Crashing

CRASH

"What!? How did they manage to slip past our barrier...!?" exclaimed one of the five Witches guarding what appeared to be a young girl with pointy ears, bobbed, platinum-blonde hair, and pink-violet eyes that currently had bright yellow, hexagonal-shaped pupils with lines flowing away from each corner. Their slim and petite body was garbed in a Kuoh Academy girl's uniform, and they were currently suspended in the air, crucified to a complex, distinctly coffin-shaped Magic Circle that produced chains of orange light that kept their wrists and ankles bound.

"B-Buchou! I'm so sorry! Th-these people came out of nowhere, and—" exclaimed the girlish-looking boy, their voice raspy and high-pitched but more boyish than feminine.

"Sh-shut your mouth...!" exclaimed the Witch closest to the bound boy, drawing a wavy shortsword as if she were preparing to slit his throat or hold it to his neck. Instead, she was sent crashing through the wall as Koneko, moving like a white blur in her Nekoshou form, tackled her with the force of a truck dispatching a Hero to another world.

"M-Miranda...!" shouted a separate Witch, but she had her own problems to deal with as, after crashing through the door, Vahn flung his Legendary Spear through one of her companions before shoulder-tackling another of her cover, crashing through her Magical Barrier as if it were a thin pane of candy glass. At the same time, Rias, flanked by Asia and a smiling Akeno, directed a menacing finger gun her way, tipped with a luminous sphere of crackling crimson Power of Destruction.

Turning to face the last unoccupied Witch in the group, Vahn's expression exuded intensity and coldness as he extended his right hand, summoning his Legendary Spear. The pressure exuded by his domain at that moment was far more than the average human could endure, so instead of holding her ground or attempting to fight back, the Witch dropped her knees and raised her hands, exclaiming, "I—Iyield! P-P-Please, have mercy!"

Though he exhaled a contemptuous snort, Vahn resisted the impulse to separate the woman's head from her shoulders and instead shouldered his spear, keeping his senses trained on the Witch but looking to Rias as he asserted, "You're in control."

"Thank you, Vahn," responded Rias, adopting a smile and nodding as she instructed the Witch she had at fingerpoint, "You will release my precious family member and consign yourself to be detained. Resist, and not even your soul will escape my Power of Destruction."

"Buchou..." muttered the crucified boy, tearing up and sniffling as he said, "It would be better if you just kill me...I'm tired of these eyes...I'm tired of being alone all the time..."

Exhaling faint from her nose, Rias retorted, "The next time you say such a foolish thing, I will spank your bottom until you find yourself unable to sit comfortably. You're my precious servant and family member, Gasper. And remember what we agreed to when you first reincarnated as a Devil? You would live for me, and I would do Everything within my power to create a place where you can smile and face people without fear."

"But it's just not possible..." sobbed the boy, Gasper Vladi, tears streaming from his eyes as he hung his head and muttered, "All I do is hurt everyone around me...there is no happiness for someone like me..."

Hearing Gasper's self-debasement, Vahn couldn't help frowning as he pointed out, "You have people who care about you and want you to be happy. If you can't find happiness yourself, there's nothing wrong with depending on others..."

"Who are you...?" asked Gasper, having heard a fair amount about Vahn, but this was their first time meeting.

Causing Rias and Koneko to blush, Akeno to cup her cheek and exhale an Ara Ara, and Asia to smile radiantly, Vahn smiled and responded, "I'm the lucky fellow who's going to marry all the girls currently in the ORC, and if you're willing, I will happily be your frien—"

"Die...!" exclaimed the kneeling Witch, flinging a vial of crystal clear liquid at Vahn. Instead of soaking him, however, it was dispersed harmlessly by his domain as he extended his left hand and made a gesture as if he were pressing down on something. As a result, the slackjawed Witch found her body pressed to the ground, a visible outline of a large hand taking shape in the concrete flooring before the thin orange barrier protecting her body flickered out of existence like a broken lightbulb.

"Stay down..." said Vahn, easing up on the Witch before her body could become a gory pancake. He preferred to avoid killing if possible, but he did not fear it. If she forced his hand a second time, he would flatten her like a bug.

"Hey, you, what are you waiting for?" asked Rias, directing the question to the final Witch as she reminded, "I believe I told you to free my precious family member, did I not?"

"A-Ah, yes, ma'am! Right away, ma'am...!" responded the Witch, hurriedly approaching Gasper under the watchful eye of Koneko. She, like the other members of her coven, had resolved herself to perish and even have their souls destroyed for opposing the leaders of the Three Great Factions, but there was a massive difference between believing you were prepared and standing firm in the face of overwhelming force and violence...

With the Magic Circle keeping him bound disappearing, Gasper nearly fell to the ground. Instead, he was promptly supported by Koneko, sporting a faint smile as she asserted, "Everything's going to be okay, Gaspy...things aren't the same now as they were when you were sealed..."

"Koneko-chan...?"

Confused by Koneko's words and ability to smile, Gasper tilted his head to the side, his luminous hexagonal pupils receding to circles and losing their glow.

"I'm glad to see you have recovered your Bishop without incident," came the voice of Grayfia, her words causing Rias and Akeno to tense and Asia to nearly leap out of her risque black and gold vestments as none of them had noticed her appearing behind them.

Modeling a playful smile, Grayfia calmly reminded, "But let's not forget about the circumstances outside. Sirzechs-sama and the other leaders are more than capable of resolving things with their own power, but they won't be here to protect you at all times."

Understanding what Grayfia was getting at, Rias closed her eyes and exhaled from her nose before opening them, adopting a calm, serious demeanor and stating, "The ORC will secure this building and provide backup to the leaders of the Three Factions. Akeno, I will leave you to apprehend these women and treat those with serious injuries. Koneko, you will escort Gasper to his room and keep him safe until the situation has been resolved. Gasper, be a good boy and go along with her, okay?"

