At that moment, a demonic energy bullet—fired from somewhere—came flying toward Issei…
"Tch!"
He guarded instantly, but receiving a magic bullet far more powerful than Diodora's, his body was blasted away. The damage was minimal, but it had successfully separated Issei from Diodora.
"You're finally here!?... Tch, you're late!!"
"Hmph! I came only because the contract compelled me, but this is utterly pathetic... As expected of a false Satan's bloodline, your standing is simply different from us, the true Demon Lords."
Diodora's face twisted with displeasure at the scornful voice of the man who had suddenly appeared. Looking toward the voice, there stood a devil with long black hair, dressed in noble-style clothing.
"...Who are you?"
"Hmph, the sister of the false Satan, Sirzechs... My name is Creuserey Asmodeus. A successor of the legitimate, true Demon Lord."
"The Old Satan Faction...!"
'So, Diodora's reinforcements. A pain, but I have to deal with them.' As Issei thought that, two men revealed themselves from behind Creuserey. To his surprise, he recognized both faces.
"Yahooo, long time no see~!!"
"Freed Sellzen...!"
Xenovia directed a gaze filled with anger at him.
Freed Sellzen. A former exorcist of the Church and a fated enemy of theirs.
During the 'Holy Sword Incident,' he had been severely wounded by Yumi and vanished, presumed dead. So he was still alive. And the other one—
"Valper Galilei!!"
Yumi was unusually showing intense emotion.
No wonder. Valper Galilei was a former Archbishop of the Church, the man who spearheaded the 'Holy Sword Project.' To Yumi, he was a sworn enemy.
After the 'Holy Sword Incident,' he should have been captured by the Church and awaiting punishment. Why was he here!?
"Oh? You look surprised I'm alive? Actually, after that, I got laid off by Azazel, see~. Fallen Angels are just so cheap and no good~. But when one god throws you away, another picks you up... oh, wait, there are no gods here. Whatever. In the end, I was picked up by the 'Khaos Brigade'~, and embarrassingly enough, here I am back again☆."
"Hmm, I owe Diodora a debt for helping me escape prison. I'll lend a hand."
Valper took out a jewel from his robe and raised it above his head. As the jewel emitted light, the surrounding demons suddenly began to writhe in agony.
"Ugh, uuuugh...."
"W-what is this...!?"
"Ah, it's hot... UGYAAAAHH!!"
What the hell!? Their bodies were transforming. They changed into monstrous forms—werewolves, were-tigers, lizardmen, and other such magical beasts.
"What did you do, Valper!?"
At Yumi's voice, Valper grinned nastily.
"Kukuku, within the 'Khaos Brigade,' there is a possessor of a high-tier Sacred Gear called [Beast Creation: Annihilation Maker]. By researching that Sacred Gear, we created something called 'Seeds of Magical Beasts.' We implanted them in everyone participating in this attack. So with just one signal from me... Behold."
'Damn, he is still a fucking sadistic bastard. Well, they are animals to begin with, so I don't feel sorry for them.' Issei thought.
"And... we too shall follow suit!!"
Valper and Freed also began to change.
Valper's body swelled to over twice its size, transforming into a monstrous frog-headed creature with abnormally long arms and snake-like scales covering its body.
Freed grew even larger than Valper, sprouting bat-like wings from his back, transforming into a four-armed, dragon-headed monster, a sword in each of its massive hands.
"Heeheehee! How's it look, Issei-boy? I've turned into such an ugly monster, yo☆ But I got suuuper powered up, so right now I could easily wreck you, Ze☆."
It was a deformed monster with not a single trace of Freed's former appearance left. If he wanted a fight, fine. Issei would settle the score with him once and for all! But before Issei could move, three figures stepped in front of him.
"Issei, let us handle this one."
"A traitor who kills his allies... As one of Michael-sama's [Brave Saints], I cannot allow this."
"I also... want to settle things with Freed."
Xenovia, Irina, and Raynare. To Xenovia and Irina, former warriors of the Church, and to their former superior, Raynare, Freed was an existence they could never forgive.
