Chapter 120 - 40

40- The King's Sword: Fool's Errand

…..

"Do you understand the rules, lady Gremory?" Asked Kokabiel with more respect than his smile indicated. He sounded cordial, even gentle in his demeanor and didn't look misplaced with his angelic face despite the smile he was wearing.

Because there was a malice behind that smile that made every devil and even the goddess present feel like he was playing with them. It was something easily believable as they knew his power, even as Kokabiel was holding it back for the time being.

By the earnest look he was offering her, Rias knew he was really waiting for an answer. "Let me see if I got this right… You are saying that we can't leave this area-"

"Uhum."

"-we can't communicate with the outside world-"

"That is right."

"-and any attempt of escaping or trying to do such will result in our immediate termination, ergo death." Kokabiel was nodding along Rias' words all the way. "Did I get everything right?"

"On your first go." The Cadre sounded festive.

But Rias was done. "And you are not going to fight back or anything? Just defend yourself?"

"That is the gist of it, yes." The fallen angel replied and a moment of silence fell in the area.

"Yeah, no, I am not buying it." Rias turned to look at Sona just enough to keep the fallen angel in her field of vision. "Is he telling the truth?"

"So far he hasn't really fought back if that is what you are wondering. That is why everyone here is still alive." All of Sona's peerage was hurt in some shape or form but it was undeniable they all were still breathing. Rias understood the words clearly; with Kokabiel power either that was a feat or the man wasn't lying. "He also counterattacked and threw his energy around when we tried to get to Valper Galilei but even then it was mostly 'love taps'."

By the sarcasm in Sona's voice her impression of 'love taps' were clearly still extremely painful. "Sorry but I have to hold back a lot to not break anything important. You know how these things are."

"No, they don't." Medusa replied to Kokabiel with a stoic look. "None of them is powerful enough to decimate a country if they get into a bad mood."

"True, true." Kokabiel admitted. "By the way, what is your name again?."

Hesitating for a millisecond before answering, Medusa tried to offer a bargain. "Are you going to let us go if I tell you my name?"

"No."

"Then I prefer to not tell you." Considering Athena and the Greek Pantheon, the less people knew the better.

Kokabiel just gave her a look of disappointment and a shrug. "Suit yourself."

Ignoring the interaction entirely, and trying to distract Kokabiel's attention from Medusa, Rias dropped all the subtlety. "What exactly is your plan?"

"Excuse me?" The fallen angel was surprised by the question.

"You really can't expect him to answer that question." Sona asked honestly but the redhead shrugs.

"Worth the try." The Gremory King replied before focusing back on Kokabiel.

The Cadre took a second to study Rias before smiling. "Would you believe me if I said that I just want the sword of an old friend back?" Both pureblood devils look at each other before giving the fallen angel a skeptical look. "I am not lying. I legitimately want it reforged."

"For what?" Sona asked with as much confidence as she could muster. "If it was just a matter of fixing the sword you didn't need to come to Japan to do it."

"To be fair, Valper is not welcome in most of Europe… or Africa for that matter." The old man was chuckling at his lord's comment.

"And you chose to bring it to the only city that has two heiresses of the 72 Pillars? Are you trying to start a war?" Rias feared asking that but she had little choice. It was the most logical conclusion.

"Maybe." Kokabiel's reply made some devils shiver. "Or maybe I just want the sword back. It's not like I can even use it." He then gestured to Sona's peerage gently. "I am not even trying to kill you."

Rias rubbed her chin in thought, seeing his point. "So you are going to just wait for the sword and leave?"

The fallen angel raised his right hand and placed the left above his heart. "I promised to let the Holder do whatever they want with it. Scout 's honor, can't break it."

"I would feel better about that if the Holder you have wasn't someone like the Mad Exorcist." Rias added with a glare that only had the fallen angel smiling.

Sona could see the gears turning on her friend's head. "See why we were trying to take out Valper? It is our best course of action." She glared at the fallen angel with hatred. "Which we failed miserably. He is just too strong."

But now the battlefield had changed and Sona felt a little more confident; with Rias and Akeno supporting her then they may have enough firepower to take the Archbishop down. Rias couldn't disagree with her in that belief or her friend's actions, trying to defeat Kokabiel seemed impossible and stopping his plans by killing Valper was the best choice.

Except that there was another. "So you aren't going to attack us unless we get too close to Valper, is that right?"

"Correct again, lady Gremory."

Rias nodded at Kokabiel's response before turning to Akeno. "Start using EM. Let's heal everyone before doing anything else."

"Right away, Buchou." Akeno summoned the scalpel and began to use it on her fellow Queen without ceremony.

"Oh~ What is that?" Kokabiel watched Akeno curiously as she began to heal Tsubaki. "Really, what is that? I swear that I can almost feel some Holy Energy from it and yet… it's wrong."

"Something that my magician came up with to heal people." Rias told him proudly.

"Rias, you shouldn't tell him things like that." Sona spoke with clenched teeth but the redhead just whispered back.

"For some reason he is keeping us here but not killing us but that is for now." Rias spoke softly to make sure that Kokabiel couldn't hear while he mused.

"I know that but you shouldn't be giving him any information."

After a small nod, Rias added "Yes but if he breaks his own rules, there is nothing stopping us from making a run for it."

"Except he will destroy the city." The reminder hangs over both their heads.

But Rias thought of something else. "He may do it anyway. This can be just a ruse." She noticed how Sona became pensive at her new point. "For now we play his game carefully." The Sitri Heiress nodded back in agreement.

"So a magician figured out a way to solve the devils' healing problem." Kokabiel ruminated for a while as he watched Akeno move from Tsubaki to Momo and Tsubasa. "Are you planning to have everyone ready before making your attack?"

"Isn't that logical?" Much like her friend, Rias was trying to project as much confidence as she could. Unlike Sona, however, she had more hope that they could get out of this mess. 'All we need is time, either for one of the others to get the swords and ruin his plans or someone else shows up after noticing something is wrong.'

She knew at least the name of one person in Fuyuki who could match Kokabiel and if she found the opportunity she would call her and deal with the consequences later.

But for the sake of everyone's survival she had to play by the Cadre's rules and stall. "Since you are being so kind to give us time to prepare I don't see why not."

"A sensible thing to do, don't you agree, Valper?" The old man couldn't reply to his lord's question. "Sorry, it seems that your time is running out as he is concentrating on a crucial step in the formation of the magic circle." Taunting the devils was still fun even if the heiresses rarely reacted. "But I must ask; can that Mystic Code restore mana as well? Because if not, healing some of lady Sitri's group may be a mistake."

It took second for Rias to understand what he was implying but Sona already was aware of that. "He is right, Rias. Most of us used too much energy trying to get past him before."

The blue haired Rook heard her King's words and began to try to get up even if Akeno hadn't finished healing her. "I'm alright, Kaichou! Let me-"

"Stay down." Akeno gave Yura a smile that had the Rook flinching. "Or I can't finish healing you and then you are out. There are plenty of broken bones that need repairing, after all."

"She is right, Tsubasa-chan." Momo tried to calm her friend but she wasn't doing that good herself, covered in sweat and pale.

She wasn't the only one as Rias could see that Sona herself was trembling a little. "Can you still fight?" The black haired devil didn't reply immediately and that was telling for Rias.

"I can." Tsubaki stepped up to join the Kings, her leg healed and looking better than her King. "So is Tomoe."

The Knight gave them a thumbs up but she had another problem. "I just, kinda… lost my sword." And it was that there was little left of her katana besides a handle and part of the blade. "But I can still fight."

"If you can't attack then you can't actually fight, Tomoe." The other Bishop, Reya, chimed in, trying to get to her feet but failing until one of the two Pawns present, Nimura, put an arm around her neck. "Thanks, Ruruku-chan."

"It's fine." Clearly it wasn't fine as both girls were bruised but the Pawn looked worse with some blood dripping from her forehead. She was dragging her friend closer to Akeno and the Queen quickly moved from Tsubasa to help. "Thank you."

"No problem." The ravenhead quickly began to work on the Pawn as the Bishop sat down to recover from her exhaustion. "You all are lucky these are just small wounds."

"More like that bastard was going easy on us while kicking our asses." Tsubasa got up and began to stretch her body, her body fully healed and not having even one bruise. "Damn, I wish we had Emiya in our group."

"Sorry but Buchou saw him first." Akeno commented with a giggle.

"Aren't you forgetting that I am here, Daughter of Baraqiel?" The mood was brought down by Kokabiel who had folded his arms while watching Akeno work. She glared at him with hatred but the fallen angel only found it cute. "And you should be paying more attention to your own mana reserves at this point or else you won't have enough to even make an attempt."

Irritated by the familiarity in Kokabiel's tone and how he kept saying that name, Akeno stopped working to heal the others as her mana turned into eletricity around her. "I can assure you that I have enough."

The tall man threw his head back in a laugh. "Such a murderous intent, nothing like you mother." That made Akeno pause, which Kokabiel noticed. "Oh~ looks like you just don't like me talking about your father. Is this because of something that Baraqiel did? Maybe because he is absent?"

Fury began to return to the Queen's expression but before she could act Rias blocked her way. "Calm down, Akeno. You can't let your emotions run out of control right now."

