In a development area close to the venue—.
A shopping district was under construction, but the project had been temporarily put on hold because of the game. According to the combat plan that had been devised by Ravel Phoenix; Xenovia Quarta, Shidou Irina, Asia Argento, and Elmenhilde Karnstein of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team, Bennia of the Sitri team, and a few members of the [Slash Dog] team had gathered here. A troupe of Grim Reapers appeared and surrounded them. There were more than a hundred Grim Reapers in total. The one who seemed to be the leader of the Grim Reapers took a step forward.
<<—Hyoudou Issei's peerage…and the Ice Princess' group.>>
Upon hearing this, the [Slash Dog] team's Minagawa Natsume voiced her protest
"You're counting me as a part of that group!? Seriously, don't just casually skip over people like that!"
Shidou Irina also used this opportunity to complain.
"I'm not a member of the peerage, so please don't count me as one of them okay!?"
Seeing the similar reactions of these two people, the [Slash Dog] team's Samejima Kouki couldn't help but sigh.
"…These two people actually responded in the exact same way."
"How amusing, it feels as though we have another Irina."
Xenovia smiled as she watched both of their reactions. As the opposing sides got into their positions, a cool air drifted through the area. The buildings which were still under construction gradually began to freeze. A layer of frost appeared on the surface of the road as well. Looking towards the source of the cold air, there stood a beautiful woman who was dressed in a white cloak — Lavinia Reni, who had an avatar of ice standing beside her. It was a three-metre tall ice princess with six eyes and four arms—. This was Lavinia's Longinus — [Absolute Demise]. Since it was an independent-avatar type, it could manifest with this majestic form beside its owner. Minagawa Natsume quietly said
"Today's princess is half happy and half angry, so all of you Grim Reapers will be frozen, you know?"
Lavinia exhaled white breath as she said
"I can't see Va-kun's game in person, so I will not show any mercy to those who would snatch away one of my pleasures."
As soon as she finished what she had to say, Lavinia released a bluish-white aura and magical energy. In the next instant, nearly half of the Grim Reapers were frozen solid. The surrounding area had become a world of ice. Aside from her comrades, all of the buildings, roads and everything else was frozen in ice. Thick walls of ice appeared everywhere, trapping all of the Grim Reapers within them. Minagawa Natsume allowed the hawk that rested on her shoulder to transform into a strange fiend, and Samejima Kouki also allowed his white cat to transform into a huge monster that was surrounded by electric sparks. Xenovia and Irina held up their holy swords, and they smiled as they said
"Like this, you Grim Reapers won't be able to escape!"
"Since damage won't spread to the surroundings, it makes things much easier to clean up afterwards!"
The two swordswomen prepared their stances.
The joint force of the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth] team and [Slash Dog] team had turned this into a one-sided sweep—.