Due to their earlier misjudgment of the enemy's intentions, everyone was now at a disadvantage.
After all, who would have thought that Kokabiel was nothing more than a battle-crazed maniac?
He had no schemes, no elaborate plots. He simply wanted destruction and chaos, to fight for the sake of fighting. Enemies like that, with something clearly wrong in their heads, were the hardest to predict.
Ryuya and the others immediately teleported toward Kuoh Academy, while Sona quickly began setting up a large-scale barrier.
There was no one left in the academy. Thanks to Rias's earlier warning, Sona had already issued a notice, evacuating all students and teachers in advance.
As expected, the authority of the student council president carried considerable weight.
"With this barrier, unless something truly outrageous happens, it shouldn't affect the outside world."
Sona maintained the barrier together with all of her peerage. Even as she spoke, her expression remained troubled.
"To be honest, if Kokabiel truly attacks without restraint, with his power, destroying this entire city isn't impossible. Whether this barrier can actually hold… is still uncertain."
At that moment, Akeno spoke up, "I've already informed the Demon King. He told us to hold out for one hour."
Rias let out a soft sigh. She had originally hoped to avoid relying on her older brother, but the current situation had clearly gone beyond what she could handle.
"One hour… I understand."
She then turned to Ryuya.
"Do you have any good ideas?"
Perhaps because Ryuya had surprised her too many times before, she instinctively sought his opinion now.
But this enemy was far too powerful. Even Ryuya couldn't guarantee anything, and simply replied quietly:
"We'll take it one step at a time."
"…Alright. It's fine. We'll handle it together."
Rias gazed into the academy grounds, likely in the direction where Kokabiel was. A trace of anger flickered in her eyes.
After today, Kuoh Academy would probably be left in ruins.
Ryuya, however, spoke calmly:
"Rias, set up the battlefield. I need to use Promotion."
"Understood. The enemy's location will be designated as the battlefield. Once you get there, you'll be able to use Promotion."
Rias immediately issued the command.
Unfortunately, she couldn't allow Ryuya to promote freely at any time. That was simply how devil chess pieces worked. As a Pawn, Promotion could only be used upon reaching the enemy's "base." It was an absolute condition.
Although the "enemy base" could technically be anywhere, it had to be the opponent's most important stronghold.
And right now, wherever Kokabiel was located was undoubtedly that very place. Ryuya would have to fight his way there before he could activate Promotion.
"We'll leave the inside to you," Sona said with a serious expression. They had to focus on maintaining the barrier.
Rias nodded and led everyone into the academy.
Arriving at the location where the pillar of light shot into the sky, Ryuya immediately spotted a fat old man in a white lab coat standing in the middle of the empty field.
In front of him, four Holy Swords floated in four different directions. Around them were intricate magic circles, their glowing patterns converging into a massive central formation.
It looked like he was extracting power from the four Holy Swords.
"Heh… almost there, almost there. Don't be in such a hurry. I'll take good care of you all soon enough."
The fat old man spoke with a chuckle, his eyes filled with anticipation.
The moment Rias saw him, her expression darkened.
"Valper Galilei… the executor of the Holy Sword Project…"
"Oh? You actually recognize me. I'm honored."
"What exactly are you trying to do!?"
Hearing that, Valper replied to Rias with a delighted expression, "I'm going to fuse the four Excaliburs!"
Ryuya narrowed his eyes. Even a single Holy Sword posed a serious threat to devils. If all four were combined into one… that would be extremely troublesome.
At that moment, an impatient voice came from the sky.
"Valper, how much longer?"
Everyone looked up.
Kokabiel was seated high above, framed by the moon, lounging arrogantly on a throne with one leg crossed over the other, his expression utterly relaxed.
"At most five minutes, Kokabiel."
"Heh, good. I'll leave it to you then," the fallen angel said with a pleased smile. "Perfect timing. Before the main event begins, letting you serve as a bit of entertainment isn't a bad idea."
He looked at Rias with a grin.
"Will Sirzechs come? Or perhaps Serafall?"
"Who knows? Maybe both of them will show up together. When that happens, you might not be able to escape," Rias sneered coldly.
"Heh, now that would be something to look forward to."
Kokabiel laughed freely, and in the next instant, he made his move.
A massive spear of holy light materialized out of thin air, carrying an overwhelming aura of destruction as it descended from the heavens!
Ryuya and the others all felt their bodies grow heavy, crushed under an immense pressure. Even so, Ryuya coordinated with Rias and Akeno, successfully activating a teleportation spell and taking Koneko and Asia away from the spot.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The gymnasium that had stood at their original location was completely gone, replaced by a massive crater. At the bottom of it, the enormous spear of light remained embedded.
The power of that casual attack alone already surpassed Rias and the others, who were high-class devils!
"Tch, how pitifully weak. Oh well, you can play with the pets I brought back from hell."
Kokabiel sneered disdainfully, seemingly too lazy to act further, and directly activated a magic circle.
Moments later, two enormous figures appeared.
As they slowly emerged from the darkness, Rias and the others' expressions changed drastically.
They were two gigantic demonic hounds, nearly ten meters tall, each with three heads. Their thick limbs ended in terrifying claws as sharp as blades, and long fangs jutted out from their jaws.
"Cerberus!? And two of them at that… That bastard actually brought them here from the gates of the Underworld!"
Rias's expression turned grim.
These were the legendary beasts also known as the Hellhounds!
Ryuya's gaze sharpened as he glanced toward Valper. The fusion of the Holy Swords was still ongoing.
There was no time. They had to find a way to interrupt it.
His eyes swept toward the two hellhounds, and without hesitation, he activated Promotion!
His rank rose directly to Queen.
A surge of overwhelming power flooded through his body. Compared to his last promotion, the increase this time felt even greater.
At the same time, the effect of the chess piece manifested. Ryuya's figure overlapped for a moment, and then an identical version of him stepped out from his original body.
Summoning the Sword of Kings and the Shield of Divine, Ryuya spoke to Rias and the others:
"I'll take one. You handle the other."
"Good! Let's wipe them out completely!" Rias's fighting spirit surged, her morale soaring.
…
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