With the hammer of his boosted strength crashing down, Issei slammed Cao Cao into the ground with a brutal, thunderous punch.
"Gahh!!"
It resembled their battle in Kyoto—but this time, the impact was even stronger. Driven into the earth with a forceful blow to the back, Cao Cao coughed up blood, battered and broken.
"Damn... That did it. Cracked ribs, and I think my left arm's shot. Even with a Phoenix Tear, you're right—I'm too shaken to win like this."
Struggling to his feet, Cao Cao struck the base of his True Longinus into the ground with his remaining arm.
"In that case… Truth Idea,."
The moment he invoked his trump card, tension spiked among the spectators.
"Oh True Longinus, true weapon that pierces gods—draw in the ideal of the conqueror within me, and carve a path between blessing and destruction. Speak your legacy... and become radiance incarnate!"
A massive surge of divine aura erupted from the spear's tip, piercing the heavens—
…Only to gradually weaken, the stream fading until not even a trace of its once-powerful glow remained. The spear's aura, too, flickered dimly.
"…Did it fail? No, that's not it. This is the result… I see now. The will of the God of the Bible has chosen the Red Dragon Emperor over me."
"What do you mean?"
Issei voiced his confusion, and Cao Cao answered with a sigh.
"Truth Idea is connected to the will of the God of the Bible. It draws in the wielder's ambition and manifests miracles based on the opponent. Sometimes it brings overwhelming power to defeat the enemy. Other times, it offers blessings to grant understanding. The possibilities are endless… but in your case, Red Dragon Emperor, the spear's answer was to do nothing."
He clenched his fist in frustration.
"In other words, the spear decided that your dream is more worthy than my ambition. Had it sided with me, it would've unleashed a miracle capable of crushing all of you."
"Kukuku! So even the spear rejected you, huh?" Vali chuckled coldly. "That's what happens when you toy around with the Red Dragon Emperor—who's basically a living chaos factor. You should've gone all in."
"Vali… You're one to talk about uncertainty. Still… I wanted to take down Hyoudou Issei with you."
"Hmph. He's my destined rival as one of the Two Heavenly Dragons. I'm not giving him up."
"And as his best friend, I'm not handing him over either. Taking him down is my goal."
"Same here," another voice joined in. "One day, I want to throw hands like we did in that match—go all out. And next time, I'll win."
As the battle concluded, everyone began approaching the site of Issei and Cao Cao's clash. The guys chimed in, their testosterone-charged banter filling the air—so much so that Issei sent a thankful glance to the only one not fanning the macho flames… me. Apparently even Baraqiel was excluded from the "bro moment."
Then Georg appeared next to Cao Cao.
Now that Truth Idea had failed, they'd clearly decided it was time to retreat.
Honestly, the battlefield looked like it had been run over by a fleet of bombers.
"Cao Cao, this is where it ends," Georg declared. "We made some miscalculations, but most of our strategies were solid. Our one—and greatest—mistake was getting involved with them."
As he spoke, he activated a teleportation circle beneath his feet.
"Tch! I won't let you escape!" Sairaorg lunged forward with a punch, but just before it landed, Cao Cao unleashed a flash of holy light that disrupted Sairaorg's demonic energy for a split second—just enough time for them to vanish.
========
[Third Person – Side]
"Damn it! We almost had him!" Issei cursed, frustrated at letting the Hero Faction's leader slip through his fingers.
"But after taking that much damage, they won't be moving again for a while," Rias reassured him. "You did great, Issei. As expected from my servant."
"Yes, President!"
Despite the missed capture, Issei stood tall, proud of their success in toppling so many Hero Faction elites.
But Rias puffed her cheeks at the title he'd used.
"Honestly, you can just call me Rias, you know."
"Uh, but… we're not exactly in a private setting…"
"I don't care. As long as it's not a public stage, I'd love it if you called me Rias."
"A-alright! I'll do that, R-Rias…"
Flushing with embarrassment, Issei replied, both flustered and happy.
"Good. Now, everyone—let's head ho—huh? Where's Ikki?"
Scanning the area, Rias noticed that Ikki, who had been right there moments ago, was missing. The others began looking around too.
"Nya-ha-ha~ If you're looking for Ikki, he slipped into their teleportation spell," Kuroka said with a mischievous grin. "I even helped him sneak up behind them with a little illusion magic."
"What!?" Shirone raised her voice in protest. "How could you let him go alone, even if they were weakened!?"
"Relax," Kuroka waved it off. "He's still got another Phoenix Tear, and he's connected to Izuna via comms. If things go south, I can summon him back immediately. Trusting your man is the mark of a fine woman, nyan~"
Kuroka didn't mention that she had noticed how Ikki deliberately chose not to stop the teleportation—and instead went along for the ride.
"If this works out, it might be fun, he said. How could I say no~?"
The mischievous black cat pondered with amusement just what Ikki was planning next.
[Third Person – Side Out]
========
Georg's teleportation took them to a field of blooming lavender under a bright blue sky—somewhere in the human world, by the look of it.
"Cao Cao, you should heal up first," Georg suggested.
"…Yeah, you're right."
But before he could, Ikki—who had slipped through the teleportation—snatched the Phoenix Tear from his hand.
"At this point, I'm pretty sure stealing Phoenix Tears from the Hero Faction is becoming a tradition."
As I dropped the illusion, it was obvious they hadn't noticed me since the teleport. Between fatigue and distraction, they'd let their guard down completely.
"What the—!? Arima Ikki, you—BAGH!"
I silenced Georg's outburst with a well-placed senjutsu punch to the face, grabbed his head, and scrambled his internal energy flow to keep him from casting spells or using Sacred Gear.
Can't have him interrupting.
Once I'd thoroughly disabled him, I tossed him beside Cao Cao, who gave a resigned shake of the head. He knew without Georg, escape was impossible.
"So, you came all this way just to finish me off?" Cao Cao said. "Don't you want a flashy victory in battle?"
"I'll leave that to the heroes. I'm just a regular guy. Not my style."
Then I stepped forward, voice calm but deliberate.
"You once said, 'It's always the hero who slays the monster,' right? Well, here's something else to remember: It's always a human who finishes off a hero."
Not "defeat." "Finish off." That's the point.
Though honestly, people like them were never real "heroes" to begin with.
Before I could act further, I felt a massive presence approaching. A few seconds later, it landed in front of us.
A towering man in an aloha shirt, sunglasses, shaved head, and a massive prayer bead necklace around his neck.
"Yo. Sorry, but I'll be taking those two off your hands."
Facing this divine figure, I gave a respectful bow. He was one of my objectives, after all.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Taishakuten."
Even if he looked more like a Hawaiian mafia boss than a god.
"Yeah, I've heard about you too, Arima Ikki," he said. "You're a rare breed these days."
Not sure what he meant by that, but I just replied, "I'm honored."
"I've heard from the Governor of the Fallen Angels," I said. "If you intend to retrieve the Longinus from the broken Hero Faction, I won't stop you."
At this, both Cao Cao and Georg flinched slightly.
"But—if you don't mind—may I propose something instead?"
"Sure. Let's hear it."
"Apologies for the abrupt question, but… what's your personal opinion of Hades, god of the Underworld?"
"Easy," He replied. "I think he should just drop dead."
"Perfect. Then I'd like to propose a plan. If it works, with Georg's help… we might be able to legally erase Hades."
As I laid out the strategy forming in my mind, I noticed Cao Cao muttering in disbelief behind me.
"Arima Ikki… do you ever show proper respect to the gods?"
Nope. I really don't.
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