I recall that day. The day you died.
I revisit that battle. The battle to kill you.
I remember those words. The words you spoke when you abandoned us.
I wanted you to see me. I wanted you to see us. You should have looked only at us.
Not that wretched King of Magecraft, nor frail humans—we were the ones worthy of you. You should have acknowledged that.
Isn't that right?
Humans are merely weak. Humans are merely foolish.
What value do they have? What charm?
They can't survive without clinging to you. Without you, they'd easily perish.
Oh—Father. Where are you? Defeated by the Two Heavenly Dragons? Killed by Satans? If you were to die—it should have been by our hands.
We didn't kill you, so why are you gone?
How can we return to your side?
…Yes, that's it. War. We must start a war. We must wage war again to prove we are supreme.
They say the Satan's sister has become the master of the Red Dragon.
We have the White Dragon under us.
Then, this is fate. This era is the signal for a rematch.
Michael. Sirzechs. And Azazel.
Even if I'm alone, I'll continue. Even if I'm alone, I'll start over.
This time—I won't lose to mere humans.
In a certain apartment room in Kuoh Town.
Romani Archaman and "he" meet face-to-face after a long time.
"—And so, Kokabiel's scheme to start a war has been thwarted."
Romani covering his face with both of hi hands.
According to "him," despite facing only a small group—Rias Gremory's servants and the Excalibur wielders—Kokabiel revealed the death of God. The problem is, there's a high chance the Demon Gods overheard this truth.
A war starting wouldn't align with the Demon Gods' goals. It's only natural they'd work in the shadows to prevent it. They likely monitored Kokabiel's encounter with Rias from the sidelines.
"What will they do if they learn of God's death?"
"Their actions won't change. They might even be pleased the problem resolved itself."
"Well, they're not raging like, 'We wanted to kill God ourselves!'"
Honestly, Romani doubts the Demon Gods—created as the Human Order Correction Ritual and fallen to the beast of Human Order Incineration—would harbor such heated emotions toward an already dead God. They lack the capacity or time for such pointless functions. At most, maybe two of the seventy-two Pillars would care.
"It depends on the Three Great Powers' moves. Even if angels are out, maybe Devils or Fallen Angels could notice the God of the Bible and form a partnership."
"Impossible. As impossible as all mythologies sharing the Sun God's throne."
"That extreme? It's about your world, your life."
"…If they were that flexible, I wouldn't have struggled this much. Not just me—Great Red, Mephistopheles, Samael, Solomon too."
"That's a tough one."
"By the way, does 'Heroic Spirit Swordsman' ring a bell?"
"…I know Heroic Spirits. And 'swordsman' as a term. But 'Heroic Spirit Swordsman'? No, not to me."
"What about a Heroic Spirit named Musashi Miyamoto? Ever summoned to Chaldea?"
"No, at least not in the Chaldea I know. We had plenty of Japanese Servants, mostly from the Heian era. From the Edo period, only Okita Souji from the Bakumatsu, I wouldn't know if they summoned her after I left."
"There's a Heroic Spirit Swordsman, Saber—Avici Hell, calling themselves Musashi Miyamoto. All we know is they're strong and wield a Japanese sword."
"I see… So, not a Servant summoned by Goetia's side?"
"No."
"That's troublesome. Not summoned by Mephistopheles or Great Red, right?"
"No.".
"Assuming Solomon hasn't awakened, Samael's the likely candidate. But it feels like a trap… If only Leonardo were here."
"No use dwelling. Let me know if you get more info. I'll keep contacting Issei-kun as usual. …By the way, is he really the one to bear this planet's fate? Even knowing he's a Devil, he just seems like a normal high schooler to me."
"I'd say the same about Ritsuka Fujimaru or Mash Kyrielight. We'd feel the same looking at them."
"—That concludes Baal's report."
"Conclusion from Barbatos. The resumption of war by Fallen Angel cadre Kokabiel has been averted. Excellent. We avoided wasting precious fuel."
"Request from Gamigin. Henceforth, the Observation Star will focus on verifying the truth Kokabiel exposed—'the God of the Bible's death.' I'd like the Information Chamber or Observatory to take over or assist with current tasks."
"Accepted from Flauros. I'll share the gathered Church-related information."
"Concern from Amdusias. There are losses. Freed's role as a spy is no longer viable. We have other spies, but we need insight into higher-level movements. Anyone have leads on pieces to track Fallen Angel activities?"