"She is right. Trust me, against an opponent like that you don't want to make a single mistake." Sona doubted that Akeno could even be able to scratch the Cadre by herself and attacking too early would be a waste of resources. She took a step towards the Queen who was calming down. "Give me EM. I will finish healing my team."

Rias was quick to protest. "Sona, that would be a terrible idea. We need your strength to have a chance of winning."

At such a fervent declaration from Rias, Sona bit her lip and held back the sneer that almost escaped. She didn't want her friend to see how bad she looked, pride demanding that she help her fellow noble in the fight, whatever it took. Her rational mind told her that she shouldn't listen to her pride but her emotions screamed much louder.

All in her peerage could see how exhausted their leader looked but also the fire of her determination, the drive to keep fighting. "Kaichou doesn't want to show how tired she really is."

"Issei…" Sona whispered the name of her other Pawn who first sat down on a knee before slowly standing up. "I thought you were unconscious."

Before the black haired Pawn replied he tried to take a single step towards his allies, almost falling down before recovering. "I am afraid that… I am not much better than you, Kaichou." He moved to fix his glasses but it looked ridiculous with them crooked and one of the lenses missing. "But you shouldn't force yourself anymore."

Looking between her fellow King and the Pawn, Rias realized how exhausted Sona really was; both were even more pale than the white haired Bishop and she had to move to help the Pawn which shared her Pawn's name after watching him tremble and fall, Sona right behind.

Issei turned to the redhead noble. "Kaichou has been fighting against Kokabiel for much longer than all of us." Rias turned to Sona and she nodded, logic triumphing over pride.

"If we compared our condition with you, it would take all of us to just gather enough mana to even compete. At this point all our wizard types are too exhausted." Sona admitted coldly, the last of her pride tried to protest but logic stomped it off. "Let me take care of my peerage while you focus on fighting. None of us will recover enough to make a difference in time so fight for us too."

Rias paused for a moment and just looked at Sona with some melancholy. 'That is the first time she entrusted something to me so openly.' It lasted a moment before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'Remember Shiro's lessons- No, the Magus Killer's lessons. Emotion has no place on the battlefield.'

It was hard for her to separate herself from the situation but with the shadow of someone like Kokabiel loming close Rias eventually succeeded. Then it took another moment for her to think on the most optimal route that would guarantee, if not victory, then the lives of everybody present. She saw some even if few.

And hated the fact that most of them depended on their enemy mercy, at least unless she could catch him off guard. "Akeno, give EM to Sona."

"Are you sure, Buchou? They still need mana to use it." The Queen's reminder only unnerved Rias a little but she refused to change her decision.

"She has enough and her peerage won't let her use too much." The redhead gave her friend a glare that had Sona sighing.

"They won't." Tsubaki was the one who spoke and Sona turned her own glare at her. "Sorry Kaichou but you need to rest too."

"EM is easy to use." Akeno didn't give it to Sona but to Momo who she judged had the most mana of all the Sitri Peerage. "Just focus on it little by little until you can find how much mana you need to apply to activate it."

"Yes. Thank you, Akeno-san." The Bishop offered a small bow as the Queen moved closer to her King.

Kokabiel watched all the preparation without a rush and a smile. 'Good, they aren't giving up. This can still be fun.' He could already tell that Sona had more determination than the devils guarding her and wondered if Rias was the same. 'Show me what you got, Sister of Lucifer and Daughter of Baraqiel.'

Meanwhile Kokabiel patiently waited for them, the devils traded strategies and Rias felt that the situation was worse than she thought as the Queen of Sitri told her how Kokabiel dominated the battlefield with little effort.

'It doesn't help that I don't know everything that they could do.' Rias thought while Tsubaki kept talking about their strengths and weaknesses while mentioning how Kokabiel only used brute force to keep them at bay. 'Suddenly that idea of 'joint training' doesn't sound that bad.'

If the lack of knowledge already didn't make things hard enough there was also the fact that she wasn't used to fighting with Sona's team or that their skills didn't match exactly with her own.

Tomoe for instance was lacking a sword, something practically unthinkable for her as Kiba always could just make another one. Tsubaki for her part was also missing her weapon of choice and the Queen herself admitted that her skill with magic was subpar, making her more or less a faster Rook. The last member of Sona's team who could still fight was Tsubasa and she was much like Koneko was before Yoruichi's training, which wasn't bad for a Rook with high defense.

Except that their opponent was Kokabiel, one of the strongest fallen angels and even if he didn't have Holy Energy anymore because of his Fall he still had Light. Add to the fact that even with her whole team Sona failed to reach Valper and only Rias and Akeno were capable of magic and the Gremory King's mind was painting a grim picture for them all.

Akeno was quick to offer a possible solution. "I am going to use the Departure of Lightning."

"No." Rias' swift denial surprised Akeno and confused the rest but the Queen didn't miss a beat to try and protest.

"Rias, we both know that I have the most fire power of all of us." The 'including you' was left unsaid and the King couldn't really disagree. "If anyone here has a chance to take him down, it is me."

Once again Rias didn't disagree with her Queen, however Akeno's strongest attack came with a huge price. "You only get one shot, one. And we don't know if it is really going to be enough. Look at them." She pointed to the Sitri Peerage, even those still standing, to make sure Akeno was paying attention. "They threw everything they had at Kokabiel and it wasn't enough. Even if you were in top condition against them all you wouldn't win, Akeno, but that fallen angel still did."

It was Akeno's turn to not find flaw in the argument as she could see Rias' point; Departure of Lightning was a one time thing and it may not be enough.

"Besides," Rias fixed her hair while glaring at Kokabiel, "even if your attack is the strongest, doesn't mean it is the strongest type of attack."

Tsubasa, who was raring to go, couldn't wait much longer. "What is the plan, Buchou?" She and all from Sona's peerage received orders to listen to the redhead's devils order like they were from their own King.

Soon she found herself disappointed. "For now, all of you stand down. We need to know how much he is willing to hold back before we attack properly."

"Rias-sama, if I may." Tsubaki's disagreement was less evident than the other two but she was more polite than Tsubasa and Tomoe would have been. "We already know how strong he is, what else do you need to test?"

Rias replied with a feral grin. "How he will react against the Power of Destruction." She then began to walk towards her enemy while Akeno smiled and shook her head. "And how much I can push him before you have to intervene."

"Wait, you are going to fight by yourself?" Tomoe realized with horror which quickly spread to the Queen and Rook from her team.

The Heiress of Gremory wasn't surprised. "Sona was always one to stay out and observe." She smiled with more confidence than she really felt. "I was always in favor of a more 'hands on' kind of approach." She then noticed Akeno getting ready to follow her and stopped. "You stay out of this as well, Akeno."

That got a reaction from the Gremory Queen. "Even with what Tomoe-chan asked, you can't beat him by yourself."

"I know." All her focus was on Kokabiel who was still waiting patiently with folded arms. "But you have to save your energy for the Departure of Lightning and only use it either on my signal or when you see his defense slip, not a moment before."

"If his defenses slip." Tsubasa didn't like the plan but she respected that Rias wanted to take a crack at Kokabiel to judge him herself.

Tsubaki for her part was against it. "What should we do if he breaks his own rules?" That was something that even Sona was fearing and as the Queen of Sitri she noticed the concern.

"Then we must give our lives to call my brother or Serafall." Rias had no intention of dying and that was a last resource since she believed that Kokabiel had some kind of plan in mind. "The fact is that he wants something with Excalibur. If it stays incomplete we have a chance to stop him."

"Kaichou said the same thing." Tsubaki confirmed with a nod. "We attack at your signal too, Buchou?"

"Until I say otherwise, forget Valper and focus on Kokabiel." Rias then fully advanced, which Kokabiel took note of. 'I need to tread carefully, if I can get him before his plans come to fruition he may decide to go all out either way.'

"So, did you finish planning?" Kokabiel asked with some excitement. "I heard you defeated an older devil with just cunning alone, can't wait to see it."

"Hah. If you heard of it, that means we have spies in the Underworld among the nobility." It was an overly simplification but Kokabiel nodded along, confirming her words. "But I will show you that it takes more than just cunning to win against a Phenex."

"So you defeated a Phenex, hmm. Interesting." She had said the name to test how much he knew but by Kokabiel's reaction it wasn't much.

'So just rumors… he may not know about my Stand either, even if he saw it for a second.' That was great for Rias who felt she had now more cards to play. 'For now let's check how strong he is.'

A dark aura covered the redhead and Kokabiel didn't react at its appearance, his smile not changing as she prepared. When Rias was sure that the output of power was good and stable she pointed a finger at the Cadre and made a magic circle that unleashed a huge beam of Destruction in his direction.

To most people that much power would be lethal and they would be stuck between dodging and giving up protecting Valper or taking the hit and being erased because of how strong Rias' attack was.

None of those options applied to Kokabiel as the beam hit a raised hand and moved no further as the power failed from breaking his natural defenses. There was a struggle from the Power of Destruction but the Cadre's skin and natural aura was enough to stop it on its tracks.

After a few seconds Rias stopped attacking to look at her opponent, she wasn't surprised that the limb he had used had no marks. "Please tell me that wasn't all you had. Things will be boring if that is the case."

"Don't worry, this is just a warm up." Rias wasn't lying as she hadn't focused the power much and only threw as much as she could in a single go to test her opponent. 'His control of mana is excellent and I don't doubt he faced many Baels in the past. Just throwing the Power of Destruction around means nothing to a man like him.'

