The glow around the ritual circle eratic, growing wild with the unstable mana as all the stolen Excalibur fragments including the newly acquired Excalibur Blessing, place into the rampant magic circle. Mana from the ley lines surged upward like a spiraling storm, casting a flickering light over Kuoh Academy like a signal flare.
At the center stood Valper, his hands shaking from a feverish excitement. His voice rang out, with fanatical delight as he chanted the last incantations. Each syllable, pulled from forbidden scripture, rang with a heavy, unsettling tone.
"Bear witness!" Valper bellowed into the sky. "The blade of the divine shall return as the new dawn of judgment and deliverance!"
The Excalibur fragments groaned and shuddered as they began to fuse, bending beneath the strain of conflicting divine and corrupted forces. Streaks of blinding white clashed violently with Stellaron corruption, twisting together into a blade that pulsed with an unholy elegance.
Freed spun around the ritual site like a deranged conductor, his eyes wide with rapture, saliva nearly dripping from the corners of his mouth as the weapon neared completion.
"Hehehe! Here it comes! The real Excalibur will be ours! Glorious and grotesque!"
Across the battlefield, the strike force stood tense. The combine Gremory, Sitri peerages, the Church exorscist, and Sagiri all fixed their eyes on the ritual. Dread hung heavy in the air, they braced for the calamity taking shape before them.
The surge of mana swept through the area, and Alice's gaze shifted, her eyes glowing faintly as clairvoyance took hold. Images and knowledge filled her mind, and she instinctively spoke.
"Excalibur… it was originally one perfect sword," she said, her voice calm but steady. "Created by divine hands, it represented unmatched craftsmanship and power of pure, untainted, and sacred."
The others turned as Alice began speaking again.
"After the Great War, when its wielder fallen, Excalibur was broken apart. Scattered to into 7 pieces. Each fragment reforge by human hands into: Ruler, Destruction, Mimic, Rapidly, Nightmare, Transparency... and Blessing."
Once Alice clairvoyance stops. She place her hand on her temple as the lingering stress from the information flowed into her mind. Before looking back at Valper and the ritual he done.
"Valper..... seeks to force the fragments back together... but with Stellaron corruption empowering it. He is creating not a sword of salvation, but one for devastation."
She lowered her hands, Hajime stood beside her support her as she recovers from the backclash of her abilities. ".....We must stop it. He is desecrating the name of the holy sword."
For a moment, the battlefield stood still, the gravity of Alice's words settling over them.
Kiba, standing near the front, trembled slightly. His fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes darkened with barely restrained fury. Memories of his past experience in Holy Sword Project, of his friends sacrificed like pawns, of his own helpless rage, flashed behind his sharp gaze.
"Valper..." Kiba whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Irina and Xenovia glanced at each other, expressions grim. Even Griselda's usual composure wavered, her hand clasped.
"This ritual... it's an insult to everything Excalibur was meant to stand for," Griselda said quietly.
Sagiri, sensing the heavy emotions swirling in the group, placed her hand on Kiba's shoulder, grounding him without words.
Hajime gave Kiba an understanding look. Recognizing another's vow for justice.
The resolve among the team sharpened. There would be no forgiveness for Valper Galilei this night.
At the center of the ritual, a sudden surge of dark light erupted as the reforging was completed. The air split with a sharp crack, and standing atop the pedestal, Freed let out a maniacal laugh, his hand closing around the newly-forged, corrupted Excalibur.
"It's done! It's really done!" he howled, raising the abominable blade high, its corrupted divine aura sending violent ripples through the battlefield.
Without hesitation, Freed leapt down from the ritual platform, the twisted Excalibur thrumming in his grasp. His manic eyes locked onto Hajime's strike force.
"Come on, you freaks! Let's see if you can handle the real thing!" Freed cackled as he charged, brandishing the reforged Excalibur with wild unstable power.
As Freed charged with reckless abandon, Alice's eyes clouded once again with the brilliance. Her clairvoyance once again activated. She shouted urgently to the group.
"Everyone, be careful!" she called. "The re-forging was incomplete, the Excalibur Ruler was not included. Because of that this 'Excalibur' is unstable."
Gasps came out from their group, but Alice pressed on, her expression grim.
