The difference in talent between L****s and the glasses mage and Le Fay didn't matter. The difference in power, also, didn't matter. Where they had spent years and years studying and practicing, L****s took a shortcut and acquired Ajuka's power. Where they grew stronger and better equipped to handle their powers, L****s borrowed Ophis' power and overcame the gap instantly.
It didn't mean that all their efforts were meaningless, not really. But it did mean that L****s was in that sweet spot where he shouldn't be fighting at the level that he did… And that always caught powerful people by surprise.
"All is Mine." The wave of power broke through the mist, it went straight through the Hero Faction members and beyond. It squeezed out the power out of the mist, out of every Sacred Gear and legendary blade thrown his way. Even the wielders, the humans, saw themselves raptured as their power oozed out of them. Forcefully weakened as L****s took it all for himself.
Siegfried flicked out of existence, like an imposed image had lost the light that projected it. And his swords fell to the ground.
"...Eh?" L****s stared blankly, feeling an increasing sense of dread push against his Autosuggestion as the other members of the Hero Faction lost consistency and oozed slowly to the ground. Not like Stain would, but like something melting in real time. Vapor got released from the piles, and eventually a pool of black liquid was all that was left behind as Sacred Gears dematerialized and weapons remained on the ground.
The glasses mage, who had gotten in L****s' way from the beginning, hadn't prevented the fake lord from bringing everyone together. He hadn't even tried to make Dimension Lost pushed L****s' All is Mine toward his allies.
The mist hadn't completely cleared, it just had unraveled in several meters all around them.
L****s opened his mouth, but his words died in his throat as his Kankara Formula detected more power pushing through the mist.
"I see, so Cao Cao was right." The glasses mage walked out of the mist, to everyone's left. And once he had completely left it behind, it oozed toward him. As if the mist was trying to catch up to Georg but didn't quite have the speed "I suppose being tainted like this proved to be worth the effort."
L****s reached out, changing the air around the mage to crush him under several times the pressure. His Kankara Formula slowed down as Georg lifted a hand, and a purple magic circle appeared on it. Forcing the pressure and added gravity back in the opposite way as L****s' power did.
A snake, Georg had an Ophis snake with him.
The others reacted out of tune, a bit too slowly. Siegfried and Arthur rushed out of the mist. Finding their respective legendary weapons before the other Knights could prevent them from taking them.
Miyuzuin tried to shoot them with lightning. But Le Fay changed the environment and the devil power found the easiest path toward the ground. Dispersing the charged up electricity before it could touch the Heroes.
"Ah, you got me." L****s smiled slightly, not letting the embarrassment and annoyance show thanks to his mental spell. He turned his gaze to where the Hero Faction clones had been "Although not everyone was a fake, I guess."
Bel had fallen to a knee, patting heavily as she reeled from having all of her power forcefully removed from her body. Freed, too, hadn't been a fake. But he reacted a lot worse than Bel did. He was clinging to consciousness while lying on the floor, but just barely.
"Some people are too self-centered to understand good tactics." Cao Cao rematerialized his Sacred Gear, hitting the butt end on the floor and letting a burst of holy energy hit everyone present all at once.
L****s protected himself redirecting the wave. The power behind it made the Kankara Formula take longer, so he still got hit with some of it. But his reinforcement stood. Miyuzuin protected herself somehow, knowing that there was too much power everywhere to render it all Worthless, and Genshirou protected the catgirls and Yuuto behind his aura.
The rest of the devils, however, took it really badly.
They weren't thrown back by the blow, or even cut in half or anything. The holy power simply invaded their bodies, made them bleed from within as the poison-like effect on their nature made them lose all strength.
Rias fell unconscious almost instantly, as did Benia while Loup Garou and Akeno still resisted for a moment thanks to their reinforcements. But they, too, fell unconscious and bled.
"Well, then." Georg fixed his glasses "I don't suppose you can use that power again, right?"
L****s reached out with a hand, but he didn't fool Georg. Magic circles appeared around the glasses mage and pummeled the devils with various types of magic, forcing L****s to release the mist and change directions and properties of the spells instead. They were slow enough for him to 'catch', and with enough numbers and variety that he couldn't just do it once and go back to punishing the Hero Faction for deceiving him.
He didn't need to.
Fate Weaver almost looked like he had teleported forward, boosting himself as much as he could before releasing a piston-like slam with his right arm right toward Cao Cao.
The heroes moved out, but as Cao Cao took the hit with his Longinus, holy energy washed out from behind. Like a popped bubble, and exploded in a way that bought everyone that stood a second to gather themselves.
Genshirou released dark tendrils and took L****s with one of them, draining from his snake's reserves and dragging the fallen devils toward himself.
Yuuto and Miyuzuin, along with Shinon separated and surrounded the swordsmen while throwing spells at the other heroes. Irina took to the sky with her steampunk-like wings and pushed her wings forward, like she wanted to fly higher.
Some of the metal-like blades that formed the wings' "feathers" got loose and sped up toward the Hero Faction. They sliced through concrete with ease, disappearing within the ground and embedding themselves in the magic circles used for defense. Irina made a motion, and the feathers heated up within seconds, exploding and destroying magic and debris alike with ease.
