Kokabiel PoV
The next day, Heaven went into full lockdown.
Michael issued the order at dawn. Every single angel currently on assignment in the mortal realm, other dimensions, or anywhere else was recalled immediately.
No exceptions. No delays.
I stood at the window of my office, watching them arrive in waves throughout the day.
Guardian Angels returning from purification missions across Earth. Seraphims completing diplomatic assignments with other pantheons. Angels from infrastructure projects. Even the more autonomous angels who rarely visited Heaven were coming home.
By sunset, every single angel was accounted for and safely behind Heaven's reinforced barriers.
Raphael and Gabriel worked around the clock to strengthen the defensive wards with Hera lending her divine power to the effort.
The barriers glowed with layered enchantments—holy light, spatial locks, reality anchors, corruption filters.
It wouldn't stop Shub-Niggurath. Nothing short of absolute overwhelming power could do that.
But it would protect Heaven from her spawn and the reality-warping corruption that followed in her wake. Even if for mere moments.
"Even if we know it won't be enough against her directly," Raphael had said when I questioned the massive effort, "it's better than sitting idle while you fight alone. We need to contribute however we can."
She wasn't wrong.
I'd been training intensively in my personal dimension, pushing my abilities to their absolute limits and beyond.
My real body remained there, preparing every possible technique and strategy. An avatar walked Heaven's halls, maintaining appearances and participating in daily activities.
The avatar served dual purposes: it would deter opportunistic enemies from attacking while I was occupied, and it would reassure my siblings that I hadn't simply vanished into the void.
I could sense it now with growing clarity. A foreboding disturbance approaching from the spaces between dimensions, the gaps in reality where things that shouldn't exist waited and watched.
It was subtle, nearly imperceptible. Most beings would never notice until it manifested directly.
But I wasn't most beings.
I opened the chat group, knowing this might be my last conversation with them for a while.
[Heaven's Wrath: Hey everyone, I believe it's time. The disturbance is getting closer. I don't think I'll be able to access the chat group while I'm actively fighting, so it'll be a while until we speak again.
Be careful and protect yourselves in case there are simultaneous incursions in your worlds. Some Outer Gods hunt in packs.]
The responses came quickly, one after another.
Yoruichi was serious for once, her usual playful tone completely absent.
[Flash Goddess: Figured it was coming soon. Hard to fight someone as strong as yourself and maintain casual conversation.
Question though, can we watch? I know it's dangerous but we want to support you somehow.]
[Heaven's Wrath: I'm afraid not, and I need you to take this seriously. Watching a clash between Outer Gods could seriously harm your mind and body.
This isn't like watching two strong beings fight. One does not simply stare directly at entities that exist partially outside reality without severe consequences.]
Kazuma, who'd somewhat recovered from his emotional slump over Grayfia's complete lack of interest, couldn't resist being himself.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: ...Did you seriously just quote Boromir right now? In a life-or-death situation?
Also can't you like, filter the livestream or something? Put puppy filters over the eldritch horror bits so we don't get blasted by cosmic insanity? That's gotta be possible with your power.]
I paused, uncertain if he was joking or serious. With Kazuma it was always hard to tell.
[Heaven's Wrath: Even if filtering were somehow possible, Kazuma, it still wouldn't be wise. You, Robin, and Ritsuka would take the worst of it due to your human physiology and lack of supernatural protection.
Yoruichi, Jin-Woo, and Klein might handle brief exposure thanks to their enhanced bodies and spiritual defenses, but even for them it would be extremely dangerous. For you three? It would be lethal.]
Robin, who'd apparently found time between Revolutionary Army operations, chimed in with her usual pragmatism.
[Girl Who Loves Reading: I'll trust your judgment on this, Kokabiel-san. Dying horribly just to watch a fight doesn't sound appealing, no matter how historic it might be. I'd rather live to hear about it afterward.]
Ritsuka added her support immediately.
[Last Master of Humanity: If Kokabiel-san says not to look, it must be serious. He knows our limits and tolerances better than we do. I trust his judgment completely on this.]
Klein, having just finished gathering the final ingredients for his Sequence 4 advancement ritual, asked the question they were all thinking but hesitant to voice.
[The Fool: What do you honestly think your chances are, Kokabiel? I know we can't contribute much in a battle at that level—we'd probably just get in the way or die instantly.
