After that sound, a snow-white aura covered Vali’s form! When the light stopped, his body was wrapped in a whole-body armour that emitted a white radiance. —So this is his Balance Break. This guy who… seems to be my rival can enter Balance Breaker so easily. I still can’t do this. Even if I enter it, I still have to pay a price. After glancing at me, Vali opened the meeting room’s window and rushed out into the sky. At that instant—. Dodododododododon! A shock wave was created outside! When I looked, the group of magicians were trampled down by the guy in white armour. He plunged into the enemy group while drawing a path of light in the night sky, and the aspect of a great warrior was seen. …Strong. Even I could immediately understand how insanely strong he was. He danced in the air without worrying about the concentrated bullets of the magicians at all, and a large mass of surge bullets hit the school grounds. Without accomplishing anything, the magicians were annihilated, but magic circles appeared right afterwards and a new group of magicians appeared. They really are endless! “Azazel, continuing the talk from before.”
Sirzechs-sama queried Azazel. “Yeah, what about it?”
“What are you trying to do by collecting Sacred Gears? You’ve been collecting [Longinus] owners too, right? Do you intend to kill God even though God no longer exists?”
Azazel shook his head at that question. “It’s to prepare.”
“Prepare? That’s some uneasiness-inciting talk, even though you reject war.”
Michael-san said this in amazement. “I said so, right? I won’t go to war against you people. I also won’t make war here. —However, means of self-defence are necessary. Rather, should I say we’re not just preparing for an attack from you?”
“Then?”
“—The [Khaos Brigade].”
“…Khaos, Brigade?”
It was a name I hadn’t heard before, but it seemed Sirzechs-sama didn’t know either from his furrowed eyebrows. “I only confirmed the organisation’s name and background recently, but my Vice Governor Shemhaza has also had his eye on this suspiciously acting group from before that. It’s said that they’re gathering dangerous members from all three big powers. Some Sacred Gear-possessing humans who have attained Balance Breaker also seem to be included. I’ve also confirmed a number of [Longinus] possessors among them.”
“Their goal is?”
Michael-san asked that. “Destruction and mayhem. It’s that simple, you know? They don’t like this world’s peace. They’re terrorists. Moreover they’re ill-natured to the extreme.”
Then, could it be that this terrorist attack is…? “The organisation’s leader is the powerful fiendish dragon besides the [Welsh Dragon] and [Vanishing Dragon].”
[—!] Everyone besides me became speechless at Azazel’s confession. Eh? What is it? “…I see, so that person has moved. The [Uroboros Dragon] Ophis—. The dragon feared by God…The one who kept reigning over with the position of the strongest since the world began.”
Sirzechs-sama also wore a grim expression. What, what? Everyone’s faces were gloomy. Or, rather, are they awed? Is this Ourobo-something dragon really that amazing? The position of the strongest, the strongest guy that Vali mentioned before? As I was troubled by everyone’s reaction, a voice that I wasn’t used to hearing leaped into my ear. [Yes, Ophis is the leader of the “Khaos Brigade”.] Gah! A magic circle emerged on the floor of the meeting room at the same time as the voice! This is, a devil!? A magic circle I’ve never seen before! Or rather, I’m not very knowledgeable about other devils, but! “I see. So you’ve come! The mastermind this time—”
Sirzechs-sama clicked his tongue. Eh? Why did he do that all of a sudden? “Grayfia, transfer Rias and Ise-kun quickly!”
“Yes!”
Grayfia-san urged me and Buchou to go to a corner of the meeting room, and a small magic circle was created on the floor. It was the exact size to fit only about two people in it. “Ojou-sama, I wish you the fortunes of battle.”
“W-Wait, Grayfia!? Onii-sama!”
Me and Buchou were enveloped in the light of transfer—. As Buchou and Ise-kun quickly disappeared in the transfer magic circle, an unbelievable development occurred before my—Kiba Yuuto’s eyes. The magic circle that appeared on the floor of the meeting room. As they saw it, all the leaders of the three great powers were shocked. No, Azazel laughed, and Sirzechs-sama made a sour expression. “—The magic circle of Leviathan.”
Eh…? I couldn’t believe my ears as I heard Sirzechs-sama’s words. At least as far as I knew, this wasn’t the pattern of Serafall Leviathan-sama’s magic circle. Then, what the heck—. My question was quickly resolved. “It’s something seen in the books of the Vatican. That’s the magic circle of the original Maou Leviathan.”
…I see, I’d heard the rumours. So then it really still exists. A single woman appeared from the magic circle. She was wearing a dress that was extremely low-cut and had a high slit on it. “How do you do, current Maou Sirzechs-dono?”
The woman greeted Sirzechs-sama with a fearless tone. “The one descended from the blood of the previous Leviathan. Cattleya Leviathan. What is the meaning of this?”
Sirzechs-sama said this. As I thought, it’s the family of the original Maou! I’d heard talk about it. When the old four Maou died and they were trying to erect new Maou, they say they raised a desperate resistance right till the end, the people descended from the old Maou. I heard that the post-war devils, whose fighting power had already been exhausted, drove off all the families of the hardline old Maous’ army to a corner of hell with the last of their power. After that, it was said the matter continued by having a new administration established in the centre. That was the current Four Great Maou-samas. The woman—Cattleya Leviathan, who was descended from the original Leviathan, gave a defiant smile and spoke. “The members of the old Maou faction have nearly all decided to cooperate with the [Khaos Brigade].”
—What! What a thing to say. Coming here, the old Maou faction have—. “So it’s a feud between the new and old Maou sides that has become full-scale. Devils are also difficult.”
Azazel just smiled like it was someone else’s problem. “Cattleya, is it okay to interpret those words literally?”
“Sirzechs, it’s exactly as I said. We are also taking charge of this attack right now.”
“—So it’s a coup d’état, huh?”
Yes, this was a coup d’état. A rebellion by the old Maou faction against the new Maou faction. To declare this at such a time and place…Moreover, they were lending a hand to the terrorist group. “…Cattleya, why?”
“Sirzechs, we’ve only arrived at the exact opposite idea of this meeting today. We’ve concluded that, since God and the original Maou are gone, this world should be reformed.”
So they did this coup d’état after learning everything about the non-existence of God and the peace conference of the three great powers. Moreover, they really have taken the opposite path, coming here while considering all this.