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They forced their way in hard, and Rias's group didn't waste a second. The moment they entered, they went all-out.
Lightning crackled around Akeno Himejima, brilliant arcs dancing over her body as she hurled a massive thunder sphere straight into the heart of the enemy formation. A wave of intense paralysis swept through the fallen angels, locking them in place.
The next instant, Koneko Toujou charged straight in. Her petite fists looked delicate, but the power behind them was anything but. One punch slammed into a frozen fallen angel—
He screamed as his body shot backward like a cannonball, flying over a hundred meters before carving a long trench into the ground.
Koneko didn't stop. She grabbed another fallen angel by the arm, swung him up with monstrous strength, and whipped him through the air in a half-circle before smashing him into the ground like a ragdoll.
A couple more brutal swings, and the poor guy was left lying there, barely breathing.
It was hard to believe such a savage scene came from someone as small as Koneko.
Then came the counterattack.
Holy light surged forward—two fallen angels launched sacred magic. Even though they had fallen and were ruled by desire, their power was still divine in nature. Radiant angelic light erupted, forcing Koneko's pupils to shrink.
These weren't ordinary enemies. They were high-ranking.
Faced with the incoming blasts, Koneko barely had time to cross her arms in front of her before being hit head-on.
She was blasted back dozens of meters, but thanks to the immense strength and defense granted by her "Rook" piece, she endured the attack head-on.
Her expression barely changed. She glanced down at herself—just minor injuries on her arms.
Her clothes, however, hadn't fared as well. With most of her magic focused on defense, the lower half had been shredded, exposing her slender waist and flat stomach. Her skirt was in tatters.
Seeing Koneko had pushed deep into enemy lines alone, Jack didn't hesitate. Sword of the King in hand, he charged in after her.
He might not have Koneko's raw strength or absurd durability, but with the Sacred Gear Nioh Sword and Shield, he was no weaker in either offense or defense.
As his power grew, the true strength of the gear was finally beginning to show.
The Sword of the King specialized in offense—devastatingly so. It could even break through the fallen angels' holy armor, and when Jack unleashed his full power, the destruction only intensified.
But the true core of the Sacred Gear wasn't the sword.
It was the silver shield.
A shield once stained with the blood of a Nioh, imbued with immense power. Its greatest ability lay in its core skill—Endless Twilight Citadel.
For now, Jack could only tap into a fraction of that power. But if fully unleashed, it would render him nearly untouchable.
This Sacred Gear was born from the will of that Nioh to protect all living beings.
Even without activating its core ability, just deploying the shield's defensive field allowed Jack to move through the ranks of high-ranking fallen angels like no one could stop him.
After advancing to a mid-class devil, their attacks could no longer break his defenses.
Unfortunately, he hadn't taken the promotion exam yet, so he still carried the title of a low-class devil.
Not that it mattered. His combat strength already ranked near the top among mid-class devils—that was what counted.
With Jack and Koneko acting as an unstoppable frontline, and Asia continuously supporting them from the back with Twilight Healing, Rias and Akeno had zero restraint.
They unleashed everything.
And it made the fallen angels' scalps tingle with dread.
Boom!
Explosions roared as lightning serpents lashed wildly through the air. Akeno, smiling sweetly, casually blasted seven enemies out of the sky in one strike.
"H-how are they this strong?" one fallen angel stammered, electricity dancing over her body as she convulsed.
"My, you still look pretty lively," Akeno said gently, her smile soft—her attacks anything but.
The sheer surge of magical power around her made the fallen angels' eyelids twitch.
"H-hey, can we talk this out? Fallen angels and devils don't really need to fight anymore, right? The war's been over for centuries…"
His answer was a thunderbolt as thick as a barrel.
Boom!
The poor guy collapsed, smoking.
"Oh? Was he asking for a ceasefire just now?" Akeno tilted her head cutely, then smiled. "Well… too late now."
Seeing how overwhelming these devils were, the remaining fallen angels realized there was no escape.
So they made a desperate choice.
"Then we'll take you down with us! Lord Kokabiel will avenge us!"
Powerful waves of divine energy surged from their bodies, growing more and more unstable.
They were going to self-destruct.
Jack glanced up at them, saw the boiling sacred energy—and flicked his wrist.
A violet-red magic circle formed in his palm. A silver sealing stamp appeared.
"Go."
With a light command, he sent it flying.
A tiny familiar flapped its wings, carrying the stamp as it darted forward—smack, smack, smack—pressing seals onto each of the women.
As the anti-magic field and sealing power activated at once, the fallen angels' energy abruptly fizzled out.
Then—
Rip. Rip. Rip.
The sound of fabric tearing filled the air.
Every single one of the female fallen angels had their clothes blown apart.
On their bodies, glowing faintly in purple, was a single stamped character: "Seal."
"…Huh?"
They froze, completely stunned. Then, with their powers sealed, they dropped from the sky and hit the ground.
"W-what kind of ability is this?!"
"Bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Death wasn't the scary part.
This was.
The women completely lost it.
"Pervert!"
"Disgusting devil!"
They shouted in fury—this was worse than killing them.
Jack remained perfectly calm.
Then Koneko spoke up from the side.
"That's just awful."
"…Koneko, whose side are you on?" Jack said, speechless.
"On the side of women."
She didn't hesitate.
"…I wouldn't use it on you."
"Even so, it's still awful." Koneko clicked her tongue slightly.
Jack sighed. He flicked the buzzing sealing stamp hovering beside him like a little bee and said flatly,
"At this rate, my reputation is going to be completely ruined by you."
"..."
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