Kiyoshi's Pov
My long-awaited moment of revenge has arrived. Today, I will be able to fight Kokabiel and I will definitely give him a taste of pain. Although he was not my tormentor personally, the fallen one gave permission to his mongrels. Although my feelings have cooled slightly over the years, after dozens of tortured angels, the flames of anger flare up with renewed vigor just at the thought of an imminent meeting with Kokabiel.
The onmyoji of the five major clans erected a barrier using their secret techniques. Now there is no need to worry about revealing the supernatural world to ordinary citizens.
The youkai, both my personal subordinates and the assigned reinforcements from Yasaka, rushed to attack with joyful cries as soon as the signal was given. The fallen angels who were preparing some kind of ritual or magic circle throughout the city were taken by surprise by the appearance of a new side of the conflict. Although, you shouldn't discount them. Kokabiel's personal army is well-trained warriors who have been through dozens of battles. But they were at a disadvantage against the reckless youkai who weren't afraid of getting hurt.
My subordinates could afford to be more risky in their fight for only one reason — twilight healing. As soon as someone was seriously injured or was in a dying state, they were teleported to a kind of field hospital, where my wife used her mechanism. The healed fighters returned to the battlefield, continuing to destroy their enemies. Thus, our losses were minimized. If there is no loser who will expose himself and not die instantly, then there will be no losses at all.
Helping in the cleansing of a new group of fallen, I tried to study their ritual. With my knowledge, I can assume that Kokabiel decided to prepare for the appearance of the enraged Demon Lords and any other reinforcements from the Underworld. Unfortunately for him, the fallen one did not expect an attack from our side, so his preparations were in vain.
While the others were busy cleaning up the black-winged and traitors to the church, I decided to see the main instigator. Having reached the weak barrier above the Kuoh Academy, I came face to face with the heiress of Sitri.
— Greetings, — my appearance alerted the girl. — When should we expect your relatives or someone else?
— Excuse me, what do you mean? — Sona was surprised by the question.
— I'm talking about reinforcements from Hell, — seeing the puzzled expression on my interlocutor's face, I decided to test my guess. — Well, a ten-winged fallen angel has appeared at your side along with his army that went through the Great War, and he wants your death. This situation is clearly beyond your capabilities. So, when can we expect the Demon Lords to arrive or other help from the demons?
The girl remained silent to my question. Her gaze tried not to intersect with mine, which in itself was an answer.
— Seriously? — My expressive tone made the demoness blush with shame. — I could expect this from a redhead, but you seemed smarter than your friend to me. Okay, whatever, — I take a deep breath to calm down. It's not my problem. — I'll go greet your guest now, and while I'm doing that, contact your sister already.
— But how are you going to get inside? — Sitri asked, overcoming her embarrassment. — I can't remove the barrier or make a passage for you. Otherwise, random attacks could harm those around me.
— Don't worry, I'll make a door for myself.
Ignoring the skeptical look, I take out the murasame from my "inventory". I charge the blade with energy and easily make a hole in the barrier.
— See, — I said to the demoness with a grin. — No problem. I'm going.
I have no desire to just jump out onto the battlefield without understanding the situation, so I climb onto the roof of the school to look around. An interesting sight appeared before me. Kokabiel, sitting on the throne, was flying over the sports field, morally destroying Gremory, while Rias herself and her retinue were trying to defeat the Cerberus. To the side was a priest who was conducting some kind of ritual with sacred swords. Next to him stood an exorcist, protecting this scientist from the attacks of Gremory's horse and two churchwomen. The blonde was fighting with a sword that was clearly created by a demon's sacred gear, but her partner wielded a more interesting toy. If I understood correctly, it was Durandal, one of the strongest holy swords.
According to the agreement with the demons, I only need to protect the heirs of the clan. So, while this red-haired fool who decided to defeat a high-ranking fallen demon without anyone's help is not in danger, I will remain a spectator. I don't understand why Rias is so confident. Just recently, she was unable to defeat Raiser, a high-class demon, and after all, Uncle is far from Kokabiel's level. So what Gremory is hoping for now is a mystery to me.
Releasing senjutsu to better observe this farce, because the fallen angel is just playing with demons, one object in the sky above the academy fell into my range. The same half-breed as me, from whom comes a dragon aura, similar in strength to the red emperor. So Azazel warned me about him when leaving the club. Vali, the owner of the white glove, will be a kind of help from the Grigori in this incident, which will allow Azazel to play his game.
