It had been a few days since the trio uncovered the fallen's feather near Kuoh's outskirts. Since then, they had kept a low profile, attending school, investigating subtle energy traces, and walking the town's perimeter as dusk fell each day.
After school, Hajime, Alice, and Aniphia walked the familiar path back to Yuragi-sou. The sky was beginning to dim, painting the buildings in warm amber.
Then it hit them.
A sudden pressure in the air offbeat yet sharp.
Alice stopped mid-stride. "That energy again… and it's stronger this time."
Hajime's eyes narrowed. "It's the same signature we detected from the feather."
Anisphia didn't speak, but raised a hand to activate her Terminal. The Void Archives's voice rang, forming a projection.
<
The trio exchanged a glance.
They turned without a word, moving toward the direction.
Just as they rounded a quiet residential street, a shape dropped down in front of them from a rooftop—cloaked in black, mask half-shadowed in the amber light.
Sagiri Ameno dropped down silently, her landing barely noticeable. She wore her full Chuuma Ninja uniform, midnight black, patterned with spellwoven threads. A half-mask covered her face, and her eyes glowed faintly with active perception magic, scanning the surroundings even as she addressed them.
"You felt it too," she said quietly, her voice sharper now, tuned with the same urgency they carried.
Anisphia gave a short nod. "It's flaring stronger than before. Even more twisted."
"Void Archives confirmed the traces," Alice added.
Sagiri glanced toward the rooftops, then back at them. "Whatever it is, it's close and most likely hostile."
Hajime stepped forward. "Lead the way."
Without another word, the four of them moved chasing after the incoming storm ahead.
—
In an alleyway near the park, chaos had already broken loose.
Freed Sellzen stood at the center, brandishing a jagged Excalibur fragment brimming with unstable holy light, crackling with a corrupted aura that shimmered unnaturally. The power pouring from it twisted the air, turning even sound into something sinister.
Issei, Kiba, and Koneko moved defensively, their formation tight but strained under the sheer pressure. Every step felt heavier, every motion more sluggish—as though the very ground beneath them resisted.
Kiba gritted his teeth. "His aura it's too strong… That sword is affecting the environment!"
Koneko winced, her movements hampered by the tainted light. "It's corrupting the ground… even the air… I can barely focus."
Issei's hand clutched his right arm, the crimson Boosted Gear glowing wildly and pulsing in uneven bursts. "Why… is this hitting so hard?! I can't even boost properly!"
Freed laughed, his eyes wide with unhinged delight. "You feel that, don't you?! This baby's been upgraded! Infused with something real special~ Now this Excalibur doesn't just shine it roars!"
Hajime and the others had arrived just in time to witness the intensity of the clash. Hajime's eyes immediately locked on Issei—and more importantly, the red gauntlet blazing on his arm.
Something about it clicked.
Hajime remembers Noah's words, before they landed on this world.
"Keep watch for a boy with a red gauntlet, reckless, but with a heart for others. He carries something ancient. When the time comes, guide him."
Hajime's expression sharpened as realization settled in. "So… that's the one."
He took out his twin pistols. Guns he personality crafted after studying a certain divine key. Barrels loaded with gravity enhance bullets. His Astral Emblems glows with Hydro energy.
"Let's go," he said.
Sagiri gave a swift nod and vanished in a blur of shadow, leading the charge.
Alice's emblem flared gently at her side, casting a golden ripple of support magic to bolster the others' resistance against the overwhelming holy pressure.
Anisphia, grinning despite the tension, invoked her emblem with a flourish as she took her glowing magic blade in each hand. "Time for a little blaze work~"
Together, they entered the fray, they moved to reinforce the Gremory trio. With Sagiri at point, the rhythm of the battle shifted. The real counterattack had begun.
------
Freed snarled as the tide turned.
Sagiri struck first. Her kunai danced like flowing ink under moonlight, every movement a deliberate blur of steel and speed. She ducked under a sweep of corrupted Excalibur, her feet skimming across the alley stones like water over glass. With a spin that caught the holy light in a glint, she slashed clean across Freed's shoulder, her blade humming with the sharp resonance of ki-infused precision.
"Ugh, damn ninja girl—!" he hissed, staggering back, pain etched across his twisted grin.
