I couldn’t have been more shocked at what I saw—the True Longinus!
…Seriously?! What was that Holy Spear doing here?! Wasn’t its owner out of action…?!
The others were just as speechless as I was!
We waited for the weapon’s user to make an appearance, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Then, all at once, the Holy Spear disappeared with a bright flash!
Valburga let out a tired sigh. “Goodness… I wasn’t expecting to see him here, but perhaps it’s too late now…”
She snapped her fingers—and just like that, the remaining mass-produced Evil Dragons came together to surround the school. We had taken down a considerable number of them, but it looked like there were still a hundred or so left…
…So they were still going to attack even after their operation proved a success?!
Valburga broke out into a grotesque sneer. “Oh, I absolutely adore annihilating things, you know? You look worn out, but do indulge me a little longer, won’t you? Tee-hee!” she said jokingly, before swinging down her parasol.
That must have been the signal, as the mass-produced Evil Dragons swooped toward us all at once!
Though exhausted and still recovering from his injuries, Sairaorg forced himself to his feet.
“Let’s go, Rias, Sona Sitri! If we don’t step up here, the disgrace will hang over us for generations!”
““Right!”” Rias and the chairwoman answered as one.
I took to the skies to confront our foes—when an ominous movement entered my field of vision! Valburga had turned her hand toward the school!
In an instant, a fiery cross rose high over the schoolyard, blowing apart one of the buildings!
“The school! Nooo!” the chairwoman cried in despair, rushing toward the building.
That was beyond reckless! Was she planning on dousing those holy flames all by herself?! If she tried that, she would be annihilated for sure!
She was usually so calm and composed, but seeing the school of her dreams burning before her very eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to stand still. Gone were her calm, precise instructions, raw emotion taking their place as she rushed toward the school.
But it was too dangerous for her to go alone!
“I’ll go, too!” Rossweisse shouted, quickly deploying a magic square and taking off into the air.
Within moments, she had caught up to the chairwoman, landing in the schoolyard and unleashing defensive incantations and magic squares!
But all the same, Valburga’s flames came rushing in!
Those purples flames lashed out at both Rossweisse and the chairwoman! The two were fending them off with their defensive techniques, but their magic squares were starting to crumble under the intensity of the flames! At this rate, they would be consumed in no time!
“Target that witch!” Rias directed.
We leaped into action, ignoring the Evil Dragons to focus on Valburga—yet she conjured up still more purple flames to protect herself!
“Oh-ho-ho! Touch these and it’s game over for you demons, I’m afraid!”
If we couldn’t get close to her, then we would bombard her from afar! Xenovia and I readied ourselves, gathering our auras. A second later, a swarm of mass-produced Evil Dragons swooped toward us trying to interfere! No—they were forming a wall to stop our shots from reaching Valburga!
Meanwhile, the witch continued conjuring more fiery crosses throughout the schoolyard. Faced with those chained attacks, Rossweisse and the chairwoman were on the verge of collapse! Another assault like that and they would be in serious trouble! But by the time we managed to fend off the dragons, Valburga’s next attack was already underway!
The burning cross rapidly approached the two defenders—only to break in half just before reaching them as another figure tore through it.
It was Saji, shrouded in his black flames.
He was using himself as a shield—which meant he was being consumed by the attack in the chairwoman’s place, the purple flames overpowering his own black ones!
“Aaauuuggghhh!” he screamed.
“Saji! Run! You’ll die!” the chairwoman shouted.
Saji, however, refused to budge—holding back the fiery cross at all costs!
…His skin began to split, consumed by the flames.
“…I wanted to be like you, Hyoudou…”
His black flames were weakening, but he kept on talking.
“You became a Pawn around the same time I did… You’re into pervy stuff, you’re as vulgar as they come—downright lecherous, even… But you know what…? You’re always giving it your all… For your friends… For anyone who needs you… That’s the kind of guy you are…”
The purple flames wrapped around him.
“I wanted to be someone people could rely on. But every time I took a step closer to you, you would leap five or ten steps farther ahead… No matter how hard I tried, you were always surpassing me… And then I realized it—I’ll never be able to beat you… I’ve never been more frustrated.”
His voice was tinged with regret, yet he broke into a bright smile.
“But I was wrong. You were chasing after your own ambitions. That’s how you’re always improving yourself. It’s no wonder I can’t surpass you. I’m not you. It’s funny it took me so long to realize that…”
His eyes reignited with determination—and little by little, his black flames began to recover!
“I can’t be you, Hyoudou. But there are things I can do. I’ve found a dream I want to follow!” he cried out from the depths of his heart. “I…! I’m going to be a teacher! For those kids! I’m going to show them the way, how to do the things only they can do!”
Behind Saji, the chairwoman burst into tears. She couldn’t fail to notice the resolve of her own Familia members, that her dream had become Saji’s, too.
Valburga, meanwhile, chortled in amusement. “Oh-ho-ho! It’s futile! This very second, you and your pathetic little school are going to be reduced to ash by my glorious flames! Let’s get this fire started, shall we?”
She stretched out her hand to increase the intensity of her flames, when—
A black serpent appeared next to Saji! Vritra!
“Sorry I’m late, my other self.”
“Vritra?! You’re back from the Sacred Gear?!” Saji exclaimed.
Vritra’s eyes lit up as a confident grin stretched across his face. “Yes, I’m back. It looks like you’ve grown in my absence.”
“…I think I can do it now. I’ve let go of everything that’s been holding me back,” Saji murmured.
A strange aura began to envelop him! I had seen this before! Yes, it was the same phenomenon as when Kiba activated his Holy Demon Swords, when the hero faction enhanced their Sacred Gears, and when I switched to my Boosted Gear Scale Mail!
“Wielder of the Holy Relic!” Vritra roared. “Don’t underestimate my pitch-black flames!”
“Let’s go, Vritra! I know we took some detours getting here, but together, we can do this!”
“I almost grew tired of waiting, my other self! Let’s unleash the full force of the Prison Dragon’s darkfire!”
With that, Saji and Vritra wrapped themselves in their jet-black flames!
“Balance Breaker!”
The black aura burst forth—revealing Saji clad in a suit of obsidian armor, with dark flames swirling around him and multiple tendril-like appendages sprouting from his body.
Having finally achieved his Balance Breaker, he shouted, “Malebolge Vritra Promotion. My darkfire—no, our darkfire—is like Hell itself! Let’s see which is stronger—my black flames, or your purple ones!”
Saji’s voice was blended with Vritra’s, like the two of them had merged together. So it was the combination of their feelings that helped them reach this point! I had never heard of a Balance Breaker like that!
“Malebolge is the eighth level of Hell, the second from the bottom. It’s the place where those who commit malicious crimes end up,” Rias explained.
The next moment, Saji effortlessly dispersed Valburga’s Shien cross and darted toward her.
The Evil Dragons launched their attack—but the tendrils sprouting from Saji’s armor ensnared them all, draining their auras and reducing them to dust.
Meanwhile, a curse had materialized around Saji, spreading across the sky!
“…A Balance Breaker with such a powerful curse…?” Vice-Chairwoman Shinra said hesitantly. “Don’t get too close or it might kill us as well!”
Indeed, the mass-produced Evil Dragons soon succumbed to the curse, plummeting to the ground one after the next!
“Which will prevail? My darkfire or your purple flames?”