That Day When Suzuki-kun Wasn't the Mob-B!

”What’s happening?! What the hell is happening?!”

Issei Hyoudou was completely lost in a suffocating spiral of panic. He was currently on his hands and knees at the edge of the Kuoh Academy courtyard. Previously, he was hurt by Shalba Beelzebub, and then Asia went to help him with Twilling Healing, which made him, who had thought that he would die, recover.

”T-Thank you...”

”It’s fine.” Asia was as gentle as ever.

”....”

Issei wasn’t sure, but somehow, he felt that he had lost something important when he looked at Asia, and he had to say he was so jealous of Finn!

”But, if you want to repay me, then you should help Finn-sama, okay?” Asia felt that even if Issei was a bit on the useless side, at least the Boosted Gear had a certain power that could help them.

”.....”

”Ah, um, yes.”

Issei decided to agree since if he rejected the idea, would he be as lucky as before?

More importantly...

In Issei’s surroundings, the overwhelming, sickeningly sweet metallic stench of vaporized blood still hung heavy in the humid night air. The automated slaughter had finally ended, bringing Issei a brief, trembling wave of relief. He swore to himself right then and there that he would absolutely never cross Finn Balam.

Yet, all of a sudden, the atmosphere shattered again. A brand new, apocalyptic standoff was unfolding right in front of him!

His fated rival, the White Dragon Emperor Vali Lucifer, had stepped up to face Cao Cao, the absolute leader of the Hero Faction and the wielder of the True Longinus!

A tense, suffocating pressure swept over the blood-soaked courtyard. Cao Cao didn’t hesitate to deploy his full arsenal. With a command, the invisible spatial barrier of Dimension Lost dropped, revealing a hidden army of elite, heavily armed humans ready to strike. Their singular, desperate purpose? To assassinate Finn Balam before his horrific metamorphosis could finish.

The Hero Faction soldiers didn’t fully understand why Cao Cao was sweating, or why his usually calm voice held a razor’s edge of absolute terror. But they believed in their leader. When they looked at the writhing, pitch-black shadows where Kuroka had hidden Finn’s slumbering body, a primal, creeping dread crawled up their spines. It felt as though something utterly alien—a cosmic nightmare that had no place in this world—was incubating right in front of them.

For Vali, Bikou, and Arthur, the motivations were vastly different. They didn’t entirely understand Finn’s endgame, but they knew one thing: Finn wasn’t actually a bad guy, provided you didn’t piss him off. Vali understood exactly how much of a mess he himself had caused in the past, and he knew Finn could have easily ripped the Divine Dividing—or even the Lucifer blood itself—right out of his veins.

When Vali thought of Tobio Ikuse, who had been effortlessly stripped of his Sacred Gear and reduced to a helpless, normal human groveling in the dirt, a cold shiver ran down his spine. Vali lived for his power. His draconic pride and Lucifer blood absolutely refused to let a mere human steal his ultimate rival.

The lines were drawn. The two factions stood face-to-face in the crimson-stained courtyard, the heavy tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

”Kyakakaka! Hey there, fake Heracles! Let me play with you!”

Bikou swung his legendary staff, resting it over his shoulders as he shot a feral, mocking grin at the massive, muscular hero.

”You aren’t a match for me, descendant of Sun Wukong. You’re far too weak,” Heracles snorted dismissively, crossing his massive arms. In his mind, only monsters like Cao Cao and Finn were worthy opponents. Beating this monkey would simply serve to carve out an opening for Cao Cao to strike the killing blow.

A few paces away, a different kind of tension was brewing.

”You used to be an Exorcist, didn’t you? Shouldn’t you be standing on our side, helping humanity instead?”

Jeanne, the gorgeous descendant of Jeanne d’Arc, stepped forward. She twirled her holy rapier playfully, her voluptuous, armor-clad figure shifting in a highly suggestive, teasing manner as she smiled softly at Xenovia.

”Stop talking nonsense,” Xenovia replied coldly.

Xenovia dropped into a low, aggressive stance, gripping the heavy hilt of the newly forged Durandal. The skintight, glossy fabric of her battle suit clung fiercely to her lush curves, her chest heaving heavily as adrenaline flooded her veins. Her golden eyes burned with absolute, unyielding devotion.

”If you even try to hurt him,” Xenovia promised, her voice dripping with murderous intent, ”I am going to completely tear you apart.”

”Ooh, how scary~!” Jeanne feigned a shiver, her hips swaying seductively. ”But can a fallen stray like you really kill a true hero?”

