The crimson blood was clearly visible on Vali's neck.
Vitan's thrusting stance put him right at Vali's front flank.
A fist shining with bright white light was released at that moment—faster than Vali's body could react—and struck hard at Vali's abdomen with tremendous force.
Boom—!
The heavy punch exploded directly in Vali's abdomen.
An indescribable pain surged through Vali's body, and the metallic taste of blood began to fill his mouth. He staggered back several steps, unable to keep his balance.
"How about that? Do I qualify to make a deal with you now?"
Wiping away the blood at the corner of his lips with the back of his hand, Vitan stared at Vali with calm, flat eyes.
Vali stared right back at Vitan. Finally, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Not bad. At this level, you're qualified. Hand over Kokabiel. The information you want about Sacred Gears—Azazel will send it to you in a few days."
Vali made the decision to give away Azazel's research findings entirely on his own.
Vitan believed that Vali had the authority to do so.
Because Vali had not yet shown any explicit signs of betraying the Fallen Angels, Azazel treated him almost like a beloved son.
And from Vitan's perspective, Azazel wasn't particularly concerned about keeping his research findings confidential.
"Kuroka, bring out Kokabiel."
Vitan suddenly called out to the air.
The next moment—
The space beside Vitan began to twist.
From within emerged none other than Kuroka, along with the church duo and Koneko, who had all separately restrained and captured Kokabiel and his four Fallen Angel subordinates.
"Darling, has the negotiation been settled?"
Throwing the bound Kokabiel to the ground, Kuroka asked.
Throughout, they did not glance even once at Vali on the opposite side.
"Yes. Remove the bindings on Kokabiel and those other Fallen Angels."
Vitan took a slight step back. Perhaps sensing something strange about Vitan's condition, Rias immediately stood beside him, discreetly supporting him.
With a nod from Vitan, the senjutsu binding Kokabiel and the four Fallen Angels was undone.
Regaining his senses and ability to perceive the outside world, Kokabiel opened his eyes sharply and took in the missile-ravaged scene around him, and the oddly peaceful interaction between two opposing sides.
Kokabiel struggled to raise his head, staring at Vali on the other side.
"Did Azazel send you to bring me back?"
Once so high-spirited when he appeared, Kokabiel now looked utterly defeated and miserable.
"That's right. Azazel is furious about your unauthorized actions this time. And because of you, he's going to have to pay a heavy price. Looks like your punishment this time will be even harsher than before."
He answered absentmindedly, never once taking his eyes off Vitan. For Vali, even looking at Kokabiel seemed like a waste of attention.
"Is that so!" Kokabiel's voice held a trace of sadness—and then, he unexpectedly laughed. "Looks like I'll be locked away in Cocytus."
Kokabiel knew very well that as the fifth-ranking Fallen Angel, no matter how much of a bastard he was, Azazel would never bring himself to execute him.
After all, should the Fallen Angels face a crisis someday, his power would still be needed.
That was why he had so recklessly tried to ignite a three-faction war.
Because he knew: once the war began, no matter how dissatisfied Azazel was, for the sake of the Fallen Angel race, he would have no choice but to appoint Kokabiel as a frontline commander again.
But if he was captured under these circumstances, the only outcome awaiting him was being sealed in Cocytus, to wait for the day he would be useful again—or spend eternity in darkness.
Kokabiel's voice grew tinged with age and sorrow.
"I see... That's not too bad. Compared to God and the Satans, at least I'm still alive."
That puzzling remark instantly startled the onlookers—Rias, Akeno, Xenovia, Irina, Sona, and Tsubaki.
Vali raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curling into a half-smile.
Vitan silently lowered his gaze, making no attempt to stop the conversation.
Living longer than the previous Satans—this wasn't something Rias and the others found too hard to understand.
After all, the original Satans were killed by God during the Three Factions War. Kokabiel claiming he had outlived the Satans was perfectly plausible.
Kokabiel swept his eyes across Vitan and the others, then suddenly burst out laughing, as if he were sighing in awe.
"So you really don't know the truth, huh? What, you haven't told them yet?"
That line was clearly directed at Vitan.
Seeing that Vitan didn't respond, Kokabiel didn't continue waiting. Instead, he turned his head and stared straight at the sky.
"Well then, since none of you know, I'll be kind enough to tell you."
The next moment, the words Kokabiel spoke shocked everyone present—except for Vitan and Vali.
"In that great war among the three major factions, the ones who died weren't just the Four Great Satans—God also died! That's right. The God of the Bible—your beloved 'Heavenly Father'—has long since perished during the Great War."
The words "God" echoed repeatedly across the clearing in Kokabiel's voice, as if on an endless loop.
The Church's Holy Sword users, Irina Shidou and Xenovia, were especially shaken and started shaking their heads vigorously.
Irina staggered back, as if struck in the chest. "That… can't be true…"
Kokabiel turned his head lazily toward her, his eyes bloodshot but calm.
"You think those prayers you offered every night were ever answered? You think miracles still happened because He was listening? Foolish. What you saw were remnants—divine systems left running on automatic, barely held together by Seraphims and Michael."
After a brief moment of confusion, what surged forth was an extreme rage.
For Xenovia and Irina Shidou—two devout believers—God was their only remaining motivation for staying in the Church.
"Why are you so angry? Among the upper ranks of the three major factions, this isn't even a secret. Didn't you notice that the little brat from the House of Asmodeus didn't even try to deny what I said? As one of the actual rulers of the Underworld, the House of Asmodeus is among the few who know the truth."
Whether Kokabiel had said all this intentionally or not was unclear, but at the very least, it wasn't just the two Church girls—Rias and the others were now also staring at Vitan, seeking confirmation of the truth.
"Vali, he's said enough. Take him away. Also, don't forget what you promised me."