While watching what was happening, I was able to hear an interesting thing — Akeno inherited the holy lightning from her father, and of the fallen, only Barakiel possesses such power. As can be seen from the priestess's reaction, Akeno's attitude towards her father is, to put it mildly, bad. But limiting your power because of something like this is stupid. I'll have to talk to her about it later. At the same time, we can make peace. Me shouldn't react so strongly to the girl's stupidity, she has long understood her mistake.
When the fragments of Excalibur were fused into one sword, the advantage went to the side of the traitors of the church. The apostate exorcist, having received the holy sword, scattered his opponents with apparent ease. Only the owner of Durandal was able to somehow resist him. Gremory's horse was clearly slightly crazy. The blond rushed to the attack, not paying attention to the holy energy emanating from the enemy's sword. The result was natural — the boy was seriously injured. The light, poisonous to demons, penetrated the blond's body, causing him a painful death.
The loss of their comrade had a huge impact on the demons. The nun, who had previously tried to help her people with weak magic, burst into tears. The rest were overcome with rage. Rias's attempt to destroy the exorcist with her power of destruction almost ended in the death of one of the church representatives. It seems that Kokabiel got tired of such a circus, and he decided to end the show.
— I can't allow this yet, — I said, appearing in front of Rias and deflecting the light spear to the side with a swing of my sword.
— Who are you? — the fallen one asked with interest.
— Kiyoshi! — Akeno exclaimed as soon as she noticed the appearance of her lover.
Smiling crookedly at such an emotional greeting, I decided to introduce myself:
— As you have already heard, my name is Kiyoshi Zankoku. And I am here only for you, Kokabiel.
— What an honor, — the fallen one said mockingly, — the loyal dog of the Shinto faction has come for my soul. What was the reason for this?
— Revenge, — no one around intervened, letting us talk.
— I don't remember ever crossing a yokai or you.
— It was a long time ago, — I was filled with rage at the memory, but I kept my head cool. — At your command, some of your subordinates left me with many unpleasant memories, — I gripped the hilt of the katana tightly. — So it's time for you to feel my wrath on your own skin.
— Ha-ha-ha, — Kokabiel laughed cheerfully and created a spear of light in his hand. — Let's see if you can back up your words with action or if all this is the barking of a beaten dog.
Since I had already revealed my kinship with demons, I released four pairs of demonic wings. Thanks to my work, I was able to fulfill a lot of contracts. The desire to live helped my competitors quickly decide to sign an incomprehensible piece of paper. So I "fattened up" by gradually increasing my demonic power.
— So many wings at your age, not bad, — the fallen gave his assessment. — I hope you won't disappoint me.—
— You'll see! — I struck and our weapons collided.
Kokabiel turned out to be slightly stronger than me in brute force. Therefore, I had to use Toki. A purple aura covered my body, allowing me not to lose to the fallen.
— Already better, boy, — a second spear appeared in the angel's hand. — And what will you show me now?
With the appearance of a weapon in his second hand, the situation began to develop not in my favor. Little by little, light wounds began to appear on my body. Kokabiel's vast experience allowed him to dominate this fight.
— If that's all you can do, then I'm disappointed, — after another clash of weapons, the fallen one threw his opponent aside, sending a spear after him.
The explosion threw me to the ground. Kokabiel poured a lot of energy into this attack. Now it became absolutely clear to me that holding back was not an option. I would have to give it my all, otherwise I wouldn't defeat him. Using the momentum from the attack, I appeared behind the exorcist.
While we were fighting in the sky, the fight on the ground did not stop. A couple of apostates of the church were attacked not only by the former owners of the Excalibur, but also by demons. The old scientist was already dead thanks to the efforts of the angry Gremory, and his accomplice was holding on with his last strength. It was precisely him I was aiming for.
When the man avoided another clot of destructive power, he was unprepared for an attack from behind. A hand engulfed in purple flames easily pierced the human body. A flaming clawed paw grabbed the handle of the merged Excalibur, simultaneously burning the hands of its former owner.
— I need it more, — A small impulse and the body instantly burns without a trace. The way I hold the holy sword without hindrance, and the energy emanating from me, do not fit with my demonic lineage. Therefore, the stupor and shock of those around me are understandable to me, but it is worth warning them. — Gremory, you better get to the Sitri as soon as possible. This also applies to you, exorcists. Otherwise, you will all become collateral damage.
Whether they followed my words or not, I no longer cared. Having removed my demonic wings, my body was engulfed in the purple flames of the Incinerating Hymn. I once saw what it looked like from the outside: a humanoid figure made of living fire. My face in this form is not visible, only brightly glowing eyes and the outline of a wide smile. Quite a frightening sight. Wide phoenix wings appeared behind my back, on which I flew towards Kokabiel.
