Issei and Rias arrived in front of the old building's door, their breaths still ragged. The chaotic magical aura had made their skin crawl from the very beginning, but the moment the door was pushed open—
They froze.
The corpses of mages lay scattered across the corridor floor. Their bodies were limp and lifeless, eyes staring emptily, some bearing neat slash wounds as if cut down by a single, precise strike. There were no signs of any real resistance.
"This…" Rias's voice caught.
Without waiting any longer, she and Issei rushed deeper inside. Every step revealed the same sight—more corpses, dried blood, and the lingering aura of death hanging heavily in the air.
When they reached the old club room, their breaths stopped at the same time.
In the center of the room stood a man.
Ancient eastern noble attire wrapped his body, simple yet exuding a strange authority. His face was covered by a plain white mask—a mask that was painfully familiar to Rias.
And in his arms, he was carrying Koneko.
"YOU!" Rias cried out without realizing it.
The masked man turned slightly, his mask facing them.
"Waaa! Buchou! There's a scary person!!" Gasper screamed in a trembling voice. His body was still bound by magical chains, his Sacred Gear pulsing wildly from being forcibly activated. "He… he suddenly appeared!"
Issei immediately stepped forward, his red dragon aura surging. "Damn it! So you're the real enemy, huh!?"
But before the tension could explode, the masked man spoke in a calm, flat voice.
"Calm down," he said. "I'm here to help both of them."
"Who'd believe that crap!?" Issei shouted.
"Wait, Issei!" Rias raised her hand, stopping her subordinate. "Don't act rashly."
"But, Buchou—!"
Rias stared at the man with sharp, wary eyes. Issei clicked his tongue, but still obeyed and stepped back half a pace.
Silence enveloped the room.
Outside, thunder roared violently—the sky split by flashes of bluish-silver light. That aura was unmistakable.
Vali.
The battle was still ongoing.
Rias refocused her attention on the man before her. "If you're not an enemy," she said coldly, "then what do you want from my territory?"
The man—Cheon Ma—did not answer immediately.
He gently lowered Koneko, making sure the small girl was safely supported on the floor. Koneko still did not move, trapped within the effects of the time freeze.
Then, from within his sleeve, he moved his hand.
A red light flared.
A sword appeared as if drawn from nothingness—its blade deep crimson, thin, and pulsing as if alive. Without hesitation, Cheon Ma stepped toward Gasper.
Issei reflexively tried to move forward, but Rias stopped him again.
With a single swift motion—nearly invisible—the sword swung.
Clang.
The magical chains were cleanly severed, vanishing like an illusion shattered by a higher will.
"Eh…?" Gasper staggered, his eyes widening. The once wild and painful pulse of the Sacred Gear in his eyes weakened drastically. His legs gave out, his body about to collapse to the floor.
But he never touched the ground.
Cheon Ma had already caught him, one arm firmly supporting his back.
"Are you alright?" he asked briefly.
"E-eh… th-that… I-I…!" Gasper stammered, his face flushing. He could feel the man's arm—solid, warm, and strangely calming. There was no malicious intent there, only a grip ensuring he would not fall.
In the next moment, the gray color shrouding the world slowly faded.
The night sky returned to darkness. The academy lights came back on. The sound of wind and the distant echoes of battle outside returned.
Forbidden Balor View stopped glowing.
Time began to move again.
"Well," Cheon Ma said as he carefully released Gasper, making sure the boy could stand on his own. "Before coming here, you must have been given something, right?"
The gaze behind the mask shifted to Rias.
"Some kind of restraining device. A gift from a fallen scientist who meddles too much."
Rias stiffened.
"You… how do you know?" Her voice came out quieter, mixed with shock and caution.
Cheon Ma did not answer directly. He merely glanced at Gasper, then spoke again in a flat tone.
"Just give it to the boy. He isn't capable of controlling his power yet. If it continues like earlier, it won't be his enemies who die—he will."
Rias bit her lip briefly.
She had hesitated before. But seeing Gasper still trembling, clearly exhausted, and the corpses of mages all around them—the choice became clear.
Rias exhaled, then reached into her pocket.
A simple bracelet appeared in her hand—an artifact made by Azazel.
"Gasper," she said gently, very different from her earlier firm tone. "Put on that bracelet."
"Uhm…" Gasper nodded faintly. His hands were still shaking as he accepted the bracelet, but he obeyed. The moment it wrapped around his wrist, the Sacred Gear's aura immediately calmed, like a wild beast finally caged.
He let out a long breath.