Quickly Rias began to run in Kokabiel's direction, much to his shock who had pegged her as a ranged fighter. Still he just smiled and opened his arms, giving her a free shot if she planned to fight with her hands.

That was never her intention as she just came closer and prepared two more magic circles, one on each hand and threw them to the sides of the fallen angel. Kokabiel watched as they stopped close to his head and chuckled as two strong blasts of Destruction hit his face. Rias was still a few steps away from him but was paying attention as the dark energy disappeared.

Once again Kokabiel was unharmed despite the direct hit. "Well, have you finished testing my defenses?"

"Just about." Rias admitted as she wasn't surprised that Kokabiel knew what she was doing.

That made the Cadre chuckle again as he glanced at a glaring Sona. "She had the same idea, you know. Even tried to drown for that matter. Unfortunately no one told her that at a certain level, angels don't need to breathe."

'Knowing Sona she knew but was growing desperate at that point.' Even Rias knew that as she was taught from little how to deal with the oldest enemies of devils.

Still she wasn't going to say it, both to save her friend's pride and to not hint at Kokabiel how desperate the situation was. She just began to gather mana on her hands and make a magic circle taller than her which had Kokabiel frowning.

"This again? You think a bigger attack will make a difference?" Kokabiel had faced thousands of devils during his lifetime and while such a maneuver was par for the course he couldn't help but be disappointed. "Unlike your brother, you don't have enough power for the size of your blast to be relevant."

Rias didn't comment and shot the blast towards Kokabiel and the fallen angel rolled his eyes and raised a hand once again to block it. Then the attack surprised him by breaking apart in five different lasers that bent over his head and sides, completely ignoring their apparent target.

He hadn't realized that Rias wasn't using the Power of Destruction but just mana and every single shot was aimed at an unsuspecting Valper.

Reacting as quickly as he could, even unfolding his wings to use more of his power, Kokabiel created a spear of light and used it to intercept the attacks one by one. He landed just behind Valper with the man not realizing the danger he had been in as the fallen had got rid of all the attacks too fast for him to notice.

That was because Kokabiel took only a second to get rid of all Rias' lazers and land, glaring at the redhead devil who just gave him a cheeky smile. "Sorry. I saw an opening and jumped on it."

Instead of staying angry, Kokabiel scoffed. "Feh. As expected of a devil-" He didn't finish his statement and instead took a swing to the side to break another magic circle that was trying to form close to Valper's position. Rias bit back a flinch as Kokabiel turned to her. "One apparently skilled at creating magic circles quite a few meters from her, despite her young age."

"I don't want to hear complaints from a man risking a war for a sword." Rias' aura moved and she made another magic circle to bombard Kokabiel's position now that he was closer to the Archbishop but Kokabiel was faster.

With another swing of his spear a shockwave flew in Rias' direction and the redhead barely could react as it hit her. There was nothing that the pureblood devil could do against the Cadre's power as she felt her magic circle break, her feet leave the ground and the impact shaking her body.

If there was any doubt in her mind about Kokabiel's power it was erased as Rias found out just how easily her aura failed to protect her and her hands hurt from what was only a wave of wind powered by the fallen angel's muscles and speed.

"Rias!" "Rias-sama!"

Before she fell on her back, Rias recovered her balance enough to plant her feet back down to stop herself. The earth still gave way as she was launched several feet away from Kokabiel and closer to her allies before finally stopping.

"Don't come any closer!" She called out as her eyes fixed back on Kokabiel's position as the man had already dismissed the spear and moved away from Valper. "I am fine! Don't worry!"

Akeno didn't agree as she could see the bruise on Rias' hand when she had to stop herself. "Rias, let us help."

"This is just a small wound." The pureblood replied as she felt some blood on her cheek from a small cut.

Back in his original spot, Kokabiel watched the interaction with amusement. "I will admit that you are bolder than your friend. She didn't try to trick me like that until more of her peerage was around to work as distractions."

Cleaning her hands, Rias replied. "What can I say? I saw a chance and tried to take it." Not that it helped as she still felt the pain of his attack. Moving her hand a bit, she tried to get rid of the stinging sensation she was feeling while trying to think of another strategy. "I don't like to sit around and wait."

"Impatient then. Did you really expect that to work?" Kokabiel was legitimately curious to know.

After a shrug, Rias replied. "Didn't hurt to try." She said that while blowing into her hand and he just chuckled. "But now I am a little more aware of what you can do."

Again Rias began to run towards Kokabiel but now he was more attentive to the aura of demonic energy around her. The Cadre expected for her to stop once again closer to the range she was before but found himself reevaluating her once she crossed that mark and kept rushing in his direction.

He didn't know what she was planning and expected another trick of some kind but was amused when Rias focused a lot of mana on her hand and threw a punch at his face.

Easily, and as gently as he could, Kokabiel grabbed the fist with his hand and held it in place. "You aren't used to punching people." He observed curiously. "Your fists are unmarked and, while the form was good, the muscles aren't used to the motions." He nodded to her. "All in all, not a bad punch."

"Thank you lord Kokabiel but you didn't realize something." Rias kept her fist pressing firmly against the man's palm as he didn't struggle or tried to push her back.

"Huhu, what?"

A smile later the noble shouted "Born To Be WIld!" A red fist surged from the dark aura and connected to the Cadre's face, much to his surprise. "It was a feint." She jumped back as the Stand took her place and began to throw as many punches as it could at Kokabiel. "Muda muda muda muda muda muda!"

"Are we… is that a…" Tsubasa tried to ask but couldn't finish the line.

"Yes, she is a fan." Akeno said with a forced smile as she watched the spirit punch Kokabiel constantly.

"Unbelievable. Please tell me that wasn't how she won her Rating Game." Sona couldn't help but facepalm at Akeno's lack of an answer.

"It has more power than you think." Suddenly the fallen devils of Sitri remembered that Medusa was there and found odd how she was in front of them, eyes focused on the battle. "She must have a plan to use it like that."

"But it isn't working." Tsubaki pointed out as she noticed that Kokabiel hadn't moved a single step despite Rias' relentless assault.

Akeno knew that Rias wasn't going all out yet and was trying to figure out what her King was planning to do. "Get ready." She warned the members of Sona's team who could still fight. "Soon Rias is going to need our help."

"Not yours." Her fellow Queen meant no offense but she could see her Gremory counterpart close her fist in irritation. "Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to her." Tsubaki's guarantee sounded true despite their opponent and Akeno nodded in acceptance.

"Muda muda muda MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" Rias stopped and took some deep breaths as Born To Be Wild floated away from the Cadre. "Damn, not even a scratch."

Indeed it was true, even after a flurry of more than a hundred punches, Kokabiel stood there as if nothing had happened. "Faster than a Rook but slightly weaker." He complimented while pointing out the flaw. "Still impressive for a spirit you made with your power. Almost like a… no, not quite." The black haired man examined the Stand with curiosity before rubbing his chin. "I swear that I saw something similar in America once but nothing like this. What is that exactly?"

"My Stand." Rias replied curtly.

"I have no idea what that means." And to him that was a pleasant surprise.

The devil just shrugged. "Your loss." Rias told him sincerely. "Born To Be Wild!"

This time Kokabiel didn't allow himself to be punched, he blocked the first attack and the next and the one that followed. Rias once again ordered a rain of punches but this time the Cadre moved to block every single one, always observing the spirit's power and how it moved.

A few seconds passed and the fallen angel noticed that Rias' energy wasn't really diminishing, or at least it wasn't in a rhythm he could detect. That made him even more curious as that gave the impression Rias could keep going forever.

Not that Kokabiel really believed that as he was being extremely delicate with the spirit and made an effort to not destroy it. For the moment he was happy to just observe this spirit, trying to figure out where it came from and how Rias was keeping it going so easily.

Theories ran around his head for a time and Kokabiel couldn't help but indulge them. He may not be a scientist like some of his siblings but when it came to the means of combat he liked to observe and learn.

From the pureblood devil's perspective there was no curiosity or doubt, just pure concentration as Rias kept Born To Be Wild going while trying to adjust it slightly in a manner that Kokabiel wouldn't notice.

She was happy that the Cadre was distracted by the novelty of her Stand but knew it wouldn't last for long. She feared that once he understood that her Stand was akin to a magic circle powered by her imagination he would lose interest.

That was not what Rias wanted, she needed him distracted as she worked in her adjustments, a hard task considering she needed to keep her imagination going strong for her rush attack while making the changes in her Stand at the same time.

If Rias wasn't used to them she would have thought it impossible but the devil had worked transforming parts of her stands from one thing into another in a matter of seconds. She just needed to figure out how to do the same in less than a second without Kokabiel realizing that the change was happening.

Quickly Rias found it impossible as she found it difficult to split her mind into two as she worked into keeping the attack going and preparing her surprise. Lucky for Rias, Kokabiel distracted himself by watching her power as he easily blocked all her attacks.

With the fallen angel amusing himself at her spence, Rias saw her chance to try and keep the rhythm of her punches focused on his chest area but mostly random. As she predicted he kept stopping her easily but now her mind was a little more unburdened by trying to break his guard and she began to work.

