Chapter 11: True Meaning Of Satan-Class

Chapter 11:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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He had gravely underestimated Serafall's prowess, no, even that was an understatement in of itself.

Thump!

Kokabiel's heart pounded like a drum as the sickening sensation of terror slowly ate away at his exceptional selfdom. 

The more his slit pupils met with the lifeless scrutiny displayed in Serafall's palpable enmity, the clearer the true gravity of the situation he was in became. 

He was face to face with Serafall Leviathan —the strongest female Devil in the entire Underworld. 

"What's the matter Kokabiel? You look like a frightened little child at the moment, where did all that confidence go?" The sheer terror on the Fallen Angel's face filled Serafall with delight. 

Anyone with the rancor to even mention the prospect of bringing harm unto her beloved sister didn't deserve the luxury of dying with dignity. 

Such a person was naught more than a mere animal to her, and henceforth deserved to die like one. 

Kokabiel's lips drew back in a snarl as he tried to swallow his fear, his hand emitted a radiant amber glow as he conjured up a sword composed entirely of light. 

"Don't mock me." 

He enveloped his wings with Holy Power as he shot forth with blistering speed. Severing the heads of Serafall's ice serpents one by one. 

(It's pointless, Kokabiel.) 

However, all it took was a gesture from the Leviathan for the serpents to rebuild themselves within mere seconds. 

"Tch, damn monster." 

"Look who's talking." 

Kokabiel snarled as with the wave of his hand five verdant-colored runic circles appeared behind him, as he raised his arm each of them charged up with Holy Power. 

"You're not the only one who can go on the offensive, Serafall." 

The deafening sound of hundreds if not thousands of birds chirping hummed through the atmosphere as countless miniature shards of light rushed toward the Leviathan. 

But her expression remained indifferent. 

"How many centuries will it take for your kind to learn this lesson? Holy Power is not omnipotent." 

Kokabiel's pupils flared as the tips of his shards became coated in ice even as they were being produced, and to top it all off, the Leviathan appeared completely void of fatigue. 

"What a shame, you didn't even think your battlefield through. If you're going to put all this effort into trying to start another war, at least plan a little." 

There was always some degree of moisture in the air, even when precipitation wasn't present. Normally the less material one had to work with, the harder it was for ice-casters to manipulate the elements. 

However, limitations such as these hardly applied to a bastion of the underworld like Serafall. Even if the amount of moisture in the air was like that of a desert, it was enough for her.

All she needed was a little bit of Demonic Power and her mind, and she could command however much vapor she desired. 

Now more than ever, Kokabiel could feel the walls of defeat closing in on him. For the first time in a long time, sweat was running down his face as his mind scurried for a way out of his predicament. 

Though retreat contradicted his modus operandi, there would be no war if he let himself perish now. 

That's when it happened, his pupils had landed on the four ants watching the powerhouses clash from the sidelines. 

His frown reached up into a cavalier grin as his palm faced the dirt beneath him. 

"I see, I never made contact with the Sitri girl meaning she couldn't have known about my presence. Which means, one of you is responsible for bringing the Leviathan here aren't you?" 

His cackle warranted nothing more than an unimpressed glance from Serafall as a large verdant circle appeared on the soil below him. 

"I wonder, what will you do if you have to defend both their lives and your own at the same time?" 

Crumble! 

The ground split open as the sediment sunk back into the mantle, a vortex of tornado-like flames burst from below as a blood-curdling roar boomed through the air. 

(You'd bring something like that to the Human World Kokabiel? You truly have lost it.) 

Two large paws reached out from the fire, covered in fur as dark as the night sky itself. The claws sticking out of them appeared capable of tearing through mountains, the rows of teeth chattering within its maw —primed and ready to rip the very hearts out of whoever dared confront it. 

Cerberus, the three headed-dog in charge of guarding the very gates of hell itself. 

Jin wasted little time reaching for the bracelet Azazel had given him the minute its rage-fueled sclera met with his. 

"Don't Jin-sama, your wounds are still healing." 

Oron quickly formed a light spear as he swallowed a nervous gulp, well aware that he stood little chance against the monster one-on-one. 

"I see what the problem is now Kokabiel. You honestly don't understand the difference between a Satan and a mere Cadre, has Azazel taught you nothing?" 

"Hmph, there's no point in bluffing." As much as Kokabiel wanted to believe that, something about Serafall's unwavering confidence warned him otherwise. 

(You don't even have your sixth pair, just where did you get all this confidence from?) 

The beast's snarling came to a halt as it noticed something was awry with the ground beneath it, the earth started to tremor as fissures pierced through the sediment. 

"All this talk of war, yet you still can't recognize an opponent you have no chance of beating."

Splurt! 

Colossal permafrost spikes jabbed their way through Cerberus's torso, putting the beast to sleep only moments after it had just awoken. 

Jin & Co rubbed their eyes in disbelief as a creature capable of inducing them with sheer trepidation had been smote as if it were an ant. 

"Impossible…" The Cadre breathed. 

Kokabiel had no delusions of the Leviathan being overpowered by something he considered naught more than a pet, but at the very least it should've offered him a slithering of an opening against the Satan. 

"Reality is often disappointing is it not? But I've had my fun, So-tan's probably waiting for me so I'll wrap this up nice and quick." 

She aimed her open palm toward the former Grigori figurehead as the latter immediately felt that something was off. 

(This isn't good, I need to retreat!) 

However his wings had already begun to stiffen, he tried imbuing them with more Holy Power to break free of his sudden restraints but it was to little avail. 

