It was a glowing orb. It contained the so-called holy aura.
"With this, the research on holy sword wielders improved. Even so, those fools at the Church banned me for heresy and took my research reports. Looking at you, I see the project was succeeded by someone. That Michael. He made me look like a criminal, and this is the result? Well, it's that angel we're talking about. Even if he extracted the elements from the test subjects, he wouldn't go so far as to kill them. That part would just make him more human than me. Kukukuku."
Valper continued to laugh again and again, as if he couldn't contain himself.
"You killed my comrades and took their elements to wield the Holy Sword?"
Kiba asked Valper with a voice full of killing intent.
"That's right. This orb I showed you. I used three of them on Freed. This is the last one."
"Hyahahaha! Other guys died because their bodies couldn't synchronize with the elements! Hmmmm. If I think about it that way, it makes me special," Freed said maniacally.
"Valper Galilei. How many lives did you sacrifice for your greed and experiments… you're trash, Valper."
Kiba's hands were trembling, and an aura of hatred radiated from his body with incredible intensity.
"Hm. If you say that, then I'll give this orb to you. My research has reached the stage where it's possible to mass-produce them in the right environment. First, I'll destroy this city with Kokabiel. Then, I'll gather the legendary Holy Swords stored around the world. Next, I'll mass-produce holy sword wielders and start a war against Michael and the Vatican with the combined Excaliburs. I'll show the results of my research to those foolish angels and their followers who condemned me."
Valper tossed the orb away as if he had lost interest in it. It rolled on the ground and stopped at Kiba's feet.
Kiba silently crouched down and picked it up. He patted the orb with sadness, love, and tenderness.
"Everyone…"
Tears streamed down Kiba's face. His expression was one of sorrow and anger. Then it happened.
The orb Kiba held began to emit deep lights. The lights spread and eventually covered the entire school. From the ground, they began to take shape. The shape of people. Boys and girls emitting a bluish-white light surrounded Kiba.
"The various powers present in this field caused the spirits in the orb to appear," Akeno said to everyone.
They looked at Kiba with worried expressions.
"Everyone! I… I!"
They were the people discarded in the Holy Sword Project.
"I always… always thought about this. It's not right that I'm the only one who survived… Some had bigger dreams than me. Some wanted to live more than I did. Is it fair that I'm the only one who has a peaceful life…"
Then a spirit of a boy smiled, as if he wanted to say something.
[Don't worry about us anymore. You're alive, at least.]
Then the spirits of the boys and girls began moving their lips in a rhythm. They were singing.
They were singing the sacred sound… Kiba began singing while crying. When they were undergoing painful experiments, this was the only thing they had to keep their hopes and dreams alive.
It was the only support they had to keep living their harsh lives. Kiba and his comrades had the smiles of innocent children. Their bodies began to glow. The lights grew stronger, with Kiba at the center.
[We weren't good enough on our own.]
[We didn't have the elements to wield the holy swords. But…]
[It'll be different if we stay together.]
[You have to accept the Holy Sword.]
[Don't be afraid.]
[Even God is watching.]
[Our hearts are always…]
[ONE.]
Their spirits ascended to the sky and transformed into a great light that fell upon Kiba.
Gilgamesh watched everything closely without showing emotions on his face.
"Balance Breaker, huh," Gilgamesh said as he saw the light envelop Kiba.
When the light faded, Kiba was revealed with a serene expression on his face.
"Valper Galilei. As long as I don't kill you, there will be those who suffer the same fate as us," Kiba said, as his friends didn't want him to fall into the path of vengeance.
"Hmph. It's been said for a long time that research always comes with sacrifices. Haven't you realized that yet?"
"Kibaaaaaaaa! Take down both Freed and the Excalibur!" Issei shouted to his friend.
"You're the 'Knight' of the Gremory group and my comrade! My friend! Fight, Kibaaaaaaa! Don't waste your feelings and spirit!"