— Have you been waiting for it? — asked the fire demon, clutching the cursed blade of Murasame in his right hand, and the sacred sword Excalibur in his left.
— How can you, a demon, use this flame and remain whole?! — asked the fallen one in rage. — Even Demon Lords must suffer, and you stand there as if nothing had happened, and even hold Excalibur in your hands. Absurd! — Kokabiel looked at me with hatred until he burst out laughing like crazy.
— Why are you laughing?
— I knew that after the death of God, many errors appeared in the divine system, — this information shocked me. It turns out that the Biblical god is dead. — but I didn't even suspect that everything was so bad. A half-demon in which a sacred gear appeared and not only that, it didn't die. So you were able to control the holy element and overcome all the weaknesses of demons.
— Let's say that I'm just special, — I answer Kokabiel with a grin. Although my words are true. If it weren't for the regeneration of the Phenexes and a little "help" from Sadiel in adapting to the element of light, I could have died during the first activation of the Hymn of Incineration. — What will you do now?
— Naturally, I will destroy you. Such a mistake should not exist in this world, — the fallen one grinned widely. — And then I will deal with the sisters of the Demon Lords. With their death, a new war will begin, where I will be able to prove the greatness of the Fallen Angels.
— Try it, — the crack on the fiery face became wider, demonstrating an expression that was no longer human. — I'm not that easy to kill.
We clashed with Kokabiel in direct combat. Now that there was no point in suppressing regeneration, I simply didn't pay attention to the damage. Be it small wounds or a pierced heart, all of this was instantly restored in the purple fire. Which can't be said about my opponent. The fallen one's body was covered in cuts and burns. With each passing moment, there were more and more of them.
— Arrr, why do I feel pain from holy power? — the angel could not contain his irritation after receiving a new wound on his chest.
— This is just a side effect of the goodwill of your mutt Sadiel, — I blurted out with hatred. — Thanks to him, my mechanism received a small mutation. Those creatures to whom I have negative feelings will receive the same damage as demons. The stronger my emotions towards them, the stronger the effect. And it doesn't matter who is in front of me: a fallen angel or even an ordinary one, they will all be burned in the holy flame.
— Nonsense! An angel can't take damage from holy power.
— It's a longinus, and they're capable of much more than that, Kokabiel. But it's time for us to finish, — during another clash of weapons, my wings grew in size and enveloped the fallen and me in a fiery dome. — Now burn in the sacred flame, heretic. Aha-ha-ha.
Leaving the dome, I watched with pleasure as the fallen rushed about in an attempt to free himself from the fiery Hell. But all his attempts were doomed to failure, forcing him to slowly burn alive. These cries of hatred, pain and despair were like music to my ears. My pleasure was interrupted by a new participant in the events.
Having broken the barrier above the academy, a figure in white armor with energetic blue wings on his back descended from the sky. Stopping at a decent distance from my "oven", he looked in my direction.
— I can't let you kill him. We need Kokabiel alive.
A new voice came from his mechanism: Division, division, division…
My sacred fire grew weaker with each new word until it completely disappeared, but this forced the wings to release some of the accumulated energy. The roasted fallen flew to the ground, unable to support itself in the air. Kokabiel's black wings lost most of their feathers, the remaining ones had a scorched appearance.
The arrival did not intend to catch the roasted raven, so the fallen fell to the ground. Loud groans of pain confirmed Kokabiel's survival.
— Listen, — I turn to Vali. — You need him alive, right, to make a scapegoat out of him?
—Yes. Azazel plans to imprison Kokabiel in the depths of Cocytus.
— Then you will not care what condition he will be in, the main thing is that he is alive and conscious?
— Yes, — the white dragon emperor did not understand what this fire demon was getting at.
— So you will not mind if I lighten your load, ha-ha, — I landed next to the fallen one with a chuckle, as did his escort, — I would like to kill you, Kokabiel, but a fate much worse than death awaits you.
Raising the murasame into the air, on the blade of which a purple fire burned, I cut off the arms and legs of the fallen one, cauterizing the resulting wounds with fire. This way he will not bleed to death and will be able to enjoy the rest of his worthless life, locked in a prison for sinners.
— There, now he is completely at your disposal, — my figure returned to its normal appearance, demonstrating my sincere smile. Vali let out a sigh of relief. My holy aura is too destructive for demons, even if they are simply near my activated mechanism.