Student Council Room – Kuoh Academy
A few minutes before Gasper arrived at the academy, Sona Sitri sat behind her desk, watching the members of her peerage gathered inside the Student Council room. Kuoh's situation was already troubling enough on its own, but the presence of two visitors made everything even more irritating.
Xenovia and Irina were seated near the window. The two had arrived accompanied by Issei, who looked extremely pleased with himself for bringing the exorcists there.
Sona slowly adjusted her glasses as she looked at the three of them.
'That Issei never brings me anything but trouble.'
Her gaze shifted from Irina to Xenovia. Neither of them belonged to her territory. Neither had permission to be there. Yet Issei had brought them straight to the Sitri peerage's operational headquarters.
"Tell me, Issei." Sona rested her elbows on the desk without taking her eyes off him. "Who are these two, and why did you bring them here?"
Issei immediately straightened his posture.
"This is Irina Shidou." He pointed toward the brown-haired girl. "We were childhood friends before she moved away."
Irina waved with a polite smile.
"And this is Xenovia." Issei pointed toward the swordswoman sitting beside her friend. "I found them wandering around Kuoh looking for information. They seemed lost, so I thought it would be better to help."
Sona remained silent for a few moments as she absorbed his explanation.
Issei's actions were exactly the kind of thing any protagonist would do. Finding two mysterious girls wandering through town, deciding to help them on his own, and bringing them directly to his base without consulting anyone felt perfectly natural for someone used to acting on impulse.
The problem was that the real world didn't work like a simple story.
Every decision had consequences.
Every stranger could represent a threat.
And every person brought into a protected area could place dozens of others in danger.
It was exactly that kind of impulsive behavior that made Sona lightly pinch the bridge of her glasses while staring at Issei.
Because, once again, he had created a problem before even realizing one existed.
"Seriously, Issei?" Sona folded her arms on the desk while glaring at her own Pawn. "You know we're devils, yet you brought two exorcists directly into our headquarters."
"An idiot."
Xenovia completed the sentence without showing the slightest hesitation.
"I tried to warn him too." She rested Excalibur on her shoulder while looking at Issei. "But Irina shares the same brain cell as your servant."
"Hey!"
Irina immediately puffed out her cheeks indignantly as she crossed her arms.
"That was rude."
"I just wanted to help." Issei tried to defend himself, but even his own voice no longer carried the same confidence as before.
Sona let out a slow sigh.
"Don't insult my servants inside my territory, Xenovia."
Beside her, Tsubaki remained silent, but the fixed look she gave the exorcist made it obvious she agreed with every word spoken by the Student Council President.
"Whatever." Xenovia slightly turned her body and tightened her grip on her sword. "I'm leaving."
Before anyone could respond, a strange pressure swept through the room.
At first, the sensation was subtle.
But it was enough to catch everyone's attention.
Outside Kuoh Academy, an enormous barrier silently began to rise. Streams of energy spread across the sky like glowing cracks, linking invisible points until they formed a gigantic dome surrounding the school.
The light traveled along the edge of the grounds for several seconds before fading from sight.
The atmosphere inside the room changed immediately.
Issei's carefree expression disappeared.
Momo stopped what she was doing.
Even Xenovia abandoned her intention to leave.
Tsubaki was the first to reach the window.
She watched the fading energy above the buildings while trying to identify the spell.
"A barrier..."
Her voice sounded more serious than usual.
"But it's different. I've never seen anything like it before."
Xenovia reacted immediately.
Excalibur was in her hand in a single motion as she stepped back several paces, increasing the distance between herself and the devils.
"You." Her eyes swept across Sona, Tsubaki, and Issei. "What are you planning?"
Sona remained seated, but her full attention was already focused on what was happening outside.
"This isn't mine." She answered without hesitation. "Nor does it belong to anyone in this room."
"Calm down, everyone." Issei raised both hands after realizing the situation could explode at any moment. "Nobody's attacking anybody."
Xenovia didn't lower her sword.
The barrier had appeared far too quickly to ignore.
Irina noticed the tension rising and immediately stepped forward.
