably cause tremendous panic among the devils, but that was not a problem!
Elise had no intention of acting personally. After all, her objective was to display the strength of Heaven's angels and make the mythological factions outside recognize how Heaven had changed.
If Michael and the others won, Heaven would be able to take the leading position when the benefits were divided afterward.
Therefore, Elise had issued an absolute order. Until the Four Great Seraphs defeated the Four Great Satans, they were not to accept the devils' surrender!
If the devils surrendered before fighting, some among them would inevitably believe they could have done just as well. They would remain unconvinced by Heaven and secretly make trouble.
However, if Heaven defeated the Underworld's Satans through sheer strength, none of that would happen. Even if they were given several times their current courage, they would not dare cause trouble!
Ultimately, this was still a world where strength reigned supreme!
...
"Long time no see, Michael..."
Several figures shot out of the Satan Castle at astonishing speed and arrived beneath the ring of light. They were the Four Great Satans, led by Sirzechs.
"Indeed, Sirzechs. It truly has been some time since we last met. Have you been well lately?"
After seeing who had arrived, Michael smiled and greeted Sirzechs. Anyone unfamiliar with them might even have mistaken the two for old friends.
Unfortunately, one was a Seraph of Heaven, while the other was a Satan of the Underworld. In mythology, their two sides were mortal enemies.
Since Sirzechs had spoken first, the other Satans handed him the initiative. After all, he could be considered the foremost of the Satans and was capable of representing the entire devil race, at least officially.
"Because of Heaven, I have hardly slept properly lately..."
Sirzechs' somewhat resentful voice soon reached Michael's ears.
"Haha. If we managed to keep a Satan like you from sleeping well, then it was all worthwhile."
Seeing Sirzechs' expression filled Michael with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
After God departed, he had been forced to shoulder the burden of Heaven, worrying day and night about Heaven and the angels.
When God finally returned, Michael thought he would at last be freed from that responsibility, only for God to entrust Heaven to him once again... before entering seclusion.
As a result, Michael had spent nearly all his recent days working overtime...
Now that he saw Sirzechs suffering in the same way, he finally felt much better!
However, Michael soon froze. He had always been a model of diligence and rarely took pleasure in another person's misfortune...
This time, he truly could not help himself!
Without realizing it, he seemed to be growing more like his Lord... He had no idea whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"However, our idle conversation ends here, Sirzechs."
The moment those words left his mouth, the warmth vanished from Michael's face. If his expression before had been a gentle smile, what remained now was silent indifference.
Michael personally maintained a friendly attitude toward Sirzechs, but they were currently on a battlefield. A few words of greeting were acceptable, but he could not overturn his position because of their relationship.
"By the will of our Lord, the Four Great Seraphs of Heaven have come to crush you Satans of the Underworld..."
As soon as Michael finished speaking, another fluctuation spread from the ring of light above his head, and numerous figures began to emerge from it.
Aside from several high-ranking angels, the most eye-catching figures were the other three fully armed Seraphs.
To deal with the four Satans, Heaven had mobilized virtually every one of its highest-level combatants!
No way. Heaven is actually serious?
For a moment, the Satans were dumbfounded. They had intended to see whether this problem could be resolved through discussion, but Michael and the others were already moving this quickly?
"Wait, Michael! Can't we resolve this through some other method?"
Sirzechs immediately tried to stop him. He genuinely did not want to fight a war that would bring countless disadvantages and not a single benefit... He truly had no idea what the God of the Bible was thinking.
As the leader of a faction, Sirzechs naturally had to consider the entire devil race.
Once war began, none of the Three Factions would gain the slightest benefit!
"There is no other way, Sirzechs."
Michael shook his head as well. In an instant, the white robes he had originally worn were replaced by sturdy armor, while the golden holy sword in his hand shone brilliantly.
"We can only fight!"
"Incidentally, you do not believe we attacked only the Satan Castle, do you?"
"If you do not repel us quickly, the Underworld's losses will only grow greater."
This was also part of Michael's strategy. He was forcing Sirzechs to fight with all his strength!
As longtime opponents, Michael understood Sirzechs' personality extremely well. His concern for his family made him a complete anomaly among devils!
If the devils themselves were used as bait, Sirzechs would undoubtedly bite even if he saw through the trap!
Sure enough, the instant Sirzechs heard Michael's words, his gaze became razor-sharp, and his aura surged dramatically.
Without question, Sirzechs was now truly displaying the side of himself that belonged to a Satan.
"Since that is the case, let the battle begin!"
A flash of purple flame swept across Sirzechs, and the clothes covering his body were instantly replaced by pitch-black armor.
Without the slightest hesitation, Sirzechs immediately made the correct judgment under the circumstances.
Since both fighting and refusing to fight would cause harm, he could only choose the lesser of two evils...
As long as they defeated Michael and the others here, they could reduce the Underworld's losses to a minimum!
"Sirzechs?"
Serafall seemed to want to persuade him further, but after seeing the determination in Michael's and Sirzechs' eyes, she said nothing more.
After a flash of light, a magical-girl outfit appeared on Serafall's body, and the temperature around her began to fall.
"As expected, I still hate angels more than anything!"
...
Within the Underworld.
Above an extraordinarily magnificent castle, a golden ring of light suddenly appeared, only to vanish again after a single instant.
Yet within that instant, a golden figure emerged from it. As she spread her wings, she looked down at the castle below.
"There is no mistake. This is the place!"
Metatron stared solemnly at the castle beneath her. Through her senses, she could clearly detect a being inside who could be considered truly powerful.
Barring any surprises, that being was the target of her mission!
The task her Lord had entrusted to her not long ago gradually resurfaced in her mind.
