Akeno Himejima gazed at Sairaorg in the distance, where Dulio had knocked him out of the sky and sent him crashing into a massive crater. She instinctively turned to Sona Sitri and Rias, wanting to ask what they should do now.
But before she could get the words out, she saw the anxiety and unwillingness in their eyes and understood what they were really thinking. All she could do was sigh inwardly and change what she had been about to say.
"I'll go support him!"
Earlier, she had said they would decide whether to surrender based on the outcome of Dulio and Sairaorg's fight. But now that their side was on the verge of losing, the two of them clearly could not think rationally enough to simply surrender and admit defeat.
They were heirs of the three great Houses, and one of them was Sairaorg, known as the strongest of the new generation. If word got out that they had fought Church warriors and surrendered in less than five minutes, they and their noble Houses would be utterly humiliated.
There were probably even some old fossils in the Underworld, the kind who could criticize from a safe distance, who would think it better for them to be killed than to surrender and live. At least dying would preserve the dignity of Devils.
"Wait."
Akeno Himejima looked in surprise at Rias, who had grabbed her, confusion flickering in her eyes. Had her dear friend and mistress finally come to her senses and realized that pride and public opinion were not more important than staying alive?
"Akeno, you won't be able to help. Stay here and assist Sona and the others. I'll go help Sairaorg."
A speechless look flashed across Akeno Himejima's face.
Rias, what you said is true, but is it really all right to belittle your own Queen like that? I was about to go take a beating for you, you know.
Of course, Akeno Himejima was very aware of her own limits. If she went up against Dulio, she really would be throwing herself away.
In terms of compatibility, she was a hybrid of human, Fallen Angel, and reincarnated Devil, facing a Reincarnated Angel with the purest Holy Power. She was being hard-countered twice over.
In terms of raw stats, her full-power damage output could reach S-rank, and her overall attributes were around A+ rank. But her opponent was Dulio, the Joker of Heaven, whose overall attributes could reach SS-rank.
And under that overwhelming disadvantage in compatibility and attributes, her specialty just so happened to be lightning. To introduce him again, Dulio was a human turned Reincarnated Angel who possessed [Zenith Tempest], ranked second among the Longinus, with the ability to manipulate weather and all kinds of elemental attacks.
Not knowing what Akeno Himejima was thinking, Rias went straight past her and ran toward the massive crater in the distance.
Sona Sitri remained where she was and made no attempt to stop her or suggest that she should be the one to provide support. It was, in fact, the most reasonable decision. Sona used water-element magic, so like Akeno Himejima, she was countered by Dulio. Rias, at least, could threaten Dulio with her Power of Destruction.
...
"Pwah... All I can say is, you really are worthy of being the Joker of Heaven. I've never been crushed this badly before..."
Sairaorg struggled to his feet. The battle axe in his hand fell to the ground as he gave a bitter smile at the Ten-Winged Angel, who had landed and was slowly walking toward him.
At that moment, the exposed skin on his body had been charred black by Dulio's lightning, with burns and frostbite appearing across it at the same time.
"If you were able to hold me back, then you must be the strongest one in this group. Have the other Devils surrender. I only want to save people. I don't want to kill you."
Dulio walked step by step toward the defeated man before him and spoke slowly, his expression cold.
"Ha... I don't really want to keep fighting either. For the sake of everyone else's lives, surrendering isn't out of the question. But, Joker of Heaven, can you tell me what you plan to do after we surrender? How exactly do you intend to find the killer?"
Dulio seemed not to have expected Sairaorg to ask that. His brow furrowed, but when he looked around and saw that the Devils had not surrendered after Sairaorg's defeat, and were instead fighting even more desperately after seemingly realizing they had no intention of killing them, he thought for a second and answered.
"We'll capture every Devil on this island today and interrogate them one by one until we find the Devil who took part in stealing Excalibur and spreading the Black Spot Curse."
"What if the culprit isn't on the island? The attack happened yesterday. Maybe the culprit has already left."
Sairaorg did not say Dulio could not capture every Devil on the island. That would have been foolish. Church warriors who fought Devils were professionals when it came to tracking Devil activity.
"Impossible. We checked. From yesterday until now, not a single Devil has left the island by any form of transportation. As for spatial movement, we also asked the Witch of the Void. She didn't sense anyone leaving the island yesterday. The culprit must still be here."
