Rias and Sona finalized the tactical plan and the squads to act against Kokabiel and his group. The plan included an emergency signal to prevent deaths, which would summon Rias, Issei, or Sona for assistance.
"Now we just need to make him come out," Issei said.
Everyone was pleased with the plan developed by the two girls. Success seemed guaranteed, with almost no chance of fatalities—only the risk of injuries.
"Could you two give me my card back??" Issei asked.
Issei stared at the two exorcists, demanding they return his credit card. Rias and the Gremory group were laughing as karma finally caught up to the blindfolded man.
"Now you know how I feel," Rias teased.
"This is hilarious," Qin added.
Rias and Qin were laughing themselves silly in their respective ways—one aloud, the other in Issei's mind. The exorcists pretended they didn't hear him and tried to leave.
"My card!!" Issei shouted.
"Consider it a fee for as long as we're here," Xenovia replied.
"Yes, a fee," Irina agreed.
Irina and Xenovia left with those words. They would reunite when it was time for the squads to patrol Kuoh at night.
"Shameless exorcists," Issei muttered.
Issei spent the whole day angry at the exorcists, only calming down when Asia and Rias pampered him a bit.
Issei chose to leave Irina and Xenovia in peace for now, as he still needed their help, but he knew that soon enough, it would be time for payback.
"Let's monitor everything," Issei said.
Issei, Sona, and Rias were looking at the dots on the map representing the Gremory and Sitri squads. The groups seemed to be doing well for several hours.
"The small skirmishes are about to start," Sona noted.
Sona anticipated that the enemy would start acting soon, and she was proven right. The groups engaged in small, winnable battles, though some had to retreat after a few minutes due to injuries.
"Does Kokabiel have a large ego?? He'll appear soon if he does," Rias predicted.
Rias's prediction was also correct. The groups began reporting a high number of casualties due to a single enemy signal. The three leaders promptly teleported together; Issei needed help since he didn't have much demonic power for the jump.
A man with enormous black wings was hovering in the air over a field full of wounded soldiers. This black-winged fallen angel had very pale skin, long black hair, and red eyes. His ears were pointed like an elf's.
"Did you think you could achieve victory with just this??" Kokabiel asked.
"Shitty devils are so conceited," Freed added.
The mad priest was also there, smiling even more insanely with an Excalibur in hand. On the other side stood Kiba and Xenovia, their fury palpable.
"I will start a war once I kill the two of you, the sisters of the Maous. So, prepare the battlefield at that school you attend, or I will destroy the entire city," Kokabiel threatened.
Kokabiel was saying his goodbyes with this mad speech. The man seemed addicted to violence, but he didn't notice that Rias, Sona, and Issei were all smiling when he proposed a battlefield.
"He fell for the trap," Issei whispered.
"What a foolish fellow," Sona remarked.
"I think all his brains went to those elf ears," Rias joked.
It didn't take long for everyone to be healed by Asia. Rias's group was selected to fight Kokabiel with the exorcists providing support, while the Sitri group would contain the damage with a barrier so the fight wouldn't escalate outward.
Kiba was on the battlefield with his friends, now facing Freed and Valper Galilei—one of the men responsible for the Holy Sword Project.
"We need a few more things," Kokabiel said.
Kokabiel summoned several copies of Cerberus. Three giant hounds appeared across the battlefield to cause conflict and discord.
"I'll wait," Issei said.
Issei was watching Kiba. He wanted to witness his success in overcoming his own trauma. The hounds could be handled by Rias, Xenovia, Irina, and the rest.
"I won't move until that winged bastard moves. I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve," Issei thought.
Kokabiel noticed the blindfolded man's attention on him and found it interesting. He wanted to know more about the strength of that individual.
"I'm going to destroy that stupid Excalibur you want to create so badly!" Kiba shouted.
Kiba was ready to fight Freed and Valper. He had summoned his most powerful sword and used his maximum speed to strike the mad priest.
"A pity that I'm stronger!" Freed yelled.
Freed took his sword and counter-attacked. The two engaged in a high-speed duel that normal eyes could not follow.
