The Kuoh Academy under the cover of night was like a slumbering giant beast—utterly silent, yet exuding an eerie atmosphere.
Normally, the academy was never like this. But tonight, it was as if it had suddenly transformed into a demon's lair, containing some immense horror that caused anyone with sharp senses to realize its abnormality with a single glance.
However, the most conspicuous abnormality was that, at this moment, the entire Kuoh Academy was enveloped in a layer of crystalline wall.
That was—
"A barrier!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was the first to recognize the nature of that crystalline layer, blurting out the words.
"Someone has erected a large-scale barrier around Kuoh Academy!"
This point did not need Utaha to specify; everyone noticed it quickly. As they approached at high speeds, they could all see that surrounding the academy were figures dressed in student uniforms, continuously channeling magic power into the barrier to maintain its operation.
With the exception of Ram and Rem, everyone else recognized these people.
"It's Sona-senpai!"
Shiina Mahiru pointed toward the person leading the group.
It was indeed Sona Sitri. The ones erecting the large-scale barrier around Kuoh Academy were the members of the Sitri peerage, led by Sona herself.
"Sona!"
Leon could not help but call out. His voice immediately drew the attention of the entire Sitri peerage.
"Leon!"
Sona Sitri, who had been staring solemnly at the academy while suppressing a deep-seated worry in her eyes, turned her head toward the horizon the moment she heard Leon's voice. She let out a cry of surprise and joy.
"It's Lord Leon!"
Beside Sona, Shinra Tsubaki—whose face had been equally heavy with worry—visibly sighed in relief upon seeing Leon.
"Asuna!"
"Mahiru!"
"Kasumigaoka-senpai!"
The other Sitri peerage members recognized the girls behind Leon and cheered out in delight. After the previous incident involving the Old Satan Faction's attack, many members of the Sitri peerage had developed significant bonds with the girls of the Eligos peerage. Seeing old friends now brought them great happiness.
Of course, when they saw the five pairs of devil wings on Leon's back, everyone—including Sona—turned from joy to utter shock.
"Ten wings?"
Shinra Tsubaki could not believe her eyes.
"Leon, you—"
Sona Sitri was also incredulous. Although she had kept in constant contact with Leon, he had not mentioned his advancement to a cadre-class devil. Consequently, Sona had no idea he had ascended.
"Are you all all right, Sona?"
Leon ignored the astonishment of Tsubaki and the others. He landed in front of Sona, retracting his devil wings as he spoke. The girls landed one after another behind him, quietly observing the members of the Sitri peerage.
"W-we are fine." Sona finally snapped out of it, no longer dwelling on the ten wings for now. She asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
She truly had not expected Leon to suddenly appear with his entire peerage. After all, she had not sent out a plea for help after the trouble started; she only knew that Leon was supposed to return to the human world today.
"I tried to contact you all day, but neither you nor Rias replied to a single message," Leon said concisely. "The magic circle transport also malfunctioned. If I couldn't realize something had happened to you after all that, I might as well not have a brain."
Sona finally understood why Leon had brought his team here. Indeed, since he had just returned to the human world, it was impossible for him not to contact her or Rias. When neither responded and the transport failed, it was impossible not to realize something was wrong.
So, Leon had come to save her? Thinking this, Sona's lips curled upward almost imperceptibly, even though she knew the situation was inappropriate for it. But she quickly regained her serious expression.
"We didn't expect this to happen either. By the time we realized it, it was too late."
The mastermind behind this incident had not intentionally blocked Kuoh Town to prevent news from leaking out. Quite the opposite—the opponent wanted Sona and the others to spread the news so that the Satans would be lured here.
However, the destruction ritual beneath Kuoh Town was constantly accumulating power, causing the flow of energy throughout the town to become chaotic. By the time Sona and her group realized there was a problem, even if they could still send out a distress signal, incoming communications and magic circle transports from the outside were being affected and could not proceed normally.
Left with no choice, they could only use their own spells to set up the barrier, trying to buy time and wait for the Underworld to send reinforcements.
"Who exactly did all of this, Lady Sona?" Ravel could not help but ask. "Is it the Old Satan Faction again?"
Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Shiina Mahiru—those who had experienced the last incident—immediately tensed up.
"No, it's not the Old Satan Faction," Sona shook her head and said. "The one who did this is a Fallen Angel."
"Or rather, a cadre among the Fallen Angels—Kokabiel."
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's expression changed, except for Leon's.
"Kokabiel?" Yuuki Asuna said in shock. "Wait, is it the Kokabiel I know?"
Although she had not read every book in the estate's study like Yukinoshita Yukino, the girls had all learned the essential basic knowledge of their world. Even without special study, anyone with a passing interest in myths and legends would know that name.
Kokabiel was a Fallen Angel recorded in the Bible and documented in various ancient texts. He was one of the original Fallen Angels and one of the six cadres of the Grigori. He was an existence that had survived since ancient times, having lived through the Great War of the Three Factions. He had clashed with both the Satans and the Seraphim of Heaven, and was currently a member of the Grigori.
In mythology, Kokabiel fell from Grace because he secretly taught precious heavenly knowledge to humans. During the war of the three factions, he was a warrior who always remained active on the front lines. To the new generation of devils, he was undoubtedly a figure who existed only in legends.
Compared to him, everyone in the Old Satan Faction was a mere junior, including the descendants of the original Satans and figures like Luffy Trix, who appeared after the devil civil war. Aside from the Governor-General Azazel and Vice-Governor-General Shemhazai, Kokabiel and the other five cadres were the highest-ranking individuals in the Grigori and the Fallen Angel organization.
