Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.

Chapter 65

—I have never fully understood the mortal psyche…. Sometimes they are strong, but at other times they are so fragile that you just need the right spell to deal great damage to them. —

Diary of a Master Illusion mage in the Second Age

In a room in one of the many secret bunkers of the fallen angels, many devils, fallen angels, angels, youkai, and Valkyries were gathered. Everyone was sitting in front of several screens generated by magic circles, examining the information they continuously received from the different teams sent on the «Six Dragon Kings» mission. This exchange of information was necessary to coordinate future actions and know if the mission had already been conducted or whether it was still necessary to mobilize to other places to supply support.

The whole place seemed relatively normal, until someone broke that normality with a shout.

"Are you sure, Lavinia-Sama?!" shouted one of the fallen angels who was present, surprising everyone who was next to her.

"Lira, what's happening? Why are you shouting so surprised?" asked another of the fallen angels when he saw his companion shout unexpectedly.

The fallen angel named Lira did not respond to her faction companion, as she suddenly stood up from where she was sitting and without paying attention to anyone else, she began to run, leaving the room.

This woman's steps were quick, as she was carrying very sensitive information about the rescue mission, so she did not waste time and reached the room where the leaders of the Kuoh pact were. Without knocking on the door and therefore waiting for a response, she quickly entered the room, drawing the attention of those who were inside.

The room where the leaders of the Kuoh pact where meeting was a large room, in which there was a round table with a chair for each of the leaders of the factions that made up the pact. Almost everyone who governed the pact was present, except for one of the founding members. Although the room was appointed for the leaders, there were some people who served directly to them, and one of the most important people present was Grayfia, who was next to her husband. On the side of the Fallen Angels was a woman with strong eyes with long purple hair, who was wearing a formal suit, which highlighted her enormous breasts. This woman's name was Penemue, and she was the main secretary of the Grigori. Next to Michael was Gabriel, who received looks of annoyance from Serafall from time to time. Furthermore, next to Odin was a Valkyrie, which was a beautiful woman with long light blue hair. Her clothing consisted of a black professional suit. This woman's name was Brynhildr, the strongest of the Valkyries and their leader.

When Lira entered the room, the leaders quickly looked at her, surprised to see her there.

"Lira?" Penemue asked in surprise as she saw one of her direct subordinates arrive and interrupt the room, ignoring all the etiquette protocols that they had taught her when she became a secretary. "What are you doing here?"

The young woman quickly looked at her leaders and bowed and apologized for her actions. "I am so sorry, Penemue-Sama, Azazel-Sama! But the information I brought is very urgent!"

The words that came out of the young woman's mouth caused confusion and concern in those who heard her, but it allowed them to understand that it must have been something very sensitive for her to have entered in that way.

"What thing?" Penemue asked after coming out of shock at what she had just heard.

"Something must have happened that has complicated the mission, Penemue." Azazel responded with an amused smile since it was funny to see his secretary so surprised.

When Azazel's secretary heard her boss's response, her first reaction was, to everyone's surprise, to hit him on the head, causing the Grigori leader's head to crash against the table.

"Ahk. "That hurt, Penemue." Said Azazel, who began to rub his head after the blow.

"That's what you get for being funny with me, baka-boss!"

After that shout, Penemue looked at her subordinate and asked her to tell what important news she brought to interrupt in this way in the leaders' room. When Lira began to convey the information that Lavinia had given her, the eyes of all the leaders widened in surprise upon hearing this.

"Are you sure Lavinia mentioned Walburga's name?" asked Azazel, who did not have his typical smile, but rather had a very serious and worried look.

"Yes, Azazel-sama. I even asked her to tell me her report a second time to confirm it."

"Shit…" Azazel sighed as he put a hand to his temple.

"Where do you know that magician from, Azazel?" Sirzechs asked, looking at the fallen leader curious as to why he was acting like this.

"I know her from a certain incident a few years ago with an organization called Oz." Azazel responded, who to avoid further questions began to tell them about the Oz magician organization and the incident involving Tobio Ikuse. When the leader of the Grigori finished speaking, the assembled leaders were very surprised, especially Michael and Gabriel.

"Are you sure she owns the sacred gear «Incinerator Athem», Azazel?" Michael asked his fallen brother with great concern.

"Yes, Michael. She "inherited" it from her former teacher and has become a very powerful and versatile user of said sacred gear."

"This is bad, very bad. Now I understand why we had no information about that sacred gear, even though it is considered one of the holy relics of Christianity." Commented Gabriel, who looked at her brother. "We have to recover it quickly, that should be a priority for the groups that come across her."

"It seems that you have forgotten what the objective of this mission is, Gabriel." Serafall commented, drawing the attention of her rival, who looked at her at once. "This mission was made so that we rescue Marie-chan before Ed-chan arrives at his home from wherever he is."

"I know but…"

Gabriel's words were interrupted when a magic circle appeared in front of them, which caught the attention of those present.

"I thought no one would be able to contact us until this mission was finished?" asked Odin, who looked at the magic circle with some caution.

