Chapter 41

Seven pairs of fallen angel wings began to materialize behind Roxanne. Unlike the usual black color, hers had a striking blue tint. The most eye-catching feature, however, was the overwhelming death energy that passively emanated from them.

Kokabiel stared in disbelief, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. Someone with *seven pairs* of wings? Even Azazel, the strongest fallen angel, only had six. In this world, the number of wings directly reflected one's evolutionary standing. For example, someone with the magic power of an Ultimate-class being but the physical strength of a High-class would only have three pairs of wings, marking them as stuck in the High-class evolution stage. Even if they possessed immense power, their body and soul could only manage spells and feats within that class's limitations.

There were, of course, exceptions. For instance, the Bael heir, who had no demonic energy but still possessed four pairs of wings, had broken through his evolutionary limits with sheer physical strength alone.

But what truly shocked Kokabiel was that Roxanne's wings reminded him of someone revered among all fallen angels.

"Azrael..." he muttered under his breath, causing Roxanne to frown slightly before quickly masking her reaction.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not her," Roxanne responded flatly.

Kokabiel said nothing further, his arrogance and pride vanishing. His fighting spirit extinguished, he bowed his head.

"I will come with you," he said, surrendering without hesitation. He didn't flinch as chains began wrapping around his body.

Roxanne nodded to herself, turning to Rias and tossing a scroll that appeared in her hand.

"This is the contract your brother signed to ensure your safety. All you need to do is sprinkle a bit of your blood to seal the deal," Roxanne said.

Rias, still confused, glanced at the scroll and began reading. Her expression quickly shifted to one of shock as she absorbed its contents. She opened her mouth to ask Roxanne something, but the look in Roxanne's eyes stopped her—the same look her mother gave her when it was best not to speak.

Without a word, Rias bit her finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the contract. The scroll glowed briefly before transforming into a puff of smoke that flew toward Roxanne.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Gremory," Roxanne said with a smirk, before teleporting away with Kokabiel.

Just as the tension in the room began to dissipate, a familiar voice chimed in, startling Issei.

"Now that was anticlimactic," the voice said, right next to him.

"Wha—?! Didn't you just leave with Kokabiel?!" Issei shouted in shock.

Roxanne grinned. "That's just my clone. You should know, I am called the 'King of Illusions' for a reason."

Rias shot her a slightly irritated but cautious glance.

"Why are you still here, Shaltier?"

Roxanne—or rather, her clone—gestured toward the still-glowing magic circle.

"I'm here to disable that time bomb," she said calmly.

The group collectively tensed. They had completely forgotten about it in the midst of everything else.

Sighing at their carelessness, Roxanne approached the magic circle and began analyzing it. As she deciphered the spellwork, she mumbled,

"Wow, is this really the work of a high-ranking church official?"

Everyone in the room heard her clearly, thanks to their enhanced senses. Xenovia, in particular, was surprised.

"Is it so complex that even you're having trouble nullifying it?" she asked, recalling Shaltier's reputation as one of the most powerful magic users.

Roxanne blinked in confusion for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! No, no, nothing like that. In fact, this spell is so amateurish, I'm questioning the church's education system." She shook her head in disbelief. "This magic circle is a mishmash of human magic, angelic magic, and fallen angel magic. It's designed to self-destruct after use, but it's so unstable I don't know whether to praise the caster for attempting to combine different systems or call him a fool for not realizing how fragile it is."

With a casual swipe of her hand, Roxanne tore a rift in space. From it, she pulled out a sword—an elegant black rapier adorned with golden runes that pulsed with divine energy. As Roxanne slowly drew the sword, all the Sacred Gears in the room began to react, glowing softly.

"Hey, Ddraig, why is my gauntlet shining like this? It's kinda creepy," Issei muttered, staring at his boosted gear.

"This is not me," Ddraig rumbled in response. "The Sacred Gear itself is reacting. Remember, I'm merely a soul trapped within."

Ignoring the commotion behind her, Roxanne finally unsheathed the entire sword. It resembled a rapier similar to a certain holy knight's, but the rainbow-colored runes, shifting and pulsing like a live wallpaper, captivated everyone's attention.

'Hmm, is the Sacred Gears' reaction because *his* authority is fused with it? If they're reacting this strongly, I wonder what would happen if I drew my scythe,' Roxanne mused.

She smiled fondly at her creation. The sword was called *Miracle Breaker*, a blade embodying the Authority of Miracles once held by the God of the Bible. Crafted from a combination of various powerful artifacts—such as the Noble Phantasm *Rule Breaker* and the *Moonlight Rapier* of Hinata Sakaguchi—it was a weapon born from Roxanne's curiosity, though its final result had even surprised her. Like the original Rule Breaker, it could bend the rules to its will, sealing off regeneration. It also held divine authority, allowing it to heal and perform miracles fueled by the wielder's desires.

Without further hesitation, Roxanne stabbed *Miracle Breaker* into the magic circle. The instant the blade made contact, the circle shattered like glass.

"Unbelievable," Akeno murmured, amazed by how effortlessly Roxanne had dismantled the spell. As a magician, she knew how difficult it was to destroy a magic circle without triggering an explosion.

With her task complete, Roxanne returned the sword to its place and turned to the rest of the group.

"Well then, I'll take my leave. And one last word of advice, Rias Gremory: govern your territory more seriously next time. We had to clean up your mess because of your incompetence."

As she turned to leave, she heard something unexpected… well not really.

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