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Edgar slowly turned the pages of the book, awestruck by the grand scenes painted within.
Cascading waterfalls that seemed to plunge from the heavens, mountains rising layer upon layer in majestic silence—such breathtaking beauty.
Even the two Holy Sword bearers were spellbound. But their wonder didn't last. Divine punishment rained down from the skies without warning.
Floodwaters tore through valleys, rivers burst their banks, forests were ripped apart in the storm of judgment.
The devastation left the two girls wide-eyed, gasping in shock.
Edgar calmly tore the page from the book and whispered words of comfort.
And then, in another place—
"...Master."
Asia slowly opened her eyes, dazed and confused.
Unlike before, she didn't instinctively pray to God, even though she was a demon. Instead, tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
"So this… this is why I was condemned as a witch. My Lord was already long dead. Everything the Church preached… was a lie.
All the prayers, the endless penance since I was a child—how laughable it all is."
A lifetime of faith collapsed in that single moment. Despair and sorrow drowned her completely.
Edgar stepped toward her, as if wrapped in a soft radiance. He reached out, resting his hand gently on her head.
Asia let out a weak whimper, then crashed straight into his chest, burying herself in his arms.
When she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with nothing but grief and confusion.
Lowering his head, Edgar stroked her hair.
"The Church deceived you in the past. But now, you've found the truth. You're my follower now. From here on, no one will ever lie to you again."
Her tears kept flowing, but his voice—so warm and steady—made her gaze blur.
"I… I want to truly become your follower too, Master…"
Her face flushed hot. For the first time, she took the initiative to ask for something.
Edgar didn't hesitate. He leaned down and claimed her lips.
Asia's eyes flew wide, fresh tears still running down her cheeks.
But compared to the torment of watching her faith shatter, this was the complete opposite—a strange, overwhelming joy that filled her heart in an instant.
The others glanced at the scene, their faces burning with embarrassment, but none of them dared interrupt. They all knew Edgar was helping a comrade, not indulging himself.
Meanwhile, Eriri—who had only just become his follower—was left completely dumbfounded.
Who am I? Where am I? What even is happening here?
In a daze, she wandered upstairs and leaned against the corridor wall.
"It's only the first day…"
Listening to the noises drifting up from below, she hugged her shoulders tightly, her eyes losing focus.
These people… they're way too much.
Don't they realize there's an outsider here?
She glanced toward the front door, then at the group blocking it. In the end, she shrank back and lowered her head.
Forget it. Looks like I'm not getting out of here anyway.
—The next day, at noon.
Eriri stumbled out of her room, dark circles under her eyes, yawning as she trudged downstairs.
Still half-asleep, she saw Edgar and Asia curled up together on the couch. The rest of the senior followers were sprawled about, sleeping soundly.
She froze on the spot.
…Huh?
This… isn't my house.
Wait—
Memories from yesterday came rushing back, and she jolted fully awake.
"You—you—you—you—you—! Seriously?! When does this ever stop?!"
Her face turned scarlet as she let out a shrill scream.
Edgar didn't even bother looking back.
"This is part of the training between followers. I'm working really hard for their sake, you know."
He sounded absolutely righteous… though his hands didn't stop moving.
Asia quickly nodded, her cheeks burning. "That's right. I can feel myself getting several times stronger already."
"Ha… ha… hahahaha…"
Eriri tugged at the corner of her lips, too drained to even complain anymore.
Edgar took a sip of his ice-cold Coke and chuckled."You're already just one step away from becoming a mid-level demon. Sure you don't want me to give you a little push?"
"Th-th-that…! Please don't even think about it!"
Eriri stumbled backward, her ears blazing red.
Something like that…She definitely wasn't ready for it yet.
No one knew how long had passed before Shiho Miyano finally finished her daily studies and started cleaning up the place.
Edgar rose from the couch and glanced at his lazy retainers sprawled around the room. With a few sharp slaps, he left faint handprints across their skin.
A series of soft groans slipped out as they slowly came back to their senses.
"Ah, it's already noon. Master, I'll go make lunch," Akemi Miyano said briskly. She grabbed an apron and rushed into the kitchen.
Xenovia and Irina were about to follow and help, but Edgar stopped them.
