Kicked away by Ren Kuroda's strike, Vali's body triggered a circular shockwave behind him. In the next instant, he was sent hurtling backward at incredible speed.
Still airborne, Vali attempted to use the halving ability of the "Wings of the White Dragon Emperor" to reduce the impact once more—
But the Ren who had been standing on the ground just a moment ago had already vanished.
In the very next second, Vali felt his ankles being seized.
The inertia from his previous flight hadn't even dissipated before his entire body was flipped—Ren executed a clean over-the-shoulder throw, hurling him several kilometers away in one brutal motion.
The surrounding scenery blurred past at breakneck speed. The crushing wind pressure made it nearly impossible for Vali to even regain control of his body.
As for Ren—
In that same instant, he kicked off the air itself, shattering it beneath his feet as his body shot forward faster than the eye could follow.
His fingers curved like iron claws, gripping Vali's head—
And then he hurled him again.
And again.
After several such exchanges, Vali—who had been reduced to a high-speed projectile streaking through the sky—finally crashed down in an uninhabited suburban wasteland.
Like a meteor striking the earth, his descent caused the ground within a thousand-meter radius to tremble violently. The land collapsed inward, forming a massive crater that seemed bottomless.
In just a few seconds, they had moved dozens of kilometers away from Kuoh Academy.
This was open wilderness—no students, no buildings.
A place where they could truly cut loose.
"Balance Breaker—White Dragon Emperor's Armor!"
From within the massive crater, a pillar of white light shot straight into the sky.
The overwhelming demonic power erupting from underground caused the entire area to quake as if an earthquake had struck.
Then—
Orbs of pure magic, condensed entirely from demonic energy, burst up from the ground like a sudden bloom after rain, launching toward Ren in overwhelming numbers.
Each individual projectile wasn't particularly impressive in speed or power in Ren's eyes—
But there were far too many.
The ground he had been standing on was now completely covered. There wasn't even a foothold left.
Forced into the air, Ren began weaving through the barrage, his figure flickering as he dodged the endless stream of magical bullets erupting from below.
But just as he was moving at high speed through the sky—
Vali broke through the surface, his figure hidden among the dense barrage of projectiles.
In a flash, he appeared right in front of Ren.
The same straightforward punch as before—
But this time, Ren couldn't intercept it in time.
While he was knocking aside the incoming projectiles, Vali's fist had already closed the distance, growing larger and larger in his vision.
Sensing the sheer force behind the blow, Ren crossed his arms instinctively to block.
BOOM—!
The white gauntlet slammed into his flesh—
Yet the sound it produced was like metal crashing against something equally solid.
Even so—
The impact sent Ren plummeting from the sky.
He hit the ground back-first, the force driving him into the earth before sending him skidding across the surface for nearly a hundred meters, carving a deep trench in his wake.
Vali hovered in the air above him.
Compared to before, his appearance had changed drastically.
The overall shape of the White Dragon Emperor's wings remained mostly the same—
But now, his entire body was clad in a sleek, full-body suit of white armor, radiating a futuristic, mechanical elegance.
After feeling the power of that last punch and seeing Vali's new form, even a fool would realize—
He had just unleashed a new level of power.
"Well?" Vali said coldly, looking down at Ren. "I haven't even shown you everything yet. Consider that punch the price for underestimating me."
As the descendant of a Demon King and the wielder of a Longinus, Vali was not only a battle fanatic—he also had his pride.
And Ren's earlier attitude—
Holding back his strength, releasing it bit by bit as if indulging him—
Was nothing short of an insult.
"Heh… not bad," Ren replied, rising slowly. "Looks like that armor of yours isn't just for show."
"If you've got this much power… then I guess I'll take things a little more seriously too."
His clothes were in tatters.
After being dragged across the ground for nearly a hundred meters, the cheap shirt he had been wearing—picked up casually somewhere—was completely ruined.
With a casual motion, Ren tore off what remained of it, tossing the scraps aside.
He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth—
And in the next instant—
A terrifying surge of violet-crimson yokai energy erupted from his body.
When Vali had activated his Balance Breaker earlier, his demonic power had only caused localized tremors in the surrounding terrain.
But Ren's power—
Was on an entirely different level.
The ground didn't just shake.
Fragments of shattered rock began to rise into the air, suspended as if gravity itself had been nullified.
The earth beneath Ren fractured and collapsed outward from his position, forming massive cracks that spread in all directions.
A colossal pillar of violet energy shot into the sky, tearing through the clouds.
The heavens churned violently.
Thunder roared.
Lightning split the sky.
It looked less like a battle—
And more like the beginning of the end of the world.
Far in the distance, Rias, Sona, and the others had followed the disturbance.
Even from so far away, when they saw the apocalyptic phenomenon unfolding in the sky, their expressions turned pale with shock.
"With your current level of power, I wouldn't recommend getting involved in that fight," a deep voice echoed.
Issei was being carried through the air on Kiba's back. His own demonic power was still far too weak—he couldn't even maintain basic flight on his own.
From his arm, the Boosted Gear spoke.
It was Ddraig.
"That host of Albion has already reached Balance Breaker. And the one he's fighting… the power he's releasing is even more absurd."
"Even getting caught in the aftermath could kill you."
At this point, Ddraig's bond with Issei was still shallow.
The reason he warned them wasn't out of kindness—it was self-preservation.
Sacred Gears didn't truly "die."
Or rather, Ddraig was already dead—his soul merely sealed, retaining consciousness.
He had just awakened today.
The last thing he wanted was for Issei to die immediately, forcing him back into dormancy until the next host appeared.
After hearing Ddraig's warning, Rias and Sona exchanged a glance.
Then, they turned to their peerages.
"Fall back," they ordered.
Sending their subordinates away—
The two of them prepared to head forward alone.
"President… wait!" Issei called out, confusion written all over his face. "Didn't that thing just say it's incredibly dangerous over there? So why are you still going?!"
In the end—
He had only become a devil less than two days ago.
The drastic shift in his identity… the unveiling of this hidden world…
It was all still too much for him to fully understand.
..
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