"Yes, that's right… but that magic circle is not from any faction that I recognize." Yasaka pointed out, who was looking at the circle strangely, because she had never seen that magic circle.

"It is the magic circle that Edzard-kun has created for his family." Sirzechs said, recognizing the magic circle that Edzard had shown him several months ago, when he asked him about his level of magic power in this world.

The mention of the missing member of the pact sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present, who turned pale as snow upon hearing this.

"Shit…" Odin said as he put a hand to his face, because he began to fear the worst, that is, he began to fear that Edzard had already returned.

"T-this is bad…" whispered Serafall, who did not have at all the amused and cheerful expression that she usually had, no, right now, she showed absolute concern, along with a little panic.

"We have to answer him, otherwise things will escalate even more." Azazel commented, who was sweating a little, since he didn't know why, but the atmosphere had become more suffocating out of nowhere, reaching the point where he had completely forgotten about Walburga.

After Azazel's words, the leaders present looked at each other, seeing who the person would be who would answer this call, and, therefore, who would receive the response from Edzard.

"I think the best person to do it would be Yasaka-hime." Odin pointed out, who quickly turned his face away when he realized that the aforementioned looked at him intensely with her golden eyes, almost as if waiting for the perverted old man to burst into blue flames.

The answer given by old Odin made everyone look at the youkai, who began to look at them in response. This ended up causing a somewhat tense atmosphere in the place, which was aggravated by the silence that accompanied it. This silence did not last long, as Azazel spoke.

"Yes, I think she is the one." The Fallen leader commented, earning a growl from Yasaka, who responded quickly.

"Because you believe that? Because of my commitment to Edzard?" Yasaka asked, who had a frown on her face. "You think that will serve as a shield for me, my relationship with him is only professional, and thanks to the commitment, I am on thin ice in everything that has to do with his family. I don't think he'll take this well..."

Yasaka's words slightly surprised those present, as they did not expect that a woman as beautiful as her would have problems conquering a young man like Edzard. However, despite the surprise, they had to return to reality when they realized that the brightness of the magic circle increased in intensity.

"That's... well, I don't know how to put it into words, but you're our best option." said Azazel, who was thinking about getting up and asking Yasaka on his knees to answer the call. "If you answer the call, we will owe you a big favor."

Azazel's words were accompanied by the nods of the other leaders, who looked at each other worriedly, and then looked at the magic circle as if it were a hydrogen bomb about to explode in their faces.

'Idiots, they think I want to be the focus of Edzard's wrath.' Yasaka thought with some panic, and then began to quickly think of a plan to get out of this matter. However, she couldn't find a way to escape, so in the end she just let out a sigh. After the sigh, she saw the magic circle and began to think about what would happen if she responded... 'If I answer, I will gain the favor of all the leaders of the pact, and if I don't, we may have an angry Edzard after us... But, if I answer, we will have that too, but I would have a few more things to use to improve the lives of my people in the dimension created by him...'

With those thoughts, the left hand of the leader of the Kyoto Youkai began to slowly approach the magic circle. As she moved forward and approached the circle, her body began to sweat and cool down, while her nerves began to increase. When her hand was just millimeters away from touching the circle, she closed her eyes and when she touched it, she waited for Edzard's furious scream... However... it never came, causing her to open her eyes. When her gaze was fixed on the magical projection of the circle, she was greatly surprised, since there in that magical miniature was not Edzard, but rather Tiamat.

"Tiamat-san…" Yasaka said in surprise, drawing the attention of the other leaders and those present, who had closed their eyes and covered their ears so as not to hear Edzard scream.

"Hello, Yasaka-san." The dragon greeted with a tight smile, which was in her human form. "I'm sorry for calling this way, but I received orders to tell you this immediately."

The words the dragon said began to echo in the minds of those present, worrying them even more.

"What should you convey to us, Tiamat-san?" said Ajuka, who looked at his occasional "secretary", who looked at him quickly before answering him.

"I have two things to tell you, both said to me by the chief maid of the palace, who received these orders from Edzard."

The mention of the name of Akatosh's son raised even more alarms in the minds of those present, who felt a chill.

"H-h-has he returned...?" Azazel asked with some panic in his voice.

"Yes, he arrived a few minutes ago, but he couldn't stay long, since, upon arriving, he asked to speak with Asia-san, and as you can understand, he realized that something was happening, so, he asked the leader of the maids to tell him everything, something to which she agreed." Tiamat responded, leaving the smile she had before and putting on a panicked face when she finished saying that. "I didn't know much about how he took it, but she says that his eyes became so cold that they could surely freeze the earth's ocean very easily."

"Shit, this is fucked."

Odin's words did not receive an immediate response, but were greeted by a silence, which lasted a few seconds, until it was broken by Michael, who was the first to come out of his stupor, so he could ask about Edzard's words.

"My boss said that when he returns from saving his daughter, an emergency pact meeting was necessary, since he has discovered some things that could affect the future actions that will need to be taken against the daedras, because, he has information that could change the course of the invasions of our world."

The dragon's words once again surprised those present, who looked at each other as they began to talk among themselves.