While Rias fought her own mental battle, Kokabiel came to a conclusion about her Stand. "So you managed to push your power further with imagination alone?" Took him close to a minute to realize how Rias was using her mana even if she didn't know all the details. "Tell me, did you find inspiration for this ability from the shamans of North America? Or maybe the sorcerers of Egypt? I can tell that it looks closer to the first than to the later but both methods of magic are far superior to your own."

"Neither. I read a manga." Rias replied with a smile that had Kokabiel shocked.

"Aren't those-" He had no chance to fully ask as the right hand of Born To Be Wild moved from aiming his chest towards his face.

During the space of milliseconds that Kokabiel was asking the question he had already realized the change of target and moved his hand to block the obvious hit. He didn't see how the hand of the Stand had changed to a gun with six bullets or that it was opening its finger which was now the barrel of the weapon.

He only felt when something hit him on the forehead hard enough to push it back, curiosity giving way to surprise as the Cadre actually felt pain. Kokabiel didn't understand what happened at the moment or how the sequence of events that transpired led him to break his posture and almost fall back.

And Rias had no intention of giving him time to understand as she fully transformed her Stand's hands into weapons.

"Born To Be Wild! Destruction Bullets!" As fast as she could Rias unleashed every single bullet she had on the Kokabiel, the shots were random but none missed their mark as she hit him with all she had.

Paying a considerable cost of mana, Rias reloaded her Stand and unleashed another barrage. "NOW!" She heard Akeno's shouting but didn't let it distract her as she unloaded another set of twelve bullets on Kokabiel before reloading once again.

At that point Rias could feel the burden of the mana she had used in her attack by accelerating the creation of bullets as much as she did. In total she had shot Kokabiel thirty and six times in rapid succession, a record for her but the toll on her body indicated that she couldn't repeat the feat anytime soon.

It was also not enough as Kokabiel was still moving and Rias feared that he would be furious about her trick. A part of her actually hoped that the surprise attack would kill him but even the concentration of Power of Destruction wasn't enough.

Fortunately for her the remaining fighters of Sitri didn't waste time upon hearing Akeno's signal, the three of them had charged as fast as they could and were ready to keep the attack going.

Tsubaki got to Kokabiel first and punched him on the gut to send him down as Tomoe followed soon after to stab what was left of her sword in the Cadre's eye. The man was already aware enough to act and grabbed the Queen's fist and Knight's arm with ease, his wings opening again to help him stand up.

"You shouldn't-" And once again he couldn't finish what he was saying but this time it was Tsubasa who interrupted him by stomping on his face with both of her feet.

Unbalanced as he was already, Kokabiel found himself letting the two other girls go and they moved to take advantage of his broken guard.

All that escaped Rias' attention as she hoped that the three members of the Student Council could hold him back for a few instants. That was all she needed to form another bullet inside Born To Be Wild's chamber, just one.

This time the target wasn't the all powerful fallen angel that threatened to kill them all but the old man he was trying to protect. When she claimed that her punch from before was a feint, Rias meant that everything she was doing was a feint to get to Valper.

Rias poured as much mana as she could on her next shot, a Bullet of Destruction that would pierce any protection that Valper Galilei may have in his person. She gathered quickly and took her shot the moment that her target was in her sights.

Unfortunately for her Kokabiel felt the final spike of power, the final push Rias needed to create a Destruction Bullet of that magnitude. Instinctively he knew that there was no way he was the target as there were devils blocking his view from Rias and hers from him.

In an instant his mind came to conclusions he didn't like and the Cadre unleashed a huge torrent of Light from his body that pushed back and burned the devils around him. Rias was the only devil really protected from the sudden explosion thanks to her aura and Born To Be WIld but even then she felt the heat of the golden Light as she fell on the ground, much of her energy spent..

All present were blinded by the Light from the ten winged angel as it burned and pushed back all devils around, even swallowing the bullet of Destruction easily as the man recovered and stood tall as the devils fell around him.

After a few seconds Rias and the other devils in the back recovered enough to look at the Cadre who was now glaring at the redhead devil with some anger. "That… was unexpected. You almost succeeded. Almost."

His anger felt heavy on Rias' shoulders but what bothered her the most were the other students of Kouh condition; Tsubaki and Tomoe were the worst of the three with deep burns on their faces and arms while Tsubasa fared the best and was struggling to get up with a arm looking like it had been taken off an inferno.

'They can't fight anymore.' Rias realized with some anger of her own before hitting the ground with her hand in frustration. 'That was our best chance and I failed. If I was just a little faster.' Swallowing her fury, she glared back at Kokabiel and noticed the wound in his forehead, some blood covering his face. "I was sure that bullet would have done more damage."

"Was that your best shot?" The man raised a hand and touched his forehead to then look at his own blood before smiling. "Not a bad one. First true wound that I suffered since I got here. Were I a lesser angel, even just a pair of wings shorter, that may have actually killed me." Kokabiel fully opened his wings and his power began to cover the whole school. "But I am not! I am the Angel of the Stars and the Fifth Heaven, Kokabiel! While I failed to block your attack, your power wasn't enough! Pity." Kokabiel looked around to the defeated devils and then pointed to Akeno. "You, Daughter of Baraqiel, help your King collect the wounded! I am interested to see what else she has on her sleeve!"

"You are going to let us help them?" Rias couldn't hold back the surprise and relief.

The fallen angel looked at her before chuckling. "Of course! Now that things are getting more fun, why wouldn't I?" He then glanced at the Student Council members. "Not that I think they will be able to fight anytime soon. You startled me a little and I… let out more power than I intended." Kokabiel waved in Rias' direction, his majestic wings growing to their full size. "Congratulations, Rias Gremory! You actually managed to get a veteran from the Great War to drop his guard and wound him! I hope you can keep the entertainment going!"

Rias was about to reply when Akeno showed up at her side with the previous version of EM on hand. "Now you are the one that needs to save energy. I will take care of everything."

Panic showed up all over Rias' face as she saw the intent behind her Queen's eyes. "Akeno, no. Your power isn't enough to beat him."

"That is our best chance. Our only chance." Akeno whispered back in frustration. "You caught him off guard, you shot him multiple times, you can't hurt him." Eyes full of anger turn to the fallen angel who just smiled confidently. "I can."

"Can you?" The devils were shocked when Kokabiel asked as they were trying to not be heard. "Are you going to use your father's Lightning? I admit that Baraqiel was one of the few equals that I always had, even in Heaven." He sounded excited by the prospect. "The question is if you really can let out enough to actually use it well and not disappoint your old man."

"I don't care about his opinion." Akeno took a step forward, golden mana beginning to cover her as she prepared to fight. "Neither yours."

"Don't do it, Akeno. It won't work." Rias fully stood up from her position but felt her exhaustion holding her back. "You have to wait until the right time."

Turning to her King, Akeno was baffled by Rias' statement. "How long do I have to wait? You forced an opening before and I still held back, hoping that you would win. You didn't." She looked back at the Cadre with fury. The usually calm air around the Queen was completely gone. "We will just know if he can take my full power when we try it."

Kokabiel nodded at every word before declaring "I agree fully, Daughter of Baraqiel."

"My name is Himejima Akeno and I am NOT that man's daughter!" Electricity began to run around her fingers and Kokabiel looked a little disappointed.

"Do you think you can hurt me with that weak lightning?" His question wasn't mocking but honest.

"I will show you-" "Akeno!"

"Can you two stop?" Medusa's voice snapped both devils back to reality as a small purple snake was glaring at them. The two turned back to look at the goddess as the Sitri group helped their companions which were being transported by dozens of her creations. "This is not an enemy that you can lose your patience with." The voice was still coming from the snake as Medusa's face remained impassive. "If you don't want to die you better work together. All our lives are at stake."

Watching the snake carefully, Kokabiel retracted his wings and kneeled to take a better look at it. "Did you decide to join the fun, little goddess?"

The purple snake turned quickly. "Unfortunately I can not. I lost too much of my power to hold a candle against you. I doubt that I could even contribute much in a fight."

"But you have been contributing plenty, or don't you think that I sensed that barrier that you erected to protect the weaklings?" The fallen angel asked with a chuckle that the snake had, and by extension Medusa, silent. "For some reason, when I look at you I feel a considerable degree of danger… why is that?"

"Maybe you feel who I was before." Medusa offered and the three watching felt that the snake would be shrugging if it could. "Not that it matters. I do not have that form anymore."

"Interesting." Kokabiel recognized before throwing a ball of Light that erased the snake's existence. He looked at Medusa and noticed that she didn't even react to the blatant aggressivity. "Very interesting." He looked back at Rias and Akeno, his eyes focusing on the latter. "Are you going to fight now, Daughter of Baraqiel?"

Closing her fist, Akeno was about to attack when Rias' hand landed on her shoulder. "Please Akeno, don't do this."

"You can't beat him." Akeno pointed out clearly and once again the fallen angel looked disappointed.

Not that Rias cared. "Neither can you now but wait for a few minutes. I am sure they are already coming back."

"Who are they?" Kokabiel asked with a smile. "Those hunting the Excaliburs?"

"Yes. Depending on who arrives first then either you will have someone capable of giving Akeno enough power to kill you or someone who can fight against you by herself." Rias saw no problem admitting as Kokabiel's intrigue meant less of a chance of the man killing everyone.

