Azazel was clearly furious at being betrayed like this, but he kept his composure. Turning to Rias, he spoke in a sharp voice. "They probably used a Sacred Gear, or some kind of trick, to channel power into your half-vampire Bishop and force his Sacred Gear into Balance Breaker. That's probably what let them pull off a time stop on this scale."
Sirzechs looked outside as he spoke. "We cannot retreat, not unless we lower the barrier around the school. But if we do that, there is no telling how much destruction will spread into the human world. In other words, we leaders cannot move until the proper preparations are made. Even so, our first priority must be retrieving Gasper from the old school building, which the terrorists appear to be using as their base."
Rias immediately stepped forward. "Brother, I'll go. Gasper is my servant, so he is my responsibility. I'll be the one to bring him back. I've also been keeping my last Rook piece safe in the old school building—in the clubroom."
Sirzechs gave a small nod. "I see. Castling, then. They are no doubt expecting us to try to recover your Bishop, but this may catch them off guard. It could put you several moves ahead of them."
The time-stop ability had not affected the people at the very top. Rias had been holding onto Issei's gauntlet when it happened, so the power of the Red Dragon Emperor protected both of them. Xenovia and Kiba also managed to stay unaffected thanks to Durandal and Kiba's demonic holy sword.
"All right. But it will be dangerous for you to go alone," Sirzechs said. "Grayfia, can you use my power to pass my sister's Castling technique to someone else?"
Grayfia gave a small nod. "Hmm… I will not be able to perform anything more than a simple ritual here, but it should be possible to send one other person with her."
"Rias, who do you want to—?"
"Sirzechs, I'll go!" Issei declared, raising his hand at once.
"Hey, Mr. Red Dragon Emperor," Azazel called out, tossing him a pair of large rings. "Those bracelets can help control a Sacred Gear, at least to a certain extent. Put one on your half-vampire Bishop. It should help him keep his power under control."
He pointed at the other one.
"The other one's for you. You still haven't mastered the Welsh Dragon's power yet, right? Then put it on. As long as you don't go overboard, you should be able to use your Balance Breaker."
"Azazel, just how much research have you done on Sacred Gears?" Michael asked with a weary sigh.
The Governor flashed the Archangel a fearless grin. "What, you've got a problem with my hobbies? It's not like God is still around to explain these things to us. Better to have someone here who actually knows what he's talking about, right?"
Michael's expression turned serious. "What exactly are you preparing for?"
"The Khaos Brigade."
"…The Khaos Brigade?" Sirzechs repeated, one eyebrow rising.
Azazel folded his arms. "I only found out their name and background recently, but their suspicious movements caught the attention of my lieutenant governor, Shemhazai, some time ago. Apparently, they've been gathering an army made up of dangerous people from all three major factions. Some of them even possess Sacred Gears that can reach Balance Breaker. And I've already identified a few who carry Longinuses."
"And what is their goal?" Michael asked.
Azazel gave a bitter smile. "Destruction and chaos. Simple, right? More than anything, they hate peace. They're terrorists—the worst kind of scum. And they've got a dragon leading them. One even stronger and more dangerous than the Welsh Dragon and the Vanishing Dragon."
Sirzechs' expression darkened slightly. "I see… So he's finally making his move. The Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis. The Infinite Dragon God. Even God Himself was wary of that being, and for good reason. A monster that has stood at the peak since the beginning of the world…"
Azazel nodded. "Yeah. Ophis is the leader of the Khaos Brigade."
A magic circle spread across the floor of the conference room.
"Grayfia, send Rias and Issei out at once," Sirzechs ordered, his tone turning serious.
"Understood."
Grayfia quickly guided them to the corner and formed a small magic circle, just large enough for two people.
"Good luck, Lady Rias."
"W-Wait! Grayfia?! Brother?!"
Rias's protests fell on deaf ears. In the next instant, the two of them were swallowed by a flash of light and vanished from the room.
The magic circle that appeared in the center of the conference room caught even the leaders of the three factions off guard.
More accurately, Azazel looked amused, while Sirzechs wore the kind of expression of someone who had just tasted shit.
"That's Leviathan's insignia…" the Demon King muttered.
Xenovia stared at the circle, then slowly raised a hand and pointed at it. "I saw that symbol once in the Vatican Library. It belongs to the original Leviathan."
A tall woman stepped out of the magic circle. She wore glasses and a headset, and her figure was striking. Her skin was tan, her long brown hair was tied up in a bun, and her purple eyes held a confident gleam.
She looked straight at Sirzechs and gave a bold greeting.
"Greetings, Lord Sirzechs, current Demon King."
After the original Four Great Demon Kings were destroyed, the Underworld needed a new generation to take their place. But the children of the fallen Demon Kings refused to let the war end. They wanted to keep fighting until the very end.
The faction that supported peace understood that their military strength was nearly gone, so they used the last of their power to force those hardliners and the followers who remained loyal to them into a remote corner of the Underworld.
