God is dead.
While Rias, Koneko, and the other devils were shocked by this revelation, they didn't have any deeper reaction. After all, the Biblical God was essentially their enemy. There was no need to mourn a foe's death.
Kiba Yuuto smiled bitterly. He had been a victim of the Church's Holy Sword Project before escaping and being saved by Rias. Compared to God, he valued Rias far more now, feeling only regret for his fallen comrades.
But for devoted believers like Xenovia and Asia, this news was devastating. They firmly believed that the world operated solely under God's love and blessing. To hear that God was dead was tantamount to the world collapsing.
And yet, amid this heavy atmosphere, Jeanne Alter casually remarked:
"Oh, so what?"
Her tone was utterly dismissive, indifferent.
Kokabiel's laughter abruptly died in his throat.
Though his face had been charred beyond recognition by Jeanne Alter's flames, one could easily imagine his current expression was probably quite sour.
Kokabiel thrived on chaos. All his actions, including starting wars, were simply to satisfy his twisted amusement. Revealing that "God is dead" at this critical moment, savoring everyone's despairing reactions—was exactly his kind of twisted enjoyment.
But now, Jeanne Alter's utter indifference robbed him of his enjoyment. He had tried to break her composure, yet she remained unaffected, leaving Kokabiel himself shaken.
"How can you be so unmoved?! Did you not hear me? Or do you doubt my words? God is dead! He died during that war! Or are you not Jeanne d'Arc at all?!"
"Yes, yes, God's dead, you've repeated it enough times already. I heard you clearly."
Jeanne Alter irritably dug at her ear, increasing the pressure on her foot crushing Kokabiel, making him sink deeper into the scorched crystal ground, the surface crackling beneath her weight.
"You seem quite proud of yourself, acting like God's death had anything to do with you. Fallen Angels and those Four Great Maou at most were just the final straw that broke the camel's back. Do you honestly believe yourself that important?"
"Lies!"
Kokabiel furiously tried to push himself up, but Jeanne Alter ruthlessly stomped on his head, driving him back down.
"Hah! This pathetic sight suits you perfectly. The mighty Fallen Angel groveling under a mere human's feet—how does it feel? You're nothing more than a frog trapped at the bottom of a well, arrogantly believing the small patch of sky above you is the entire world."
Jeanne Alter's lips twisted into a sadistic smile. A sense of cruel amusement stirred within her.
"Fine, then. Let me enlighten you. The Biblical God was far stronger than you could ever imagine. Had He seriously wanted your Fallen Angel and Devil factions exterminated, He could've done it with a flick of His finger. But that God was an idiot. He didn't just protect humans and angels; He also wanted to shield devils and Fallen Angels alike. Arrogant, right? Stupid, isn't it?"
Kokabiel struggled even harder. Jeanne Alter's claims undoubtedly sounded absurd to him. If he could speak now, he would surely scoff at her words.
In fact, not only Kokabiel but even Rias and her peerage found Jeanne Alter's statement a bit ridiculous. Yet the sheer confidence behind her voice and expression compelled them to keep listening.
"In the Bible, God created the world in seven days. Revelation speaks of the seven churches, the Seven Spirits of God, the seven seals, the seven bowls. The number '7' constantly appears associated with God. Thus, '7' represents perfection, the divine number—777 is the number of the Biblical God."
"Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, symbolizes infinity, the ouroboros. Her number is '8'. Thus, Ophis is '888'."
"Great Red, the True Red Dragon God Emperor, who drove Ophis out of the Dimensional Gap, surpasses even infinity's '8'. His number is the ultimate transcendent '9', hence '999'."
Jeanne Alter spoke slowly, sarcastically.
"To simplify it further for that walnut-sized brain of yours: the Biblical God was only below Ophis and Great Red in terms of strength. Forget Fallen Angels and devils—even if you had allied with Greek or Norse pantheons, you wouldn't have defeated Him."
"This world once faced an unimaginable calamity. Beings at Ophis's or God's level could have easily avoided involvement and survived unharmed. Yet that God—idiotic, overly kind fool that He was—decided to confront this calamity alone to protect all life in this world."
