"Akeno, deploy the barrier. Yuuto, Koneko, you two evacuate the crowds."
Rias ordered with a serious expression. "Asia, the others, stay here with me to support Akira."
"Yes." ×7
The intense shaking only lasted for a few seconds. Once Azazel recovered, his combat experience as a veteran powerhouse quickly allowed him to shake off Ethan's entanglement.
This was Ethan's first time using such a powerful boost, and he hadn't mastered the control of his power well. Otherwise, Azazel wouldn't have escaped so easily.
Realizing he was no match for Ethan in close combat, Azazel found a chance to create distance.
He flapped his wings, flying up from the ground to the sky, simultaneously launching various powerful magical attacks at Ethan to prevent him from closing the distance.
Terrifying energy poured out everywhere, the aftershocks of the battle forming circles of expanding ripples in the air.
Rias watched Ethan's figure with worry, silently keeping time in her heart.
The backlash from the Longinus was severe. If Ethan forcibly pushed himself, he might suffer irreparable consequences.
To prevent this, if Ethan hadn't stopped in three minutes, she planned to rush in and stop the fight herself.
"President, their power is too strong. I need someone to help me maintain the barrier."
On the other side, Akeno Himejima's face was pale, sweat pouring down. Just blocking the aftershocks of the battle had nearly exhausted all her magic power.
"Yuma, Mittelt, Kalawarner, the three of you go help Akeno maintain the barrier."
As time went on, the intensity of the battle would only increase. Rias simply ordered Yuma Amano's trio to all go help maintain the barrier, leaving only Asia by her side, ready to immediately treat Ethan once the battle ended.
In mid-air, Ethan grew impatient after failing to land a decisive blow. He had initially restrained his power and avoided using especially powerful moves out of consideration for the school grounds. Now, it seemed that an outright kill...
No, killing him seemed unlikely now, but he needed to at least wound Azazel.
Unless Azazel felt threatened, he wouldn't abandon his plan and retreat voluntarily.
Ethan's eyes flickered as he pondered what to do.
"Truly worthy of the Boosted Gear. It allowed an Upper-Class Devil to possess Devil King-level combat power."
Azazel stopped in mid-air when he saw Ethan pause. He patted the dirt off his body and sneered, "But how much longer can you last? It seems the lesson I taught you last time was too gentle. This time, I'll make sure you never forget it."
Rias was watching. Azazel couldn't kill Ethan, but there were many forms of torment worse than death.
Ethan was not the type to taunt during a fight. Facing Azazel's mockery, he took a deep breath and finally decided to use that one move.
"I, who shall awaken, am the Heavenly Dragon who has stripped away the principle of domination from God— I mock the infinite, I worry about the dream— I shall become the Red Dragon's Emperor— And I shall sink you into the depths of Purgatory! Juggernaut Drive!"
Ethan roared. His eyes emitted an ominous red glow, and his already extremely violent power completely boiled over.
Feeling the terrifying aura, Azazel's face changed. He rapidly retreated. "Juggernaut Drive?! Are you trying to take me down with you?!"
The ultimate domain of a Sacred Gear was the Balance Breaker. Ethan could not achieve it yet, even though he had tried hard.
The Boosted Gear normally drew power from its sealed state for the host's use. For the Heavenly Dragon's Sacred Gear, forcibly and temporarily unsealing it, releasing the sealed power, resulted in the Juggernaut Drive.
By using the Juggernaut Drive, Ethan could temporarily gain strength comparable to a God, but the risk was enormous.
Not only would he lose life force, drastically reducing his lifespan, but he would also lose his rationality.
Ethan's development of the Boosted Gear was still incomplete. His Juggernaut Drive mode was also imperfect; the dragon-shaped armor that should have enveloped his entire body failed to appear.
While in the original story, Juggernaut Drive could be used until death if the host wasn't afraid to die, Ethan could only maintain it for about ten seconds.
10...
"Penetrate, the Flame of Yanyan."
Feeling the power only a God possessed, Ethan immediately employed the other two abilities of the Longinus. The crimson steel Dragon Claws were imbued with the ultimate flame capable of incinerating everything.
Once ignited, this flame would never extinguish. Even a God would be reduced to ashes in this fire.
9...
Ethan turned into a red lightning bolt, catching up with Azazel, who had already become a tiny black dot.
8...
The crimson steel Dragon Claw easily pierced through Azazel's defensive gear. The red ultimate flame began to spread from his back to his entire body.
7...
Azazel's screams echoed through the sky and ground. He tried everything to save himself. Various strange Sacred Gears appeared and vanished, but none were effective.
6...
Azazel gave up struggling. He gathered all his power, and a massive surge of magic formed a terrifying black beam aimed at Ethan, whose rationality was almost entirely gone.
5...
Ethan was sent flying backward, the red glow in his eyes slowly fading. He had overestimated himself; it had only been five seconds, barely halfway to ten.
As this thought dissipated, he completely lost consciousness.
The Boosted Gear dissolved into motes of light, reverting to a gauntlet. The power of a God vanished from his body, and the flames that burned everything also faded away on their own.
Azazel, who had expected to die, was both surprised and delighted. Hanging onto his last breath, he staggered toward the direction where Ethan was falling.
He had to confirm if Ethan was dead. If not, he would deliver the final blow.
Having almost been burned down to his very soul, Azazel would not miss such a perfect opportunity, even if it meant thoroughly offending Rias.
If Ethan recovered and used the Juggernaut Drive again, Azazel didn't believe he would be so lucky a second time.
When Azazel found Ethan, Ethan was being cradled by Rias. The blonde little nun knelt beside them, tearfully working hard to heal Ethan's battered body.
"You're actually still alive..."
Seeing Azazel, Rias gently placed Ethan on the ground. She stepped forward, shielding Ethan and Asia behind her.
"Rias... move aside..."
A Devil King-level powerhouse was not easily killed. After this short period, Azazel had already pulled himself back from the brink of death.
However, further recovery was beyond what his natural healing abilities could achieve.
Rias certainly wouldn't step aside. She actively adopted a fighting stance and asked, "What do you want?"
"Even though I am severely injured right now..." Azazel's eyes flashed with anger and he sneered, "With just you... you can't stop me."
"Is that so?"
Rias's red hair flew wildly, and a look of fierce determination flashed in her eyes. Black-red magic power filled with destructive aura converged at her chest.
"Darkness, Eternal Night, the Devil who answers the call of destruction..."
As Rias began to chant the spell, Azazel suddenly felt a wave of heart-stopping fear. He no longer cared about potentially involving Rias and launched a powerful attack with his remaining strength.
But it was too late.
"Extinguish Star!"
Rias shouted the final incantation. The magic power aggregate, filled with an ominous aura, shot out from the magic circle on her chest.
This power annihilated Azazel's attack, then continued on its path without stopping until it reduced Azazel and everything in its trajectory to dust.
After unleashing the attack, Rias slowly collapsed to the ground, entering a state of complete exhaustion.
Extinguish Star was Rias's exclusive ultimate move, completely unrelated to resistance or weaknesses. It was a magic power aggregate capable of obliterating all objects, and only she, whose magic possessed the characteristic of destruction, could use it.
Against a fully healthy Azazel, it wouldn't have been very effective. Firstly, the move was easily dodged. Secondly, even if the cost was ten times that of Rias's magic, Azazel had more than enough power to negate it.
Asia watched Rias collapse and was very anxious. However, Ethan still needed her healing. This time, the little nun truly cried out of distress.
Tearfully, she looked at Rias and asked, "President, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. How is Akira?"
Rias's voice was very tired, but her spirit was still quite good. Only then did Asia feel slightly relieved.