Remembering some of the rumors and spy reports, Kokabiel was sure he knew at least one of the people she was waiting for. "Are you talking about the Red Dragon Emperor by any chance?" It irritated Rias how easily the man sounded excited when talking about Ise. "Well, I suppose that if there is someone that can turn things around, it would be him, right?"

The bloodthirst of the man's smile unnerved both Gremory devils and Akeno couldn't help but take a step back, her anger forgotten. Rias still replied, if only to buy time. "Right."

Then the man turned to the side slowly, practically ignoring the two devils and looking at the direction of the entrance of Kuoh. "Isn't that him?"

'He can't possible-'

"Buchou! Akeno-san!" Both leaders of the ORC felt a shiver of fear as soon enough Hyoudou Issei showed up in the area with Kiba, Koneko, Asia and Saji. "Whoa! What the heck is happening here?"

They all took a second to look at everyone and noticing how most of the Student Council was wounded, their last Pawn standing quickly reacting and running to them.

"Kaichou! Guys!" Saji runned ahead with Asia right behind, dropping to his knees close to a shocked Sona. "What happened? Who did this to you? Was that guy?"

"Saji!" Sona didn't know why she screamed at Saji but she couldn't help herself at seeing him in far better condition than the rest of them, she just knew that she wanted to take a better look at him.

"Kaichou?" The blond looked at his King in confusion as she held his face tenderly before letting go and looking down.

"I am glad you are safe… but you shouldn't be here." She lamented sincerely.

"But why?"

"Because I am here!" Kokabiel shouted to gather everyone's attention. "Welcome to our little play and the game before the final act! I am sure your Kings will tell you all the rules!" He looked at the devils close to him. "Right, Rias Gremory? Weren't they some of who you were waiting for? Is one of them capable of facing me?" He looked back at Rias' team, his smile wide. "You referred to them as 'her' but I only see a former nun and a small devil, neither of which has much power."

Ise noticed Kokabiel's red eyes on Asia and moved in front of her, making the fallen angel chuckle.

"But you talked about the Red Dragon Emperor who can give power to Baraqiel's daughter. That I want to see." He waved them away rudely. "Go on, join with your newly arrived reinforcements and have the Red Dragon start gathering power. See that it will be enough to at least pose a challenge." Kokabiel's eyes then landed on Rias again. "And make sure that you rest, I can tell you are tired after our little scuffle."

The King and Queen of Gremory didn't comment as they both began to step away from Kokabiel. They were still paranoid enough to not present their backs to him but they didn't need to bother. He had no intention of cutting his fun short.

"Buchou… What is going on?" Kiba asked slowly as his eyes were in Kokabiel, Holy Eraser already back on his hand. Just by seeing his King's condition most of them were already on guard. "Who is that?"

"Kokabiel, the Angel of the Stars." Rias knew that besides Ise and Saji, everyone else would understand the situation by the name alone.

"From the Bible?" Asia was quick to ask both in wonder and fear. "One of the twenty Watched who Fell from Heaven, posted in the Fifth Heaven and the Teacher of Constellations."

Rias and Sona blinked at some of the information Asia gave as they didn't know that Kokabiel had been a teacher of any kind. He was always more portrayed as a warrior in the Underworld and his characterization wasn't challenged by his actions through the day as he legitimately seemed to enjoy fighting.

"That is a title… that I haven't heard in a long time." Kokabiel commented with a nostalgic tone and pleased expression. "Hmm… Quite a long time indeed."

"It suits you, lord Kokabiel. After all it was through your guiding hand that all we accomplished today was possible." A voice spoke behind the Cadre and Rias immediately flinched and turned to look at the only person who could be, already fearing Kiba's reaction. "I fear that without you we would never have been this close to reviving Excalibur."

"Ah, Valper, did you finish the spell?" Kokabiel made sure his eyes were on Kiba when he spoke, the shock and hatred bubbling inside the Knight evident to him.

Valper Galilei, the architect of the Holy Sword Project, smiled kindly. "I finished a few minutes ago and just didn't want to interrupt your fun, lord Kokabiel. However, since we are taking a break to wait for the Red Dragon Emperor to prepare, I believed now was the proper time to reveal myself." His eyes gained a predatory edge as he looked to a certain devil. "Especially to someone. How have you been, Isaiah?"

After all Kiba had gone through that day he thought he had managed to control his emotions, that he had found a way to master his anger and keep it from spilling out without his consent.

He hadn't realized that all he did was put a lid on it by using his care for his friends and departed family to keep it at bay. In fact he had no idea of how much disturbed he would be before the Fragments or the man who killed everyone he loved. Kiba avoided thinking about that, prioritizing his friends first.

"Valper!" However now his fury was fully back and as uncontrollable as it was before as Holy Eraser changed to a more monstrous version of itself and gray flames began to pour from his sword. "VALPER!"

"""Kiba!"""

Many of the devils tried to stop him, mainly Koneko and Issei who moved to grab his arms, but the Knight was already charging uncontrollably towards his target with the only goal of cutting him to pieces.

Steel flames followed in his wake as all devils watched in some panic and admiration as the energy output he was unleashing was many times stronger than most of them. Mostly those of the Sitri group felt relieved by the power he was letting out as they now felt they had a chance.

Those from Gremory knew that the flames were either a bad sign or wouldn't be enough.

As he came closer Kiba raised his sword above his head for a swing, completely shutting his mind off of everything other than his target or the sword on his hand. Flames pour from the blade and group in it as they grow taller than most towers before he finally took the swing aiming for Valper's side.

Completely forgetting about the obstacle right in front of his target.

When the tower of fire was about to hit Valper, Kokabiel waved his hand and erased the flames with a smile. "You didn't even wait to hear the rules." Kiba's rage found a new target as he accelerated and tried to stab the fallen angel with a sword of flame. Only for the Cadre to stop it with one hand, making the blond blink in shock. "That wasn't polite."

Kokabiel punched KIba on the stomach and the power of the sacred gear faded and waned.

Shock and pain startled Kiba but it was only for a second as the Knight glared at his enemy, not caring who or how powerful Kokabiel was. He was on the way to Kiba's real target and the devil made another sword and took a swing to his neck, steel gray flames taking shape once again.

Only to be extinguished again as Kokabiel stopped the real blade with his finger. "Didn't you teach your children any patience, Valper?" He asked in a joking tone that had Kiba seething in rage.

"I apologize lord Kokabiel but there were so many of them there that I never could give young Isaiah any attention." The old man replied while shaking his head. "If I did, maybe I would have detected his sacred gear earlier, that may have made a difference in his life."

Immediately at Valper's words, Kiba felt something stir in him, something beyond rage and that he was familiar to him in a way that he knew very well.

"With a sacred gear like that which makes demonic swords, truly he must never have any Light in his soul." Valper still had the same kind smile when he spoke. "We would have killed him on the first day so he wasn't a bother."

Despair, that was what KIba felt as he saw the futility of fighting against Kokabiel at the same time the power he always held was revealed to never have made any difference in his life. If anything it made him seem even lesser by the man who he hated the most.

'I could never save them.'

Breaking the sword in his hands, Kokabield watched as Kiba fell to his knees with some sadness in his eyes. Giving the devil a moment he expected a return to his anger in some way. It didn't take long for him to see that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"Both anger and despair are negative emotions but one is much easier to fall into than the other." Kokabiel commented before kicking Kiba back to his friends, his back making a deep line in the ground before he was stopped by Ise and Saji. After he saw the devils make a fuss to heal the Knight, Kokabiel turned to Valper with annoyance on his glare. "You shouldn't have said that, Valper Galilei."

Realizing his life was in danger as the fallen angel anoyance had murderous intent behind it, the old man bowed his head in penance. "Please lord Kokabiel, forgive this old fool. I wasn't expecting Isaiah to fail like that and end your fun. I really wasn't." He looked up to see the red eyes still judging him and lowered himself even more. "All that I did was speak the truth my lord, nothing else. I swear."

With how close he was from realizing his dream, Valper didn't want to die, especially with his goal so close to completion. Any pride he had was already nothing before the power of Kokabiel but the Archbishop of Genocide was ready to beg for his life if it means living one more day to see Excalibur with his own eyes.

Kokabiel found himself despising the old man kneeling before him and was tempted to kill him just to alleviate some stress. "Since you showed some consideration for me before, I shall forgive you this once."

"Of course my lord. Thank you for your mercy and grace-"

"Stop groveling. That is unbecoming of the man about to revive Excalibur." It was a pretense, an act to keep the old man motivated since Kokabiel knew the truth and found Valper's fake hope more funny than anything.

Especially how the old man's face seemed to regain some of his youth at the praise. He still bowed again anyway for Valper knew who he owned his dream to. "Only because of you, my lord."

Meanwhile Kokabiel toyed with the old man, Asia had already moved to take care of the huge wound on Kiba's back. "His ribs are broken and some of his organs… his stomach is..."

The former nun's report just made Rias more furious at Kokabiel even if she was also relieved that Kiba was still alive. "Issei, start accumulating Boosts. That is our best shot at victory."

Despite not understanding everything that was happening the Pawn heeded the order with a nod. "Boosted Gear!"

[Boost]

"What the fuck is going on here? Who is that guy?" Saji finally asked after seeing the somber faces of everyone and Kiba's state.

"Didn't you hear before?" Akeno asked in an annoyed tone. "He is Kokabiel, one of the leaders of Grigori."

