He had already activated Balance Breaker—and at first, it had indeed widened the gap between them. But now… that gap seemed to have vanished. Or rather, it had grown even wider.
Blasted away by a single punch, Vali was sent skidding across the ground face-first, carving a long trench behind him. Yet with the protection of the White Dragon Emperor Armor, it was clearly unrealistic to expect that alone to take him out of the fight.
In the air, enormous magic circles began to unfold one after another, spreading out before Vali like an intricate, repeating tapestry.
"Albion—activate the Half Dimension, the domain of the White Dragon Emperor!"
The Half Dimension—a power paired with the Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor. Within its domain, everything caught inside would have its size—and effectively its power—cut in half.
Vali was a battle maniac, but he was no mindless brute.
On the contrary, his combat instincts were razor-sharp. That was precisely why he had earned the recognition of Albion, the White Dragon Emperor. From their brief clash earlier, Vali had already realized something: with his current strength, going head-to-head against Ren Kuroda would leave him with almost no chance of victory.
This fight needed to be dragged out.
He had to exploit the true advantage of the Divine Dividing Wings—to steadily weaken Ren over time, reducing his strength while building up his own.
Vali wasn't just a Sacred Gear wielder; he was also a top-class devil. While he might not be a master of every demonic spell, his vast reserves of magic power—combined with his Balance Breaker state—meant that even simple spell constructions could unleash formidable force.
As countless magic circles filled the sky behind him, beams of white light erupted from them like a barrage of laser cannons, raining down in a dense bombardment toward Ren's position.
"So, after trading blows up close, we're switching to magic?" Ren muttered, watching the incoming barrage. "Conveniently enough, I've got a bit of experience dealing with long-range attacks like this."
Faced with the overwhelming storm of beam attacks, Ren made no attempt to dodge.
In fact, he doubted dodging was even possible under such dense fire.
"Child of heaven's pride, walls forged of iron—dragon strides, lion's roar, tiger's howl, wolf's rush—before collapse, sever heaven and earth…"
"Bakudō #81—Dankū!"
As the incantation concluded, Ren's surging yokai energy instantly formed an invisible barrier before him.
Though completely transparent to the naked eye, its presence was undeniable.
The proof came the moment Vali's beams, like a meteor shower, slammed toward the ground—only to detonate midair, as though colliding with an unseen wall just short of reaching Ren.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The white beams crashed against the invisible barrier like falling fighter jets, triggering a relentless chain of explosions.
Watching from afar, Rias and the others could only stare, stunned, as if they were witnessing a high-budget cinematic spectacle burning through its effects budget in real time.
Though Dankū appeared to be nothing more than a thin barrier, it was a high-level Bakudō—number 81—and Ren had fully chanted it. Breaking through it was no simple feat.
And yet, despite his attacks failing, Vali showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he poured even more magic power into the assault, unleashing wave after wave of relentless beams.
"Divide."
After ten seconds of continuous bombardment, the jewel embedded in Vali's White Dragon Emperor armor glowed once more as Albion's voice rang out. Instantly, another surge of beams erupted, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Standing behind Dankū, Ren had initially been puzzled by Vali's persistence. But the moment he sensed the subtle shift in the barrier, his expression darkened.
This wasn't pointless effort.
Vali wasn't venting frustration—he was buying time.
Within the Half Dimension, Ren's fully incanted Bakudō #81, Dankū, had just had both its coverage and defensive strength cut in half.
What had previously been more than enough to withstand Vali's attacks was now beginning to crack under the relentless bombardment.
It was obvious what would happen next.
When the White Dragon Emperor's Divide activated again, Dankū wouldn't hold. And Ren would be left completely exposed to the overwhelming barrage of magical fire.
This had been Vali's plan from the very beginning.
He admitted it—when it came to raw power, he couldn't match Ren as things stood.
But he still had the Divine Dividing Wings.
As long as he continued to weaken Ren while absorbing power himself, the balance could shift. Given enough time, victory wasn't out of reach.
"Not a bad strategy," Ren said calmly. "But you don't seriously think I'll just sit here on defense without striking back, do you?"
"Scattered bones of beasts, spires, crimson crystal, wheels of steel—motion is wind, stillness is void—the clash of spears echoes through the empty city…"
"Hadō #63—Raikōhō!"
Lightning crackled violently as it gathered in Ren's hand, condensing at terrifying speed. In mere moments, a massive sphere of electricity—over a hundred meters in diameter—formed above him, resting in his grasp.
It howled with destructive force.
Even Vali, glancing at it from afar, felt a chill run down his spine.
Ten seconds hadn't yet passed—the next Divide hadn't triggered—but Ren had already hurled the colossal Raikōhō forward.
"Vali! The energy in that spell is far too great!" Albion's voice rang out urgently. "Even in Balance Breaker, you cannot withstand it. If it hits you directly, you will die. Evade immediately!"
But Vali didn't move.
"Even if I can't block it—I still will!" he roared. "If I dodge now, then I lose any chance of winning this fight!"
"Reflect!"
He refused Albion's advice and chose to stand his ground.
At this moment, Vali himself had become the core of the bombardment. If he moved, the massive array of magic circles would collapse, and the pressure on Ren would vanish.
Ren's defensive barrier was already on the verge of breaking—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Divide."
Ten seconds passed.
Albion's cold, mechanical voice echoed again.
Under the effect of Divide, Ren's already strained Dankū instantly weakened further—then shattered under the relentless barrage of white beams.
In the same instant, Ren himself was engulfed by the storm of magical fire.
Meanwhile, the massive Raikōhō—its diameter reduced significantly by Divide—still retained immense destructive power as it surged forward and collided head-on with Vali in the sky…