DXD SI : Chapter 104 : The Terror of that Light.... (Patreon)

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Grigori Prison Grounds

–Baraqiel–

He was still confused as to why Azazel and Vali got into a fight at all, much less such a serious one, to the point that this was the first time since the end of the Great War that he had seen Azazel injured to such a degree. Back then, Azazel had lost all of his limbs, and they had to retrieve all of them from the battlefield so that the Phenex Tears could be used to reattach the limbs and revive the deadened nerves.

This time, Azazel’s limbs were in such bad shape that it was debatable if the same method would have worked or not. Thankfully, this time, they had far superior healing methods and allies who had even better healing abilities, so he was not really worried about Azazel. What he was worried about was Vali, and what this fight meant for her. 

To be frank, Vali was strong, absurdly so. She was basically neck and neck with Azazel, and far beyond any of the Cadres, to the point that when Kokabiel went a step too far and hurt Penemue when she stumbled upon one of his schemes, Vali had instantly killed the Cadre without any hesitation or injuries on her person, something that did not get her anything more than a slap on the wrist from Azazel.

From what he could tell, Azazel had wanted to do the same for a long time but simply could not bring himself to do it, and was glad that it was all over when Vali did the work for him. That was years ago, and Vali had only grown stronger since then. Honestly, it was scary how a Half Devil who was only two decades old could somehow match Azazel, even with the inherent weakness of all Devils still applicable to her, even if with a reduced effectiveness.

The entire Grigori and most of the supernatural world knew that Azazel had a Half Devil Longinus Wielder under his command that could instantly kill a Cadre. 

Which is why the guard’s continued apprehension regarding being chosen to guard the same Vali was understandable, even if a bit irritating. He would have been the one to stand guard all by himself, but he was constantly being called away to take care of issues that Azazel and Penemue both could not take care of right now. Azazel was in deep recovery, and Penemue had locked herself in her office, unresponsive to the outside world.

That left the Cadres as the highest authority, and it was not easy to run an entire faction; he had a newfound respect for Azazel and Penemue for being able to handle all of this without faltering in the face of all their other duties.

“You don’t have to worry. She is not going to escape. Even if she did try to escape, as long as you do not go after her, she will not even glance at you. You have your orders to let her go if she wishes to, and you will follow them.” He sternly ordered them, which sounded nonsensical, as this was a prison, but the truth was that no one could stop Vali right now.

Not even Azazel, as their leader was currently incapacitated. Pennemuen could probably stop Vali with a single look, but she was unwilling to come out of her office.

Vali, on the other hand, had healed entirely within a few hours. A byproduct of all the training she did with Magdaran Bael, no doubt. Azazel had told them in one of their meetings that regularly getting healed by Magdaran Bael permanently altered their bodies and how the bodies treated injuries, even without the power of Magdaran Bael.

Azazel theorised that at a certain point, Magdaran Bael’s healing methods would have changed his target's body so much that it would begin healing by itself, copying the mechanism that the Bael Devil activated to heal the body from the damage. Azazel had told them it would take many thousands of full body healing sessions to gain even a remotely usable healing ability, and it would need the injuries to be grievous every time.

The only one who fulfilled that criteria was Vali, who loved nothing more than to go over to that Garden and fight until she dropped, only to be healed and then fight once more. Azazel’s theory was proven correct when, barely 6 hours after the right, Vali had healed entirely, bringing her back to one hundred percent.

So, the guards were understandably nervous about facing a fully healed Vali, not understanding the relationship they had with Vali. He would have talked to Vali himself, had it not been for Azazel’s express orders that no one was to talk to Vali without his say-so, not even the Cadres. Penemue was not one to follow such orders, but she herself probably did not want to talk to Vali in the first place, hence the locking herself up.

What had Vali done to start the fight in the first place? He had no idea. Why was Vali not leaving, even if she could have done so hours ago? He did not know. What would Vali’s fate be once Azazel woke up? He had no idea. Why had Azazel confined Vali here, in the low security prison instead of the maximum security ones they had that could theoretically atleast hold Vali back for a few minutes? He had no idea.

What he did know was that he had his orders, and he was going to follow them. SO, he hadn’t tried to talk to Vali at all, further making it harder to assure the guards here. It was turning out to be quite a problem, as not many guards wanted to stay here, and were making up excuse after excuse to—

His neck snapped to the side as he felt something from Vali’s cell. His hand shot out and pushed the Fallen in front of him to the side with force, practically throwing them out of the prison floor. He then locked up the entrance and exit, not to keep Vali inside the prison, but to make sure that she escaped using the route that had no obstacles. Because right now, Vali did not have obstacles; Vali had a smooth sailing parth with certain objects in the way, and those objects had no chance of resisting Vali even for a second.