Saji took a step back at Akeno's irritated face but recovered quickly. "But what is he doing here?" He turned to look at his King who looked exhausted and despondent. "Kaichou?"

Rias saw the condition that Sona was in and decided to explain everything; Kokabiel's obvious part in bringing the Excalibur to Fuyuki and how Sona had been trying to deal with the fallen angel for the last few hours with no success.

She finished explaining the game and the rules he imposed before adding. "He claims to be here for the Excaliburs and with his present company we can infer that is pretty much the truth."

Rias frowned at that, throwing a look at Kiba to gauge his reaction but her Knight's face was blank as he was coming to terms with both his failure and impotence. He remained quiet as Asia threatened the wound on his back after she fixed his ribs and stomach and if she had her way then he wouldn't need to fight anymore for a while.

'I am going to make sure Valper regrets ever being born.' But first Rias had to get that far and with Kokabiel present that was not even close to easy. "We don't know if it is all of the truth or what he intends to do with Excalibur once he has it but obviously we don't want him to get it."

Once everyone was on par with the situation, Hyoudou felt there was something wrong with the plan. "Then shouldn't I Transfer the Boosts to you, Buchou?"

Rias took a deep breath as she saw Akeno give her a cocky grin. "No Ise, you shouldn't. While my Power of Destruction is the better type of attack," and she gave her friend a grin to see if she would dare to challenge her on that, "I can't increase the output of my bullets much more or make them any stronger as they are. It would be a waste."

Already seeing the question on some of the newly aware devils, Sona added. "Because she already managed a clear shot at Kokabiel. On his head nonetheless."

Many couldn't believe that the fallen angel took a shot to the head and was completely fine but Rias nodded to confirm the story. Knowing the limits of her Stand and power meant that the redhead was fully aware that there was little she could do in the situation, even with Ise's help.

"Compared to Akeno, who has an attack that can throw her full power at the enemy, my strongest attacks are the bullets that I can make." She looked to the palm of her hand in frustration before closing her fist. "I just can't make my power dense enough to break his natural defenses."

"That is why I will be the one attacking him with Departure of Lightning." Akeno took the lead with confidence. She turned to Hyoudou with a smile. "That is why I am going to need you to inject me with a lot of your energy, Issei-kun."

The pervert blushed at the tone the Queen was using but couldn't reply as Ddraig spoke [At your present strength your body can withstand a total of twenty seven Boosts. Which means you still need a few minutes before even beginning to attack.]

Hearing the Red Dragon Emperor speaking directly to them surprised some but Rias saw it as an opportunity. "Ddraig… can't you help us a little?"

"Buchou?" Ise was confused by the sudden request but raised his arm higher to ease his King's view of the Boosted Gear.

[As you can see I lack a body at the moment so I can't necessarily kill the fallen for you if that is what you are asking.] Ddraig pointed out with humor but Rias shook her head, hoping the dragon would see it.

"I am not certain that Akeno can defeat him, even with the Departure of Lightning and Boosts." To her credit the Queen stayed silent and let her King talk. "Ise once mentioned that you could give him more power in return for one of his arms, right? Would that be enough?"

Just the fact that Rias was willing to risk Issei's safety and offer one of his arms to a dragon spoke to how desperate the situation was. She looked at her Pawn with a serious stare, one that told him the gravity of their predicament and the brown haired devil gulped his fear down and nodded, giving his approval to the plan.

[Hmm…]

It wasn't a good sign to anyone that the Red Dragon Emperor didn't give a clear and fast answer. As the power kept accumulating inside the Boosted Gear, its inhabitant stayed silent for a few seconds.

[No.] Ddraig finally spoke once again with a low growl. [My partner isn't strong enough for the Scale Mail to make a difference for him. Even if I turned his arm into a dragon's and we had the time it would take for him to prepare for the fight, he would still lose.]

"But-"

[Stop thinking that I can solve your problems easily, Rias Gremory. I can not unless I am willing to sacrifice my partner's life and even then I would end up destroying all of Fuyuki in my wake.]

At the warning that Ise would lose his life Rias had already thrown the idea away completely.

The boy himself didn't. "I can save everyone." Ise commented while glaring at his gauntlet as others looked at him stunned. "I can kick that guy and save everyone." He looked completely fine with the idea even if it would lead to his death.

[You would save no one, instead you would kill them with your own hands. Didn't you hear me?]

"But you could stop me. You could stop us!" Ise was aware that Ddraig had more control over the Boosted Gear than himself. "All I would had to do was make sure that bastard was in front of me and then-"

[Our fury would reduce this city to rubble! My fury!] It was almost a shout but at the last moment Ddraig held himself back. Then he shifted gears. [... Tell me, Knight, do you feel that you can control your anger?] All eyes turn to Kiba who turns away from the Boosted Gear. [You failed.]

"I know." Kiba admitted in shame.

[That wasn't surprising. The real test of someone's bravery is when they face their fears, same thing with anger.]

"Ddraig, we have no time for that. Get your therapy session with the pretty boy later." Ise was still mad at Kiba losing himself to fury and was impatient as he realized that if he couldn't do it, Akeno would have to step in. 'Why do I get a feeling that she can't beat Kokabiel either?'

Ddraig realized the feeling that his partner was having, it was an instinct that every single Red Dragon Emperor developed sooner or later; the ability to gauge how much power those around them had.

It wasn't just the ability to feel the presence of their opponents but to accurately tell how strong a person was when compared to themselves, something essential for them to know how many Boosts they would need to face a particular enemy.

Every Boost costs stamina and if used recklessly that could be detrimental, even fatal. The practice of Boosting every day helped the original Red Dragon Emperor to learn how to measure his power and compare it with his enemies. His hosts also were capable of learning the same skill by association.

The Boosted Gear was also able to do the same thing and Issei already unlocked that ability thanks to the development of his mental prowess but he actually needed to look to the sacred gear's gem to see how much Boosts he would need to strengthen his ally or how many he would need to be equal to an enemy in pure power.

The latter part of the ability Issei hadn't noticed yet but Ddraig noticed he had good instincts and was better than most at using his Boosts in unusual ways thanks to his training.

None of that was relevant at the moment as the dragon's focus was on Kiba. [Anger is like fire, it keeps burning and burning until it consumes everything. Don't feel bad for having failed the first time you faced the reason for yours. I did too and it cost the lives of my first few hosts.]

Ddraig's admittance gave pause to his actual host who now looked at the Boosted Gear with fear and curiosity. The other devils fell silent as few already knew the story of the Red Dragon Emperor.

[I was beyond furious by being stuck inside the Boosted Gear; angry at that blasted God for sticking me inside it, at the White One for weakening me enough that such a thing happened and at every single angel in Heaven and devil in Hell for getting in our way.]

Ddraig's voice carried a sadness that Ise found hard to comprehend. 'I never heard him speak like that before. Not even when he spoke with Kiba earlier.'

Ddraig felt his partner's thoughts and his attention quickly shifted to him. [Juggernaut Drive; the power that unleashes all fury that I had in those times, together with all the wrath of every single Red Dragon Emperor that came before you. Even your own if it ever happens] Issei felt the dragon's eyes even if he couldn't see them, the green glow piercing into his soul. [It uses all my power, my real power capable of killing gods. Do you understand, partner?]

"If I use it, I would lose control and die… there would be no stopping it, like a fire that eats everything." Finally Ise had realized what Ddraig had told him and Kiba throughout the day.

[Yes… Your best chance is that some of you is strong enough to stop Kokabiel or else everyone dies anyway.] Both Ise and Kiba felt shaken by those words, Akeno growing quiet and reflecting on her choices while Saji stayed in the corner looking at his sacred gear, wondering if he doesn't have the same problem with a dragon.

But Kiba was the one most affected because unlike anyone else present he both heard Ddraig's words before and understood the deep resentment that the dragon must have felt on those first few days as he woke up inside a sacred gear.

Not the idea of losing his body or being stuck in a prison, that Kiba lacked the experience to comprehend, but the sudden shift and the complete loss of what once he always took for granted. Considering everything he found himself sympathizing with the dragon.

Ddraig always knew that words never would be enough but Kiba understood there was something else that he was lacking, something that Ddraig wasn't giving to him.

"Why you-"

"So, how long is it going to take?!" Kokabiel's voice cuts the depressing atmosphere and they all turn to see the fallen angel watching them with the same smile as before. "You are using the Boosted Gear , right?"

Fearing what he could do if no one said anything, Rias responded. "Akeno is going to need thirty Boosts before she can face you." The number wasn't precise but she figured that any extra second was good for them.

"Five minutes? Well, minus the time that already passed… I can wait." Kokabiel would be happy to wait for longer if they wanted but he knew they wouldn't because time was running out for them.

For a man's voice announced that the next stage of his plan was closer than they thought. "Boooooooosssssssssss! I have a gift for youuuuuuuuu!"

Showing up faster than the wind he kicked off by stopping close to Kokabiel was Freed Sellzen and every devil felt the presence of the weapons he was carrying. The familiar shiver for some and new to others that came from the aura that covered the man meant things just went from bad to worse.

Valper was the first to react, quickly stepping forward to grab the katana on Freed's hands. He may never see an image or recognize the blade whatsoever but the aura it was emitting, and his own knowledge told him which sword he was now holding on.

