— — — — — —
Xenovia and Irina looked at Lynn sitting there all calm and relaxed, completely dumbfounded.
Seriously? Did this guy even understand what kind of situation they were in right now?
Rias also froze for a moment.
Was he talking about his earlier suggestion?
Instinctively, she glanced at Koneko.
Was he talking about handling what's coming next... as in dealing with Kokabiel?
She had thought Lynn was talking about that crazy priest from before.
But hearing his words reminded her of something important.
Sure, Kokabiel was strong... but they had Kuroka on their side!
Even if Kuroka wasn't a match for Kokabiel, she could at least buy them some time, right?
As long as Sona realized something was wrong, she'd definitely contact the Devil Kings!
And besides... Lynn was strong enough to tame someone as dangerous as Kuroka. He had to be stronger than anyone present here.
With both Lynn and Kuroka buying time, holding off Kokabiel until reinforcements arrived shouldn't be impossible!
"Hmph."
Suddenly, Kokabiel's voice interrupted Rias' thoughts.
"Pathetic." His gaze then shifted to Freed and his tone turned ice-cold.
Clearly, he was calling Freed useless.
Then Kokabiel raised his eyes, finally taking a good look at Kuroka, a trace of surprise flashing through his heart.
"Well, well... never thought a junk town like Kuoh would actually have an Ultimate-class Devil lurking around."
He clicked his tongue in amusement... but still...
An Ultimate-class Devil? That wasn't enough to impress him.
Kokabiel narrowed his eyes, locking onto Lynn, who was still sitting lazily on the couch, acting like he didn't care about anything happening around him.
Hah...
Relaxing like that in front of him?
"Should I say... ignorance is bliss?"
His voice turned cold.
"To sit there drinking tea in front of me... you've got guts, kid."
Every other Devil would be trembling in fear before him. And yet this guy was just... sitting there sipping tea?
The more Kokabiel thought about it, the more pissed off he got.
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted from him like a Demon King descending upon the world!
Winds howled violently!
The already-damaged Occult Research Club building finally collapsed completely!
Rias's heart skipped a beat. Just that aura alone...!
She gritted her teeth, trying desperately to resist the pressure.
But with her magic already nearly depleted, she barely lasted a few seconds before being blasted away!
Xenovia stabbed Durandal into the ground, bracing herself against the surge.
Irina clung tightly to Xenovia to avoid getting blown away like Rias.
Akeno and Koneko staggered backward, almost unable to hold their ground.
Just then, Kuroka appeared in front of them, shielding them from the brunt of the pressure.
"Sis!"
Koneko let out a breath of relief seeing Kuroka but quickly panicked again. "President Rias?!"
Kuroka clicked her tongue. "Relax, you don't need to worry about that person."
"Huh?"
Koneko blinked in confusion.
Akeno subtly nudged her.
Following Akeno's gaze, Koneko turned her head...
And froze.
There was Rias, sitting on Lynn's lap, blushing furiously with her arms wrapped around his neck.
Koneko: "? ? ? ?"
Leaning back on the couch, Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Rias, you couldn't bear to see Koneko leave, so you decided to offer yourself instead?"
He stroked his chin. "Not bad, actually."
"Of course not!!" Rias shouted, her face burning.
She just accidentally got swept over here by the blast!
But...Her body felt really hot...
No, no, no! Now wasn't the time to think about stuff like that!
She quickly scrambled off Lynn's lap...
Then froze.
"That pressure... it's gone?"
Did Kokabiel stop?
Rias looked up in confusion, only to see Xenovia and Irina still struggling desperately against the pressure.
"Huh?"
What was going on?
Then she noticed it.
The entire Occult Research Club had been obliterated by Kokabiel's aura.
Except...Everything around Lynn remained perfectly untouched.
Even the cup of tea sitting on the table in front of him hadn't so much as rippled.
Thump.. thump
Rias's heart began pounding wildly.
W-What the hell was this?
An insane thought suddenly popped into her mind.
Could it be... Lynn was way stronger than she had imagined?
But... was that possible?
Could it really be true?
After all...
When she first met him, Lynn was just a Mid-class Devil!
"Ha?"
Kokabiel narrowed his eyes, carefully studying Lynn now that he had noticed the anomaly.
"Still got time to flirt and ignore me, huh? You've got guts, kid."
Kokabiel's blood-red eyes burned with killing intent.
He raised his hand, instantly forming a spear of light.
As his magic poured into it, the terrifying power within grew stronger and stronger, making every Devil present feel a chill run down their spine!
Rias snapped back to her senses, staring in horror at the spear forming in Kokabiel's hand.
Her body moved on instinct, stepping forward to shield Lynn.
But...
Smack!
A large hand gently patted her head.
Rias froze, hearing Lynn's calm voice.