"You helped me. Even when you wouldn't profit from it. Even when you could have been punished by our master…"
"Yuuto! Do it! You have to finish this yourself! Surpass the Excalibur! You're the servant of Rias Gremory! My 'Knight' won't lose to a mere Excalibur!"
"Yuuto-kun! I believe in you!"
Rias and Akeno began speaking to Kiba, who looked at them, moved.
"… Yuuto-senpai!" Koneko said.
"Please, do your best!"
Kiba began to cry, seeing the encouragement his friends were giving him.
"Hahaha! Why are you crying? You were singing joyfully like a little ghost. It's really a nuisance. It's totally the worst. You know I hate that song. Just hearing it makes my skin crawl! I don't want to hear it anymore. I'm totally at my limit! I'm going to cut you to pieces and calm down! With this final Excalibur that fused with four of them!" Freed shouted.
Kiba looked at them with confidence in his eyes.
"I will become the sword of Buchou and my comrades! Please, respond to my feelings now! Sword Rebirth!!"
Kiba's Sacred Gear and the spirits of his comrades merged. They began to align and take shape. The demonic and holy powers were combining.
When the energies merged, a single sword appeared in Kiba's hand, emanating a holy and demonic aura.
"Balance-Breaker 'Sword of the Betrayer' You will receive the power of this sword that holds the power of light and demonic powers with your own body," Kiba shouted.
Gilgamesh looked at the sword and analyzed it with his [Unlimited Weapons Works] and sighed, disappointed.
All that, all that scene for such a disappointing sword.
The mix of holy and demonic attributes could be interesting, and Kiba's sword surpassed any fragment of Excalibur, but it was still sad to see.
Though fusing holy and demonic attributes was interesting.
Gilgamesh wondered if he could do that and merge two swords with his [Unlimited Weapons Works].
"Perhaps mixing Excalibur and Gram or Excalibur and Excalibur Morgan…" Gilgamesh whispered to himself.
He should test some things when he got home.
Kiba quickly advanced against Freed, who blocked the strike with his sword, but the aura of the Excalibur he held was fading.
"This sword surpasses the originator of holy swords!? You're kidding me!? Screw this, now!"
"If this were the true Excalibur, then I couldn't have won. But this Excalibur can't cut through my feelings and my comrades! It's just four of seven fragments, you overestimated their individual powers! Don't even confuse it for a second!"
He advanced with bold speed, moving faster than Freed could see. Cuts appeared all over Freed's body; he only managed to parry a few. It was as if Kiba were toying with him now, making cuts on his body and letting him feel the full extent of the powers within him.
"Why!? Why isn't it hitting!? You're supposed to be the unmatched Holy Sword-sama, aren't you!? You shouldn't have countless legends of being the ultimate sword! How can you cut me, you stupid whore!?"
Freed made no attempt to hide his discontent with the blond youth, swinging faster and faster, striking rapidly at the Excalibur, moving quicker with his body and sword vibrating simultaneously.
Kiba, however, was able to keep up with the blade, slashing and clashing against the blades, sparks flying between them.
"Keep it up," Xenovia said as she stepped forward.
She held the Holy Sword in her left hand and raised her right hand to the air.
"Saint Peter. Saint Basil the Great. Saint Denis. Holy Mother Mary. Please, hear my voice," Xenovia chanted.
The space in front of her hand distorted, reality bending, causing the air to ripple like water, illuminating one side of her face as the distorted space began to emit a faint golden light. Without hesitation, she plunged her arm into the distorted space up to her shoulder before stopping and reversing course as she pulled something out.
And what she pulled out…
It shone with a golden light, its divinity unmistakable. The entire battlefield was flooded with its presence as endless waves of its blessed power fell upon them all. It was a weapon of divine origin, sent from Heaven to aid humanity in its darkest moments.
Durandal.
A gift from the hands of God Himself given to Roland, His most worthy son. With it, an army of one hundred thousand was held back by a single man, and in the hands of someone worthy of wielding it, there is nothing it cannot cut.
