Chapter 144: Run! He's King Solomon
Wait, calm down first—maybe it wasn't what she thought.
Perhaps the other party was just being malicious, deliberately lying inside to mock the Church.
How could someone dead for three thousand years possibly be resurrected? That was too absurd.
But… that summoning that night—could it really be called a coincidence?
"Could it be… Mr. Renji's joking introduction was actually true? B-but how? Yet, he did make devil obey directly, and he was wearing ten rings. His attire was also strange, like someone from ancient times…"
The nun Asia murmured absentmindedly, seemingly unaware of Rias beside her.
This new information shattered any remaining self-reassurance in Rias's heart.
"Ah… could this… be a trial arranged by the Lord for me?"
The nun seemed to be spiraling into wild thoughts, her expression growing increasingly agitated.
"No, no, no—what qualifications do I have for someone like him to test me?"
She denied it again, deeply conflicted.
But Rias had no time to dwell on the nun's emotional turmoil. Her focus was entirely on Akeno's situation.
Though she didn't know the exact strength of this figure from three thousand years ago, the legends alone—that he had formed contracts with the original Seventy-Two Demon Gods—were enough to prove he was no ordinary being.
A figure clad in black robes streaked through the sky at high speed.
She occasionally glanced back at the ground behind her. The pursuer was still on her tail, the distance closing rapidly. It seemed like they were about to catch up—but the problem was, they could fly. Otherwise, how could they even reach her?
Of course, having witnessed this person using explosive mana shockwaves to bring down fallen angels, she wasn't foolish enough to fly too high. Instead, she weaved through the surrounding buildings.
This way, the pursuer wouldn't resort to reckless attacks.
More importantly, their power was heavily light-attribute—far more lethal to devils. She had to be careful.
Huh?
Her pupils shrank as she saw something being hurled toward her.
N-no way!
If that thing exploded midair, it would obliterate the nearby buildings.
The next second, the object tore through the air with a sharp whistle, making her heart race—
Wait.
It wasn't a mana projectile—just an ordinary rock. She could easily dodge it.
No, she could even catch it outright with how lightly it was thrown.
So, she reached out and grabbed it.
The moment she did, her expression twisted—she'd been tricked. By the time she realized and tried to throw it away, it was too late.
The rock was engraved with a magic circle—a basic teleportation array. And now, it was already glowing.
Of course, a magic circle the size of a palm couldn't possibly transport a person, and this one hadn't expanded either—it could only transfer something about the size of a hand at most.
So, when a hand reached out from the magic circle and grabbed hers, she knew the danger.
In such cases, destroying the stone immediately to disrupt the magic circle would cause the other party's hand to be severed by spatial rupture.
But she didn't have time to act.
Correction—she could still destroy the stone, but the problem was her own arm would be severed.
Because the hand that emerged from the magic circle had yanked hers inward, destroying the circle now would mean her arm being torn off.
Yet, she didn't panic.
"Grabbing my arm was your mistake," she murmured with delight, her captured hand suddenly crackling with lightning.
However—
"What?!"
Her lightning failed to strike its target, and she stared in shock.
The other party hadn't deployed any magical barrier—instead, they had simply enveloped themselves in raw, dense mana, deflecting her attack.
Then, her expression twisted in pain.
"Guh—aaaaah!!"
A scream escaped her lips as her body convulsed under an electric surge.
This was the other party's retaliation.
Normally, as the so-called [Priestess of Thunder], she had resistance to ordinary lightning attacks. But this one was laced with holy light, specialized against devils, rendering her defenses nearly useless.
The shock sent her plummeting from the sky, crashing to the ground in disarray as she watched the figure approach.
"Stop pretending, Miss Himejima. If you were a low-class devil, this act might be convincing—but you're hardly that weak, are you?"
"My, my, calling me 'that weak' is such an unpleasant way to phrase it."
So, Akeno dropped the act of being gravely injured to lure the opponent closer.
Since her identity had been exposed, there was no point hiding anymore. She discarded her robe, revealing her true appearance.
"By the way, holding a girl's hand without her permission is quite rude, you know?"
Her hand was still being pulled through the magic circle.
The moment she finished speaking, the other party released her.
Thud—!
His hand instantly intercepted a tiny fist—Koneko, who had lunged from the shadows beside him in a surprise attack.
Koneko followed up with a spinning kick, but he leaned back, effortlessly dodging.
With both strikes failing, Koneko swiftly retreated.
At the same time, another figure emerged from the darkness—Yuuto Kiba, sword in hand.
"So, you've decided to become my enemies?"
"Whether we're enemies or not depends on what the President decides," Akeno replied with a light laugh.
If the President confirmed him as an enemy, the three of them would get serious.
Just then, a phone rang from Koneko's pocket—likely the President calling.
Normally, she would've contacted Akeno directly, but the earlier electric shock had probably fried her phone.
Unable to reach her, the President had called Koneko instead.
"Mhm, we're fine... Run?!"
The club president thinks the three of them can't defeat the opponent? Has the president already confirmed the other party's identity?
Then, not knowing what the president said, Akeno saw Koneko freeze for a moment before murmuring in a daze.
"He's King Solomon?"