a/n:
Hey, just dropping by to let you know I made a few tweaks and also edited chapters 1, 2, and 3. Don't worry, it won't change the story, the changes are just to make things flow a bit better. Anyway, enjoy the read!
--x--
"...Am I really going to do this?" Edward wondered. In his hand was a rock he had picked up on his way here.
A few dozen meters away, a tall, gray-skinned man with elf-like ears was facing a man who looked more like a copy of Ronnie Coleman.
No... This man was definitely twice the size of Ronnie.
If Edward had to say, the man facing Kokabiel was about 200 kg with about 3% body fat. This guy definitely kept a few vials of trenbolone in his house.
The man facing Kokabiel was quickly recognized by Edward, who knew the characters of this world.
Vasco Strada.
The one who is considered the strongest human.
Cao Cao? In front of this man, he was just a child.
Edward remembered the scene where Vasco Strada first met Issei; the man simply stopped Issei's movements just by placing his hands on his shoulder. If that's not strength...
If there was a peak for human strength, then Vasco Strada had definitely already reached it.
Unfortunately, time was the greatest enemy of humans, and from what Edward could tell, Vasco already seemed to be in his 70s.
Of course, that didn't mean he was weak, but he definitely wasn't in his prime anymore.
But...
Even though he wasn't in his prime, the man was still the strongest.
Edward didn't feel like he could contribute much to the battle; after all, he was only 8 years old and hadn't even awakened his Sacred Gear.
Things might be different if he were a young Chinese master, but unfortunately, he was not.
So... he decided to do the only thing that could help.
Yes, he would throw a rock at Kokabiel.
To many, this would be idiotic, but to Edward, this was an almost perfect plan.
That's because Kokabiel would never expect someone to throw a rock at him. Swords? He was ready for them. Magic and curses? He was prepared for those too, but a simple rock? Definitely not expecting that.
Besides, from what Edward knew from the internet in his past life, any distraction in a high-level battle can lead to a loss. And that's exactly what he was counting on.
There was also the fact that he emitted almost no supernatural vibrations, which made it easier for him to sneak around. After all, if they weren't actively looking for him or didn't already know, he could strike like an assassin.
According to the mission description, Vasco Strada was injured due to saving a little girl.
Kokabiel probably took advantage of the Bodybuilding Saint's kindness to attack him from behind. Otherwise, Edward doubted that Kokabiel could injure the man.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the right moment...
And well, he didn't have to wait for long.
...
Externally, Kokabiel seemed relaxed fighting against Vasco, but only he knew how stressful it was. The old man refused to fall no matter how much he attacked him.
And even with the wound he inflicted while Vasco was saving a little girl, the old man seemed the same as before; in fact, he seemed even stronger.
This bastard! Kokabiel couldn't believe he would lose to a human again.
In the Second War, he had already been defeated by a young Vasco Strada, and now it seemed he would be defeated again, but this time by his older version.
No!
Observing the reactions of Vasco Strada's body, he understood that the man was indeed injured, and perhaps couldn't maintain this momentum for much longer. All he needed to do was prolong the fight.
"Hahaha! Vasco Strada, back then you defeated and humiliated me, but today..." He summoned two swords of light and threw himself towards Vasco. "Today will be your end!"
Despite his injuries, Vasco Strada still had ways to deal with the man coming at him for another round.
He just needed a few seconds to summon Durandal. And once summoned, it would be easy to deal with Kokabiel. It was a shame the fallen one wasn't giving him time for that.
Now, he could only regret not having brought the sword with him.
Anyway, he still had his fists to fight. Besides, in the past, he defeated Kokabiel with just his fists, and this time would be no different.
Kokabiel lunged, the two swords of light cutting through the air in deadly arcs.
Vasco, with his battle experience, knew that retreating was not an option. He dodged the first blow with a minimal movement of his head, feeling the wind from the blade graze his face.
The second sword came in a direct thrust to his chest. He stopped it with the side of his forearm, which was already covered in a sacred aura. Thanks to that, his arm wasn't severed.
Unfortunately, the impact of the light sword still made him stagger slightly.
"Well, well... It seems you can't hold on for much longer," Kokabiel commented with a cold smile. Before he was injured, this attack would barely tickle Vasco, but now the man was already staggering.
Besides, he noticed that the sacred aura on Vasco Strada's body seemed a little smaller.