"Proposal from Gaap. As suggested before, should we recruit the White Dragon Emperor, Vali? The 'Dog' would also suffice."
"Objection from Furfur. Both Longinus wielders were taken in by Fallen Angel Governor Azazel. Without prior background data, it's hard to say, but their likelihood of betraying the Fallen Angels is low."
"Agreement from Decarabia. It's frustrating to lack upper-level intel, but we should maintain the status quo."
"Notice from Gremory. The Heavenly faction's upper echelons are reportedly meeting with the Devil faction. Reluctantly, they'll discuss Fallen Angel movements"
"Addendum from Glasya-Labolas. The Fallen Angels will also attend. Depending on the outcome, the Three Great Powers may move toward peace—or war could reignite."
"…Troublesome. They've fought for millennia. Even with God dead, I'd rather they not pursue peace now. They're doomed soon anyway. The issue is how long they plan this peace to last. Millennia of grudges won't resolve faster than our plans."
"Goetia's talk, complicated. Slurpy."
"For real, Ophis-chan. Slurpy."
"Big Sis Musashi, even I'm listening to the meeting seriously. Is slurping udon with Ophis in this setting tasty?"
"Then eat some, Rint-chan!"
"I'll pass. The Demon God Pillars' glares hurt…"
"Heya, General Goetia! Freed Sellzen, back in action!"
"You're early. Good to see you intact. No signals from Archer or Caster, so you escaped on your own? Not worried about pursuers, but you didn't leak anything under Fallen Angel interrogation, right?"
"No worries, General. They just fired me.".
"…What?"
"The Church and Grigori are so sloppy. That's why I'm here, right?"
"Assuming they're enemies, is that okay?"
"Didn't think so when I was with them, but probably not."
"I see… I see."
"Twice? That surprising?"
"Less surprising, more anticlimactic. But this incident suggests we can move bolder. …Flauros, try it. Proceed with contacting Dulio Gesualdo."
"Understood."
"Hm? Did you or the dannas notice something about the Church this time?"
"Explanation from Marbas. This incident highlights the Biblical Church faction's sloppiness."
"Oh? Sloppy, you say?"
"Tell us more, Marbas-sensei."
"First, their failure to eliminate dangerous individuals like Freed or Valper Galilei. Labeling them heretics is fine, but they should've been disposed of. Valper, in particular, is dangerous not just ideologically but for his knowledge of the Holy Sword Project. If that reaches other factions, it's a major risk. As expected, Valper was deeply involved this time."
"No doubt! Labeling a genius like me a heretic? Their personnel management is trash!"
"Most of us from the Sigurd Agency defected too. Among surviving subjects, only Hero Faction's Siegfried-sensei isn't here."
"Second, their dispatched personnel. Despite losing three Excaliburs, they sent two immature holy sword wielders and low-tier exorcists wiped out in a test run. Knowing Kokabiel, a Fallen Angel cadre, was involved, this response shows they weren't serious about resolving it."
"Probably because Kokabiel entered Rias Gremory's territory. The Church couldn't send politically significant figures but saw an opportunity. Officially, they told Rias 'hands off,' but they likely hoped a Satan would interfere."
"By breaking the 'hands off' rule, Devils would give the inexperienced holy sword wielders a chance to earn 'achievements'."
"Makes sense. …But now those two know God's absence. What a mess."
"Exactly. Baal and Gremory picked them up in Kuoh Town as a precaution, but they're not fit for serious tasks."
"Not just exiling wielders but discarding holy swords too? Insane."
"Speaking of holy swords, about Valper Galilei…"
"What? We're busy, but we owe our allies. One question."
"No biggie, just curious—why did Kokabiel kill Valper?"
"What're you saying, Aniki? He killed him for knowing God's dead, right?"
"Nah, it's weird. Sure, God's death is a big secret. But starting a war is like broadcasting it. Kokabiel even blurted it out himself."
"True. Only people he planned to kill were there, so silencing his own men makes no sense."
"…Possible reasons: 'He planned to kill them but took the opportunity,' 'He wasn't fully committed to war,' 'It was a genuine slip,' or 'He couldn't time revealing God's death.' We've landed on a likely answer."
"Oh? What's that?"
"He didn't want to hear of God's death."
"Huh? Kokabiel knew God was dead."
"My bad, I misspoke. 'He didn't want to hear of God's death from a mere human's mouth.' That's it."