Chapter 19
After arriving at this place called Kuoh Academy.
We found ourselves in the dense forest belonging to this academic institution. From afar, we watched the manifestations that appeared, ready for a battle.
Kokabiel, Fallen Angel and also nicknamed the "Angel of the Stars."
An entity that cannot be underestimated as just a "nobody" in the supernatural world.
While we focused on the fight of this Angel who fell from Heaven, another overwhelming and suffocating presence appeared before us.
We raised our heads to see a teenage girl of about seventeen, wearing Kuoh Academy's female uniform.
Her long, straight blonde hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall. Several strands crossed her forehead, framing a face that radiated a wild strength, barely contained by a firm will.
Her violet eyes looked at us with a controlled ferocity, like a lioness who has yet to decide whether to attack or allow her prey to live.
Her hands were hidden in the pockets of her wine-colored skirt, which reached just above her knees. Her posture was relaxed, but everything in her aura screamed danger.
I glanced at Lilith.
Her expression remained just as stoic, without a trace of disturbance at the sudden appearance of this person. No fear. No surprise. Just that emptiness that seemed to envelop her whenever someone looked too deeply into her eyes.
The girl… Izayoi Saigou, I recognized the name instantly… stepped forward, the tip of her shoe sinking into the soil. The air around her vibrated as though an invisible storm accompanied her.
"Tsk... I didn't expect to find two brats strolling through the middle of a battlefield," she muttered, her voice firm, slightly deep. "What are you doing here?"
Her tone wasn't an immediate threat, but every word carried weight, as if she were judging the strength of our souls.
Lilith slowly lifted her gaze, her black eyes meeting the blonde's.
"We are observing," she answered in a whisper so soft it could hardly be heard, yet in the silence of the forest, it echoed clearly.
Izayoi frowned. Not in anger, but out of instinctual caution.
I could feel it: she understood.
She had sensed that we weren't ordinary children.
"And who gave you permission to show up here?" she pressed, tilting her head, a spark of arrogance glinting in her eyes.
"It's not your fight," I finally said, breaking my silence.
My voice sounded calm, far too calm for someone my age. I simply watched her with the same interest a scientist might have for a dangerous creature behind glass.
"We were just watching how this world crumbles at its own pace."
The air grew heavier.
Izayoi narrowed her eyes, stepping closer.
"You speak far too well for a kid," her tone sharpened. "Who are you really?"
Lilith tilted her head slowly, like a curious cat, and whispered:
"Shiro… don't tell them anything."
Izayoi raised a brow.
"So you can talk to each other without moving your lips? Interesting."
I took a step forward. The ground beneath my feet cracked with a dry noise.
I hadn't shown hostility, yet my mere presence caused the air to compress.
"Good!"
Her smile widened. She seemed more excited by the idea of a fight than any chance of a mutual agreement.
She made the first move.
The impact of Izayoi's strike lifted a cloud of dirt and splinters. Several trees collapsed, leaving a clearing in the center of the forest.
She didn't seem impressed by my dodge, rather pleased by it.
"Not bad reflexes," she remarked, rotating her neck until it cracked. "But that only makes this more fun."
The wind shifted. I felt the pressure of her spiritual energy, so dense that nearby birds flew away in terror. The ground trembled with each step she took toward me.
Lilith, behind me, didn't even blink.
Her lips barely moved.
Shiro, don't hold back.
Her words resonated directly in my mind, and something inside me stirred.
The air around me distorted, a thin layer of white energy forming over my skin, a translucent veil that vibrated with each breath.
Izayoi smiled. A warrior's smile.
"So it wasn't just appearance… Good. Show me what you're made of."
She thrust forward with brutal speed. Her foot struck the ground and propelled her body, appearing in front of me within a blink.
Her knee targeted my abdomen.
I intervened with my forearm, blocking the blow. The force launched me several meters back, scraping my feet through the dirt until I stopped.
The dry shockwave echoed through the forest.
"Tch… not bad," I admitted, flexing my arm to ease the numbness.
She was already in front of me again, her silhouette barely visible amid the swirling dust.
She twisted her body and delivered a downward heel drop, splitting the ground as if it were paper.
I moved aside, letting the destructive wave pass. The gust cleaved a nearby rock into two clean fragments.
Lilith watched silently. No emotion in her eyes, but her energy fluctuated, restrained yet expectant.
Izayoi stood tall again, breathing steadily.
"You don't fight like a human. Your movements are too precise… clearly, someone trained you."
"You could say that," I replied, straightening. "But I didn't come here to fight you."
"Then you should have left while you still could."
Her tone wasn't a threat. It was a fact.
And in that instant, she unleashed her power.
She extended her right hand forward. White energy began to gather with abnormal density, twisting the air until it formed a luminous pillar about twenty centimeters long, vibrating and compressed as though it held the weight of a star.
"Let's see if you can withstand this," she murmured. "Aurora Pillar."
The pillar expanded for a moment, then shot forward like a pure cannon of devastating light.
Izayoi released all the light she had been suppressing, and it advanced at an impossible speed, consuming the space between us in a blinding radiance.
The forest vanished beneath the white explosion. Trees were erased. The ground shattered, devoured by absolute power.
At the center of the storm, Shiro was swallowed by the light.
For a moment, nothing remained.
No silhouette, no shadow, no voice.
The earth smoldered, the air vibrating with residual echoes of the attack, and Izayoi stood firm, arm still extended.
Her gaze remained fixed on where her opponent had stood.
There was no escaping an attack like that.
And for a moment… the question hung in the air:
Had Shiro been erased from existence?
The white light slowly faded, scattering into luminous fragments lost among smoke and burning air.
Once the brilliance fully dissolved, a dark silhouette emerged from the remains of the radiance.
Shiro was still standing.
Not unscathed. Blood trailed down from his torso, staining his clothes a deep red. His face, darkened with dust and ash, showed several open wounds, one crossing his cheek.
His breathing was uneven, but his stare remained fixed on Izayoi.
He slowly raised his right hand.
His bones were fractured, visible beneath cracked skin, a trace of white energy still sparking in his palm: the residue of his attempt to stop the Aurora Pillar.
"Tch…" he muttered, staring at his trembling hand. "How careless of me."
The wind blew through the broken trees, dragging dust along the ground.
Despite his injuries, Shiro stepped forward. His shadow stretched over the fractured earth, firm, defiant.
He wanted to continue the fight, but Lilith's voice extinguished the rising fire in his chest.
"It's time to go," she said serenely, though her tone allowed no argument. "There is no reason to stay. The battle between Rias Gremory and Kokabiel is over… Rias won. She even killed him."
The silence that followed was heavy. Wind carried the dust of the confrontation while flames consumed the forest remains.
"Tch… just when I find someone interesting," Shiro murmured, clicking his tongue with a frustrated grin.
Shiro exhaled slowly. His gaze met hers, a spark of challenge flickering in his eyes.
He wasn't completely satisfied.
Despite the wounds, he lifted his head, a tired half-smile forming.
"I guess we'll leave it for another time," he said calmly. "But next time… I won't hold back."
Lilith turned, and the air around her grew heavy, as if her presence alone erased the echoes of the battle.
Shiro followed without looking back, leaving Izayoi standing amidst the destroyed forest, the fading remnants of the Aurora Pillar dimming in her fist.
She watched their silhouettes fade into the mist, her smile curving with restrained excitement.
"I'll be waiting for you, Shiro…" she whispered, before the silence of the forest swallowed her completely.