Fine then, let's make this battle a bit fairer.

Katerea Levathian struggled to catch her breath, feeling utterly powerless as her fight with Azazel was interrupted by a strange and unknown force that had interfered with her demonic power. She couldn't access her full strength and was now defenceless against her opponents.

And it was a terrible feeling.

Azazel, sensing her weakness, taunted her mercilessly. "You are quite pathetic for a descendant of Leviathan," he sneered, "and it's even more pitiful that you didn't inherit your bloodline properly. Yet, you still wish to take the throne of someone who is several times stronger than you. If you don't call that foolishness, then how exactly do you define it?"

Despite her dire situation, Katerea refused to submit. "You think you've won, governor of the fallen," she spat, gritting her teeth. She had always been proud of her heritage, but her stubbornness was getting the better of her.

Normally, she would have had a bunch of servants fighting alongside her, but she and the other followers of the old regime rejected the modern "Evil Pieces" system. She didn't have a queen to advise her or a knight to guard against enemies. She was on her own.

Desperately, she pulled a small vial from her pocket and gulped down its contents. A small black serpent slithered out, and in an instant, the air shook violently, sending waves of raw energy coursing over Kuou Academy.

The power emanating from Katerea's body swelled, producing an eerie, ominous aura. She launched a foreboding mass towards Azazel, who hurled another volley of spears of light at her. But she brushed them all aside with an effortless sweep of her arm. Her newfound power had dramatically increased her overall strength, eclipsing Azazel's own power in his base state.

"That massive aura? I assume it's a gift from the dragon god, isn't it?" Azazel questioned.

Katerea chuckled, a hint of madness creeping into her voice. "Oh, yes, the dragon of infinite power. It granted me this small sample for the sake of our mission. Thanks to Ophis, I'm strong enough to fight you now. And soon, I'll have a chance to destroy Sirzechs and Serafall as well. After all, they are foolish leaders like you."

"Katerea Leviathan, you speak of pure blood and nobility, yet you still use external means to increase your power; isn't that the highest level of hypocrisy?" Azazel said, bringing a small golden spear from his overcoat. "If you are going to use the dragon's power, then so am I!"

In an instant, Azazel's entire body was covered in golden light, and his body was donned with golden draconic armour.

As Azazel was about to attack, he was interrupted by a sudden blast of demonic energy that didn't belong to Katerea. His reflexes were too strong, and he easily dodged the attack that would have been fatal.

"I must be losing my touch, letting someone so close turn on me like this," Azazel said in self-derision. Vali retracted his mask into his helmet, revealing his face.

"How long, Vali? What pushed you over the edge?" Azazel questioned.

"A few months," Vali replied. "Sorry, Azazel. Their vision of the future sounds more interesting."

"So, does the Vanishing Dragon now serve Ophis?" Sirzechs asked.

"No, it's more like a collaboration. They offered me an enticing proposal—fighting against Asgard. I've been looking for new ways to test my power. How could I refuse? Azazel, you would never wage. Against Valhalla, against the Aesir, would you? "You don't like conflict."

"I may have told you to become strong, but I also warned you to refrain from putting the world in jeopardy."

"That has nothing to do with this. I just want to keep fighting until the end of time."

"…I see. Perhaps I always knew that you would one day leave my side." Azazel said with a smile strangely.

"Well, I would like to continue it from here."

Suddenly a voice echoed in the surroundings, startling everyone. Before anyone could pinpoint the location of the voice, a loud sound was heard, followed by Katerea Leviathan flying into the new school building and breaking a wall in the process.

A man jumped in the middle of the battlefield with a smirk on his face. He had white hair and silver eyes. He was dressed in body armour that included a black tight and sleeveless shirt with silver accents that outlined his muscles and a metal plate on his collar, as well as black pants with two black straps on his thighs and another two strapped around his shins separately.

He wore black metal-plated shoes, which appear to be attached to his trousers.