"That's incredible... every time he goes out on his own, he manages to find important information that has to do with the Daedric invasions or the Khaos Brigade." Ajuka commented in surprise, who was thinking about what kind of information Edzard could have.

"I understand you, old friend." said Sirzechs, who let out a sigh of relief, because they were not dealing with Edzard… for now.

"It's almost as if everything appeared in front of him, more than a coincidence it's almost as if…"

"Almost as if destiny guided his hand and his steps to take him to that place." Serafall said, finishing what Azazel was saying.

"Yes. It's times like these that I'm thankful the brat isn't our enemy." pointed out Odin, who still remembered how that young man had explained to them that he had killed Loki in a very simple way. "Even if his power is not comparable to ours, his abilities are more than enough to significantly reduce any gap, making him someone to be feared."

The words of old Odin were heard by the companions of each leader, who began to have doubts, because although most of them knew Edzard from the reports they received from their leaders, only one of them had been able to speak with him in person. However, before they could even say anything, Azazel's secretary spoke, drawing everyone's attention again.

"Tiamat-san. You mentioned two messages from Edzard-sama for us, what is the other one?"

Penemue's question made everyone turn their gaze to Tiamat, who made a very serious face and coughed, and then responded, trying to imitate Edzard's voice. "Sirzechs, Serafall, Ajuka, Falbium, I need you to prepare a special medical team. They need to come with all the most qualified doctors they have, and they have to be people they can trust to keep a secret."

The request transmitted by Tiamat to the leaders of the Kuoh pact confused them, who did not understand why the son of Akatosh was making that request. Fortunately, Tiamat noticed their confusion and quickly spoke again.

"We need you to come with a medical team because my boss has found Lilith, the mother of devils."

Tiamat's words left the entire room silent, causing the devils' eyes to widen, not only theirs, but also those of the other faction leaders.

"Lilith-sama?" Grayfia asked as her eyes were wide. "Is she alive?"

"That's right." Tiamat responded quickly, as she saw how all the devils were processing all that.

"How is that possible?" asked Sirzechs, who dropped into his chair in shock and surprise, something that was copied by his colleagues, who were surprised by this development.

'This is incredible, not only has he brought back important information about the invasions, but he has also managed to find someone who had been missing since the great war. If she returns, she will be an important political force in helping to reinstate the forces of the former maous into the underworld.' Sirzechs thought with a little joy, since Lilith's presence could help give more legitimacy to the current maous, as well as improve their political weight. However, those optimistic thoughts went to hell when Tiamat answered his question.

"I don't know, but he is in a serious, very serious condition." Tiamat responded, raising alarms in the devils, who stopped thinking about what each one of them was thinking and quickly looked at the dragon.

"What do you mean?" was Falbium's question, which looked directly into the eyes of Tiamat's projection.

"Lilith-san was transported along with an entire laboratory and as we speak the maids oversee keeping it running, but as you know, none of them are doctors. According to the reports inside the laboratory, she is in a state close to death postpartum and her body shows necrosis in several parts... So, if you want her to live, hurry up and don't ask any more questions, you idiots! I will contact you again in ten minutes to bring you here."

Tiamat's final scream startled everyone present, who, after that, saw how the call ended abruptly.

When the call ended, everyone stared at where Tiamat's projection had been, in silence and total surprise. One of the most surprised was Sirzechs, who, due to the shock of knowing that someone so important to his society was dying, had not been able to react. However, that changed when he felt a light squeeze on his arm. Looking in that direction, he saw that the cause was his wife's hand, which was gently squeezing him. Averting his gaze, he looked at the woman he had decided to share his life with and was not surprised to see the concern in her eyes.

Only a glance was necessary for the current Lucifer to know what his wife wanted him to do, so, without wasting time, he quickly looked at his fellow devils and they nodded. After that, he got up from his chair and, clearing his throat a little, caught everyone's attention. When everyone present looked at him, he spoke.

"I know we're in the middle of something important, but…"

"Don't give us a speech, Sirzechs. Go, call the doctors." Azazel said, interrupting Sirzechs, as he understood the importance of Lilith appearing alive in the Underworld.

Although Azazel's action could be taken as a lack of respect, the current situation and the number of emotions that filled each of those present caused no one to complain. So, after the words of the leader of the Grigori, the four maous began to call all the trusted doctors they had, Serafall being the one who obtained the most doctors, since she was a Sitri by birth, which gave her access to the best doctors in the underworld.

After a few minutes, a large team had formed and they had already been transported to the command center of the operation «Six Dragon Kings», where they were currently waiting for Tiamat to contact them again to take them to the world of Edzard. The Grigori's secretary named Lira had been ordered not to say anything about what had been discussed in the room, something to which she agreed, since Penemue had threatened to send her to reeducation if she did not follow the order.

"How many doctors do we have on the team?" Sirzechs asked as he looked at the assembled team.

"We have more than fifty doctors, all of them are the most experienced in their fields." Falbium responded quickly. "In addition, with them are special medical equipment, which will be summoned with the help of Tiamat when we arrive at... What is the name of the boy's world?"

Falbium's question caused everyone to put a hand on their head and then look at Yasaka, because they did not know what name Edzard had given his world, so they hoped that his "fiancée" would know what name they had given it.

