— — — — — —
Rias stared at Lynn's back, her eyes wide in shock.
"M-Maou...?!"
Lynn... he really is ridiculously strong!
She had suspected it for a while now...
But even so!!
That was a Cadre-level Fallen Angel!
One of the top brass right under Azazel himself!
And yet... Lynn just one-shotted him like it was nothing?
That was completely beyond anything she could have imagined!
Rias' heart pounded wildly in her chest. Something indescribable was stirring inside her.
(Sona... your fiancé... is way too good...)
Akeno stood frozen as well, her gaze locked onto where Kokabiel had just been obliterated.
A Fallen Angel Cadre...Defeated by Lynn...
Instantly?
Her mind went blank.
She could still remember when Lynn was just a mid-class devil... but now... the figure standing there overlapped with the image of a Maou.
"A Maou, huh..."
She muttered under her breath.
Without a doubt...
Lynn was a Maou.
That Cadre-level Fallen Angel they couldn't even dream of fighting back against... someone whose power could rival a Maou's, maybe even was a Maou-level existence...
Yet even he couldn't withstand a single blow from Lynn.
Akeno took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, and looked around at what remained of Kuoh Academy—or rather, what used to be Kuoh Academy, now nothing but rubble.
Then, she looked up at the sky, where that blinding light was still shining.
If Lynn hadn't set up a barrier to contain it all...
Would Kuoh Town... maybe even farther beyond... have been caught in the blast?
Would countless ordinary people have lost their lives in the aftermath?
"..."
Xenovia watched that dazzling light, her expression complicated.
Lynn's devilish aura was sharp and overwhelming.
No doubt about it, he was a genuine devil.
But!
What was with that light that rivaled even an Angel's?
He was a devil... but felt more like a member of the church than she was!
Was there no justice left in the world?!
...Wait.
Didn't Kokabiel say something right before the end...
"God is dead," wasn't it?
Xenovia bit her lip.
Words from a man moments away from death couldn't be fully trusted...
But still...
Maybe she should confirm things with the church when she got back.
Among everyone present, the only two who weren't completely shocked by Lynn's strength were Kuroka and Koneko.
Even so, they couldn't help but be impressed by how overwhelming his power was.
Kuroka's golden slit pupils sparkled with excitement.
"BABIES!!"
"I gotta have babies with Master!! A whole football team's worth!!"
Meanwhile, Koneko's breathing grew heavy, her gaze on Lynn's back turning misty with obvious heat.
Seeing this, Kuroka casually tossed a spell at her to forcibly calm her down.
"Tch, not so fast little sis... I haven't even had my turn yet. You wait your turn."
But Lynn completely ignored all of them.
Instead, he lifted his head, gazing past the brilliant light toward the night sky.
Under the full moon, a faint white shadow flickered.
Lynn's eyes sharpened.
"White Dragon, huh..."
— — —
Kuoh Town
By a wide riverbank, a man with black hair, golden bangs, sat calmly on a fishing platform, rod in hand.
Whether he was waiting for a fish to bite, or for something else entirely, was unclear.
Suddenly—
A white shadow flashed past and appeared before him.
"Yo!"
Azazel raised an eyebrow. "Back so soon?"
Vali dispelled his Balance Breaker form and showed himself, replying casually: "Yeah... because Kokabiel was weak as hell... he didn't even last a second."
Azazel's eyes twitched in surprise.
Vali was that strong already?
No, wait...
Realizing something was off, Azazel frowned when he noticed Kokabiel was nowhere to be seen.
"...Where's Kokabiel?"
Vali stood at the riverbank, staring at the calm water, and spoke flatly:
"Like I said... he didn't even last a second."
"So... he got killed."
"Killed?!"
Azazel's pupils shrank. "By who?!"
Vali shrugged, sounding both casual and incredibly excited at the same time.
"Dunno the name..."
"But that guy... is definitely a worthy opponent!"
Azazel fell silent.
A Cadre-level Fallen Angel went out for a stroll... and didn't even leave ashes behind?
Tch!
Always causing trouble...
The Fallen Angels didn't have many members to begin with!
And with that kind of power, they still dared to dream about starting another war?
Idiot!
Azazel sighed helplessly, then turned to Vali, raising an eyebrow.
"You... look kinda off."
He noticed Vali's body was trembling slightly and frowned.
Vali grinned widely.
"Yeah... you're right!"
"I can't believe it myself... I'm actually feeling fear!"
"Fear?"
Azazel's eyes shot open.
Vali, the battle maniac, feeling fear?
"No..."
After thinking for a second, Vali corrected himself, though his grin never faded.
"More like... that guy's light power... is making the blood of Lucifer inside me... tremble!"
Just thinking about it made Vali even more thrilled.
Lucifer...
My "dear" grandfather!
So even you... have something you fear?
---
"The blood of Lucifer... is trembling..."
Vali's words sent a chill down Azazel's spine.
Of all people, Azazel knew Vali's background better than anyone.
