Chapter 36: The Kokabiel Incident (III)
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Both the Gremory and Sitri peerage ran outside, dropping whatever they were doing to go meet the chilling presence that awaited them outside. One so haunting that not a single one of their instincts weren't screaming at them to turn tail and flee.
"Greetings, Heiresses of the Underworld." A deep voice spoke, belonging to the bloodcurdling individual standing outside the Hyoudou household.
He was a strikingly tall man with skin so pale it almost made him appear sickly. He had long obsidian hair that reached down to his waist and sharp bright vermillion pupils, giving him a vampiric presence. His ears were pointy like an elfs, and he wore a black robe with profligate accessories.
However, there was one facet of his appearance that was more striking than anything else they could see on him.
He had 10 black feathery wings, like a crow. A trait belonging only to Fallen Angels. And the fact that there were ten of them meant he was one of Grigori's Cadres, or in his case former Cadre as a result of his betrayal reaching the ears of Azazel.
"Rias Gremory, and Sona Stiri I presume?" In spite of his monstrous appearance, he still spoke eloquently as befitting his class.
"Are you Kokabiel?" Rias asked without answering his question.
The Cadre only chuckled darkly in response. Smiling as he revealed a row of sharp, shark-like teeth within his maw.
"That would be me."
Kokabiel examined his surroundings, searching for anything particularly out of the ordinary or eye-catching.
"Interesting. I expected either Azazel or Shemhazai to be accompanying you as protection. However, that doesn't seem to be the case."
The corners of his mouth stretched, a vile expression appearing on his face.
Rias and Sona on the other hand, were left somewhat baffled by what he had just said.
"Why would your allies be protecting us?" It didn't make sense. Kokabiel should be acting on Grigori's behalf, Fallen Angels were the age-old enemies of Devils after all. There was no reason for the Governor and Vice-Governor of Grigori to take the Devil's side.
Kokabiel's eyelids lifted a little in lieu of their confusion, his smile only returning once he figured out its root.
"I see, you're not as well-informed as your connections would suggest. How very disappointing, how very disappointing indeed."
It was evident by his tone that he was mocking them.
"Is there something I should know?"
The Cadre shook his head.
"No, you're going to die here anyways so whether you perish in ignorance or awareness really doesn't make a difference to me. Actually, I'm surprised you didn't call Sirzechs or Serafall already since it seems you knew I had a presence in Kuoh to begin with. Then again, Devils are notoriously incompetent so I suppose it doesn't make much of a difference."
Akeno approached her King, whispering something into her ear.
"Forgive me for acting on my own, but I've already called for Sirzechs-sama."
Rias flinched.
"You did what? Akeno, you know I–"
Sona interrupted.
"Rias, your Queen made the right choice. This isn't an opponent we can handle on our own," the Sitri bit down on her lip. Recalling the taunting remarks made by her rival. "I hate to say it, but we should let your brother handle this instead."
The Gremory frowned. If there was one thing she hated doing, it was relying on the Satan. It injured her pride, making her feel overly reliant. However, she couldn't deny that Sona had a point. This was a Cadre they were talking about, there was no feasible way they could beat him on their own.
"You can recall your brother if you want," Rias turned around. Met with the sight of Takauji casually approaching the front of the group. "I told you, didn't I? I alone am enough to handle Kokabiel."
He didn't bother facing the crimson-haired princess, instead choosing to make direct eye contact with the Cadre.
"Speaking of which, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Kokabiel remained silent for a bit, his eyes carefully examining Takauji as if to gauge his strength.
"Ah, now it makes sense. Azazel sent you to do his bidding didn't he?" The comment was enough to fill everyone around with shock, all eyes turning straight towards the Mage.
Akeno in particular stared at him the hardest, recalling the question he had tried to ask her on the rooftop prior to Kokabiel's arrival.
"If I were to betray you, what would you do?"
Those words repeated in her head time and time again, trying to determine whether they were merely hypothetical or not.
"Azazel? Sorry, but I've never met the guy. I'm sure he'd be fun to hang around though."