"That is Mimic! I have no doubt!" The glee on the old man's voice was enough to unnerve the devils.

"You can bet your ass it is, boss." Even if he sounded to be talking to Valper, Freed's eyes were glued on Kokabiel who had a clearly satisfied look.

After examining the katana for a few seconds, Valper turned to Freed and offered his other hand, obviously expecting something else. Freed chuckled and took a few steps away from both men before he began to take off the swords from his coat one by one and stab them in a circle.

By the time the Mad Exorcist was done the smile on Valper's face was replaced with a frown. "Where is Destruction?" He turned to Freed who just shrugged with a smile. "You are supposed to have brought Destruction here as well! Where is it?"

The devils which were panicking at the presence of the Excaliburs felt a huge wave of relief as Valper's increasing rage and panic told them it wasn't over yet. "Issei!" Rias exclaimed for her Pawn but he shook his head.

"A few more Boosts left." Issei replied and Akeno took a step forward before Rias stopped her.

"Wait for it." The Queen nodded in agreement.

"Where is Destruction?!" Valper demanded to know, even more unringed. "Where is it?"

Freed didn't care much about the panic of the weaker of his employers. "I couldn't get it. The chick that was using it was too good at killing and we were running out of time. Then a bunch of girls showed up with this redhead magician who went mad that I hurt one of his girlfriends." He shrugged. "So the blond bastard told me to run because things were getting dicey."

"And you didn't bring Destruction!" The man looked close to an aneurism for the lack of the sixth sword.

Cleaning his ears out of irritation with the old man, Freed had no real interest in Valper's complaints. "Too hard to get it with the swords that I had. Can't use them all at the same time." It was clear the excuse wasn't enough for the Archbishop but Freed just rolled his eyes. "Does it make that much of a difference? We needed another sword anyway and it was always the plan to use the others together to get that one. Just add a plus one and I'll get later."

"Freed is right, Valper." Already losing his own patience, Kokabiel decided to intervene and get things going. 'Not that I care about those swords, one Excalibur was always going to be enough.' But those were his own plans and the Cadre liked to believe he was nice enough to help his allies with their objectives. At least if they didn't get in his way. "All six here now or later, it makes little difference. Since the Exorcist with Destruction proved herself capable, Freed isn't at fault for having to retreat and prepare himself better. If anything that proves his caution as the Holder of Excalibur."

The Mad Exorcist wasn't about to say that he wanted to stay and fight but was convinced to run by the blond. 'No… it was because of that stupid redhead.' Remembering Shirou and the fury which he attacked had Freed's instincts setting off all kinds of alarms. 'I want to kill him soooooooooo bad.'

But for that he needed a better sword as using multiple Excaliburs proved to be too inefficient for the mad man. All his experience in fighting magicians told him that there was no winning unless he was better prepared.

Fortunately for him he knew where to get one. "So are you remaking Excalibur now or…"

"Yes, yes. I will start the procedure." Mimic was still in Valper's hand and he moved close to the others, fixing them into a proper circle. "If we manage to get Destruction soon enough then we can still use this ley line for the job. Yes, that will work. I just need to make some adjustments and it won't even interfere with the spell so lord Kokabiel won't be upset. After that I can have it feed the sword with mana some more to compensate…"

"Aaaaaaand we lost him." Freed pointed out before turning. "What do I do now, boss?"

Before Kokabiel could reply they heard the roar of a dragon. [Transfer!]

And it was followed by a prayer. "Oh, kind mother above in the heavens, bring forth the power to smite my enemies." Akeno had stepped in front of all her allies with an aura of gold and red raging around her. Sparks of electricity were surrounding the young woman as her eyes carried a fierce but serene determination. "Let my body be filled with your love, which didn't diminish with your departure. Let me take the pain you carried, so our souls can meet each other again."

Kokabiel almost couldn't believe what he saw as Akeno's power shone like a lighthouse amidst the darkness. The man was sure her power was close to his own now that she was Boosted.

And he couldn't help but smile. "You step back Freed, as close to Valper as you can without disrupting the spell." At that moment the magic circle began to shrink and descend to ground level. When it touched the ground all swords had a rune of some kind below them as they shone with Holy Energy. "And hope that I don't die."

"She can kill you?" That was the biggest surprise that Freed had all day.

"With that output of power I will have to at least try." Kokabiel admitted as he opened his wings in invitation for Akeno's attack. "Can't you feel it, Freed? With how much power she is putting out she may even be able to hurt a god."

Kokabiel wasn't exaggerating as he could feel Akeno's aura pulse with even more strength before the Queen took a single step in his direction. The power she was letting out wasn't something she expected from a reincarnated devil but from one of his siblings or even by lesser divinities.

'Then again, she is piggybacking from the Red Dragon Emperor.' Not that Kokabiel was complaining. He couldn't wait to see how she was going to use all that energy, the thought making him shiver. "Come Daughter of Baraqiel! Show me your power!"

Akeno didn't allow the title to break her concentration. She was the only one who could face Kokabiel and wasn't going to let the efforts of her friends go to waste.

Calmly she approached, unsure if Kokabiel was going to try defend himself or not. So far he hadn't made any real attempt besides when Rias managed to lower his guard and shot Valper but now Akeno was letting out so much power she had no guarantees that he was going to play by the same rules.

Akeno felt her skin tingle and her power demanding to be unleashed. She never felt so powerful before, powerful enough to face the whole of Riser's Peerage by herself and win ten times over. Never before she felt so full of energy and every single of it threatened to escape her pores and go out in a huge explosion.

Took a tremendous mental effort to keep it contained for her attack but Akeno managed, her aura shining more bright than ever before.

Yet Kokabiel just stood there, his wings were open and that was the only difference but the power from the man felt the same as when Rias challenged him. Part of Akeno tried to focus on feeling the fallen angel's power but her own aura was getting in the way as she approached him slowly.

Step by step Akeno judged the distance between her and Kokabiel. She wasn't used to the power she was holding on and wanted to make sure that he couldn't escape by doing a sudden sprint when she was close enough.

It wasn't painful even if it was hard, the power hightining her senses as she felt that she could do anything.

From the black huge wings to the smile on his face, Kokabiel didn't move a muscle when Akeno finally felt she was close enough to charge. Her preparations were signaled by her aura taking a more solid form to help her fly in his direction as she opened her bat wings and took off in speeds she normally was incapable of reaching.

Akeno felt she could have taken a leap around the planet easily but didn't allow the excitement to take over as she reached Kokabiel in less than a second, her spell ready.

Once she had Kokabiel in a tight embrace, the heat so intense the fallen angel felt it, Akeno let her full power out. "Let us walk this road together! Departure of Lightning!"

Lightning struck with such an intensity that the whole area of Kuoh shook in its wake.

It felt like the world was going to end.

The windows of the school, the closest building, all blew up inside at the intense roar of the Lightning and the explosion it unleashed was enough that some couldn't hold themselves and were thrown away by the blast.

Some devils managed to hold themselves just enough to not be throw away and help others; Rias used her Stand to hold down Sona and Tsubaki while she held Asia's hand, Ise worked with Saji to hold Momo, Reya and Meguri as Koneko acted like a pillar for the rest of the Sitri Peerage to hold on and not fly away.

Freed was the closest person to the blast itself and was fortunate that the energy unleashed didn't affect him even as he lost his footing and was thrown to the floor. The Mad Exorcist didn't fought back until he was sure there would be no danger or whiplash as he landed meters behind where he was, besides the Archbiship of Genocide.

Only Valper remained unaffected by the event thanks to Kokabiel's efforts but still he felt the power that was unleashed behind him and slowly turned to gaze at the result of the impact.

Dust clouds covered the aftermath for a moment but soon all could see the result of Akeno's Departure of Lightning. They expected a crater of some kind, destruction and debris but saw the area pretty much intact and unchanged.

"I-impossible." Sona managed to say as Rias gulped her fear before glaring at her enemy as black wings banished the remaining dust away and revealed the final result of the lightning.

"Not enough." Rias commented bitterly. "It wasn't even close to enough."

The change was only to the people in it as Kokabiel stood tall and strong while Akeno looked meek and weak. All the power the Queen had before had completely disappeared and the fallen angel looked irritated but none saw any relevant damage.

His cape was completely destroyed, his suit damaged in certain parts but there was a thin veil of Light that Akeno could only notice at that moment after all was done. Kokabiel had raised a defense against her attack, not an obvious one but clearly effective even if not perfect as she saw a small burn on his skin.

Only for the burn to disappear as her eyes traveled to meet him and a deep sense of boredom and disappointment washed over her as the fallen angel's eyes carried all the frustration the man felt for her attempt.

"I am disappointed, Daughter of Baraqiel." Akeno gave Kokabiel a glare but it had no bite with how tired she looked.

The Queen's school uniform was damaged even if she was unharmed and the ribbon holding her hair was gone, letting it free but messi. All that Akeno had left was the fierceness of her eyes but Kokabiel didn't look impressed. His disappointment was so great that the very aura around the man proclaimed how displeased he was.

"Oh, how I expected so much more of you only to end with this…" Kokabiel spoke slowly and clearly, Akeno gritting her teeth as she tried to stand up only to fail. "For a moment I thought you had it, the power to fight me, to challenge me. And you did, for a moment, with no skill or experience to use it." He grabbed her by the hair and pulled enough to see her face clearly.

