Chapter 175: This Isn't a Demon at All—It's a Demon God!
Among humans, the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demons are described with various peculiar appearances, but in reality, devils aren't actually that bizarre.
Those descriptions are mostly exaggerated, or the images themselves are symbolic emblems of the heads of the Seventy-Two Pillars.
That's why Michael and others, who had seen the origin Bael, were astonished by the Bael before them.
So, what was happening in this scene?
The fallen angel cadre—Kokabiel—was clearly being pursued by Bael, having already lost an arm.
So, was Bael allied with the emerging old Maou faction?
After all, it was said that the origin Bael had always been dissatisfied with the current Maou faction and held ideologies closer to the old Maou faction—an old devil at heart.
It was rumored that during the previous civil war, the origin Bael had secretly assisted the old Maou faction.
Just as Michael was about to conclude that this anomalous Bael was on Katerea Leviathan's side, Kokabiel unexpectedly flew over to Katerea's side, as if treating her as an ally.
"What's going on? Kokabiel!"
"I don't know. I accidentally discovered a barrier on the nearby mountain, and after breaking through, this guy appeared. This isn't the Bael I know at all!"
The conversation between the two directly made Michael realize he had guessed wrong—it was actually the opposite.
"Kokabiel, what do you mean by this?"
A cold interrogation from Azazel.
"You're asking me what I mean? What do you think? Back then, if we had continued the war, victory would have been ours. Yet you ridiculously refused to launch a second war. What does that make all our previous sacrifices?"
The furious roar left Azazel silent, and he sighed.
So, it was only natural that Kokabiel would betray them.
This guy couldn't accept the peace among the three factions.
Not just him—there were so-called hardliners among the fallen angels too. It was just unclear if any of them had also betrayed.
"So, you don't actually think you can disrupt this conference with just your own strength, do you?"
"Heh heh heh, of course not just us."
As he said this, Kokabiel revealed a sinister smile.
"Still planning to sit back and do nothing?"
No one knew who he was speaking to.
The next instant, Azazel frantically dodged from his original position, but—
Boom—!
He still failed to evade completely. Struck by a heavy blow, he was sent flying and crashed into the school gymnasium.
"White Dragon Emperor!"
"So you're in cahoots with them too?"
Both Michael and Sirzechs' expressions darkened.
They never expected the White Dragon Emperor before them to betray Azazel—he was supposed to be the least likely to do so.
After all, in a way, Azazel was like a father to him, having rescued him from a dangerous environment and raising him.
Witnessing this scene, Rias and Sona were also stunned, exchanging glances.
However, they weren't yet convinced that Azazel wasn't the traitor. Could this be some kind of trick?
Still, they were also concerned about that Bael. There was no mistaking it—though it wasn't the original progenitor Bael of the House of Bael, it was likely a Bael conjured by King Solomon.
Rumble—!
The collapsed gymnasium's rubble was blasted away by an internal shockwave, revealing Azazel.
He didn't seem severely injured, but it was far from a minor wound.
"Vali, you've really outdone yourself, betraying me like this. I don't recall raising you to become this kind of person," Azazel said, his expression finally showing what appeared to be anger.
However, his rage didn't seem directed at Vali's betrayal, but rather—
"Descendant of the former Leviathan—Katerea Leviathan, you truly have a talent for corrupting my child!!!"
His fury lay there.
"Hmph, that just proves how incompetent you are as a parent!" Katerea, inheritor of Leviathan's bloodline, sneered contemptuously.
"Sorry, Azazel, but pursuing strength is my goal. Staying by your side offers no future," the White Dragon Emperor declared as he landed beside her.
"So understand this, Azazel—no one supports your hypocritical pursuit of peace. Even your most trusted person has betrayed you. Serves you right!!!" Katerea continued her mockery.
"Enough, Katerea. Stop the chatter and give me the snake's power. I need to deal with that guy first!!!" Kokabiel impatiently cut in, causing her to frown slightly before tossing over a small vial.
Katerea herself still held another vial, which she opened and swallowed what appeared to be a tiny black snake inside.
Instantly, space trembled violently, and the entire barrier-enclosed academy shook with power fluctuations.
Terrifying magical energy rapidly swelled from her body, multiplying at least tenfold in an instant.
Seeing this, Kokabiel finally swallowed his own.
Despite being in such a hurry to use it, he insisted on watching her go first, afraid of being tricked. What a coward, Katerea thought with mild contempt.
And so—
"This power is incredible! Truly worthy of the Infinite Dragon God Ophis's power!!!"
Before Azazel could even ask, the traitor Kokabiel voluntarily revealed the answer about the black snake filaments or whatever.
The next moment, a spear of light gathered in his hand—one strike capable of vaporizing the entire Kuoh Academy.
Of course, the evaporation referred to the ordinary Kuoh Academy before it was enveloped by the barrier.
Now shielded by the barrier and with its space reinforced, although this attack was terrifying, it wasn't enough to destroy Kuoh Academy.
A flash!
The spear of light vanished!
"What—!"
Kokabiel was stunned. He had thought that after his power had swelled to such an extent, this strike would teach this bastard a severe lesson, but instead, the other party had caught it—with one hand!
Immediately afterward, the spear of light was crushed by the other's grip!
If it had been a physical spear being crushed, that would have been one thing, but this was a spear of light concentrated enough to evaporate the entire Kuoh Academy.
The normal consequence of crushing it like this would be an instantaneous explosion of energy, yet it merely dissipated into countless points of light and vanished.
The reason for this was that the other party had released their own magical power to neutralize the explosive energy.
And being able to manipulate it to this extent was enough to prove that the other's strength far exceeded his imagination!
Then, the other party turned the hand holding the lightning sphere toward him.
The lightning sphere began to glow, but instead of growing brighter and more dazzling as it normally would, illuminating the surroundings even more, this lightning sphere's glow seemed not to release light but to devour it, making the surroundings darker.
Whether it was an illusion or not, it seemed as if he could see the other's sneer.
Clearly, the other could have continued attacking him before he consumed the small snake, but they deliberately waited until he used Ophis's power before striking.
This was to make him feel as if he had ascended to heaven due to his surge in power, only to instantly experience the sensation of plummeting back into hell.
Damn it, the first pillar he knew, Bael, was nowhere near this powerful. What kind of monster was this?
This wasn't a devil at all, but a genuine devil god!
Thus, sweat was already streaming down Kokabiel's face. He felt death approaching.
Immediately, he deployed a magical barrier!
Almost simultaneously, a destructive beam of annihilation crashed toward him!!