Before he could counter, Anisphia blurred past him—a streak of embers and flaring sparks. Her Pyro Emblem blazed at her waist, trailing a comet of rscourge heat as she launched herself into a spiraling assault. Her magic blades, condensed into a gleaming arc of raw flame, crashed against Excalibur with a thunderous clash, sending a shockwave through the alley.
"You're not just outclassed," she said through her grin, "you're outdated."
Freed reeled under her assault, forced into a retreat of wild swings and ragged footwork.
Meanwhile, Hajime moved like flowing river, simple yet methodical. He weaved through falling debris and blasts of corrupted light, his guns rhythmically shots through the fight. Each bullet struck with pinpoint force, disrupting Freed's stance, pushing his timing off. Making sure never missed, his emblem pulsed faintly at his back, fueling his strikes just enough to tilt the field.
Freed grunted as one of Hajime's bullets nicked the edge of his armor. "The hell are you?! What are you?!"
Hajime didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Alice knelt nearby, glyphs circling beneath her as she maintained a protective dome of layered support magic over the Gremory trio. Her magic bolstered their weakened defenses, clearing their minds and shielding them from the disruptive holy aura.
"Field stabilizing," she murmured, extending a pulse of harmony that centered the space.
Kiba's eyes flicked toward her. "Support magic.... such an elegant way of casting high-tier spells. Just who are these people?"
Koneko, now steady again, grunted. "They're strong…. far stronger than any of us."
Issei's Boosted Gear gave a steady pulse, syncing back into his control. "Their power… it's not like devils or fallen. And it's working. We're getting our footing back."
Freed growled, eyes darting between each coordinated strike. For the first time, his manic grin faltered.
"Damn it… you're not supposed to fight back this well!"
With a cry of frustration, Freed hurled a flash bomb and leapt back, wings of corrupted energy flaring as he vanished into the collapsing shadows.
The battlefield pause. But undeniably, the incoming conflict won't be easy.
A crimson seal formed in the air above the alley with a brief glow of magic, two figures emerged.
Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima emerged from the teleportation magic, their presence laced with urgency.
Rias's eyes scanned the alley, quickly taking in the scorched ground, the wounded trio, and Hajime and the others still holding their formation.
Rias stepped closer to Issei, her heels crunching over fractured concrete as she passed by the glowing embers of magic left behind. Akeno moved in tandem, her eyes flicking between the scorched terrain and the lingering tension in the air. Rias knelt briefly beside Kiba and Koneko, checking their condition with a faint trace of magic.
Then her gaze shifted.
Her eyes landed on Sagiri, still cloaked in her Chuuma Ninja uniform but no longer masked.
"You must be Sagiri Ameno," Rias said. "We've heard there was a Chuuma ninja active in town, but we've never formally met."
Sagiri gave a short nod. "Sagiri Ameno, from the Ameno Clan. Though I didn't think our first face to face meeting will be in this kind of situation."
Sagiri gave a firm nod, and Rias returned it—an unspoken sign they understood each other's roles here.
Rias's attention returned to the trio beside Sagiri. Her gaze swept over Hajime, Alice, and Anis, lingering just a second longer on their emblems.
"What happened here?" she asked finally, her voice calm but commanding, now not just to her peerage but to all those present.
Kiba, breathing heavily, stepped forward. "Freed… he attacked us. He had Excalibur fragments—corrupted, and something else. It wasn't normal."
Akeno's gaze shifted to Alice's shimmering glyphs and Hajime's drawn weapons. "You're the transfer students," she said softly.
Anisphia, still holding her blade, winked. "Transfer students with flair."
"Thank you, for saving my peerage." Rias's gaze lingered on them, her tone steadier now. "However we will need to talk soon. There's more happening than we thought."
With a nod to her team, she and Akeno stepped back, vanishing into the glowing seal.
The group stood quietly for a few moments. The street, once tense with battle, now felt oddly still.
Hajime finally spoke, his tone finally relax but has an edge. "This isn't some random attack. They're testing waters."
Sagiri nodded. "And next time, they won't just send a lunatic with a sword."
Alice glanced toward the fading light. "We'll need to prepare."
Anisphia stretched with a sigh, her usual grin returning. "Guess we're past the warm-up."
As the last bit of heat from the fight faded into the cool evening, the group turned and headed back—quiet, focused.
Whatever this was, it wasn't the end. It was only the start.