High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 76

Chapter 76: The Witch’s Ambition

Even by this point, the young boy still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.

Levi saw it clearly in his trembling posture. “I will only say this to you once,” Levi said, his voice calm but carrying an obvious weight. “Just as I told you from the very beginning—you are not a tool. You are a living, breathing person. Whatever path you decide to walk in the end, that is your call. I have no grudge against those people; whether they live or die is none of my business. But the reason I am telling you this… the only thing I ask of you, is just one thing.”

Levi held Ikuse Tobio’s gaze. Amidst the boy’s bewildered expression, he made his directive absolute. “In this fight, you must maintain the initiative from start to finish.”

Tobio blinked, processing the weight of the words.

“You might not fully understand right now, but you will sooner or later. Got it?”

“Yeah…” Tobio swallowed hard, his fists clenching at his sides. “I understand.”

Satisfied, Levi gave a brief nod. He gestured to Grayfia, silently instructing the silver-haired maid to escort Tobio and his companions away from the immediate danger zone.

Running a hand through his hair, Levi turned to the kimono-clad woman standing quietly beside him. “Shiki, go with them. Don’t let any trouble break out on their end.”

Ryougi Shiki offered a faint, acknowledging hum and smoothly melted into the shadows behind Grayfia’s group.

With the vanguard secured, Levi shifted his silver gaze toward Vali and Lavinia. “They are more than enough to deal with the Void Cicada. We need to go handle those mages from Oz.”

“Whatever. As long as the opponent is strong enough, I’ll fight anyone!” Vali grinned, his eyes practically glowing with thrill. For dragons, the only things that truly mattered were battle, treasure, and food. Vali was far more dragon than devil, a fact obvious to anyone who spent more than five minutes in his presence.

“I also have a score to settle with those mages,” Lavinia added, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper.

Levi expanded his Observation Haki, the invisible wave washing through the underground facility until it locked onto a dense, erratic cluster of magical energy far below. He started walking. “Keep up. But don’t be careless—our opponent isn’t a pushover.”

“Understood.”

Deep within the subterranean levels, the air was thick with tension.

“Damn it—that magical power fluctuation just now… could it be that a Satan-class devil from the Underworld has arrived?”

The old witch, Augusta, stared at the empty basement walls, her wrinkled brows knitted together in deep apprehension. Beside her, a young witch named Walburga looked up, her wide eyes clearly not comprehending the sheer terror that a true Devil King signified.

However, it wasn’t a Devil King that stepped into their sanctuary.

Emerging from the dim corridor was a man with brown hair, silver eyes, and sharp, defined features. Satanael. Originally a high-ranking Fallen Angel, his dangerous obsession with Sacred Gears had led to a violent falling out with Azazel. He had defected from Grigori, taking his loyalists with him.

The two factions gathered in this facility—the Oz witches and the Abyss squad—were currently operating under his loose leadership. These rogues would eventually form the core foundation of the Khaos Brigade.

“Looks like the situation isn’t great.” Satanael scanned the cavernous room, his tone carrying a dark hint of amusement. “The entire area has been sealed off by a heavy barrier. This time, it’s not just the Four Perils and that Blade Dog bunch. Even devils, mages, and Grigori have gotten involved. It’s truly rare for so many opposing factions to crash the same party.”

Hearing this, Augusta, the Witch of the South, slowly closed her eyes. “We aren’t exactly an innocent organization. With Fallen Angels, rogue mages, and all sorts of chaotic elements gathered in one place, the other side naturally has to pull out this kind of formation to sweep the board.”

“So what now? Run?” Satanael tilted his head, studying the old witch.

Augusta didn’t waste breath on an explanation. She simply shoved the young Walburga toward the Fallen Angel. “This is my apprentice. Take her with you. I still have some unfinished business to handle here.”

“Heh.” Satanael looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, genuine surprise flickering in his silver eyes. “I didn’t expect a selfish old witch like you to actually volunteer as the rear guard.”

