The sudden intruder wore pure-white armor embedded with gem-like spheres, his face entirely concealed beneath the imposing helmet.
Eight wings of radiant light sprouted from his back, exuding an almost sacred brilliance.
A powerful dragonic aura surged from his body.
A white dragon in human form—this was exactly the impression he gave.
Yet at this moment, he was utterly stunned. Even with his face hidden beneath the helmet, the profound shock emanating from him was evident.
He wasn't the only one surprised. The fallen angel, the middle-aged man known as Azazel, was equally baffled.
"...Vali? What just happened?"
Azazel had clearly seen Vali's fiercely accelerating fist, poised to strike the woman overflowing with impossibly vast magical energy—only to suddenly halt, as if the woman had done something. But Azazel couldn't understand exactly what had occurred.
This was too strange…
"…I don't know either."
The voice emanating from beneath the sinister helmet clearly carried Vali's shock.
"You pulled back the moment you saw her face clearly—do you know her?"
"No, I'm certain this is the first time I've ever seen her face."
The helmet's eyes flashed with an eerie azure glow as Vali quietly explained, trying to process what he'd felt moments earlier. "I can't explain exactly what happened, but…my body seemed to instinctively refuse to fight her. As soon as I tried to attack, my limbs froze. I couldn't even summon hostility toward her."
Hearing Vali's description, Azazel was completely bewildered.
What the hell is this? Why does it sound so much like charm magic?
And why is it only affecting Fafnir and Vali? Why do I feel nothing at all?
"Hey! Having fun chatting and leaving me out, are you? Want me to burn you two together into a neat pile of ashes?"
Jeanne Alter's metallic banner slammed into the charred earth as her voice interrupted them, golden eyes blazing with unending wrath.
The moment her gaze swept over them, both Vali and Azazel felt their hearts seize up, bodies instinctively tensing.
Azazel kept his eyes firmly on Jeanne Alter and asked Vali softly, "Can you still fight, Vali?"
"It doesn't look good…" Vali responded grimly. "The moment I even think of attacking her, my body stiffens horribly. I'd probably only be able to use 30 or 40 percent of my strength. Hey, Azazel, who the hell is this woman, and why were you fighting her in the first place?"
"To be honest, I'm just as clueless as you are…" Azazel offered a bitter smile.
Vali was weaker than him, and with his strength suppressed to less than half, he'd be taken out instantly if he joined the battle. Although Vali wielded the Sacred Gear [Divine Dividing], capable of halving an opponent's power and absorbing it, Jeanne Alter's mana seemed nearly infinite—Vali risked bursting if he even tried.
"Hey! You with the black feathers," Jeanne Alter interrupted Azazel's thoughts again. "What's your name?"
"Huh?"
"Both Fafnir and that white dragon-guy called you Azazel." Jeanne Alter raised the golden short sword containing Fafnir, questioning him. "Is that your name?"
"Oh? Wanting to know my name before killing me—is it for engraving on my tombstone?" Azazel laughed openly. "That's right, I'm Azazel, Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, and—"
"I couldn't care less about your titles or whether you're Assassin, Sam, or from Kazakhstan." Jeanne Alter rudely cut off Azazel's introduction. "I only want to know one thing: are you Kobe?"
"…Huh?"
An awkward silence descended, punctuated only by imaginary crows squawking overhead.
"What do you mean 'huh'? Just answer yes or no," Jeanne Alter demanded impatiently, fire blossoming in her hand as a savage gleam filled her eyes, increasing the pressure on Azazel. "If you're Kobe, you die now. If you're not, tell me where that bastard Kobe is, and then you can die. Waste my time, and I'll roast you on a cross for seven days before burning you to death!"
"Why do I have to die no matter what I answer!?"
She's completely insane! Azazel was at the verge of tears. He was Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, and even he had no clue who this "Kobe" was supposed to be!
Just as the flames were about to engulf him and burn his hair off, Azazel suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"W-W-Wait! The fallen angel you're after—isn't it Kokabiel?"
"Yeah! That's the bastard, Coca-Cola or whatever." Jeanne Alter thrust her banner next to Azazel's face, piercing the scorched earth and kicking up dust. Her icy voice rang clearly in Azazel's ear. "So, are you that Coca-whatever?"
Despite the ridiculousness of the nicknames she used, Azazel forced down his instinctive urge to retort. To avoid having that banner piercing the earth pierce his skull next, he hurriedly explained.
"I'm the head honcho, Azazel, Governor-General of the Fallen Angels. I have six pairs of wings. Kokabiel, who you're looking for, is just a fallen angel cadre with five pairs of wings—you've got the wrong guy."
