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...
"You may not understand, so let me explain. The relationship between our House of Gremory and the Satan is both close and distant. If you're approaching me for political reasons, you're going to be disappointed."
Kokabiel scoffed disdainfully.
"Negotiate with the Satan? I wouldn't do something so foolish. However, if I were to toy with his little sister and then kill her, perhaps that would anger him? Provoking him to target me, that sounds like a rather appealing idea..."
He spoke with a flippant tone, not bothering to hide his depravity. Fallen Angels were indeed a degenerate bunch, their desires unrestrained and blatant.
Badr simply stared at him, remaining silent.
Given the opportunity, he would have cleaved Kokabiel in two with his sword, rather than allowing him to spout such nonsense.
Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough yet.
Rias showed no fear, meeting Kokabiel's gaze with defiance.
"There's a limit to your delusions. What exactly is your purpose here? I'm not known for my patience."
She had already ascertained his malicious intent and saw no need for pleasantries.
Kokabiel, however, answered her question with a gleeful tone.
"I plan to cause a major disruption here, centered around your base, Kuoh Academy. That should be enough to draw out Sirzechs, wouldn't you agree?"
His eyes gleamed with fanaticism, as if he eagerly anticipated the Satan's arrival.
"...Aren't you afraid of reigniting the war between the Fallen Angels and Devils!?" Rias demanded, her voice low and threatening.
To everyone's surprise, Kokabiel burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... Hahahaha... That's precisely what I want!"
His expression twisted, a hint of madness in his demeanor.
"I thought that stealing those Excalibur swords would be enough to provoke Michael into war, but he only sent a few insignificant pawns to their deaths! Boring, so utterly boring! That's why I'm going to cause chaos here, enough to draw out both Lucifer and Leviathan!"
Everyone was stunned.
Badr tilted his head, observing the young-looking Fallen Angel in the sky.
Despite his youthful appearance, Badr knew that Kokabiel was ancient, a being mentioned in the Bible.
Who would have thought he was a complete madman?
"Damn warmonger!"
Rias cursed under her breath. Kokabiel's objective was far beyond what she had anticipated. He wanted to provoke the Satan into a war for no other reason than his own twisted desire for conflict!
Kokabiel seemed to relish Rias condemnation.
"Hahaha... Yes, you're absolutely right! Ever since the Great War ended, I've been so bored! Why did the fighting have to stop? Wouldn't it be more exhilarating to continue battling to the end!?"
"...He's truly insane," Akeno Himejima murmured beside Badr.
Badr was speechless, convinced that the idiot in the sky was completely out of his mind.
"Akeno, find an opportunity to inform the Satan about this," he whispered to Akeno, who nodded subtly.
Their enemy's objective was clear. He had laid out a blatant scheme, forcing the Satan Lucifer to intervene, playing right into Kokabiel's hands.
Badr suspected that the madman had some sort of trump card, something that would allow him to escape the Satan's wrath, explaining his brazen confidence.
However, if they informed Sirzechs of the situation, the Satan would surely devise a plan to deal with him.
With this thought, Badr felt a sense of relief.
His task, then, was to protect everyone until the Satan arrived from the Underworld.
As he was thinking this, a massive surge of energy erupted from the direction of Kuoh Academy!
A colossal pillar of light shot into the sky, shattering the distorted space around it, sending tremors through the air.
"...Holy Swords."
Rias and Sona Sitri exchanged glances, a sense of foreboding washing over them.
"Hehe, it seems Valper's research has yielded some interesting results. He's actually managed to achieve something significant. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical when he offered to join me."
Kokabiel chuckled and vanished from sight. Badr could sense him heading towards the academy.
Rias expression hardened.
"Quickly, we need to get to the school!"
...
Due to their miscalculation of Kokabiel's intentions, they were now at a disadvantage.
After all, who would have thought that he was simply a war-crazed lunatic?
He had no complex schemes, only a desire for destruction and conflict. Such an irrational enemy was the most difficult to predict.
Badr and the others immediately teleported towards Kuoh Academy. Sona Sitri quickly began setting up a large-scale barrier.
The academy was deserted, thanks to Rias warning. Sona Sitri had issued a notice, evacuating all students and teachers.
Her authority as Student Council President was formidable.
"With this barrier in place, as long as nothing too drastic happens, it shouldn't affect the outside world."
Sona Sitri and her peerage worked together to maintain the barrier. Despite her words, her expression remained anxious.
"To be honest, if Kokabiel truly launches an all-out attack, with his power, he could potentially destroy this entire city. Whether our barrier can withstand it remains uncertain..."
Akeno Himejima spoke up, "I've already informed the Satan. He told us to hold out for an hour."