L****s turned around, after hearing a sonic boom almost rob him of his hearing. And found Xenovia parrying Heracles with her Durandal, protecting him from the hero's Sacred Gear.
"Thanks."
"You got us back together, right?" The blue haired warrior didn't turn to face him, but simply spoke as she pushed Heracles further back.
"Yes."
"Then keep supporting us." Was all she said before she fended off more Annihilation Maker creatures, refusing go too far away L****s as everyone else scrambled to fend off the invading forces.
He felt 'full', the power that he absorbed wouldn't just be assimilated in a few minutes or hours. He wouldn't be able to fire another All is Mine safely here, because the next time he'd likely just burst from the extra power. Or at the very least repeat the permanent damage that Ophis' power did to his body.
He didn't want a repeat of Star Seeker's ambush, he didn't want to lose even more in a single battle.
"Genshirou, take the power I absorbed." L****s gritted his teeth, feeling the blond hesitate as he realized what L****s was asking.
"But that…"
"It'll hurt." L****s assured him "But I have a way to push it back. Do it, I might be able to get us out of here."
Genshirou still hesitated but nodded. L****s felt some of the essence that All is Mine converted into demonic power leave him. Opening more paths in his flesh as Ophis' snake had done.
L****s gritted his teeth, feeling his mental spell shake against the wave of agony that Genshirou caused him. But Ophis' power prevented it from crumbling altogether. His vision swam, but Kankara Formula allowed him to grasp exactly what he needed to do, what to aim for and which spells to twist and what powers to amplify as his allies fought.
He felt a wave of wellness wash over him the next moment, helping his mental spell. Staving off the pain and reknitting his muscles and bones.
L****s found Asia's despairing expression when he opened his eyes, tears running down her cheeks as she used her Twilight Healing to keep him in one piece. Keep him functioning thanks to how powerful her Sacred Gear was, and the fact that this damage could actually be repaired. No matter how reckless it actually was.
Diodora offered her a fond smile.
"I'm sorry… Ise-kun gave me those people to protect me. He said… I didn't know they'd fight so hard…"
L****s didn't find it strange, to think that Fate Weaver had been in this world for so much longer… And yet, he had to stave off his anger. He had to keep Autosuggestion fueled or those that belonged to him would perish.
"I forgive you." He stated soullessly. It didn't mean anything to him, but it meant the world for the poor girl that Fate Weaver one-sidedly dragged into their feud.
Asia looked down, almost covering her face but having enough mental presence to keep healing him instead.
"GAH!" Rias sat up, suddenly coming back to life as Twilight Healing leaked through L****s' body and enveloped the whole group that stayed behind "What…? Where…?"
"We need you firing off your Power of Destruction there." L****s quickly turned to her, redirecting a wave of holy aura as he pushed his snake even further. Feeling his fingers split slightly again, only for Twilight Healing to keep them back in place.
Overstrained, he couldn't keep fighting off Georg's changes on equal grounds. Too much was happening at once.
Rias needed a moment to understand his words, to center herself as…
L****s got tackled, losing the air in his lungs as his ribs got smashed and his mind blanked out for a moment.
[DIVIDE] [DIVIDE] [DIVIDE]
L****s fell to the ground, hearing voices yelling but not quite understanding them. The only thing he could hold onto was power, and so he kept pushing back Dimension Lost as Georg took the moment to try and seize them all again.
Metal against metal rang in his eardrums, he got grabbed and pulled back like a sack of potatoes. Power washed over him, healing him.
L****s could understand words again.
"Diodora-san!" Genshirou gritted his teeth as he fended Bel off, helped by Xenovia and Irina now.
"I'm fine…! Mostly!" He groaned as Kuroka helped him up, giving him more lifeforce and ending the building headache and muscle pains that Autosuggestion tried to hold back.
"And… We're back in business!" The half devil cheered.
[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]
Her armor came back after being reduced to power by L****s, and she rushed to meet the three that got in her way. L****s only had a moment to change her trajectory, have her barrel to the floor and keep her there for a moment before having to go back to fending off the heroes' spells instead.
He gritted his teeth as his annoyance leaked through his mental spell. He needed something better, but didn't want to mess up his own mind anymore.
"Sorry about that." Xenovia said after Bel pushed her back, closer to L****s.
"You're not very useful, huh." Some of his annoyance leaked through, making his words harsher.
"The monsters are gone." Xenovia ignored him altogether and went back to fighting.
He gave a good look to the battlefield, to the way the heroes toyed with devils and exorcists alike. How only Fate Weaver really seemed to put a dent on their forces. And yet, only him and Bel used their Balance Breakers. Only they were giving it their all.
"Yuuto!" L****s called out, and he changed his formale to grab at the power released by the Caliburn, Durandal, and the demonic swords in Siegfried's possession. He brought them to himself, and motioned for Genshirou to also give him his attention for a moment.
Yuuto appeared beside him, with Genshirou letting Bel hit him enough to make him land by L****s' side.