"Wha— What did you do!?" 

His complexion paled as patches of his skin turned a hypothermic blue. 

Serafall's pupils shone with an icy light as her mouth uttered a single word. 

"ℤ𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕤!" 

"Damn y—" 

Kokabiel's throat closed up as the rest of his claret continued to clot, all he could do was glare at Serafall with seething hatred as his wings were soon due to give in to the cold. 

As long as there was liquid, there could be ice. 

Blood was no exception. 

"Goodbye, Kokabiel." 

Like a bird with no shelter during the winter, the Cadre's lifeless body flopped onto the ground without dignity. 

Not even Grigori's name would touch his corpse, he had pursued the fruitless prospect of war alone and had died all the same. 

The expressions of the bystanders lit up in delight as at long last the prime threat to peace had been done away with. 

Even without the Holy Swords, Kokabiel's death would be more than pleasant news to the ears of the church. Although Oron was of the same species, even he couldn't hide his relief. 

Ba-dup! 

However, there was an exception. 

Jin placed his hand on his chest as a mild strain clasped his heart, the sensation seemed to have no correlation to the cut across his torso. 

"Jin-sama? Is something the matter?" 

"No, I'm fine." 

(It's not the wound, I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the piece. Why? Is it responding to Kokabiel? It's almost like I'm feeling —sorrow?) 

He shook his head as he tried to collect his thoughts. 

(Impossible, he's the enemy. I'm the one who wanted the Leviathan to kill him in the first place.) 

"Are you sure? Your eyes look a little red." 

"He's right Crow, you don't look too well." 

"Uhm, I'm pretty good with healing —perhaps I can help?" 

Jin groaned as he tried to take his mind off the pain. 

"Seriously, I'm fine." 

"Perhaps Ji-tan needs some of Levi-tan's magical healing charms! ✰" 

Serafall approached the group as she shifted towards her more "well-known" persona. 

(Ji-tan? Levi-tan? Did Kokabiel manage to sneak a hit on her or something?) 

"I'm alright Levia—" 

"Le-vi-tan." 

Her sudden shift of tone caused him to break out into a nervous sweat as he cleared his throat. 

"I'm alright, Levi-tan. And I apologize for forcing your hand in this situation, I have no excuse." 

As Jin bowed, Oron's first thought was to intervene, but he couldn't bring himself to butt into a conversation a Satan was participating in. 

"Is that bow on behalf of Grigori? Or yourself?" 

"I hold no official rank within Grigori, and my actions were down completely of my volition." 

(Hopefully, she appreciates my honesty enough to only take a limb.) 

"Really now? So-tan told me that you were working for Azazel-chan. Shouldn't that alone constitute you as a part of Grigori?" 

(What is she doing? She keeps trying to steer the blame onto Grigori. Does she have some sort of grudge against Azazel? Regardless, I've prepared myself for this.) 

"That was a lie, I was merely trying to sound more convincing so she would get you on board." 

Serafall hummed inquisitively as she peered deeper into Jin's eyes. 

"Then, this whole thing was planned entirely of your own accord? Is that what you're telling me?" 

In truth, Serafall could tell without a shiver of a doubt Jin was lying. However what intrigued her was why. Fallen Angels didn't exactly have a reputation for selflessness. 

"I suggest you reconsider your answer, after all, you're practically admitting to manipulating my one and only precious sister, I believe you've witnessed what happens to people who try to harm her haven't you?" 

"There's nothing to reconsider, I'm merely stating the facts." 

Her expression remained impassive as she glanced over to the three figures behind him. 

"Uh-huh, and what about them?" 

"My assistant here was acting on my orders, and those two were under the impression I wished to cooperate with the church." 

"Wait Cro—" 

"I'm not done talking, Exorcist. It isn't polite to interrupt." 

The Leviathan's reprimand was more than qualified as a reason for Xenovia to swallow her concerns. 

"Now then, since you seem insistent on shouldering all the blame —some form of punishment is in order don't you think?" 

"Of course." 

(Hm, he definitely shares some qualities with Azazel-chan but at the same time I have the gut feeling there's more to him than that. However, I suppose that's to be expected seeing as he's technically the first of his kind.) 

"Then, give me your hand." 

Without hesitation, Jin held out his arm as Serafall latched onto his hand. A trickle of her Demonic Power coursed through Jin's veins as the latter steeled himself to say goodbye to his limb. 

"Alright, punishment served." 

But, nothing of the sort befell him. 

"Huh?" 

"Don't give me that look, did you honestly think you would be able to fool me?" 

"Bu—" 

"Enough, you were right to bring So-tan on board, knowing her, she would've done something foolish like trying to take Kokabiel on her own." 

(Well this certainly wasn't within my expectations.) 

"I've opened a channel between the two of us, I've made an exception this time because of the circumstances, but from now on —if you have any business with So-tan you inform me instead, understood?" 

Jin needed a moment to comprehend the fact that he had just been spared before bowing his head in appreciation. 

"Understood." 

Upon hearing his response, Serafall's demeanor quickly returned to its usual cheery state. 

"Good! See you later, Ji-tan! ✰" 

With a smile on her face, she faded into her teleportation circle whilst waving Jin goodbye, to which he responded in kind, albeit nervously. 

(That went shockingly well.) 

Thwack! 

Before he knew it, two fists came flying at his jaw as he stumbled onto the ground with a surprisingly understanding expression. 

"Jin-sama, you're a piece of shit you know that?" 

"Next time you do that Crow, that'll be my sword instead of my fist." 

(Fair enough.)