Since Vitan had already decided to shut Kokabiel up, Vali had no objections.
He simply nodded slightly and then took Kokabiel and the four Fallen Angels away.
"Please explain—what exactly happened with God?"
Irina face was full of desperation. It wasn't agitation—it was panic.
"I know, but let's wait until we get back before discussing it."
Sensing that Vali's presence had indeed disappeared, Vitan finally couldn't suppress the blood surging in his chest any longer. A mouthful of bright red blood burst forth.
…
Golden hair draped down to the girl's waist, her face filled with deep concern, while her small hand rested on the chest of the brown-haired man, glowing with a healing light.
Vitan could clearly feel it.
His displaced organs were slowly returning to their rightful positions under the warmth of that light. His broken ribs were gradually reconnecting.
Even the magic energy that had been completely drained was beginning to recover.
"All done, Asia. Now there's no problem anymore."
Slowly opening his tightly shut eyes, Vitan's pale complexion had already returned to its normal rosy color.
"Mr. Vitan, how did you get so seriously injured?"
Just as she withdrew her power, Asia anxiously asked Vitan.
After all, she had been scared out of her wits just now.
As someone who worked purely in the rear and had no combat abilities whatsoever, Asia naturally wasn't brought to the battlefield by Rias today.
In fact, they hadn't even told her what they were going to do today.
The result was, she had been happily sitting in the living room eating fruit…
When she suddenly saw the pale-faced Vitan being helped inside by Rias, and then everything that followed occurred.
"It's nothing, I just got into a fight with a really strong guy earlier."
Vitan gently patted the back of Asia's hand and then shifted his gaze to a young man with red hair.
"Really, it's thanks to your timely arrival. Otherwise, that guy probably wouldn't have given up so easily."
"Not at all. Even if I hadn't arrived, with the strength you displayed, Vitan-kun, that White Dragon Emperor would still have been wary."
As always, Sirzechs maintained his warm and gentle smile.
Yes—sitting across from Vitan right now was none other than the Satan of the Underworld, Sirzechs.
"No, if you hadn't arrived, that guy definitely would've revealed his hidden power. In my condition at the time, I certainly wouldn't have been able to hold him off."
Despite Sirzechs's praise, Vitan simply shook his head with a bitter smile, unable to accept the compliment in good conscience.
Others might not know, but he was very well aware of the power Vali was hiding.
That was the power known as "Juggernaut Overdrive."
If Vali had unleashed the power of the White Dragon, no one present at the time would have been his equal in a one-on-one battle.
If Sirzechs hadn't shown up in time and hidden in the shadows, Vali probably would've already gone all out, releasing the White Dragon's power and attacking.
In fact, he might not even have needed to do that.
After all, Vitan had been completely drained at that point.
The Devouring Flame was a massive consumer of magic power.
Back then, he only had about half of his peak magic power remaining. Unleashing such a sea of flames—even with the feedback from Vali's absorption—his own magic power had still plummeted drastically.
After all, the Devouring Flame only really shined in group battles; in a one-on-one fight, its energy transmission wasn't all that powerful.
On top of that, to break through the White Dragon Emperor's armor, he had poured all of his remaining strength into his "Alchemy" and "True Word Technique," draining the last drop of his magic.
Otherwise, how could he have been so gravely injured by just a single punch from Vali?
So yes—Sirzechs revealing just a sliver of his presence at the time had been absolutely crucial.
"As for the terms of the deal with the White Dragon Emperor, I'll make a copy for you later."
Even though he had captured Kokabiel by himself, without Sirzechs's appearance at the end, he would never have been able to negotiate that deal with the White Dragon Emperor.
Therefore, he felt it only fair to share the spoils with Sirzechs.
Whether Sirzechs chose to distribute them in the Underworld or keep them for the Gremory family's use, that was entirely up to him.
"I understand. Thank you, Vitan-kun."
Sirzechs did not refuse and nodded with a smile.
"Now then, could you explain in more detail about our 'Lord'?"
Xenovia's voice broke the silence once again.
After a moment—
"Our Lord? What about Him?"
Asia looked at Vitan in confusion. She didn't know what had happened previously.
"No matter what I say next, Asia, you must stay calm, okay?"
He gently patted Asia's head. This was something Asia had to experience—so Vitan didn't intend to hide it from her.
Asia nodded naively and subconsciously leaned closer to Vitan.
For some reason, as she gazed into those deep, dark eyes…
She felt like something very important in her heart was about to be lost. That unsettling feeling caused her to instinctively cling to Vitan's sleeve.
"Though it might be unnecessary to ask at this point—are you sure it's okay for me to reveal this truth?"
Vitan lightly cleared his throat and leaned back fully into the sofa.
Though his injuries were fully healed, sitting upright for too long still caused some discomfort.
"There's no issue. As long as no one here spreads this around, it's fine. After all, if this were to become public knowledge, it would throw the human world into chaos."
With a gentle smile, Sirzechs then fell silent.
But Xenovia and Irina's expressions had already turned grim.
Rias and the others were visibly stunned.
There was no need for Vitan to elaborate. What the Satan Lucifer had said already conveyed the answer clearly between the lines.
"Yes... it's true. God is dead."