Kicking away the horde of mass-produced Evil Dragons that came charging at us, we finally arrived at the front of the school, where we caught sight of our friends battling against the onslaught.
“You’re late, Issei!” Kiba called, panting for breath as he sliced an Evil Dragon clean in half.
“Quit acting like the hero all the time, always swooping in at the last minute to save the day!” Xenovia added, fighting off her own foes.
Kiba’s complexion looked awful. He must have used the Gram. A moment later, Vice-Chairwoman Shinra flashed me a sorrowful look, all but confirming it.
The others, having arrived ahead of us, looked utterly worn out from their own battles, their clothes in tatters and their expressions weary. Only Gasper was missing, probably still in pursuit of Valburga.
Rias rushed over to see Sairaorg, who had only just recovered from his injuries. “Sairaorg! You’re here!”
“Yeah. We gained the upper hand over in Agreas.”
I gave Rias and the others a thumbs-up.
“…We managed to take down Grendel!” Koneko said, showing off the gemstone and explaining the situation.
The others couldn’t have been happier to hear the news.
“Got it,” Irina said. “I’ll report back to Lord Michael once we get out of here.”
With that, we started setting up for a defensive battle in front of the school. The entire perimeter was covered by Chairwoman Sona’s water barrier (enhanced after I transferred more power to her), which would hopefully be enough to neutralize the fire-based attacks of any Evil Dragons. We also laid down traps at every turn to ensnare them if they tried getting too close.
Of course, we would be taking on those mass-produced Evil Dragons directly. Those of us who were too worn out to fight, including the parents who had stayed behind, would support us from the rear, while those who still had strength to spare would attack from the front.
Our sword-fighting team—Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina, along with the Knights Meguri and Bennia—would look out for each other as they attacked. Our Rooks—Rossweisse, Rugal, and Yura—were working together to block incoming fire while they launched their own counterattacks. It was a perfect display of coordinated teamwork. And Vice-Chairwoman Shinra’s Counter-type Sacred Gear had evolved to the point where she could summon multiple instances simultaneously to reflect attacks back at our opponents.
“…Begone!”
Koneko, in her Shirone mode, unleashed an incredibly powerful kasha fire wheel. The Evil Dragons wouldn’t stand a chance against that… The problem was she was laboring for breath and wouldn’t be able to maintain this state for much longer, and so it had fallen on Nimura to back her up.
“Hmph!”
“Take this!”
Those of us capable of fighting multiple foes at once, namely Sairaorg and Rias, carved through the oncoming horde in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, Akeno supported the two Kings with defensive magic and barrages of Holy Lightning.
“All right! Time for my next transfer!”
For my part, I followed Chairwoman Sona’s instructions, soaring across the battlefield and taking down Evil Dragons while transferring energy to boost the strength of my allies.
“Issei! Transfer to one of the swordsmen!” the chairwoman ordered while maintaining the water barrier, defended by Saji—still badly injured—and her two Bishops, Hanakai and Kusaka.
“Restore…!”
Working tirelessly to hold the team strong was our healer Asia. No one was more exhausted than her, but still she sent beams of healing light to help our wounded comrades.
In the midst of this desperate battle, a blinding flash burst forth from the school.
…The teleportation square! It was gradually expanding to encompass the entire campus. With this, we could get all the residents out of town! Once that was done, the rest of us would have no choice but to fight until the barrier surrounding the town came down. It would probably turn into a war of attrition, but the other side couldn’t keep us contained forever. According to Gondul and the chairwoman, there were limits to any ability, even those conjured up by Evil Dragons. We just needed to hold on until the technique wore off…
While I was busy pondering this, the others tilted their heads in confusion—the transfer still hadn’t begun.
“…Something’s off. Is there a problem down there?” Chairwoman Sona activated a communication square to check the situation with the mages in the underground shelter.
The next moment, the teleportation square emitted an eerie glow, beams of light shooting off in an unexpected direction!
Taken aback, we followed the beam—all the way to the floating city of Agreas.
As the light radiated toward the aerial city, a loud, mocking laugh sounded all around.
Above us was Valburga! Gasper had caught up to her, too, but it looked like he hadn’t been able to finish her off.
“Oh-ho-ho,” Valburga chortled, holding a hand over her mouth. “How unfortunate for you! The attacks here and on Agreas were just a pretense—nothing more!”
“…Now I understand,” Chairwoman Sona said. “Your real target is Agreas itself. You want the floating island, a relic from the old Demon Kings. And you want the technology the current government, led by Ajuka Beelzebub’s researchers, is still trying to unravel. Or rather, that’s what your leader, Rizevim Livan Lucifer is after, isn’t it?”
“Oh-ho-ho! As expected from the illustrious Sitri heir! That’s exactly right! Rizevim has an interest in the island itself. So we came up with a plan—to use the teleportation magic wrought by your dear mages! Yes, indeed! We’ve planted some of our own people among them! So just as the spell was activated, we made a few minute adjustments and targeted Agreas! And what a brilliant success!”
…What?! So there were traitors among the mages?!
Beside me, Rias pulled a sullen grimace. “This was their plan from the very beginning… They trapped us here so they could use us to take Agreas…!”
…They couldn’t hope to seize Agreas through normal means, so they trapped it within these wards and barriers—but even that was likely to be insufficient. And so they manipulated this mage gathering, infiltrating the Trihexa conference with their own people, while preventing the use of traditional teleportation magic.
Basically, they had forced everyone to work together to devise a brand-new teleportation formula resistant to conventional wards.
And when it was deployed…they swooped in to make their own adjustments, triggering that beam of light aimed straight for the floating city.
In the distance, Agreas was aglow in the magic siphoned from the teleportation square.
Chairwoman Sona nodded quickly to the other members of the student council. Hanakai and Kusaka sprang into action, making straight for the underground shelter to see what was happening down there.
…It finally made sense. Why had they waited three hours before attacking us? Because that was how long it would take to prepare the teleportation square.
This was all just a ploy to snatch Agreas! How deep had they wormed their way into the underworld’s affairs?!
Rias clenched her fists. “There are still lots of demons who support the old Demon Kings, especially when the name Lucifer is involved. With the old Lucifer’s son reappearing, it isn’t particularly surprising some would be willing to join forces with him.”
“What are you planning to use the island for?” Chairwoman Sona asked. “Or rather, what do you need from Agreas?”
Valburga turned her gaze toward the aerial city.
Bathed in the light…Agreas vanished! The entire floating city just disappeared! Did they change the spell to spirit it outside the barrier?!
“And now—”
But before Valburga could gleefully fill us in on their plot, a communication square unfolded next to her ear. She listened on for a moment, her smile turning into an anxious frown as she looked up.
“…No way!” she gawked.
Above us—cracks were tearing through the white sky! Clearly something had happened to the barriers enveloping the area! And they continued to expand, shattering the wards one by one!
Before we knew it, the underworld’s unique purple sky had returned!
In other words, the barriers had been broken!
Who was behind this?! It wasn’t us on the inside, so it must have come from beyond the barriers! But who could have done it?!
At that moment, a flash of light fell from above, crashing into the schoolyard like a meteor strike.