It was shackled and bound by chains of the purest iron, but what chains could restrain such a sword? Could works made by mortal hands hope to bind such an existence? A single swing of its blade would tear it from its fragile confinement, and it would be free again.
She reached out, grasped its hilt, and pulled, and the chains shattered.
"In the names of the saints residing within this blade, I will unleash it. Durandal!"
Durandal, one of the four holy swords forged by God, with power comparable to Excalibur itself.
The moment Gilgamesh looked at the sword, he felt disappointed.
Not because of the sword, though it was weaker than the one stored in Gilgamesh's treasures, that wasn't it.
Gilgamesh had seen Durandal before when he fought Vasco Strada.
But the aura Durandal was emitting was insignificant compared to its true potential, which Gilgamesh had seen when he fought Vasco Strada, a man who had fully mastered its power.
But Xenovia didn't even have a fraction of that mastery.
"Durandal!?"
"You weren't the wielder of Excalibur!?"
Not only Valper, even Kokabiel couldn't hide his astonishment.
"Wrong. I was originally the wielder of Durandal. I was also chosen as the wielder of Excalibur. That's all."
Xenovia took a stance with Durandal. A two-sword style alongside Excalibur.
"Absurd! According to my research, it hasn't reached the stage where someone can wield Durandal!?"
"Of course. Even in the Vatican, they didn't create someone who could wield Durandal artificially."
"Then why!?"
"Unlike common artificial holy sword users like Irina, I am a natural-born wielder." Valper was speechless at her words.
Xenovia raised her head, a superior look on her face. She then turned to Kokabiel, Valper, and Freed as well.
"Durandal is a sword that devastates beyond what people can imagine. It cuts everything it touches. It doesn't even listen to me most of the time. That's why I have to keep it in another dimension, otherwise it would be dangerous. I, the wielder, have difficulty with it. Now, Freed. Thanks to you, we can have the decisive battle between Excalibur and Durandal. Right now, I'm trembling with excitement. Don't die with a single blow, alright? At least use the Excalibur to its fullest!"
"Leave me alone! This isn't even allowed! I hate you and your sword! Get out of my sight right now!"
Freed shouted, displeased with what was happening.
Durandal's blade began emitting more holy aura than the Excalibur Freed held. Kiba was surprised as he looked at his sword for some kind of confirmation, and he was when he looked at his own sword. Durandal was releasing a stronger aura than Kiba's Balance Breaker.
"Is this even allowed!? It's turned into a situation like this! You shitty bitch! I don't need any of this for this scenario!"
Freed shouted and turned his killing intent toward Xenovia. Though most couldn't see with their eyes, except for a select few, as he swung his sword at Xenovia, she didn't even flinch at the sight before her, nor did she feel the slightest hint of fear.
GAKIIIN!
With a single sideways strike, the Excalibur shattered. Due to the pressure from Durandal, a large hole appeared in the school's field.
"So, this is just a fraction of the holy sword's power, huh. It can't even compete with my Durandal."
Xenovia sighed, looking bored.
"Are you serious!? Are you serious!? The legendary Excalibur-chan is broken into pieces!? Horrible! This is really horrible! Kaaaa! Was it wrong to use something that was broken from the start? The superficiality of humans. The madness of the Church. I want to grow up catching a glimpse of it!"
Kiba quickly advanced against Freed with his demonic holy sword and struck.
BAAAKIIIN!
A faint sound of something breaking echoed. The sound of Excalibur crumbling.
"You saw that? Our powers surpassed the Excalibur," Kiba said.
Freed fell as blood poured from the wound Kiba had made on his shoulder and side.
Valper, on the other hand, looked as if life had just left him, seeing what he was witnessing, the sword Kiba held.
"Ho… Holy demonic sword…? Impossible… The opposite of two things cannot merge… what are you! I don't even understand what you're supposed to be! This makes no sense! This is beyond any expectations I had, I simply can't allow this to happen before me."
Valper couldn't and didn't want to comprehend the sight before him; it was too much for him now.