Meanwhile, the clash of swordsmen took on a far more philosophical tone.

”Why did you defect to that side, Arthur?” Siegfried asked, stepping forward. His eyes narrowed at his former comrade. ”You’ve seen exactly what kind of monster he is. He nearly beheaded you without a second thought. You should be standing with us.”

Unlike Bikou and Vali, Arthur Pendragon had originally been an elite member of the Hero Faction. He had personally experienced the suffocating terror of Finn’s wrath. Siegfried simply couldn’t fathom why Arthur would now lay down his life to protect the very demon who had nearly slaughtered him.

”If I stand with you, can you guarantee you’ll kill him?” Arthur asked, his voice calm and perfectly steady.

”....” Siegfried fell silent.

”You are weak, Siegfried. And compared to him, I am weak, too,” Arthur explained, his grip resting lightly on his holy sword. ”Instead of pointlessly fighting forces of nature—like earthquakes, tsunamis, or deities—it is infinitely wiser to simply live with them. I don’t need to explain what happens to those who choose to be his enemies. Just look at the ground beneath your boots.”

Siegfried flinched, his eyes darting to the slick, crimson puddles of vaporized blood and gore that painted the entire academy courtyard.

Arthur honestly felt the Hero Faction was entirely suicidal. He had seen the luxurious, deeply peaceful life Finn provided his followers. Arthur had watched Bikou lounging in Mie Prefecture, casually spending unlimited funds provided by his grandfather’s ties to Finn. Standing under Finn’s umbrella guaranteed safety, incredible wealth, and absolute peace of mind. It was far more reliable than praying to a distant God for a miracle. When Kuroka presented an opening to switch sides, Arthur took it without hesitation.

”I might not be strong enough to defeat him alone, and my demonic swords may not even pierce his skin,” Siegfried admitted, his grip tightening. ”But Cao Cao can bring about a miracle.”

”Finn-sama is an inevitability,” Arthur replied smoothly, drawing his blade. ”Instead of praying for a miracle, shouldn’t you just accept reality?”

”You don’t understand, Arthur.”

”No, Siegfried. It is you who fails to understand—”

In a blinding flash of steel, Siegfried lunged. Arthur deflected the strike with a graceful, fluid parry, the sharp, ringing sound of metal echoing into the night.

”It’s meaningless to talk anymore! Let’s fight!” Siegfried roared.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, silencing his tongue. He perfectly deflected a flurry of rapid strikes, waiting for the precise opening to end the duel. But as Arthur swung his blade for a lethal counter, the fabric of Siegfried’s coat violently ripped open. Several demonic, mutated silver arms erupted from Siegfried’s back, brandishing additional swords to block Arthur’s fatal strike.

”You’re good,” Siegfried grunted, sparks flying from the clashed steel.

”You too,” Arthur replied calmly.

As the battle lines erupted into chaos, Cao Cao realized time was rapidly running out. The oppressive, dark aura pulsing from the shadows where Finn slumbered was growing exponentially stronger.

”Leonardo. Use absolutely everything,” Cao Cao commanded coldly.

The youngest member of the Hero Faction stepped forward, his eyes wide with fanaticism. He tapped into the infinite, void energy of Ophis stored within him, burning his own life force and stamina to fuel his absolute anti-monster creation.

But as the boy prepared to unleash hell, the night sky above Kuoh Academy violently churned.

The moon was instantly blotted out by pitch-black storm clouds. The heavy, suffocating scent of ozone completely overpowered the smell of blood. Akeno Himejima stepped into the center of the battlefield, her dark hair whipping wildly in the sudden, static-charged gale.

The Queen of Thunder had awakened.

A deeply sadistic, intoxicatingly dangerous smile stretched across her glossy lips. The immense static electricity in the air caused her clothes to cling tightly to her voluptuous figure, making her look like a true goddess of destruction.

”You are all going to die!” Akeno purred, her voice dripping with sheer, lethal ecstasy.

Without a single wasted motion, Akeno raised her hand and called down the wrath of the heavens directly onto Leonardo.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!

A colossal, blinding pillar of holy, golden lightning violently struck the courtyard, threatening to instantly vaporize the young hero.

But from the epicenter of the blinding explosion, Leonardo’s desperate, strained voice screamed out his command.

”Bandersnatch and Jabberwocky!”

The lightning scattered harmlessly against a massive, dark barrier. As the smoke cleared, several towering, nightmarish anti-monsters tore their way into reality, shaking the very earth beneath their feet. The true war had finally begun.