...
"Metatron!"
Elise gently stroked the angel's head, her tone exceptionally tender.
"Michael and the others have been tasked with defeating the Underworld's Four Great Satans."
"They are no longer what they once were, so defeating the Satans should not be difficult. However, there is one being among the devils who concerns me greatly... so I need you to deal with him."
As Elise spoke, the image of a silver-haired figure gradually appeared in her mind.
"My Lord, if that is your will, then I shall obey!"
Before Elise could even explain the details, Metatron's expression had already become exceptionally solemn.
She looked as though the moment Elise gave the order, she would immediately rush off and kill him.
"You should have gained some understanding of the devil race during this time, correct?"
"Yes. With Gabriel-senpai's help, I have learned a great deal about the habits of devils!" Metatron nodded repeatedly. "I have committed the weaknesses of many devils to memory."
"I see... Then I will leave this operation to you, Metatron."
"Your opponent is no simple foe either. You must not underestimate him. Fight with all your strength!"
Elise then introduced Metatron to her opponent, another Super Devil of the Underworld...
Rizevim Livan Lucifer!
Elise had once read part of his character profile, but because he had never appeared in the anime, she had gradually forgotten most of it.
It was said that this man was the sole descendant born from the original Satan Lucifer and Lilith, the mother of devils, and that he possessed power on the same level as Sirzechs, making him a Super Devil!
Elise was not certain whether Rizevim or Sirzechs was stronger. It was probably Rizevim, wasn't it?
He appeared so late in the story, and his identity was anything but ordinary. He had to be at least a mid-level boss or perhaps even the final boss. If he were too weak, it would make no sense at all...
Otherwise, the bloodline of the original Satan and the mother of devils would have been completely wasted!
In the somewhat comedic battle series known as High School DxD, most people acted according to their allegiances and convictions.
They could not necessarily be called good people, but neither could they truly be described as evil.
Yet even in such a world, there was still one person who was genuinely evil in every sense of the word, and that was Rizevim!
He was the father of Vali, the White Dragon Emperor. It was said that he had beaten Vali like a punching bag since childhood. Had Vali not survived through sheer luck, he might have died before the story even began...
If he treated his own child that way, how could he possibly treat anyone else better?
That man had committed countless other atrocities as well, but Elise had no intention of listing them one by one. In her eyes, he was already a dead man... or rather, a dead devil. There was little point in discussing him any further.
To ensure beyond all doubt that this potential final boss would be killed, Elise directly dispatched the strongest combatant under her command, Metatron!
Not only had Elise granted Metatron an incomparably powerful Stigmata and equipment, but she even intended to personally oversee Metatron's battle against Rizevim.
Should anything unexpected occur, she could intervene and resolve it immediately.
...
"To summarize, my mission is to eliminate the Super Devil inside that castle, correct?"
Metatron touched her chest, where a crimson mark was glowing with golden light.
It was a Stigmata!
After developing the Stigmata in the world of DanMachi, Elise had never stopped researching them. Moreover, staying in the Seventh Heaven was genuinely boring, so she had used the knowledge left behind by the God of the Bible to create a few little trinkets.
Although Michael, Gabriel, and the others had clearly been dumbfounded when they saw the finished products, they truly were only little trinkets.
"Fully armed, doubled attack power, damage reflection..."
After carefully taking stock of the equipment she carried, Metatron no longer hesitated. She hovered in the sky and began gathering power.
The violent surge of energy quickly drew the attention of the devils inside the castle. Numerous dark figures rushed out and flew toward Metatron, including quite a few high-class devils.
However, Metatron paid no attention to these weaklings. Indeed, even high-class devils were merely weaklings in the eyes of a Super Devil like her!
With a single glance, she immobilized every one of those devils, leaving them able to do nothing but watch as she continued gathering power...
The instant the accumulation was complete, something resembling a Spirit Bomb appeared before everyone's eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, Metatron hurled the sphere of energy down at the castle below.
Every devil who had rushed out of the castle was also annihilated by the attack.
Thus, the instant a gigantic mushroom cloud appeared, the magnificent castle was reduced to nothing more than a vanished dream.
"An attack of this level may be powerful, but if my opponent truly is a Super Devil, he must have some way to survive it!"
Metatron had no intention of underestimating her opponent. Since her Lord regarded Rizevim so seriously, she naturally had to display her full strength and treat him with equal seriousness!
Almost the instant the Spirit Bomb left her hand, Metatron had already prepared her next attack.
Countless bullets of light poured downward like water cascading from a mountain waterfall. Not only did they produce tremendous explosions, but they also riddled the Underworld's land with holes.
This continuous barrage alone was enough to make the Underworld suffer catastrophic losses. Recovering from it would likely be no simple matter for the devils.
The bombardment continued for nearly half an hour before Metatron finally lowered the hand from which she had been releasing attacks. A trace of confusion appeared on her face as she stared at the ruins below...
Why hasn't the man below reacted after I used so much power? Did he escape?
The moment that thought appeared, Metatron immediately shook her head.
When she arrived, she had already locked onto the presence inside the castle. Without question, it had been Rizevim!
Someone her Lord regarded seriously could not possibly be weak, no matter how feeble he might seem!
Therefore, Metatron raised her vigilance to its absolute limit and began using her spiritual power to scan the area below.
Strangely, however, no matter how thoroughly Metatron searched, she could not find even the slightest trace of Rizevim...
Could that man have escaped?
For once, panic appeared on Metatron's face.
This was a mission her Lord had personally entrusted to her! What would she do if she failed and her Lord became disappointed in her?
"Rizevim, do not even think of escaping!"
"Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will drag you out!"