The ten-winged Fallen Angel could only snicker, appalled by the barefaced audacity of the man in front of him. As an Ultimate-Class himself, he could see right through Takauji's cloaking ability clear as day. Moreover, he was pretty confident that the clothing he was wearing was made by Azazel as well. Having been around the Governor as long as he had, it was difficult to mistake his handiwork.
["What now? They're going to question the living daylight out of you after you kill him."]
That might not be a bad thing. If I choose to just come out with everything she'll more likely than not break the contract early, and I'll seek refuge with Azazel for a while just in case Sirzechs starts feeling a little vengeful.
["If you say so."]
"No matter, whether you openly choose to reveal your affiliation with him means very little to me. I'm just happy to have an opponent worth fighting before my plans come to fruition."
A surge of bloodthirsty energy gathered around Kokabiel, sweat pouring down the skin of everyone in front of him as their knees buckled under the pressure.
Except for Takauji of course, after all he was almost the same caliber of monster as the multiple millenia-old man in front of him.
Sona and Rias couldn't fathom how he was unaffected by the dread seeping out of Kokabiel, being forced to start believing his claim of being able to take on the Cadre on his lonesome.
"I could say the same, but before I send you on an all express journey to the afterlife, you wouldn't happen to have any underlings for the kiddos to fight? It's important that they get their daily exercise and all that."
The vampire-looking man chuckled, bemused by the Mage's flippant attitude in spite of the current situation.
"Their deaths are a part of my plan to begin with, don't worry, I've already prepared a suitable executioner for them, or executioners to be accurate."
An all too familiar figure stepped out from behind Kokabiel, waving at the group with a maddening grin.
"Yoohoo! I've already lost count of how many times we've met Devil-kun's. Maybe our destinies are intertwined or something–"
However, the minute Freed laid eyes upon the figure at the forefront of the group. His mood lost all its light, returning to one of cold dread.
"Boss, you're not going to make me fight that one are you?" He pointed at Takauji, his fingers trembling a little.
"Of course not, that one's my prey."
Freed held his chest as he sighed in relief, wiping the sweat of his forehead.
"Where's the other? You said executioners right?" The Mage glanced at Kokabiel's sides.
"Must you be so impatient? I'm summoning him now."
Kokabiel snapped his fingers, the ground starting to rumble shortly after as the Devils struggled to maintain their balance.
A pillar composed entirely of fire shot up from a crack in the ground, the sound of beastly growling coming from within the embers.
"Is this good enough for those brats?" The Cadre grinned.
A creature had been revealed. It had to be at least ten meters tall with an enormous frame, covered from head to toe in thick black fur that seemed to radiate a certain blaze. It had four legs, each foot armed with razor-sharp claws that looked like they could tear through flesh as if it were butter.
Its eyes were a profound crimson, frothing with nothing but raw furor and animosity. Like it wanted to rip apart every last living being it came in contact with.
Its maw opened, a stomach-churning roar leaving its mouth as it revealed rows of vicious canines. Spits of fire even coming out of its throat every now and then.
"His name is Cerberus, he's like a pet to me but I'm sure he'll be a more than suitable opponent for the fodder standing behind you. Wouldn't you agree?"
Takauji smiled, finding the sight of the creature rather delightful. As a lover of raw emotion, the sheer rage radiating off the giant-sized hound was like a pleasant breeze to him.
"Cerberus, what a splendid name that is." He turned around to face both the Gremory and Sitri group. Smirking at them as he pointed at the creature with his thumb. "Think you can handle that? You did say you wanted to fight after all."
They couldn't bring themselves to respond, caught in between the shock of Takauji's nonchalance and the dread-inducing sight of Hell's Guard-Dog.
"We can," a female voice replied to him. Belonging to that of Rias Gremory's Queen.
"Then he's all yours," he turned back towards Kokabiel. "You might find yourself surprised at what some of them are capable of."
"So you say," Kokabiel lifted his arm. Creating a sword made entirely out of light and resting it on his shoulder. "But honestly I could care less what happens to them right now, so quit talking and come at me already. Lapdog of Azazel."
