[Issei's POV]
Following Rias's instruction, I began building up power with Doubling.
Koneko stepped forward, and lemme tell you, her ears and tail plus her intensity in battle make her insanely adorable.
"This is no time to hold back. I give you my all!" she vowed, and suddenly, her body was bathed in pure white light.
Moments later, she materialized in an adult form, white traditional dress with a blue mini-skimid… Is that a miniskirt-becoming-hakama? She looked every bit as mature and elegant as Rias and Akeno.
"Whoa—"
Whap!
My eyes got smacked with her strike.
"Aaagh! My eyeballs!!"
"You brought it on yourself."
She knew me too well.
Still… her adult form was stunning. Asia fainted when she saw it from afar, little wonder. If Koneko grows up to look like this, I'm definitely her older brother! I loved her kid form, but this… wow.
"Allow me to start the battle!" Koneko announced, and like that, Ikki charged first toward Kokabiel. Xenovia and Koneko quickly flanked.
Their dual attack pressed Kokabiel, but he caught it with a glowing sword in one hand and another he summoned in the other.
"A combined holy and Holy-Demonic Sword assault! Interesting!" Kokabiel grinned.
"Now!" Koneko's Kasha attacked from behind, while she did a dive-bomb from above.
He got hit from all sides, but then, he spread wings like a fallen angel, spinning in a dark tornado that blasted us all away.
"Are you okay?!" I shouted.
"Don't worry, Issei. Koneko's wheels blocked most of it," Xenovia answered. She and Rias dodged too. Good.
"Jesus… so those wings are defensive too. Fallen angels are OP."
"Nice lightning, Akeno, daughter of Baraqiel," I teased.
"I am not Baraqiel's daughter!" Akeno snapped, fangs showing.
Wait, Baraqiel? A Fallen Angel elder. So Akeno… inherited something from him?
"Apparently," Ikki told me. Akeno steeled herself. "If she's our enemy now, she must die here."
Then she unleashed a light-powered shockwave that slammed us all back.
"Ugh!" That hit unbelievably hard, I could barely move.
"Keep going!" Kokabiel yelled, firing orbs of dense light at Ikki, but Ikki was still down and couldn't dodge!
"Not on my watch!" Xenovia intercepted, cleaving his light orb with Durandal.
Saved. But hey, why can Xenovia move? She was hit too! Then it clicked, she's human, a Holy Sword wielder. She's probably resistant to light attacks!
"For Church warriors to even help a demon… without a Lord, you accept that kind of contradiction?"
"Kokabiel! What do you mean by 'without a Lord'?!" Xenovia demanded, unable to ignore the provocation.
At length, Kokabiel burst into loud, mocking laughter.
"Ah, did I slip up? …No matter. We're about to wage war, what's the point of hiding now? My habits run deep. Fine, I'll teach you all. The god… died alongside the four Maous in that last tri-faction war!"
Shock rippled through everyone present.
"You're insane! How dare you claim our Lord is gone!" Xenovia cried out, shaking her head in disbelief.
"In that war, not only did gods perish, you lost all Maous and many High Demons, and Angels and Fallen Angels lost almost all their lieutenants. Pure-blood Angels can't reproduce, and pure-blood Demons are rare. All factions fell so far they needed humanity to survive. The three factions' leaders hid this truth to protect human faith," Kokabiel calmly revealed.
Asia and Xenovia collapsed to their knees, speechless. Even Xenovia let go of Durandal, muttering "Lies… lies…" in shock.
"If our Lord is gone… what becomes of the love given to us?!" Asia's voice shook.
Kokabiel smirked. "Michael's doing fine. He's leading Angels and humans in God's absence, the blessing "system" still works somewhat. Not like it did before, but it functions."
Asia fainted again, her spirit shattered. Ikki caught her as she fell, supporting her against a tree.
"But what infuriates me is this: with God and Maous dead, the war was halted. 'Put down your fists now'? Do you think that redeems the sacrifices of our comrades? Azazel even declared no second war… Well, if no one will fight, I will! I will start the war with my own hands!"
Kokabiel's zeal boiled Ikki's blood.
"Enough, Kokabiel! Using their deaths to start a war will only kill more! I won't let you destroy our town for your revenge or glory! I have dreams, and you stand in my way!"
Kokabiel raised an eyebrow. "Dreams, huh? Treasure? Power?"
Ikki grinned. "Listen well, my ambition? To become the Harem King! That's my dream!"
Silence fell. Then Kokabiel chuckled. "So the Red Dragon Emperor longs for a throne of beauties? Come with me, I'll serve you any woman you wish. Tomorrow, you'll be Harem King!"
"Tomorrow!?" Ikki staggered at the offer. He was a servant of Rias, could he really be tempted?
Before he could answer, Rias called out, "Ikki!"
"Yes, my Lady!"
"If you want all those girls so much, defeat Kokabiel, and I'll serve you," Rias declared quietly.
Ikki's jaw dropped. Then Akeno purred, "If you'll allow it, I'll join too."
Rias sputtered with outrage. Akeno smiled wickedly. Tension crackled as the two vied for attention with magical power flaring between them.
Koneko tugged Ikki's sleeve, her voice soft: "Soon, Kokabiel will lose his patience. That will be our moment…"
He nodded, bracing himself. Indeed, Kokabiel finally roared in fury:
"You fools! Do you plan to bicker forever–ignoring me?!"
"Shut up!!" Rias and Akeno shouted in unison, unleashing a wave of magical energy so intense it blended destruction and lightning in the sky.
"Red Dragon Emperor's Gift: Boosted Gear Gift!" Ikki activated, torching the combined aura into a massive destructive beam.
Cocabliel flinched as the power collided head-on, tearing at the earth beneath him. Everyone scrambled away, breathless and safe behind protective barriers.
Smoke cleared to reveal Kokabiel, battered and bloodied, though still standing.
"A single hit is not enough, I must end this properly. Feast your eyes!" He leapt high, forming a massive spear of light overhead.
That spear… would level a city.
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