He was a Red arrow archer.

Though his signature red coat was missing.

"ARCHER!!! HOW DARE YOU?"

"Katerea Levithan, it's good to see you again, but I am afraid that our little reunion will be short-lived," Archer said as he started to walk towards the descendant of Leavathian while ignoring others.

"You bastard, you think you're going to get away with it, Khaos Brigade will hunt you down for attacking me," Katerea said, her eyes venomous.

"Tok-tok... That's where you are wrong. I am hereby a direct messenger from the Infnity herself; according to Ophis' statement, Katerea Levithan has been disbanded as a high-ranking member of the Khaos Brigade and from the old Satan faction for not obeying the dragon god's decree, and will hereby be sentenced to death for the blasphemy."

"Any last words?" Archer said with a smirk, while the others were too shocked by this new development to say anything, so they merely observed the situation.

"Archer, do you take me for a fool?" And more so, how come a mere human is threatening me with death?" Her voice, she said, was bathed in demonic rage, as was her body.

"Like this," Archer said.

[Judging the concept of creation...]

A cursed spear, wielded by the Child of Light.

[Hypothesizing the Basic Structure…]

A crimson lance, designed to evoke a flash of lightning.

[Reproducing Composite Materials...]

The Queen of the Land of Shadows forged it from the skull of a great sea monster.

[Imitating the Manufacturing Process]

It was designed for one single purpose: to slay her who could not be slain.

[Sympathizing with the Growth Experience...]

Yet its purpose was forever denied, for the Queen was already beyond death.

[Reproducing the accumulated years…]

Though it was the master's most treasured weapon, it cost him the lives of those closest to him.

[Excelling every manufacturing process…]

And yet, in his final moments, he could ask for no finer weapon. Let those who attempted to kill the Hound of Ulster taste the bite of his fang.

"Gáe-"

"Bolg!"

Archer said, invoking the name of Lancer's Noble Phantasm, that the spear of impaling barbed death thrust forward, almost of its own accord, to bury itself in the heart of the devil that appeared before them before she could even open her mouth, the sheer force of the blow knocking her clear off her feet before pinning her to the ground like a morbid butterfly.

"What...?" she choked, grasping desperately at the crimson spear that had penetrated between her breasts, blood trickling from her mouth as she gaped at the tanned man in disbelief.

"How…how did you…?"

"Damn…you…!" Katerea spat, reaching up with trembling hands to grasp the spear's haft, attempting in vain to pull it from between her cleavage, only to cough up a lungful of blood in the process.

The residual power from the Ophis snake prevented instant death, but it was only delaying the inevitable.

"Whoa, easy there." Azazel chided softly, raising his hands as if talking to a spooked horse. But his actions weren't so soft as he kicked the dying body of the woman, who was on her last breath.

"Impressive as always, Archer." The white dragon emperor commented while flying in the air with majestic wings of sacred gear and his own eight devil wings. displaying his heritage to the world as a genuine Satan descendant. Vali descended near Archer with a smirk as he looked at the astonished faces of the leaders.

"So you are the Archer of Red, huh? You are more powerful than I expected; I must say you have a powerful ally, Vali."

Azazel tried to speak in a jovial tone, but the nerves in his temples suggested otherwise.

"Do not fret, governor of the fallen, my purpose here is finished. I merely came to dispose of the trash as per my master's order, so I have no more reason to hurt anyone else unless they actively try to engage me in combat." Arched said as he neared a wary-looking Azazel and helped him stand up. Though it wasn't necessary, it was a good way to prove that he had no intention to fight.

The other leaders also descended from the building and came down.

"So you are the guy who ran into my sister?" Sirzechs asked with a neutral tone.

"Oh! I am. But I am pretty sure your sister has told you that I had no intention of harming her. Whether you believe me or not, I was really looking for a good place to eat at that time, but I didn't know about this town, so I thought it would have been best to meet the so-called leader of this town and ask for some suggestions. But I'd like to file a complaint with the devil council about the high-class devil's behaviour, particularly some who is Maou's sister."