But I really don't like the thought of you facing this completely alone if there's any chance of something going wrong. Is there truly nothing we can do?]
I wished desperately that I had clear parameters showing probability of success or failure. Some kind of cosmic calculation that could give me certainty.
But I didn't. This was genuinely, completely unpredictable.
[Heaven's Wrath: Honestly, Klein? I don't know. It could go either way. I know she can't permanently kill me—our existences are too fundamental for that. But I'm not certain I can kill her either.
She's been alive since before most universes existed. Plus she has countless spawn to distract and complicate things.
But if I can somehow drag her far enough from DxD and other inhabited worlds, I can use my personal dimensions to consume and neutralize her corruption, which should nullify most of her attacks.]
[The Fool: ...I see. Is there really nothing we can do to help? At all?]
[Heaven's Wrath: Not at your current power levels, Klein. You'd need to reach your absolute peak potential—probably Sequence 0 and beyond that to even attempt participating without dying instantly from proximity alone.]
Kazuma, being Kazuma, tried to lighten the mood.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Heh, welcome to the mob character club, Klein! How does it feel to be useless like the rest of us?]
[The Fool: You do realize that in front of such overwhelming cosmic power, literally everyone is a mob character, Kazuma. Including you. Especially you, actually.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: ...Okay that's fair. Moving on!]
I noticed Jin-Woo's continued silence in the conversation and decided to address it directly.
[Heaven's Wrath: Jin-Woo, are you alright? You've been acting rather antsy for weeks now. Something clearly happened on Jeju Island. You don't have to share if you're not ready, but we're worried about you.]
The reply came suspiciously, almost defensively fast.
[Shadow Monarch: ANTS?! WHERE ARE THE ANTS?! I'LL KILL EVERY SINGLE ANT!]
That was deeply concerning on multiple levels.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Whoa there buddy! Easy! What the hell is your obsession with ants lately? Ever since you came back from that raid you've been super weird about them. Like, unnaturally weird.]
[Shadow Monarch: I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing weird about my behavior. I just decided I don't like bugs.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Riiiiight... You're giving me major Goblin Slayer vibes except with ants instead of goblins. Wait a minute. Wait just a damn minute here...]
There was a noticeable pause as Kazuma clearly worked through some disturbing implications.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Jin-Woo... don't tell me... you got molested by...]
[The Fool: Don't be absurd, Kazuma. Jin-Woo is far stronger than any of us. How could he possibly end up in some kind of... compromising situation with ants? That makes no sense.]
[Shadow Monarch: ...I think I should leave now. Goodbye everyone.]
[Flash Goddess: Wait hold on, can someone please explain this reference? I'm not familiar with what Kazuma's talking about.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Oh right, you guys don't have that anime in your worlds.
Basically there's this guy whose entire family got murdered and his sister got raped by goblins. He awakens trauma-fueled revenge powers and develops this pathological, obsessive hatred of all goblins. Spends his entire life hunting and killing them. Basic trauma psychology.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: But here's the thing—Jin-Woo doesn't have any loved ones who were harmed specifically by ants. So if he's showing the same obsessive trauma response to ants specifically, that means he personally must have been....]
[Shadow Monarch: Choose your next words VERY carefully, Kazuma. I'm warning you.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: ...oh wow I just remembered I forgot to give Aqua and Megumin their weekly allowances! Super important! Gotta go handle that right now immediately! Byeeee!]
I raised an eyebrow at my crystal. Knowing Jin-Woo's world and its absolute love of horrifying scenarios, I honestly wouldn't put it past reality to pull something exactly like that.
[Heaven's Wrath: I... offer my sincerest sympathies, Jin-Woo. That sounds genuinely traumatic. Would you like some specially formulated soothing ointment? I can have it sent to your world.]
[Shadow Monarch: Kokabiel please. Just stop. Everyone stop talking.]
Yoruichi completely lost it.
[Flash Goddess: AHAHAHAHA I CAN'T BREATHE! JIN-WOO GOT VIOLATED BY ANTS! AND KOKABIEL JUST CASUALLY OFFERED HIM BUTT OINTMENT! THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER WITNESSED! I'M SAVING THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION!]
[Shadow Monarch: I DID NOT GET VIOLATED, YOURUICHI! DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT !"]
Even Robin, normally composed, couldn't help herself.
[Girl Who Loves Reading: My deepest condolences, Jin-Woo. Though I suppose it's marginally better that it wasn't your family members this time? That's... progress? Of a sort?]
