High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Sun and The Destroyer

Inciting sisters to fight? Targeting a Master’s family?

Saint George’s brows pulled together so tightly they formed a harsh, unforgiving knot. Levi had no interest in wasting breath on the saint. Whether this knight despised him or not meant absolutely nothing. One was a Master, the other a Heroic Spirit bound to an enemy. One was a devil of the Sparda bloodline, the other a revered hero of the angel faction.

From the very root of their existence, they were absolute enemies. Talking until their throats bled wouldn’t change the inevitable clash.

So, if blood had to be spilled, there was no point in talking.

Levi gripped the hilt of Yamato with both hands. A surge of brute force propelled him forward, slamming his sheathed blade violently against Saint George’s longsword. In terms of raw, physical strength, Levi held only a marginal advantage. But when it came to speed, they existed in entirely different dimensions.

Six consecutive slashes struck the saint’s blade in the span of a single breath. The silver light of the blade bloomed like a deadly flower, completely suppressing Saint George. Despite wielding his heavy sword with both hands, the knight was forced backward by the sheer kinetic pressure.

Levi released his two-handed grip, holding the hilt with one hand while his other hand slowly guided Yamato back into its scabbard.

“My power shall be absolute.”

Click.

The metallic sound of the tsuba locking into place rang out, sharp and piercing as a gale. To the naked eye, it looked as though Levi had merely sheathed his sword. In reality, dozens of spatial slashes had already crisscrossed through the void. The invisible cuts wrapped tightly around Saint George from every conceivable angle, pinning his limbs and locking his sword in place.

Saint George’s eyes widened. A blinding golden radiance erupted from his armor. The spatial slashes collided with the holy glory surrounding him, sparking violent flashes of light. The saint knew these spatial distortions would not hold him for long. Seizing a fraction of a second, he channeled his magical energy into his blade. Brilliant blue flames ignited along the steel.

“Very well, then let me open your eyes!”

The muscles in Saint George’s arms bulged, his raw strength tearing the spatial slashes to shreds. He swung his burning holy sword, leaving dozens of fiery afterimages in his wake as he deflected the dense web of invisible cuts. Ordinary steel would have shattered under Yamato’s spatial pressure.

Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly. With a mere thought, four spectral Summoned Swords materialized in the air and shot toward the knight.

Saint George’s magical energy peaked. He ignored the incoming projectiles entirely, letting the phantom blades strike the golden glory shielding his body. The Summoned Swords shattered against the holy barrier, dissolving into scattered blue sparks.

The knight shifted his stance, adopting the solemn posture of an executioner. His voice boomed across the battlefield. “This is the true form of Ascalon! You are a dragon! You are guilty! The sword of blessing, absolute in strength!”

Golden magical energy flooded the blade, wrapping it entirely in blinding light from the tip to the crossguard. The weapon transformed into a radiant golden cross. The sheer holiness of the light was suffocating. The oppressive aura drowned out the howling wind, compressing the surrounding air until it emitted a low, booming roar.

This was an ultimate trump card forged to eradicate devils and dragons alike. To any ordinary devil, it was lethal poison.

“The outcome is decided. Devil, fall!”

The golden longsword descended from the heavens, aiming a diagonal slash directly at Levi’s neck.

Levi stood perfectly still, his expression unreadable, looking for all the world like a man frozen in terror. A brief flicker of doubt crossed Saint George’s mind, but the strike was already in motion. The holy blade struck Levi’s neck.

At the exact same moment, the cold steel of Yamato rested gently against the saint’s throat.

Saint George paid the counterattack no mind. He was already dead, existing only as a Heroic Spirit. Trading this temporary vessel to eradicate a dangerous devil was a flawless victory.

And then—

The golden sword bit into Levi’s neck. It did not even break the skin. The radiant light of Ascalon was imposing, but against Levi, it was like a candle trying to outshine the sun. The Morning Star skill granted him complete and absolute immunity to all light-based damage.

Levi offered a faint, dry smile.

Saint George’s eyes widened in sheer horror. A devil immune to holy light defied all logic of the world. By the time the realization set in, his fate was sealed.

Yamato glided smoothly across his throat.

The knight’s vision tilted. His armored body began to dissolve into glowing golden powder, carried away by the cold night wind.

Levi watched the particles scatter and casually clicked Yamato fully into its scabbard. “I originally intended to give you a more dignified end, but stabbing you through the heart with Yamato always felt like bad luck. My apologies.”

Blue specks of light drifted from Levi’s own body as he deactivated his True Devil Form. A heavy wave of exhaustion washed over him. The fight had appeared effortless, but the execution required immense precision and energy. His magical reserves were already shallow, and this brief clash had drained half of his capacity.

[Check-in reward: Magic amplification.]

A deafening shockwave shattered the night. Spear clashed against arrow, the metallic ring echoing like the wrath of ancient gods. Lightning and fire tore at each other, ripping the earth apart. The bombardment between the two legendary heroes dragged the modern battlefield back to the Age of Gods, resurrecting a mythical slaughter right before their eyes.

Karna.

Arjuna.

They were not the tragic, fate-bound brothers from the epics who would scream and howl their grievances to the heavens. Karna had never been one for unnecessary words. Arjuna refused to waste a single breath on his eternal rival.

They fought in absolute, suffocating silence. Every movement was focused, every strike lethal. A single second of lost concentration would mean instant death. The sheer intensity of their focus guaranteed a swift conclusion. Both heroes had unleashed their full arsenals from the very first exchange. No matter who fell, neither would be surprised.

