The battlefield finally went quiet once the Fragmentum creature disappeared. The sky, once lit up with bursts of power and movement, was now still. A soft breeze moved across the broken ground, carrying the heat and noise of the fight away with it. The worst was over, at least for now.
Anisphia slowly descended, her wings of light dimming into nothing as her boots met the cracked earth. Steam curled around her as she landed, shoulders relax releasing the final bits of tension, "Now that was a breath well spent."
Alice rushed to her, hugging her. "You're insane," she muttered, her hold was firm as she wrap Anisphia with her arms. "But impressive."
Anisphia gave a light smirk, brushing dust off her shoulder. "Bit flashy, maybe. but it worked, didn't it?"
Hajime approached quietly, the last flicker of divine energy fading from him. "Crazy move," he said, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. "But I'll admit it did the job."
Anis shot him a look, smirking. "Like you weren't about to do the same?"
Their exchange was broken by Griselda, who approached with her sword sheathed and expression contemplative. "Mr. Nagumo... just what are you?.."
Hajime didn't answer her. His gaze turned toward the leyline, where the once-wild energy now slowly calming down.
Sona stepped in, "The leyline has stabilizing. It is going back to normal levels now."
Sagiri emerged from the shadows, dusting off her gloves. "I'll have the Chuuma Ninjas deal with the aftermath."
Momo flopped onto a piece of rubble with a huff. "Someone tell me we're getting a meal and a bath after this."
Reya sat beside her, brushing debris from her sleeves. "And sleep. A whole perhaps."
The group collectively chuckled, the tension finally releasing.
But even in the lightness, questions lingered about Hajime, Alice, and Anisphia. The powers they used are totally different from what is known.
Above them, the sky began to clear.
The ground beneath them gave a soft thrum as it settled.
Sona tapped into her communication channel, sending out a ping to Rias and her group. "This is Sona. Target neutralized on our end. What's your status?"
Silence.
Sona frowned and typed quickly across her terminal, switching through direct lines, coded signals, and even the academy's emergency relay. Each one failed—either static, silence, or the system timing out. She tried again, voice tight. "Rias, do you copy? Respond." Nothing came through.
Tsubaki moved to her side, noticing the tension. "Nothing?"
"Still nothing," Sona murmured, her brows knitting deeper.
She tried again, this time broadcasting through a broad-spectrum relay, overriding most of the localized channels. "Rias. Akeno. Anyone. Report."
Silence again.
The team began to fall quiet, the earlier mood quickly fading.
Alice tilted her head, glanced at the others. "something's off. This isn't normal."
Reya stepped closer, arms crossed. "You think their comms were jammed?"
Griselda's grip on her sword tightened faintly. "Or worse cut."
Momo swallowed. "Please don't say that. Maybe they just can't pick up the call."
Hajime looked out toward the horizon, eyes narrowing. "Something's not right."
Sona finally lowered her terminal, her voice steely. "We need to find them. Now."
-----
Sona took a steady breath and turned to the group. "We're splitting into four teams. We'll cover more ground and locate Rias's group faster."
Tsubaki quickly brought up a map on her terminal and overlaid the last known coordinates. "These were their intended engagement zones. We can divide into quadrants based on this."
Team One: Sona, Tsubaki, and Ruruko would scout the western sector. Team Two: Hajime, Alice, and Anis would head east toward the leyline convergence points. Team Three: Griselda, Sagiri, and Momo would take the northern region. Team Four: Reya, Saji, and Tomoe would cover the southern trail near the destroyed church ruins.
"Stay in contact," Sona instructed, regaining her composed command tone. "The moment anyone finds a trace. Raise a signal immediately."
The group nodded.
Hajime holstered his weapon with determination. "Let's move. Time may not be on our side."
With urgency in their steps and worry gnawing at their hearts, the divided teams leapt into motion, disappearing into the fractured edges of Kuoh, each hoping their friends weren't too far beyond reach.
-----
POV – Team One: Sona, Tsubaki, and Ruruko
Sona led the western search group, her eyes scanning both her terminal's feed and the urban ruins around them. The streets were eerily quiet, cracked sidewalks littered with fallen debris from the earlier disturbances. The leyline's influence here was faint but detectable a sluggish pulse of energy beneath their feet.
Tsubaki flanked her left, her naginata in hand and senses stretched outward. "Residual spiritual signatures... it matches from what just faced. This is the aftermath of our battle.."
Ruruko kept to the right, her frame light and tense, acceleration magic ready at a thought. "No signs of battle either."
Sona's brow furrowed. "Meaning they never made at this zone."
The wind whispered through broken alleyways as the three advanced, senses alert for any ripple in the leyline's natural rhythm. Every shadow seemed heavier, every corner a potential trap.
Sona paused at a crossroads, pulling up a projection of the leyline currents. "Focus sweep. We'll check the collapsed shopping district ahead. If they left traces, we'll find them there."
Together, they pressed forward, each step carrying a mounting tension neither training nor titles could ease.
——
POV – Team Three: Griselda, Sagiri, and Momo
Griselda led the third team through the northern sector, where broken foothills and dense pockets of mist veiled the ground in eerie layers. The leyline's flow here was jagged and unstable, causing occasional distortions that made even solid ground seem to waver.
Sagiri moved just ahead, her ninja instincts sharpening her movements into near silence. Her eyes darted across the fragmented landscape, noting the warped trees and shallow craters, but nothing looked new.
Momo stayed close, fingers flexing as she layered simple spelss over their path to detect any hidden traps or hostile energies. "It's too quiet," she muttered under her breath.
