High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Fantasy Break

Lavinia had expelled her magic too violently just a moment ago. Her momentum faltered, leaving her unable to intercept her target. She lunged forward, her fingers grasping at empty air where Augusta had been standing.

No one anticipated the sequence that followed.

Jagged fissures materialized out of thin air. The surrounding space fractured, crisscrossing with silver lines that shattered the fabric of reality like a broken kaleidoscope. Within those twisted, fragmented voids, the complex magic circle glowing beneath Augusta’s feet tore into useless shreds.

Lavinia blinked, unable to process the visual.

Vali and Augusta, however, caught the tail end of the movement. Levi was in the motion of sliding his blade back into its scabbard.

When did he even draw his sword?

The question echoed simultaneously in their minds. Far away, observing the battlefield through the sensory link of the White Dragon Emperor, Azazel felt a different kind of shock paralyze his thoughts.

‘He actually severed space itself?’

“Switch with me, Lavinia.”

Levi kept his tone perfectly level, mirroring his usual casual cadence, yet the absolute authority in his voice left zero room for negotiation. Lavinia immediately withdrew her spellcraft, letting her Longinus fade as she stepped back to clear his path.

Levi closed the distance. His gaze locked onto Augusta, who remained cowering behind her towering flame construct. Seeing the sheer disbelief painted across the witch’s face, his eyes turned as cold as glacial ice.

“I told you before. I have no intention of letting you walk away. Did you fail to comprehend that?”

He took another slow step forward.

“Augusta, do you honestly believe you can dictate the terms of this encounter? That you can block our path when your scheme fails, and flee the moment things turn against you?”

He tilted his head, his expression completely detached. “When we first arrived, I could still track the signatures of the two rats you let slip away. They are completely gone now. But from the second I laid eyes on you, I never planned to chase them. I need information on Oz. Who better to interrogate than you?”

Minutes ago, facing Lavinia’s wrath, Augusta had felt no true terror. She knew Lavinia’s nature. A fundamentally kind person, even one driven to kill, lacked the primal edge to inspire genuine dread.

Levi was an entirely different creature.

Augusta could not detect a single ounce of conventional killing intent radiating from him. Yet, the sheer, suffocating weight of the malice that poured from his presence threatened to crush her ribs.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and stung her eyes.

She stared at the young man approaching her. Compared to Lavinia and Vali standing in the background, the entity known as Levi existed on a completely different plane of reality. The chasm in their power was impossible.

A guttural roar tore from her throat as her knees slammed into the dirt.

She abandoned all restraint. The magical reserves deep within her core erupted, flooding outward in a reckless, desperate torrent. Gorging on this massive influx of energy, the flame giant swelled to a monstrous new height.

With Lavinia’s ice magic no longer suppressing the environment, a terrifying wave of heat instantly dominated the battlefield. The ground began to slag. The air warped and distorted.

Towering pillars of purple fire erupted in a massive ring, enclosing them like the walls of a gladiatorial arena. Molten armor manifested across the giant’s body. It reached down, gripping the massive cross embedded in the earth, and hoisted the structure onto its shoulder like an executioner’s greatsword.

“Balance Breaker. That thing has definitely crossed into the Balance Breaker threshold!”

Azazel’s voice crackled urgently through the communication link. “Levi, watch yourself. Those are purple flames capable of reducing gods and demons to ash. That giant might be a manifestation of a fire god itself!”

The Governor General knew Levi possessed a Sacred Gear Nullification trait inherited from Rizevim, but the sheer danger of the situation forced the warning out of him. Longinus class weapons were entirely different beasts compared to standard Sacred Gears. They housed legendary, malevolent, and world-ending entities. Heavenly Dragons, evil deities, god-slaying armaments. Some even contained the sealed wills of major mythological pantheons.

None of them could be treated lightly.

“One wrong move and you will burn to nothing. You used your nullification on Vali’s base form, but you have not tested it against Balance Breaker output. Do not get careless.”

Azazel did not believe Levi would lose. He simply wanted the boy to exercise caution.

Hearing the warning, Levi looked up at the armored flame giant marching toward him like a wandering knight of the apocalypse.

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Relax, Azazel. I told you before. My ability is nothing like Rizevim’s Sacred Gear Nullification.”

The giant halted directly in front of him, the heat radiating from its body enough to vaporize steel.

“What I possess is something far more specialized, highly aggressive, and exceedingly difficult to control.”

Levi completely ignored the towering inferno looming over him, continuing his casual conversation with the Fallen Angel.

This blatant dismissal seemed to enrage the construct. The giant gripped the lower shaft of the cross with both hands, mirroring an executioner preparing to drop the guillotine. It raised the massive, blazing weapon high above its head, aiming the edge directly at Levi’s skull.

The displaced air detonated with a deafening boom. The purple flames flared with blinding intensity, painting the sky in a sickly, purplish-red hue that resembled a bloodthirsty crowd cheering for a slaughter.

Levi kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.

He was not looking at the giant. He was looking at Augusta.

He had finally cornered this Witch of Oz, and he had absolutely no intention of letting his prize slip through his fingers. If she escaped, extracting the necessary intelligence would become a massive headache.

As for the blazing cross currently hurtling down toward his face…

“Azazel, do not make the mistake of measuring my limits based on my spar with Vali.”

The cross plummeted from the sky like a dying meteor, the sheer kinetic force threatening to cave in the ground before it even made contact.