"The instability is further amplified by the Stellaron corrosion! That blade isn't a true Excalibur anymore... it's a volatile abomination! It could collapse at any given moment."
Her warning sent a ripple of tension through the group. What they are facing right now wasn't just a madman with a holy sword, but a mad man who has a ticking catastrophe waiting to explode.
Freed, gleeful and unhinged, charged directly at the strike team, the corrupted Excalibur releasing unstable surges of light with every swing. The first wave of his attacks was wild yet terrifyingly powerful, each strike causing shockwaves across the grounds. Koneko stepped forward first, attempting to intercept him with her raw physical strength, but was forced back by the sheer volatility of the corrupted sword. Issei tried to close the gap, Boosted Gear powering him up, but Freed's chaotic strikes pushed him onto the defensive.
Kiba, fueled by rage, engaged fiercely, yet even with his speed and Demonic swords from his sacred Sword Birth, broke like twigs. he struggled against Freed's erratic, devastating swings.
Irina and Xenovia attempted to coordinate, holy swords clashing against the corrupted blade, but even Durandal's overwhelming power found difficulty piercing through the Stellaron-enhanced instability.
Sagiri darted in and out, using her ninja techniques to support, but even she found herself narrowly evading the blade's unpredictable arcs.
Only when Anisphia step in with her Celestial Magic Blades and dragon-seal-boosted instincts, managed to hold the line. Dancing through the battlefield like a tempest, Anisphia deflected Freed's wild strikes with precision, her blade carving arcs of light as she matched him blow for blow, her expression uncharacteristically serious.
Meanwhile, Alice and Asia standing beside Hajime, calmly tended to Griselda's wounds with her Sacred Gear. The soft glow flickered around her hands soothing Griselda's wounds.
Hajime stood silent, his pistol lowered at the side. His gaze locked on Freed and the unstable Excalibur. Unknown to rest, he had already begun to act. Invoking the synergy of two of his greatest Authorities.
The Authority from Enkidu, the Blessing of Terra, granted Hajime the power to tap into the earth's essenc. Enhancing his defenses, accelerating his stamina recovery, and granting him spiritual restoration while enabling him to bless or heal allies by channeling the land's natural power. Alongside it, the Authority he usurped from Gilgamesh, the Origin Mastery, giving Hajime an innate passive understanding of all forms of weaponry, craftsmanship, spell craft, technology, and divine artifacts.
With the Blessing of Terra grounding his senses and Origin Mastery allowing complete insight, Hajime dissecting the corrupted Excalibur in his mind's eye—tracing its fault lines, instability from missing fragments, and the chaotic taint from the Stellaron with frightening clarity.
To Hajime, the weapon stood naked before him, every weakness exposed, every instability outlined in stark detail.
And despite the raging battle, despite the threat the it posed, Hajime remained relaxed. For in his eyes, Freed's so-called "ultimate weapon" was nothing more than a cracked mirror, dangerous, yes, but fatally flawed.
Hajime lets out a deep breath. It's finally time to move.
-----
Freed continued to clash wildly against the strike team, Valper stood near the ritual circle, his expression one of unrestrained ecstasy. His eyes gleamed with fanatical pride as he watched his creation wreak havoc upon the battlefield.
"Magnificent...!" Valper whispered to himself, almost giddy. "My masterpiece surpasses even the original glory!"
However, his joy faltered slightly when his gaze caught Anisphia, danced against Freed's attacks without yielding.
Valper's brow furrowed, a rare flash of annoyance crossing his face.
"The weapon of that girl..." he muttered. "To think she can match a Stellaron-enhanced Excalibur..."
Even with the raw chaos Freed unleashed, Anisphia held her ground with wild grace, her strikes accurate and finesse, each blow disrupting Freed's rhythm and pushing back against the corrupted sword's unstable power.
Valper tightened his fists, struggling to suppress the creeping realization, his "ultimate weapon" might not be as invincible as he had dared to dream.
Meanwhile, the vanguard team fought desperately against Freed's frenzied assault. Koneko gritted her teeth, her small frame a blur of movement as she ducked under a wild slash, only to be forced back by a blast from Freed's slash.
"… he's faster than he looks," Koneko muttered, bracing herself again.
