Chapter 146 – Judgment of the Lightning King
"A-Ah?"
The exclamation slipped from Akeno's lips—unsteady, breathless—a rare departure from her usual poise. It wasn't a failure to understand. On the contrary, it was the abrupt clarity of comprehension that struck her too hard, too fast.
Cold sweat traced her jaw as her expression shifted from disbelief to grim resignation. The truth she had dismissed moments ago now stood undisguised before her—unflinching, undeniable.
She'd drawn the worst possible card from the deck of fate.
This enigmatic man—Bai Yue—was no mere anomaly. No wandering magician. No charismatic intruder.
He was a being whose existence rewrote the laws she'd lived by.
A being of myth—whose strength could only be answered by someone on the level of a Demon King.
No wonder Rias had ordered them to flee.
Yet… was he not once called a wise king? A legend venerated even by angels? Records spoke of his kindness toward mortals. Perhaps his judgment wouldn't be cruel?
But then again…
He was kind to humans.
They were devils.
And in his time, the conflict among heaven, hell, and earth hadn't yet festered into the volatile powder keg it had become. Devils now walked freely among mortals, recruiting humans as servants, stepping deeper into lands once forbidden. Would the ancient king, revived, tolerate such trespass?
The answer carved itself into her mind with chilling finality.
No.
He wouldn't.
Akeno inhaled sharply, eyes gleaming with resolve. Her hand lifted skyward.
CRACK!
The heavens responded like a beast roused from slumber.
A column of lightning crashed down from the void, so intense it bleached the night into blinding day. It seared into the earth with the fury of divine wrath, sending arcs of destruction skittering through pavement and severing street lamps like brittle twigs.
She had struck first.
A preemptive measure—one meant to turn the tide before the storm truly broke.
The earth trembled beneath the weight of the blast. Even a high-class devil, caught directly, would be reduced to ash.
And yet…
A sigh echoed through the mist.
Her heart sank.
That voice was not weary.
It was disappointed.
As smoke cleared, Bai Yue stood untouched, his form cloaked in an aura of condensed mana—no defensive spell, no elaborate incantation. Just pure energy. The kind that defied explanation.
Even the most powerful devils would never waste their reserves like this.
Which meant…
He didn't need to worry about waste.
"So this attack," Bai Yue murmured, "shall I interpret it as your declaration of war?"
Akeno's heart skipped. His tone remained gentle—almost casual—but the pressure in the air intensified.
The shield of mana surrounding him collapsed inward. No longer contained, his presence exploded into the surroundings like a tidal wave. It pinned Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba in place—like weights pressing on their spines, forcing lungs to claw for breath.
This wasn't high-class. Not even elite-class.
This was the kind of power they only read about in grim histories.
A king's power.
The magic circles bloomed across the sky—a lattice of symbols and sigils, flooding the night with radiant geometry. Akeno recognized the arrays instantly. They were lightning formations.
Too many.
A standard lightning array might carry force enough to fell a mid-tier demon. But this—this was volume beyond any rational scope. Magic that shouldn't even hold itself together.
Yet Bai Yue's will wove them tight.
So many threads stitched into a tapestry of annihilation.
If even half struck…
None of them would live.
Then—
Snap.
His fingers clicked once.
And the skies obeyed.
Thousands of spears of light descended, not as a single thunderbolt but as a judgment.
Far away, Rias Gremory's heart dropped when her calls to Akeno failed to connect. For a moment, dread whispered in her blood.
She tried Koneko's line—and by some miracle—it connected.
From the way Koneko spoke, it seemed Akeno was still breathing.
But then the connection dropped again, and Rias felt herself fall into shadow once more.
Please, let them be safe.
"Bai Yue wouldn't hurt anyone without reason," Aisha said softly, being carried beside her.
Her voice was hopeful—almost naive. "He's not like the church teaches. Not one to purge without mercy. Not if left unprovoked."
Yet even Aisha wasn't certain. She understood who he might be. If Bai Yue was who they suspected—if he truly was the one chosen above all others, beloved more than even the sacred son—then his return heralded a new reckoning.
Unbelievable, and yet… he stood beside her.
The representative of the divine.
Aisha shivered.
"Best hope you're right," Rias whispered.
And then, from the far horizon—
A column of lightning tore through the sky.
The battle had begun.
A surge of mana swept outward—no mere turbulence, but a force so overwhelming Rias stopped mid-flight. Her body refused the command. Instinct screamed danger.
"This power… it's not high-class. It's Demon King level…"
Rias's voice shook.
Among her team, Akeno was the strongest—bordering on upper-tier devil power. Kiba and Koneko held their own at mid-tier.
And against a Demon King… survival wasn't guaranteed.
She felt the first stirrings of dread—not for herself, but for her friends.
Her eyes widened as the sky filled with spiraling arrays.
A storm of light converged on one spot.
She flew faster.
Ten seconds later, she arrived.
And saw the wreckage.
Only one man stood.
Her comrades lay strewn across the ground, smoke curling from their clothes. Koneko appeared unconscious, unmoving. Kiba struggled to rise. Akeno looked worst of all—battered, barely holding on.
Then she was lifted—his hand around her throat.
"Stop!" Rias screamed.
Power burst from her, a crimson inferno.
But Bai Yue turned calmly.
"This isn't a tournament, Miss Gremory," he said softly. "You don't get to surrender and hope your opponent just lets you go."
His eyes met hers—cold, rational, ancient.
Rias trembled. She felt the weight of his gaze as though standing trial in an unseen court.
She gathered her courage.
"What must I do… to make you spare them?"
"Spare them?" he repeated. "Is this a game to you? You challenged me, lost, and now you plead to start over?"
She grimaced.
"I never declared war. I never intended enmity."
"Oh?" His brow lifted. "Attacking someone isn't a declaration? Are you joking?"
His voice darkened.
The air shifted.
Rias's heart stilled. For a heartbeat, she felt it—
True killing intent.
She gasped, instinct forcing her to breathe again.
She hadn't ordered the attack.
Her instructions had been clear: observe, do not strike unless threatened.
"I did not order this. May I explain?"
Bai Yue said nothing.
Only when she pieced together the story—Akeno's preemptive strike, driven by fear—did his gaze soften slightly.
"So it was a misunderstanding."
Rias nodded quickly.
"I swear it."
A pause.
"Unfortunate," Bai Yue murmured. "But understandable."
Then, turning to Aisha:
"Heal them."
"A-ah! Right away!"
As the nun hurried to mend their wounds, Rias released a breath.
The danger had passed—at least for now.
But then—
"There's still the matter of your offense," Bai Yue said.
Rias stiffened.
"My offense?"
"Digging into my identity. Recklessly. Without respect."
His eyes locked onto hers again—no longer deadly, but still impossibly heavy.
"What... what must I do to atone?"
She felt like a defendant again—waiting on a verdict that could end her world.
Bai Yue's lips curled—neither smile nor sneer.
He whispered, as if delivering prophecy—
"Become my Demon Pillar—Gremory."