"Valper Galilei!" Kiba shot forward with a hateful expression, not liking this at all: "Get ready."
Kiba wasn't going to hold back anymore.
He would take care of him, and he wouldn't hide anything now.
Valper, on the other hand, had a realization overwhelming him.
"… I see! I understand now! Holy and demonic. It would be an explanation if the beings representing the two became unbalanced! So, not only the Maou, but God too…"
While Valper was speaking, a spear of light pierced his chest. Not only Kiba, but the others around were completely shocked that something like this happened. Valper was killed by someone…
"Valper, you were remarkable. The fact that you reached that conclusion proves it. But I don't care if you're with me or not. I could have done this alone from the start," Kokabiel said, laughing, as the one responsible for killing the priest.
Kokabiel quickly spread his wings before landing on the ground as everyone was overwhelmed by the crushing presence of the Leader of the Fallen Angels.
Kokabiel's eyes scanned everyone before he laughed.
"You have a peculiar choice of servants, sister of Sirzechs: the remnant of the holy sword project, the daughter of Barakiel, a Youkai, and a mere human. You have strange tastes like your brother," Kokabiel said, laughing.
"Don't compare me to him," Akeno shouted, launching a lightning bolt at Kokabiel, who easily dodged it.
"I won't forgive you for insulting my brother… our Maou! More than that, the insults you made to my servants, I'll take your life in return!" Rias shouted, furious.
Kokabiel laughed at this.
"Then come and destroy me," Kokabiel shouted.
Xenovia quickly charged at Kokabiel, swinging Durandal, but Kokabiel created a sword of light and easily blocked the strike.
"Hmph! Durandal, huh! Unlike the Excalibur that's already been broken once, the light of this one is really something! Buuuut!"
"…!"
BOOOOOOM!
The air trembled, and there was a ringing in their ears. Kokabiel emitted a shockwave from his other hand, making Xenovia's body float. Then Kokabiel kicked Xenovia's stomach.
"Gaa!"
Xenovia flew back with a cry of pain.
"It depends on the wielder. Girl! You still can't control Durandal! The previous wielder was someone with unparalleled strength!" Xenovia adjusted her position in the air and landed on the ground. She then tried to cut him again.
Kiba also charged toward Kokabiel alongside Xenovia.
"Kokabiel! I'll eliminate you with my holy demonic sword! I'm not allowed to lose to anyone else!"
"Ho! Simultaneous attacks from a holy sword and a holy demonic sword! Interesting! Excellent! Come! You can't defeat me unless it's too much for you!"
Kokabiel created a second sword of light and began a clash with Xenovia's Durandal and Kiba's Sword of the Betrayer.
However, Kokabiel easily overpowered and defeated both. There was no comparison; the Angel of the Stars was one of God's strongest children before his fall and still had power to rival Maou and Seraphim even after.
"Got you," Koneko said, leaping to attack Kokabiel's back.
"No," Kokabiel said.
His black wings transformed into sharp blades and cut Koneko's body. Her body fell to the ground, blood pouring out.
"Koneko!" Kiba shouted.
"Don't let your guard down," Kokabiel shouted, delivering a massive strike with his sword of light at Kiba.
In a swift motion and mastery of swordsmanship, Kokabiel sent Xenovia and Kiba flying.
Kiba created dozens of his swords and launched them at Kokabiel, who simply spread his ten wings and easily destroyed them.
None of them could land a single scratch on Kokabiel. This was the power of a Fallen Angel who fought and survived the Great War and had his name recorded in the Bible.
All the demons wore desperate expressions while Kokabiel smiled, confident in his victory.
"But seeing that even after losing the master you serve, you devils and followers of God can still fight, huh!"
"What do you mean?" Rias asked.
Kokabiel began laughing loudly, as if he found it genuinely amusing.
"Fuhaha, fuhahahahahahahahahaha! That's right! I completely forgot! The truth hasn't been revealed to you lower beings! So I'll tell you. In the war between the three factions, not only the Four Maou but also God died."