Naturally, the same applied to their strength.
Even reincarnated devils who had only recently entered the supernatural world, like Yukino and the others, recognized such a legendary name. Even someone like Hyoudou Issei, whose head was usually filled with nothing but breasts, had read about him. It was a requirement; once one became a reincarnated devil, they had to at least memorize the names of the Four Great Satans, the Four Seraphim, and the cadres of the Fallen Angels, as these were the leaders and strongest figures of the major powers.
They were without exception figures recorded in legendary literature. Unless one was truly ignorant, it was impossible not to know them. Therefore, when Sona uttered that name, no explanation was necessary for the members of the Eligos peerage to fall into a state of shock.
"I know you are surprised, but this is the truth," Sona said in a heavy voice. "The Fallen Angel cadre, Kokabiel, has indeed attacked Kuoh Town and buried a destruction ritual beneath it. His targets are Rias and me."
"As for his goal—" Sona's expression shifted, but in the end, she did not explain it too clearly because there was no time.
"He is currently inside Kuoh Academy. Not only has he declared he will cause a massive scene here, but he has also stated that if the Satans do not come, he will destroy us along with this town. That is why he went to the trouble of setting up the destruction ritual; he wants to give us time to notify the Underworld and lure the Satans here."
"If it weren't for that, given his power, he wouldn't need to rely on any ritual."
A high-class devil has the power to destroy a mountain with a single blow, let alone someone of Kokabiel's level. Generally speaking, Satan-class strength is enough to make a small country vanish. If he were to get serious, destroying a local city would be child's play.
As one of the six cadres, Kokabiel was a ten-winged Fallen Angel whose strength allowed him to trade blows with Satans. To destroy Kuoh Town, he truly did not need to go through the hassle of setting up a ritual. If he did it personally, it wouldn't take even half an hour for the entire town to be reduced to ruins. The fact that he set up a ritual made it clear his true goal was not the destruction of the town, but threatening Rias and Sona to force the Satans behind them to act.
"To prevent him from running wild in Kuoh Town, I brought my peerage to set up a large-scale barrier around the academy, doing our best to contain the impact within the school so it doesn't affect the outside world. Rias, meanwhile, took her own peerage to engage Kokabiel. I don't know what the current situation is inside."
Sona could not hide the worry in her heart. Hearing this, the hearts of the Eligos peerage members also turned cold.
That was one of the six cadres of the Fallen Angels—a legendary figure who had survived from the dawn of time and faced Satans head-on. Never mind a group of new-generation devils; even if famous figures from the Underworld intervened, they might not have the confidence to take him down.
Although Rias was the pride of the Gremory family and had inherited the "Power of Destruction" just like her brother, she was ultimately only a high-class devil. The gap between her and Kokabiel, even if it wasn't quite two full ranks, was like a chasm between heaven and earth. Even with her peerage assisting her, they might handle an ordinary ultimate-class devil, but trying to fight someone who dared to challenge the Satans was like an ant trying to stop a carriage—reckless and impossible.
"Asuna, Utaha, Ram, and Rem—you four stay here and help the Sitri peerage stabilize the barrier. Don't let anything from the inside escape to the outside."
Leon shifted his gaze from Sona to the academy enveloped in the barrier and made his arrangements decisively.
"Yukino, Mahiru, and Ravel—the three of you come inside with me."
Before the others could respond, Sona spoke up. "Is it possible?" She looked at Leon with a face full of concern.
"Don't worry," Leon gave Sona a faint smile. "Just leave it to me."
As he spoke, Leon unfolded his devil wings. The five pairs of wings were so pitch-black and possessed such a powerful presence that everyone on the scene felt a ripple of awe.
At the same time, inside Kuoh Academy.
Unlike the eerie silence of the outside world, this place presented a scene of shocking destruction.
"Boom!!!"
A massive spear of light, as thick as a pillar of heaven, descended and crashed into the ground. It instantly created a scene like a missile impact, sending out a terrifying shockwave that blasted a crater at least ten meters in diameter into the earth.
"Gah—!"
A group of students nearby, dressed in Kuoh Academy uniforms, were instantly blown away by the incoming shockwave. They cried out in pain as they were tossed like rubber balls, either slamming into the walls of buildings—causing them to crack—or tumbling across the ground like trash.
"President! Everyone—!"
In the distance, a blonde girl who had not entered the battlefield watched this scene, her eyes welling with tears as she looked ready to break down.
"Cough, cough—"
The people who had been blown away struggled to get up from the ground or the walls. Every single one of them was covered in wounds, clearly at their limit.
"President—"
Himejima Akeno's miko outfit was torn to shreds, and her fair skin was covered in dirt.
"Ugh—"
Toujou Koneko sat with one arm hanging limp; upon closer inspection, the arm was visibly deformed.
"He's... so strong—!"
Kiba Yuuto gripped a strange demon sword in his hand—distinctly different from those he had created in the past—and glared upward.
"Dammit—"
A blue-haired girl with a well-endowed figure, wearing a black skintight battle suit and holding a large sword radiating a startling holy aura, gritted her teeth, her body covered in fresh injuries.
As for the two at the very front of the group, they were struggling the most.
"It's no use! We can't beat him at all!"
A youth whose hand was encased in a menacing gauntlet shouted in frustration, panting harder than anyone else on the scene.
"We... cannot give up!"
Rias Gremory stared upward with eyes burning with crimson magic power, her expression one of absolute refusal to yield.
Suspended in the air above them was a single figure.
"How truly... boring."
A defiant, arrogant voice drifted down from above, dripping with contempt.