"Huff… Huff…"
On the battlefield, Kiba Yuuto knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his entire body drenched in blood.
His body was already covered in wounds, and his Kuoh Academy uniform had become tattered and torn. Visible cuts crisscrossed his body, continuously seeping blood, making him appear utterly miserable.
"Kiba!"
Rias Gremory and Himejima Akeno watched helplessly, unable to break free to assist him, their expressions filled with pain.
In contrast, standing before Kiba Yuuto was Kaiser, who had not moved from his position. His body remained unscathed, forming a stark contrast to Kiba's battered state.
"Buzzz…!"
In Kaiser's hand, Gravisheath's crimson scythe blade vibrated once more, but this time, it was not out of frustration or restlessness; rather, it exuded an unmistakable sense of excitement.
Upon closer inspection, the tip of Gravisheath's blade was touching the ground—or more precisely, it was in contact with the blood Kiba Yuuto had shed, absorbing it.
After consuming Kiba's blood, Gravisheath visibly became more excited. Its blade grew redder, its Urm-Manadyte darkened to an even deeper purple, and the gravity it emitted intensified. As a result, Rias's Power of Destruction, which had previously been resisting the Gravity Field, was slightly pushed back. The gravity barrier, which had been on the verge of collapse under the assault of lightning, once again stabilized.
"It seems Gravisheath really likes your blood."
Kaiser's unhurried voice reached Kiba Yuuto's ears.
"It almost feels like it's saying that your blood contains an exceptionally high level of demonic nature—just the type it favors."
Hearing this, Kiba Yuuto adjusted his breathing and glanced at Gravisheath.
"…Is that your Sacred Gear?" Kiba Yuuto spoke with difficulty. "I heard that you possess an extremely dangerous Sacred Gear with a holy attribute, but this doesn't seem like it at all."
The implication was clear—if anything, Gravisheath seemed just as sinister.
This eerie scythe not only manipulated gravity but also absorbed the blood of others. It wasn't just demonic—it was downright ominous.
This kind of Sacred Gear was vastly different from the rumored holy attribute Sacred Gear Kaiser supposedly possessed.
"For now, this is enough." Kaiser chuckled and said, "Honestly, I don't even need to use it. After all, you guys haven't fully matured yet; you're not capable of posing any real threat to me."
Among the four members of the Gremory Peerage, the strongest was undoubtedly Rias, a pure-blooded High-Class Devil.
Yet even without wielding any of his specialized weapons, Kaiser could fight on par with an Ultimate-Class Devil using only his Touki.
If he wielded Ser-Veresta or Gravisheath, his combat strength would be at the pinnacle among Ultimate-Class Devils. And if he used True Longinus, he could even contend with a Maou.
With such overwhelming strength, a few Devils who hadn't even reached the Ultimate-Class level had no chance of defeating him.
"By the way, just how long do you plan to keep hiding?" Kaiser looked at the wounded Kiba Yuuto and suddenly spoke. "You're a Sacred Gear wielder too, aren't you?"
"Why haven't you used your Sacred Gear yet?"
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
The moment these words were spoken, Kiba Yuuto's pupils contracted sharply.
"…I've been exposed?"
He had indeed assumed that Kaiser was unaware, which was why he had deliberately kept it hidden, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
"You're much more rational than your President and Vice President." Kaiser seemed to see through his thoughts and chuckled. "You realized from the beginning that my strength is far above yours, and even if you all worked together, you might still lose. So, you deliberately hid your trump card, planning to strike me when I let my guard down, right?"
"Well, it's a nice idea, but I've known from the start that you're a Sacred Gear user."
"Hiding it is meaningless—it'll only make you lose faster."
"If you don't use it soon, the match will be decided."
As he spoke, Kaiser swung Gravisheath, forming spheres of gravity.
"Tenfold Ruin."
Ten gravity spheres, each about the size of a soccer ball, appeared before Kaiser. With a flick of Gravisheath, they shot toward Kiba Yuuto.
"…!"
Kiba reacted instantly, ignoring the searing pain from his wounds and swiftly retreating, attempting to evade the gravity spheres.
However, the spheres seemed to have a mind of their own, relentlessly pursuing him. Though they weren't particularly fast, they couldn't be shaken off and remained locked onto him.
"I have no choice…"
Kiba Yuuto's expression darkened. To avoid immediate defeat, he had no choice but to activate his Sacred Gear.
"Sword Birth!"
As his Sacred Gear activated, a sword materialized in Kiba Yuuto's hand.
