Around 8 PM in his room, Judai was listening intently as Endymion explained the finer applications of spells and the manipulation of Magic Power. A question formed in his mind, and he raised his hand.
"Yes, Judai?"
"Sensei, if you can crystallize Magic Power into Spell Counters, could I create a concentrated core of Magic Power inside my body? Something like an internal battery."
Endymion considered the question carefully. "Personally, I don't recommend it. The method I've taught you allows you to draw on ambient energy, giving you a near-limitless pool to tap into. The only true limit is your body's endurance. Creating an internal core would slow your natural recovery and carries significant risk if destabilized."
"Understood," Judai nodded, filing the information away.
Endymion watched him, a flicker of concern in his eyes. Judai was diligent, but he pushed himself hard, sometimes too hard.
After the lesson ended, a knock came at the door. It was Kiba.
"Buchou is organizing a Stray Devil hunt. Would you like to join us?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I need to rest tonight," Judai declined politely.
Kiba looked slightly disappointed but nodded. "Alright. Goodnight, then."
"Goodnight."
Judai lay on his bed, trying to sleep, but his mind refused to quiet down.
'What else can I do right now?'
He opened his flip phone, scrolling through its limited functions. It couldn't browse the web or access anything useful.
'I'll buy a smartphone later,' he decided, feeling restricted by the outdated device.
Restless, he got up and went to the backyard, gazing up at the moonlit sky. A thought struck him, and he quickly pulled out his phone again, texting Mizuho.
[How many people are currently in the abandoned church?]
Mizuho's reply came almost instantly.
[Mizuho: Most of the stray exorcists are there, including their leaders.]
Judai's expression hardened. He typed back:
[Order your watchers to pull back. I'm heading there now to handle them.]
He snapped the phone shut and summoned his Duel Disk. Drawing five cards, he scanned them, no workable combo. He kept drawing, discarding unusable cards into the graveyard. Finally, he pulled Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2.
He summoned it into the night air and mounted its back, directing it toward the abandoned church. As they flew, he continued drawing. On the twenty-first attempt, he finally drew Blackwing - Kochi the Daybreak. He summoned it as well, the avian warrior keeping pace beside the dragon.
As they soared above the shadowy outline of the church, Judai's gaze turned cold.
'If I hadn't died that day, I might have let you live. Blame your superiors for this.'
"Synchro Summon!"
Judai fell through the air as the two monsters dissolved into streams of white energy, merging together. A luminous green ring phased through the coalescing light.
"Adamancipator Risen—Dragite!"
The massive, crystalline blue dragon materialized in mid-air. It understood its master's intent instantly, and Judai landed safely on its broad back, using a quick burst of enhancement magic to cushion the impact.
Dragite began gathering energy, its form glowing with an intense blue aura. Below, the exorcists and Fallen Angels inside the church sensed the sudden, terrifying spike in power.
Before most could react, Dragite unleashed a concentrated, superheated jet of pressurized water. The beam struck the church with the force of a falling star.
The impact was catastrophic. Windows shattered from the shockwave alone. The structure melted and collapsed into rubble almost instantly. The beam continued downward, piercing through the earth, superheating the ground and triggering a secondary hydraulic explosion that tore the foundation apart.
Geysers of steaming water erupted from the fractured earth around the ruined church.
Judai only halted the assault when he no longer sensed any life energy below. The effort left him drenched in sweat and trembling with exhaustion, channeling that much power had pushed him far beyond his current limits.
"Done. Now they won't be hunting me," he muttered, patting Dragite's neck. The dragon turned and flew back toward Kuoh Academy.
He felt no guilt, no visceral horror, he hadn't seen any bodies, only the destruction. The heat and pressure had erased everything.
When they landed behind the school, Dragite lowered its head. "Thanks for the help, big guy," Judai said, his voice rough with fatigue.
Dragite nodded once before dissolving into particles of light.
Judai's Duel Disk vanished just as a group approached, the Student Council, led by Sona Sitri.
"I was right," Sona said coolly.
Judai was too tired for formalities. "Make it quick. I'm exhausted."
No one commented on his bluntness; his weariness was plain to see.
"Is that a Longinus?" Sona asked.
"Yes. It can kill gods," Judai replied flatly.
'Annihilation Maker?' Sona guessed internally.
"What were you doing with that dragon? We saw you return from the direction of the explosion."
"Eliminating enemies who were targeting me."
"Who?"
"Just some Fallen."
Sona and her peers stiffened. He had just potentially ignited a conflict.
"Do you realize what you've done?" Sona pressed.
"I killed some stray exorcists and a few Fallen Angels. It's nothing major."
"You may have just started a war."
"Let them come. I'll handle them the same way I handled their underlings." With that, Judai turned and walked toward the club building.
"Hey—!" Saji started, but Sona raised a hand to silence him.
"Enough, Saji. This is Rias's jurisdiction. She brought him under her protection; she'll deal with the consequences."
"But, Kaichou—" Saji protested, worried about the safety of their territory.
"That's an order, Saji."
"Understood," Saji replied, though frustration was clear in his voice.
The rest of the council remained silent, sharing his concern but trusting Sona's judgment.
'What are you thinking, Rias?' Sona wondered, watching Judai disappear inside. 'Bringing a Longinus user into your territory without securing his allegiance… you're inviting chaos.'
Meanwhile, back at the ruins of the abandoned church, a lone figure approached. Freed Sellzen, a white-haired stray exorcist, had just returned from his own bloody errands, hunting those who dared summon Devils as he having fun murdering them.
What he found was not a church, but a scene of utter devastation. The ground was scarred and cratered, water still steaming from fractured geysers. The structure was simply gone, vaporized into rubble and dust.
'Did an Angel attack this place?' Freed wondered, his mind leaping to the only beings he knew capable of such divine-level obliteration. The sheer scale of destruction reminded him of holy judgment, a cleansing blast meant to erase everything.
Cautiously, he moved toward the epicenter, but there was nothing left to scavenge, no survivors to question. Only a gaping hole in the earth remained.
A cold prickle ran down his spine. If something or someone capable of this was active in the territory, it wasn't safe for him to linger. Angels didn't discriminate between stray exorcists and Fallen Angels when purging the unclean.
Without another glance, Freed turned and melted back into the shadows, deciding to leave Kuoh entirely. Some battles weren't worth picking, and whatever had done this was far beyond his pay grade.