Augusta turned her back to him. Her eyes, usually narrowed into slits, slowly opened wide. A sinister, purplish-red magical light bled from the depths of her pupils, and the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth twisted into something grotesque.

“Rear guard? Don’t joke around.”

Violent purple flames surged from her robes, leaping into the air and condensing into a towering giant of fire. The blazing entity carried a massive, burning cross on its shoulder, exuding a majestic, imposing heat that warped the very air around it.

As the ambient temperature skyrocketed, Augusta’s raspy voice echoed through the chamber. “As long as everything goes smoothly, once this night is over, I will regain my youth. I will obtain higher talent, and perhaps—” She paused, her tone dripping with undisguised greed. “—I will become the greatest Sacred Gear wielder in history. The only one to possess two Longinus simultaneously!”

“By now, you should be able to sense the level of the enemy we’re facing.”

Levi led Vali and Lavinia down the spiraling metallic passageway. The surrounding temperature grew increasingly oppressive with every step, the air turning thick and suffocatingly hot.

“Yeah…” Vali licked his dry lips, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. “But this heat actually makes me excited!”

Lavinia remained silent. Instead of complaining, a deep chill began to radiate from her skin, neutralizing the scorching heat waves before they could even touch Levi or Vali.

The three of them reached the very bottom of the base. Originally, this vast underground chamber had housed two hundred and thirty-three cultivation pods, each containing a captive student. Now, the pods had been entirely cleared out, leaving nothing but a massive, empty concrete arena.

Standing in the dead center was the old witch. The towering fire giant loomed at her side, its flames casting long, dancing shadows across the floor. She watched expressionlessly as Levi’s group stepped into the light.

“Augusta!”

Lavinia squeezed the name through her teeth, her composure shattering the second she laid eyes on that wrinkled face.

Her rage exploded. Freezing air surged from her back, rapidly condensing into a stunning, ice-blue figure. It looked like a beautiful princess carved from absolute zero, floating silently in mid-air.

Lavinia stood perfectly still, taking the position that should have belonged to a puppet, while the ethereal “Ice Princess” occupied the space of the puppeteer. This was the terrifying Longinus—Absolute Demise.

Augusta let out a grating laugh and stepped forward, the fire giant mirroring her movements. This, too, was a Longinus of the exact same caliber. The purple flames of Incinerate Anthem roared, eager to consume its icy counterpart.

Both Longinus unleashed their ambient power simultaneously. Extreme cold and extreme heat—two completely opposing concepts—slammed into each other, triggering a violent shockwave of steam and pressure that rattled the underground space.

Vali instantly spread the glowing light wings of the Divine Dividing. Levi calmly drew Yamato from its scabbard. Vali’s peripheral vision caught the dark, polished blade; he had been deeply curious about the weapon Levi had mentioned before, but seeing it now, he couldn’t sense its origin at all. It felt entirely alien to this world.

“Sorry.” Lavinia raised a trembling hand, stepping in front of them. “Can you leave her to me?”

Levi and Vali both halted. Vali let out a heavy sigh, his wings dimming slightly. As a battle maniac, he despised giving up a good fight. But Lavinia was like an older sister to him—sometimes even a mother figure. He had no choice but to respect her resolve. “Ah… I really can’t say no to you, can I?”

Levi smoothly rested Yamato over his shoulder. “You can handle her. But remember, I have no intention of letting her leave this room alive today.”

“Understood.” Lavinia nodded, her gaze locked entirely on Augusta and the blazing giant. “Augusta… where exactly is Teacher Glinda!?”

As she shouted the question, Lavinia brought her hands together. A massive blue magic circle flared to life between her palms. Immediately after, dozens of smaller, complex blue arrays unfolded around the Ice Princess floating behind her.

Augusta mirrored the stance, her fingers weaving through multiple overlapping spells. She let out a mocking sneer. “Come to think of it, you were Glinda’s prized student, weren’t you? Still asking where your precious teacher is? Isn’t she right there in Oz!?”

