Since they wanted to rely solely on themselves to defeat Kokabiel, the women brought Asia along as their healer. Asia, with a strange aura that made people naturally drawn to her, had become someone these women wanted to protect. Even Yusuke liked her quite a bit, though not in a sexual way.
She could have had a great relationship with everyone if it weren't for the invisible barrier she always put up between herself and everyone except Yusuke. She always appeared as a timid girl who could start crying at any moment, making others cautious not to upset her, though the only one who barely cared about that was Raynare.
"Twilight Healing that can heal Devils, and also that boy's Holy-Demonic sword." Kokabiel flew into the air, his expression looking miserable, but he still tried to maintain a haughty appearance, positioning himself with the moon behind him and speaking in an arrogant tone. "His death has caused many things that should have been impossible to happen."
A pink pillar of fire shot through the air, slamming toward him, but it was stopped by a magic formation. Aika cursed, "Old piece of shit, you are so persistent! Just die!" They had been attacking this bastard for nearly a quarter of an hour, yet they still hadn't managed to finish him off.
"What is he saying?" Xenovia frowned, sensing that Kokabiel was speaking about something important.
"That boy's Balance Breaker, holy and demonic power, the polar opposite of two things that cannot merge, had merged in his hands," Kokabiel said calmly while hurling more holy spears, each one pelting down like rain.
Valper Galilei, still on his knees and unable to believe what had just happened, kept staring blankly. Freed had been defeated even while wielding the fused Excalibur, and now Kiba's Balance Breaker existed on top of that. Hearing Kokabiel's words jogged something in his mind, "...I see! I get it now! Holy and demonic. It makes sense if the beings that represent the two become unbalanced! Then not only the Maou but the God has also..."
Poof!
Suddenly, one of the spears of light drilled through his back and burst out from his stomach before exploding, reducing the fat old man to ashes.
"Useless trash, I should be the one saying that. Why are you bouncing around, interrupting me?" Kokabiel sneered while resisting the telekinetic force that had been dragging him downward since earlier. He slipped past two more Fire Dragon Roars.
"You killed him!" Kiba's eyes went red as if he wanted to tear Kokabiel apart with his teeth. Valper was supposed to die by his hand, not explode like overcooked popcorn.
"Calm down, buddy, he's already dead," Issei walked over and patted his back, doing his best impression of a responsible adult. "You should let it go now; the whole thing is done."
"Yeah, your friends wouldn't want you dragging yourself around with hatred. Live for yourself so they can smile at you from the heavens," Saji added as he walked over with a gentle smile, then froze. "Eghh! Damn it! Just saying the heavens hurt!" He clutched his head.
"You guys..." Kiba stared at the two of them, eyes trembling as tears slipped down his face. He had lost his friends, but somehow gained new ones along the way. 'Everyone, watch over me, I'll try to live a better life.' He lifted his head toward the sky, offering a quiet prayer.
"What are you doing?" Irina noticed Xenovia suddenly walking toward the fight and called out to her.
"I've been feeling useless this whole fight. I didn't do anything," Xenovia said while gripping Durandal with both hands. A wide grin spread across her face. "I'm going out there to smack that old bastard around and make Yusuke see me in a new light."
The two were supposed to be dealing with Valper and Freed, but the astonishing power displayed by the other women left them frozen, watching the fight in shock. Rias and Koneko were in a similar situation, as they were supposed to be helping too.
Fighting an Ultimate-class Fallen Angel was dangerous, but wasn't that all the more exciting? If she got severely injured, wouldn't Yusuke panic and feel guilty for her? Maybe he would finally realize his true feelings for her and vow to be with her forever.
Yanderes may differ from one another, but some of their traits are very similar. Somehow, many of the women fighting right now were thinking along similar lines, either getting injured on purpose to guilt Yusuke into paying more attention to them or trying to awaken the supposedly true love he had for them, just like Xenovia believed.
This woman's Yandere mind didn't even consider for a moment that it was literally impossible for Yusuke to be in love with her, since they had just met for one single day. She believed that because she had fallen for him at first sight, he must feel the same way. He had to be in love with her just as much!
"Xenovia, I love you! You are the only woman I need in my life."
"Will you marry me?"
"Let's be together forever!"
"I love you! I love you! I love you!"
Scenes of Yusuke confessing his overwhelming love to her, proposing, marrying her, and living together as a couple in a remote part of northern Europe kept flashing through her mind.
"Haaa!" Xenovia felt a surge of unprecedented power coursing through her body, a strength she had never experienced before. Without thinking, she rushed toward the battlefield with a loud cry and swung her sword, sending a massive golden sword aura crashing toward Kokabiel.
Kokabiel barely paid attention to her attack, giving it only a single glance as a magic circle appeared to easily block it. He twisted his body to the side just as Murayama's sword flashed past, cutting through the spot where he had just been.
He pointed at Xenovia and Murayama, firing two beams of pure holy light while saying, "To think that even after losing the masters you serve, you devils and followers of God can still improve and fight!"
"...What do you mean?" Sona asked, her voice tinged with doubt.
Kokabiel began laughing aloud, as if he found it truly amusing. "Fuhahahahahaha! That's right! I completely forgot! The truth hasn't been revealed to you, lowly ones! Then I will tell you. In the war between the three factions, not only the four Maous but also God died!"
"Impossible!"
"Bullshit!"
Irina and Xenovia were the first to react. Their faces twisted in rage, and Irina rushed forward, completely ignoring the enormous gap in strength between them as she attacked him.
