Someone's here?
Hearing the voice, Soyo and Shoko whipped their heads toward the sound.
A teenage boy dressed as a priest stepped into view.
"Hey there, evening, ladies!"
Freed whistled, strolling into the park with a twisted grin. "Caught the stench of devils from a mile away. Nabbing two at once? Lucky day!"
"Who are you?!"
Eyeing the longsword in Freed's hand, Shoko pulled Soyo back quickly.
"I'm a priest~ A young priest~ Slayer of devils and sinners~ Mocking coldly, I'll lop off your heads~ Gotta earn my keep~"
"???"
Is this guy nuts?
Shoko's face hardened as Freed broke into song.
A lunatic wasn't scary. A lunatic with a weapon was.
"Oh? Trying to run? That won't do~"
Noticing their retreat, Freed wagged his head. "Humans dealing with devils? You're too far gone."
"For your future, let me kindly send you to reincarnation. Next life, here we come~"
Shoko: "!"
Soyo: "!"
Icy killing intent hit them, freezing the untrained duo in place.
But a second later, Shoko's training kicked in. She broke free, dragging Soyo to flee.
"Pointless, pointless!"
Freed cackled, brandishing his sword like a toy. "This is the legendary Excalibur Rapidly~ For speed, I—"
His laughter cut off as a red figure appeared before him.
"Devil?"
"Dead men don't need details."
Roy pressed his hand to his sword hilt.
A sharp whistle sliced the air.
A cold flash cut through Freed, cleaving him in two.
Boom!
A scorching fireball descended, incinerating Freed's remains.
Roy picked up Excalibur Rapidly from the ground, glancing at the stunned Shoko and Soyo. "It's messy out tonight. If you're fine, head home."
As he spoke, a magic circle bloomed beneath him.
Spatial ripples flickered, and he vanished.
"That was… Mr. Roy?" Soyo asked, uncertain, reeling from the whirlwind.
"Sounds like him," Shoko nodded, also seeing Roy's Balance Breaker form for the first time. She looked at Soyo. "You should go home, Soyo."
"…Yeah."
Elsewhere.
After saving Shoko and Soyo, Roy teleported to the abandoned church west of Kuoh Town.
Rias and the others, already there, stood at the perimeter.
Seeing Roy, Asia hurried over, anxious. "How's Shoko? Is she hurt?"
"Fine, just shaken."
"Good."
Asia exhaled.
Besides Roy, who'd been charming her, Asia was closest to Shoko.
Hearing a killer was near her had spiked her nerves.
Thankfully, Roy acted fast.
"Roy, the barrier's ready," Rias said, approaching.
"That quick?"
Roy was surprised.
"After yesterday's talk, I had a hunch, so I prepped," Rias explained. "Sona helped too. I couldn't have done it alone."
She gestured ahead.
At the church's front, Sona and her peerage were channeling mana into a pillar—the barrier's core.
Roy glanced at it, noting it enveloped the church.
"Besides the barrier, we've evacuated nearby civilians. We're ready to move," Sona reported, pausing her work.
"Let's do this."
Roy led the way to the church.
Surging mana poured from him, an invisible force pushing the doors open.
After half a month, Roy returned to where he'd earned his first Gold entry.
Deep inside, a fallen angel with five pairs of black wings lounged on a coronation chair, sourced from who-knows-where.
"Evening, Red Dragon Emperor. First time meeting, right?"
Kokabiel propped his head on one hand, smiling at Roy. "Heard you awakened less than two months ago. Mastering Balance Breaker so fast? You're a monster."
"You seem awfully pleased."
"Not just pleased—thrilled!" Kokabiel burst into laughter. "I stole the Church's swords to spark a war."
"But Michael and those Church cowards wouldn't bite, sending only exorcists and two holy sword wielders to die."
"You know how let down I was? I wanted to grab that girl behind you as a hostage, drag Sirzechs out!"
"So that's why you came to Kuoh," Rias said, her face cold, eyes blazing with killing intent. "You're insane, going this far for war."
"No choice. This world's too boring."
Kokabiel stood, arms raised to the sky. "A peaceful world without war is dull."
"Since the Great War, Azazel and Shemhazai lost their fire, tinkering with Sacred Gears."
"If they made God-slaying ones, fine. But they mess with pointless junk."
"I couldn't stand it. If they won't fight, I'll light the fuse myself!"
"Certified lunatic," Xenovia muttered, frowning.
"Curse me all you want. My goal's done."
Kokabiel stopped suppressing his aura, mana exploding outward. "Lucifer's sister, Leviathan's sister, and a Red Dragon Emperor exceeding expectations."
"Kill you all here, and war's inevitable!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A mana surge rivaling Kokabiel's erupted from Roy.
Hundreds of magic circles formed, encircling Kokabiel.
"That your last will?"
Roy waved, unleashing the prepared spells. "If you're done, hit the road."
A torrent of magic crashed down, flames and lightning hammering Kokabiel from all sides.
"Low-tier magic with only numbers? Useless against me."
Unfazed, Kokabiel conjured a mana shield.
The magic torrent hit, exploding with a bang.
To Kokabiel's disbelief, his shield shattered instantly.
