Rizevim, with only a single pair of black wings, flicked forward at high speed.
His wings swept horizontally—just barely grazing Yuuto's Glory Drag Trooper.
In that instant—
The armor vanished like mist.
And four magical swords clattered to the ground.
For Rizevim, there was no need to aim for vital points.
He only had to touch his target.
That alone made him absurdly dangerous.
Even the swordsmen who tried to counterattack with holy swords and demonic blades were effortlessly deflected.
A casual wave of his hand shattered their formations and sent them flying with condensed magic.
Seeing the melee fighters forced back, Rias and the others launched a coordinated barrage—
Only for Rizevim to erect a barrier and negate it completely.
BOOM!
"Even I'm the son of a Great Satan, one of the top three transcendent beings among devils, you know☆," Rizevim said lazily. "Normal attacks won't reach me unless they're Sacred Gear-based."
He casually fired a dense magic bullet toward the recovering swordsmen.
"Like hell I'll let you!"
Issei stepped in at the last moment, reinforcing his defense with the strongest "Knight" attribute.
But—
The armor shattered instantly.
And the moment Issei staggered—
Rizevim was already there.
"Lucifer Kick"
BOOOOM!
The kick erased the armor again and sent Issei coughing blood as shockwaves tore through him.
"…Tch…!"
Issei forced himself back into armor, breathing heavily.
Rizevim tilted his head mockingly.
"Hey, wanna know why Sirzechs doesn't have many Sacred Gear users? There are reasons… but the main one is simple, they're useless against me Red Dragon Emperor-kun, without your Gear, you're just a weak little demon, aren't you?"
"Try feeling that for yourself."
A voice cut in.
Cao Cao appeared, tapping his spear lightly on his shoulder.
The strongest Longinus user had entered the battlefield.
"Cao Cao… what did you just do?" Issei asked.
"Simple," Cao Cao replied. "One of the seven treasures of my Balance Breaker—Maniratana. It redirects incoming attacks to others."
Seven floating jewels circled him.
Only then did Issei notice—Cao Cao was already in the Balance Breaker state.
But Rizevim wasn't focused on that.
"That's not what I asked!" Rizevim snapped. "How did you bypass my Sacred Gear Canceller?!"
Cao Cao sneered.
"So that's the extent of your understanding? As expected… power without insight is just mediocrity. Your ability only activates on direct contact, correct? You can't even imbue your magic bullets with it. When you attacked the swordsmen earlier, the Red Dragon Emperor's armor blocked it first… meaning your ability didn't trigger there. And before your finishing blow, you intentionally touched the armor to activate it. That's all the proof I needed."
Rizevim's reflected attack had hit him because Maniratana only redirected it—it didn't neutralize it.
If it had been a true counter-type Sacred Gear like Mirror Alice, the attack would have been nullified entirely.
Rizevim had simply never been forced to seriously analyze his own ability.
"So," Cao Cao said calmly, "only I and that catwoman over there can realistically handle you. But I'd prefer to fight alone. Do you mind?"
"I don't mind, nya," Kuroka replied. "If you're taking the troublesome one, that's fine. If you die, I'll cremate you."
"Then I shall avoid being burned."
Rizevim burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! You really think you can face me alone? Even if my magic bullets are sealed, that just means you've lost your main option. My power still overwhelms you."
Cao Cao calmly dropped his spear.
And picked up the Ame-no-Murakumo sword from the ground.
"The highest-class sacred blade of Japan… and it has been restored by purification. Not ideal—but sufficient."
Issei blinked. "You can use swords too?!"
"No," Cao Cao replied. "I am a spearman. But training with Siegfried taught me the basics. And Yuuto Kiba—your defeat changed him. He trains endlessly now. Siegfried makes a good practice partner."
Yuuto went silent.
"…I know nothing about that."
Cao Cao nodded. "As expected."
Then he turned back to Rizevim.
"I will demonstrate what humans can do with technique alone."
BOOM!
He vanished forward.
Blades clashed in rapid bursts.
Teleportation, feints, and illusions layered across the battlefield.
Rizevim clicked his tongue.
"Without your spear, you're just tricks!"
"Correct," Cao Cao replied. "Tricks are the pinnacle of human warfare."
He slipped through Rizevim's counters again and again—teleporting at the edge of impact, swapping clones with his real body, attacking from every angle.
Even Rizevim was being forced to react.
"…Hah. Even without your spear, you're still annoying."
Cao Cao stepped back.
"This won't end with half-measures."
Then—
Rizevim smiled.
"Hey, Cao Cao. Why not join us? We've got otherworldly monsters waiting. With your spear, even Trihexa could be revived faster. You could even break those chains Heaven put on you."
Cao Cao stopped.
Then tapped the sword on his shoulder.
"Before I indulge in other worlds… I'm still searching for myself."
And vanished again.
SLASH!
This time—
Rizevim reacted too late.
A thin cut appeared on his cheek.
"Gah?!"
He grabbed the wound in shock.
"…My reaction timing didn't change," Cao Cao said calmly. "I simply exploited a human weakness."
Rizevim's eyes narrowed.
Cao Cao had struck during the instant of blinking—a 0.1-second gap.
Not raw speed.
Not overwhelming power.
Just—
Perfect timing.
"The craft of humanity," Cao Cao said quietly. "That is all it takes."