The battlefield trembled under the pressure of the fragmentum clawing out its way into reality. Its serpent-like body, clad in jagged shards. Each movement tore the ground further, siphoning energy from the leyline with unnatural hunger.
"It's materializing," Alice warned, her emblem pulsing as she recalibrated her shields to adapt to the creature's distortion. "Its core is feeding at the leyline; we'll lose containment if it reaches critical mass."
"Then we break it before that happens!" Hajime shouted, diving toward the left flank. His Hydro-boosted rounds glinted as they fired, tracing spirals of blue light into the creature's exposed weak points. Each impact sparked ripples across its malformed armor, but the creature barely flinched.
Anisphia flipped into the air, launching a volley from her Runeblaster Cannon. "Watch out!" she called, deploying her Spark Shroud Disc to deflect a burst of shards the beast had flung skyward like a rain of razors.
Saji's Absorption Line lashed out, anchoring into the ground and forming a barrier that split the battlefield. "We need someone to draw its attention!"
"I'm on it!" Momo surged forward, her enchanted batons spinning as she struck at the beast's clawed limbs. Her magic struck true, but the creature hissed and retaliated, swiping a crescent arc of force that sent her skidding backward.
Reya was already in motion, drawing runes midair to slow the creature's from feeding from the leyline. "Alice-san! We need to interrupt it from feeding from the leylines!!"
"I'm on it!" Alice responded, tapping from Hajime's divine blessing to subtly control the energy flow from the leyline.
Sagiri disappeared in a flicker of smoke, reappearing atop a broken monolith. With practiced calm, she hurled kunai imbued with collapse sigils at the creature's exposed neck joint. Explosions followed, staggering it for a split second.
Rias raised a hand, her magic gathering in a crimson sphere of destruction. "We strike together. match your timings we're not letting this monster tear Kuoh apart."
Beside her, Xenovia readied Excalibur Destruction, its jagged, crimson-hued blade pulsing with raw holy power. The very air around it seemed to crack and fracture with divine force. "This thing is blasphemy incarnate. Let's purge it."
Irina stood just behind her, gripping Excalibur Mimic as it shifted shape fluidlyinto a katana, adapting to her battle rhythm. "We'll strike it down together, Xenovia!"
And in that moment, every side moved as one.
Recognizing the situation's urgency, Hajime quickly called out. "Gremory-san! take your peerage and church exorcists and pursue Freed! We and Sitri Peerage will handle this."
Xenovia held her ground for a moment, Excalibur Destruction crackling with volatile holy light. She narrowed her eyes at Hajime. "Why are we splitting up at all? Wouldn't it be better to strike together?"
Hajime met her gaze steadily. "Because if we don't stop Freed now, he'll just bring back more of these things. But if we all leave, and this creature merges with the leyline, it could corrupt everything and attack the town. We split because we have to. Both threats are real and need to be stopped."
Xenovia studied him for a beat, then nodded sharply. "Fair enough. Then hold your ground—and leave some of the glory for us."
Before Irina could respond, Griselda stepped forward, her voice resolute. The faint radiance of Excalibur Blessing shimmered at her side, illuminating the determination in her expression. "I'll stay and assist dealing with the creature. Irina, Xenovia, go with the Gremory team and ensure those responsible don't escape."
Irina nodded, tightening her grip on Excalibur Mimic. "Understood. We won't let them get away."
Without hesitation, Issei, Kiba, Koneko, Xenovia, and Irina regrouped with Rias and Akeno and broke off from the main battlefield, chasing after the fleeing Freed and the remaining stray exorcists and fallen angels who had retreated into the deepening riftways.
Meanwhile, Rias turned her attention back to the chaos swirling before them. Her gaze locked onto Hajime, Sona, Griselda and the rest.
"Nagumo-kun, Sona, Griselda-san, We'll leave it to you all."
Sona adjusted her glasses, a determined gleam in her eyes. "You can trust us. We will make sure this abomination be destroyed before it fully consumed the leyline."
Hajime loaded fresh rounds into his guns, but his eyes drifted sideways to Griselda. "You're sure about letting those two go alone?"
Griselda smiled, a soft, confident laugh escaping her as the light of Excalibur Blessing flickered beside her. "They're young but capable enough. Besides, I trust Ms. Gremory to keep them in line."
Hajime nodded slowly, his face setting into grim determination once more. "Let's end this now. "
With the roles clearly drawn, the battlefield split into two theaters of battle. The Gremory group, accompanied by Irina and Xenovia, plunged into the unstable riftway hot on the trail of Freed and his remaining forces.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the storm, the Sitri Peerage and Hajime's team tightened their formation around the Fragmentum. They stood as a single wall against it.