The old witch threw her head back, letting out a shrill, grating cackle straight out of a grim fairy tale. “…Oh, I see! You actually think Glinda was attacked by us?”

“No! That person was one of us from the start!”

Levi had already warned Lavinia about this possibility. But hearing the cruel confirmation straight from Augusta’s mouth caused Lavinia’s brows to furrow in absolute agony. A terrifying, sorrowful magical power expanded from her core.

Countless freezing currents gathered into massive, jagged ice bolts. In a fraction of a second, she completed the complex calculations required to simultaneously fire and detonate a high-tier composite spell.

The absolute zero of the ice cavern violently overwhelmed the heat waves. The moment Lavinia thrust her hands forward, a hurricane of razor-sharp ice shards erupted from her palms.

The magic circles behind her spun into a blur. Absolute Demise connected with her fury, erupting in a blinding, pale-blue light. Every single ice cone locked onto Augusta and blasted forward like a localized blizzard.

Lavinia had been enduring this pain for too long. When Levi first revealed the truth of the betrayal, her heart had felt like lead. She had kept it bottled up, knowing Levi had no reason to lie, and knowing she couldn’t vent her grief and panic on him.

But this moment was different. Standing opposite her was the architect of her misery. This wretched old hag was the perfect outlet. Every ounce of anger, sadness, fear, and shattered expectation she had harbored was poured directly into her Sacred Gear.

A Sacred Gear’s core output is driven by the host’s raw emotions. The sheer scale of the power that erupted from Lavinia in that instant forced Augusta into a frantic, scrambling retreat.

But the old witch wasn’t about to be outdone. Purple flames burst outward as the giant hoisted its burning cross, swinging it in a majestic, sweeping arc. Wave after wave of supernatural fire surged forward like a crimson tide, crashing fiercely against the incoming glacier of ice shards.

Augusta gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her wrinkled forehead. She had calculated that provoking Lavinia with Glinda’s betrayal would throw the girl into emotional disarray. In that moment of weakness, Augusta planned to activate a pre-prepared soul-transfer spell, violently tearing Lavinia’s soul out and stealing her body.

If she succeeded, she would possess Lavinia’s youthful vessel and her astonishing magical talent. Combined with the dual wield of Incinerate Anthem and Absolute Demise, she would ascend to the apex of the supernatural world. A super witch holding two Longinus.

But her calculations were fatally flawed. The girl hadn’t broken; she had weaponized her grief.

Instead of wavering, Lavinia’s output skyrocketed. Augusta found herself completely suppressed. Her soul-transfer spell was rendered useless under the crushing pressure of the ice, and her hastily constructed defensive barriers were cracking. In a pure contest of magical attrition, the old witch was actually losing ground.

I can’t keep this up, Augusta realized, panic finally piercing her arrogance.

If she dragged this out, even if she somehow managed to overpower Lavinia, the two monsters standing casually in the back would never let her leave. She didn’t recognize the dark-haired swordsman, nor did she know the silver-haired boy’s name. But she recognized the terrifying, glowing wings of the White Dragon Emperor.

Survival took priority. She could always attempt to steal Lavinia’s body another day. But if she died here, her grand ambitions would turn to ash.

Commanding the fire giant to step forward, she had it slam the massive burning cross directly into the concrete floor. The incoming barrage of ice cones struck the cross and instantly evaporated into a blinding cloud of scorching steam, creating a perfect visual cover.

Under the veil of steam, Augusta slammed her hands together, forcibly merging two distinct magic circles. A massive, complex teleportation array immediately illuminated the floor beneath her boots.

The moment the spell fully charged, Augusta curled her lips into a cold, spiteful sneer. “Don’t think I’m joking with you, Lavinia. You’re lucky today. But next time you run into Glinda herself… you’ll naturally understand just how foolish you’ve been.”

Her shrill laughter echoed off the frozen walls as the teleportation light swallowed her whole, leaving nothing behind but fading embers and melting ice.