Against the backdrop of the moon and the darkness of night stood a male fallen angel.
He wore an intricately decorated black robe. His rugged features carried a hint of wild handsomeness, but the unruly expression on his face and the arrogance blazing in his eyes were impossible to miss. From his back spread pitch-black wings, five full pairs, silently proclaiming his identity to the world.
He was the ten-winged fallen angel, one of the six top leaders of the fallen angels, a legendary figure who had survived since the age of myth. Kokabiel.
Hovering high in the air, his five pairs of wings spread wide, Kokabiel looked down with contempt at the battered members of the Gremory servants below.
"So this is Sirzechs's little sister and the current Red Dragon Emperor?" he sneered. "How disappointing."
In his eyes, only Rias and Hyoudou Issei even existed. Everyone else was completely ignored, even Kiba, who had reached a new realm, and the blue-haired girl holding a Holy Sword.
"I thought that since you're Sirzechs's sister and the current Red Dragon Emperor, you might at least be entertaining," Kokabiel continued lazily. "But this? Boring. Just plain boring."
The disdain in his voice wasn't hidden in the slightest. The disappointment sounded genuine.
"Playing around with kids who don't even understand what war is… it's just child's play. If I want to kill this boredom, I'll have to wait for Sirzechs or Serafall to show up."
That tone, those words, were more than Rias could tolerate. Even Issei, who usually had no shame, snapped.
"What kind of crap are you spouting up there?!" Issei roared. "If the Maou showed up, trash like you would've run for your life already!"
"Shut up, Red Dragon Emperor." Kokabiel didn't even bother to argue, letting out a cold laugh. "You're the one who's disappointed me the most. I never thought the Red Dragon Emperor could be this weak. The White Dragon Emperor is far stronger than you."
A trace of resentment and seriousness flickered through his eyes.
As a leader of the fallen angels, and a high-ranking member of Grigori, Kokabiel knew far more about Sacred Gear users than most. He had always despised those so-called Sacred Gears, and he was deeply dissatisfied with Azazel and Shemhazai devoting themselves to researching them instead of expanding fallen angel power.
Even so, he had to admit that among the Sacred Gear users Grigori cultivated, there were one or two he couldn't afford to underestimate.
The current White Dragon Emperor was one of them.
Even Kokabiel couldn't confidently say he could defeat that man.
That was why, before coming to Kuoh Town, he had held at least some expectation, and caution, toward Hyoudou Issei as the current Red Dragon Emperor.
Who would have thought he'd turn out to be such a fraud?
Forget comparing him to the White Dragon Emperor. Even the ordinary Sacred Gear users Kokabiel looked down on were stronger than this.
If not for the sheer power of the Longinus known as the Boosted Gear, capable of doubling its user's strength every ten seconds and transferring that power to others, Kokabiel wouldn't have spared Issei a second glance.
"Your only use here is boosting Sirzechs's sister and the others so they can barely pose a threat to me," he said mockingly. "At least then, you might provide some entertainment. Otherwise, I'd have erased you already."
His mocking laughter made Issei's blood boil.
"Kokabiel!" Rias stopped Issei before he could charge again, glaring up at the fallen angel. "Do you really want to start a full-scale war between the three factions?"
A fallen angel leader personally attacking the sister of a Maou. This alone was enough to shatter the delicate balance the three factions had struggled to maintain and reignite the ancient war.
Even knowing that this was exactly what Kokabiel wanted, Rias couldn't help but ask.
Sure enough, her words only made him laugh harder.
"How many times do I have to say it before you get it?" Kokabiel's voice echoed across Kuoh Academy. "That's exactly what I want!"
"You kids who haven't even lived a hundred years. How could you possibly understand?"
"Do you know how many wars the three factions have fought? How many died?"
"Do you know how much hatred has piled up over countless years? How many oceans of blood?"
He clenched his fist tightly, his emotions spiraling out of control.
"Angels and the Church slaughtered countless devils and fallen angels in God's name! And the devils killed just as many of us! The numbers are beyond your imagination!"
"And after all that hatred, all that bloodshed, Azazel and Shemhazai dare to say it's enough? That we should stop fighting?"
"How could something like that ever be allowed?!"
His five pairs of wings spread wide, blotting out the sky like a curtain of filth and darkness.
"I can't stand it! After fighting for tens of thousands of years, they just decide to stop?"
"Do those bastards even know how many times I've bled? How many brushes with death I've survived?"
"I dream of wiping out angels and devils alike, of erasing every race except fallen angels so this world is finally clean!"
"These years of ceasefire have been unbearable. Boring beyond endurance!"
"So I'll start the war again! If I crush Sirzechs's sister to death, crush Serafall's sister too, and drag the Maou into battle, then even if Azazel and Shemhazai want to avoid it, they'll have no choice but to fight!"