"O-Okay..." responded Gasper, looking like he wanted to help resolve the situation but lacking the courage to speak out. As a result, he ended up being shepherded away by Koneko, comfortingly patting his back.

"What about me...?" asked Asia, directing the question to Rias as she pointed to herself with his right index finger.

"You'll be coming with me and Vahn to deal with the enemy barrier and gate, obviously," responded Rias, borrowing a page from Vahn's book as she extended her hand to caress Asia's head. The latter would have much preferred Vahn to do the caressing, but that didn't stop her from adopting a bright smile and issuing a happy, affirming "Nn~!"

'Is that really the best course of action...?' Vahn asked himself and Sis, outwardly sporting a smile but inwardly having doubts. Dealing with the enemy Mages and Witches wouldn't be that challenging, as the majority were clones formed from Magic, but if they drew the attention of a being on par with one of the three faction leaders, he wasn't confident he could keep even himself safe, much less those he cared about.

(If Serafall isn't otherwise occupied, it should be fine if you summon her. Together, she and Grayfia should be able to erect a barrier on par with the one protecting the meeting room.) stated Sis.

'Right...' responded Vahn, nodding in response to both Sis's words and Rias asking, "Is that alright with you, Vahn?" with a fearless, somewhat obvious smile.

"Of course," affirmed Vahn, discarding his worries and forcibly replacing them with resolve. He knew he still had a long way to go before he could stand on the same level as beings like Sirzechs, Michael, and Azazel, but he knew from experience that life seldom waited for you to be adequately prepared before forcing trials upon you. The most important thing at such times was having the strength—the courage—to face said trials head-on, as the moment you accepted that a situation was impossible to overcome, you made it so...

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"I feel like we missed some major developments..." remarked Vahn, his mouth slightly ajar as he stood next to Rias with Asia and Grayfia behind them, staring up at the sky as streaks of crimson and azure blue clashed at imperceptible speeds, producing shockwaves that reached them from hundreds of meters away.

"It would appear we were correct to be suspicious of Vali Lucifer," stated Grayfia, her silvery eyes glistening as she tracked the streaks of light with little issue, revealing, "He and Issei-sama are currently engaged with one another in their respective Balance Breakers."

"Then what are we waiting for!? We need to help him...!" proclaimed Rias, spreading her wings and preparing to take to the sky before Grayfa, like a heavy anchor, moved to stop her, catching her by her ankle as she stated, "At your current level, you would be reduced to ashes the moment you got close to them. Do not lose your cool..."

"You must be exaggerating, surely..." asserted Rias, a tiny bead of sweat forming on her right cheek as Grayfia stared at with a cold, no-nonsense expression, compelling her to return to the ground.

"He's going to lose..." muttered Vahn, drawing the attention of the three girls and prompting Rias to ask, "Issei is..?" before returning her gaze to the sky and adopting a disapproving glower as she asked, "What are my brother and the others doing? Did Azazel betray us as well...?"

"Sirzechs-sama, Lord Michael, and Lady Serafall are likely conserving their energy, just in case an even greater adversary appears," reasoned Grayfia, contending, "That Devil who was fighting Azazel previously was Katerea Leviathan, one of the leaders of the Old Satan Faction. It would be exceedingly foolish of her to believe she could take on the leaders of the Three Great Factions with mere numbers, so we should assume there is an even greater scheme afoot."

BOOM

As if punctuating Grayfia's words, a large, staticky explosion of crimson and bluish-white energy erupted in the sky, causing the barrier to crack as a crimson streak emerged from its center, crashing into the ground like a projectile fired from a railgun. The impact occurred nowhere at least five hundred meters from their position, but the shockwave and reverberation it sent through the ground were enough to uproot several trees and nearly knock Asia off her feet before Vahn moved to support her. As for the wall of dust and debris that came surging toward them, Grayfia dealt with it by simply extending her left hand to produce a transparent, bluish-white wall that functioned similarly to a seawall, stopping the wave of destruction in its tracks.

Ostensibly drawn to the barrier, Vali, wearing his winged, predominately white, full plate, appeared in front of Vahn's group in the blink of an eye, his eight-segmented blue wings glistening behind him as he asked, "How about it, God's Proxy? Would you like to be my next dance partner?"

"Why are you doing this...?" asked Vahn, his eyes exuding a faint golden light that was invisible to everyone present as he sported a slight glower and exuded an intensifying aura that caused the space encompassed by his domain to tremble.

Shaking his head, Vali responded, "No reason. Rather, I am fighting to prevent my power from stagnating without purpose. I harbor no grudge against you nor anyone else here. I simply wish to battle the strong and become even stronger."

"Then come..." responded Vahn, surprising everyone present by extending his right fist as if he were inviting Vali to reciprocate the gesture.

"Vahn!? What are you thinking...!?" exclaimed Rias.

"I-I'll fight too...!" exclaimed Asia, readying her staff despite struggling just to remain standing in the presence of Vali's overwhelming Draconic Aura.

"What are you thinking...?" asked Vali, crossing his arms as he asked, "Do you seek to seal me away in that Corridor of yours?"

"I will fight you until you are satisfied..." responded Vahn, his expression firm and aura intensifying as he added, "But I refuse to do so in a setting where others can be implicated. If you truly harbor no grudges against us, you will accept my challenge and face me alone..."

"Interesting..." hummed Vali, his form disappearing in a flash of cerulean light before he was suddenly bumping fists with Vahn, his tone giving the impression he was smiling behind his faceplate and visor as he said, "Let's see what God's Proxy can do..."

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