"I-I… I can breathe again…"
Issei watched the scene with mixed emotions—confusion, irritation, and wariness. "Buchou… is he really not an enemy?"
Rias did not answer right away.
Her emerald-green gaze rested on Cheon Ma, the masked figure standing in a room full of corpses, yet the sole reason Gasper was still alive.
"For now," Rias said softly, "he's not an enemy."
Cheon Ma slightly turned his head, as if accepting that assessment without objection.
"Since my task here is finished," he said calmly, "it's time to move to the next place."
He walked toward the window. Without hesitation, the red sword appeared in his hand again. One light swing—clean, precise—and the building's wall was neatly cut open, like paper sliced by a sharp blade. Night wind rushed in, carrying the scent of ozone and clashing magical energies.
The sky outside was filled with traces of battle.
Lightning flashes, waves of demonic magic, and draconic pressure collided in the air. In the distance, the figures of Vali and one of the Devil Kings could be seen clashing, each impact shaking the atmosphere.
"Where are you going!?" Issei shouted reflexively.
"Where?" Cheon Ma glanced back slightly. "Of course, to the battlefield."
Before Rias could say anything, the figure had already leapt out.
His body shot upward—not with wings, not with flight magic—but with a single step on empty air. Then another step. And another.
The technique of walking in the air.
"Waaah…" Issei and Rias could only stare in amazement. Their eyes followed the figure moving freely through the sky, as if the laws of the world did not apply to him.
A few seconds passed before Rias snapped back to her senses.
"Ah—the attack!" She clenched her fist. "Issei, we have to go back and help!"
"Y-yeah!" Issei nodded quickly.
Rias turned toward Gasper and Koneko, who were still in the room.
"Gasper, wait here. And protect Koneko."
"W-wa—" Gasper trembled.
"Gasper," Rias's tone hardened slightly, though her eyes were gentle. "You're a man, aren't you?"
Gasper swallowed, then clenched his own fists.
"M-mm! Yes, Buchou!"
Rias nodded in satisfaction. She and Issei then flew out, heading toward the center of the chaos.
…
On the other side of the battlefield.
The magical explosions gradually subsided, leaving behind a massive crater still billowing with smoke. Residual energy rippled through the air, making the atmosphere feel heavy and sharp against the skin.
Katerea Leviathan lay at the center of the devastation. Her body was riddled with cracks of purple light spreading like shattered veins. She tried to laugh—a desperate laugh filled with madness—but only harsh coughing mixed with blood came out.
Destructive energy gathered once more in her chest.
A final attempt.
An intention to self-destruct along with her enemy.
And shattered.
Before the explosion could fully form, a figure stood before her.
Azazel.
One of his hands was extended forward, right at the core of Katerea's concentrated energy. The explosion that should have erased everything was forcibly suppressed—at a cost.
Azazel's arm was destroyed from the shoulder, unraveling into particles of light before vanishing completely.
Yet his expression remained calm.
The dragon armor Fafnir enveloped his body, golden and black scales gleaming beneath the lightning still streaking across the sky. There was no panic. No anger.
Only a quiet exhale.
"Even with Ophis's help," Azazel said casually, as if he hadn't just lost an arm, "you're still not enough."
Katerea had no chance to reply. The cracks in her body widened, and then her form collapsed into scattered light, vanishing without a trace.
The Fafnir armor began to break apart.
The dragon scales shattered into dark purple light particles, swirling through the air before converging into a dense sphere of energy beside Azazel—the core of the Illusion Dragon King.
Azazel glanced at it, a faint smile forming on his face.
"There's still a lot that needs fixing," he muttered. "You'll have to stay by my side a bit longer, Illusion Dragon King—Fafnir."
He even gave the purple sphere a light kiss, a strange gesture that felt almost affectionate.
After that, Azazel turned his gaze back to the battlefield. The enemy pressure had diminished drastically. The mage forces were scattered. The chaos was almost completely suppressed.
"Looks like this is settled," he said bluntly. "Now—"
BOOM!
Something slammed into him from the side.
The ground collapsed, forming a new crater—smaller, but dense. A shockwave spread out, tearing through the air.
A few seconds passed.
From within the dust and debris, Azazel slowly stood up. There was a small wound on his face, a thin line of blood running down his temple. His wings spread, lifting his body back into the air.
"Arere~" he said, scratching his cheek with a relaxed expression. "I must be getting really old, to get hit by an attack like that."
His gaze hardened as the attacker came clearly into view.
Vali.
"Finally," Azazel continued, his voice still light but his eyes sharp, "you've betrayed me too, haven't you… Vali."
//--//
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