The message from Sitri, delivered through the magical communicator she'd issued me, struck like a gong. Kokabiel. One of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, a Cadre of the Grigori, a veteran of the Great War, known for his cruelty and hatred of the current world order. And he was here, in Kuoh, heading for the Academy. This was no longer a minor skirmish with exorcists or a clan squabble. This was a direct, Satan-level threat.
I didn't waste time. Kuro, my long-eared familiar, immediately leaped onto my shoulder, his crimson ear-tips twitching nervously—he sensed the danger just as I did. Dashing out of my mansion, I tore toward Kuoh Academy at the full speed my body was capable of. The streets blurred past in indistinct smudges.
In moments, I was on school grounds. Night had enveloped the buildings, but the air was electrified. I could feel powerful surges of magical energy—demonic, holy, and now—a distinct, oppressive aura of a high-ranking Fallen Angel. It was emanating from somewhere above, from the sky over the school courtyard.
I headed straight for the main courtyard. The scene was impressive. A massive, almost invisible magical barrier covered the entire Academy grounds in a dome. At the edge of the barrier, near the old club building, stood Sona Sitri and her Student Council—Tsubaki Shinra, Saji Genshirou, and the others. Their hands were outstretched, maintaining the complex web of runes that powered the barrier. Their faces were concentrated; they were clearly pouring a great deal of power into containing Kokabiel's potential attack and isolating the battlefield from the city.
In the center of the courtyard, inside the barrier, stood the Occult Research Club. Rias, Issei (already recovered), Kiba, Akeno, Koneko. They were all looking up.
And there, hovering in the sky, was him. Kokabiel. Ten black wings spread slowly behind his back, creating a sinister silhouette against the moon. His face was twisted in a contemptuous smirk, his eyes burning with a mad fire. And there were several other figures—lower-ranking Fallen Angels and, it seemed, a couple of summoned monsters that looked like giant Cerberuses, and old geezers in pope's robes.
The atmosphere was stretched to its absolute limit.
"Kokabiel!" Rias's voice rang out, firm, amplified by magic and the barrier. "What do you want in this city?! Why have you come?!"
Kokabiel burst out laughing. A loud, rolling laugh.
"What do I want, Gremory brat? I want a war! A real, bloody war! Like the one we had before! When angels, demons, and fallen tore each other's throats out! Not this pathetic truce of yours, this cowardly peace! I want to see the fire of battle again! To hear the screams of the dying!"
"You're insane!" Issei shouted. "We won't let you start a war!"
"You won't let me?" Kokabiel laughed again. "You? A bunch of snot-nosed, half-baked demons? I'll grind you to dust with a single move! But..."—he suddenly grew serious, his gaze sweeping the courtyard before stopping on me. I was standing a short distance from Rias's group, observing. Kokabiel knew I was here. He could feel my aura. He was ready. "…before the fun begins, I'd like to speak with someone. Someone who doesn't belong to your pathetic rabble. Someone whose power I admire. Izayoi Jin! I know you're here! Show yourself!"
His voice thundered over the school. Rias and her team exchanged surprised glances, then looked in my direction. I stepped forward, into the open. My appearance did not go unnoticed. Kokabiel narrowed his eyes, studying me. Freed, near him, bared his teeth in a grin, recognizing his former tormentor.
"So, there you are…" Kokabiel muttered, his gaze sharp, appraising. He was clearly trying to scan my aura, but judging by his baffled expression, he was failing. My "foreignness" was confusing him. "The anomaly, Jin. The one who toyed with my agents. The one who fears neither holy nor demonic power. My spies gathered their information well."
He slowly descended, hovering about twenty meters above the ground.
"Tell me, Izayoi Jin," his voice became ingratiating, almost friendly, which didn't match his crazed eyes at all. "What are you doing among these… demons? You're not one of them. I can feel it. You lack their rot, their weakness. Your power… it's different. Pure. Potent. Perhaps… human? Or something more?"
I remained silent, watching him. What was his angle?
"Why have you thrown in with these spawn of the Underworld?" Kokabiel continued, gesturing with a wing toward Rias and her team. "They are weak. They are mired in their intrigues, in their false morality. They fear true strength. They betrayed their very nature for a pathetic peace with the angels who despise them! Can't you see that?"
He leaned forward, his voice filled with passion.
"You are power! True, primordial power! You don't belong with these weaklings! You should be with those who value might, who aren't afraid to fight! With those who want to change this rotten world! I know you can neutralize both holy and demonic magic. That's unique! It makes you nearly invincible!"
He spread his arms wide, his black wings unfurling majestically.
"Join me, Izayoi Jin! Together, we will sweep away both demons and angels! We will show them what a real war is! We will build a new world, founded on strength and freedom! You don't need to serve these Gremory upstarts! You can be my ally! My equal! I would prefer to have you on my side! Think about it! Why protect those who use you, who fear you? Throw off their shackles! Be free! Become part of the great storm that will cleanse this world!"
His offer hung in the night air. Rias, Issei, and the others stared at me, holding their breath, waiting for my answer. Kokabiel watched with hope and a mad gleam in his eyes. Freed smiled predatorily. Sona and her council at the edge of the barrier were also watching intently.
And I… I just looked at Kokabiel. At his pompous speech, at his crazed gaze, at his offer of an "alliance." And I felt only one thing.
Boredom. And irritation.
He was trying to manipulate me, appealing to my power, to my (supposed) human nature, to my (imagined) desire for freedom from the demons. He didn't even realize how far off the mark he was. How little I cared about his wars, his ideologies, his "new world." He thought he'd done his homework, that he knew me. He knew nothing.
I smirked. Coldly, contemptuously.
"Are you finished, feather-brain?" I asked, my voice calm, but holding not a shadow of interest. "Your speech was… tiring. And stupid."
Kokabiel's face twisted in rage. He had not expected that response.
"What?! Stupid?! How dare you?! I am offering you power! Glory! Freedom!"
"I don't need your power," I cut him off. "I have enough of my own. I don't need your glory—I prefer the quiet. And I don't need your freedom—I'm already free. Free from idiots like you who try to drag me into their pathetic games."
I looked him right in the eye.
"You talk about strength? You talk about war? You're just a madman, drunk on the thirst for destruction. You are weak, Kokabiel. Because your strength is built on hatred and fear. And this is..... the lot of losers.."
My words hit him harder than any physical blow. He roared, his aura flaring with new power. The ten black wings on his back tensed like steel blades.
"You whelp! You will regret those words! I will destroy you! I will show you the true power of a Fallen Angel! All Attack! Crush those Gremory puppies! I will deal with this brat myself!"