Chapter 165: That, I Really Don't Know
"Boom!"
In that moment, the feeling Akeno Himejima gave off completely changed.
Her aura erupted—not just with the power of lightning, but now infused with the power of light.
Lightning and light intertwined, forming literal Holy Lightning that burst forth under the night sky, illuminating the entire heavens.
At the same time, the wings behind Akeno Himejima also changed. One of her originally bat-like Devil wings gradually transformed into the jet-black feathered wing of a Fallen Angel, with feathers drifting down.
One side was a Devil's wing, the other a Fallen Angel's. Her entire body was erupting with dazzling Holy Lightning. At this moment, Akeno Himejima truly released an aura comparable to a High-Class Devil, her power surging explosively.
"Rumble—!"
The instant the Holy Lightning burst out, it was immediately pulled into the Gravity Field—a Super-Gravity Sphere—causing the streaks of Holy Lightning to be devoured by it, dyeing the sphere entirely in hues of Holy Lightning.
"Very good!"
Kaiser smiled, as if he'd finally seen something satisfying, and canceled the Super-Gravity Sphere.
The previously turbulent airflow sucked in by the Super-Gravity Sphere gradually returned to calm, and the Holy Lightning that had been continuously absorbed also returned to normal, swirling around Akeno Himejima.
"Haa… haa…"
Akeno Himejima seemed to have consumed a great deal of demonic power, stamina, and light power. With one Devil wing and one Fallen Angel wing extended, she barely managed to stay airborne before Kaiser, panting heavily.
"…Are you satisfied now?"
Akeno bit her lip, her eyes filled with anger and sorrow as she looked at Kaiser.
The anger was from Kaiser's overbearing and forceful actions.
The sorrow, naturally, was because she had ultimately broken through her own restraints and used the power she hated the most.
"I wouldn't say satisfied." Kaiser acted as though he didn't notice all this and plainly said, "Maybe because you've never used this power before, the connection between lightning and light is full of flaws and clumsiness. The way you use it is crude—just dumping out both demonic and light power all at once. You're still far from mastering it."
"If you were proficient in using this power, you wouldn't be this exhausted after just one full release."
Kaiser's rather heartless critique made Akeno clench her teeth.
If she wasn't certain she couldn't beat Kaiser, she would've made him taste her Holy Lightning by now.
"Let's go. Time to head back."
Kaiser raised the Gravisheath, as if he had just finished a troublesome task. He yawned and waved Akeno over.
Seeing this, Akeno took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then questioned Kaiser.
"If I hadn't used the Holy Lightning, were you really planning to kill him?"
Akeno didn't even know what compelled her to ask that question.
To this, Kaiser simply smiled.
"I was going to go, yes—but do you really think I could kill him?"
At those words, Akeno froze.
Didn't you say a Ten-Winged Fallen Angel cadre was no big deal?
Didn't you say you could kill him within ten strikes?
You have that kind of power, which is why I came here in the first place—didn't I?
"Indeed, if the opponent were only him, then no matter what, I wouldn't lose." Seeing Akeno's dumbfounded look, Kaiser chuckled and said, "But did you forget? Your father isn't alone."
"He's a Fallen Angel cadre. Aside from him, there are five other cadres of the same rank."
"Then there's Azazel, the Governor of the Fallen Angels, and Shemhazai, the Vice-Governor. Even among those at the Maou-level, they're among the trickiest to deal with."
"Not to mention the many Sacred Gear users under the Grigori—some even include Longinus wielders like Vali Lucifer. If I just waltzed up to your father, it would definitely turn into a scenario where I get gang-attacked by the Fallen Angels' top-tier combat force."
"I'm not afraid, but with so many Maou-level and near-Maou-level powers standing in my way, what makes you think I could just kill your father?"
Upon hearing this, how could Akeno not understand?
She'd been played!
While Kaiser indeed intended to go kill that man, he had long known that even if he made a move, the other side would likely protect him.
Unless Kaiser was willing to risk his life—but to risk his life just to force her to break through her unnecessary limitations? Obviously, he wasn't going to do that.
In the end, it would all amount to nothing.
"You…"
Akeno pointed at Kaiser, so angry she was at a loss for words.
"Haha!" Kaiser instead laughed heartily and teased, "Don't look at me like that. I really don't have the time to guide you all, and I have zero interest in doing it. So naturally, I had to use a strong remedy."