"Kokabiel, beings like you are the plague of this world! I've never had prejudices against other races, but to know that some want to destroy the peace built through blood and bring only chaos... How can I allow this?" Vasco growled. Despite his injuries, his voice sounded heavy and imposing.
He jumped, surprising Kokabiel for an instant. The old man's agility was frightening. In the air, Vasco descended with a punch aimed at the fallen one's face.
Kokabiel raised one of his swords in defense, the impact resonating like a small thunderclap and making him retreat a few steps.
How does this bastard have so much strength? he wondered.
God had died in the Great War, so it was impossible that he was blessing Vasco. The only explanation would be that the man's will was so great that he could draw strength from where he had none.
Is this the potential of humans? Kokabiel had his doubts.
Meanwhile, Edward watched, the stone in his hand feeling like it carried the weight of thousands of kilograms. Time seemed to be running out. He also noticed that Vasco seemed to want to end the fight as quickly as possible due to his injuries.
"It's now or never..." Edward murmured to himself. His eyes focused on Kokabiel's back.
He knew that trying to hit Kokabiel's head would be stupid, besides, he doubted he could even hit him. And since that was the case, he decided to play it safe.
Yes, he would throw a rock at Kokabiel's back. Ironic, right?
The moment Kokabiel prepared for an attack, Edward cocked his arm back.
FWOOSH!
The rock flew, a small black projectile against the fallen one.
Kokabiel, focused on his fight, felt an unexpected impact. It wasn't magical, and it didn't feel like an attack.
"Hmm?"
For a moment he thought it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, but he felt it... There was someone a few meters behind him.
Turning his head to see who it was, he was startled.
Not because of the person behind him, but because he felt a strong gust of wind a few inches from his face.
"You were careless!"
Vasco's heavy voice sounded next to his ear, and before he could react, a flurry of punches imbued with sacred aura rained down on his body.
"ARGH!!" Kokabiel screamed in pain.
He, who had hundreds of years of battle experience, had been distracted by an attack that didn't even hurt him? Besides, he didn't even know what had been thrown at him.
"I did it!" Edward, now a few meters away, smiled upon seeing Vasco Strada beating up Kokabiel.
He didn't let his guard down because he knew that this alone was not enough to deal with the fallen one. Fortunately, the system seemed to consider his help sufficient, as a notification soon arrived.
[Congratulations host for completing the mission!]
[Issuing rewards...]
[Do you wish to claim them immediately?]
[Yes] [No]
Edward didn't have to think twice and claimed the rewards immediately. And as soon as he did, he felt something 'come out' of his back.
"Hmm? I didn't expect to be awakened so soon..." a deep voice sounded.
Albion? Edward deduced.
Finally... now that he had awakened his Sacred Gear, he wouldn't be so defenseless.
"Hey kid, normally I'd introduce myself, but you seem to be in some trouble," the voice sounded again, but this time with a touch of amusement.
"I guess so..."
Edward noticed that both Vasco Strada and Kokabiel were looking at him strangely.
Vasco Strada because he felt a huge dragon aura awaken near where he was.
Kokabiel because he saw that the one who had 'attacked' him was a child. No, it wasn't just a child... He had lived for thousands of years, and he knew what that pair of white dragon wings with eight 'feathers' of energy meant.
"Divine Dividing..." Kokabiel murmured, his eyes shining with malice.
Hearing Kokabiel's murmur, Vasco Strada, who knew a little about Longinus, analyzed Edward. And after a few seconds, a smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you for the help, child. If it weren't for your distraction, I would have gotten into trouble. But please, don't do this again. You are just a child and shouldn't be here." Although he was grateful, he was more concerned about Edward's safety, who in his eyes was another innocent child caught in this battle.
Sigh... He needed to notify the church to intensify their patrols in human cities where there were signs of the supernatural.
"Th- Thank you for your concern." Edward didn't know how to react to the old man's gentle tone.
That gentle voice didn't match the man's 200 kg body of muscle.
"Hahaha! You see that, Vasco Strada?! Even the Divine Dividing has appeared in this era. Soon this world will be in chaos, you know it yourself, when one of the two dragons awakens, the other won't be far behind. Hahaha!" Kokabiel, who was being held by the neck, laughed like a maniac.
"What do you know?" Vasco Strada gripped Kokabiel's neck tighter. He felt that the fallen one could not continue to live and was about to end his life.
Unfortunately, because he had been distracted by the awakening of the Divine Dividing, Kokabiel managed to summon another sword of light, which forced him to let go.