That led to a civil war among the devils, and in the end, the pro-peace faction won. Soon after, a new system of rule was created. From that, the current Four Great Demon Kings were established.
"Most of us who remained loyal to the old ways have chosen to join hands with the Khaos Brigade," Katerea Leviathan declared.
Azazel let out a dry scoff. "So in the end, a devil family feud grew into a full-blown war, huh? Feels like every faction these days is dealing with some kind of rebellion."
Sirzechs' gaze hardened. "Katerea… should I take those words literally?"
"Of course, Sirzechs. This is our declaration of war against you."
"So it really is a coup d'état."
It was a rebellion led by the bloodlines of the old regime, rising up against the rulers of the present era.
Sirzechs looked at her in silence for a moment. "…Why, Katerea?"
Katerea lifted her chin proudly. "Sirzechs, we reached the exact opposite conclusion from the one your little Leaders' Summit came to today. In our eyes, if God and the previous Demon Kings are gone, then this world should throw the past away as well. With Ophis's power, we will destroy this world and build a new one in its place. And when that time comes, we will be the ones who rule it."
Sirzechs gave Katerea a thin, sardonic smile. "…So that is your plan. You gathered rebellious angels, fallen angels, and devils into one army, and now you intend to use it to conquer a new world. And the one who brought you all together is the Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis."
"Katerea! Why are you doing this?!" Serafall cried out.
Katerea turned to her with a look full of hatred. "Serafall… how dare you speak to me as if you have that right? You stole what should have been mine. I am the true heir to the Leviathan name! Leviathan's blood runs through me! I am the one who should have been crowned Demon King!"
"Katerea… I-I…!" Serafall stammered.
Katerea's smile turned cruel. "There is no need to panic, Serafall. I will kill you here, take the title of Demon King Leviathan for myself, and reclaim what is rightfully mine. Ophis will become the god of our new world. We will create a new system, new laws, and a new order. Michael, Azazel, Sirzechs… your time is over."
Azazel threw his head back and burst into laughter. "Bwahahaha!"
Katerea's face twisted with anger. "What's so amusing, Azazel?"
Azazel grinned at her without the slightest fear. "You and your little band of followers… do you honestly believe you can change the world?"
"Of course," Katerea replied proudly. "It is the most righteous thing we can do, Azazel. This world—"
"—is rotten? Full of foolish humans? Falling apart?" Azazel cut in, still laughing. "Give me a break. Open your eyes. The world's doing just fine. Better than fine, actually. It's thriving."
Katerea narrowed her eyes. "I see the years have done very little to change you, Azazel. You hold so much power, yet you are content with this flawed world…"
Azazel's smile faded, though the mocking edge in his voice remained. He glanced toward Sirzechs and Michael. "Sirzechs, Michael, I'll handle this one. Stay out of it, got it?"
At the same time Adrien clashed with the White Dragon Emperor, another battle began below. Katerea Leviathan and Azazel, Governor of the Fallen Angels, faced each other.
Twelve wings spread from both of them, and in the next instant, they shot upward, smashing through the ceilings of the new school building and bursting out into the open sky.
BAM! BOOOOOM!
Azazel and Katerea collided high above the school. Every punch they exchanged sent shockwaves roaring through the air.
Holy light exploded from Azazel's hands as he drove his fist toward her. Katerea reacted at once, raising one hand. From her fingers, more arms, hands, and fingers split off and twisted together, forming a grotesque shield of flesh.
The blast tore away part of it, but the mass kept growing, writhing as it tried to seize Azazel.
Azazel clicked his tongue and shot straight upward. The twisted wall of flesh stretched after him, chasing him through the sky.
He flipped in midair and thrust both hands forward.
In the next moment, several gigantic arrows of light were fired from his hands, each one as large as a truck.
The arrows ripped through the flesh and flew straight at Katerea.
She immediately deployed a multilayered magic-circle barrier in front of herself.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!
Azazel grinned. "A descendant of the former Demon King Leviathan… the Beast of the Apocalypse, huh? Not bad at all. Katerea Leviathan, how about we enjoy our own little mock Armageddon?"
Katerea answered his challenge with a sneer. "My thoughts exactly, Governor!"
A huge mass of flesh burst out from her body. Countless fingers extended from it, and every one of them pointed at Azazel. Magic circles formed at the tip of each finger, and from those circles came blasts of demonic power.
Hundreds of attacks shot straight at the Fallen Angel.
Azazel instantly formed small magic circles above each of his energy points. It was a type of defense that demanded absurd control over power.
Then he flew straight at Katerea at tremendous speed.
He dodged some of the blasts, while others crashed into the magic-circle barriers surrounding him.
Just as he was about to reach her, Katerea released a burst of demonic energy in front of herself, just like Azazel had done earlier with holy power.
Azazel halted his charge at once and shot backward through the air.
The earlier blasts that missed him struck the barrier around the school and made it tremble, but it held firm. Others slammed into the ground below, carving long cleaves through it as they tore across the earth.
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Yo, if we reach 175 power stones today, I'll drop a bonus chapter.