'What a fucking idiot!! As much as I despise him, competent pawns are in short supply these days...' Kokabiel's expression darkened.
'...Anyway for now—'
Without warning, Kokabiel vanished from Kazuki's sight. Alarm bells rang in Kazuki's mind as he spun around to warn the others.
"Everyone ~ Scatter—NOW!!!"
"!!!"
However, Kokabiel had already reemerged behind Yumi and the others. In an instant, he swung his light sword, aiming to kill. Yumi and Xenovia managed to evade the strike, but Irina hesitated for just a moment too long.
"Kyyaaaaahhhh!!"
"Irinaaaaaa!!" Both Kazuki and Xenovia shouted, their voices echoing in despair.
As Irina crumpled to the ground, Xenovia rushed to her side, her expression frantic.
Meanwhile, Kazuki stepped between them and Kokabiel, shielding them with his body. Yet the supreme fallen angel ignored them entirely, his gaze fixed on the sword Irina had dropped.
"I'll be taking this." He picked up the mimicry blade of Excalibur, examining it briefly.
"Ideally, I'd grab the blue-haired girl's sword as well, but four should suffice for now."
Xenovia's fury boiled over as her partner's sacred sword was stolen. "You bastard! What do you intend to do with the Excalibur?!"
Kokabiel smirked at her outrage, "Excalibur is the most famous sacred sword. Don't you think it's strange there are so many pieces of it?"
"What? Don't tell me... You plan to fuse the fragments back together?!"
Kokabiel's grin widened as Xenovia's voice trembled with realization.
"Not my idea! That's all Valper's obsession. But, yes, that's the plan. And with that..." Kokabiel unfurled his wings, lifting himself into the air.
Kazuki's voice boomed with authority. "Wait, Kokabiel!!!"
Kokabiel glanced back with a smug grin, "Your opponents are these guys. If you manage to survive, come find me at Kuoh Academy... though I doubt you will."
Out of nowhere, seven fallen angels appeared around Kokabiel, their black wings beating ominously in unison.
"Kill them all. Oh, and don't forget to retrieve the sacred sword from the blue-haired girl."
"Understood!" one of the fallen angels responded sharply.
With that, Kokabiel ascended further into the sky, leaving the remaining fallen angels glaring down at Kazuki and his group, their bloodlust palpable.
Kazuki turned to his mates. "Xenovia, look after Irina. Yumi, I know you want to chase after him, but these bastards come first. Got it?"
Xenovia nodded firmly. "Leave it to me."
Yumi hesitated, her frustration evident, but relented. "...Understood."
Before the fallen angels could attack, Kazuki and Yumi split, darting to opposite sides to divide their attention. Confusion briefly flickered across their faces—just enough to give them an opening.
"Haaaah!"
Xenovia swung Excalibur of Destruction, unleashing a shockwave that split the group of fallen angels apart. The plan was simple: disorient them and take them out one by one.
Kazuki leaped toward one of the fallen angels, throwing a powerful right straight aimed at his face. The angel raised his arms to block, just as Kazuki had anticipated. Using the momentum, he bent his arm and slammed his elbow into his chest.
"Gahh!"
—Fuwa Enmei-ryu [Snake Breaking Mountain]—
Using the fallen angel that had been hit by the Snake Mountain as a springboard, Kazuki launched a roundhouse kick at the fallen angel nearby. He then launched roundhouse kicks at the approaching fallen angels in succession.
"Ugh!"
"Ack!"
The satisfying crack of their necks signaled their demise as both fell lifelessly to the ground.
—Fuwa Enmei-ryu [Whorl Rotate]—
Hovering briefly in the air, Kazuki caught sight of another fallen angel, staring at him in stunned disbelief after witnessing three of his comrades fall in an instant.
"Big mistake."
Kazuki shot toward it like a bullet.
"Eek—?!"
The fallen angel's scream was cut short as Kazuki grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground with brutal force, following up with a devastating knee strike.
The sickening crunch of its skull caving in sent shivers through the battlefield.
—Fuwa Enmei-ryu [Rock Grinding Storm]—
'Four down.' Kazuki scanned the area for the remaining three—only to see Yumi dispatch the last one with a clean, decisive slash.
"Haaah!"
"Gwahh!"
Satisfied, Kazuki turned his attention to Irina, rushing over to where Xenovia knelt beside her.
"Xenovia, how's Irina?" he asked urgently.
Xenovia looked up at him, her face pale with shock.
"XENOVIA?"
At his second call, she snapped out of it, her gaze locking onto him, "Who the hell are you?! You managed to defeat so many fallen angels with your bare hands..."
Kazuki shook his head impatiently. "That's not important right now. How's Irina?"
She flinched and refocused. "Ah... right. Her wounds are deep, and the bleeding won't stop. We need to get her to a hospital immediately."
Kazuki's eyes darted to Irina's body. Her back had been slashed in a vicious X-shaped wound, blood pouring from the gashes and pooling beneath her. Though unconscious, her face contorted with pain.
Kazuki, his jaw set in grim determination, shrugged off his uniform jacket. He pressed the fabric firmly against Irina's ravaged back, the blood seeping through almost immediately.
Cursing under his breath, he tied the sleeves tightly around her torso, using it as a makeshift bandage to slow the bleeding. "Damn it... hold on, Irina. You're not gonna die here, not on my watch."
Straightening, he turned to Xenovia and said, "We are heading to Kuoh Academy. If Kokabiel had gone there, Rias and the others would have already been fighting him. Asia can heal Irina's wounds."
At his words, Xenovia's face darkened, and she averted her gaze, guilt etched across her features.
"Is that... okay? I called Asia Argento a 'witch.' I insulted her."
Kazuki's eyes narrowed, his patience snapping. "Are you fucking kidding me, Xenovia? Asia isn't some petty girl who'd let something like that stop her from helping someone in need. Don't you dare belittle her, especially not in front of me!"
Xenovia flinched at his outburst, visibly shaken by his fierce defense of the blonde healer. She bit her lip, shame welling in her chest. "I... I understand. I'm sorry."
Kazuki softened, though his tone remained firm. "If you're sorry, then apologize to her properly once Irina is safe. Got it?"
Xenovia nodded solemnly. "Yes... I will."
Satisfied, Kazuki bent, letting Xenovia help him lift Irina onto his back. Her limp body rested heavily against him, her blood soaking into his shirt as he adjusted her carefully.
"Let's move."
As he began to stride forward, he called out to Yumi, who had been standing restlessly a few steps away. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Yumi. Let's go."
Without a word, Yumi bolted ahead, her frustration radiating off her in waves. She moved with single-minded determination, her focus entirely on catching up to Kokabiel.
Kazuki sighed, his gaze following her retreating form. "That woman..."
Picking up the pace to keep up with her, he finally spoke, his voice cutting through the sound of their hurried footsteps. "Yumi, can I ask you something?"
Yumi didn't glance back, her voice cold and detached. "...What is it?"
Kazuki hesitated for only a moment before plunging forward. "What did you think when you saw Kokabiel earlier?"
She frowned slightly but didn't slow down. "What do you mean?"
Kazuki's voice dropped, laced with a sharp edge. "I couldn't help but think... the way you're heading, you're going to end up just like him."
Yumi stopped in her tracks, spinning around to glare at him. Her voice, low and daring, sent a chill through the air. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Unfazed by her reaction, Kazuki met her furious gaze head-on. "Kokabiel said something earlier, didn't he? 'Where should the anger and hatred of my fallen comrades go?' That rage, that need for vengeance... I've heard those same words before, Yumi. They came from you."
"I…!"
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