Dulio answered decisively. When he mentioned that culprit, killing intent flashed in his eyes for the first time.
"But what if no one gives up the culprit?"
Sairaorg panted heavily, using this brief moment to recover as much of his stamina and Magical Power as he could.
"Then we'll search their souls until we find the soul of the Devil who stole Excalibur. Of course, we'll leave you heirs of the Devil Houses for last. If you have nothing to hide, then you don't need to worry about your turn coming."
Seeing that Sairaorg was recovering his strength, Dulio once again gathered lightning in his hand.
"Cough, cough... Soul-searching, huh? With an ability like that, one careless mistake could destroy their souls. I can't agree to you harming your companions like that just for your own sake."
As Sairaorg said those words, the battle axe lying at his feet gave off a golden glow and turned into a stream of golden light that rushed toward him.
"I only learned this recently. I was worried it might fail, but it looks like I got lucky."
Surprise flashed through Dulio's eyes at the sight, but his hands did not hesitate. The lightning in his palm shot out and collided with the golden stream of light in midair, locking in a stalemate.
"I don't have time to waste on you. Since you refuse to surrender obediently, I'll just have to knock all of you down."
Dulio leaped forward, spreading the wings on his back as he charged at Sairaorg, a surge of lightning bursting from his hand.
Just as the pale lightning was about to strike Sairaorg, a sense of danger came from behind and to Dulio's side. He instinctively pulled back his attack and dodged.
"Whoosh!"
A red beam swept past Dulio, punching through every building in its path. If Dulio had failed to dodge in time, that attack would have torn a huge hole through him.
He turned toward the source of the attack and saw Rias pointing her index finger at him, red Power of Destruction surging from her fingertip.
A large chunk of ice formed in Dulio's hand. He intended to finish Rias off with a single blow, but before he could launch it, an enormous fist came hurtling toward his face.
"This is my trump card, the Balance Breaker of Regulus Nemea, [Regulus Rey Leather Rex]. The Nemean Lion from the Twelve Labors of Hercules in Greek mythology. So, what do you think, Joker of Heaven?"
At that moment, Sairaorg was already clad in golden armor shaped like a lion, and the aura around him was several times stronger than at the beginning.
Caught off guard, Dulio was sent flying by Sairaorg's punch and slammed into a wall, smashing out a huge crater.
He got back up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Seeing Sairaorg charge straight toward him to press the attack, Dulio fired a bolt of lightning at him.
This time, however, the powerful lightning struck Sairaorg without doing much damage. It left only a faint mark on the armor.
Dulio tried to use a stronger attack, but the beam of destruction fired by Rias from afar forced him to stop and dodge in a rather sorry state.
At that moment, the situation on the battlefield seemed to have reversed completely. If he tried to defeat Rias, Sairaorg, whose defense and offense had been greatly strengthened by Balance Breaker, would close in on him. But if he tried to defeat Sairaorg with a stronger attack, Rias's beam of destruction would hit him from a distance.
To Dulio, Rias's Power of Destruction was more dangerous than Sairaorg's fists.
A melee mage-type fighter like him was not afraid of a brute like Sairaorg, who had only strength and defense. His defense could be broken with enough effort, and his strength could not pose that much of a threat.
What troubled him was an enemy like Rias, whose attacks pierced through defenses and dealt true damage. One hit at minimum, three at most, would be enough for Rias to kill him. The human body was fragile, after all.
After several rounds of offense and defense, Dulio found an opening and blasted Sairaorg away with a burst of thunder and fire. He pulled back to the rooftop, breathing slightly harder as he looked down at the two below.
"I only want to save people. I don't want to kill anyone. I'm giving you one last chance. Surrender."
There was no answer. The only things flying toward Dulio were Rias's beams of Power of Destruction and Sairaorg's golden fist.
Seeing this, Dulio's eyes turned completely cold. The five pairs of wings on his back shone with golden light, three halos appeared above his head, and the Holy Power blazing around him erupted at full force.
"Then I don't need to hold back anymore."
Sairaorg was pushed back by the blaze of Holy Power. The beam of destruction tried to break through the Holy Power defense, but under the endless support of Holy Power, it was extinguished within the blazing aura.
