The next morning, Ethan received a report from Fuyuko Sakuramachi and Kasumi Takamine. Through the joint efforts of their organizations, they had successfully located the Fallen Angel and the Rogue Priests hiding in Kuoh Town.
Following Ethan's instructions, they hadn't probed too deeply to avoid casualties, providing only a general area rather than a specific room number.
Ethan relayed the information to Irina Shidou and Xenovia Quarta, who were out on the streets trying their luck. Together with Yuuki—who was now refocused on her revenge—the four converged and began a rapid search of the designated zone.
As the search area narrowed, the surroundings began to look familiar to Ethan.
"Yuuki, I think I know where these rats are nesting," Ethan remarked. Looking at the abandoned factory ahead, he curled his lip. "I thought that 'emergency mission' last time felt a bit random. It turns out that mindless Stray Devil was in bed with the Rogue Priests and the Fallen Angels all along."
"Fallen Angels are already traitors to God. It's only natural for such degenerates to flock together," Xenovia said, her voice cold. She braced her massive Excalibur Destruction in front of her, her body coiled like a spring.
As they approached the factory, the chill of malice grew more palpable. Yuuki and Irina were equally tense. All three were A-rank warriors; they could sense the danger, even if they couldn't pinpoint the exact source.
"Three Holy Swords, two priests, and one Fallen Angel," Ethan noted calmly. He scanned the perimeter with his heightened senses. "The priests and the swords are roughly on your level. The Fallen Angel, however, is a problem. I don't think you can handle him."
With his current strength, only a Demon King-class entity like Kokabiel could even hope to mask his presence from Ethan. But Ethan already knew who the mastermind was. That Stray Devil he had killed weeks ago was likely just the "gatekeeper" left behind to hide the real operation.
Realizing they had been spotted, the figures inside the factory stopped hiding. Three men, all bearing the unmistakable look of villains, stepped out into the open.
Leading the way was a priest wielding a katana-shaped Holy Sword. His face was twisted into a frantic, rabid expression, like a mad dog waiting for the command to bite. Behind him stood a seemingly gentle, portly old man with white hair, dressed in the pristine white robes of a Church Archbishop.
"Valper Galilei," Xenovia hissed. Hearing about his betrayal was one thing, but seeing the man who had turned the Holy Swords into a tool for his own obsession made her blood run cold.
As a former Archbishop, Valper might not be much of a fighter, but in the field of Holy Sword research, he was the undisputed authority. His presence here meant the stakes were far higher than a simple theft.
Yuuki's eyes turned a predatory shade of red. She wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear the smiling old man limb from limb to avenge her fallen friends. However, Ethan's hand on her shoulder kept her grounded. Valper wasn't the real threat here.
Yuuki looked at the shadow behind Valper and felt a shiver of dread. She recognized him. She had seen him move before, and she knew with absolute certainty that she was no match for him. She might not even get the chance to draw her sword before he ended her.
The man was Kokabiel, a leader of the Fallen Angel's war-hawk faction.
He floated high in the air, twelve pairs of pitch-black wings unfurled behind him. He sat upon a conjured throne, looking down at Ethan's group with utter disdain.
"Keke... I expected more," Kokabiel sneered. "Is this really all the Gremory brat could send?"
Ethan didn't bother replying immediately. Instead, he quietly gauged Kokabiel's power level. After a moment, his brow quirked. He hasn't improved at all since the last summit, Ethan thought. If he's still at this level, why is he acting like such a big shot?
"I was thinking the same thing," Ethan said, his voice laced with mockery. "There's only three of you. It's hardly enough to go around if we each want one."
Kokabiel's laughter cut off. Being looked down upon by a mere brat was more painful to his pride than a physical wound. "Hmph. Quite the mouth on you, Red Dragon Emperor. I see you don't have your harem of women here to help you. Let's see how you manage to enter your Balance Breaker without their little 'sacrifices.'"
Ethan blinked, then realized that his breakthrough to the Demon King class and his mastery of the Balance Breaker through sheer brute force hadn't become public knowledge yet. Kokabiel still thought Ethan needed a "power-up" from his girls.
Ethan smirked and played along. "Oh, you're right. Should I call Rias and Sona over? You did say you wanted more people to fight, didn't you?"
Kokabiel stiffened. He didn't dare say yes. If Ethan really summoned the Gremory and Sitri peerages and entered his Balance Breaker, Kokabiel wasn't entirely sure he could win. But backing down now would be a massive blow to his ego.
"Sharp-tongued brat," Kokabiel barked. "I'll beat you half to death and drag you before your masters. Let's see how much you talk then!"
"Whoa, easy there. Resorting to violence because you lost the argument?" Ethan teased, remaining completely relaxed even as Kokabiel began to manifest a Spear of Light larger than a human.
Kokabiel's face darkened, and he prepared to launch his attack.
"Wait a second," Ethan raised a hand.
"What? Want to beg for mercy? Too late!"
"No, no," Ethan waved him off. "I'm just curious. You worked with the Chaos Brigade last time. I'm surprised Shemhazai didn't execute you. Or did you... betray the Fallen Angels entirely to join them?"
Kokabiel stared at him blankly. "You should worry more about whether you'll survive the next minute."
"My survival isn't your concern," Ethan said, his smile vanishing. A massive, deep mana began to circulate within him, causing the very space around him to ripple and distort. "But your answer determines whether you get to die quickly or slowly."
Kokabiel's mad, slitted pupils dilated. Even without the Balance Breaker, he felt a sudden, primitive sense of danger emanating from Ethan. He instinctively tightened his grip on the Spear of Light, pouring more mana into it until it swelled to the size of a small house.
The spear, glowing with a blinding yellow-white light and wrapped in rings of purple energy, looked like an orbital cannon from a sci-fi movie.
Irina and Xenovia felt their hearts sink. They were ready to die for their mission, but the sheer gap in power was suffocating. Even Valper and the mad priest stepped back to avoid being caught in the blast radius.
Yuuki's hand trembled as she gripped her demon sword. Demon King class... it's terrifying, she thought. But as she looked at Ethan's steady, unmoving back, her fear dissolved, replaced by a burning desire to grow stronger.
"Are you sure you won't answer?" Ethan asked. A dark blue magic circle formed beneath his feet. If this was Kokabiel's ultimate move, Ethan didn't even need his armor.
Enraged by the continued disrespect, Kokabiel roared. He no longer cared about capturing Ethan alive to bait Rias. He wanted to erase this boy from existence.
"I was thinking of giving Shemhazai some face, but I guess I don't need to," Ethan said coldly. Fallen Angels were traitors by definition, and he had no love for them. He had hesitated to kill Kokabiel only because of the fragile peace treaty, but seeing that Shemhazai couldn't keep his own man on a leash, Ethan decided to solve the problem permanently.
As long as he cleaned up the evidence, the Fallen Angels couldn't prove anything. After all, how could a "Special Class" Devil kill a "Demon King" class leader?
What? He almost killed Azazel at S-rank? No proof! No proof at all!