"Here—this is your familiar data. Perfect time to take a look at your stat sheets."
After his usual round of explanations, the two girls began reading through the information.
Gulp.Gulp.
By the time they finished, both Xenovia and Irina swallowed hard.
They hadn't expected that becoming demons wouldn't just let them grow stronger under their master's guidance—it also came with unbelievable perks.
Breaking limits.Endlessly upgrading stats.Skills that could only be described as god-tier abilities.
"Master… I can't thank you enough for turning me into a demon," Irina whispered, her voice trembling. "This is something countless people dream about."
Both she and Xenovia dropped to one knee. Their eyes shimmered as they looked up at Edgar, devotion and admiration plain to see.
In the moment when their faith had collapsed, something new had been built in its place.
To them, Edgar had already replaced the God they once worshipped.
Or maybe… he was even greater.
Because Edgar was right here—tangible, real.
He didn't just give them new life.He gave them power.
That old, silent God of theirs could never compare.
"Alright, enough. No need to kneel every time you feel moved."
Edgar helped them back up and added, "By the way, you two didn't come here just for fun, did you? You must have a mission."
Hearing that, Xenovia and Irina nodded, then told him everything they knew.
"Yes—it's a mission from the Church," Xenovia confirmed. "Not long ago, three of the Holy Swords kept under their custody were stolen by the Fallen Angels. One of their cadres, Kokabiel, was the one who took them."
"We came here to retrieve the swords. At the very least, we have to destroy them before the Fallen Angels can use them."
The other girls in the room stiffened in shock.
"You mean to say… a Fallen Angel cadre is here in this town?" Shiho asked, her voice tight.
From what they knew, a cadre was the real upper echelon of the Fallen Angels—the kind of being that might've even fought in the ancient wars of gods.
No doubt about it, such a person's strength would be close to that of a Demon Lord.
"Our intel points that way," Xenovia said gravely, then hesitated. "Honestly, Master, finding you was a coincidence. We just wanted to see if the demons here were open to cooperating with us."
At that, she looked a little sheepish.
Because now… well, "cooperation" had gone a lot farther than expected.
Edgar fell silent, deep in thought.
So even with this messy crossover of worlds, this incident hadn't changed.
But the question was—would the process unfold the same way?
"What are you all whispering about?"
Akemi's cheerful voice rang from the kitchen. "Come on, everyone, food's ready!"
"Everyone, come on over—dinner's ready!"
Akemi Miyano poked her head out of the kitchen, apron still tied around her waist, and waved cheerfully.
At her call, every girl's stomach growled in unison.
They had eaten plenty last night, but all of it had already been burned up as strength. Now they were properly starving.
"Mmm, Akemi, your cooking's gotten even better."
Edgar didn't hold back his praise as they sat around the table.
Akemi had always been good in the kitchen, but with the exotic ingredients Edgar kept bringing back from dangerous beasts, her cooking had gone from great to downright extraordinary.
Hearing the compliment, Akemi's face lit up with a delighted smile.
Occult Research Club.
"How many days has it been now, and that guy Edgar still hasn't shown up?"
Rias glanced at the date as she wrote in her notebook, muttering under her breath.
Oh dear! "If our president misses him so much, why not go looking for him yourself?"
Akeno, eyes crinkled in amusement, set down a steaming cup of tea.
Rias gave a quick, dry laugh. "Ha, as if. I'm just curious, that's all."
She flicked her long red hair back and kept writing as though it were nothing, though the desk groaned under the pressure of her pen.
That bastard. He's probably off chasing women somewhere again.
Maybe… I should be the one to go find him.
Her thoughts were still wavering when the light outside suddenly shifted. Though it was noon, the world dimmed as if midnight had swallowed the sky.
Rias and Akeno shot to their feet at the same instant and rushed outside.
Overhead, the heavens were drowned in black. An invisible force had already sealed off the entire Kuoh Academy.
"This is a high-level isolation barrier…"
Shitori Souna arrived in a hurry, her expression grim. "Whoever cast this has to be at least a top-tier devil."
"As I thought—no way to send messages out."
The glow of Rias's spell flickered and died in her hand. Her voice was heavy. "To the outside world, it probably looks like nothing's wrong at all."