"I already told you, didn't I? I have nothing to do with Azazel." His tone of voice didn't even remotely sound like he was putting any effort into denying the claim. As if it were some practical joke between himself and the Cadre. "But with that said, I'm also getting a little impatient over here."
Takauji unsheathed his sword from the confines of his sash, assuming his one-handed grip as he faced Kokabiel.
["Aren't you going to use me? I thought that was the whole point of Azazel loaning me to you."]
I will, but I haven't gotten a chance to really test out my strength ever since I became an Ultimate-Class Mage. Let me have a little fun will you?
["Suit yourself, but if you end up getting killed because of your own arrogance don't pin it on me."]
"Then, let us begin." Kokabiel's strength continued to rise.
"We already did."
The Cadre knitted his brows, shocked to see that Takauji's blade had disappeared from his hand out of nowhere.
"You might wanna look down," The Mage pointed at Kokabiel's chest with a smile.
He couldn't believe his eyes, seeing a sword embedded into his chest without him having felt a thing. His mind continued to spin, trying to figure out what Takauji had done.
And while he was still confused, Takauji decided to make his move.
He used [Shadow Step] and closed the distance between them, landing with both feet planted on Kokabiel's chest, and his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Don't worry, if you're the real deal you'll survive this no problem."
SPLURT!
A foundation of blood erupted from the wound in Kokabiel's chest as he yanked the blade out in one swift motion, leaping backwards and allowing the Cadre to let what had just happened sink in.
"Ah, I get it now." To everyone's surprise, the Fallen Angel had started to chuckle. "You used an illusion didn't you? And the distraction our conversation provided was a cover to activate it."
Kokabiel facepalmed, continuing to laugh dryly as the wound in his body rapidly healed thanks to his own regeneration.
"So you're a Darkness Mage, I haven't met one since I fought with that Azashiro brat. You wouldn't happen to be his son or anything? Even though you two don't really look alike."
Takauji tilted his head.
"Sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell."
Kokabiel shrugged.
"Oh well, it's not important anyways. I pity you, thanks to the natural differences in our affinities you'll be at an even bigger disadvantage when fighting me."
["A-hem."]
I know, I know.
"But you already knew that to begin with, so tell me Mage. What countermeasure have you prepared for me to play with?"
Takauji used [Vacio] to open up a tear in space, bringing out a golden lance-like dagger from within.
"Oh? Is that one of Azazel's toys? Haha, God's death really has opened up a whole world of possibilities for that peace-loving maniac."
Takauji recoiled a little.
"God's death?"
"You didn't know? Huh, I thought Azazel would've told you. God died a long time ago, I imagine you know about the phenomenon called [Balance Breaker] at the very least?"
He nodded.
"That's only possible because God's death left a hole in the Sacred Gear System. The phenomenon itself is just a bug, it was never supposed to exist to begin with."
A bug? Wait, then doesn't that suggest that [Balance Breaker] isn't evolution, but regression? It's basically a state that allows the user to remove part of the seal on their Sacred Gear, and access part of the power of whatever was sealed inside before it was turned into a Sacred Gear.
["You got all that from the word bug? You might be more similar to Azazel than I imagined."]
"You seem to be deliberating on something, but are you sure now is really the time for that?" Kokabiel had a point, they were supposed to be in the middle of a fight. Not sharing notes with one another.
"Sorry, I have a tendency to overthink things."
"Don't sweat it, after being around Azazel for as long as I have it's hardly anything new."
["Ready?"]
Ready.
Takauji started to squeeze the artificial Sacred Gear, his body erupting with a golden light. The ground started to tremble, the air around him increasing in weight fivefold. Every fiber of his being started to tense up, allowing his body to channel the copious amount of energy coursing through his veins.
I hope you're watching closely Hyoudou Issei, this is what you should be striving to achieve. You and Ddraig that is.
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I know y'all are tired of the cliffhangers, but the next chapter is the last part of the Kokabiel incident. I didn't want to rush a main antagonist (especially since I feel like the original work could have done a lot more with him), so it's a little elongated. Just bear with it for one more day! 🙏
As always thank you for the insane support this book has been getting, especially for the first work of mine, y'all are legends.
10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x
Word Count: 2478
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