"Creuserey? Katereia? What is the meaning of this?" Sirzechs and Serafall were stunned.
"Heh. There's no need for these hypocritical questions now," Creuserey sneered. "You thieves who stole the titles of Maou... we have obtained the power of Ophis. Today, you will all be buried along with this town!"
Creuserey's hatred for the current Maou government wasn't something built in a day. He had dreamed of returning to the capital, Lilith, and sitting on the throne of Maou Asmodeus. He had plotted meticulously, and only with the appearance of Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, did he see a glimmer of hope.
"Ophis?" The name sent a jolt through the room.
The name of the Infinite Dragon God was known to all. If Ophis was backing the Old Maou Faction, the Three Factions were in serious trouble.
Seeing the reaction from Sirzechs and the others, Creuserey looked disdainful. "Hmph. Don't misunderstand—we are not Ophis's subordinates. She is merely a symbol and a source of power. We are borrowing her strength to destroy the existing world and rebuild it. The new world will be under our control!"
"Katereia, let's settle this quickly! Shalba's army in the Underworld is already assembled. Once we succeed here, he will immediately march on Lilith!"
Creuserey quickly pulled a glass vial from his robe and swallowed the twisted, black-snake-like object inside. The next second, a surge of demonic power as vast as a tsunami shook the atmosphere, sending dense shockwaves through all of Kuoh Academy.
Azazel, who had been watching with a playful expression, saw his face shift. He had thought these two "small fries" at the High-Class Devil level were fools for barging in here. But the power erupting from Creuserey now... was it already surpassing his own?
"Creuserey... is that the power Ophis gave you?" Azazel realized.
"Katereia, move now! Bury these damn fools!" Creuserey shouted, ignoring Azazel.
Serafall looked at Katereia with a face full of sadness and confusion. They were from the same generation of young devils. Before the civil war, they had even shared several conversations.
"Katereia... why are you doing this? I... I thought we were friends..."
Hearing this, Katereia, who was about to strike, suddenly glared at Serafall with pure resentment. At a time like this, this woman actually had the nerve to call them friends? If they were friends, she shouldn't have cold-bloodedly exiled her to the corners of the Underworld.
Fueled by emotion, she snarled at the teary-eyed Serafall, "Serafall! You're the one who stole my title as Maou Leviathan! How dare you say such things! I am the orthodox successor of the Leviathan bloodline!"
"Katereia, I... I..." Serafall was left speechless.
What Katereia said was the truth. Even in the current Underworld, some devils still secretly felt the current Maous weren't "orthodox." To devils who valued bloodline and heritage, this was a sensitive point.
"Serafall, don't worry. I will reclaim the throne of Maou Leviathan sooner or later. For now, you just sit there and keep acting like the naive little girl you are!"
With a roar of fury, a dense aura of demonic power erupted from Katereia.
"Good! Katereia, we are united—!"
Boom!
Before Creuserey could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden, intense sense of crisis. He instinctively shielded himself with demonic power, but even so, a powerful shockwave knocked him back several steps. Objects in the conference room flew wildly in the magic storm.
"Damn you, Sirzechs! To resort to a sneak attack—!" Creuserey gritted his teeth, his face twisted with even deeper hatred.However, what met Creuserey's eyes were the equally dumbfounded expressions of Sirzechs, Michael, and the others.
It took Creuserey a moment to realize what had happened. Because he had been hit, he instinctively assumed Sirzechs or one of the others had made a move. But as he sensed the lingering demonic energy in the air, he turned toward Katereia's position in utter disbelief.
There stood Katereia, her right hand slightly raised, a pale blue demonic light swirling in her palm. The strike that had just sent him reeling was hers.
"Katereia... why?!" Creuserey gasped, his face a mask of shock as he confirmed she was indeed the attacker.
"My apologies, Creuserey. I simply cannot agree with the path you and Shalba have chosen," Katereia said, her voice cold and resolute, though she suppressed a twinge of sadness at betraying her comrades.
Seeing that she wasn't joking, Creuserey's expression turned venomous. "Katereia, you will regret this!"
"I am the orthodox successor of the Leviathan bloodline. I do not take orders from the likes of you," she retorted.
At those words, Creuserey was completely consumed by rage. He had noticed something "off" about her behavior a few days ago, but he'd assumed it was just pre-summit nerves and had merely reminded her not to jeopardize the plan. He never imagined in a million years that the reason for her odd behavior was that she had betrayed him and Shalba!
"Sirzechs and his lot deserve to die! And so do you!"
Black demonic flames erupted from Creuserey's body. Dozens of magic circles manifested before him, and after less than a second of charging, he unleashed a torrential flood of magic.
The onslaught was ferocious. Countless magical "bullets" poured toward Katereia in an unavoidable screen of fire. The new school building was instantly shredded, and Katereia's figure was swallowed by the surging tide of energy.
This violent outburst finally snapped Serafall and the others out of their stupor. Though they didn't fully understand the internal rift within the Old Maou Faction, it was clear that Creuserey was now their only immediate enemy.
Outside, Rhode had already moved himself and Lavinia to a safe distance. His plan was proceeding smoothly, but seeing Katereia get submerged in that blast made him feel a bit concerned. After all, Creuserey was playing dirty—he'd used Ophis's power to boost himself to Maou-level before the fight, while Katereia was only at the peak of the High-Class Devil level.
However, Rhode breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the green "ally" marker representing Katereia on his system map hadn't disappeared.
As the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, Katereia's battered figure was revealed. Although she had done her best to deploy defensive magic, the gap in power was too great; she had sustained significant injuries.
If Rhode's plan doesn't work out, she thought bitterly, I'm locking that bastard in a small dark room and "training" him for a month before I let him out!
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (320 Chapters – Ongoing)
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