After making sure that everything was locked down, he slowly, cautiously began walking towards Vali’s cell, his body coiled, not to attack, but to retreat at the first sign of something going wrong.

His entire body jolted as he felt a massive amount of Demonic Energy rush from Vali’s cell, prompting him to fall back immediately, but contrary to his expectations, Vali did not rush out with a massive attack that would have wiped out most of their HQ in a single attack. He did not ever remember even Vali having this level of power. This was the kind of power he expected from the current Lucifer or Belzebub or….

His eyes widened as he read some of the reports Azazel had on the only child of Lucifer. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he slammed the alarm button, alerting Azazel, Penemue, and the other Cadres.

The alarm was not in case Vali tried to escape, as they were supposed to just let her go. No, the alarm was in case Vali was dying, and he had no idea what he could do right now. Every instinct within his body was telling him that going near that cell was death and–

His entire body seized in terror, as he felt a familiar and terrible energy coming from the cell, making him feel weak from inside. His knees went weak, his eyes wide in horror, as he saw the errant sparks of dark silver energy that leaked out of the cell, melting the magically reinforced bars with the slightest of touches.

“N-No,” he whispered to himself, barely having the awareness to slam the alarm button as many times as he could, sending a Grigori wide alert to evacuate. Whatever this was, it could not be good. He had no idea what was more horrifying. If this was the son of Lucifer himself coming here, or if he was here with the Demonic Brilliance of Evil Light. A most terrible ability that acted as poison for everyone. Angels, Fallen, Devils, Youkai, and even Gods.

It was the same ability that allowed Lucifer to somehow stand against God himself, and be such a danger to every single being that was dragged into the war. The entire supernatural world had breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that the sole son of Lucifer and Lilith had not inherited that ability. But what if all of that was a ruse?

…..No. Azazel, Michael, and all the other Gods would not make that mistake. Then?

His eyes widened as he found the strength to stumble forward, towards Vali’s cell. Was Vali herself gaining that ability? But how? Was that even possible?

He had to know, and so he walked forward, only to be blinded by the dark silver light, making him instinctively summon all his power to defend himself and run away at the same time. Because that was what was ingrained inside of them since they defected and had to fight a two front battle, with Azazel at the forefront.

The moment they saw that terrible light, they had to use all their power to flee, no matter the circumstances. Because there was no winning against that. No world where they could even fight back. They were considered lucky if they managed to successfully flee from that terrible light.

It was the light of nightmares, for Devils, Angels, and Fallen alike. It was why Lucifer was such a feared and terrible being. That single sight of that terrible light had been enough to make him retreat, his mind immediately prioritising his own survival.

As he made a hole in the prison walls, the alarms immediately became audible to him. He saw a mass of that silver light floating out of the prison walls effortlessly, before that mass seemingly turned towards him, making him seize in terror, as it was like he was standing in front of Lucifer himself, awaiting judgement from the Mad Devil. 

His eyes glazed over, his mind reverting to the training ingrained within him, telling him that it was better to just kill himself right now, when he had the ability to do so, instead of leaving himself at the mercy of the Mad Devil. The thoughts of the carnage that Lucifer brought with him to every single battlefield flashed in his mind as a spear formed in his hand, its destination clear.

Then, he snapped out of it as the terror of the silver light somehow receded from his mind, making him flinch at the sight of the spear so close to his throat. At the same time, he saw the signature wings of Divine Dividing appear behind that mass, confirming that it was indeed Vali who had somehow developed the ability to use Lucifer’s signature power. 

Then, the silver light as well as the Divine Dividing Balance Breaker form flared to life, hammering onto his mind with immense pressure, as if even gazing at the mass of silver light was harmful, and then that mass disappeared. Vali broke through the prison ward structure in one go and left, not even bothering to use the path she knew existed here. After all, Vali knew quite a lot of things, and had authority on par with the Cadre, making the loss an even bigger blow.

But all of that was not at the forefront of his mind. All he could think of right now, as he slid on the ground, surrounded by panicking Fallen, half of whom were rushing towards him, was that it was finally over.

He was just glad that she was gone, and that same terrible silver light was also gone. Then, his mind snapped back to awareness, as he ignored the panicked Fallen around him and teleported straight to Azazel’s office. He had to inform Azazel and the others about this.

Vali had the Demonic Brilliance of Evil Light.