For the two of them, their faith in God had been the core of their entire lives. It shaped their identity, their purpose, and almost every choice they ever made. Anyone who insulted God would face their wrath, let alone someone claiming that He was dead.
How could God die?!
"This can't be! It must be a lie… he must be lying." Asia's legs wobbled, and she slumped to the ground, staring at Kokabiel's figure in the sky with trembling eyes.
"Pitiful, truly pitiful." Kokabiel laughed mockingly and shook his head. "It's normal for you not to know. Who would dare announce that God is dead? Humans can barely control their own hearts even when they think someone is watching them from above. Take that away, and the whole system collapses. Even we, fallen angels and devils, avoid telling the ones under us. You never know who will leak it. Among the three factions, only those at the top and a handful of others know the truth. Valper just happened to figure it out earlier."
For a moment, everyone froze, even the Yanderes who usually reacted first stood there stunned. Even Yusuke looked taken aback. Kokabiel glanced at Asia, Irina, and Xenovia with a mocking smirk and continued talking.
"After the War, what remained were angels who lost their God, devils who lost their Maou, and the majority of their high class, and fallen angels who lost almost everyone except their leaders. It wasn't just exhaustion. Every faction fell so low that they had to rely on humans to continue their bloodlines. Angels and fallen angels, especially since they can only reproduce by mating with humans. Fallen angels can still increase when an angel falls, but pure angels can no longer grow in number without God. Even pure devils are rare, right?"
"...Lies...it's a lie..." Xenovia's legs trembled and her grip loosened. That panicked look on her face was hard to watch. Someone like her, someone who lived by serving God as her reason to breathe, couldn't accept something like this. If God didn't exist anymore, then the mission she built her entire life on would crumble, and so would she.
"Impossible... Impossible... It had to be a lie!" Irina's reaction blew past Xenovia's completely. She was far more devoted than either Xenovia or Asia. Dropping to her knees, she curled up on the ground like she was trying to protect herself from a storm only she could see, muttering through her tears.
The truth hit both of them in the cruelest way possible. It felt like someone had walked up and rejected their entire existence, tearing apart everything they believed in and telling them their lives had been one giant lie.
"...God doesn't exist? God is dead? Then the love we were given by him is..." Asia sat on the ground with Sona supporting her from the side. Her face looked completely bleak, her eyes losing every bit of light they had.
Kokabiel answered her with a laugh, "Exactly. There is no love from God and no divine protection. God has already gone. Michael is doing fine, though. He stepped in to look after angels and humans. As long as the system God left behind still works, prayers, blessings, and exorcisms will function. But compared to when God was alive, believers have decreased. That kid with the Holy demonic sword over there managed to create it only because the balance between God and the Maou collapsed. Normally, holy power and demonic power cannot mix. Once the beings who governed those powers disappeared, all kinds of strange things began to happen."
"So what if God is dead! We still have Yusuke!" Her voice echoed across the ruined schoolyard. Even as a reincarnated Devil, the revelation had shaken her for a moment, but she pulled herself back fast. She jabbed her finger at Kokabiel, eyes blazing. "Get your shit together! This bastard is saying all this just to mess with our heads and buy time to prepare his strongest attacks!"
She moved like lightning and shot into the air toward Kokabiel, cutting his speech short.
What she said was true. Kokabiel absolutely intended to drop the truth to rattle them and squeeze out a moment to catch his breath and launch a stronger attack. They were still young, and it was painfully easy to shake their hearts with a few well-placed words.
Unfortunately for him, his opponents were insane Yanderes. Murayama's shout jolted Aika and the others back to their senses, and they resumed their attacks. "Old fuck, if even God is dead, why the fuck are you still alive?! Go follow him too!" Aika screamed as she leapt into the air, striking at him with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
'Yes! Yusuke-sama!'
'Yusuke-sama! I still have Yusuke-sama! Hehehe.'
Light returned to Asia's eyes as she slowly stood up, lowering her head and covering her face with both hands to hide the freaky, obsessive expression she was making. She screamed in her mind, 'Yusuke-sama is all I need! Even if the Lord is gone, I still have Yusuke-sama! Yusuke-sama!'
'I love you! Yusuke-sama!' Her eyes literally glowed with intense light, transforming into bright red hearts. The absolute shock that could make anyone despair triggered Asia's defensive mechanism, twisting her already warped emotions into an even darker obsession and love for Yusuke.
'Yusuke-sama! I will save you!''
It wasn't just her. Irina and Xenovia felt the same. Both women snapped back to their senses upon hearing these words. Xenovia turned and stared at Yusuke, who was standing far away. "Yu, I still have you! I don't need anything else!"
Irina stood up, her head still hanging low. She slowly walked toward Yusuke, dragging her sword across the ground, muttering, "Darling! I still have darling! I need to see darling now..."
BOOMM! BOOOMM! BOOOMM!
'Damn it! At this rate I might really die!' In the background, explosions continued erupting one after another, painting the sky with countless colors. Kokabiel, interrupted mid-cast, was pushed back once again. He roared inside his mind, 'This isn't the death I envisioned! I didn't even die at the hands of Maou, how could I die to a bunch of brats!'
Bang!
Raynare smashed him into the ground with a Fire Dragon's Claw.
Tsubaki followed up and drove her fist into him with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
Swoosh!
Murayama then swept in from the side and slashed his shoulder, cutting off his remaining arm with one clean strike.
"Stop!" Just then, a figure shot in from afar, rushing toward them at incredible speed, leaving a white trail streaking across the air.
**
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