"This isn't over yet. Don't forget, you won't live for much longer, and when you're on the brink of death due to old age... Tsk, tsk," Kokabiel commented sarcastically.
Vasco Strada was about to pursue Kokabiel again, but he stopped.
That's because the magical barrier seemed to have been destroyed.
Kokabiel looked at the destroyed barrier and snorted in disgust.
The church's reinforcements had arrived. And he knew he couldn't stay there any longer.
Anyway, just knowing that the Divine Dividing had appeared again made his heart warm. He initially intended to kill the boy who had 'attacked' him, but after seeing that the boy was the wielder of the Divine Dividing, he changed his plans.
"Hey human child, you may not know, but those wings on your back may not necessarily be a good thing, you know that?" Kokabiel spoke sarcastically.
"Huh?"
This time it was Edward's turn to look at Kokabiel strangely.
What was this gray elf saying? The Divine Dividing wasn't good? What the hell...
Edward knew the plot of this world, so he was calm about wielding the Divine Dividing. Rivalry with the Boosted Gear? That was impossible, just look at the original story. Issei was more concerned with becoming the harem king than with a stupid rivalry between dragons.
"You don't seem to understand..." Kokabiel, seeing that Edward didn't seem interested, continued: "That pair of wings on your back is called the Divine Dividing, a Sacred Gear, more precisely one of the thirteen Longinus. A tool created by God to help humans... Tsk, what a fool."
What followed was Kokabiel explaining about Sacred Gears and how powerful they were.
Seriously... isn't this guy talking too much for someone who was almost killed just now? Edward wondered.
"In that case, boy, what do you think about joining me? You may not know, but I am Kokabiel, one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels. With my strength, I can make you the strongest wielder of the Divine Dividing." As if to prove what he was saying, five pairs of black wings appeared on Kokabiel's back.
Is this guy delusional? Why did he think Edward, a human, would join him?
Are all anime villains like this?
"Thanks, but I think I'll stick with the old man," Edward said, pointing to Vasco.
Vasco, feeling Edward's gaze, smiled.
"Y- you!" Kokabiel roared, a spear of light appearing in his hands.
If he couldn't have the boy, then the church definitely couldn't either.
Vasco, feeling that the spear of light in Kokabiel's hands was more powerful than all the previous ones, stepped in front of Edward. To him, it didn't matter if the boy was the wielder of a Longinus; he would not allow an innocent child to be hurt.
A sacred circle the size of a soccer ball appeared by his side, and without hesitation, Vasco Strada pushed his arm inside.
"That's..." Kokabiel murmured, a shiver running down his spine.
Pulling his arm from the circle, his hand, which was previously empty, now wielded a uniquely shaped broadsword with a blue blade and a golden edge.
Durandal! So he still hadn't returned it to the church. Edward initially thought that Vasco had returned the sword and that's why he wasn't using it, but it seemed he was mistaken.
Maybe the old man just wanted to farm aura with his fists and that's why he never used it.
"Kokabiel, if you take one more step..." Vasco didn't need to finish his sentence; the aura his body emitted said it all.
DEATH!
"Damn it..." Kokabiel murmured. Would he really let the Church gain another Longinus wielder?
But before he could say another word, he felt dozens of powerful auras coming in this direction.
So fast? They had broken the magic barrier just a few moments ago, and they were already arriving here?
"Very well... Don't regret your choice, child." Kokabiel swept his gaze over Edward one last time before flying off to who knows where.
Sigh. Edward was relieved to see Kokabiel leave. He thought Kokabiel would attack him even if he was being protected by Vasco. Although he was no longer afraid, it would still be bad, as it was possible he would have to waste his use of the Juggernaut Drive.
Vasco Strada also seemed relieved; after all, he was still injured and even though he didn't show it, he was tired.
"I'm getting old..." he murmured, but despite that, he still had a smile on his face. He was confident that the next generation would surpass him. Especially since the church was already training a Longinus wielder. And now... Looking at Edward, he felt that another could soon join the church.
"So child, what is your name?" he asked.
--x--
a/n 2.0:
This chapter was tough to write. Seriously, I've got the ideas in my head but just can't put them into words. If anyone's got tips on how to do it, please help this poor soul out.
At least I hit my 2.5k word goal in a chapter. Well... maybe this'll be the only one? I don't know, see you in the next chapter.