He turned to his Rook.
"Give Yuuto this."
"What?" The swordsman looked confused, but Genshirou obeyed in his stead.
L****s gave Yuuto a stern look.
"I know you told me your feelings about this, but there's no time for politics and social games. I need you to grow stronger for me, and I need it to happen now. Are you ready?" He didn't try to deceive him or give him a false sense of security. Hell, L****s only partially registered the emotions displayed on Yuuto's face as he kept using his Kankara Formula once Genshirou freed him of the legendary swords' power. Pushing for Miyuzuin to get a clean hit on Le Fay "Honestly ready. This might break you, but we need all the fire power. And we need it now."
L****s pushed back the Dimension Lost again, his control over its movements got weaker by the moment. And his attention to detail was getting worse by the moment. He didn't know when Miyuzuin got herself a Sacred Gear gauntlet, or when the semi-armor around Irina materialized. Hell, he only just realized that had to be a Balance Breaker. And he didn't even know when Heracles started using his.
"I'm ready." Yuuto stated coldly. L****s didn't have the time to understand his inner turmoil "Please give me the strength to protect those I care for."
"No." L****s grabbed the back of Yuuto's head, forcing him to look at the fight and pushing his demonic power against the blond's mind.
L****s wanted to laugh. The original Diodora used brainwashing techniques to keep his peerage in place, and the implications disgusted L****s enough that he had actively avoided practicing and the topic altogether. And yet, after all was said and done, he had no choice but to turn back to this. To bend Yuuto's will so he could live another day.
He felt disgusted at himself, but he figured that self-deprecation could wait. It didn't suit the Bradley, so L****s needed to do it properly if he'd start hating himself now.
"Do you see Siegfried? Arthur? Can you see their legendary weapons? How they brandish them without care, against us who didn't do anything to them? Does it remind you of anything?" L****s encouraged the right emotions, subdued the rest. Yuuto's eyes opened so much that they looked like they'd fall off their sockets. So L****s magnified the feeling "It's unfair, isn't it? You didn't do anything. And yet, you were treated as a labrat. You and the other kids, alone and scared. Cold and helpless. Just so someone could brandish the Excalibur fragments just like this."
"...Diodora-san?" Genshirou looked worried, but Bel didn't let him speak up more. He took care of the defense again, but now his movements were sloppy. Still worried.
"Yuuto Kiba, no… Isaiah. Do you feel the pain? The wrath? Do you hate with all of your heart? Can you feel the powers that Genshirou gave you?" L****s spoke with a suave tone, almost right on Yuuto's ear. The blond shook in place, veins popping up as demonic power kept twisting his mind. Making him relive things that he thought long forgotten "Make no mistake. The weapons themselves aren't at fault. They're just tools to forward people's goals. And yet… If they were on the right people's hands, surely things would be different. Do you feel the outrage?"
"I… I do…"
"Do you hate the things you see in front of you?"
"I hate it…!"
"Is it fair?"
"No!"
"But you can't do anything about it."
"I…"
"Not like this, not without the right tools. And yet… You have them right in your hands. Don't you? You feel them, you can grab them and use them for yourself."
Yuuto didn't answer immediately, but his hands knew what they needed to do. They surrounded the invisible swords that his mind projected, that L****s had handed to him.
"Are you powerless?"
"No!"
"Will you do something about this?"
"I will! With my own power!"
"To those with power that hurt the weak, to your foes."
"To my foes!"
"Even if it takes the last drop of your blood."
"Even if I die here!"
"Now say it with me, grab that power. Make it yours…" L****s released him and spoke the words even more softly.
"Balance. Breaker."
"BALANCE BREAKER!"
Power erupted from within Yuuto, a wave of energies that weren't meant to go with one another. L****s covered his eyes and got pushed back by the rush. But he managed to shield them all from the incoming spells as the battle drew to a sudden halt.
When the light cleared out, Yuuto had two swords in his hands.
On his left, a long and thin blade released a holy aura that dispelled L****s' brainwashing almost instantly. It looked more like a spear than a blade, but the guard made a diamond shape and the blue blade made it unmistakable even to the Invaders. It was the same that Arthur held between his hands, driving Miyuzuin back.
On his right, a huge doubled edged demonic sword released a malevolent crimson-red aura. Mostly black but with precious golden details in the middle of the metallic slab that it called a blade, so big that it actually defeated Yuuto's strength and hit the ground. The edge dug into it without resistance.
Yuuto's eyes had become completely emotionless, and when he spoke, L****s almost didn't recognize his voice.
"The Betrayed Swordsman's Arsenal of Revenge… Tale Forges." Yuuto pointed his holy sword at the fight, and blades erupted from within the ground.
L****s felt relief wash all over him.
Miyuzuin pulled back, a copy of Durandal between her hands. She gave L****s a look.
"Round two." He stated as Miyuzuin rendered Le Fay's magic Worthless, helping fend off Bel as Yuuto released wave after wave of holy and demonic power from his Caliburn and Gram replicas.
He pushed Le Fay toward the mist, throwing her out of the battlefield and clashing with Georg with renewed efforts.