"This sword has strength beyond the normal," Kiba realized.
Yuuto was fighting with all his might, but he felt that Freed wasn't exerting the same effort. That sword seemed to make his hands go numb with every clash of blades.
"Seems like you've noticed something wrong??" Freed mocked.
Freed took the chance to kick Kiba and nearly cut him in half. He only missed because of the Gremory knight's extreme speed.
"This sword is a fusion of three Excaliburs. There's no way you can win with that flawed Sacred Gear that creates weak swords," Valper sneered.
Kiba wasn't afraid when he heard it was an Excalibur fusion. He believed in his own strength, and he felt an extremely powerful holy energy behind him.
"It seems Xenovia is planning something," Kiba thought.
Xenovia had summoned a magic circle from the Angel faction. This circle contained the holy sword known as Durandal, a weapon comparable to a complete Excalibur when it wasn't divided into twelve pieces.
"Let's end this abomination," Xenovia declared.
Xenovia and Kiba began to fight Freed together. They were matching the mad priest, but there was still something strange about the man's energy that allowed him to stay on top despite the quality of their weapons.
"An idiot like him couldn't wield Excalibur or have these powers. What did you do??" Kiba demanded.
Valper smiled. Kiba had asked the question he had always wanted to answer—one that would break the boy's spirit. Xenovia and Freed continued to exchange blows while Kiba glared at the fat priest who had created his living hell.
"I tore the will—the essence—out of other people and transplanted it into other beings so we could create an artificial Excalibur user," Valper explained.
"You did that to us??" Kiba whispered.
"I did. it was wonderful to take the will of those poor children. I even have a crystal from that time—a crystal with the will of all of them," Valper said.
Valper presented a beautiful crystal to Kiba. He even tossed it to the blonde boy, as he no longer needed it.
"Why did you discard us if you had already taken everything?? You could have let us live, even in difficult situations," Kiba asked, his voice trembling with fury.
"You were used products. I needed to eliminate the evidence," Valper replied.
Kiba was consumed by rage. They were just products to be used and discarded by this madman. He couldn't accept this under any circumstances.
"Issei..." Kiba muttered.
Kiba could feel his companion watching him. He could also feel the crystal containing the will of his comrades watching him as well. He knew what he had to do.
"We had no one..." Kiba thought.
"We only had each other," a child's voice echoed.
The voices within the crystal resonated with Kiba's own. The voices of his friends were communicating with their survivor.
"Yes, we only had each other," Kiba replied.
"That was enough. We didn't need anything else," the voice said.
"That little bit was all we needed."
"And that little bit was very valuable."
The feelings of Kiba and his friends merged into the blonde's Sacred Gear. Holy energy was in one hand and demonic energy in the other. They struggled to unite, but they eventually blended into a single, powerful sword.
"Balance Breaker: Sword of Betrayal!" Kiba shouted.
Kiba joined Xenovia in her battle against Freed. The two were now overwhelming the priest thanks to Kiba's Holy-Demonic sword and the crushing power of Durandal.
"Wh—" Freed gasped.
His fused Excalibur was crushed by Durandal in just a few blows. The imperfect sword couldn't handle the Sword of Betrayal and Durandal at the same time.
"Now only you are left!" Kiba turned toward Valper.
Kiba was about to attack Valper Galilei, but he was interrupted when a spear of light impaled the fat priest. He had been killed by his own ally.
"The show is over," Kokabiel announced.
"Now we can fight," Issei said.
Issei removed his blindfold for the first time since his training ended. He felt that Kokabiel was an opponent that needed to be taken seriously. The hounds seemed to have been exterminated by the Gremory group and the exorcists, who now looked at Issei with confidence.
"It's the first time I've seen him without the blindfold," Xenovia noted.
"Issei-kun got even more handsome," Irina blushed.
The exorcists were surprised and flustered. His eyes were very peculiar and beautiful. Kokabiel and Issei walked toward each other with massive auras. Both were smiling at the prospect of clashing.
"Monkey Style: Gorilla Right Arm!" Issei shouted.
