Chapter 307: The Enemy Appears
The next morning, Haruto received messages from Touko and Kasumi Takamine.
Through their collaboration, they successfully discovered the Fallen Angels and Stray Priests who had infiltrated Kuoh Town.
As Haruto had specifically instructed, the investigation did not delve too deeply, avoiding any casualties. In exchange, they only obtained general clues, without pinpointing the enemy's exact hiding place.
Haruto relayed the information to Irina Shido and Xenovia, who were out on the streets hoping to get lucky. Joined by Yuuto Kiba, who had reaffirmed her goal of revenge, the four quickly began their search.
As the search area narrowed, Haruto began to find the surroundings increasingly familiar.
"Kiba, I think I already know where those guys are hiding."
Looking at the abandoned factory ahead, Haruto smirked, "No wonder there was an emergency mission last time. Turns out that deranged Stray Devil teamed up with the Stray Priests and Fallen Angels."
"Fallen Angels are traitors to God in the first place. It's only natural for these faithless beings to collude."
Xenovia solemnly held the massive Sword of Destruction in front of her, adopting a combat stance.
The closer they got to the abandoned factory, the more palpable the chilling sense of dread became.
Yuuto Kiba and Irina Shido wore equally grave expressions. The three of them possessed similar strength, all at A-rank, capable of sensing danger but unable to pinpoint its true source.
"Three Holy Swords, two priests, and one Fallen Angel."
Haruto glanced at them and remarked calmly, "The two priests with Holy Swords are about your level. That Fallen Angel is troublesome—I doubt you can handle him."
Upon closer inspection, given Haruto's power, only Kokabiel, a Satan-Class being, could barely conceal his aura.
Unfortunately, aside from Haruto already knowing Kokabiel was behind this scheme, Xenovia's mention of him stealing the Holy Swords confirmed the Fallen Angel's identity.
The Stray Devil from last time was likely left behind to guard the place; otherwise, Haruto would have detected others hiding here sooner.
Realizing they were exposed, the figures in the factory ceased hiding.
Three men who looked unmistakably villainous emerged one after another.
First was a priest clutching a blade-shaped Holy Sword, his expression maniacal, like a rabid dog ready to lunge and bite.
Behind him was a kindly-looking, portly old man with white hair, clad in the sacred white robes of a church Bishop.
"Valper Galilei."
Xenovia's voice was low. Though she had heard from Haruto that Balba, who was obsessed with Holy Swords, had colluded with Fallen Angels, confirming it still weighed heavily on her.
As a church Bishop, Valper might not excel in combat, but in the specialized field of Holy Swords, he was second to none.
His presence here, tied to the Holy Swords, hinted at ambitious plans.
Yuuto's eyes burned with rage, his desire to cut down the smiling, rotund old man and avenge his wronged comrades nearly overwhelming him.
Fortunately, Haruto had warned her in advance, allowing her to maintain composure and avoid charging to her death.
While Valper was no match for her, the mastermind of this incident wouldn't stand idly by.
Yuuto shifted her gaze to the dark figure behind Valper, her heart chilling.
She recognized him—not just recognized, but had witnessed him in action.
Thus, she knew full well she was no match for him, likely not even capable of landing a blow.
It was Kokabiel, the Fallen Angel Executive from the main faction who had appeared during the Three Factions Summit.
He hovered arrogantly mid-air, twelve pairs of black wings spread wide, with a makeshift floating palace beneath him. His opening remark, dismissing Haruto and the others as unworthy, perfectly embodied the arrogance of a Fallen Angel Executive.
"Heh, I didn't expect only you few to show up."
Haruto ignored Kokabiel, quietly assessing his strength.
Soon, Haruto's brow twitched slightly.
It seemed he hadn't improved at all since the last Three Factions Summit...
If that was the case, why put on such a pretentious act?
"I was about to say, with just three of you, we don't even have enough to go one-on-one," Haruto scanned Kokabiel with a disdainful tone.
Kokabiel's smirk vanished. Being looked down upon by a junior was worse than death to a war fanatic with such twisted pride.
"Hmph, quite the Red Dragon Emperor." The pretentious floating throne disappeared as Kokabiel coldly stated, "This time, without a woman's help, let's see how you activate your Balance Breaker."
