But Suriel would never have expected to find another variable in the form of Nekomata.
Not only that, but the Nekomata seemed to be much stronger than that dragon. She had already proven herself a fearsome opponent with that [Kasha] she had used. Suriel feared that she was even more powerful than he was.
Of course, he had an ace up his sleeve. If he didn't, he would have abandoned this mission by now.
But even if he had a secret weapon, he preferred not to have to show it. So he had allowed Kuroka to withdraw and not interfere with his actions.
The Nekoshou had not yet given him an answer, and he had been waiting foolishly for one.
Suriel had not realized this until he saw the lightning.
There was no doubt, the enemy had played with them. Mammon was going to die sooner or later, and the dragon was going to come to the aid of the girls in no time.
Suriel, who believed he had at least a few hours to kill his target since it had been reported that Baraqiel would take quite some time to arrive from the "mission", now had to hurry to finish all this because of the possible threat posed by these two variables.
It was time to go all out, wiping out all the enemies. Revealing all the trump cards he had in his hand.
Raising both hands, two spears of light appeared above them. Unlike the previous spear, these spears were not yellow, but reddish in colour. These spears gave off heat, making it clear that these were no ordinary light spears.
Suriel felt his pride rise as he saw the surprised faces of Kuroka and Shuri, the only two who could understand what was happening.
"Surprised? Though my fire is less than the heavenly fire of my father, Uriel, it is still mighty."
Suriel laughed as he threw both spears of light, one toward Kuroka and the other toward Shuri. Suriel doubted that he could kill the Nekoshou with a single spear of light, but he had to at least keep her at bay while killing his true targets. As long as he killed Baraqiel's wife and daughter, he could leave with his mission accomplished.
He already had a smile on his face, thinking his mission had been accomplished.
"What?"
Suriel felt that the connection to both spears had been severed. He understood if Kuroka could finish with a single spear of light. Still, he was certain Shuri would not be able to defend against it.
Unless...
"You think you're the only one who can create more than one weapon? It seems you're dumber than I thought-nya."
Two black wheels floated around Kuroka. These were her [Kasha], she had used them to neutralize Suriel's attack.
Suriel frowned, he had underestimated the Nekoshou again.
"Is that so? I wonder, how many [Kasha] can you create?
Four spears of light appeared behind Suriel's back. He attacked aiming at the four girls.
He didn't know how many [Kasha] Kuroka could create, so he was beginning to test the girl's limits.
He wasn't surprised when he saw two more black wheels. The four [Kasha] finishing off the four spears of light.
Suriel didn't stop his attack, creating eight Light Spears. Kuroka frowned and pulled out the remaining four [Kasha].
This was getting worrying. Could Suriel create more Spears of Light?
Suriel marvelled at the sweat on Kuroka's forehead. It seemed that the Nekoshou could control no more than eight [Kasha] at once. If that was so, then this mission was already over. He decided to go all out this time, without giving Kuroka a chance to defend himself.
A spear.
Two spears.
Four spears.
Eight spears.
Sixteen Spears.
Thirty-two spears of light floated around Suriel. These were moving around the inner courtyard of the shrine, ready to attack their target.
Shuri's face paled, and she covered her daughter instinctively. Kuroka bit her lower lip, this was becoming very difficult.
Kuroka sighed, and all the [Kasha] were gone.
"Do you give up? I am sorry, but I will not give you the chance to escape." Suriel looked at Kuroka with contempt.
A half-smile appeared on Kuroka's face, puzzling Suriel. She raised a hand and drew numerous runes in the air, these were a dark colour.
"Youjutsu..."
Shuri recognized what Kuroka was doing, and so did Suriel. He gave the order to attack immediately, praying that the Nekoshou would not have enough time to finish what she was doing.
"Black Prison!"
A black, but at the same time transparent, barrier covered the group of girls before the light lances could enter a range of five meters away. The light lances collided with the barrier and disappeared.
Suriel knew this wasn't very good. He continued to create spears of light and shoot them at the barrier, hoping to destroy it as soon as possible. To his despair, none of the spears could break through the barrier.
He was racking his brain, looking for a possible solution to this desperate situation. He had to finish this mission if or if, or an unimaginable punishment would come to him as a result of failing the task. He might well kill himself before he could report his failed mission.
A light bulb went off in his head when he remembered who was among that group of women. His dear niece would listen to him if he asked you for a favour, wouldn't she?
"Raynare, you have to kill those women. If you do, you can come with your dear uncle to a place where they will accept you with open arms. You'll come back to me, the only family you have left."
Yeah, Raynare could kill the targets. He knew she had a latent power that could take him out in seconds. Now that the Nekoshou was busy maintaining the barrier, there was nothing to stop Raynare from killing Shuri and Akeno.