“Let us decide the outcome with this one strike!” Arjuna loosed an arrow, then discarded his bow entirely. “Roar of the Fire God!”

The flames previously commanded by Karna violently broke free from his control, swirling around Arjuna in a massive vortex. The temperature skyrocketed, the crimson fire fading into a blinding, searing blue.

Karna’s expression remained perfectly still. He gripped his golden spear backhanded, aiming the tip directly at the gathering blue inferno.

A towering turret forged from condensed blue flames materialized, with Arjuna standing at its apex. The muzzle locked onto Karna. A compressed beam of azure destruction fired the instant the target was acquired.

Karna braced himself, dropping his center of gravity, but the sheer kinetic impact plowed him backward. His boots tore a deep, smoking trench into the earth as he was sent flying.

Acrid blue smoke billowed across the cratered ground. The residual heat stung the eyes. Through the thick haze, Arjuna caught a fleeting glimpse of crimson light. He immediately adjusted the flaming turret. The true name of his Noble Phantasm had been released, and the muzzle tracked the flickering red glow.

Before the second beam could fire, a calm, obvious voice pierced the roar of the flames.

“O Brahma, curse my body.”

The ambient temperature surged to catastrophic levels. The single point of red light erupted into a blinding sun. Crimson flames engulfed the golden spear, and Karna hurled it with devastating force. The projectile tore through the air, incinerating the smoke instantly.

Arjuna slammed his hands against the turret, his eyes tracking the flaming spear that crossed the distance in a fraction of a second. Without a moment of hesitation, he abandoned his construct, leaping down and sprinting away.

The spear struck the flaming turret dead center. A cataclysmic explosion sent pillars of fire into the sky, shattering Arjuna’s construct into embers.

“Damn it…” Arjuna ground his teeth together.

Before he could even regain his footing, Karna was upon him. A heavy fist slammed directly into Arjuna’s face. The sheer force snapped his head back, but Arjuna used the momentum, flicking his boot up to catch Karna squarely on the jaw.

Karna absorbed the blunt impact without flinching. He raised his heavy boot and stomped down on Arjuna’s foot, shattering the stone beneath them and pinning him in place.

Fists rained down in a brutal, kinetic blur. Arjuna anticipated the onslaught. The moment his foot was trapped, his arm snaked around Karna’s striking limb, his palm pressing flat against the Sun God’s chest.

Karna’s Armor of the Sun rendered him completely invulnerable to Arjuna’s physical strikes. But Arjuna didn’t need to pierce the armor. He channeled a concentrated burst of magical energy into his palm, detonating it point-blank to blast himself backward.

The two legends skidded apart, putting distance between them once more. Neither held a weapon. Arjuna knew his parameters as an Archer class Servant. Prolonging a close-quarters brawl against a Lancer would only guarantee his death. He could not afford to lose.

A sphere of pitch-black light condensed in Arjuna’s palm. Arcs of violent lightning crawled up from the shattered earth, spiraling around his body before pouring into the dark sphere.

“Holy domain expansion, space stabilization, divine punishment execution deadline set… all authorizations approved!”

As Karna was pushed back, his peripheral vision caught the apocalyptic gathering of energy. He let out a quiet breath. He could not fathom why Arjuna would wager his very soul for such hollow karmic fruits. But since his brother had made his choice, Karna would meet it with equal resolve.

“Witness the mercy of the King of Gods.”

Golden flames ignited across Karna’s body. The divine Armor of the Sun peeled away from his flesh, flowing down his arms and gathering entirely in his raised hand. A spear of light, infinitely more blinding than the sun itself, materialized in his grasp. The sheer radiance possessed enough heat to incinerate gods.

The two silent brothers erupted simultaneously. Their voices tore through the battlefield.

“Let you die in this anger of Shiva! Hand of the Destroyer!”

“Destruction is the only right path, just like the piercing of this spear, burn it all away. O Sun, submit to death!”

Two terrifying masses of divine energy collided with an apocalyptic roar. The night had only just begun to fade, but dawn arrived early.

The sun had been dragged from the heavens and smashed into the earth.

Artoria held her holy sword steady.

The Invisible Air had been released, revealing the golden blade of Excalibur. The steel had pierced straight through the center of Lancelot’s black armor, burying itself deep into his chest. Golden particles of magical energy began to bleed from his fatal wound, drifting upward into the cold air.

Artoria remained frozen in her stance. Her scattered blonde bangs shadowed her eyes, masking whatever emotions tore at her soul.

But the silence spoke volumes. The weight of it was suffocating.

She could not comprehend it. No matter how deeply she searched her memories, she could not understand the sheer depth of hatred and madness that had consumed Sir Lancelot. To leave behind such a heavy obsession, to twist his noble soul into this rabid, hideous state just to seek her destruction.

Had she failed him so completely? Had she made yet another unforgivable mistake as a king?

The instant Excalibur pierced his corrupted heart, the Berserker’s violent thrashing ceased. The blackened sword slipped from his gauntlet, clattering against the stone.

In his final moments, the suffocating madness lifted, granting him a fleeting sliver of clarity. As his armored form began to dissolve into the wind, Lancelot looked at the girl before him.

He smiled.

“…My King…”

Artoria’s breath hitched, her entire body going rigid at the sound of his true voice.