Chapter 26: Attack on Kuoh Town Part 3

"Reload On Fire" I chant the aria in a low voice.

Unlike in Mission mode, I feel enormous changes to my body. I feel very godlike to be brief. I feel like my mind has expanded and stretched to infinity. Everything around me slowed to a halt that even the spent bullet case stopped mid air in my vision but I know it's slowed down immensely instead of stopped.

My perception was also boosted by a factor of 10 along with my entire body and equipment. I lifted the Proposition and aimed at Kokabiel's head that was unprotected by his wings and loaded my trump card that I had hidden since the Gate world, the depleted uranium bullet.

Extremely good in penetration along with few benefits like flammable and self sharpening which made penetration even easier. This particular bullet had been mixed with grinded Mithril fibre dust which was an improvement that I added when entering this world.

I boosted my suit to max output and so did my implants and cybernetics to have precise aiming and recoil control. I also activate the Excalibur Rapidly effects that are sealed in Proposition before it doubles the fire rate to 90 bullets per seconds.

Under the additional boost from Excalibur Rapidly, I didn't expect that it was also affected by the x10 boost from Reload On Fire which pushed the boost to x20. An welcomed addition if not because my body is literally being ripped from inside because my human body cannot withstand the power.

In my mind I said, 'Fuck, I overlooked this part and underestimated the burden my body is currently withstanding.'

I gritted my teeth as blood oozed through my helmet's breather and I shot Proposition at the extremely slowed Kokabiel, my bullets also unaffected by the time slow as I saw each of them gouge into Kokabiel's flesh. I keep shooting with Hold The Line skill on. I dumped the whole magazine of 450 depleted uranium bullets added with Mithril dust.

I can see Kokabiel's face morphed into confusion in slow motions before the Reload On Fire effect expires and time returns as usual. I like my body ruptured from inside as small geysers of blood burst out of crevices of my armor.

For the first time I can feel the cold embrace of death slowly claiming me and it felt very comfortable as the pain that I felt became numb. I vomited something that tasted metallic which I thought was blood before my vision darkened. However I managed to see Kokabiel fall down with holes decorated his head till his upper chest in a straight line.

My operators disengaged immediately when I suffered a crippling injury. They form a barrier between me and Kokabiel, protecting me with their body.

In my last breath, I felt very weak that Proposition fell off my hand and vanished in a burst of blue holograms. I fell knee first to the ground before my vision turned to total darkness as my body turned fully cold.

However, this isn't the end of the story. This is where the God Hand started working and pried me away from the grip of death. Ray's ACE Suit already disengaged when he literally died to total organ failure after they all turned into mush from the burden beyond his capabilities to endure. His cells all bursted simultaneously within every important organ and blood.

Ray's exposed corpse fell to its knees when his flesh glowed dull red like a magma and heated up to a lot of steam formed on his skin. The biological restoration in the form of a curse that prevents his death aggressively reforms his organs. It looks almost like a time lapse of tumor growth and organ regeneration if someone peeks into my body.

Kokabiel who defied logic and still lives with 450 bullets in his skull, neck and upper chest woke up from the rubble laughing like he had won which is indeed the case if Ray didn't have God Hand. Kokabiel felt Ray's life extinguished during his forceful descent. All Ray's summons also disappeared which further convinced him Ray had died.

Kokabiel's natural regeneration should be able to heal the wound although with scars but because Ray's Proposition leaves physical bullets in the wound unlike magics, he cannot heal the wound until he removes the bullets. This annoyed Kokabiel because most of them lodged in his head and heck.

He smirks victoriously at the steaming and glowing body of Ray. He thought the glow and steam is an effect of the Reload On Fire since Ray was constantly covered in armor from head to toe.

"This is the second time a human has fought against me and cornered me like this. The first being Vasco Strada." Kokabiel clapped his hand as he said.

"For that, I applaud you for managing to almost kill me despite being just a human. For this, I will give you a proper cremation as a funeral service." Kokabiel said before he created a light spear the size of a skyscraper before it condensed into a very bright and light yellow spear.

Kokabiel is going to disintegrate the corpse of this challenger that fought him bravely despite being only a human when even enemies of the same ultimate class usually run away from him because of his feat during the Great War.

When Kokabiel was about to throw the condensed light spear, a yellow magic circle that belonged to the fallen angel race appeared before Ray and Mittelt appeared to shield him with her petite body. Kokabiel blinked at this scene for a moment before he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha… to think that the two times traitorous knew to be loyal like a dog, Mittelt."

Mittelt's face is conflicted between showing anger that Kokabiel killed her only person that she loved or sadness that her most beloved fell lifelessly on the ground and is still bleeding. In the end, her sadness overwhelmed her anger as droplets of tears flowed down her face.

"Oh, this is priceless… a former traitor who fell in love with a human and remained loyal even to his death that you dared to appear before me knowing that I would kill you. What a romantic love story for me to witness, however, I do not take traitors kindly but I do him a favour by sending you to him!" Kokabiel commented sarcastically before he threw the condensed light spear into Mittelt's gut.

"Khak!" Mittelt coughed blood when the light spear pierced her body.

She felt the time slowed as memories of all the time she spent with Ray, flashes before her eyes. All the kindness he showed her and all the romantic love or fatherly love he gave to her. Everything flashes before her eyes.

