This chapter is split into two. Because fight scene.
Enjoy :)
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Y/N POV
Red.
How can one describe red?
Scientifically, light waves measuring roughly 700 nanometers wide. It is the wave closest to that of radio waves. It is the color of rubies, cardinals, strawberries, and roses. It is a primary color of both paint and light. Red is the least likely hair color for humans.
Metaphorically, the color of rage, passion, blood, love. It represents dominance, glory; the color of rulers. The ancients recognized the power behind the color red. They saw red in the fires that gave them life. They associated red with the blood spilled for victory. Red had a way to demand attention.
Subconsciously, red is a warning. Too often has humanity seen the blood flow in wars. Red is seductive, drawing us in with or without our knowledge. It will either be our release or our downfall.
That. . . is red.
When all you can see around you is red, it makes you wonder in awe.
From the transparent barrier above us, red fire filled everything. And this red fire is hotter than any white or violet fire you can come across. Emynth's fire was surely better than mine. After all I only inherited her powers while she holds the original.
The child may not be able to defeat the father. . .
But there is no rule that says an imitation cannot defeat the original! One day, I may be able to surpass her powers. Maybe. . . someday.
All around me, everyone stared in awe at the fire that raged outside the barrier. Maybe some of them have never seen something so. . . powerful.
"Don't worry about the schools buildings and other property, she can control her own fire well," I told them. I didn't want them to think I would just casually destroy the entire school with no second thought.
"'She'. . . Who's. . . 'she?'" Akeno asked, her voice wavering.
I didn't bother answering, I merely chuckled in response. They would find out soon enough.
The only thing is, what about Vali?
He's a traitor, but he's a good actor, I'll give him that one. If it weren't for the Youkai and their spies, I wouldn't have guessed that Vali worked with the Khaos Brigade until he revealed himself. Taking him out would be a good thing, but I don't know exactly how strong he is.
If he can survive Emynth's fire. . . looks like I'll need to pay more attention to him in the future.
From inside the barrier, we could hear screams of agony from outside. The voices of those who wished with all their being to live. We heard them all, but we did nothing about it.
Their blood-curdling screams shook a few people within the barrier, but no one made a sound or moved a muscle.
They brought this upon themselves.
A few minutes passed. . .
Eventually, the fire stopped.
And with it, the pink hue covering everything disappeared. The frozen people were able to move again. Rias' peerage quickly filled them in.
The barrier around our little group disappeared, and everyone saw what remained of the Brigade.
And every single one of them gasped.
Like I said earlier, Emynth controlled her fire to keep the school buildings and other properties intact, but the same could not be said for the Khaos Brigade or the flora.
The entire area within the large barrier looked like a wasteland. Countless piles of ash littered the ground and some speckles floated in the air. Smoke filled the air and blocked most light from the nearby lamps.
It looked like London's Great Smog of 1952.
There was not a single piece of greenery left in sight. No tree, grass blade, or other plantlife survived. They too were reduced to ashes.
Not a single soul could be seen other than our group.
Although the flames were long gone, the effect they had was just as powerful.
"No. . . one," Serafall finally said. Even her normally cute and cheery personality was quelled by the current sight. "There's. . . no one. . . left."
A little tear rolled down her cheek.
They all looked at me--then at the dragon staring down at them--in horror.
I walked up to her and wiped away her tear. "Don't worry. Not everyone's gone. Only the Khaos Brigade. Yes, I know the guards you brought here are also gone, but you supernatural folk should know best that there is no reward without some sort of sacrifice." I grabbed her hands and put them together and squeezed them. "So don't cry Lady Leviathan. We are safe, the enemy is gone. Rebuilding all of this is only a matter of time."
"But, what about Rias? And Issei? And Azazel?" She asked worriedly. Her red eyes threatened to spill more tears.
Ah yes, them. Naturally, we couldn't forget the Gremory heiress and the Grigori leader. They too are important figures.
"As I said before, don't worry. They are safe. All of them took cover indoors before the flames reached them. They are alive, I can personally assure you of that," I told everyone. "If I can't even protect my own girlfriend, what kind of fanfiction protagonist am I?"
Serafall giggled slightly after I gave my assurance. "Fanfiction protagonist? What's that?"
"Don't worry about it."
From the thick cloud of smoke in the air, we heard a cry: "Brother! Sona! My peerage!"
"Rias!" Everyone gave a sigh of relief.
Emerging from the smoke was Rias, with Issei, Gasper, and Koneko behind her. Gasper and Koneko's clothes were slightly torn, most likely from a scuffle with the magicians. My eye twitched, but all the magicians were already dead.
Rias gave almost everyone a hug when she reached our group. Koneko jumped into my arms the moment she saw me.
"Y/n!" She cried into my shoulder. "You came!"
I caressed her head softly to comfort her. "That's what she said," I chuckled. "Of course I did. I told you I would always keep you safe, wouldn't I?"
She beat her little fists into my shoulder, forgetting to hold back her Rook-strength. Ouch. "But you didn't! I was captured with Gasper!"
"I know, I know. And I'm so sorry for that. I know I couldn't keep my word, but I also know that I can't always be there for you. So I promise I will do my very best to protect you, no matter what. No guarantees, but I will do my best."
My consolations stopped her tears, and she calmed down.
"That's a good girl."
"Y/n."
I turned to Rias, who called for me. "Yes?"
She came up to me and looked at me with respect, fear, acceptance. Multiple emotions flashed across her eyes within a single moment. "Thank you."
This was expected. "You're very welcome. But you must learn to heed my warnings seriously next time."
She dropped her head in defeat. "Yes, yes. I will surely remember."