When Yasaka realized that they were looking at her, she quickly sensed what they wanted to know, so without wasting time she replied that she didn't know what name they had given its either.

"I see... well, that doesn't matter. As I was saying, when we reach that world, the equipment will be summoned, and we will start trying to find a way to save Lilith-sama."

After saying those words, everyone present looked at the leaders present, who nodded.

"Okay, so now we just have to wait for Tiamat to contact us." Sirzechs said, only to fall silent as a magic circle flashed in the room, showing that Tiamat was communicating with them.

"Speaking of the king of Rome, look who shows up." Azazel said with amusement upon seeing Tiamat's call. Knowing it was her and not Edzard, the fallen one approached the circle and took the call.

"Hi, Tiamat-chan." Azazel greeted with a smile.

Azazel's greeting did not seem to please Tiamat, who upon seeing him quickly let out a sigh, then ignored him and looked at the others present before speaking. "It seems like they got the team together. Are you ready for me to teleport you to this world?"

"Yes, due to Edzard-kun's intervention, the «Six Dragon Kings» operation has been concluded, since it seems that little Marie is at the base of the Italian Alps. With the presence of both of her parents, she is now safe, so we will all head to Edzard-kun's territory." Sirzechs responded quickly.

"Okay, then let's get started." said the projection of Tiamat, and then snapped her fingers.

After that click, a huge magical circle appeared at the feet of those present. The magic circle began to slowly rise, beginning to teleport them slowly. And everything was going normally, until the moment the circle was below the necks of those present, because it was at that moment that everything changed. Two magic circles appeared in Sirzechs and Yasaka's ears, which shone, giving them terrifying news.

"How come Rias and her peerage aren't in Kuoh?! / How is Kunou not in the palace?!"

The screams came from Sirzechs and Yasaka, who had just received the news that their sister and daughter, respectively, were nowhere to be found in the place where they should be. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't say or do anything else, as at that moment the magic circle swallowed them whole, taking them to the world of Edzard.

The girls that made up Edzard's group were looking at Asia, all with surprise, since their friend's sacred gear had changed drastically, not only in appearance, but also in the feeling that it emanated right now. This was because the amount of magic and power emanating from the ex-nun's balance breaker was higher than before.

"Asia?" asked Aika, who was the first who could speak after seeing her friend's new form of balance breaker, but the response she received was a somewhat worrying silence.

While the silence was worrying, what really worried the girls was what they had seen their friend do. They had woken up when Asia had been fighting Walburga, but although they had been conscious, they had not been able to see what had happened.

They did not pay as much attention to the battle because they were more focused on breaking the barrier that protected them and when they broke it, the first thing they could see was when she had mercilessly killed Walburga, dismembering her without any regard or regret. That had made them worry about the psyche of their friend, but it seemed that this fact had only been a product of the anger that Asia was surely feeling.

However, seeing that their friend already seemed to have calmed down somewhat after killing the magician, they began to approach her slowly.

"You had us worried with what you did with Walburga." Lint commented as she looked at her friend, stopping in her tracks when she saw a kind of purple flame appear from Walburga's body and levitate over the magician's stays. Seeing that, Siegfried's descendant blinked and looked to the sides of her, realizing that her friends were not seeing that purple flame.

"Lint-chi is right, Asia." said Aika, who was smiling, thinking that her friend was fine. "You worried us a lot when you were so cold about killing Walburga… but we know the crazy bitch deserved it."

The rest of the girls were in the same bag as Aika and Lint, smiling very happily, since they thought that this mission was about to end. This was because all they had to do was find Marie and everything would be solved.

As they advanced, they were all more than determined to tell their friend what they had gone through during their fights against their enemies, which had left them unconscious. The most worried of all of them was Ingvild, who was the third strongest of the entire group, not counting Tiamat, since she was not an official member of the group as such. The young devil's concern was due to her defeat at the hands of that exorcist.

'I can't believe he defeated me so easily... I'm supposed to be one of the strongest in the group, but in that place, I couldn't even use fifteen percent of my power.' the half-devil thought as she approached her friend. 'Surely Asia will know that she happens-'

The thoughts of the last member of the Leviathan clan were abruptly interrupted when she saw Asia let out a growl and then disappear in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of her. Her eyes widened when he realized that «Anseichim» was unsheathed and was on top of her, threatening to descend and separate her head from her shoulders.

Feeling death so close, time seemed to slow down for Ingvild, who began to see everything in slow motion, but not only that, since her mind began to remember everything, she had experienced until now. She saw her past with her adoptive parents, how they suffered when she fell with sleeping sickness, then she saw her awakening at the hands of Edzard, her meeting with all the girls, the beginning of her training, but what she saw most were the moments she shared with everyone. Of those memories, the ones that stood out the most were those she had with her friend and group leader, who was always kind to her. Seeing everything they used to do together, the outings every few days after school, the time in the library, the conversations they had about their artistic tastes, the singing and music practices they both carried out, all of this began to make her eyes fill with tears, making her remember one thing.. 'I never had the courage to ask Asia to allow me to be Edzard's partner... even though I love him, I have been a coward... I guess this will be the regret I will take to the grave.'