A massive Spear of Light condensed in the air, but Dulio did not throw it at Rias, who posed the greatest threat to him. Instead, he aimed it at Sairaorg.
Dulio knew very well that with Holy Power's advantage against her, if that attack hit Rias, she would die. That was why he chose to defeat Sairaorg first, then deal with Rias after Sairaorg lost the ability to fight.
Now that he was using his full power, he was confident he could defeat them both at once. The only thing he needed to pay attention to was Sairaorg's armor. He had to stop attacking the moment the armor could no longer endure and disappeared. Otherwise, Sairaorg, having lost its protection, would die under his attack.
...
"Sniff, sniff, sniff..."
At the edge of the battlefield.
The animal ears on her head twitched, and the fluffy tail sticking out through the opening in her tight-fitting outfit swayed with a swish, swish sound. Her face could not be seen clearly as the girl lay flat on the ground, her nose twitching again and again as if she were sniffing out a scent.
Cid watched the girl on the ground. Without making a sound, he walked backward to a spot one meter in front of her, and the girl crawled after him, following his footsteps.
Only after Cid had gone around in a circle did the girl stop, having smelled her own scent at the place where she had first started. With something clenched between her teeth, she lifted her head in confusion, and what entered her view was Cid staring at her expressionlessly.
"Boss, Delta found you."
Seeing the girl throw herself into his arms with a silly grin, Cid's face softened with a faint smile. Using the technique he had honed over the past year, he vigorously ruffled the girl's head, messing up her hair completely.
"Long time no see, Delta."
"Huff."
The feeling of something touching his foot snapped Cid out of his dog-petting state. Confused and slightly surprised, he looked down at whatever had bumped into him.
It was the white crystal Delta had been carrying in her mouth this whole time. It had fallen to the ground, rolled a few times, and bumped into his shoe. It looked perfectly ordinary, except for the fact that it had rolled uphill.
"Hey, Delta, what's this?"
Cid tapped Delta on the head with his finger to get her attention, then pointed at the white crystal on the ground and asked her.
Delta followed the direction of Cid's finger and saw the white crystal. As if she had only just remembered her actual business, she let out a cry and jumped down from Cid. Her tail kept wagging behind her, making her happiness obvious.
She picked up the white crystal, crouched on the ground, and handed it to Cid.
"This is Delta's offering to Boss."
Faced with Delta's delighted expression, Cid silently stared at the white crystal.
"What is this thing?"
"A super amazing treasure."
"Where did it come from?"
"The yesterday before yesterday, it suddenly fell from the sky and hit Delta on the head."
Delta, that is as childish as picking up a strange branch by the roadside and telling people it is a holy sword.
Also, the yesterday before yesterday is called the day before yesterday... I think that was the day I fought the Hundred-Form Monster.
"Wow, Delta, you're amazing. You actually picked up such a precious treasure. But does anyone know what this thing does?"
He was roasting her in his heart, but Cid still praised Delta a few times as he took the white crystal, now covered in Delta's saliva, and held it up in the air.
"Boss, Delta knows! Delta knows! It shoots biubiu red beams, makes a bunch of water and freezes it into ice, and it can make Delta's hair stand up and make Delta stronger."
As Delta explained, the light of the half-set sun passed through the crystal, giving off a dazzling glow.
The material of this thing is a little like The Library.
That thought flashed through Cid's mind, but he threw it aside in the next instant, because he had realized something more important. If this thing really had all the abilities Delta described, even though those abilities sounded weak, the fact that Delta could see it meant...
"It seems the pitch-black golden world after its destruction is about to welcome its first resident."
Cid said this with an air of unfathomable mystery, leaning sideways against the wall as he turned his gaze toward Delta, who was watching him with expectant eyes.
"Very good, Delta. You have rendered great service this time. Is there anything you want? The entire world shall grant what you seek."
"Really? Boss?"
Delta looked at Cid with worshipful eyes, while Cid merely gave a dismissive snort and looked at her calmly.
"I never mistreat my subordinates in Shadow Garden."
"Then Delta wants to bear Boss a hundred children, build the strongest tribe in the world, and let Boss rule the world."
"Shadow Garden has already been disbanded. Here, take your thing back."