A bloodcurdling scream tore through the battlefield as Blake's sword slashed across Kokabiel's back, severing his black, tattered wings. His face twisted in agony, his pride shattering alongside his body.
Before he could even finish his scream, Blake's holy sword carved another deep wound across his flesh.
The next moment, Blake's right leg wrapped in swirling green wind slammed into Kokabiel's exposed back like a sledgehammer. The fallen angel shot downward like a meteor, crashing into the earth with an impact that left behind a massive crater.
Blake landed softly on the battlefield, his expression cold and unreadable. With slow, deliberate steps, he approached the battered and broken Kokabiel, his eyes devoid of sympathy.
The members of the Occult Research Club Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, and Asia could only stare, dumbfounded. Even they hadn't expected this level of brutality.
Meanwhile, Xenovia and Irina stood frozen, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.
The arrogant, war hungry Cadre level fallen angel the one who boasted about dragging Heaven, Underworld, and Earth into war was now lying in the dirt.
"Damn... talk about a reality check," Xenovia muttered under her breath.
"This is... kinda embarrassing to watch," Irina added, rubbing her arm awkwardly.
Kokabiel, barely clinging to consciousness, felt his blood boil not just from the pain but from sheer humiliation. He looked up at Blake, who now stood at the crater's edge, staring down at him as if he were nothing more than a punchbag.
The anger, the shame, the fear it all welled up inside Kokabiel until he couldn't contain it anymore.
"YOU DAMN BRAT!!!" he roared, spitting blood as he forced himself upright. His entire body trembled from the pain, but his rage kept him moving. He couldn't understand. How? How had this human this wretched little brat managed to overwhelm him?
"It seems you're good for at least one thing," Blake said flatly, tilting his head. "You make an excellent punching bag."
Kokabiel's eye twitched.
"I'LL SHOW YOU A PUNCHING BAG!"
Summoning every ounce of power left in his body, he conjured two massive swords of light. With a furious battle cry, he hurled them toward Blake at super speed, the air screaming as the weapons tore through it.
Blake didn't even flinch. He simply shifted his sword, tracing two effortless arcs in the air.
A golden light flashed.
The next second, both of Kokabiel's light swords shattered like glass.
"Wha ?! AGAIN?! How?! HOW IS YOUR POWER SPIKING AT THE LAST SECOND?!"
Kokabiel's eyes bulged in disbelief, veins popping in his forehead. He had seen Blake's attacks. He had felt them. And yet, every single time, the boy's power seemed to amplify just when it mattered most!
Blake, unimpressed, rested his sword on his shoulder.
"Kokabiel," he said calmly. "Your time's up."
The moment those words left his lips, his sword began to glow a radiance so overwhelming that the entire battlefield was bathed in golden light. The sheer energy crackled in the air, thick with holy power.
A golden light erupted from Blake's blade, surging forward in a devastating arc that sliced through the sky itself.
Kokabiel's pupils shrank.
He barely had time to throw up a defensive barrier, pouring every ounce of his remaining power into it.
The battlefield was swallowed by a blinding explosion as the light slash collided with Kokabiel's barrier, forming a massive golden pillar that shot straight into the heavens. The deafening roar that followed was like a symphony of explosions, shaking the ground and splitting the very air.
For a moment, it was as if the world itself had shattered. Kanna immediately formed a barrier to cover Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Asia, Kiba along with Xenovia and Irina from the aftermath of the attack.
With a sharp, ear splitting noise, Kokabiel's defensive barrier fractured.
The next instant, it shattered completely.
The golden light engulfed him, and a horrible scream followed.
The sheer force of the explosion sent shockwaves rippling outward.
As the smoke cleared, the battlefield lay scarred charred black, with a crater over ten meters deep at its center.
Lying in the middle of it all was Kokabiel.
His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, his body covered in deep burns. His once powerful wings were nothing but stumps, his strength utterly drained. Even so, he still clung to life.
"Hhh... hhaaa..." His breath came out in weak gasps, his vision blurry. "I... I can't believe... I'm dying... here..."
From the edge of the crater, Blake gazed down at him, unfazed.
"Damn," he muttered. "You're stubborn."
Even with all that power, all that destruction Kokabiel still wasn't completely dead. Blake could only assume his natural resistance to light played a role. Fallen angels did have a weird relationship with holy energy, after all.
Still, the guy was barely hanging on.
"Eh, whatever," Blake shrugged, stepping forward. "Not like it matters."
Rias and the others finally allowed themselves to breathe. The tension that had gripped them throughout the battle melted away, replaced with relieved smiles.
Xenovia and Irina, however, just stared in disbelief.
Blake had actually fought a fallen angel cadre.
And here they were, thinking they could negotiate with him earlier.
"...You ever feel like a complete idiot?" Irina mumbled.
"More often than I'd like," Xenovia admitted.
Meanwhile, in the crater, Kokabiel's body twitched.
Realizing he was seconds from being executed, he gritted his teeth and threw away his last scrap of dignity.
"STOP! DON'T KILL ME!" he shouted desperately. "IF YOU DO, THE FALLEN ANGELS AND DEVILS WILL GO TO WAR!"
Blake stopped in his tracks, staring at him blankly.
"Seriously? That's your last-ditch effort?"
"You really think Azazel would start a war over you?" Blake asked, tilting his head. "Truth he wouldn't. Hell, he'd probably throw a party if I took you out. And let's be real " His eyes sharpened.
Kokabiel's blood ran cold.
The holy sword swung down
But just as the blade was about to take his head, a sudden flash of silver streaked across the sky.
A violent impact rang out as something slammed into him from behind.
Acting purely on instinct, he twisted, raising his sword just in time. Sparks flew as steel met steel, the air around them distorting from the sheer force of the collision.
Blake gritted his teeth, taking a step back.
And judging by that aura?
Yeah. This was not over yet.
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