Those were the thoughts that ran through the half-devil's mind as she watched her friend's sword fall towards her neck while a huge bloodthirsty smile was etched on her face. Seeing this, she closed her eyes, awaiting the pain of her death and eternal rest. However, that never happened and instead of feeling the slash of a sword, she felt herself being dragged to the side. Sensing that, she quickly opened her eyes and looked back. As she did so, she saw that she had been pulled by Lint, who had her eyes fixed on Asia.

"Lint-san…" Ingvild whispered as she stood up, as Lint had let go of her after pulling her.

"Get up, In." Lint answered as she looked at Asia and frowned. The reincarnated angel did not know what was happening, but something was happening with her friend, because although she seemed normal, there was something about her that did not fit with what her friend normally did, one of the first abnormalities being her smile, a sickly happy smile. So, she knowing that something strange was happening, she quickly raised her sword and pointed it at Asia. "Asia, what's wrong with you?! Why did you try to kill Ingvild?!"

"GRRR!" was Asia's response to Lint's words, and then launched herself against the exorcist, who, seeing how she charged, quickly moved her sword and intercepted Asia's sword.

The force of Asia's attack was such that it caused Lint to skid several meters, creating a large furrow in the ground.

"Huff!" was the grunt of effort that Lint let out when she finally managed to stop. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything else, as Asia took advantage of the fact that she had been defenseless to quickly lunge at her. Appearing in front of her, Asia hit her entire face, causing her to fly several meters, threatening to hit a wall, but that did not happen, because, she was stopped by the timely arrival of Valerie, who stopped her and took her to the rest of the girls.

"What happened?" Valerie asked as she dropped Lint next to the rest of the girls. "Why did Asia attack them?"

"I don't know... but I'm sure of one thing... she attacked Ingvild with the intention of killing and then tried to kill me." Lint answered as she wiped the trace of blood that ran down her lip, and then spit out a little blood, which was mixed with a tooth.

"That will cost a lot of time and money at the dentist. Fortunately, Ed won't stop loving you because of that." Aika said jokingly, which was intended to lighten the mood they were feeling. Fortunately for everyone, she achieved her goal, making everyone smile, Lint included.

That moment lasted only a few seconds, after which, they all stood together and looked at Asia, who right now had her eyes on them.

"We don't know what's happening, but we must hold her or subjugate her until her balance breaker runs out, then you must continue the mission." Said Lint, who was currently taking command of the group. The response she received to these words was the agreement of her friends, after which she let out a sigh, and then made her wings appear. "Come on!"

After that scream, Lint rushed towards Asia, being followed by Valerie and Mittelt, while Aika, Rossweisse and Ingvild stayed behind to attack with magic.

"Auuuurrrggghhh!" was the guttural and feral scream that came out of Asia's mouth when she saw how they launched themselves to attack her. After her scream, she quickly launched herself against the girls who were charging at her, all of them meeting in the middle of the path.

Asia's swords and Lint's swords met again, beginning to resonate as their owners fought, slashing and slashing at great speed. The attacks that were being deployed were of such ability that neither of them gave ground, something that greatly astonished Lint, who was suspecting that her friend had become a kind of Berseker for no reason. Even so, Asia's ability was still present, and she could fight well against the exorcist and against Valerie and Mittelt, who had joined the fight, something that caused four shadows to be seen moving around the place.

Lint launched herself at Asia, beginning to exchange rapid blows with their swords. Lint's attacks were fast and precise, but were stopped by Asia's sword, which was focused on her, something that Valerie tried to take advantage of by launching an ax kick, launching herself from a few meters above Asia.

"AHHHH!" Valerie shouted as she launched her attack.

Valerie's leg approached Asia's head, but as it was about to hit, Edzard's wife moved enough to dodge it and as she did so, she did a one-eighty-degree turn, ending up kicking Valerie in the right side, sending her to the ground.

After that, Asia quickly swung her sword and deflected a thrust from Mittelt's sword, but in doing so, she was at the mercy of the spear of light that she had in her other hand. Mittelt's spear moved against Asia, hitting her in the abdomen, but did not harm her, as Asia's balance breaker defense managed to negate the damage of the blow, but not the blow itself, moving Asia a couple of meters. After which, she was hit by a water dragon, which caught her in its jaws and then sent her crashing to the ground.

BOOOM!

The ground shook as a huge exposure was generated after Asia hit the ground.

"Now!" Ingvild shouted after having stopped Asia with that spell.

A millisecond after that shout, several elemental attacks, courtesy of Aika and Rossweisse, were directed at Asia.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

The impact of the spells generated several explosions, which raised a large amount of dust and smoke. That ended up hiding the entire place where Asia was.

"Do you think we defeated her?" asked Valerie, who looked very tired and worn out not only by the current fight, but also by the injuries and wear and tear from her earlier fight.

"Not even close… you know as well as we do that her balance breaker defense is crazy." Mittelt responded, who conjured a new spear of light. "We cannot afford to let our guard down for even a second."