Archer said with a small smile, causing the redhead who was standing away from them to blush in embarrassment. Sirzech's lips twitched after hearing Archer, while Azazel and Michael smiled, and the beautiful angel giggled at his funny speech.

"Hmm... If you are Archer of Red, then I can arrest you for the atrocities that you have done to the devil society and especially for murdering a pillar heir, and more so considering you a member of a terrorist organisation?"

Sirzechs said while slowly raising his destructive aura, as the surrounding was bathed in crimson red demonic power and all the pressure fell directly on the Archer.

But Archer didn't say anything and continued smiling.

Woosh!

The aura that surrounded Sirzechs vanished instantly, and momentum was broken as it was nullified by an equally powerful demonic power, which startled the crimson devil greatly.

"Yeee! Shirou-tan!?"

'A familiar voice?' Archer thought as he remembered this voice from somewhere.

Just as he was about to turn around and see who it was, he was instantly assaulted by a bear hug from behind. The body of the person was smaller than his, and it was feminine as he felt a pair of mounds pressing on the back of him. Suddenly Archer came to the realisation that after all, there was only one person who called him "Shirou-tan."

"Serafall?"

"Hai! I never expected to meet you here, you know?" She said it with a huge smile on her face.

"Of course, how could I have made such a mistake?" Archer thought to himself as he looked at Serafall.

'Such powerful demonic power meant only one thing: she was definitely a devil king. How couldn't I figure it out back then? Damm! I must be going rusty.'

"Serafall, do you know him?" Sirzechs asked, surprised.

"Yeah Shi-Oops! Archer-Tan, here is my boyfriend." She said she was giving a V-sign to the redhead.

"Boyfriend!!!???"

"Hoh! It seems Serafall's springtime has come."

"Oi! When did I become your boyfriend?"

"Still doesn't change the fact that he is a criminal, Serafall, now get out of my way!" Sirzechs said.

"That's a no-no, Sirzechs-chan." I can't let you harm him."

"Hoo! I never expected the devil king to be so scary, and here I thought we could be friends considering I lessened your work for filtering out the traitors," Archer said with a fake scared face.

"Traitors?"

"Oh! Don't tell me, don't you know Diodora Astaroth was a member of the Khaos Brigade? Even so, he had received Ophi's power-up. He was planning to use that power to start a small riot during the devil's gathering so that the Khaos Brigade could use that ruckus to attack the underworld. But now that he is dead, that plan goes down the drain," Archer said with a shrug.

Hearing this, Sirzech was shocked. So all this time, there was actually a traitor among them.

"Why tell us all this? Aren't you basically giving out the plans for your organisation?"

Azazel spoke this time.

"Giving out the details of my organization? Hmph! Who said I work for the Khaos Brigade? Didn't I make myself clear? I'm a servant of Ophis, and my allegiance only extends to her and her alone. Anyway, we have had enough talk. Vali! Do your thing."

As soon as Archer finished speaking, everyone's attention turned towards Vali.

After a glance towards Archer, he smirked, and Vali lobbed a question.

"Fate can be cruel at times, don't you think?"

'What's he getting at now?" Everyone thought at the same time except for Archer, whose thoughts were, "Fucking Chūnibyō strikes again."

"I, a descendant from the original Demon King, have a legendary dragon inside me. And then there's you, a mere human but also possessed of a legendary dragon. Such a thing can only be called a dark twist of destiny. Our dragons may be bitter rivals of close to equal standing, but the gulf between their hosts is immense."

At this point, it was already clear to whom he was pointing. The boy with brown hair immediately became vigilant and gritted his teeth at Vali.

Vali sneered while looking at the boy.