Kaiser looked at Akeno, half-smiling.
"In the end, if you truly didn't care, then nothing would have happened."
"But you came here, stopped me, and ultimately broke through your own limits."
"That proves you still care about that man, doesn't it?"
Kaiser's words made Akeno clench her fists.
"You should be grateful that you realized it early." Kaiser said meaningfully, "If you'd only come to terms with it when it was too late to fix anything, then that would've been tragic."
At his words, Akeno suddenly recalled her childhood.
She remembered the scene of her mother lying in a pool of blood. She remembered how much regret and despair she had felt at the time…
By the time she came back to her senses, Kaiser had already flown off, descending in the direction of the villa.
Akeno pursed her lips. After a moment, she reluctantly flapped her mismatched wings—wings she hated—and flew toward the villa…
......
The next day, Rias returned from the Human World and once again came to the back mountain of her estate.
In her arms was a large cardboard box, as if she had brought back some local specialties in a hurry.
But when she returned to the villa, she nearly thought she had come to the wrong place.
"Holy Lightning!"
Under intense gravity pressure, Akeno Himejima pointed at a massive boulder and released blinding Holy Lightning from her fingertips.
"Boom!"
The Holy Lightning struck the boulder, instantly obliterating it with a deafening explosion.
"Nyah!"
Not far from Akeno, Koneko Toujou let out a catlike sound from her mouth and struck a tree with her hand.
"Sizzle…"
The moment Koneko touched the tree, its aura instantly destabilized. It visibly withered at an astonishing rate, eventually losing all vitality and turning into a dead husk.
This version of Koneko even had white cat ears atop her head, with a white tail swaying behind her. Her usual expressionless face now looked listless, as if she had suffered some kind of mental trauma.
"Well done, Shirone!"
Kuroka clapped from the side, wearing a proud expression like "That's my girl," which made Koneko tremble all over, as if recalling something unpleasant.
As for Yuuto Kiba, he was gripping a sword radiating intense aura, eyes shut, with two streams of tears flowing down his face.
"…Is this a dream?"
Rias stood dumbfounded at the villa entrance, watching the performances of her beloved servants, looking like she was questioning reality.
She suspected she was dreaming—and wasn't sure if it was a good dream or a nightmare.
Akeno was actually using Holy Lightning? Was this real?
Didn't Koneko fear the power of the nekomata within her body, afraid she'd lose control like her sister?
And Kiba… what's with that sword? Why does it give off the same feeling as a Holy Sword, making me shiver?
I was just gone for one night… what the hell happened?!
"Yo, you're back?"
The likely culprit wasn't in the villa for once, but was instead sitting at the villa entrance. In front of him was a small white table with a teapot, teacups, and pastries. When he saw Rias, he waved nonchalantly at her.
"Y-You… what did you do to my precious servants? Why are they…?!"
Rias rushed over emotionally to Kaiser, pointing in the direction of Akeno and the others, sounding utterly flustered.
"Calm down, don't panic." Kaiser handed her a cup of black tea and said, "Here, have some tea. Settle your nerves."
Rias actually took the tea and gulped it down, only to suddenly realize something.
"…You drank from this, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I don't mind."
"Well, I do!"
Rias barely resisted the urge to blast this infuriating man to ashes with the Power of Destruction.
"You'd better explain clearly—what exactly happened…?!"
Rias slammed her palm onto Kaiser's little white table, causing the tea set and pastries to jump. It was a full-on interrogation.
"Even if you ask me, I can't give you the full answer you want." Kaiser replied innocently, "All I know is that your Queen got pushed to her limit by me and stopped hiding her power. As for the other two, I really don't know."
That was the truth.
As for why Yuuto Kiba ended up like that, Kaiser had some guesses.
He figured Kiba had probably used the wristband and forcibly entered the realm of Balance Breaker.
Since achieving Balance Breaker requires a mental will strong enough to defy the flow of the world, perhaps after the wristband activated, his spirit was shaken—causing him to fall into painful memories.
That would explain the crying mess he turned into.
As for Koneko Toujou, Kaiser truly had no idea what happened.
He only remembered that last night he vaguely heard Kuroka's voice coming from the little one's room, saying things like "If you don't behave, onee-chan will lick here, nya~~~"…
Then, by morning, Koneko had become like this…