"Got it. He's all yours."
Issei left Freed to the three of them and called out to the other person who had come up behind him.
"You're okay handling Valper, right, Yumi?"
"Of course. Issei-kun, you should go to Asia's side."
Asia currently has Artoria, Kazuki's Queen, with her. Issei exchanged a high-five with Yumi and dashed off toward Asia.
…
The horde of devils transformed into magical beasts attacked Kazuki and the others. They were the same ones who had tried to assault Rias's group. They brought this on themselves, and he had zero intention of holding back.
Using gravity control to crush and immobilize the approaching swarm, Rias, Akeno, and Kuroka each unleashed their powers—destructive magic, lightning, and curse-infused bullets—to finish them off. Koneko finished off any stragglers.
While the magical beasts gained strength and speed, their intelligence seemed to drop, making them attack mindlessly.
To Kazuki's tightly coordinated group, they posed no real threat. Exterminating them had become mere routine work.
After repeating this routine about ten times, their numbers gradually dwindled.
Finally having a moment to breathe, Kazuki checked on his comrades…
Yumi slowly advanced toward Valper.
"To think you'd break out of prison... The Church has its problems too."
Letting Valper escape was an issue, but the fact that the Church had hidden it was an even bigger problem. She'd report it to lord Michael later. That should help clean out some of the rot in the upper echelons.
"Hmph, I have analyzed all of your abilities. With the power of a magical beast added to my own, I have no blind spots! After making you suffer thoroughly, I shall use you once more as experimental material!"
"...In that case, should I say I'm glad you broke out? It means I can finish you off with my own hands."
Yumi created swords and fired them. Valper, seemingly overly confident in his defense, didn't bother to dodge.
"Fool! I told you your abilities are already analyzed—GYAAAAAAAAAAHH!!?"
The Meteor hit its mark, and Valper cried out in pain. Yumi continued firing swords one after another.
"GU-GYAAAAHH! I-Impossible!? Your demonic swords shouldn't affect me—"
"Demon swords, maybe. But tough luck. What I'm firing now are 'Holy Swords.'"
"!!?"
During the 'Holy Sword Incident,' Yumi's soul had fused with her comrades' souls. As a result, she inherited their Holy Sword factors and gained the ability to use Holy Swords.
This had an unexpected side effect. She acquired a second Sacred Gear, [Blade Blacksmith], the counterpart to her [Sword Birth], allowing her to create Holy Swords.
Holy Swords are especially effective not only against devils but also against magical beasts and monsters.
It seemed this power was effective against Valper, who had changed using those 'Seeds of Magical Beasts.'
"GAH! Impossible... Acquiring a second Sacred Gear after birth is unthinkable!?"
"Normally, yes. But my soul houses the feelings of everyone you killed, you bastard. Those feelings make the impossible possible and grant me power!"
"GU-GYAAAAAAAAAAHH!!"
Yumi continued firing Holy Swords. Countless Holy Swords now pierced Valper's body.
"Impossible... For a defective experiment like you to gain strength beyond my predictions..."
"Your overconfidence in your defense, carelessly taking my Meteor, was your downfall. You said you analyzed my abilities, right? Then what if I told you that every Holy Sword I shot at you was all endowed with attributes?"
"You couldn't possibly—!!"
Yes, every Holy Sword Yumi shot was imbued with the lightning attribute. Unlike during the Sitri rating game, where she surrounded the area, this time she shot them directly into his body. The power was incomparable to her [Sword Birth: Thunder Jail].
"W-wait—"
"Go play with the Reaper in hell, Valper Galilei."
She snapped the fingers of the hand she had raised above her head. Instantly, the Holy Swords piercing Valper glowed with a pale blue light—
CRACKLE CRUNCH CRACKLE-BZZZZZZZZZTT!!
Amidst the tremendous roar and blinding lightning, Valper's body charred into carbon. In the deafening noise that swallowed even his screams, Valper Galilei was annihilated, not even his bones remaining.
"It's truly over now, everyone..."
Placing her left fist over her heart, Yumi Kiba closed her eyes as if in prayer.
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