"Just who exactly is he?" Xenovia muttered as she stepped out of the crumbling factory. The structure was collapsing in on itself, sending tremors through the ground beneath her feet. 'He ntioned sothing about evolving… Don't tell , is he also…?'
"So he was here."
Hearing a voice from behind, Xenovia and Irina turned to see Rias and her peerage, accompanied by Sona and Tsubaki.
"Yes. I can feel him below us," Tsubaki said, eyes closed as she gently caressed her necklace. When she first noticed Kousuke had vanished, she tried to sense him but failed. That's when she rembered his gift. It was ant to regularly send his life signal to her—but, as it turned out, she could also use it to locate him if she concentrated.
"We could feel the ground tremble from miles away. What happened?" Rias asked, her gaze shifting from the ruins to the girls.
"He… He perford a ritual to turn himself into a half-dragon," Irina replied, wincing slightly as Asia healed her injuries. "We underestimated his strength and almost lost… until Kousuke ca."
"Half-dragon? How is that even remotely possible?" Sona muttered, frowning. But then she glanced briefly at Issei and sighed. If this pervert is a Boosted Gear user, then maybe anything is possible.
Shook!
The ground trembled again beneath their feet. Now fully healed, Xenovia turned toward the rubble with the intent to assist Kousuke, but the hatch was buried under debris.
As if reading her thoughts, Rias raised her hand. Several orbs of destruction ford around her fingers before she hurled them toward the remains of the factory.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just like that, most of the debris vanished, and the hatch was revealed—miraculously intact. But before anyone could make a move toward it, sothing crashed upward through the hatch and soared into the sky, trailing black smoke and blood.
"Is that…"
"So that's the half-dragon."
It was Freed. He was barely staying airborne, one of his wings torn and mangled, black blood dripping from the wound. A second later, Kousuke erged from the basent, leaping into view. He looked completely unhard. His eyes scanned the group before he waved at them casually, as if they'd just run into each other at a mall. Then, without fanfare, he slowly levitated into the air, rising after Freed.
"He's flying," Akeno noted.
"I don't see any wings on his back…" Issei muttered, eyes wide. "What is he?"
"There's no magic circle… no propulsion," Rias whispered.
"It's like his body just ignores the laws of physics," Tsubaki added with a sigh.
Above them, Freed let out a furious howl, black blood trailing like a banner behind him. His draconic eyes locked onto Kousuke's calm expression.
"You bastard! What the hell are you!?" he scread.
"Damn it… I was supposed to be reborn a god!" Freed roared, his voice warped and monstrous. "Why!? Why can't I win!?"
The group on the ground watched in silence—Rias's peerage, Sona and Tsubaki, Irina and Xenovia—as Kousuke floated up to et Freed, the two facing off in the sky above the destroyed factory.
"You think you're better than !? I have a dragon's power now! I have the Holy Grail's blessing! I should be invincible!"
Kousuke didn't answer at first. He raised one hand, and the air around his palm shimred—as if reality itself were being pulled inward.
"I'm not here to compete with you," he said softly. "I'm here to end this."
The shimr burst outward—and a sword materialized in his hand. Its design was strange and organic, as if it had been grown rather than forged. The blade pulsed with a living energy that even those on the ground could feel.
"That's not a Sacred Gear," Rias said, startled. "But it still feels… dangerous."
"Then what is it?" Sona asked, visibly unsettled.
Freed flinched. So deep, primal instinct recognized the danger—one that struck him at his core.
"No… No! I won't let it end like this!"
With a roar, he opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of dragon fire—larger than any before. The flas roared through the sky like a teor crashing down.
"No. It ends here," Kousuke said, raising his sword. "This is an anti-dragon blade. You never stood a chance."
He slashed once—only once.
A shimring wave of force exploded outward, cleaving through the flas like parting water. The dragon fire didn't just vanish—it unraveled, deconstructed at the molecular level. Freed's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"Impossible…!"
Kousuke moved—faster than anyone could track—and in a blink, struck.
The sword didn't slice flesh. It pierced Freed's core—the swirling chaos of stolen power at the heart of his transformation. A sound like shattering glass echoed through the sky.
Freed scread—inhuman, agonized—as his body convulsed. The dragon-like features lted, the unnatural energy turning against him. Cracks appeared along his skin, glowing red and gold, until—
BOOM!
An explosion of raw, uncontained power lit up the sky. Kousuke vanished just before the blast hit.
When the light faded, Freed was gone. Only falling ash remained, drifting gently through the air.
No one spoke.
Then, Kousuke reappeared—descending slowly like a leaf on the wind. He landed without a sound, his expression unreadable.
"It's over," he said quietly.
Xenovia stepped forward. "What… was that sword?"
Kousuke glanced at her—but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Irina, who was looking at him with quiet awe.
"You okay?" he asked.
She blinked, then smiled faintly. "Yeah. Thanks to you."
Rias crossed her arms. "You're going to have to explain all of this eventually."
"Eventually," Kousuke echoed with a small smile, walking past her. "Not today."
He made his way over to Tsubaki and wrapped his arms around her as he rests his chin on her shoulders. "I'm a little tired."
Tsubaki gave a wry smile and gently patted his head. "Then rest. You've earned it."
Reviews
All reviews (0)