Everyone's eyes widened as disbelief and despair gripped their hearts.
"It's normal that you wouldn't know about it. Who can say that God died? Humans are an incomplete group. Without God, they can't control their hearts and obey the laws, you know? Even we, the fallen angels and demons, couldn't tell those below us. You won't know where the information about God will spread. Even among the three factions, only those at the top and the right people know about Him. Though it seems Valper had figured it out before."
The expressions of disbelief and despair only grew as Kokabiel continued speaking.
"After the war, what remained were the angels who lost their God, the demons who lost their Maou and most of their high-class demons, and the fallen angels, who lost most of their numbers besides the leaders. So it wasn't just a state of exhaustion. All the factions fell so low that they had to rely on humans to continue their generations. Especially the fallen angels and angels, who could only continue their generation through crossbreeding with humans. Fallen angels can increase if angels fall. But pure angels can't increase their numbers after losing God. Even pure demons are rare, right?"
"… Lies… it's a lie…" Xenovia said, bewildered.
She had an expression of panic that was unbearable to look at. An active believer. A servant of God. A person who lived serving God as her mission. If God's existence was denied and she lost her reason to live, it was natural for her to react this way.
"… God doesn't exist? God… is dead? Then our love given by Him is…" Xenovia asked, frightened.
"That's right. It's normal that there's no love from God or His divine protection. God is already gone. Michael is certainly doing a good job. He's taking care of things in God's place and looking after the angels and humans. Well, if the 'system' used by God is operating, then prayers to God, God's blessings, and exorcisms would work. But compared to when God was present, the number of believers has decreased. That kid with the holy demonic sword over there was able to create it because the balance between God and the Maou is broken. In reality, holy and demonic powers can't merge. If those who govern the powers of holy and demonic, God and the Maou, disappear, then a lot of unique phenomena would occur."
Kokabiel raised his fist in the air.
"From now on, I'll start a war! I'll take your heads as a gift! Even if it's just for me, I'll continue where we left off! I'll show Sirzechs and Michael that we, the fallen angels, are the supreme beings!"
But the moment Kokabiel stopped speaking, an immense pressure fell upon everyone, making even Kokabiel feel frightened, though that fear quickly turned into a maniacal smile.
"I think that's enough, Kokabiel," a voice said as it approached.
Turning their gazes back, everyone saw Gilgamesh walking calmly and taking the lead.
"You finally showed up, Paladin!" Kokabiel shouted in joy.
But Kokabiel's joy was cut short by someone else's sorrow.
"Senpai, is it true that God died?" Xenovia asked, hoping it was a lie.
"It's true. God really died in the war," Gilgamesh said, making everyone even more frightened.
"But snap out of it!" Gilgamesh shouted, pulling them out of their sorrow: "The world keeps moving even after God's death. It doesn't need God to move; all it needs is us!" Gilgamesh shouted.
Everyone set their sorrow aside, agreeing with Gilgamesh's words.
"Rest, I'll take care of this," Gilgamesh said to everyone, who nodded.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Kokabiel as an extremely dense aura surged around him, frightening everyone because this aura was infinitely greater than the one he used against Rias.
It made them wonder how much power he had been hiding.
Kokabiel, on the other hand, had an ironic expression.
He didn't know whether to be frightened or joyful; he didn't know.
He was a bit terrified.
"Going to fight me alone, Kokabiel?" Gilgamesh asked.
Kokabiel gave a huge smile.
Shadows surged around Kokabiel, so many that they hid the very glow of the moon.
Drawing the eyes of everyone in the courtyard to the sky.
"My God," Xenovia murmured. She closed her eyes in resignation: "We're doomed."
They circled above the defeated group like vultures, their wings blocking half the moonlight from reaching them before descending upon the school. Black feathers fell to the ground by the thousands, covering the earth like black snow.
Black bird wings were their traits, bronze-colored armor, various colored spears of light in their arms as they floated in the sky, adorning the dark sky like stars with their lights.