Lightning flashed overhead. Shields place. Magic flared across the battlefield.
This wasn't just a fight it was their stand to stop everything from falling apart. For Kuoh, for their home and for the people depending on them. The creature roared, they moved not just to survive, but to stop it.
They weren't letting it go any further.
----
Tsubaki's voice rang clear as she surged to the forward line, her naginata slicing through the air with a sharp gleam, the Mirror of Alice pulsing faintly at her side. Her composed demeanor held firm, as her gaze locked on the Fragmentum monster. "Sitri formation: forward guard! Focused pressure at creature! Coordinate and counter!"
Saji moved to intercept, Absorption Line flaring with dark lightning as it lashed forward and tethered the creature's leg, stealing its energy and halting its advance. "I've got it! Hit it now!"
Tomoe Meguri dashed low with fluid grace, her katana flashing in a precise arc as she sliced across one of the creature's limb joints. "Targeting vulnerable junctions, Tsubasa, with me!"
"Copy!" Tsubasa Yura responded, her gauntlets gleaming with magic as she surged forward. Her fists struck the malformed chitin with thunderous force, each impact enhanced by burst waves of magic reinforcement. With a battle cry, she twisted into a spinning strike, cracking through the corrupted armor and forcing the creature to stumble.
Ruruko Nimura flanked the opposite side, her body flickering with acceleration magic. "President! Requesting promotion to Queen!" she called.
Sona's voice rang back, clear and commanding. "Approved."
The surge was instant. Ruruko's aura burst outward, layered with the enhanced might of a Queen's amplified speed and defense. She channeled the new power through her limbs and launched forward, hands glowing. With a fierce cry, she released a reinforced pulse of kinetic energy, further boosting Tsubasa's strike. "Full boost!!"
At the front, Griselda and Anisphia flanked either side of the creature's chest. Excalibur Blessing pulsed in Griselda's hands, forming radiant seals to suppress the core's pulse. "We hold it here!" she declared.
Anisphia grinned, shifting her Spark Shroud into overdrive. "You want light? Here's brilliance!" Her Celestial Magic Blade released arcs of compressed mana with each swing, melting through corruption.
Alice spun a fresh circuit of defensive magic, her Anemo emblem whirling in tune with the storm. "Magnetic field stabilized. Begin harmonic lock!"
Behind them, Hajime aimed a burst of Hydro-infused shots into the wounded limbs, each impact splashing into the remnants of flame left by Anisphia's Pyro blasts. The collision triggered a superheated steam detonation, an evaporation elemental reaction that blasted back one of the creature's tendrils with a screech.
Above, Alice weaved her Anemo magic into the battlefield's flow, guiding the steam into concentrated gusts that sliced with surgical force. The trio's coordinated their Emblem elements attacks, Hydro, Pyro, and Anemo, with precision and synergy. Elemental reactions danced across the fragmentum's body, searing and unraveling its corrupted form with every strike.
Tsubaki blinked in surprise, noting the rhythmic chain of reactions. "They're syncing their powers while mid-fight… such understanding between them is incredible."
Saji grinned through gritted teeth, maintaining his hold. "No kidding. Whatever those Emblems are, they're doing more than just lighting up."
Momo glanced over her shoulder toward the trio. "That was elegant as hell… can I get one of those?"
Reya snorted but didn't miss a beat, unleashing another barrage of radiant spears. "Focus. But yes, we're definitely stealing their technique notes later."
Sona, her eyes calm but fierce, directed a wave of water magic attacking the creature. "Reya reinforce the flank shield. Momo, adjust the burst pattern to Alice-san's wind flow!"
"On it!" Reya cast a triple-layered arcane wall to buffer an incoming scream pulse, layering it in a way that caught the swirling Anemo gusts. Momo let loose a chain of radiant flame volleys, timing each to intersect with Alice's wind arcs. The reactions intensified, turning flame and air into slicing gales that carved into the abomination's side.
Reya blinked in awe. "Wow… just wow.."
Momo grinned, reloading. "Okay, I really want one of those Emblems now."
The creature staggered under the latest wave of coordinated strikes. Smoke and corrupted energy hissed from its wounds. For the first time, it looked like they had pushed it back.
Sona raised her voice just enough for all to hear. "We keep the pressure! One more push!"
Hajime took a breath, steadying his aim. "Let's go."
With shields up and magic aligned, they moved again, not to hold the line, but to break it.
The fight wasn't over, but now, they had the advantage.