Issei roared, his Boosted Gear flaring brightly. "I'm not losing to some crazy guy swinging around a broken sword!" Yet even his enhanced strength could barely keep pace with the chaotic energy swirling around Freed.
Kiba darted in with precision strikes, gritting his teeth. "His movements are so erratic... It's like fighting a storm!"
The corrupt Excalibur's volatility repelled him time and again, forcing him into a frustrating defensive.
Irina swung her light blade fiercely. "Stay sharp! That thing's unstable, one wrong move and—"
"I KNOW!" Xenovia barked as she clashed Durandal against the abomination, the shockwave rattling the air. "Just hold your ground!"
Sagiri darted in, her movements a blur. "Openings… too brief… need to be faster..."
Despite their coordination, the chaotic blade warped Freed's movements unpredictably, keeping them all at bay.
Only Anisphia remained unwavering, her smile widening as she matched Freed blow for blow.
"You're pretty fun!" she called out, they clashed in a flurry of sparks. "But you'll have to try harder if you want to break me!"
Freed cackled, wild-eyed. "Oh, I'm just getting started, princess! Let's dance!"
At the rear line, Griselda, now fully healed thanks to Asia. "That weapon... it's a blasphemy towards holy weapons," she muttered under her breath, her knuckles tightening around her grip as the tainted aura radiated outward.
Beside her, Alice's eyes gleamed with sharp calculation, magical equations and battle trajectories flashing through her mind. "The sword's instability is worsening with every strike," she said crisply, her tone focused. "If we allow this to drag on, Freed could lose control entirely."
She frowned deeper, glancing across the field where the vanguard team fought valiantly. "We cannot keep dragging this on. We need a precision move... preferably something that won't shatter the entire academy with it."
Koneko grunted as she slid back from another parried blow, her stance resetting quickly. "Can't keep up much longer... that sword's a nightmare," she huffed.
Issei unleashed another boosted punch, only for Freed to twist away erratically. "This guy's a freaking cockroach!"
Kiba, panting lightly, tightened his grip on his summoned sword. "He's unpredictable. None of our attacks are working."
Irina swung her blade, trying to coordinate with Xenovia. "We need an opening! anything!"
"Just don't get caught in the backlash!" Xenovia barked, clashing Durandal once more with a blast of light.
Sagiri's figure blurred between strikes, her voice terse over the channel, "Timing... has to be perfect..."
Alice absorbed it all with a keen mind, the desperate situation of the vanguard, the madness of Freed's movements—all pieces of a collapsing puzzle.
"We need a break in his rhythm," Alice murmured, just as someone passed her by.
At that moment, Hajime moved, walking with calm and collected presence through the turmoil.
As Freed swung the corrupted Excalibur in a wild arc toward him, Hajime extended his right hand and catching the blade mid-swing, halting its momentum completely.
The entire battlefield froze.
Freed's manic grin faltered for the first time. "W-What the hell?!" he screeched, yanking at the blade but Hajime's grip did not even tremble.
Alice expression stunned, while Griselda let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Ahh crap, he made a move," Anisphia said with a visible twitch. Hajime finally move and this won't end peacefully.
Hajime's gaze remained unshaken as he tightened his fingers slightly, a wave of force vibrating from his hod. A crackling sound can be heard from the Excalibur's blade.
Slowly, Hajime opened his eyes. "Analysis complete… Excalibur blueprint complete. Structure analysis… forging history copied. Composition and material density… gathered and recorded."
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Hmmm. Let's not waste any more time."
In a single, effortless motion, Hajime closed his hand around the corrupted blade, crushing it with ease.
The Excalibur shattered like brittle glass under the pressure of his grip, fragments of unstable light dissolving into the night air with a mournful hiss.
Silence blanketed the battlefield.
All eyes widened in shock—Koneko froze mid-step, Issei's mouth dropped open, Irina and Xenovia staggered back in disbelief, and even Kiba faltered, stunned.
Anisphia and Alice exchanged a knowing glance, each with a small, resigned smile. This world will now witness the might of someone who did the impossible. The pinnacle of human foolishness. The boy who challenge a God and won. The Devil King of Another world, Campione, Hajime Nagumo.