It was a demonic sword, exuding the same ominous aura as the ones he had wielded earlier.
The difference was that the sword he had just created now emanated a chilling frost.
"Haaah…!"
Kiba Yuuto swung his ice-element demonic sword, slashing downward. Instantly, a wall of ice formed, blocking the path of the gravity spheres.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!"
The gravity spheres crashed into the ice wall one after another, riddling it with cracks before finally shattering it.
Kiba Yuuto continuously conjured ice walls, intercepting the gravity spheres again and again, until he finally nullified them.
"Flame Blaze Sword!"
At that moment, Kiba Yuuto forged another demonic sword in his hand. This one burned with fierce flames. Now wielding both the ice and fire swords, he gripped one in each hand.
Two different elemental demonic swords, both created from nothing—this fully revealed the true nature of his Sacred Gear.
"Sword Birth—the Sacred Gear that allows its wielder to create demonic swords of any attribute."
Kaiser observed the scene and let out another chuckle.
"It's the same type of Sacred Gear as Blade Blacksmith—one creates holy swords, the other creates demonic swords. Quite interesting."
Jeanne's Blade Blacksmith and Kiba Yuuto's Sword Birth were essentially identical Sacred Gears, differing only in attribute.
One belonged to a descendant of a saint, the other to a reincarnated Devil—perhaps this was fate.
Siegfried was also a demonic sword user, but he wielded legendary demonic swords, each possessing tremendous power and dreadful curses.
Kiba Yuuto's swords were created by his Sacred Gear—would they also carry curses upon him?
"Haaah…!"
Unaware of Kaiser's thoughts, Kiba Yuuto charged at him, wielding both his flame and ice swords.
His dual swords slashed with extreme speed, turning into a flurry of fiery and icy strikes that continuously rained down upon Kaiser.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang…!"
Kaiser remained completely still, effortlessly parrying every strike with Gravisheath, showing no signs of difficulty despite Kiba's rapid attacks.
Flames and ice erupted, but Gravisheath's crimson blade cut through them with overwhelming force, breaking Kiba's attacks apart.
"Boom!"
Before long, Gravisheath violently struck Kiba's swords, shattering them just as before.
"Thud!"
Kaiser then delivered a powerful kick to Kiba Yuuto's abdomen, sending him flying.
"Gah…!"
Kiba failed to dodge the kick, tumbling across the ground and coughing up blood.
"As expected, just like Blade Blacksmith, your Sword Birth may allow you to create various demonic swords, but compared to real demonic swords, they fall short in both power and quality—they're far too fragile."
Kaiser rested Gravisheath on his shoulder and remarked,
"If you could achieve Balance Breaker, things might be different. But judging by your current state, you haven't reached that level yet, have you?"
Compared to Jeanne, Kiba Yuuto was undoubtedly weaker.
Jeanne, even if not as strong as Siegfried, was still superior to most High-Class Devils.
In Balance Breaker, she could even fight an Ultimate-Class Devil.
When she and Heracles worked together, they could even briefly contend with Kaiser wielding True Longinus.
Compared to her, Kiba Yuuto was still too inexperienced. Even with Sword Birth, he was likely only stronger than Raynare but weaker than Diodora.
"Boom—"
At the moment of Kiba's defeat, Kaiser's Gravity Field finally overwhelmed Rias's Power of Destruction, expanding to encompass the entire area.
"Ugh…!"
"Ah…!"
Rias and Akeno were caught off guard and were forced to their knees, unable to stand.
"President!"
Seeing this, Kiba Yuuto tried to struggle to his feet.
But the weight of Gravisheath's gravity pressed down on him, causing his wounds to reopen and fresh blood to spill.
Kaiser had remained in place the entire time, never moving a step, yet he had single-handedly defeated the Gremory Peerage.
"You're still too weak."
Kaiser shook his head, not disappointed, merely stating a fact.
"With your current strength, you can't stop me."
Kaiser dismissed Gravisheath, and the gravity dissipated.
"W-Wait…!"
Rias reached out toward him, struggling to stand.
But Kaiser had already turned away.
"The next time we meet, I hope you'll be stronger." Kaiser glanced at Rias, his expression unreadable. "Otherwise, I'll lose interest in you very quickly."
With those words, Kaiser stepped forward, walking out of the forest and leaving the battlefield behind.
Rias's outstretched hand fell to the ground, clutching a handful of dirt.
At this moment, she had never hated her own weakness more…