"Hmm… I see," Jeanne Alter murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She seemed convinced by Azazel's explanation.
Azazel breathed an inward sigh of relief.
However, in the very next instant, cold metal flashed toward him. He yelped and hurriedly dodged, narrowly avoiding the sharp banner's tip.
"Why!?" Azazel shouted frantically. "I told you already, I'm not Kokabiel! You've got the wrong guy!"
"What if you're lying?" Jeanne Alter's vicious grin widened. "When you're unsure who the real culprit is, the simplest, most effective method is to kill everyone suspicious."
Fake Golden Spirit: courage, kindness, justice.
Real Golden Spirit: beat everyone up!
"You're being totally unreasonable!" Azazel screamed, teetering on mental collapse.
Jeanne Alter continued relentlessly, "Every fallen angel I've met so far—Raynare, Kokabiel—they've all been villains. And since you're the boss of fallen angels, doesn't that make you the super villain? Sneaking into this town without permission—you're clearly plotting some conspiracy. Better off dead. Killing fallen angels can't possibly be the wrong thing to do."
"That's wrong! Wrong! I'm a good guy! I've turned over a new leaf long ago! I'm seriously not a villain anymore—believe me!" Azazel desperately protested, wishing he could go somewhere quiet and cry.
This woman clearly wasn't listening to him at all, utterly insane yet frighteningly strong. Women are terrifying, Azazel concluded miserably. He'd rather bury himself alone in artifact research than deal with any more women.
Even worse—while he was desperately fleeing Jeanne Alter's flaming pursuit—Vali was just standing off to the side, watching?
Azazel: Vali! Why are you just standing there watching?! Have you really betrayed me?!
Vali: (Eating popcorn emoji)
Truthfully, Vali wasn't just watching the show—he had learned from Albion, the White Dragon Emperor residing within him, why he couldn't attack Jeanne Alter. Her unique charisma, capable of commanding dragons, even influenced the legendary Two Heavenly Dragons. Vali, as the current wielder of [Divine Dividing], was similarly affected.
If Jeanne Alter directly attacked him, he could resist. But since her aggression was entirely focused on Azazel, Vali couldn't muster the willpower to attack her.
Vali's expression soured further—he'd never encountered such a humiliating fight.
Just then, something changed.
Jeanne Alter, busy chasing Azazel with fireballs, suddenly halted, turning sharply to stare in another direction. Azazel and Vali sensed it too.
"That aura…"
"No mistake. That's Kokabiel's aura. He's openly announcing himself—so, he's finally making a move."
Without further care for Azazel, Jeanne Alter snarled irritably and took off at full speed, heading straight for Kuoh Academy.
---
Despite it being daytime, the sky above Kuoh Academy was bathed in ominous yellow hues, like a sandstorm blotting out the sun—a vision of doom.
On a throne of stone, a man stretched out his five pairs of black wings, a terrifying aura suffocating the entire academy.
He watched from above like a puppeteer or a theater spectator, observing the struggles below with dark amusement.
Cerberus, the legendary hellhound, was terrifying enough—but Kokabiel had summoned three at once, greatly troubling Rias and her peerage.
Sona Sitri was also present, though she hadn't joined the battle directly. Along with the Student Council, she maintained a barrier around the academy, not to contain Kokabiel (impossible for a ten-winged fallen angel), but to prevent collateral damage.
The Church members, Irina and Xenovia, had awoken, though their sacred swords had been taken by Jeanne Alter. Irina thus aided Sona in sustaining the barrier, while Xenovia joined the fight wielding [Durandal].
Under Kokabiel's overwhelming threat, old grudges were temporarily forgotten.
Asia was present as well, having ventured out to buy ice cream for Ophis, only to stumble upon the chaos.
Another hellhound fell. Yuuto Kiba raised his sword, eyes clear, confronting the elderly priest Valper Galilei.
"This is my [Balance Breaker]—[Sword of Betrayer]. A sword possessing both holy and demonic attributes. I swear on the memory of my fallen comrades, no more innocents will suffer because of you, Valper Galilei!"
Valper stared at the sword in disbelief. "Impossible…Holy and demonic energies combined…? Could it mean…that even God himself…"
But before Valper could voice his shocking realization, a spear of light pierced his chest.
Kokabiel stood laughing wickedly.
"I'm sick of this disgusting peace! With you sisters of the Maous dead, war will finally resume. This time, fallen angels shall be the sole victors!"