"It's not the same number I led in the Great War, but it's still enough to restart the Great War, enough to fight you, don't you think, Paladin?" Kokabiel said with a huge smile, surrounded by thousands of Fallen Angels.
"And if that's not enough, there are still many more coming this way," Kokabiel said with a huge smile.
Gilgamesh gave an ironic smile.
"Well, Kokabiel, I think that's all, after all, my friends are dealing with the others," Gilgamesh said, making Kokabiel stare at him, confused.
**Near Kuoh.**
Far from Kuoh, dozens of Fallen Angels could be seen flying at high speed toward the city to join their leader.
The army was massive; there were Fallen Angels with four pairs of wings, some with three, and others with just one pair.
It was an army large enough to cause significant destruction and kill several Ultimate and Satan-class beings.
But halfway there, they stopped as several presences stood in their way.
In the sky, floating before them, were three beings.
The one in the middle was a man with white hair and blue eyes, wearing splendid golden armor that emitted a glow comparable to the sun. He held a spear in his hands and radiated a divine aura with immense heat emanating from him.
It was Karna, son of the Sun God Surya.
To his right was a beautiful woman with long, smooth, light blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a cold atmosphere radiating from her beauty. She possessed an extremely powerful dragon aura within her body. She wore a navy blue skirt, and her entire body was drenched in a deep blue color. She also had massive draconic wings on her back.
It was Tiamat in her human form.
To their left was a being with long green hair and golden eyes, wearing a large cloak that prevented anyone from discerning their gender.
It was Enkidu, the Weapon of the Gods.
The Fallen Angels also noticed people on the ground.
On the ground stood Valerie and Le Fay side by side, preparing their magic.
Arturia and Mordred were further ahead, alongside Arthur, and the three were wielding their respective swords.
Fenrir was beside them in his largest form, his divine power circulating as he prepared to attack.
Sebas and Asia were further back, Sebas to prevent anyone from escaping and Asia to heal their friends' wounds.
"Who are you?" one of the Fallen Angels asked.
Karna pointed his spear at him.
"I am Karna, and like my comrades, we were ordered to stop your army," Karna said as if it didn't matter.
"And who ordered you to do such a thing?" the Fallen Angel asked.
"My master, who is fighting Kokabiel," Karna said to all the Fallen Angels.
They all gained enraged expressions.
"Then we'll force our way through!" one Fallen Angel shouted, followed by the others.
All the Fallen Angels created high-powered spears of light in their hands, the light so intense it illuminated the entire night sky like stars.
Hundreds of spears of light rained down from the skies, falling like a shower of blazing meteors, more than enough to kill them a dozen times over, all directed at Gilgamesh's group.
These were spears made from light itself. Their heat could burn the flesh of demons and humans with ease. A single one had enough force to pierce a wall. A hundred was enough to bring down a fortress.
But it was all futile when two of them advanced.
Tiamat and Karna charged forward.
Taking the lead, Tiamat inflated her lungs and spewed a massive sea of blue flames that incinerated all the spears of light and the nearby Fallen Angels. Everything was in vain before the power of the Strongest Dragon King.
Karna positioned himself beside Tiamat, advancing through her flames that didn't burn him, for no flame could burn the son of the Sun God.
All the Fallen Angels charged against Gilgamesh's group.
The closest ones faced Karna, who didn't even change his expression. He was a heroic spirit and wouldn't fear even an entire nation.
He swung his spear with such skill that mortal hands couldn't wield, a mastery that entered the realm of the Gods.
Each swing of his spear was as if he held the sun itself, as flames emerged from his strikes with such power that they incinerated the Fallen Angels on contact with his divine flames, like the sun itself.
He was the child blessed by the Sun, and with each swing of his spear, he reaped dozens of lives.
Seeing that facing the Dragoness and the son of the Sun head-on was suicide, the Fallen Angels did their best to bypass them.
But they regretted it the moment they looked ahead.
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