High above the courtyard, Kokabiel roared in pure anger.
His holy light healed the deep wound on his back, but his pride was badly broken.
"I will show you the true power of a Cadre!"
Kokabiel screamed.
He flapped his ten massive black wings.
The sky lit up as he summoned hundreds of huge, glowing spears of light.
He threw them all at Elias like a deadly, falling storm.
He also flew down, using ancient, tricky fighting moves he had learned thousands of years ago during the Great War.
But Elias just stood his ground. His eyes tracked every single spear and every tiny movement.
Just as Rias and Akeno had expected, his Adaptivity kicked in perfectly.
Elias's body and mind instantly learned Kokabiel's fighting style.
After only a few seconds, Elias knew exactly where Kokabiel was going to strike before the Fallen Angel even moved.
Elias spun his Naginata. He deflected the light spears with ease, taking a calm step forward with every block.
The fight wasn't long at all. In fact, it was completely one-sided.
Kokabiel tried to dive down and attack Elias with a massive sword made of pure light.
"Too slow,"
Elias whispered.
Elias moved like a dark blur. He dodged the light sword without even trying.
Then, he swung his Naginata in a wide, powerful arc.
*SLASH!*
A massive shockwave ripped through the air.
Kokabiel shrieked in absolute horror.
Blood sprayed into the night sky.
Five of his massive black wings were cleanly sliced off.
They fell to the courtyard floor like heavy, dead leaves.
With only half of his wings left, Kokabiel completely lost his balance.
He crashed heavily into the dirt, rolling across the ground until he hit a stone wall.
The terrifying Cadre was completely defeated and broken. He couldn't even stand up.
Sona Sitri's mouth fell wide open.
Her glasses slipped down her nose.
Behind her, her entire peerage stood frozen in pure shock.
Sona had calculated that Elias would struggle.
She thought they would have to run away.
But Elias had just taken down an ancient war general in less than a minute.
Her logical brain simply couldn't process how overpowered this boy truly was.
On the other side of the courtyard, a small girl with white hair watched Elias quietly.
It was Koneko.
Her small hands were shaking. But it wasn't from fear anymore. It was from pure relief.
Just a few minutes ago, when Kokabiel was attacking the magical barrier, Koneko had felt true terror.
The power of the Cadre had made it hard to breathe.
She honestly thought her life was going to end tonight.
And in that dark, scary moment, when she thought she was taking her last breath, a face had flashed in her mind.
It was Kuroka, her older sister.
Koneko suffered a lot of deep trauma because of Kuroka.
Her sister had killed her own master, become a criminal Stray Devil, and left Koneko behind.
Koneko had spent years feeling angry and betrayed.
She tried to block her sister out of her heart completely.
But when she was facing true death, all that anger had suddenly melted away.
Deep down, beneath all the pain, she realized she still loved her.
She just wanted the warm, safe hug of her big sister one last time.
But now, she didn't have to die.
Koneko looked at Elias's tall, protective back.
The heavy fear in her chest was completely gone, replaced by a deep, powerful emotion.
She felt an overwhelming sense of safety and admiration.
He had chased the nightmare away.
"Thank you, Elias-onii san,"
Koneko whispered softly to herself, her golden eyes shining with deep gratitude.
Elias walked slowly toward the broken Fallen Angel.
He raised his Naginata, ready to end the threat once and for all.
But before he could swing the blade down, the air above them cracked open.
A bright, blinding white light filled the courtyard.
A young man with silver hair floated down from the sky. He had glowing, mechanical white dragon wings on his back.
This was Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor.
"Stop right there,"
Vali said casually, crossing his arms.
"I will be taking Kokabiel away."
Elias frowned.
He didn't know who this silver-haired boy was.
Elias didn't know anything about the plot or the secret factions of this world.
To him, anyone trying to save a villain was probably just another bad guy.
"Are you his subordinate?"
Elias asked coldly, gripping his weapon tightly.
"I am not letting him go. He tried to hurt my family. His life ends here."
Vali smiled.
He actually loved fighting more than anything else in the world.
Azazel had sent him here to arrest Kokabiel and bring him back, but Vali saw how incredibly strong Elias was.
He desperately wanted to test this mysterious boy in a fight.
So, Vali decided to keep Azazel's name a secret on purpose.
"If you want to kill him, you will have to get past me first,"
Vali challenged, his eyes shining with pure excitement.
"Fine,"
Elias answered simply.
In a flash of bright light, heavy white armor covered Vali's entire body.
He launched himself at Elias, moving faster than a bullet.
He threw a massive, magical punch.
Elias didn't step back. He met him head-on, their fists colliding with a deafening boom.
The shockwave cracked the stone floor beneath their feet.
"Divide!"
A deep, mechanical voice echoed from Vali's glowing white wings.
This was Vali's ultimate power. He could divide his enemy's strength in half and add it to his own.
It was a terrifying ability that made him almost unbeatable.
Vali waited to feel Elias grow weak.
He waited for the boy's power to flow into his armor.
But nothing happened.
Elias didn't even flinch. He just pushed Vali back with ease.
"What?"
Vali gasped from under his helmet.
Inside Vali's mind, the spirit of the ancient White Dragon, Albion, spoke up.
His deep, ancient voice was filled with absolute panic.
"Vali, pull back!"
Albion warned loudly.
"My power isn't working on him! His body is incredibly strange... it instantly adapted to my magic! He is completely immune! We cannot divide his power!"
Vali's eyes widened in total shock.
That was impossible. The White Dragon's power worked on Gods and Devil Kings.
How could a teenage boy just brush it off?
But the shock was only just beginning.
Elias looked at his own hand. He could feel the strange, dividing energy that Vali had just tried to use on him.
Thanks to his Adaptivity, Elias's body didn't just resist the attack.
Elias pointed his open hand right at Vali. His dark eyes glowed with raw power.
"Divide,"
Elias said calmly.
Suddenly, Vali felt a massive, painful drain on his own body.
His white armor flickered and sparked. His magical energy was violently ripped away, cut completely in half, and absorbed straight into Elias.
Vali fell to one knee, breathing heavily. He felt incredibly weak.
He looked up at Elias in pure terror and disbelief.
The mysterious boy hadn't just ignored his ultimate attack.
He had stolen it, and now he was using the White Dragon Emperor's own absolute power against him.
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