[Shadow Monarch has gone offline.]
I smiled despite the weight of what was coming. They were trying to distract themselves from worry, trying to keep things light before the storm.
Even poor Jin-Woo's traumatic experience and dignity had been sacrificed for that cause.
I should definitely investigate what actually happened on Jeju Island later. For Jin-Woo's mental health's sake if nothing else.
[Heaven's Wrath: As much as I'm genuinely enjoying this absolute chaos, I really should be going now. Got a world to protect and an Outer God to fight. Hopefully I'll see you all again soon.]
[Flash Goddess: Kick her ass, Kokabiel. We're rooting for you.]
[The Fool: Good luck. We'll be waiting.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Come back safely.]
[Last Master of Humanity: We believe in you, Kokabiel-san!]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Don't die or I'll drag you back from whatever afterlife you end up in and kill you again for making us worry!]
[Shadow Monarch: ...Good luck. Stay safe.]
Huh, he came back? I guess the trauma wasn't as serious as I thought.
I closed the chat and immediately opened communication with the DxD world will.
[Heaven's Wrath: You shitty world will, have you actually managed to recover properly or are you planning to be useless again at the most critical moment?]
The response came after a few seconds.
[DxD World: Yo, Aniki! What's up! How's it hanging! Ready to go kick some serious Outer God ass?!]
[Heaven's Wrath: That depends entirely on you. Are you actually going to be able to protect the world while I'm dealing with Shub-Niggurath?
Because I physically cannot fight her at full power AND defend the planet simultaneously. I need to know you can handle your part.]
[DxD World: Don't worry don't worry! I got this completely under control! Your reliable and totally amazing world will has your back 100%!
The moment you leave to engage her, I'll reinforce all the dimensional barriers with everything I've got!
After you killed that Long Aotian system-wielding bastard, I managed to salvage his entire system core and used it to restore massive amounts of my origin essence. I'm almost back to full peak condition! 💪 Trust me!]
[Heaven's Wrath: Why do I have this terrible sinking feeling that you're somehow going to spectacularly screw this up despite your confidence?]
[DxD World: Ouch! That's super hurtful Aniki! You can't just casually insult your adorable and magnanimous world will like that! I have feelings you know!]
[Heaven's Wrath: Just make absolutely certain—and I mean ABSOLUTELY certain—that you don't let ANY of her spawn breach the barrier. Not even one.
Even the weaker spawn are significantly stronger than Great Red at his peak. There's literally nobody left in this world who can defend against them if even a single one gets through while I'm occupied.]
[DxD World: I understand completely! I know exactly what's at stake here! I'll be extra super ultra careful! You can totally trust me on this!]
The fact that it needed to explicitly say "trust me" made me trust it significantly less. But I didn't have better options.
I spent the rest of the day working in my office with Grayfia, deliberately focusing on mundane administrative tasks.
We reviewed development plans for Heaven's future infrastructure. Discussed resource allocation for various ongoing projects. Sorted through proposals for new initiatives.
Penemue joined us after lunch since she'd been handling most of these administrative matters before Grayfia took over. We chatted casually while working, carefully avoiding any mention of the approaching battle.
"The water purification systems in the eastern Rome residential district need major upgrades," Penemue noted, reviewing a detailed report. "They're still functional but seriously outdated. Efficiency has dropped almost fifteen percent."
I made a note. "Add it to the high-priority list. What's the estimated timeline for completion?"
"Two weeks if we dedicate a full specialized team exclusively to it. Longer if they get pulled for other emergency projects."
"Make it happen. Clean water isn't negotiable for our followers."
Grayfia wrote something down. "I'll coordinate directly with Sariel's engineering division. They have relevant experience with similar system overhauls."
The conversation was deliberately mundane, almost aggressively normal. We were planning for a future that assumed I'd be around to see these projects completed.
It was oddly comforting.
After work concluded as the sun set, we all gathered in Heaven's great hall for dinner.
Everyone was present.
Michael sat at the head of the long table. Gabriel beside him, then Raphael, Azrael, myself, Grayfia, Celeste, and Hera at the far end.
Hera had been spending most of her time in Heaven's extensive gardens, cultivating flowers and maintaining a deliberately low profile.
She never sought power or position here. Content to simply live peacefully with her daughter after so many years of political maneuvering in Olympus.