"I've looked into you. Your father is just an average businessman. Your mother is a regular housewife with a part-time job. Your parents' bloodlines are perfectly ordinary. None of your ancestors appears to have had any dealings with magicians or other powerful entities, let alone with angels or demons. You're about as unremarkable as they come. You were a regular high school student until you were reborn as a demon. You're nothing without your boosted gear." Vali scoffed condescendingly.

"You're so boring that when I learned what you were, I was more amused than disappointed. Ah, so this is my competition? I give up, I thought. Even if your parents had been lowly magicians, it would've been something... That's it! How does a quest for revenge sound?"

Everyone was strangely silent as Vali conversed with Issei.

Nobody would dare to poke their heads between the affairs of heavenly dragons, regardless of their power or authority, as even the faction's leaders stood obediently at the side and watched the events unfold.

"How about I kill your parents? That will make things a bit more interesting for you, no? If they perish at my hands, perhaps you will be able to devote yourself to your solemn destiny. Yeah, that sounds good. At this rate, they'll just have average lives; they'll grow old just like everyone else does, and then they'll kick the bucket. Going out with a purpose will be a lot better than a wasted existence, right? What do you think?"

"I won't let you. I'll be damned if I let you hurt them!"

[Welsh Dragon: Overbooster!]

Responding to his rage, his Sacred Gear exploded with a powerful, fiery red aura. A symbol that looked like a countdown appeared on the gemstone embedded in his left arm. If it was a timer, then he had less than fifteen minutes.

"Look, Albion. Issei Hyoudou's power has increased exponentially. It looks like anger is his trigger. Heh, that's some impressive dragon power."

{The simpler and stronger an emotion, the better it is for fueling sacred gear. Issei Hyoudou's anger is absolute and directed at you. Only a straightforward user can draw out a dragon's power with this level of efficiency.}

"I see. So I guess in that aspect, at least, he's more akin to a dragon than I am? Interesting."

It was interesting indeed. Even Archer couldn't help but notice Issei's astronomical increase in power. He could compare Issei to servants of (D) rank parameters at the moment. Though it may not sound impressive, what if he said the boy's previous stats were pathetic to the point that they wouldn't be even the lowest on the scale? So, considering how impressive it was that the boy rose two ranks in a row out of a fit of rage.

'The dragon's power sure is something; this kid's dragon factor must be EX.' Archer laughed to himself.

"Hyoudou Issei, wasn't it?" Archer inquired, his gaze fixed on the boy, who was dressed in red humanoid armour.

"Yes!" answered Issei, who was just about to jump up and attack Vali. But Archer's question made him stop.

"Why do you bother fighting him? Can't you see he is only poking you? Do you seriously think he can kill your parents while they are under the protection of the Gremory, especially when you are a peerage member of the sister of the strongest devil king?"

Archer asked a simple question that made the boy pause. After all, what Archer said was indeed true. First of all, Sirzechs must have already taken precautions to prevent anything from happening to Issei's family, as he has a dragon-type sacred gear that reacts to emotions in a very strong way. So if anything happened to them, there is a chance of triggering Juggernaut Drive, which can be extremely dangerous for both Issei and people close to him.

"Still. It doesn't change the fact that he threatened my parents. How can I let this go?" Issei, even though he understood the situation, was still masked with rage due to the effects of the sacred gear that amplifies his emotions, especially something like rage.

"You have no chance against him. Still, you want to go against him? He'd squash you like a bug."

"It doesn't matter; I won't go down without teaching him a lesson."

"Fine then, let's make this battle a bit fairer,"

Archer said as he pointed his hand towards Issei's left hand, and instantly a sword appeared out of Issei's gauntlet and flew towards Archer's hand. It greatly surprised everyone, especially a certain seraph.

"How is that possible? A saint's weapon actually responded to him!" Michael said he was a bit shocked.

"...Doesn't that mean?" The beautiful angel spoke with her hands covering her mouth.

[Trace On]

[Ascalon: The Blessed Sword by Which Force is Slain]

[Alteration]

[Projection Start]

~~~END~~~