Rias sighed. She hadn't wanted to involve her brother, but the current situation was beyond her capabilities.
"One hour? I understand."
Rias turned to Badr. "Do you have any suggestions?"
Perhaps due to the numerous surprises he had provided in the past, Rias sought his opinion.
However, their current enemy was too powerful. Badr couldn't make any guarantees.
"We'll take it one step at a time," he said softly.
"Alright. It's fine. We'll work together."
Rias looked towards the interior of the academy, perhaps in the direction of Kokabiel. Hatred burned in her eyes.
After today's events, Kuoh Academy would likely be left in ruins.
Badr spoke calmly, "Rias, designate the battlefield. I need to use Promotion."
"Alright. The enemy's location will be the battlefield. Once you reach there, you'll be able to use the power of Promotion," Rias issued the command.
Unfortunately, Rias couldn't grant Badr the ability to promote whenever and wherever he pleased. That was the inherent limitation of the Evil Pieces. A Pawn could only use Promotion upon reaching the enemy's "base," a non-negotiable condition.
While this "enemy base" could be any location, it had to be the enemy's most important stronghold.
Currently, the place where Kokabiel stood was undoubtedly the enemy's base. Badr had to reach that location to activate Promotion.
"We'll leave the inside to you," Sona Sitri said with a solemn expression. They had to maintain the barrier.
Rias nodded and entered the academy with the others.
Reaching the location where the pillar of light soared into the sky, Badr saw a fat, old man in a white lab coat standing in the middle of the empty schoolyard.
In front of him, four Holy Swords hovered in four different directions, surrounded by intricate magic circles. The light patterns of the four magic circles converged on a central, massive magic circle.
It appeared as if he was extracting power from the four Holy Swords.
"Hehe... Almost there, almost there. Don't be impatient. I'll entertain you all shortly."
The old man chuckled, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Rias expression darkened upon seeing him.
"Valper Galilei, the executor of the Holy Sword Project..."
"Oh? You recognize me? I'm honored."
"What are you trying to do!?"
Valper answered Rias with a cheerful expression, "I'm going to fuse the four Excalibur swords!"
Badr's eyes narrowed. The four Holy Swords already posed a significant threat to Devils. If they were combined into one, it would be a formidable weapon indeed.
An impatient voice echoed from the sky.
"Valper, how much longer?"
They looked up and saw Kokabiel sitting arrogantly on a throne against the backdrop of the moon, his legs crossed casually.
"Five minutes at most, Kokabiel."
"Hehe, good. I'll leave it to you then," the Fallen Angel chuckled. "It's quite fitting to have you as the opening act before the main event."
He looked at Rias with a playful smile. "Will Sirzechs come? Or perhaps Serafall?"
"Who knows? Maybe they'll both come. And when they do, you might not be able to escape." Rias retorted with a cold smile.
"Hehe, that would be quite exciting indeed."
Kokabiel laughed heartily, then suddenly attacked.
A massive spear of holy light materialized out of thin air, hurtling down from the sky with devastating force!
Badr and the others felt a crushing pressure weigh them down, but Badr, along with Rias and Akeno Himejima, managed to activate their magic, teleporting Koneko and Asia away from the impact zone.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The gymnasium, which had stood where they were just moments ago, was completely obliterated, leaving behind a massive crater. The giant spear of light was embedded deep within the crater's depths.
That casual attack was already more powerful than Rias and the other high-class Devils!
"Tsk tsk, how pathetically weak. Very well, entertain yourselves with the pets I brought back from the Underworld."
Kokabiel scoffed, seemingly too lazy to attack again. He activated a magic circle.
Two enormous figures emerged, slowly stepping out of the darkness. Their appearance caused Rias and the others to pale.
They were two colossal hellhounds, each nearly ten meters tall, with three heads. Their thick limbs bore terrifying claws that resembled sharp blades, and their fangs protruded menacingly from their jaws.
"Cerberus!? Two of them? That bastard, he actually brought them back from the Gates of Hell!"
Rias face contorted in disgust.
These were the legendary three-headed hellhounds, ferocious monsters known for their brutality!
Badr's eyes narrowed, focusing on Valper, who was still in the process of fusing the Holy Swords.
They were running out of time. He had to find a way to interrupt the fusion...
He glanced at the two Cerberus and, without hesitation, activated Promotion!
His rank instantly rose to [Queen].
An overwhelming surge of power coursed through his body, even greater than his previous Promotion.
Simultaneously, the effect of the Promotion manifested. Badr's figure overlapped, and an identical copy of himself emerged from his original body!
Badr summoned the King Sword & Shield, addressing Rias and the others.
"I'll take care of one. You handle the other."
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