"Xenovia, wait." She raised both hands in a peaceful gesture. "They really might not have done this."
"Then who did?" Xenovia asked without lowering Excalibur.
Before anyone could answer, a strange sensation swept through the room. It was quick, almost imperceptible, but enough to make Sona frown and Tsubaki move a hand toward her sword.
Then the attack came.
SHOOOOOOM!
A gigantic spear of light tore through the Student Council room wall like a golden comet. Desks, chairs, cabinets, and windows exploded into fragments as the holy energy ripped through everything in its path.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the entire building.
Issei was hurled into a wall together with a shattered desk, while several members of the Sitri peerage struggled to shield themselves from the shockwave and the debris filling the room.
Sona covered her face with one arm and immediately searched for her servants. Dust still filled the room when her eyes found a sight that made her heart stop for an instant.
Tomoe.
The Sitri peerage's Knight had been standing directly in the spear's path.
She had no time to react.
No time to draw her weapon.
No time to even understand what was happening.
The holy energy pierced straight through her body before continuing onward and exploding against the opposite wall. As the dust slowly settled, it became obvious there was nothing left to save.
Her body hit the rubble with a heavy sound.
THUD.
"Tomoe!"
Reya rushed toward her friend, unable to hide her despair. Her voice echoed through the destroyed room as she dropped to her knees beside the fallen Knight, but a single glance was enough to understand the truth.
Tomoe was dead.
The smell of blood mixed with the lingering holy energy throughout the room. Burned papers still drifted down from the ceiling while small flames consumed part of the shattered furniture.
Issei stood frozen for several seconds.
None of this felt real.
Just minutes ago they had been arguing about exorcists, barriers, and impulsive decisions. Now one of the Sitri peerage members had been murdered right before their eyes.
"This..."
His voice failed before he could finish.
Sona clenched her teeth as she stared at the scene.
The death of a servant meant the loss of someone she considered family, and someone had just invaded her headquarters and executed one of her peerage members.
Her magical pressure exploded throughout the room.
"Everyone, fall back."
The order came out cold and controlled, but the rage behind those words was impossible to hide.
Tsubaki immediately moved to Sona's side. Her eyes remained fixed on the massive hole blasted through the wall as she tried to locate the attacker's position.
Xenovia tightened her grip on Excalibur.
Despite being accustomed to combat, she recognized that power immediately.
Dust still drifted from the ceiling when a voice echoed from outside.
"I killed the wrong devil, but in the end, the only good devil is a dead devil."
Everyone turned their attention toward the sky.
Outside the room, a lone figure floated above Kuoh Academy's courtyard. The man had dark hair, golden eyes, and eight enormous black wings spread behind his back. The corrupted holy energy radiating from him was so overwhelming that it seemed to distort the very air around him.
Azraelion gazed at the destruction with a satisfied smile.
His presence was overwhelming.
Far beyond the level of any ordinary exorcist.
Far beyond the level of any human.
The mere existence of that Fallen Angel made the atmosphere surrounding the academy feel unbearably heavy.
Issei's blood immediately began to boil.
The Boosted Gear erupted in crimson light around his arm, scattering scarlet particles throughout the ruined room. The glow was so intense that it reflected from the shattered glass covering the floor as his power continued to rise without stopping.
"You bastard!"
The fury in his voice was impossible to hide.
Tomoe had just died before his eyes, and for the first time since entering the supernatural world, he genuinely wanted to crush someone.
A second presence appeared beside Azraelion.
Unlike the first, that man didn't need to do anything to command attention. His mere presence sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Kokabiel smiled with amusement as he looked down at Issei.
"How terrifying, devil."
The six black wings behind him slowly spread as an overwhelming amount of holy power and Fallen Angel energy flooded the sky above the academy. The pressure was so immense that several of the weaker members of the Sitri peerage found it difficult to breathe.
Sona silently observed the two Fallen Angels while calculating her options.
Tomoe's death had already shown the difference in power.
Now she also understood who was behind the barrier.
'This is going to be difficult.'
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