Within the alternate space, Ituso stood there with his mouth agape, utterly unable to believe that Ryuya and the others had survived such a devastating blow.
"That's impossible… This was the power of burning a hundred souls. Theoretically speaking, that attack should've been twenty times stronger than the last recorded strike!"
He muttered to himself in disbelief.
He had long since experimented with burning soul power. The last time, merely burning the souls of five humans had already produced an extremely terrifying attack.
This time, he had been brimming with confidence—convinced that Number Two's strike would absolutely wipe Ryuya and the others out.
Yet Ryuya had blocked that sure-kill blow with his five seconds of a true man, instantly frying Ituso's mental CPU.
No matter how he calculated it, he could never have predicted the existence of such an unreasonable ability as the Endless Twilight Citadel.
Forget increasing the power twentyfold—even if it were amplified two hundred times, as long as it was within the duration of that ability, Ryuya wouldn't have feared it in the slightest!
Thud!
Number Two collapsed to his knees.
His strength was completely exhausted, and the backlash from burning soul power finally erupted.
"Ah… ahhh!!!"
Number Two clutched his head, letting out a scream of agony.
"W-What's happening to him?"
Asia listened to his inhuman howls, feeling as though he were being subjected to some kind of cruel torture.
Rias fell into brief contemplation, quickly seeing through the root of the problem.
"Normally, a soul's existence can be described as an extremely precise instrument. Using soul power so recklessly like he just did—even if those souls weren't his own—would still cause irreversible damage to the soul."
In other words, it consumed not only other people's souls, but also the soul of the one launching the attack…
That kind of move was nothing more than a one-time disposable weapon.
Ryuya clicked his tongue. Sure, this method could indeed be used as an offensive technique—but it was far too disgraceful.
Using human souls as fuel at will… just hearing about it felt profoundly evil.
Even devils didn't engage in something so tasteless.
Devils actually held the existence of souls in great regard. Whether it was vows or contracts, anything involving the soul was treated with utmost respect—this point truly couldn't be criticized.
Which only went to show that humans were the truly bizarre race. There were humans so kind and radiant they surpassed even angels, and others so dark and terrifying that they were more cruel than devils…
No other race possessed such extreme duality as humanity.
At this moment, Number Two continued to wail in agony. The pain, as if tearing directly at his soul, drove him into madness. His fingers dug into his own scalp, tearing the skin open. The once fairly handsome face was now drenched in blood, a blurred, unrecognizable mess.
Ryuya stood in silence.
For some reason, he thought he saw a trace of pleading—and sorrow—in Number Two's eyes.
After two seconds of quiet, Ryuya stepped forward with his sword, stopping in front of Number Two. He raised the blade and brought it down in a clean slash.
Psh.
A soft sound rang out as a spray of blood shot high into the air. Number Two's head fell to the ground.
Vaguely, there seemed to be a hint of relief left in his eyes.
Ryuya looked down at the severed head, meeting its gaze for two seconds before slowly lifting his head, his expression devoid of emotion as he turned toward Ituso.
Ituso had just snapped back to his senses—yet before he could say a single word, Ryuya's figure flashed.
In the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of him.
The Sword of Kings thrust out without hesitation!
The blade pierced straight through his body!
Ryuya drove the sword through Ituso's chest, impaling him completely. With his right hand holding the Sword of Kings level, he lifted Ituso's entire body off the ground.
Ituso immediately began to struggle, but he soon realized that his strength was rapidly draining away. Blood foam welled up from his mouth, and no matter what he wanted to say, he could no longer force the words out.
Ryuya slightly raised his gaze, looking at the elevated Ituso. Golden light still flowed within his pupils, lending him an added air of authority and cold ruthlessness.
"Letting you die so easily feels like far too much mercy."
His icy words rang out. Ituso opened his mouth as if to respond, but in the end, a smile spread across his face instead.
"My… soul… will… live… forever…"
"Is that so?"
Ryuya sneered. Suddenly, he flicked his sword, sending Ituso flying through the air. His body crashed down in front of Number Two.
The next moment, a bone-chilling howl echoed through the space.
A phantom suddenly rose from within Number Two's severed head—it was his soul. Yet now it was terribly weak, tattered and broken.
The instant it saw the dying Ituso, Number Two's soul lunged forward like it had encountered its mortal enemy. At the same time, a soul-form emerged from Ituso's head as well—it bore Ituso's own appearance!
The two souls tangled together, and soon a teeth-grinding sound of chewing rang out. Number Two's soul brutally tore Ituso's soul apart, chewing and devouring it piece by piece.
Only after Ituso's soul had been completely consumed did Number Two's soul explode with a bang, scattering into countless motes of light that filled the air.
Ryuya watched the scene silently. Then, as if sensing something, he turned his gaze toward Number Two's head.
Its eyes were already closed.
Ryuya lifted his hand, and golden light surged out from Number Two's corpse.
…The Holy Sword!
Just as Ryuya was about to retrieve the holy sword, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
His devil's instincts screamed a warning. There was no time to take the sword—he instantly shifted sideways.
The very next second, an enormous spear of light materialized out of thin air and slammed into the spot where Ryuya had been standing!
Boom!!
A gigantic crater over a hundred meters in diameter was blasted open!
The sheer power of this strike completely flattened what little remained of the already-ruined experimental base!
Even though Ryuya had escaped quickly enough, he was still caught by the shockwave. He couldn't help but cough violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The power of that attack had far exceeded the level of a high-class devil!
"Who was that?!"
Rias shouted in shock and fury. The attack had come far too suddenly—so fast that even she hadn't been able to react.
If Ryuya's devil instincts hadn't been strong enough, he would have been killed instantly just now.
"Hehehe… Princess of the Gremory family, I didn't expect it would be you who showed up. It's been a long time since I last saw your brother. Come to think of it, I rather miss him."
A cold, sinister voice echoed from above the alternate space, yet the speaker's figure could not be seen.
"Coward hiding in the shadows—come out!"
Rias's face was filled with anger. Ryuya being ambushed and injured had instantly pushed her into a rage.
However, the unseen speaker paid her no attention, instead retrieving the holy sword from afar as if by magic.
"Be patient. It's not time for the main show to begin yet. When the timing is right, we'll definitely meet again. And when that happens… that will be when things truly get interesting. Hahahaha…"
Amid the arrogant, triumphant laughter, the voice quickly faded away. From the sky above, black feathers slowly began to drift down.
Rias frowned deeply.
"A Fallen Angel… and at the very least, one of Ultimate rank…"
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