Mittelt's words were answered by the actions of her friends, who kept their battle positions, and the magic-using girls conjured a couple more magic circles, all to have attacks ready for when Asia attacked them again.

And as if it were a prophecy, the smoke that covered the place was cleared by a strong wind appearing from a magic circle, which appeared at the feet of Asia.

"I'm really starting to feel sorry for those who faced Asia's balance breaker and I finally understand why she is the second strongest in our group." Said Mittelt, who was beginning to feel annoyed by the balance breaker of her friend, since the power of that thing was one of the most unfair that she could have in the world to fight hand to hand.

After Mittelt's words, Asia took a step forward and then stopped abruptly, to take a position known to the girls. This position consisted of Asia having her legs apart and slightly bent, while she took her sword with both hands and pointed it towards the ground. After taking that position, a huge amount of Magicka began to swirl around Asia, causing the place to shake slightly.

The moment they all saw Asia's position, they quickly felt a chill run through their bodies, as they immediately recognized what she planned to do.

Seeing the technique that Asia was about to unleash on them, the magicians quickly deployed several magic circles, in a desperate attempt to stop her before she launched that attack.

"Stop her!" Aika shouted as her magic circles glowed, casting several elemental spells at Asia. That attack was replicated by Rossweisse, while Ingvild prepared to use something as a contingency in case her friends' attack failed.

The girls' spells traveled at high speed, threatening to hit Asia, who, upon seeing the attacks, did not move at all, allowing them to reach her. When the girls saw that, they did not understand why she did it, since, although the sacred gear would protect her from damage, the blows would still be present and if anything could stop that technique, it was a blow that would prevent Asia from continuing to accumulate magic constantly.

When the spells were less than three meters away, the girls felt some relief, as they thought they could stop Asia's attack. However, when those attacks were about to hit, they watched in total horror as a kind of vortex appeared and began to swallow the attacks.

"That?" was the only thing that could come out of Rossweisse's lips when she saw how the attack failed.

Unfortunately, that was the only thing that could be heard from the girls, because a second later, Asia shot towards them, enveloped in a dragon of golden flames.

"Move!" Rossweisse shouted upon seeing Asia's attack.

Hearing Rossweisse's scream, the girls ran out and began to disperse, trying to stay away, in order to avoid or minimize the chances of Asia's attack hitting any of them. Unfortunately, while fleeing, Rossweisse and Ingvild became very close together, making them a clear target for Asia, which headed towards them.

Seeing how her friends were about to be caught, Lint moved her wings and headed towards where they were. While she was aware that she couldn't do much, as the flames that covered Asia served as a shield, she hoped that she could at least somewhat stop the attack if she deflected Asia's sword. So, moving quickly, she headed towards the golden dragon. While flying, she did not realize that she passed over the remains of Walburga's body, and therefore over that purple flame, which, without her knowing, entered her body when she passed by a few meters about it.

Rossweisse and Ingvild's eyes were fixed on the attack, each feeling like time was stopping, but now it was Rossweisse who realized how she had lived her life. The life she had had back home, her failures in not being able to inherit the position as head of her clan, her deficiency in the use of her clan's magic, her school life so focused on study, her work as a Valkyrie and Odin's bodyguard... all of these were regrets in her mind right now, but the more memories came, the memories with her friends, the first ones she had, the feeling of what could be considered her first love, the fun moments they spent together, the days of tranquility in that palace where she could rest after her job as a teacher in Kuoh, her days reading and training... her days enjoying with the first boy with whom she had dreamed of having a family... All of those were images in her mind, which filled her eyes with tears.

'It seems that I will die being the Valkyrie who never had a boyfriend... I'm sorry I couldn't have said what I felt for you, Ed-kun...' Those were Rossweisse's thoughts as she accepted that she would end up dying at that moment... However, as Asia's sword began to rise, ready to unleash the power contained in one of her most powerful attacks, another sword appeared from the corner of Rossweisse's eye. Thanks to the fact that time seemed to have stopped, she could see that the sword was Lint's, but there was something strange about it, since the blade was covered in purple flames, not in large quantities, but enough to be visible to those who laid their eyes on the sword. She was so focused on the sword that she didn't notice when Ingvild's right hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her, trying to get her away from Asia's attack, at least so that her cut doesn't affect her.

Lint's sword moved like a streak, hitting Asia's sword squarely, causing the entire place to light up white, while generating a huge explosion.

Asia's eyes were wide with terror as her heart fluttered and became heavier with everything she saw, and, unbeknownst to the girls, Asia could not control her body, and was currently in a kind of metaphorical prison in her mind, where she could see through her eyes what was happening. She had screamed with all her might and had tried to regain control of her body to stop, but she had not been able to and all she had done was watch helplessly as she herself beat up her friends to the point of using an attack like «Akachin» against them.

While Asia felt terrible at that moment, her heart crushed even more when the smoke generated by the explosion cleared, allowing her to see the panorama she had created.

