Albion's warning didn't faze Vali in the slightest. If anything, it only made the battle-hungry gleam in his eyes burn even brighter.
That was only natural.
If Ren Kuroda had become a battle maniac out of necessity—driven by his goals—then Vali was the genuine article. A pure combat addict.
He craved strength.
And he loved fighting powerful opponents.
Originally, Vali had come here to see what kind of person the current Red Dragon Emperor—his destined rival—would be.
But after laying eyes on Hyoudou Issei… he had to admit, the disappointment was immediate.
Not only was the guy weak, but if it weren't for Albion's presence, Ddraig's consciousness probably wouldn't have even awakened yet.
A "rival" like that?
Vali lost interest instantly.
Killing this generation's Red Dragon Emperor would've been effortless for him—but Vali had no intention of becoming a slave to the whims of a Sacred Gear.
Still, what he hadn't expected…
Was that while the Red Dragon Emperor was a complete letdown, there would be such an unexpected prize waiting for him.
Ren Kuroda—whom he had initially dismissed as just another background character—turned out to be someone who made even him feel genuine excitement.
Without a word, without the slightest interest in idle chatter—
Vali's foot slammed into the ground, blasting a crater beneath him as his body shot forward like a bullet.
At the same time, a pair of dazzling white wings unfurled behind him.
They shimmered in a blend of white and blue, their skeletal frame pure white, while diamond-shaped scales glowed in a luminous blue—giving them an almost futuristic, mechanical aesthetic.
As a top-tier devil, Vali's physical capabilities were already far beyond ordinary beings. Not just in magic power, but in sheer physical strength as well.
His fist came straight at Ren's face—
A simple, unadorned punch.
But under that terrifying acceleration, there were very few in the human world who could dodge it… or take it head-on.
BOOM—!
Ren caught the incoming punch effortlessly—with one hand.
But the shockwave from their collision exploded outward, tearing through the surroundings.
The road outside the academy cracked apart across dozens of meters under the impact, while the aftershock alone sent both Kiba Yuuto and Issei flying through the air.
Kiba managed to recover midair, flipping gracefully before landing on his feet.
Issei, however—
Was still a complete beginner.
He slammed face-first into the ground, planting himself like an upside-down radish.
Thankfully, now that he had become a reincarnated devil, his vitality and durability had improved significantly. Otherwise, that kind of landing might've forced a change in the Red Dragon Emperor's host on the spot.
The massive disturbance quickly drew attention.
Rias and Sona Shitori rushed out from inside Kuoh Academy, along with others.
The moment Sona saw who was fighting, she immediately ordered the student council to evacuate the area, then turned sharply toward Rias.
"Didn't you say you could handle this?"
Causing chaos on campus was one thing—they had the power to clean that up.
But if large numbers of humans were injured or killed?
That would be a serious problem—one that could even lead to repercussions from higher authorities.
After all, while the three great factions appeared to be at peace on the surface, no one knew how fragile that balance truly was.
"Ren-sensei, this isn't what we agreed on!" Rias shouted, her expression full of frustration as she looked at him.
To keep Ren in check, she had promised to consider contacting the Devil Kings—on the condition that he wouldn't cause trouble at the academy during that time.
And yet—
"I didn't break our deal," Ren replied casually, still holding Vali's punch in place as if it were nothing. "This guy showed up out of nowhere saying the Fallen Angel Governor wanted to meet me."
"I wasn't planning to refuse. But who knew he'd just charge in like some hotheaded idiot?"
His relaxed, almost dismissive tone only fueled Vali's irritation—and ignited his competitive spirit even further.
"Divide."
A cold, mechanical voice echoed from the wings behind Vali.
In the next instant, Ren felt it—
The force behind Vali's punch had grown stronger.
No… that wasn't it.
Vali hadn't gotten stronger.
Ren had become weaker.
And not just slightly weaker—
His strength had been reduced by nearly half.
"Interesting," Ren muttered, a grin spreading across his face. "So this is the power of a Sacred Gear? If you can keep halving my strength like this… then maybe this fight will finally get interesting."
Vali's expression darkened.
Ren's words made it sound like—
Even with his power being halved again and again, all it would do was turn this from a one-sided stomp… into something mildly entertaining.
Their fists clashed.
Their knees collided.
The two of them launched into a high-speed close-quarters battle, their movements so fast that even Rias and the others could barely follow them.
Both Rias and Sona wanted to step in and stop the fight.
But as they watched—
They could only stand there, helpless.
It wasn't that they didn't want to intervene.
It was that they couldn't.
Despite being high-ranking devils, the level of this battle had already far surpassed anything they could handle.
If they jumped in recklessly… they might actually die.
"Divide."
"Divide."
The Longinus Sacred Gear Divine Dividing activated once every ten seconds, halving the opponent's power and transferring half of it to the user.
The absorbed power didn't restore stamina—it only increased strength.
And due to the limitations of the user's body, it couldn't be absorbed endlessly. Any excess power would be expelled through the wings.
Vali had already lost count of how many times he had used Divide on Ren.
And yet—
The man in front of him showed no signs of weakening.
He was just as strong as before.
It was as if the Sacred Gear's ability wasn't working at all.
"Divide is working," Albion's voice explained calmly from within. "The increase in your strength proves it."
"As for why he isn't getting weaker…"
A brief pause.
"Each time his power is halved, he simply releases even more power to compensate for the loss."
Vali let out a bitter laugh.
"So he's holding back on purpose? Afraid that if he used his full strength from the start, the fight would end too quickly?"
He shook his head, a wry smile forming.
"That's not exactly comforting… We're being completely underestimated, aren't we, Albion?"
While Vali was still speaking—
He failed to notice something critical.
Ren's speed…
And strength…
Had just increased again.
And in the instant Vali's attention slipped—
Ren's leg lashed out in a brutal arc.
A whip-like kick came crashing toward him.
"Losing focus in a fight," Ren said lightly, "is the fastest way to get yourself killed."
With no way to dodge, Vali crossed his arms in front of his chest to block.
Even with the White Dragon Emperor's halving effect reducing the force of the attack—
The remaining power was still overwhelming.
BOOM—!
Vali was sent flying—launched backward like a missile by a single kick.