We all darted out into the schoolyard.
Looking up, there was an image of a flowery field stretched across the sky, along with the words PLEASE WAIT written in the demon script. Uneasy, we braced ourselves—when a playful voice echoed down from above.
“Huh? We’re on air? Seriously? Hold on a sec. C’mon, I haven’t even finished my lunch yet. What? Get started already? All right, all right, whatever you say.”
…I recognized that lighthearted, flippant voice. There was only one person it could be. The others recognized it as well, shooting nasty glares up into the sky.
The image shifted to that of a silver-haired, middle-aged man—Rizevim Livan Lucifer!
“Hiya!” he said with a wink. “It’s your favorite celebrity, Rizevim! Nice to meet you all—or if we’ve already met, good to see you again…! Now listen up, things are going to get a bit dicey here. Let me break down what’s going to happen. You know how it is—the big baddie has always got to explain his evil plans, right? Even if it puts us at a disadvantage. That’s just how it is!”
He was as annoying as last time, his impudent voice giving me the creeps.
“I’m sure you’ve already realized this, but we’ve encased this whole area in a massive barrier. Surprised? Sorry about that!”
Despite his words, that joking grin of his didn’t come across as even slightly apologetic.
“Give it up to our pal, the Evil Dragon Ladon! You know, the guardian of the golden apples, the one taken out by the legendary hero Heracles? This is him!”
A huge creature appeared, lurking behind him like a tree in the shape of a dragon… Or a dragon made of wood? Huh? So this was another revived Evil Dragon, Ladon… Qlippoth kept bringing more of them back like it was nothing, and we hadn’t managed to beat even a single one of them yet!
“Anyway, we resurrected him with our key item, this lovely chalice, and his barrier and seal techniques are still going strong. Euclid’s replica Longinus has nabbed us an entire territory here! That thing’s insane!”
Next, Euclid appeared beside Rizevim, holding the Holy Grail in one hand.
“…”
Gasper clenched his jaw, his eyes giving off a dangerous glint. I could only imagine what he must be going through right now.
“And all you in that teeny, little town! We’ve surrounded the place with more wards, and shut down the powers of all your famous mages! Can you guess who did it? The biggest, baddest Evil Dragon in the world, Azhi Dahaka! The one with thousands of techniques at his disposal! We powered him up with that replica Boosted Gear. Naturally!”
At this, another massive dragon appeared behind Rizevim—a three-headed one. Even over the video feed, its dense, ominous aura was palpable. Azhi Dahaka was meant to be on par with Crom Cruach, right? Apparently, he kept charging forward covered in blood even after taking a beating from Vali’s team… Honestly, he was one dragon I didn’t want to have to fight.
“By the way, this place is totally cut off from the outside world, so no one on the outside knows what’s going on in here,” Rizevim continued gleefully. “Evil Dragons and Longinuses—pretty amazing, huh?” He shrugged his shoulders. “So why am I doing all this? It couldn’t be simpler. If those mages down there aren’t going to play ball, we might as well wipe them out. That’s it!”
So if he couldn’t kidnap them, he was going to kill them instead? That wasn’t so much heavy-handed as childishly immature!
“Oh, and I’m going to help myself to some of Agreas’s tech while I’m here. My old man and his crew poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this city, you know? I’m his son and heir, so I’m only taking what’s rightfully mine. Don’cha think? Ha-ha-ha!” He chortled in amusement. “And you DxD guys, you think you can take us down? Well, let me fill you in on the latest scoop. There’s a horde of mass-produced Evil Dragons—and maybe one or two real ones—heading for the aerial city here. They’re gonna wreak havoc. So if you wanna stop us, give it your best shot.”
Rizevim snapped his fingers—and a moment later, plumes of purple fire rose skyward around the town!
What the heck?! What were those for?!
“Shien flames,” sounded a voice over my shoulder. “This is going to be handful.”
Glancing around, I spotted Gondul, evidently having decided to leave the mages’ conference to join us. She was staring aghast at the plumes of flame as they took on the form of a cross.
“…Is that…the Incinerate Anthem?!” Rias gasped.
…The Incinerate Anthem?! The Longinus currently in the hands of the stray mage group, Hexennacht?!
“Those flames have the town boxed in,” Gondul explained. “The Incinerate Anthem is a Longinus. One touch would be enough to annihilate a demon, or to reduce one of us mages to ash… I’d heard she was working with the Khaos Brigade, but I wouldn’t have expected her to show up here…”
So on top of those Evil Dragons, a Longinus user was involved in this terrorist attack?!
“Hang in there!” Rizevim said with a cheerful wave. “We’ll be kicking things off in three hours! Ha-ha-ha!”
The video ended there.
…This couldn’t be any worse…! We had to move quickly. I spun around.
Auros Academy.
…All those kids, with their smiles, their dreams. They had goals. They were about to start their academic journeys… There was no way I was going to let those terrorists shatter their dreams!
…I would never ever let them lay hands on the school!