"How?!"
His face twisted as he summoned light spears, sweeping them to detonate the spells early.
Explosions roared, but some flames and lightning still struck him.
His battle-hardened body crumbled like the shield, his aura plummeting.
Roy appeared before the wounded Kokabiel.
"BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost!"
Chants rang out, Roy pouring all boosted power into Gram.
Like a primordial demon god awakening, black mist roiled on Gram's surface, radiating terror.
Kokabiel, too slow to dodge, raised his spears to block.
With a screech, Gram sliced through, severing his right arm.
Kokabiel grunted, retreating while summoning a rain of light to push Roy back.
"Not bad for a Great War-surviving fallen angel cadre. Quick reflexes," Roy said, dodging the light rain.
He hadn't held back, aiming for Kokabiel's head.
Yet Kokabiel's instincts saved him from a fatal blow.
"Pointless struggling."
Roy attacked again.
In Balance Breaker, his power rivaled a Demon Lord.
If Kokabiel hadn't been careless, he might've stalled Roy.
But no ifs existed.
Hit by magic and down an arm, Kokabiel was weakened.
He couldn't withstand Roy at full throttle.
In a dozen breaths, he lost another arm.
"Damn it! What's with your strength?!"
Facing defeat, Kokabiel roared. "Two months, and you're this strong?!"
"Cheats on, never off."
Roy swung again.
Deafening booms echoed, shockwaves leveling the church.
On the ruined outskirts, Koneko and others, intending to help, backed off, stunned.
"First time seeing Roy-senpai go all out. Insane," Koneko said.
"Suppressing Kokabiel so easily? That's Demon Lord-level power," Sona added.
Xenovia, puzzled, spoke up. "Why isn't the Red Dragon Emperor affected after fully activating Gram?"
Asia tilted her head. "Affected? Something wrong with that sword?"
Xenovia: "Definitely. That's the Demon Emperor Sword, slayer of one of the Five Dragon Kings."
"Normal use is fine, but fully activating it releases dragon-slaying properties that can harm the wielder."
"In Balance Breaker, holding a fully active Gram without issues? That's illogical."
"Just get used to it," Rias chuckled, sounding seasoned. "Dig into Roy, and nothing about him makes sense."
Xenovia: "…"
She's right.
Recalling Roy's intel, Xenovia felt a wave of futility.
The gap was too vast—effort alone couldn't bridge it.
Boom!
As Xenovia lamented the chasm between them, a figure crashed from the sky.
Dust settled, revealing Kokabiel—armless, wingless, and bloodied.
"It's over."
Roy landed unscathed, retracting his wings and approaching. "Lasting half a minute in that state? Stronger than I expected."
"Cough! Never thought I'd fall here!"
Kokabiel spat blood, glaring weakly at the red figure. "Sword Saint-level swordsmanship, sustained Balance Breaker, and Gram without side effects… Only two months since awakening?"
"Fifty-second day."
After a satisfying fight, Roy answered cheerfully.
"Fifty-two days… Haha! The world's gone mad!"
Kokabiel laughed maniacally. "After the Biblical God's death, the rules are so broken, monsters like you can exist!"
"Wait, what?!"
Xenovia's eyes widened, stepping forward. "Who died?"
"Haha! You didn't know?"
Relishing dragging someone down, Kokabiel cackled. "The Biblical God died long ago, in the Great War, with the Demon Lords!"
"God embodies this world's rules, the Biblical God chief among them!"
"Without that, you think a rule-breaking freak like the Red Dragon Emperor could exist?"
"Impossible!"
Xenovia's pupils shook, her mind reeling.
Kokabiel's laughter grew wilder, pleased with the chaos.
But a demonic sword flashed, cleaving him in two.
"I was in a good mood, but your laugh's awful."
Roy glanced at his new entry.
[War Maniac (Red): Each large-scale war moderately boosts all attributes.]
Mood soured.
A fallen angel cadre, and this is the entry?
Roy loved farming entries, but war wasn't fighting.
Tossing War Maniac into storage, he looked to the street.
Yuuto and Irina hurried over.
"Prez, Roy, I'm here to—huh?"
Yuuto froze, seeing the calm ruins and Kokabiel's corpse.
"You're late. It's done," Roy said, sheathing Gram. "How'd it go on your end?"
"Smooth."
Yuuto nodded.
Balpa had few guards—just two Cerberuses from the Underworld.
After dealing with them, Yuuto caught the fleeing Balpa and executed him.
"Balpa had three Excalibur fragments. All recovered."
Irina eyed Excalibur Rapidly at Roy's waist, hesitating. "Mr. Roy, about Rapidly…"
"Tell the Church higher-ups they owe me one."
Roy tossed the sword to her.
"Thanks, I'll pass it on."
Irina relaxed.
Mission complete.
Noticing Xenovia's daze, she asked, "Xenovia, you okay? Something happen?"
"…Nothing."
Xenovia snapped back, shaking her head to hide what she'd heard. "Irina, let's head back to the Church."
"Huh? No rest?"
"I need to ask the higher-ups something."
Gazing at the sky, Xenovia's eyes clouded.
Was the Biblical God really dead?
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