The light spear is about to explode and disintegrate her but she hears his voice. The voice of her beloved. Perhaps he is already on the other side waiting for her. Mittelt shut her eyes and smiled peacefully in her impending death.

'Ah, I regret that I never managed to make him recognise me as his lover.' Mittelt thought.

"Sacrificial Bulwark!"

"Ngh!"

A grunt was heard and the pain in her abdomen vanished like it never happened. Mittelt opened her eyes and saw Kokabiel's surprised expression and also slightly terrified expression.

…

I returned to life as I can feel my body is scorching hot and my blood feels like molten metal that seared my vein.

I feel alive again, I thought before I lifted my head to see Mittelt petite body was shielding me from Kokabiel before a light spear pierced her dainty body.

Ray feels rage bubbling in his heart but not as intense as if involving Cheshire. Enraged he is, Ray still remained calm and activated Die Another Day skill before using Sacrificial Bulwark to transfer the damage sustained by Mittelt before he resummoned the unsummoned operators. He summoned all his Heavy class operators to shield Mittelt with their body.

Then the light spear exploded and killed me the second time because I forgot to re-equipped the ACE Suit and armors. My bare body has little to no defence or resistance at all.

This time, my body exploded into pieces. Darkness once again reclaimed my vision.

…

Within the ORC clubroom, there is only silence after a brief struggle when Asia, Mittelt and Raynare trying to go and save Ray.

Kalawarna manages to hold back Raynare and the others help knock her out but Mittelt teleports away before anyone manages to stop her. Asia is effortlessly hold back by Koneko and she didn't have magic to teleport in the first place.

Everyone sees Mittelt confront Kokabiel to defend Ray who they thought is dead(Ray is dead). Then Mittelt is stabbed by a light spear that Kokabiel created. Everyone thought Mittelt was going to join Ray in the afterlife when Ray suddenly rises from his presumed death, shocking everyone with this unbelievable scene.

Issei already cheered and went to save his uncle regardless of what Rias was going to say. When Ray activates another ability despite lacking any magic. The light spear that pierced Mittelt vanished and appeared in Ray's body. Everyone watched grimly as they understood what Ray just did. A sacrificial ability that transfers damage to another person.

Not an unusual ability since few similar ones exist in the DxD world but more as a magic ritual than ability.

Few operators highlighted in yellow appeared and surrounded Mittelt before the light spear embedded in Ray exploded. Kalawarna that is closest to Cheshire quickly cover her eyes before Ray exploded into chunks. However, Cheshire remained calm even after seeing Ray die once.

Cheshire is an entity connected to the system and can sense if Ray really died. She still feels Ray is alive and she isn't worried. Instead, she is excited for the next move Ray is going to make to defeat Kokabiel.

Just like before, Ray's body heated up and steamed before his body regenerated from the biggest body chunk. His body bulged uncontrollably like an alien about to burst out of it.

When his body reformed, Ray equipped his armors and Proposition immediately to prevent previous mistakes. Everyone including Kokabiel and Mittelt that present on the site, look in confusion and horror. An appropriate reaction when someone just reformed his destroyed body from a head.

"Ready for round two?" Ray transmitted his words through the speaker in his helmet.

Ray didn't wait for Kokabiel to answer before he activated his buffing skill again and fired at Kokabiel.

Perhaps it is because he just experienced the surreal death twice and messed up his brain. He starts to really see Kokabiel as nothing more than a boss that he usually fights in Mission mode.

Ray didn't stay put and moved at high speed while firing continuously at Kokabiel while resummoning his operators again to assist him. When Kokabiel uses his wing to shield his body, his operators swap their weapon to a rocket launcher. There are various types of bullets like homing missiles, large plasma bolts, rapid fire grenade launchers, etc.

Explosion rained down non stop on Kokabiel which suppressed him into defensive position only. The Heavy class operators use Aerial Bombardment immediately to further pressure Kokabiel into defensive position.

Kokabiel appeared more ragged as the battle dragged on. He didn't realize that his body was weakening due to the Mithril dust in the initial attack that damaged his face and neck. The dust slowly flows into his bloodstream and interrupts his magic usage.

Then out of nowhere, a thick lightning bolt struck down on Kokabiel and he didn't put up a magic barrier to defend against magic attack.

While Kokabiel is stunned, I continue to shoot more bullets containing Mithril into his body. Soon another crimson blast hit Kokabiel but he manages to deploy a barrier in time however the crimson blast isn't any normal attack. It was a blast of Power of Destruction that had disintegrating properties. His barrier cracked and Kokabiel was forced to do another evasion.

"To think I will be forced into being serious on a bunch of brats… Forget about waiting for the Satans, I will be serious and kill everyone here to wash away my shame." Kokabiel declared before a twin sword made of light appeared in his hand.

His 5 pairs of wings stretch out wide and shoot all his steel like feathers at speed very hard to dodge down at the newly arrived devils. Kokabiel then rushed at very high speed with his twin sword to kill Rias who dared to join the battle.

"Cerberus, clone Siegfried." Kokabiel summoned three Cerberus lent to him by the Khaos Brigade and called the clone Siegfried to divide his opponents.

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