"This is bad," Akeno muttered. "Whoever did this clearly didn't come with good intentions."
Before they could say more, an indescribable pressure crashed down on them, stealing the breath from their lungs.
Their faces paled. Instinctively, they all looked up.
There, floating against the abyssal sky, was a figure shrouded in shadow.
A man in an ornate, regal robe, his face drawn and severe. Behind him spread ten black wings, radiating an aura of pure malice.
A fallen angel cadre—Kokabiel—had descended.
"Well, well. Looks like everyone I wanted is here."
He gazed down on them with a smile that chilled to the bone.
Rias's eyes narrowed, her tone sharp. "This is Gremory territory. Whoever you are, do you mean to start a war with us devils?"
Kokabiel threw his head back in laughter. "Not quite. What I want is war—between devils, angels, and fallen angels alike!"
His grin widened, twisted with madness. "And the death of the two Maou sisters' little sisters here should be more than enough to ignite it."
Rias and the others stiffened.
A lunatic. He's a complete lunatic.
"Enough talk. I can't wait to watch the world burn."
A violent gleam flashed in Kokabiel's eyes. "Consider it an honor—you'll be the first sacrifices for the coming great war."
Boom!
As his words fell, dazzling light flared in his hands.
The spear of light, radiating a terrifyingly divine aura, had already been hurled.
"That lunatic…" Rias and Souna said at the same time, their expressions darkening. Magic circles flared to life beneath their feet.
Whum!
In an instant, two magical barriers spread out, one centered on the old school building, the other on the student council office. They expanded outward until the entire Kuoh Academy was wrapped inside their protection.
BOOM!
The holy spear slammed into the barrier, shaking the whole academy to its foundations.
"Haha, impressive—two high-level defensive wards," Kokabiel sneered, laughing wildly. "Fitting, for the younger sisters of two Maou." His voice turned sharp and mocking. "But too bad… the ones controlling those barriers are far too weak."
Light rained down in torrents. Spear after spear fell like a storm, hammering the glowing shield and making it tremble violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening blasts forced Rias and Souna to pour all their demonic power into holding the wards together, their faces pale from the strain.
"This won't last much longer…"
Akeno clenched her fists tight. All she could do was watch helplessly as the situation grew more desperate.
"Let's see how long you can endure." Kokabiel's laughter grew more frenzied, his voice nearly a roar.
Whummmm!
The sky itself seemed to blaze as light converged, condensing into a single spear greater and more destructive than any before. He hurled it straight into the barrier.
For the first time, Kokabiel had gone all out.
CRACK!
The spear exploded with overwhelming force, tearing straight through one of the barriers.
"Another!" he barked, immediately conjuring another spear of equal power and driving it down.
BOOOOM!
The last layer of protection splintered. Cracks spread like webbing before the barrier shattered completely.
Whoosh!
The collapse unleashed a violent shockwave that ripped outward, an invisible blast sweeping across the academy grounds.
Meanwhile, inside the school—
Edgar had already turned his gaze toward the window.
"Something feels… off."
His brow furrowed as the Red Dragon Emperor's gauntlet materialized on his arm. Power surged through it, sharpening his vision like a lens that cut through illusion.
Moments later, his expression turned cold. "So you want to die."
Killing intent flooded the room. Then, with a flash of light, his figure vanished.
Outside, Kokabiel grinned as he looked at Rias and Souna, now exposed without the barrier.
"Now, you die."
Despair washed over everyone at his words.
But then—
"I think the one who's going to die… is you."
The voice cut sharply through the chaos.
Rias froze. That voice—so familiar.
Souna and Akeno both turned their heads in shock toward its source.
"Hm?" Kokabiel's brow furrowed. He looked down.
Out of the light, a lone figure stepped forward, walking slowly but with absolute certainty.
"Edgar?"
Souna's eyes dimmed.
For a moment she thought rescue had come. But… only Edgar? Even with another high-class devil on their side, it wasn't nearly enough against a Cadre of the Fallen Angels.
"Well, this is interesting," Kokabiel said, eyes narrowing. "You actually broke through my barrier? Just what are you?"
Edgar's gaze was calm, his tone cold and flat. "The one who's going to kill you."
"..."
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