"————"
Amidst the fierce battle, Kaiser suddenly blocked out all sound.
Thanks to the resonance he had constantly maintained with the Holy Spear during this period, even in this intense combat, he quickly entered a state of tranquility.
"Humm…"
Within Kaiser's body, golden glowing patterns shimmered repeatedly, spreading across every vein and every organ.
"Pff!" "Pff!" "Pff!"…
With his eyes closed, Kaiser's five senses were already sealed, yet his body moved naturally, even faster than before. In an instant, he thrust out multiple strikes, piercing through several Vali clones attacking him.
Under the effect of his Unique Authority, even though Kaiser had sealed off his five senses and consciousness, his instincts compelled him to continuously wield the Holy Spear, perfectly unleashing its power.
"Boom!"
A wave condensed from divine power erupted from the spear, forming a shockwave radiating outward with Kaiser at its center.
One by one, the Vali clones attacking from all sides were scattered by this sudden shockwave. None could successfully break through the spear's defense and reach Kaiser.
Until—
"Swish!"
A trail of light appeared, as one among the many Vali clones suddenly accelerated, shooting forward and charging directly at Kaiser.
"I've got him."
Gazing at Kaiser's back drawing ever closer, Vali's eyes flashed sharply, dragonic aura gathering in his hand as he mercilessly delivered a punch.
This punch was like a meteor suddenly appearing in the night sky—extraordinarily fast and powerful. The movement was so swift it caused violent friction with the atmosphere, sparks bursting from the outline of his fist.
Vali believed that if this punch landed on Kaiser, even if the opponent had Touki defenses, they would instantly be breached.
And as long as he could successfully touch Kaiser, he could unleash his Balance Breaker's power, instantly activating his halving ability dozens of times.
At that moment, even a Maou-class existence would be weakened to a level below a low-class Devil.
In other words, this was the decisive strike.
If it landed, he would win.
Of course, that was assuming it would hit...
"——"
Just as Vali approached Kaiser's back, poised to deliver the powerful blow, Kaiser opened his eyes.
"Here."
Kaiser abruptly turned, not even glancing behind, and thrust out with the Holy Spear in his hand. The spear surged forward like a dragon, swift as a flash of light.
"Puchi—"
The incomparably sharp spear tip instantly shattered the armor on Vali's incoming fist, pierced through his flesh, and stabbed deeply into his arm.
"Guaaah..."
Vali let out a pained cry, his pupils contracting sharply.
"This isn't good."
The onlookers all witnessed this scene, causing even Azazel to exclaim aloud.
"He was hit by the Holy Spear."
The same thought flashed through everyone else's minds as well.
A Devil, pierced by the Holy Spear—no one present failed to understand what that meant.
"Ssss..."
Smoke rose from the arm Vali had been pierced in. The flesh inside seemed to vaporize, gradually disappearing.
"Vali, retreat quickly!"
Albion's somewhat anxious voice sounded from within Divine Dividing, making Vali realize the gravity of the situation.
Immediately, ignoring the arm pierced by the Holy Spear, Vali violently pulled his hand free and retreated at the speed of light.
"Guh..."
After retreating some distance, Vali suddenly dropped to his knees. The armor on his body flickered unstably, as if on the verge of breaking apart.
"Your power is weakening," Albion spoke again. "The Holy Spear's power is purifying you; quickly, use Divide on yourself."
Without hesitation, Vali pressed his intact hand onto his wounded arm, activating Divine Dividing's ability.
"Divide!"
The dividing ability activated, not by stealing power, but functioning similarly to the White Dragon Emperor's Territory.
Thus, the holy energy invading Vali's body was reduced by half by Divine Dividing.
"Divide—Divide—Divide—"
Vali activated the ability several more times, continually halving the holy energy within himself until it completely vanished.
Only then did smoke stop rising from Vali's wounded hand, the flesh ceased disappearing, and his armor's glow stabilized once more, though noticeably dimmed.
"Did I narrowly escape that?"
Vali's forehead was covered in sweat.
"That was far too dangerous just now, Vali," Albion spoke to him again. "Though you've escaped immediate danger, due to the influence of the Holy Spear and the abilities you just activated, you've exhausted a great deal of energy."
"I must inform you, your Balance Breaker can now only be maintained for one more hour. If you activate your ability again, the duration will shorten further."
"Furthermore, with your injured arm... you must proceed carefully now, Vali."
Vali nodded silently and stood up after wiping the sweat from his face.
"You can still fight?"
Standing in place all along, Kaiser now spoke, his voice unclear whether it was admiration or merely emotion.