"Alright, leave the rest to me."
"Eh?"
Rias's eyes widened. "But I haven't—"
Lynn placed a finger on her soft lips, his mouth curling into a smile.
"Even if you say no, I won't just sit back and do nothing."
Rias's heart skipped a beat.
"After all..."
"We're friends, aren't we?"
Lynn hadn't forgotten Rias was the one who helped him when he was weak.
That feeling... caught Rias completely off guard.
Lynn ruffled her crimson hair lightly before turning to face Kokabiel, his calm gaze unwavering as he stepped forward.
Seeing this, Rias snapped back to reality and quickly grabbed his arm. "Wait!"
She anxiously said, "Lynn, don't push yourself. As long as you and Kuroka can stall him for a while, reinforcements from the Devil Kings should arrive soon!"
Rias believed that Sona, being as smart as she was, must have already called for help from a Maou.
Though she had her suspicions about Lynn's strength just now... without seeing it firsthand, she couldn't help but worry.
After all, Kokabiel survived the great war between the Three Factions. He was literally a monster from ancient times!
"Reinforcements? A Maou?"
Kokabiel burst into loud laughter. "By the time they get here, this entire town will already be blown to pieces! Hahaha!"
"W-What?!"
Rias, Akeno, and the others were completely stunned by his words.
"Heh... You guys don't even know yet, do you? I've already set up a barrier over this town."
"In twenty minutes, this place is going sky-high! Completely obliterated, hahaha!"
Rias glared furiously. "You bastard!"
But Kokabiel ignored her and locked his cold eyes on Lynn, who had been ignoring him from the start. The light spear in his hand surged larger and larger, almost like a pillar piercing the sky.
"Kid! With your ignorance... GO TO HELL!"
With a swing of his arm, Kokabiel hurled his massive light spear straight at Lynn!
Rias, Xenovia, and Akeno watched as the terrifying spear drew closer, their pupils shrinking in shock, their hearts sinking in despair.
Is this the end...?
Buzz!
An even larger, brighter, and more terrifying light spear formed above Lynn in an instant!
"W-What?!"
Kokabiel's eyes went wide in shock.
"Kokabiel..."
Lynn looked up, his face expressionless. "Your so-called glory..."
"Is neither great enough...Nor bright enough."
As his words fell, the light spear above Lynn shot forth like lightning!
With the effect of his skill [Piercing Spear], he got from Miyamoto Rei, Lynn's light spear lost no advantage in speed!
BOOM!
The two spears clashed violently in midair, releasing blinding light across the sky above Kuoh Town!
But—
Whether in size or in power, Lynn's spear utterly crushed Kokabiel's the moment they touched.
BOOM!
Kokabiel's spear shattered instantly, while Lynn's kept going without losing momentum!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"
Kokabiel's eyes were filled with blinding light. "A devil... using light more brilliant than a fallen angel? Impossible!!"
He roared in disbelief.
But the next second, he was completely swallowed by the overwhelming light spear!
"Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!"
Kokabiel screamed in agony within the sea of light.
Yet amid the pain, he began to laugh wildly!
"Hahaha!! As expected!! After God's death, this world really has gone crazy! Hahaha!!"
"What did I just witness?! A devil... wielding a light rivaling even angels!!"
Letting out his final roar, the light spear exploded violently!
Kokabiel's blood-red eyes were filled with unwillingness as he let out one last scream, before being completely obliterated in the light.
BOOM!
The blinding light spread like a mushroom cloud over all of Kuoh Town, the shockwaves spreading rapidly outward!
Suddenly, a purple barrier rose up, covering the entire town!
But—
CRACK!
The moment it touched the shockwave, the barrier shattered instantly!
Far away, Sona stumbled back a few steps, coughing up blood.
"T-This is bad!!"
She looked up, eyes full of shock. "Our power can't stop this blast from spreading!"
Was Kokabiel really on par with her sister, Serafall?!
Tsubaki Shinra's expression turned grave. "What do we do? If this keeps going, who knows what will happen to Kuoh Town!"
Sona bit her lip, shaking her head helplessly.
There was nothing she could do...
Suddenly—
It was as if a crisp snap of fingers echoed in her ears.
The next second—
Buzz!
A transparent barrier instantly enveloped the entire Kuoh Town!
Sona looked up in disbelief. "The light's impact... is being contained inside Kuoh Academy..."
Back at the Occult Research Club, Lynn lowered his hand calmly.
Rias and the others still hadn't fully processed what just happened. They simply stared blankly at Lynn's back.
After a long moment, a trembling voice finally broke the silence.
"...M-Maou?!"
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Coreal's note: "No need to say it. I'm preparing 10-chapter mass release for this week!"
(Support me and 20 advanced chapters at: patreon.com/_Coreal)