"Shut up, shut up." Raynare kept talking incoherently.
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(This revelation of Raynare's past is now over.)
"Come on, my niece! Why haven't you killed those women yet?" cries the fallen angel.
I don't understand what's going on, who's whose niece?
"I am not your niece! I will never listen to those who caused my parents' death!"
This seems like a tasteless family drama, though no wonder it was Raynare who yelled at him again.
I am surprised, I will not deny it, but I doubt Kuroka's uncle is a fallen angel, much less Shuri. Besides, I think all first-generation angels are brothers, but they've never been called that.
I mean, Akeno has never called Azazel an uncle, nor has he addressed her as his niece in any of the 21 volumes of Highschool DxD that I have read. Besides, this guy doesn't seem like a first-generation fallen angel.
...
Now.
What can I do to help the girls?
Earlier, I had thought to help Kuroka by getting the rest of them out of the inner courtyard, taking them to a safe place so that I could leave the Nekoshou unhindered to finish off the fallen angel.
But now that I can better analyze the situation, I find it very difficult for Shuri and the others to break out of the barrier Kuroka created.
Cracks are beginning to appear in Kuroka's barrier, although it is being repaired at a reasonably high rate. Even so, I don't think it will take long for it to collapse. Once the barrier no longer protects the girls, I don't believe the fallen angel won't kill his targets.
There's no other way, I'll have to take care of it personally.
I'll use [Status Inspection] on him, to get a better idea of his abilities.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Race: Fallen Angel
Power Level: 6 Wings
Lv: 25/75
HP: 280/280
MP: 150/270
Strength: 260
Defense: 180
Magic: 220
Agility: 200
Skills:
[Light Flame Spear]
[Flight]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
He's strong, at least stronger than the devil I've faced before. Still, he's weaker than me in my true form. All that experience received from killing the devil has made me go up a massive amount of levels, which translates into a noticeable increase in my strength.
But this is not a place where I can use all that strength, because no space can contain me in my true form and I could end up causing damage to the girls.
Which leaves me with two options.
I can try to get the fallen angel out of the shrine, so I can fight him with all my strength. If I can accomplish that, I can consider the battle resolved.
If I can't get the fallen angel out of the sanctuary, I'm left with only the option of fighting him in my human form. Which would be shit, since fighting in a closed space, enclosed place like this is advantageous to him and disadvantageous to me.
With all those spears that the fallen angel is using at the same time, I calculate that there are more than thirty. With the little space I have, it will be tough for me to avoid his attacks, much more complicated to get close to him.
With my superior speed, I suppose I can get close to him and dodge many of those spears, but I will not come out unharmed from a torrential spear attack.
On the other hand, those spears don't seem to be ordinary spears. In fact, the system had given them a special name.
[Light Flame Spear]
It is not an ordinary spear if even the system has given it a special name, so I have to be even more careful. Luckily, my evolution to [Nephilim Dragon] has erased my vulnerability to the light attacks of fallen angels and angels, so these spears of light will not be as deadly to me.
That doesn't mean they're effective, just that I've gained resistance to that attribute. If before the attacks of light attribute made me an X2 of damage, now it makes me ½ of the damage it should make me.
Wait, I still have a choice.
I think this may be the time when I make use of my beloved Noble Phantasm for the first time.
[Gandiva] It's an area Noble Phantasm, similar to a missile blast, and I have no doubt I can smash Kuroka's barrier with it, which would end up hurting Shuri and the rest. That's why the use of [Gandiva] in this situation is completely out of the question.
On the other hand, [Phoebus Catastrophe] is a Noble Phantasm that suits me perfectly in this situation. A torrent of arrows, a calamity, with which I could shoot down all the enemy's spears and impale him with the rest.
Plus, this Noble Phantasm allows me to control where the arrows will fall, so there's no danger of harming the girls.
Well, I've made up my mind.
It's time to use my Noble Phantasm for the first time.
With all this, I summon [Gandiva] back into my hand. There's no way I can use this Noble Phantasm without using my most precious possession.
Now...
"I beseech you, Apollon and Artemis, bless this bow and these arrows."
"Who's there?"
The fallen angel becomes aware of my presence, something I see as normal. As much as I was hiding before, I had to show myself to launch this attack.
"Who is that man? Why does he look so familiar?"
The fallen angel is not the only one who notices my presence since the girls do too.
"I devote this calamity to you!"
Two magic arrows in the bow, pointing to the sky. Now all I have to do is sing the last part of the Noble Phantasm chant.
The words that give this one power, which made it famous for its legend. The protection of the gods Apollon and Artemis, which in turn is a calamity for my enemies.
"Phoebus Catastrophe!"
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