Clutching an alloy longsword forged via alchemy...
Vitan was in the foulest of moods. Every muscle in his face was tightly clenched.
"I'll ask you one more time, Kokabiel. You're saying you thought this kind of technology was a waste of time, so you never even looked into it—am I hearing you right?"
He reconfirmed it: the man he had pinned underfoot was not just some ordinary fool.
He was a top-tier moron with ten steel rods jammed into his brain.
"Forget it, a useless piece of trash."
Assuming the same stance as Galilei had earlier when striking at Yuuto Kiba—same form, same location—Vitan gripped his sword and plunged it toward Kokabiel's back.
His carefully laid plans, ruined by an imbecile—there was no longer any reason to keep this guy alive.
Yet, history has a way of repeating itself.
Just as Galilei had been interrupted in his killing blow against Yuuto Kiba, now Vitan's execution of Kokabiel was similarly thwarted.
Boom—!
At that very moment, a white flash streaked across the sky at incomprehensible speed, arriving directly above them.
Fully clad in a silver mechanical-like armor and glowing with serene moonlight-blue wings of light, the figure radiated a cold and pure white brilliance.
With a deafening crash, the white flash slammed into the ground.
As the missile-like figure descended from the sky, fragments of stone exploded in every direction. The armored figure now stood within a deep crater.
The sudden turn of events naturally drew everyone's attention.
"Hey, mind if I take that guy? If you kill him, Azazel's gonna nag endlessly."
From the smoke and dust came the clear, slightly helpless voice of a young man.
Vitan did not respond, instead, with a forceful kick, Vitan sent Kokabiel's body flying toward Kuroka.
Previously, entrusting someone like Kakabiel to Kuroka would've been unthinkable—but now, with the chaos unfolding, it was the most reasonable move.
Handing over someone as powerful as an Ultimate-class devil to that girl? She can handle that, Kokabiel is just an inch away from death after all.
"Understood, darling!"
With a salute like a cute, obedient little girl, Kuroka happily skipped over to Kakabiel and dragged and restrain him next to her.
Seeing the way Vali look at her, Kuroka couldn't help but retort.
"Hey, stop looking at me like that, Vali! I've already given everything I have—body and soul—to my darling!"
Vali could clearly see the unwavering resolve in the girl's eyes. She had no intention of leaving. Right now, she was staying by choice.
"Alright then. If that's the case, I don't really need to force you to come back. Just make sure you remember what you can and can't say."
The voice inside the armor carried even more helplessness than before.
Vali withdrew his gaze from Kuroka, turning instead toward the young man named "Vitan." This was the one he truly came to see.
"So you're Vitan Asmodeus—the great-grandson of the original Satan Asmodeus."
The helmet covering Vali's head dissolved, revealing a face that Vitan recognized all too well.
Silver-gray short hair, light blue pupils, and sharply defined facial features.
"My name is Vali. I am the White Dragon Emperor of this generation — also known as the 'Vanishing Dragon.'"
Everyone present, except for Vitan, revealed a trace of fear or admiration in their expressions.
Even the usually proud Rias was no exception.
All those still alive at the scene were people who had experienced the world, and the aura radiating from Vali was unmistakably that of a true Maou-level existence.
"Impossible... the White Dragon Emperor of this generation has already reached this level?"
Sona's delicate brows furrowed, and she lightly bit her lip, secretly blaming her elder sister.
Always so clingy and annoying, and now that she was needed most, she still hadn't arrived.
It was just like the difference between high-class devils and ultimate-class devils.
And the gap between even the ultimate-class devils and the Maou-level beings was an unbridgeable chasm.
"Vitan-kun, what if we hand over Koka—"
"Sona, no can do. That's my trophy. Unless the White Dragon Emperor is willing to offer something I find interesting in exchange, I won't allow it."
Before Sona could finish her sentence, Vitan directly interrupted her.
He already understood what she meant without needing her to say it.
She was simply suggesting handing Kokabiel over to Vali to settle things peacefully. For the sake of the devils, perhaps the White Dragon Emperor wouldn't go too far.
Faced with Vitan's firm attitude, Sona could not make the suggestion again.
Just as Vitan said, Kokabiel was his captured war trophy. She had no right to make that decision for him.
All she could do now was keep urging her lazy sister to hurry up.
The church duo, along with Yuuto Kiba, Rias, and the others, had completely locked their attention on the four fallen angels.
Even Sona and the rest followed Vitan's instructions and silently retreated to the outer edges.
But no one attempted to flee farther away — after all, they didn't possess the ability to instantly construct a teleportation magic circle.
Without that ability, trying to flee from a Maou-level being was ultimately futile.
Soon, only Vitan and Vali remained at the scene.
"So, White Dragon Emperor, what do you think of my proposal?"
Vitan's body surged with magical power, and the windcoat he wore rustled loudly from the fierce energy.
"What do you want in exchange?"
Vali's lips curled into a faint, intrigued smile.
"The same life-saving condition I offered Kokabiel earlier. As long as the Fallen Angel side can provide the same thing, that will suffice."
"Oh? And what is it?"
Vali's eyes slightly lowered.
"The method to create artificial Sacred Gears — and a way to extract Sacred Gears from hosts."
White armor once again wrapped around Vali's head completely.
"For a condition like that... I think Azazel might actually agree to your terms."
The wings on his back spread open once more, and intense fighting spirit burst from his entire body as he floated in midair.
"But you do know the prerequisite for negotiations, don't you?"
A handgun formed from magic appeared in Vitan's palm, the barrel aimed straight at the hovering, arms-crossed Vali.
"Equal strength — that's the basis for negotiations, right?"