Stubborn as she was, she knew when to back off and admit her wrongs. At times, she also knows how to takes things to heart and make use of them later.
Rias is a very complicated girl.
"Now what? What about the treaty?" Irina asked.
"Oh, about that. It'll still go on. There's just some unfinished business here," I told everyone.
As if on cue, a wall nearby exploded as two figures came crashing through it.
Naturally, they were Azazel and Katarea. Emynth told me that Azazel coincidentally knocked Katarea into the school and chased after her right before everything went ablaze. As such, they were both safe. Well, they were still fighting, but they were safe from Emynth's flames.
Katarea flew out of the school first and crashed onto the ground. She looked worse for wear. Her wings were tattered, her clothes torn, numerous bruises and scrapes littered her body. She coughed out some blood before taking to the skies once more.
Azazel emerged after her. He looked like he was taking it easy, but his left arm was gone. Where his upper arm used to be was just a bloody stump, blood slowly dripping to the ground. He followed Katarea while she continuously retreated from him.
He stopped to take a look around. "Oh, is everyone else dead? Guess there's no point dragging this out any longer."
A golden rod appeared his hand that gave off a fierce glow. In the next moment, Azazel was clad in golden armor, similar in appearance to Issei's Scale Mail.
"What are you doing?!" Katarea asked in a panic.
"Didn't I already tell you?" He responded. "There's no point fighting you any longer. I'm just finishing you off."
Katarea laughed maniacally, her eyes brimming with fire. "You think it's that easy to kill me? Come on then! Even if I die, I'll take you with me!"
Without a word, Azazel raised a golden lance and threw it at her.
All we saw was a golden pillar pierce through her body, before blood splattered on the ground and she fell, lifeless.
One-hit KO!
All it took was one hit! And this was against an Ultimate-class Devil.
I nodded my head respectfully, pitying Katarea for choosing the wrong opponent.
She was ten millennia too young if she thought she could fight Azazel.
"Ah, there we go," Azazel said as he landed on the ground. "Now about that treaty. . ."
I raised a hand to stop him. "Sorry for the interruption. I know we're all just about ready to explode with anxiety and want to sign this pact but this isn't over."
"What do you mean this isn't over?"
"There's literally no one else but us left!"
"Just what else could possibly stop us now?"
They bombarded me with questions. They forgot who else was here.
"Azazel, I got one question for you," I said seriously.
"What is it?"
"Where. . . is. . . Vali?" I punctuated every word so that everyone could hear it. He was the only one not present right now.
He looked at me, confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't the fire earlier reduce him to ashes?"
I shook my head. "It's not that simple. You know Vali. He's too powerful to be eradicated just like that. Even if he did die, surely we should've heard or seen something that matched up with a sign of struggle, but there's nothing. There's no way Vali could be killed in one hit."
Truthfully, Emynth told me he survived by taking cover. When the fire ended, he hid in the thick cloud of smoke above us. Probably waiting to strike.
"Y-you're right," he stuttered. "Vali wouldn't let himself go just like that. He must be here somewhere."
"VALI!" He called out. "COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"
I stopped him immediately. "It's useless. If he truly were trustworthy, he would've rendezvoused with us the moment we stepped outside the barrier. He's hiding somewhere."
*FWEET*
I gave a loud, high-pitched whistle that echoed throughout the school grounds.
After a few moments, the smoke cloud above and around us began to swirl and rise.
"What is this?"
"What's going on?"
A clump of four icicles appeared in my hands. I threw them behind me, up about 50 degrees and right a few inches. The formation I threw them out in allowed for no escape. If they came for you, either you block them, revealing your position, or let them hit you.
All this time, the smoke rose and slowly cleared out. I took advantage of this to catch Vali off-guard in case he tries something. Emynth reported his position before she started to absorb the smoke.
*tang tang tang*
The sound of three deflections was heard by everyone. As expected, it came from the direction where I threw the icicles.
Emynth finished absorbing all of the smoke, revealing Vali, who hovered some distance from our group. Three icicles were embedded into the ground nearby. The fourth was nowhere to be seen.
As expected, he tried to escape, but all paths were sealed.
"Tsk! You are more than I expected, Y/n," he said menacingly.
"The feeling's mutual, wielder of Albion," I said in return. "But I guess I was too naive to think you could be taken out by measly fire."
"Vali!" Azazel cut in. "What's the meaning of this? Why didn't you come back after the magicians were wiped out?"
I cut him off. "Don't bother. If he was really on our side, he would've come to us immediately. The fact that he didn't is enough evidence to assume he acts for his own interests. Stay alert. We don't know what he's going to do."
Vali looked down on us while he hovered in midair. His arrogance was obvious.
His figure disappeared.
Without warning, Issei was sent flying. Vali caught him and held him by his neck.
"Issei!"
I grabbed Rias' arm before she could do anything rash. "Stop! Don't be so naive. You could kill yourself if you don't think before you act."
Vali's attack was swift. He's easily the most powerful Devil below Ultimate-Class that I've met so far. If I'm not prepared, he could easily catch me off-guard.
And it looks like he's got years of experience under his belt.
Let's take this slow and steady for now.
Two wings, one red the other blue, manifested behind me and brought me upwards. When I was eye-level with Vali, he moved a few inches upwards.
Hmm, such pride and arrogance.
With a snide smile, Vali threw Issei away and faced me. Rias ran after Issei.
"How disappointing. My rival only amounts to this and even a side character is a more interesting combatant," Vali said with a sigh.
Wait. . . did he just call me a side character?!
"Since he cannot live up to my standards, I shall play with you for now," he said before flying to me.
A true battle maniac, through and through.
In a blink of an eye, Vali's fist was mere inches from my face.
!