"I thought that strike just now had already decided the match."
In truth, it nearly had.
Though the outcome wasn't officially decided, anyone with eyes could see that Vali was in poor condition. Even if he still retained some fighting ability, not yet reduced to a spent force, compared to the calm and composed Kaiser, the gap was perfectly clear.
"Kaiser is about to win."
Sirzechs, Michael, Rias, Kuroka, and the others had all reached this conclusion, causing some to reveal complicated expressions, while others were openly joyful.
"No..."
Only Azazel, his eyes fixed tightly upon Vali, had no trace of a smile remaining on his face.
"Vali hasn't given up just yet."
Even through the helmet, Azazel could clearly sense Vali's fighting spirit still existed, not weakening in the slightest.
"That kid... Could he be planning to—?"
Thinking of a certain possibility, Azazel's expression changed.
Before Azazel could react further, Vali suddenly laughed.
Moreover, his laughter grew louder and louder.
"Incredible, truly incredible!"
Though the situation was already terrible, Vali was still excited.
"Before I even touched you, your spear struck me first."
"As expected of someone who can match Azazel evenly—it's hard to believe you're purely human."
"You did not disappoint me either; you're indeed very strong."
Vali gazed through his helmet at Kaiser, his eyes so intense that even Kaiser could feel the burning stare.
"But I don't want to lose yet."
"So, I'll show you the power beyond the current Divine Dividing."
"You have earned the right to witness this."
When Vali's words spread throughout Kuoh Academy and reached everyone's ears, the expressions of many who realized what he meant changed drastically.
"Vali!"
Albion was the first to speak out, calling Vali's name.
"Stop now, Vali! That's far too dangerous!"
Azazel, too, lost his composure for the first time, panicking to such an extent that even Rias and the others fell into confusion.
"...Could it be, he's already able to use that?"
"This is terrible..."
Sirzechs and Michael, seemingly understanding what Vali intended, also showed grim expressions.
"What exactly is he trying to do?"
Kuroka, who had been about to celebrate Kaiser's victory, grew uneasy seeing everyone's reactions.
"Kaiser-san..."
Asia couldn't help but speak up, yet failed to draw Kaiser's attention.
Kaiser merely stared intently at Vali, abruptly tightening his grip on his spear.
He knew what Vali intended to do next.
A higher-level power of the Divine Dividing—Rias and the others might not know what that was, but Kaiser knew it clearly.
Generally speaking, the peak of a Sacred Gear was the Balance Breaker, and once achieved, it was considered having reached the limit of that Sacred Gear's power.
However, there existed certain Sacred Gears, due to special circumstances, that possessed powers surpassing even that.
For instance, Divine Dividing—this Sacred Gear sealed within it the soul of Albion, one of the Heavenly Dragons. Such Sacred Gears, formed through sealing something within, operated by extracting and granting the sealed entity's powers to the host, allowing the host to utilize its strength and abilities.
Therefore, these Sacred Gears had an additional state, temporarily forcefully lifting the seal's constraints, releasing the sealed power and momentarily causing the host's strength to skyrocket.
Right now, Vali was doing exactly that.
"「I, who am about to awaken—」"
Vali began chanting the ominous incantation.
(Vanish into ashes.)
(Be reduced to nothingness.)
Around Vali, whispers akin to vengeful spirits suddenly appeared.
"「Am the Heavenly Dragon who lost all to the principles of supremacy-」"
Vali continued chanting, releasing a terrifying aura from his body.
(The dream shall end soon.)
(The illusion shall soon begin.)
The whispers appeared again, causing even Vali's originally pure white aura to appear cursed, evoking fear.
"「I envy the infinite and pursue the dream—」"
Ignoring all of this, Vali continued chanting.
(Everything.)
(Yes, give up everything you have.)
The whispers now carried resentment, as if genuinely cursing something.
"「I shall become the White Dragon of Supremacy—」"
"「And I shall take you to the limits of innocence—」"
Vali finished the remaining chant in one breath, his aura surging forth like a natural disaster, obliterating everything around him.
"Juggernaut Drive!"
At this moment, the pure white aura even surged upward, piercing the clouds in the night sky and dispersing them entirely.
"Rumble..."
Under the immense force, buildings and ground around Vali collapsed or shattered, forming a massive crater.
"Roar—!"
A dragon-like roar echoed from the crater's center, revealing Vali's figure.
Kaiser leapt backward, evading the shockwave and landing firmly on the ground. He gazed at the figure within the crater, his expression finally turning genuinely solemn.
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Extra chapter