Chapter 144 — Flee! He Is King Solomon
The atmosphere in the room had shifted from mystified confusion to visceral dread. Aisha's awakening hadn't resembled resistance—it was more like a soul thrown into chaos. The moment she understood the artifact was the Sacred Coffin, emotional turbulence cracked through her like lightning. Rias watched her, pupils contracting sharply. Her mind staggered, briefly stalling under the weight of revelation.
"He... crawled out of the Sacred Coffin?"
Rias's face turned ashen. If Bai Yue was who they now suspected, then Akeno might already be in grave danger.
She regretted asking the question.
—Calm down. This might not be what it seems.
Maybe it was all a theatrical farce. Perhaps Bai Yue—mocking and arrogant—had climbed inside the coffin just to ridicule the Church. After all, who could seriously believe a man dead for three millennia had now returned?
And yet…
That night's ritual—the summoning, the explosion of magic—it hadn't been normal. Not even close.
"Could Bai Yue's joke of an introduction actually be... true?" Aisha murmured, half to herself, her voice distant. "But... how? He made demons obey him outright. And those rings—ten of them. He wore ten rings. And his clothes—like something from another age…"
She was lost in thought, unguarded, unaware of Rias standing beside her. Her words spilled from her lips like water breaking a dam.
Rias trembled inwardly. Her instincts screamed at her to stop rationalizing. The pieces aligned too perfectly.
"Oh Lord… could this be Your trial for me?" Aisha whispered fervently.
But then she shook her head, twisting in guilt and disbelief.
"No, no—I'm not worthy. Someone like him wouldn't come to test someone like me…"
Rias had no time for Aisha's theological spiral. Her concern now was for Akeno's safety.
Whoever Bai Yue truly was—if the rumors were true and he had forged pacts with the Original Seventy-Two Demon Pillars, not once but 263 times—then his power would dwarf nearly any being in this age.
Above the city, a black-robed figure sliced through the air at blistering speed. Akeno darted between buildings, weaving through shadows and rooftops to avoid open flight. She'd seen Bai Yue unleash a blast strong enough to crater a Fallen Angel—flying too high would only invite disaster.
His pursuit remained relentless. Each time she glanced back, he was nearer.
And then… his hand moved.
Akeno's eyes snapped to the object he was preparing to throw.
No… he wouldn't.
The surrounding structures—if that was another of his power spheres…
The object screamed through the air—and her heart lurched.
But it wasn't a magic core.
It was... a stone?
She blinked. The arc, the velocity—she could catch it. Her fingers reached out instinctively.
The moment her hand closed around it—she knew.
Her face fell.
She'd been tricked.
The rock pulsed. Symbols etched into its surface ignited—a teleportation array.
But it was too small for body-transfer. The formation remained palm-sized. Only objects of its own scale could traverse through.
Unless... someone used it to extend their reach.
A hand burst from the glowing circle—grabbing hers.
Panic surged. If she shattered the stone now, she could sever the link—but also her arm. The force of the pull, the instability of the formation... too risky.
Yet Akeno smiled, her voice playful.
"Grabbing a lady's arm like this... how bold of you."
Lightning flickered across her skin. The Thunder Priestess wouldn't go down so easily.
But—!
Her eyes widened.
Her lightning didn't strike.
Not because of a shield. No—he deflected it with raw magical density.
"Impossible!" she gasped.
A moment later, his lightning struck in response.
"Ahhh—!"
Agony consumed her. It wasn't ordinary lightning—it was tinged with divine radiance. Against devils, it carried enhanced destruction. Her resistances collapsed.
She crashed to the rooftop, breathing hard, the pain unbearable. The man approached casually.
"Don't pretend," he said calmly. "If you were a lower demon, I'd believe this performance. But you're no weakling."
"Calling me a 'performance'... what a rude way to describe a lady," Akeno retorted with strained breath.
But she didn't feign anymore. Her disguise shattered. Her robe flew off, revealing her true form. Her identity wasn't worth hiding.
Still clutched by the hand protruding through the array, she tilted her head coyly.
"Isn't it poor manners to hold a girl's hand for so long without permission?"
Without a word, Bai Yue released her.
WHAM.
His hand seamlessly intercepted the punch of another attacker—Koneko, who had dashed from the shadows.
She tried a sweeping kick, but Bai Yue leaned back with inhuman grace, evading effortlessly.
Koneko retreated, unsettled.
Then from another corner, sword drawn and eyes steeled, stepped Yuuto Kiba.
"So... you mean to fight us?" he asked.
"Whether I'm your enemy isn't for me to decide," Bai Yue said. His voice remained light, but the weight behind his presence deepened.
Akeno smiled. "That depends on our president's judgment. If she says you're an enemy—we'll take you down together."
Just then, Koneko's phone rang. Not hers, but Rias's call, redirected to her. Akeno's device had been destroyed by the earlier electric surge.
Koneko answered.
Her expression fell.
She mouthed the words quietly.
"Run?"
The implications struck like a hammer.
Did Rias recognize the man's identity? Had she confirmed the danger?
Then… Koneko's lips parted.
"He is King Solomon?"
Chapter 145 — His Judgment Descends in a Thousand Bolts
"He's… Solomon?"
Akeno stared, the name echoing in her ears.
The youth before them—this enigmatic man wrapped in mystery—was Solomon, the legendary king who sealed contracts with seventy-two demonic pillars in ancient days?
Impossible.
She wanted to dismiss it as nonsense.
Surely Koneko hadn't finished her sentence. Maybe he was related to Solomon, or descended from him.
After all, Rias herself bore the bloodline of the 56th Pillar—Gremory.
But Solomon's lineage? No one ever mentioned such descendants.
And Rias had told them to run. She wasn't usually one to doubt her team. If she said flee—it meant danger beyond measure.
Akeno turned sharply.
"Did Rias say he's related to Solomon? What's his true power level?"
Koneko's expression twisted. Her silence lasted too long. Her gaze shifted—from curiosity to fear.
It wasn't just strong magic.
It was terror.
She looked at Bai Yue like a child who had unknowingly invited a god into their house.
"I understand now," Koneko whispered—and hung up the phone.
Then, without waiting, she shouted:
"Akeno-senpai! Kiba-senpai! Head west! A suspect who stole King Solomon's Ring is trying to escape. You must catch them. I'll stay behind and stall him!"
Her voice was firm. Authoritative.
But too perfect.
Too rehearsed.
Akeno didn't move.
Neither did Kiba.
They stood, tense, weapons at the ready.
"Go!" Koneko barked.
But Akeno shook her head slowly.
"Koneko... you think we'd abandon you?"
She knew.
It was a lie.
The phone call had rattled Koneko—her words were too measured, the farewell too clean. She hadn't just received instructions.
She'd made a choice.
Akeno narrowed her eyes.
"That phone—it's crushed. You didn't want us hearing what Rias said."
The truth clicked into place.
Rias had told them to run. All of them. She had likely confirmed Bai Yue's identity—not just a descendant, not just a threat.
The King. Himself.
Koneko's deception had been her desperate attempt to buy time—for her friends to escape.
But they weren't going to let her stand alone.
"Tell us the truth," Akeno demanded.
Koneko hesitated.
Then she spoke.
"Rias said… that man—Bai Yue—is King Solomon."
Silence fell.
The skies stirred.
And from the heavens above... lightning began to descend.
Not ordinary thunder.
But judgment itself.
A thousand bolts fell.
And the war began.