And once devils and fallen angels went to war, how could Heaven and the Church stay silent?
Even if they wanted to, Kokabiel would never allow it.
That was why he hadn't come alone. He had allied with heretics within the Church, had them steal a treasured Holy Sword, and lured its pursuers to Kuoh Town to drag them into this chaos.
The blue-haired girl wielding the Holy Sword was the Church's warrior sent to recover it.
With that, all three factions stood on the same battlefield. No one could escape.
"God is dead. The Maou of old are dead. Compared to the age of myth, the three factions are weaker now, but even so, this war cannot stop. It must not stop."
"Until a victor is decided, I won't allow any of you to grow complacent again!"
Kokabiel's voice turned fanatical. Mad.
"Damn war maniac…" Issei muttered, clicking his tongue. Even Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko wore looks of disgust.
"God…"
The blue-haired girl closed her eyes, trying to pray, only to realize she no longer had anyone to pray to.
Just as Kokabiel said, in the ancient war not only did the original Four Great Maou fall, even God himself had died.
The being recorded in the Bible as the Almighty Creator had long since perished.
And this time, there would be no resurrection.
Normally, as long as faith remained, a god could revive no matter how many times they fell. But some deaths were absolute.
Gods slain by ultimate god-killing weapons often couldn't revive, or only with extreme difficulty. Those devoured or sealed by a far stronger deity could never return unless impossibly harsh conditions were met.
The God of the Bible died after completely exhausting his power, weakened beyond recovery, losing even the ability to resurrect, falling into eternal slumber.
The girl could no longer pray.
Because of that, her fighting spirit had begun to crumble. For a moment, she had even thought it might be easier to die here.
In contrast, another swordsman erupted with fierce resolve.
"We… we won't let you succeed, Kokabiel!"
Kiba stood his ground, gripping his sword with all his strength and pointing it straight at the fallen angel.
The blade in his hand was nothing like before. It radiated both the curse and malice of a Demon Sword, and the holy aura of a Holy Sword.
A weapon that fused two completely opposing forces.
A holy-demonic sword.
Through clashes with fallen angels and the Church's Holy Sword wielder, Kiba had finally overcome his pain and hatred, reaching that realm.
The ultimate domain of a Sacred Gear, power capable of shattering the balance of the world.
Balance Breaker.
Kiba had reached it ahead of all the other servants.
With a sword that embodied both Holy Sword and Demon Sword, activating Balance Breaker allowed him to create it.
Sword of Betrayer. That was Kiba's Balance Breaker.
Having completed it, his strength far surpassed what it had been when he fought Asuna, overtaking everyone else present.
Until now, the strongest among the Gremory servants had been Rias and Akeno.
But now, that title might belong to Kiba.
Unfortunately...
"The holy-demonic sword is impressive," Kokabiel said, looking at Kiba like an insect. "Even an Ultimate-Class Devil would have to be wary."
"But do you really think it can threaten me?"
He casually raised a hand, forming a spear of light.
A massive one, thick as a pillar, took shape and was hurled straight at Kiba.
"Watch out!"
Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and the blue-haired girl all rushed forward, forming a defense around him.
"BOOM!!!"
The explosion shook the battlefield. The spear blasted into the ground, tearing it apart and sending all of them flying.
"President! Kiba!"
Issei roared, spreading his devil wings and charging straight at Kokabiel.
"You… bastard!"
Rage flooded his mind, surging into the Sacred Gear on his right arm. The green gem on the dragon-claw-like gauntlet flared with blinding light.
"Boost!"
The cold mechanical voice echoed as his power doubled.
"Bang!"
Issei's fist slammed toward Kokabiel's face, only to be casually caught.
"It's useless, Red Dragon Emperor," Kokabiel sneered. "No matter how much you boost, you'll never reach my level."
"Using a Sacred Gear drains stamina and demonic power. And even if that power is forced into your body, you can't handle it."
"Weak as you are, even at your limit, you'd barely reach High-Class Devil level."
"That's not even enough to scratch a hair on my head."
He tightened his grip, yanking Issei close.
"BOOM!!!"
Kokabiel's fist smashed into Issei's face, sending him flying like a cannonball into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Issei-kun!"
The blonde girl who hadn't joined the battle screamed, tears streaming down her face.
"It's over."
Kokabiel passed judgment mercilessly. With a cruel smile, he raised his hand and formed another spear of light.
Despair settled over everyone.
"Buzz..."
Suddenly, the barrier around Kuoh Academy rippled.
An opening appeared, and a figure shot through at incredible speed, appearing instantly behind Kokabiel.
"...?!"
Kokabiel's smile vanished. He spun around, thrusting the spear behind him.
Only for a hand to clamp down on his wrist, stopping the attack cold.