Griselda's grip tightened around her sword. "Stay alert. The enemy may have laid residual spells or summoned creatures as distractions."
They passed through a ruined torii gate, half-submerged in leyline mist. Each step seemed heavier, the northern winds thick with an unnatural pressure.
Sagiri paused, crouching low and touching the earth. "There's faint residue here... something was summoned here."
Momo activated a scanning spell, her eyes widening as the mist parted slightly to reveal faint footprints—both human and something else.
"They came through here," Momo confirmed, voice low. "But it's messy. Like they were running or being chased."
Griselda exchanged a sharp look with Sagiri. "We're close."
Together, they advanced, deeper into the corrupted northern mist, hearts steeled for what they might find.
—-
POV – Team Four: Reya, Saji, and Tomoe
Team Four moved cautiously along the southern trail, the broken remnants of an abandoned church looming like a skeleton against the twilight. The leyline disturbances here were jagged and sharp, leaving the ground scarred and unstable.
Reya led the group, her spells activate as she scanned for any anomalies. Tomoe flanked to her right, katana unsheathed and held at a wary angle, while Saji took up the rear, his Sacred Gear humming with energy.
Near the shattered remains of the altar, Reya stiffened. Her spell flare flickered.
"There's Light energy traces," she murmured. "Fallen angel signatures."
Tomoe immediately braced, her eyes narrowing. "New?"
"Very," Reya confirmed. "They were here not long ago."
Saji grit his teeth. "Then Rias-san and the others might be in worse trouble than we thought."
The three tightened formation, urgency pounding in their veins as they followed the fading traces deeper into the ruins, determined to uncover whatever had transpired.
——
POV – Team Two: Hajime, Alice, and Anis
Hajime led the eastern search team, carefully navigating through the leyline convergence points scattered across the sector. The energy here was turbulent but lacked any recent signs of battle. Alice moved beside him, her hands weaving in the air, preparing spells on instinct, while Anisphia followed closely behind, her steps crunching over the fractured ground, her scanners sweeping for dimensional tears or hidden traps.
Anisphia frowned as she adjusted her analyzer. "Nothing significant..."
"Same here," Alice muttered. "No disturbances, no combat traces."
Hajime tapped his communicator, just as a notification from Team Four flickered across the shared channel.
"Team Four reporting: fallen angel energy traces found at southern ruins," the transmission crackled.
Hajime exchanged a glance with Alice and Anis.
"Looks like they found something," Hajime said quietly. "We're heading there."
Anisphia gave a sharp nod, "Finally a clue"
Alice's stance shift. "Better move quickly."
At that moment, confirmation pings arrived from Team One and Team Three: both groups also reporting minimal findings and agreeing to converge at Team Four's location.
The trio had just started moving when a new signal broke through, an emergency SOS tagged with high priority.
Hajime froze for half a second before hurriedly accessing the data.
"It's Asia," Alice whispered, reading the ID tag.
The urgency in the air doubled instantly. Without hesitation, Hajime's team burst into motion, veering sharply as Hajime recalibrated their course.
"The signal is close," he said, voice clipped.
Alice, already gathering mana to her fingertips, nodded tightly. "She's nearby, just within a few blocks."
Anisphia revved her equipment, eyes flashing with fierce determination. "No time to waste!"
The trio sent a quick update to the other teams, informing them about Asia's SOS and their decision to head toward her location. Receiving swift acknowledgments from the others, Hajime pushed his team forward at full speed.
Navigating streets, they finally arrived at the source of the signal a secluded part of the plaza, shielded weakly by a barrier, they spotted Asia, her hands glowing with desperate healing light as she worked frantically over two fallen figures.
Rias Gremory lay slumped against a pile of rubble, exhausted but breathing. Her face was pale with strain, but no visible grievous injuries.
Nearby, Issei Hyoudou knelt, blood staining his uniform but no life-threatening wounds Asia's healing was keeping him stable.
And between them, half-sobbing into his sleeves, was a small figure in Kuoh Academy uniform a delicate-looking "girl" with short blond hair and a tear-streaked face.
Anisphia blinked. "…A girl?"
Alice tilted her head in confusion. "Who—?"
Hajime narrowed his eyes, quickly scanning the figure. Something about the aura was… not entirely normal.
Asia noticed them at last, her face lighting up with tearful relief. "Hajime-san! Alice-san! Anis-san! Please… help!"
Without hesitation, the trio rushed forward to assist.
Hajime opened his terminal, quickly transmitting an update to the other search teams. "We found Rias, Issei, and Asia. They were separated from the others."
He turned back just as Rias looked up at him with a tired but warm smile, her eyes filled with relief. "Nagumo-san… thank you for coming."
Alice moved to Asia's side, immediately reinforcing the healing magic with her own spells, stabilizing Issei's bleeding wound and mending his severe injuries.
The tearful small "girl" in the Kuoh uniform hid further behind Rias, trembling.
Anisphia crouched slightly. "Umm… Rias, is that your sister or…?"
Rias exhaled a soft breath. "No. This is Gasper. He's my Rook."
Alice blinked. "He…?"
Gasper peeked up with wet eyes. "I-I'm sorry… I got scared… I didn't know what to do…"
Rias gently placed a hand on his head. "He saved us from being completely overrun. His abilities are… difficult to control, but he did what he could."
Hajime nodded. "Then he did well. All of you."
He glanced over the group, making sure each of them was still breathing. "Let's get everyone out of here. The others will meet us soon."