By the way, the news of him breaking through to Satan-Class and fully mastering Balance Breaker through sheer strength hadn't spread yet.
No wonder this guy acted so arrogantly from the start - that's how it was.
Haruto paused for a moment, then pretended to have a sudden realization.
"Oh right, why don't you wait a moment? I'll notify the club president and student council president. Weren't you just complaining about too few people showing up?"
Kokabiel froze, not daring to agree.
If he really let Haruto activate Balance Breaker, combined with the assistance from the Occult Research Club and student council girls, he might not be able to win.
But if he didn't agree, it would seem like he was contradicting himself.
"Hmph, sharp-tongued brat." Kokabiel said angrily. "When I beat you half-dead and bring you before your master, I hope your mouth can still move this smoothly."
"Hey, that's not fair. Losing the argument and resorting to personal attacks, huh?"
Haruto still maintained that carefree attitude, completely disregarding Kokabiel, even as the other gathered a Spear of Light larger than a person.
Kokabiel stopped talking, his face darkening as he prepared to attack.
"Wait." Haruto suddenly raised his hand.
"What? Trying to beg for mercy now? Too late!"
"No, no."
Haruto waved his hand. "I'm just curious - after you teamed up with the Khaos Brigade last time, Shemhazai actually didn't punish you when you returned? Or perhaps..."
"After betraying God, have you now betrayed the Fallen Angels too and fully joined the Khaos Brigade?"
Kokabiel said expressionlessly: "Rather than that, you should worry about whether you'll survive what comes next."
"Whether I live or die is none of your concern."
Haruto's smile disappeared as vast, profound magical power began to flow around him, causing the surrounding space to subtly distort.
"But your answer will determine whether you live or die next."
Kokabiel's pair of mad, slender pupils suddenly contracted. Even without using Balance Breaker, he could sense danger from Haruto.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on the Spear of Light, continuing to pour magical power into it.
The already person-sized Spear of Light expanded again, stopping only when it reached the size of a house.
The sky-obscuring bright yellow Spear of Light, pointed at both ends, was held above Kokabiel's head. The massive spear body was surrounded by rings of purple magical energy, looking exactly like an interstellar cannon from a sci-fi movie at first glance.
The two Holy Sword Wielder beauties felt despair in their hearts. Although they always prepared for sacrifice during missions, this sense of powerlessness was truly devastating.
Under Kokabiel's full power, even Valper and the mad stray priest instinctively took two steps back, afraid of being accidentally caught in the crossfire.
Yuuto Kiba's hand holding the Demon Sword was also trembling. Satan-Class... was truly terrifyingly strong.
She looked back at Haruto's unwavering figure, and the fear in her heart gradually dissipated, replaced by a firm belief that she must become stronger.
Her constantly trembling hand steadied as Yuuto Kiba stared intently at Valper ahead.
Kokabiel would be handled by Haruto, but her enemy and the one she hated must be dealt with by her own hands.
"Are you certain you won't answer?"
A dark blue magical circle formed beneath Haruto's feet. If this was Kokabiel's strongest attack, he wouldn't even need to use his Balance Breaker.
Being looked down upon once again pushed Kokabiel's anger to its limit. Originally intending to beat Haruto half-dead to lure out Rias, he now only wanted to utterly erase him from this world.
"I was considering whether to give Shemhazai some face, but it seems unnecessary now."
Haruto's gaze turned cold. Fallen Angels were, frankly, just a group of traitors who betrayed the angels, something he never liked in the first place.
For the sake of peace among the three factions, he had been hesitating about whether to kill Kokabiel.
After what happened during the three-faction summit, Kokabiel could still cause trouble—it didn't seem like he'd been confined or punished at all.
Since Shemhazai couldn't keep him under control, it was better to eliminate such a threat early.
As long as he cleaned up thoroughly, even if the Fallen Angels investigated, he could simply deny everything.
He was just a Special-Class Devil—how could he possibly kill a Satan-Class like Kokabiel?
What? That he had beaten Azazel to near-death when he was only S-Class?
Deny it to the end—unless you have proof!