Reincarnated in the World of High School DxD

Soon, the rest of the group gathered around him.

Asia, too short to reach Kazuki's shoulders, gently guided him to sit down and began healing his wounds.

Akeno and Yumi, however, remained glued to his arms. Issei was animatedly speaking to Kazuki, while Koneko nodded silently at his side. Xenovia and Irina, having reunited, shared a brief but heartfelt moment of camaraderie.

Despite the mix of devils and church warriors, who were supposed to be sworn enemies, the sight of them all together felt oddly natural to Rias.

Then, without warning, a streak of light shot from Kazuki's forehead.

"Eeeeek!"

The startled cry drew everyone's attention to Valper, who was attempting to crawl away.

"Pathetic," Kazuki muttered, firing the beam to halt Valper's escape.

"Tch. Looks like Freed got away," he added, glancing around. "That slippery bastard... What should we do with this old man, Rias?"

Rias looked around and realized Freed had indeed disappeared. 'When did he manage to escape?' Her eyes shifted to Valper, still frozen in fear.

"Yumi," Rias said, turning to her knight. "What do you want to do?"

Yumi stared at Valper, her gaze cold and piercing. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

"I leave it to you, President."

Her response surprised Issei, who immediately interjected. "Seriously, Yumi? That guy's the one who killed your comrades, isn't he? Don't you want revenge?"

Yumi rose to her feet, her expression resolute.

"No, Issei. I've realized something." She placed a hand over her chest, where her comrades' spirits seemed to reside. "They wanted me to find happiness, not to be consumed by hatred. I can't forgive him, but I won't stain my hands with vengeance either. As a servant of Rias Gremory, I can't act on personal grudges that could bring trouble to her."

"Yumi..."

Yumi walked over to Rias and knelt before her, bowing deeply.

"President... I betrayed your trust and our friends. I don't have the words to express my regret."

Rias gently cupped Yumi's cheek, brushing away a tear with the same tenderness she had shown in the past when she had been overcome with sorrow.

"But you came back to us, Yumi. That's all that matters. Don't let their sacrifices be in vain, okay?"

"Yes... President, I swear anew. I, Yumi Kiba, as the Knight of Rias Gremory, will dedicate my life to protecting you and our comrades."

"I accept your vow," Rias said softly, pulling Yumi into a comforting embrace.

"Welcome back, Yumi."

'It seems like Yumi-san has managed to reconcile with Rias-san. Seeing moments like this makes me realize that, even though they're devils, their feelings about cherishing their comrades aren't so different from ours,' Irina thought to herself.

At that moment, a deranged, out-of-place cackle echoed through the area.

"──Kukuku, I see... So that's how it is... The Holy-Demonic Sword, a fusion born from two opposing elements that should never coexist... Something like this shouldn't even be possible unless the balance between holy and demonic was completely destabilized... In other words, not just the Maou, but even God must have..."

Valper Galilei muttered incessantly, his voice laced with a feverish madness that unsettled everyone present.

"What the hell are you rambling about?" Xenovia demanded, her Durandal pointed at the man. But he paid no attention, lost in his own obsessive delusions.

"Kokabiel! Is that so!?"

"...that's right, Valper," came the calm yet ominous reply.

Kazuki Fuwa's breath caught. The one who answered Valper was someone he'd hoped never to hear again.

"Kokabiel!? You're still alive!?"

Rias's voice trembled, sharp with both disbelief and tension. Kokabiel, lying immobilized, let out a bitter chuckle.

"...Relax, Gremory. That Guyver's strike rendered my body useless. What a monster you've added to your peerage, Rias Gremory."

"He's not a monster," Rias snapped, her crimson eyes fierce. "Kazuki is my most precious man."

Her words sent an unexpected sting through Kazuki's chest, a sharp pang that he couldn't quite shake off.

"Kukuku... Is that so? Well then, Valper, it's just as you suspected."

"What? What are you two talking about!?" Xenovia barked, her voice edged with confusion and frustration.

Valper, with the aura of a mad prophet, uttered a revelation that shook everyone to their core. "It means the God we are meant to serve no longer exists in this world."

"What!? No... that's impossible..."

Xenovia's voice trembled as her faith shattered, her confusion raw and unfiltered.

Kazuki understood her turmoil, such a statement upended everything she believed in.

Kokabiel, ever the showman, began his story.

During the Great War, God had fought the Four Great Maou to the death, resulting in mutual annihilation. What followed was devastation for all sides: angels left bereft of their God, devils stripped of most of their high-ranking leaders, and fallen angels reduced to a fraction of their former power.

The factions weakened to the brink of extinction, had no choice but to rely on humanity to sustain themselves.

Fallen angels could grow their numbers by causing angels to fall, but pure angels could no longer be created without God.

Devils turned to Evil Pieces to reincarnate humans into devils, and fallen angels sought to intermingle with humans to reproduce.

Beside Kazuki, Xenovia collapsed to her knees, her face a mask of despair. The others wore similarly stunned expressions. Asia, in particular, seemed on the verge of breaking, her body trembling violently as she clung to Issei for support. She murmured incoherently, barely able to stand under the weight of the revelation.

Kazuki clenched his fists, stepping forward with a glare that could pierce through steel.

His voice was steady but filled with an unmistakable edge. "What the hell is your point in telling us this? Are you just here to mock Asia and the others for praying to someone who isn't even there anymore?"

"Kukuku... Nothing so grand. Call it my way of settling the score," Kokabiel sneered, his voice dripping with malice even as he lay incapacitated.

"Damn bastard," Kazuki spat. "Rias! What are we doing with these two?"

Rias crossed her arms, her tone decisive. "We'll hand them over to my brother's reinforcements when they arrive. They can deal with this."

But before they could act, a voice, calm yet commanding, cut through the tense air.

"Ah, could I ask you to wait a moment?"

The voice came from above, belonging to no one present. Everyone turned toward the source, their eyes widening as they beheld the figure who had appeared without warning.

Bathed in the faint light of the moon, a pure white silhouette hovered in the sky. Clad in a shining full plate of pristine white armor, the figure radiated an otherworldly light.

Eight luminous wings of light stretched from its back, cutting through the darkness like blades.

Every eye was drawn to the ethereal being, its presence both awe-inspiring and suffocating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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