Tears began to flow from Asia's eyes like waterfalls as she saw the result of the explosion. The panorama that spread before her was desolate in several ways. The bodies of all her friends were lying all over the place, showing signs of injuries of varying degrees, but the most injured were none other than those who had been at ground zero of the explosion. Seeing that, several thoughts ran through Asia's mind. 'No... No, no, no... This is not real... it can't be... This is like a fucking nightmare I'm trapped in, none of this is true... I... I couldn't have done this...'

Asia's psyche began to slowly break as she looked at her motionless friends, causing her to feel guilt, disgust, and sadness.

"(Sniff) Forgive me girls…. (Sniff) Please… I… this… it's not me…" Asia said as she fell to her knees and tears ran down her cheeks unstoppably. "This is not me!"

Asia's scream echoed in the dark space that was where she was confined. After the scream, the place was filled with the sound of her sobbing. However, Asia's eyes widened when she heard someone coughing. Quickly looking up, she saw that the sound came from Lint, who was the most injured of all, as she had parried her attack using her sword. The sword that Edzard had given her was only chipped a little, something that surprised Asia a lot, since she had just used an ability which was enhanced by the golden flames that she had been able to use during her battle with Walburga. This generated many doubts in her mind, only for them to disappear when she saw how Lint's sword was surrounded by small purple flames.

'Those are Walburga's flames! Why Lint...? … I see…. So, you have been chosen by the sacred gear that symbolizes the cross of Christ…' Asia thought as she watched as Lint began to stand up slowly and with great difficulty, only to almost fall when she managed to stand up. However, she never touched the ground, as the rest of the girls appeared and supported her.

"Asia… I know you can hear me… I don't know what's going on…. But I know you are stronger than this… come back…. Please…. For us… For Marie…. For Ed…" said each of the girls, finishing the sentence together, because the accumulated fatigue was finally taking its toll on them, something they realized immediately.

'T-t-t-they don't hate me...? How can they tell me that after almost killing them? Girls... I...' The words of her friends reached her and gave her hope back, causing her tears to now be those of happiness.

However, that moment vanished when she felt her body move on its own, lifting «Anseichim» again, obviously ready to unleash an explosion of Magicka to finish off the girls.

Seeing that, Asia quickly stood up and letting out a scream, began to hit the invisible barrier that imprisoned her.

"Stop! Damn it, stop!" Asia screamed as she hit the barrier again and again, causing her hands to bruise and begin to bleed, but that didn't stop her, she didn't care about the pain she was feeling in her hands, since that wouldn't compare to the pain of knowing that she killed her friends. Therefore, the young woman began to use more force, but she felt that it was useless, since the barrier did not crack. That made Asia feels helpless, but despite that, she didn't stop hitting. 'Please... Break now!'

After that mental scream, Asia launched a powerful blow, which without her knowing it was covered in the golden flames that she had been using against Walburga.

Crack!

The sound of breaking glass made Asia look in front of her and before her, that invisible prison broke as if it were a glass, causing the place to fill with light.

«Anseichim», which until a second ago had been surrounded by a golden glow while its blade was surrounded by Magicka, stopped in its descent, surprising the girls, who had been watching helplessly as its death came.

"Girls…"

The girls' eyes widened in surprise when they heard the whisper of Asia's voice. As her eyes rested on her, they saw how her eyes, which had had black sclera, had returned to normal.

"Asia…?" the girls asked in unison as they watched the hand with the sword descend until finally, the sword fell from her hand.

A sharp sound echoed as the sword touched the ground, but that sound was nothing to the next. The next sound was Asia's body falling to its knees before her friends.

"Asia!" the girls screamed as they saw her friend fall to the ground. Although they were all injured, the wounds were not fatal thanks to the fact that their clothes were enchanted, which allowed them to have good resistance to magic. However, the power caused by the clash of Asia's and Lint's weapons had been such that it had partially dispelled the enchantments that protected them.

The girls extended their hands when they saw their friend fall, but thanks to the wounds they carried with them, they ended up falling too... however, even though they fell, none of them managed to touch the ground, because before they did, a golden sphere appeared between them, creating an area of several meters, in which they and everything nearby began to levitate gently.

The girls' first reaction upon seeing this was surprised, but they were so exhausted and hurt that they could barely react physically. The only thing they had the strength to do was look to the right after hearing several landings.

"There they are!"

"They are very injured, Akeno, Ravel, Koneko, prepare to give first aid!"

"Hai, Buchou!"

The voices were recognized by everyone as the voices of the members of the Kuoh ORC, something that I missed very much, since they were not supposed to be here.

'What are they doing here? Lucifer's sister isn't supposed to be here.' Mittelt thought as she felt her conscience heavier.

'How did they manage to get here? Did someone leak our mission? That's not impossible... but, if so... Who was it? Lucifer-sama? Leviathan-sama?' Were Ingvild's thoughts, which she was thinking to thereby ignore the pain of her wounds, which were mostly second-degree burns for her good fortune, but the amount added to the physical and magical wear and tear on her caused her to not be able to react much.

Despite the weakened state in which they were, for a second, they were all able to focus their vision well, which allowed them to see who was coming towards them.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw that the one at the head of that group was none other than Edzard, whose understood hand was covered by a golden aura, indicating that he was the one who had created the sphere that made them levitate.