Only when the weapon was inches from obliterating him did Levi lazily raise his right hand.

“When brothers fight, regardless of how much you try not to hold back, and regardless of how much you respect their strength… there are certain techniques you simply cannot unleash on your own family.”

His palm met the descending mass of the cross.

“Don’t—!”

Azazel nearly leaped out of his chair, convinced the boy had just committed suicide.

The rest of his warning died in his throat.

A faint, almost imperceptible sound echoed through the clearing. A simple crack.

For a fraction of a second, reality seemed to pause.

The towering arena of purple fire, the majestic armored god, the descending execution platform, the roaring heatwaves…

It all felt like a cheap stage play. A fleeting dream.

And then, it was gone.

By the time anyone managed to draw their next breath, the battlefield was completely empty. The suffocating heat vanished. The blinding light snuffed out. It was as if an illusion had been violently dispelled, leaving only the cold night air behind.

Following that single, hallucinatory crack, Augusta’s Longinus, Incinerate Anthem, ceased to exist.

A wet, tearing sound dragged Vali, Lavinia, and Azazel out of their stunned stupor.

Thick, dark blood poured continuously from Augusta’s mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. Her vibrant hair rapidly lost its color, withering into dry, yellowed strands that resembled dead hay.

The once-proud witch collapsed into the dirt, a wretched, broken mess. Her trembling fingers pointed at the young man casually walking toward her. She forced her ruined vocal cords to produce a raspy, desperate scream.

“What… what did you do to me!?”

Her mind was entirely fractured. “My Sacred Gear… where is my Longinus?”

Levi stared down at her shattered, soul-broken form. His expression remained entirely devoid of pity or triumph. He did not break his stride, his tone as conversational as if discussing the weather.

“It shattered.”

Assuming the dying witch might fail to comprehend the concept, he offered a slight clarification.

“To be precise, it was erased.”

The physical weapon. The conceptual miracle. The ancient will and soul sealed within its core. Every single aspect of the artifact had been permanently deleted from reality by that single sound.

From this day forward, the thirteen Longinus recognized by the world had permanently become twelve.

Levi had initially entertained the thought of extracting the artifact and gifting it to Sakura. Watching this passable witch nearly drain her own life force dry just to sustain the Balance Breaker completely killed that idea. No wonder the old hag was so desperate to steal another Longinus. The energy consumption was absurd., the purple flames lacked any ability to distinguish friend from foe, making it a severe liability for his peerage.

“Fantasy Break. You can call it that.”

Levi stopped just inches from her. “Rizevim’s Sacred Gear Nullification is merely a turtle shell designed to deflect Sacred Gears. My technique is the ultimate spear, forged to pierce and erase all miracles and fantasies.”

He reached down, his fingers twisting ruthlessly into her withered hair, and hauled her off the ground.

“Do not think I will let you die so easily.”

He leaned in close. “I am counting on you to provide every last detail regarding Oz, witch.”

Far away, Azazel slowly leaned back into his chair, staring at the feed provided by the White Dragon Emperor.

“Fantasy Break… tsk. The power this kid hides is completely absurd.”

The Governor General let out a long breath. The new generation was becoming increasingly monstrous. He had genuinely worried about the boy’s safety moments ago. Clearly, that concern had been entirely misplaced.

‘No wonder Sirzechs took the initiative to propose the tripartite peace talks.’

The realization clicked into place. The devils had produced a monster of this caliber. Of course they wanted peace. In times of peace, a faction’s primary focus shifted to internal development. If the devils were allowed to nurture this kind of anomaly without outside interference, by the time Levi ascended to the title of Demon King Lucifer, the balance of power would permanently shatter. The Fallen Angels and the Angels would be left entirely in the dust.

Azazel stared at the ceiling.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

He had never been an ambitious conqueror. He had often stated that as long as his current subordinates were safe, the Fallen Angels had enough. He despised war. He only wanted to live a quiet life, research Sacred Gears, and manage Grigori’s mundane affairs.

Despite being a Fallen Angel, witnessing Levi’s terrifying potential did not spark any desire for sabotage or assassination.

Instead, his mind shifted toward the Angels.

With Levi anchoring the devil faction, the peace treaty would heavily favor the Underworld. They would never break the agreement. Even the notoriously stubborn Old Satan Faction had been forced into silence simply because Levi was the eldest son of the Lucifer Clan.

‘The devils are the ones who desire peace the most. I can keep the Fallen Angels in line.’Azazel tapped his fingers against his desk.’As for the Angels… until the ink is dry on that peace agreement, it is best to ensure Michael learns absolutely nothing about Levi.’

The decision was made. Azazel would actively cover for the boy.

He wanted peace. If Levi’s existence guaranteed a permanent ceasefire, Azazel would support him without hesitation. Anyone who threatened that peace was his enemy. By that logic, a monster like Levi was an very useful ally.

‘Michael, that guy Azazel seems to be hiding something.’

What Azazel failed to realize was that the moment he began manipulating the intelligence network, the Heavenly Realm detected the anomaly.

Under normal circumstances, his subtle interference would have gone unnoticed. However, Heaven had recently heightened its surveillance over this specific territory. The instant Azazel made his move, the report landed directly on Michael’s desk.

“I understand, Gabriel.”

Michael stared at the intelligence document resting in his hands, a deep frown slowly carving lines into his forehead.

He and Azazel were very old acquaintances.