The sight of the Vanguard's leader suddenly showing up at the school caught everyone off guard as Juna soon took out her weapons and charged at Wraith trying to get a good hit in.
Unfortunately for her, the terrorist managed to grab her arm and throw her behind him as her weapons clattered out of her hands.
"Juna!" Kurt said as he immediately rushed to her side as did the rest of Class VII.
Wraith soon smirked. "Sorry kid, but my fight isn't with you, it is with your dear old instructor." He spoke.
"Wraith… what do you want?" Rean asked as he brought out his tachi. "You must know that most of your Vanguard has been beaten!"
"Yeah, you're not wrong about that. It seems like picking a fight with you was the wrong move after all. Wish they heeded my warning." Wraith said as brought out his sword while something he said caught Rean off-guard.
"They? Was he working with someone we didn't catch?" Rean thought.
Wraith soon chuckles before looking at Rean.
"Still, I got my pride Ashen Chevalier, if you want me to admit defeat truly…"
Wraith soon paused as he brandished his sword towards Rean.
"You got to make me earn it first!" Wraith said.
Rean soon looked at his students, Emma and even Aurelia who seemed like they were placing their hopes in him as he brandished his tachi and pointed it toward Wraith.
"Very well! Bring it on!" Rean said as they soon began to fight.
Rean dashed forward, his Spirit Unification form activating in a burst of azure light. His speed was blinding as he closed the distance, deflecting Wraith's initial strike with precision strikes of his blade. Each impact sent sparks flying, the clash of energies illuminating the battlefield.
"Arcane Gale!" Rean shouted, spinning into a wide, sweeping slash that cut through the tendrils and forced Wraith back. The force of the attack carved a shallow trench in the ground, but Wraith merely chuckled, his movements eerily fluid as he dodged.
"You've got skill, Schwarzer," Wraith admitted, summoning dark energy into his sword. "But skill alone won't save you!"
Wraith lunged, his movements unpredictable as he closed in on Rean with a flurry of slashes. Rean parried and countered, sparks flying with each clash of steel. But Wraith's speed and cunning were formidable. He feinted left before spinning to the right, landing a glancing blow on Rean's arm.
Rean winced but pressed on. "You're strong, but I've faced worse!" With a flash of orbal energy, he unleashed a True Crimson Slash, using the fire to neutralize Wraith's follow-up strike. Rean countered with a powerful downward slash, the force of his blade splitting the ground beneath them.
Wraith leapt back, grinning wickedly as he channeled even more dark energy into his sword. "Impressive. But let's see how you handle this!" He hurled the daggers into the ground, where they erupted into twin pillars of black fire. The flames surged toward Rean, forcing him to leap high into the air.
Rean landed gracefully, his eyes narrowing. "Time to end this!" He gripped his blade with both hands, channeling all his strength into a single strike.
"Helix Strike!" Rean roared, dashing forward in a spiral of energy that tore through the black flames and struck Wraith square in the chest. The force of the attack sent Wraith hurtling backward, crashing into the ground with a resounding impact.
Wraith staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his lip but his grin unwavering. "Not bad, Schwarzer. But no this, I am only one of the three heads… the other two are even more vicious than me… and I truly hope you will never know what monsters they can be…"
That truly did confuse Rean, but before he could ask for more answers, Wraith soon disappeared into a puff of dark energy leaving all of them worried about the cryptic words he told them.
Soon Major Micheal soon found them and reported to Aurelia that had managed to take care of all of the remaining Vanguard members and had taken them into custody.
"Good… prep holding cells for them and make sure I get a chance to interrogate them." Aurelia said to Micheal who nodded before running off.
"So then… all of this… it is over?" Altina asked with joy evident in her voice.
"Yes… it appears so." Rean said brandishing his tachi. Altina soon hugged him followed by Musse. Juna simply gave a smile of relief as Kurt and Ash high-fived each other while Emma soon gave Rean a big old celebratory kiss.
Later that night, things had calmed down. The investigation had ruined much of the initial planning of the Branch Campus' graduation ceremony. Still, Towa had managed to make backup plans and was currently explaining it to both Micheal and Aurelia. However, Emma soon saw Rean was in the corner, seemingly lost in his own thoughts and went over to him.
"You ok?" Emma asked. "Your acting like we just lost."
"Oh! It is nothing Emma… I was just thinking about something…" Rean said to her.
"About what?" Emma asked as she sat next to him.
Rean soon looked around this space saw Towa, Micheal and Aurelia talking as a small smile encroached on his face.
"When I came here a year ago, I wasn't really sure if this was the place belonged. But after everything I have been through since then with the Great Twilight and this Vanguard attack. This place is where I mean to be it seems." Rean said to her.
"So you want to continue being an instructor?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, even after Class VII graduate, there are still going to be students who need direction and guidance, and I feel like I can give that to them." Rean said.
Emma soon kissed his cheek.
"I am not surprised… that sounds like you. I for one support your decision." Emma said to him.
"Thanks Emma." Rean said to her.
As Emma soon got up and went to talk to Towa, Rean began thinking again. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of a much larger battle. But for now, they had won, and the bonds they had forged would only grow stronger.