The mere action of seeing their team leader arrive so quickly where they were made everyone feel calm, especially when they looked towards the ORC group and saw how Irina was carrying Marie. However, that tranquility faded a little when they saw how in Xenovia's arms was Kunou, who was also asleep.

The presence of the Kitsune princess unsettled the girls for a second, but then they all smiled, because they understood that everything was over and that with Marie with the ORC and Edzard here, they could now rest. So, they let the darkness claim them all, taking a more than well-deserved rest.

Edzard's palace was a complete riot of people moving from one place to another, these people being mostly the doctors who had brought the devils, who ran from one place to another looking from time to time for the supplies that were sent by the underworld to treat Lilith's body. However, within all the hustle and bustle there were also some different people, these people were youkai, who directly served Yasaka, who was sitting in a special room.

The room where Yasaka was Edzard's study, a place that apart from Edzard, only his partners had permission to enter. However, even though she was not Edzard's official "partner," her status as his fiancée gave Yasaka a high enough status to be able to enter this place and use the furniture.

The youkai was sitting in the chair in front of the desk, having one hand on her head, while her mind thought about what had happened. When she arrived at the palace, she separated from the rest of the leaders and quickly summoned several of her guards and servants, those who were on duty when Kunou was still in the palace.

Beginning a thorough interrogation, she discovered that Kunou had apparently escaped from the palace without using the gate. That made her realize that her daughter must have used the teleportation circle in her room. With that idea in mind, she headed there and saw that that magic circle had been used a while ago recently, which confirmed her suspicions.

'After discovering that, I met with Lucifer-dono, since it was more than likely that Kunou was going to look for the Sekiryuutei, since he is the closest person who was not in an unreachable place at the time. Which makes it make sense that it was because of her that Rias Gremory's peerage is not currently in Kuoh.' Yasaka thought as she tried to think of how to contact Rossweisse, since for some reason they couldn't contact them. The latter was causing her a great deal of concern. His concern was such that she had to let out a sigh to calm herself. However, after letting out that sigh, she stood up abruptly, as she felt a large amount of magical power arrive, but not only that, but she also caught her daughter's scent, it was subtle, but she could smell it.

After blinking for a second, she ran out of the room. Her steps were quick, and her running was sloppy, giving some of the people she passed a sight of her breasts jiggling or the tops of her thighs. However, she didn't care about any of that, so she ran towards where that magical power came from.

"Yasaka-dono?!" Sirzechs asked as he saw how the leader of the Kyoto youkai ran.

Hearing Sirzechs' voice, the kitsune remembered that she also smelled his sister, so, turning her head, she shouted back. "Lucifer-dono! They have returned, among them is your sister and my daughter!"

The kyubi's response made Sirzechs' eyes widen in surprise, and after a second, he began to follow her, while he was closely followed by Grayfia, who was worried about her sister-in-law.

The speed of Yasaka and Sirzechs with Grayfia running caused all the leaders to follow them. The group of several individuals ran towards where a golden portal had opened, an unmistakable sign that they had used a Shadowkey.

When they arrived, they saw with astonishment how the ORC emerged from the portal, who were fine, but slightly injured. In the arms of several of them were people, who could be recognized as Kunou, Marie and, to everyone's absolute surprise, Issei's parents.

Seeing their daughter and sister respectively, the two leaders ran like headless chickens towards where they were.

"Rias! / Kunou!" were the screams that both let out as they approached. However, when they got closer, they saw Edzard appear, who had both hands in front, moving a golden sphere. Although that was surprising, it was what they saw that came out after him that left them frozen, not only them, but also everyone presents, as they saw how all the members of Edzard's group arrived levitating after him.

The moment Edzard entered, his maids quickly approached and when they were in front of their master, he quickly began to order them to take the girls to the medical area and give them various potions to drink, which he began to mention so that they knew what they were and in what order they should be supplied.

The maids listened attentively and when Edzard finished speaking, they took the girls in their arms and, spreading their wings, flew them to the infirmary, so that the trip would be as smooth as possible for them. After that, the son of Akatosh approached them. However, before he could say anything else, a large purple vortex appeared before them and Vali's team emerged from it, but not alone, because next to them were Zakir, who was carrying a man on his shoulder. While that was surprising, that was not as much as the presence that was next to Vali, which looked at the entire palace and the place with expressionless eyes.

"We need to talk." That was what Zakir said after exchanging glances with Edzard.

Edzard's response was to nod, and then look at the others present. "Come on, let's go to a room. There is a lot to talk about."

Author's note:

To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.

I have finally managed to find time to finish this chapter. XD

They have been very difficult weeks for me, some family problems, health problems and university half-semester tasks.

Well, we can now say that this arc is over. At least one part, because there is still another part missing. The next chapter may be ready in two weeks, it all depends on how life treats me.

Regarding the chapter, I hope I have been able to illustrate well what has happened, Asia's mind control, her fight with her friends and the emotions that arose in the middle of it. As for who comes with Vali, well, it's easy to know who she is.

Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved or if you have any questions about the story. Also, any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.