Issei concentrated his muscular strength into his right arm and attacked Kokabiel head-on. The fallen angel smiled as he stopped the powerful blow with a light shield, though he was forced back a few steps.
"Take this!" Kokabiel countered.
Kokabiel manifested a light sword to strike Issei in the chest, hoping to leave a nasty scar. Issei dodged the strike and used both hands to attack the angel's stomach.
"Tiger Style: King's Attack!"
Kokabiel was sent flying, coughing up a bit of blood—blood that only served to excite him for a good battle.
"Can you handle this??" Kokabiel asked.
Kokabiel created an enormous sphere of massive lightning. The bolts were powerful and fast as they were hurled at Issei.
"I can handle it!" Issei replied.
Issei saw that the attack could escalate and harm his companions if it hit the ground. The best option was to defend.
"Ox Style: Flesh Shield!"
Issei strengthened the muscles in his arms while opening his palms to receive the blow. His hands moved so fast and with such power that they generated a shockwave across the battlefield.
Kokabiel didn't waste time, summoning dozens of light spears to attack Issei simultaneously. Issei stepped in front of his companions again to prevent collateral damage.
"Monkey Style: Agile Hands!"
Issei's hands moved with increasing speed to intercept the spears. He was worried that Asia or the wounded behind him wouldn't have the reflexes to defend themselves.
"What a splendid exchange!" Kokabiel laughed.
Issei kept advancing toward the fallen angel, who increased the number of light spears. Both were smiling as they fought.
"Horse Style: Incessant Run!"
Issei combined the Monkey style to intercept spears while this new move allowed his legs to move at even higher speeds.
"It seems you've reached me," Kokabiel noted.
"I have indeed," Issei replied.
Kokabiel materialized two light swords while Issei concentrated his demonic power and Ki within his body.
"He's much more powerful and experienced than Riser," Issei thought.
"My opponent is a good appetizer for the war," Kokabiel mused.
The sound of powerful fists clashing with swords echoed across the battlefield. They collided with more and more force, and their speed was equally impressive.
"My hands are going numb," Issei realized.
"What a duel! What a duel!" Kokabiel cheered.
Issei kicked Kokabiel in the stomach, and the angel returned the favor with a headbutt, followed by a punch to the face and a superficial blade strike to Issei's torso. When they finally backed away from each other, Kokabiel thought of a funny idea—one that could demoralize the boy and cause him to fall from his peak.
"Do you know something funny??" Kokabiel asked.
Issei was confused, as was everyone else on the battlefield.
"People believe in God, they ask things of God... but what they don't know is that they are praying to a corpse. How pathetic," Kokabiel mocked.
Kokabiel laughed while Irina and Xenovia stood frozen. Asia's situation was worse; she fainted on the spot, and Kiba looked on in disbelief.
"G-God is dead??" Xenovia and Irina stammered.
"What??" Kiba gasped.
Rias's brow furrowed. She was deeply shaken. The man didn't seem to be joking, and he was a high-ranking member of the fallen angels—someone who had served and fought against God.
"This can't get out... the chaos it would cause..." Rias thought, struggling to process the situation. Koneko seemed indifferent but was clearly shaken as well.
"T-that's hard to believe," Akeno whispered. She couldn't believe the creator of the angels was gone.
"Do you want to know something funny too??" Issei asked.
Kokabiel looked at Issei, as did everyone else. The brown-haired boy seemed to have something funny—or perhaps desperate—to say.
"Balance Breaker," Issei said calmly.
He was enveloped in a powerful light. His clothes were replaced by a sleeveless black shirt, his shoulders exposed. He wore a shoulder mantle typically used by empresses, white pants with gold details, and blue boots. His body bore tattoos resembling centipedes, and two earrings hung from his ears.
"Vestment of the Lost Emperor!" Issei declared.
Kokabiel was impressed by the power emanating from the Balance Breaker. The others were equally impressed, not just by the power, but by the extremely beautiful appearance. Issei pointed his fingers, now fitted with newly acquired protectors, toward Kokabiel. He smiled—a smile that perfectly mirrored his master's.
"Bow down or die, Cadre."