And when Vali mentioned Lucifer... Azazel instantly knew who he meant.
Rizevim Livan Lucifer.
A "Super Devil". A natural-born Super Devil.
Azazel clicked his tongue.
Since when did a monster of that level appear in Kuoh Town?
Enough to make Vali this thrilled?
Still...
Light?
An Angel?
Did Michael send someone to retrieve the Holy Swords?
For Vali to react like this... now he was really curious.
Azazel pushed those thoughts aside for now and asked in surprise, "Knowing your personality, you didn't try to fight him?"
Vali fell silent.
That blinding light covering the entire barrier...
It was a bit of a pain to deal with.
"Someone troublesome is about to appear..."
"But..."
Vali's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit. "Sooner or later, I'll go looking for him myself!"
"To think a Devil this interesting actually exists!"
Azazel nodded. Now this was the Vali he knew.
But then he froze.
"Wait! Did you say..."
"A DEVIL?!!!!!"
— — —
At Kuoh Academy.
Under Lynn's precise control, the light within the barrier gradually faded away.
When he released his power, he had deliberately avoided harming any of the Devils within the barrier.
Otherwise... there might've been some accidental casualties.
"Vali, huh..."
Lynn narrowed his eyes, recalling that flash of white.
I wonder... how strong is Vali now?
But...Vali's appearance reminded him of something else.
"Speaking of which..."
"Where's the Red Dragon?"
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached.
Lynn glanced over.
Leading a group of beautiful girls was none other than Sona Sitri.
"Rias, what exactly happened here?"
"Where's Kokabiel? And what was that light just now?"
Just recalling it made her shiver slightly.
It felt like touching that light would've erased her existence entirely.
Did the Governor of the Fallen Angels attack Kuoh Academy?
Sona fired off question after question, clearly struggling to stay calm after tonight's events.
As Rias was about to answer—
Sona caught sight of Lynn from the corner of her eye and froze. "Lynn?"
Her gaze naturally shifted to him.
Recognizing the name, Tsubaki and the other girls quickly exchanged glances.
So that's the president's man?
He's really handsome!
And strong... looks really dependable too...
Can the president even handle him?
Sona's peerage members quietly exchanged loaded glances.
He's exactly our type...
Will we marry him with Sona as her peerage members?
...
"Yo!"
Lynn greeted Sona casually with a grin. "Been a while."
Seeing that easy smile, Sona's face turned a little red. She quickly adjusted her glasses to cover it up.
Rias squinted dangerously.
What's taking Sona so long to break off that engagement?
Tch... looks like I need to give her a little push.
Just as Sona was about to say something—
Buzz!
A magic circle suddenly lit up behind her.
"Tadaa~! Magical Girl Levi-chan makes her dazzling entrance!!"
An energetic, crisp voice rang out.
Then appeared a twin-tailed girl in a pink magical girl outfit.
Recognizing the newcomer, Rias quickly bowed respectfully. "Lady Leviathan!"
The other Devils present followed suit. "Lady Leviathan!"
Serafall coughed lightly, trying to act dignified. "Mhm! Sirzechs' little sister, huh."
But that act barely lasted three seconds before she dove onto Sona, hugging and rubbing against her like crazy.
"My dear Sona-chan! Are you hurt? Were you scared?"
"Come here, let big sis comfort you properly!"
Sona's face stiffened. "Sis... I'm fine."
But Serafall didn't care.
How often did she get a chance to stick this close to Sona? Obviously, she was going to absorb every bit of "Sona energy" she could!
Sona pursed her lips helplessly.
This... this was exactly why she didn't want to call her sister over!
If the situation hadn't been so sudden, there's no way she'd have summoned this sis-con monster!
"Oh, right!"
After a while, Serafall suddenly remembered the important stuff and started looking around wildly. "Where's Kokabiel?"
"Daring to attack my precious Sona... I'll stuff his head in a toilet!"
Sona turned to Rias in confusion.
Come to think of it... ever since they got here, nothing much had really happened.
If not for the utter devastation outside Kuoh Academy looking like the moon's surface...
She might've thought nothing had happened at all.
Rias smiled faintly. "Lady Leviathan, Kokabiel..."
She paused for a second before glancing at Lynn, her gaze complicated, her voice a little odd. "...has already been handled by Lynn."
Serafall: "?"
Sona: "???"
"Lynn?"
Sona looked at Lynn in disbelief.
He took down Kokabiel?
But...
Wasn't Lynn just a mid-class Devil before?
Sona's mind was a mess.
"Lynn?"
Serafall narrowed her eyes. That name had been popping up a lot recently.
"You're Sona's fiancé, right?!"
Hmph!
Making Sona so troubled!
Looks like it's time to settle this once and for all!
Noticing Serafall's unfriendly gaze, both Rias and Sona's hearts skipped a beat.
But before they could stop her, Serafall's sharp gaze locked onto the only man present...
"Kyaaa!!! It's you again, Valifer!"
.
.
.