The dinner started with light conversation about completely inconsequential things.
Gabriel excitedly described her latest baking experiments. "I tried adding honey from the northern gardens and it completely changed the texture! Raphael, you have to try this."
"I'm not your test subject for experimental pastries, Gabriel."
"You literally volunteered last week."
"I was coerced through guilt."
"Same thing!"
Raphael discussed her ongoing research projects. "The regeneration formulas are showing promise but I need more test subjects willing to lose limbs repeatedly."
"Have you tried asking Azazel?" I suggested. "He loses body parts regularly enough."
"Bold of you to assume he hasn't already volunteered. That man has no sense of self-preservation."
"Hey! I'm right here!" Azrael looked up from his food.
"Shut up before I bring out the syringe."
Azrael visibly paled. Interesting.
The conversations kept flowing easily.
Azrael recommended several ancient texts he'd been reading. "There's a fascinating analysis of pre-flood civilization that contradicts most accepted histories."
Celeste talked enthusiastically about her plans to explore different realms once she was allowed to leave Heaven. "I want to see everything! All the different worlds and dimensions! Meet all kinds of beings and fight them!"
"Absolutely not," Hera said immediately. "You're staying in Heaven where it's safe."
"Mooooommmm!"
"Don't 'mom' me. You just awakened your divinity yesterday. You're not ready for dimensional travel."
"I have three domains! I'm strong!"
"You're somewhat strong and inexperienced. Terrible combination."
Normal family conversation. Warm and comfortable and completely mundane.
As the meal concluded, Michael stood up slowly, raising his goblet. The entire hall fell silent immediately.
Everyone knew what was coming.
He stood there for a long moment, just looking at all of us gathered around the table. His family.
When he finally spoke, his voice was calm but I could hear the worry underneath. The fear he was trying desperately to hide.
"Thank you all for being here tonight. Every single one of you. We are family. That's not just a word we use casually—it's a bond that transcends everything else. Politics, power, duty, all of it.
Family helps each other. Protects one another. Stands together even when we've made mistakes, even when we don't deserve it."
He paused, gathering his thoughts. His eyes found mine across the table.
"Our brother Kokabiel is about to face an entity that can destroy our entire world and everything in it. He's risking everything he is so that we can remain safe here.
And the bitter truth we all have to accept is that we aren't strong enough to fight beside him. We can't lend our strength in this battle. We can't protect him the way he's always protected us."
His voice grew softer, more emotional. "You've carried burdens greater than any of us could possibly bear for countless millennia, brother.
Even when it nearly destroyed you, even when you lost yourself in darkness and had to claw your way back to yourself piece by piece, you never once complained. You never asked us to share the weight. You never blamed us for not being strong enough to help."
Michael's hand tightened around his goblet. "You've been like a roof over our heads, shielding us from wind and rain and the harsh realities we couldn't handle. You've protected us from threats we never even knew existed. You've suffered in silence so we wouldn't have to suffer at all."
His voice cracked slightly. "So no matter what happens out there in that fight, know this with absolute certainty: we are all incredibly proud of you.
We love you more than words can possibly express. You are irreplaceable, not as Heaven's Wrath, not as some cosmic entity. As our brother. Our family."
He raised his goblet higher, and I could see his hand trembling. "All I can offer you are my sincerest prayers for your safety and victory. For you, brother. For our family. For everything you mean to us."
Everyone else raised their goblets solemnly. Even Celeste tried her best to look serious despite not fully understanding the gravity of everything.
"For our family," they said in perfect unison.
The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning and emotion.
I raised my goblet as well, meeting each of their eyes in turn. Michael's worried gaze. Gabriel's tearful smile. Raphael's quiet support. Azrael's solemn nod. Grayfia's unwavering loyalty. Celeste's confused concern.
I didn't need to say anything in response. They already understood everything.
I would do anything to protect them. Absolutely anything.
Humans sacrificed themselves for family all the time. Gave up dreams, opportunities, comfort, safety, even their lives. They fought, struggled and bled for the people they loved without hesitation.
Why should I be any different just because I was powerful?
I was more human now than I'd ever been before my transformation into an Outer God. More connected to emotion and meaning and purpose.
And sometimes, being human meant standing between your family and complete oblivion, knowing you might not survive.
But standing anyway, because they were worth it.
Because real, genuine love always demanded sacrifice.