After Vali left, Blake's body finally wavered, his legs trembling under him. He barely managed to keep himself upright by planting the Excalibur into the ground. His breath was ragged, his muscles burning from overexertion.
"Blake, are you okay?!"
The voices of Rias, Kanna, Akeno, Koneko, and Asia rang out almost in unison as they rushed toward him, their faces filled with concern.
A brief hesitation later, Xenovia, Irina, and Kiba followed suit, standing nearby and watching with serious expressions.
"I'm fine... just a little exhausted."
Blake gave them a weak smile, feeling warmth in his heart at their worry. His body, however, betrayed him every muscle ached, his energy reserves were utterly depleted, and his mind was running on fumes. That final clash against Kokabiel had taken everything he had left.
The full-force explosion, the sheer amount of power he had wielded it had drained his physical strength, his mana, and even his mental fortitude. In the end, he had pushed past his limits and squeezed out every last drop of energy he had.
He was completely spent.
Rias and the others exhaled in relief, though their concern didn't entirely fade.
Congratulations, Master! You have completed the mission: "Slay the Fallen Angel Cadre, Kokabiel."
Reward: 500 Luck Points
Remaining Luck Points: 1196
Successfully plundered 44 Luck Points from Kokabiel.
Remaining Luck Points: 1240
Successfully plundered 37 Luck Points from Vali Lucifer.
Remaining Luck Points: 1277
Remaining Basic Luck Plunder Uses: 7
New Mission: Within one week, rescue your sister, Lia Silva, from the Silva family.
Reward: 1000 Luck Points
Bonus: For the duration of this mission, the system will temporarily grant you the EX-ranked treasure, Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
PS: If the mission is completed perfectly, Ea will become a permanent reward!
A rapid-fire sequence of system notifications flooded Blake's mind. His head spun from the overload of information, and before he could fully process it, his vision blurred.
Just before losing consciousness, he vaguely heard Sia's apologetic voice ringing in his head.
Clearly, the Sword Spirit magic while allowing him to unleash incredible power had a brutal toll on his mental energy.
Seeing his Excalibur suddenly vanish and his body collapse, Rias and the others gasped in shock. They barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
From a distance, Sona, Tsubaki, and the rest of the Sitri group watched the aftermath of the battle, taking in the scorched earth and massive craters that dotted the area.
"...That kind of power..."
Sona adjusted her glasses, her expression uncharacteristically tense. The light pillar from Blake's final attack had been nothing short of terrifying.
At the same time, high in the night sky
Vali, who had been flying at high speed, suddenly halted. A strange frown appeared on his face.
"What's wrong, Vali?"
Albion's voice echoed in his mind, sounding slightly puzzled.
"...I don't know. It just feels like I lost something."
Vali furrowed his brows, his silver hair swaying in the wind. There was an odd, nagging sensation at the back of his mind, as if something crucial had slipped away from him.
"Hmph, doubt is unbecoming of you. The path of supremacy allows no room for hesitation," Albion reminded him sternly.
Vali exhaled and dismissed the feeling. Spreading his Divine Dividing wings, he shot off into the night, leaving a streak of blue light in his wake.
"Ugh... my head feels so heavy."
Blake groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. The soft glow of a bedside lamp illuminated a clean, well-furnished room. He lifted a hand to his forehead, massaging his temples.
This level of exhaustion was borderline fatal.
"Master, you're awake! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have activated the system notifications at that moment..."
A tearful voice rang in his mind Sia's. She was clearly feeling guilty.
Blake let out a small chuckle.
"It's fine, Sia. I was already at my limit; I would've passed out anyway. You just sped it up a little."
"I'll be more careful next time..."
"How long was I out?"
"Two and a half days. It's 9:30 AM now."
Two and a half days... which meant he only had a little over four days left before the Silva family mission deadline.
His eyes flickered with cold determination.
The Silva family. That cursed clan.
His fingers tightened into a fist. He had no intention of failing this mission. Not only did he have a chance to save Lia, but the system had even granted him Ea the sword of rupturing space itself.
If the system was willing to loan him something of that caliber, then the mission was bound to be far more dangerous than he initially assumed. He needed to prepare properly.
"Master, there are still some system notifications. Should I display them?"
Sia's voice was cautious.
Congratulations, Master! You have completed the mission: "Convert Two Girls into Devils."
Reward: 100 Luck Points
Remaining Luck Points: 1377
Congratulations, Master! You have successfully guided Kiba Yuuto toward awakening his true power.
Reward: 100 Luck Points
Remaining Luck Points: 1477
Blake's lips curled into a smirk.
"1477 Luck Points... finally, I have some capital to work with."
After thinking for a moment, he spoke again.
"Sia, how many Luck Points would it take to boost my energy level to Ultimate-Class?"
"...Master, your current energy is at the early High-Class Devil stage. To reach the middle stage of Ultimate-Class, it would cost 900 Luck Points."
Sia's voice was soft, almost as if she expected him to get mad at the price.
"...900, huh? That's actually reasonable."
Blake's crystal blue eyes gleamed as he weighed his options.
The fight against Kokabiel had made one thing painfully clear his stamina and energy reserves were lacking. He wasn't short on combat techniques or high-tier weapons. But his energy? It was still a bottleneck.
At his current level, he could fight against Ultimate-Class opponents, but not sustain the battle.
And this time, he wasn't just fighting one opponent.
He was about to walk straight into an Ancient Magic Family's stronghold—one filled with Ultimate-Class and pseudo-Satan-Class enemies.
Even a single pseudo-Satan had drained nearly half his reserves. If multiple of them attacked at once?
Yeah. That wasn't a fight. That was a one way trip to hell.
"...Sia, begin the upgrade."
"Understood, Master!"
The next moment, a golden light engulfed him. His entire body felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time, his energy core expanding at a rapid pace. Power surged through him like a flood, filling every fiber of his being.
His aura skyrocketed.
And his path forward became much, much clearer.
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