Akeno tried to fight back, to summon whatever leftover of her mana she had to throw something at the fallen angel. Nothing came out.

Next thing everyone knew Rias had shot a bullet of Destruction straight for Kokabiel's head only for one of his wings to destroy it as he glared at her. "I am having a family meeting… Stay out."

With a flap of his wings all the devils were thrown to the ground and then Kokabiel turned to Akeno again, hand firmly holding her hair. She tried to fight him off, to free herself or do something but she had nothing else to give and he could hear her easily as her exhaustion started to really set in.

"Fa-mily meeting?" Hyoudou Issei asked out loud but Rias barely heard him, her eyes fixed on Kokabiel with pure hatred behind them.

The fallen angel didn't care, his attention was solely on Akeno. "Why didn't you use your father's Lightning? Or are you incapable of it?" His eyes gained a glean that Akeno didn't recognize, as if Kokabiel was looking at her very soul. "Were you born as just a human?"

His red eyes found Akeno's violet and she knew he was taking a glimpse of her very being. It wasn't something impossible for an angel like Kokabiel who was once part of the upper echelon of Heaven.

As a Watcher, Kokabiel had the duty to do just that, watch humanity from afar, never interfering and making sure the supernatural didn't touch them. Since they were angels and were never supposed to leave Heaven unless ordered or with permission, that duty was done from the Realm of God itself.

It wasn't really in the sky as some humans thought but in another dimension that was above Earth. To access or leave it, one needed to know the right entrances and wasn't a place that could be seen even with the best telescopes or spells.

The same was true the other way around and so angels, the Watchers more specifically, needed to have good eyes to watch the world even a whole dimension away.

Just because of his Fall it didn't mean that Kokabiel lost that gift of vision, it was his innate right as an angel. Even if the Holy that belonged to his father left him and his senses grew duller because of it his eyes remained the same. They grew even better as he aged and fought, good vision was something every warrior appreciated and Kokabiel was no exception.

But as someone that fought hundreds of battles he learned how to spot certain things from people. While he couldn't peer on their souls as he once envisioned himself doing he learned to look for the signs of certain things.

Azazel did the same with his instruments in a way to learn how to find and identify sacred gears and while Kokabiel couldn't go that far he could still see things usually hidden if he paid close attention.

Akeno didn't even know what was happening in the first place so she couldn't stop as Kokabiel took a peek at her power. Far from the first time he tried to look at a being's essence and origin in their soul, the Cadre knew exactly what he was looking for so his search wouldn't last long.

He easily found the Queen Piece energy from inside Akeno's soul and completely ignored it. Kokabiel knew he would see the Evil Piece absorbing and letting out mana in the same quantity but of a more demonic quality. 'Just a filter, nothing much' Azazel had described an Evil Piece once and Kokabiel agreed.

What Kokabiel wanted to find was deeper in Akeno's power, even her soul despite him lacking the ability to access it. He almost gave up when he saw Light at the edges of her essence. "You could, couldn't you?" The happiness in his tone made Akeno pale.

'He knows!' She thought in a panic and tried to break herself free, something that Kokabiel allowed by letting go of her hair only to grab her arm instead.

"You were born a fallen angel, and a powerful one." Kokabiel announced proudly but only Freed and Valper could hear and react as they looked at Akeno with some wonder.

"No! I was born human like my mother!" Akeno shoulted in a panic, trying to free her arm.

All light disappeared around Akeno as Kokabiel wings grew to their full height. "Don't you dare to deny your origin, woman! Don't you dare!" His eyes had a maniac glean on them and Akeno found herself paralysed. "How could you deny the beauty that you really are? That you should always have been? I can see your Light. How it shines from your soul, waiting to be called. A Light much like your father's, maybe even stronger!" She didn't fight when he dragged her closer gently and forcely at once until their foreheads met. "You are one of us."

Then Kokabiel noticed the fear in Akeno's eyes and she saw a new emotion escape his eyes; sadness.

"Such a pity you are now a devil. Such a waste, truly wasteful… No! I won't allow that to stand!" His wings returned to their more manageable size as the fallen let her go and Akeno fell to her knees, her strength fully gone. "I can do nothing for you now but I am sure Azazel must have already thought of ways to reverse the Evil Piece reincarnation." The fear returned but Kokabiel wasn't giving her any attention. "Even if he didn't, I am sure your father will cooperate with me until Azazel figures something out. Don't worry, one day you will return to what you really are."

"I-" Akeno felt the fist that hit her just before all the air left her lungs and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Unlike before where Kokabiel was all excitement and playfulness now he looked somber as he held Akeno's body as delicately as he could.

Holding her close, Kokabiel admired Akeno. 'A perfect union between fallen angel and human, a fallen angel born of a human. You did something wonderful, Baraqiel. Even if you can't ever forgive my actions, no matter how necessary they are, I shall reunite you with your daughter, brother.' Then he turned to Freed and walked close to the man before laying the girl in his feet. "Watch over her with your life. If she loses even a hair then I will give you something worse than death."

"Sure- sure thing, boss." Freed wasn't the kind of person who felt fear but by the way that Kokabiel was glaring at him there was no doubt that the warning was very real. "You can count on me. Nobody is touching her. Not on my watch" He got down to lift Akeno up but the fallen angel spoke again.

"Make no mistake, any inappropriate touching of my niece and no Holy Sword in the universe will protect you from me." Kokabiel let out all his power on Freed's shoulders and the man felt like he was in the bottom of the deepest ocean, suffocated, crushed, drowning. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." Kokabiel fully turned to the devils and smiled at the murderous expression on Rias face. "Do you want to tell me something, Rias Gremory?"

"I am going to kill you." Rias replied with a promise that carried as much hatred as she could muster. "I am going to rip out your skin, pluck out all your feathers and shove every single fucking one of them down your throat even if this is the last thing I do!"

There wasn't a single soul in the area that wasn't looking at Rias at that moment, some with fear, Kokabiel with bewilderment. "Hahahahaha! You are welcome to try!" He waved at her to get him. "Come on, then! Give me your best shot!"

Sona saw all that happened and how low their odds of winning are. "Rias, I know you are upset-"

"Absolutely livid."

"-but you can't defeat him." Sona waited for a reaction but all she noticed was Rias unleashing her aura and getting ready for a fight. "You saw what Akeno did, how much power she used for nothing. There is no winning this fight."

"Sona if you don't have anything useful to say… shut up." Rias didn't even turn to acknowledge her oldest friend. "I don't care who he is or how much power Kokabiel has, I am going to make him pay." She closed her fist and more power began to escape her. "Even if it is the last thing I do. No one hurts my friends like that and gets away with it."

With her fighting spirit renewed by Kokabiel's treatment of Akeno, Rias was ready to keep fighting and Sona could understand the sentiment. But she still needed to be realistic and all her rational mind was telling the Sitri Heiress was that fighting was worthless at that point and that they should try and figure out some way to convince the fallen angel to leave.

For a second she was about to suggest that they just give the Excaliburs to him but that thought was soon shot out when Sona remembered that he showed interest in Akeno.

'Considering who her father is, that shouldn't be surprising. But it is extremely problematic.' Sona could tell that if Kokabiel was going to leave then Akeno was going to leave with him. 'There is no way Rias is going to accept that outcome, not in a million years. She wants blood and she wants it now.' The pureblood then realized something. 'She knows we can't win… she just doesn't want to give up.'

Giving up now didn't only meant giving up the Excaliburs but Akeno as well, something that Rias was clearly voicing her disapproval of.

'Maybe if we talk with Azazel after…' Sona tried to find a solution to calm her friend but Rias was making plans of her own.

"Issei, how many Boosts can my body take?" The redhead devil asked, her spirit still demanding retribution.

The Pawn looked at his sacred gear with a frown as the gem revealed the number. "Twenty seven, Buchou… same as Akeno-san." Issei swallowed heavily as he stopped himself from saying 'It's not enough.'

"Then go for more than twenty seven." Rias ordered and all devils looked at her in shock.

Sona was the first to recover. "Rias, that is too risky."

"Buchou, Issei's body can't take much more than his limits. It will be worse for you." Koneko spoke her mind quickly but the pureblood devil looked unfazed.

[Oi, oi. That is a terrible idea. At some point my power has diminishing returns to the likes of you. Only I and my hosts can go beyond our limits.] The fact that Ddraig felt a need to chip in told Rias how much she was risking on it.

"It is a gamble that probably won't pay off." Medusa added with a glance at Rias before looking ahead to Kokabiel who once again waited patiently. "Odds are that you are going to die if you try… But you already know that."

"What? Buchou, is that true?" Ise questioned and Rias remained silent. "Then I'm not doing it. No way!"

"It is the only way!" Rias cut down any arguments, her glare still on Kokabiel. "I don't have an attack as strong as Departure of Lightning but maybe that was the problem for Akeno. A single powerful attack can't defeat Kokabiel unless it is many times stronger than him." She rationalized slowly to allow everyone to keep up. "In that case the best option to face him is only with someone on the same level as he is. Unfortunately we lack that too."

Medusa caught up with what Rias was implying. "So you are going to go beyond his power to try and do the same thing as Akeno did? That will fail as well."

"If I throw enough power-"