"Though He successfully prevented that disaster from consuming the world, He suffered severe wounds and lost much of His power. Instead of recovering properly, that benevolent fool wasted strength creating countless [Sacred Gears] and even Longinus-class weapons, subduing the rampaging Heavenly Dragons, and dealing with the troublesome Fallen Angels and Four Great Maou. Eventually, to end the war, He sacrificed His own life, annihilating many warmongers including the Four Great Maou. Only then did the three factions, nearly extinct, finally lay down their arms and usher in peace."
This shocking revelation stunned everyone into silence. They had barely absorbed the news of God's death, only to now be hit with an even more astonishing truth.
Suddenly, a transparent shockwave struck Jeanne Alter, stirring her hair and cloak, shattering the crystallized ground.
"You're lying!"
Kokabiel furiously shouted as soon as he got the chance. "Only I survived that war! Only I witnessed it! My words are the truth! You've never even seen God!"
"That's exactly why I call you a pitiful frog at the bottom of a well."
Jeanne Alter sneered coldly, disdain evident in her fiery eyes.
"A mere survivor of that war—do you think that's impressive? Go ahead and doubt! Carry your precious truth to your grave and burn with it!"
"Wait! Stop!"
A distant shout of protest came, but Jeanne Alter ignored it completely.
With a clean sweep of her banner, Kokabiel's body was split cleanly in two from the waist.
"AAAAAHHHHH—JEANNE!!!"
With a final cry of rage and despair, Kokabiel's figure vanished into flames, his long existence reduced to ashes scattered by the wind.
The Fallen Angel recorded in the Bible, the one who survived the war that claimed both God and the Maou, ended his life as nothing more than drifting ash.
Sword in one hand, banner flourishing dramatically in the other, Jeanne Alter lazily tilted her head toward the voice's origin.
The two figures descending from the sky were none other than Azazel and Vali, who had chased after her following their previous battle.
Azazel had called out just now, hoping to spare Kokabiel, and now he watched Jeanne Alter with clear regret.
"Oh? Did you intend to avenge your subordinate?"
Jeanne Alter smirked challengingly, her eyes burning with anticipation for another fight. Azazel quickly raised his hands in a gesture of peace.
"Please spare me that. Your ability is just too weird. I've lived for a long time and have never met someone like you."
Azazel smiled wryly.
"Avenge Kokabiel? Frankly, I was fed up with him long ago. A troublesome warmonger causing endless headaches—this entire mess was his doing behind my back. I'd hoped to at least punish him ourselves since he was a high-ranking Fallen Angel. But since you've already killed him, we won't interfere further."
Azazel shrugged helplessly.
Suddenly, a startled cry rang out nearby.
"EHHHHHHHH?!"
Hyoudou Issei stared at Azazel, pointing and trembling. "Y-you…you're that customer who kept summoning me?!"
"It wasn't in my plans to reveal myself under these circumstances. I'd planned to interact with you a bit longer."
Azazel turned to Issei and greeted him familiarly, smiling casually.
"Yo, devil boy…no, I should say Red Dragon Emperor."
Issei stared blankly, utterly confused. Forget God's death; discovering the friendly regular customer was actually a Fallen Angel stunned him far more.
Moreover, those wings…six pairs, twelve in total, even more than Kokabiel.
Which meant…
"The Governor-General of Fallen Angels, Azazel!"
Rias's furious voice trembled as she spoke.
"You dare invade my territory and interfere with my peerage's affairs? What is the meaning of this?!"
"It's nothing serious. Just a personal interest in this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. Actually, the one beside me is even more interested."
Azazel smiled gently, indicating Vali beside him.
At this point, the two Heavenly Dragons—Ddraig and Albion—began conversing, briefly turning their attention away from each other and onto Jeanne Alter. Azazel, intrigued by Jeanne Alter's abnormal affinity for dragons, approached cautiously, hands raised non-threateningly, afraid that she'd blast him at the slightest provocation.
"What?"
Jeanne Alter scowled fiercely at Azazel, clearly displeased.
"Relax, I'm no enemy. There's just something I'd like clarified."
Suddenly serious, Azazel spoke carefully:
"Those things you mentioned earlier…can you explain further?"
"Specifically…the true reason behind God's death, and the calamity that wounded Him so gravely."