The room was quaked with barely contained energy.
Golden runes shimmered across the floor in a vast, intricate array. The scent of the old parchment mixed with ozone filled the air, and the steady hum of magic made the floorboards vibrate beneath their feet. Everyone in the Research Club had assembled—each battle-ready, carrying the weight of what they were about to attempt.
Seraphina stood at the center, her crimson eyes reflecting the magic like mirrors of resolve. She adjusted her gloves, her voice low and commanding. "This isn't just a rescue. It's a race against a goddamn clock."
Ayaka, standing beside her, clutching a leather-bound spellbook, added coolly, "The Holy Dimension is unstable. Once we enter, we have exactly one hour. There are no second chances. Once the soul link shatters..." She didn't finish the sentence.
Riku tightened the strap on his curved blade and nodded in grim silence. His aura was steady. He was always like this before a fight. Calm. Focused. Dangerous.
Miya, normally withdrawn and quietly observant, knelt beside the array. She traced the final sigil with a brush soaked in silver ink, her expression unreadable. She didn't speak a word, but the precision of her movements carried more weight than any speech.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
Everyone turned. The room's wards flared for an instant before settling. The door creaked open, and a figure stepped in.
Aika Lucross.
Silver-haired. Cold eyes. Her presence was like stepping into a blizzard.
"You shouldn't be here," Ayaka said stiffly.
"I wasn't invited," Aika replied evenly. "I will go anyway."
Kirika Barbatos stepped forward from the shadows of the room. Her violet eyes burned with layered intentions. "Let her in. This isn't the time to argue over club rules. We're not leaving a devil behind."
Aika nodded once and moved to join the circle. There was no smile, no thanks, just a shared understanding.
Ayaka glanced at her pocket watch. "Time to stabilize. Miya?"
Miya stepped forward, holding up a talisman etched in black flame. She whispered words none of them recognized. The air grew heavier and denser. The array glowed brighter until, finally, a swirling portal bloomed open in the center.
Eiji stepped forward last, his expression solemn. His gaze drifted to the ceiling, then to the glowing gate.
"If I mess this up... she'll be gone. Hollow. Just like I once was… before I met them."
He breathed in.
And they stepped through.
The Holy Dimension was a blinding contradiction.
It was silent yet screamed, empty yet crushing. Landmasses floated in an endless void of white mist. The sky above twisted unnaturally, like torn silk in a storm. Gravity rippled. Light refracted. Time felt wrong.
Ayaka's body flinched immediately. "This place is rejecting us."
Holy energy surged through the atmosphere, stinging their devil blood like acid.
Aika moved forward. Her Espiria Gear shimmered faintly behind her—a crystalline structure shaped like a half-open lotus, glowing with silver light. The aura it emitted formed a protective bubble around them.
Eiji stared at it for a moment, captivated.
She noticed. "Don't stare. Focus."
He nodded quickly, mind snapping back to Amane.
They moved fast, leaping between platforms, using spells to navigate gravity shifts. Then they saw it.
Suspended in the center of a cathedral-like crater, chained mid-air in a transparent coffin, was Amane. Her white hair floated around her like seaweed, her arms bound in glowing chains of gold and crimson.
Eiji's breath caught. "Amane..."
But before he could move closer, the ground trembled.
From the edge of the structure descended a towering, armored figure. Its wings were sculpted from marble and light, and its blade radiated divine law.
Aika stepped forward. "The Guardian of Purity."
She activated her Espiria fully. Wings of crystalline silver exploded from her back.
"Go. I'll handle this one."
Seraphina hesitated. "Aika—"
"You don't have much time."
They didn't argue.
Four shadows dropped from the sky as they crossed to the next platform.
Fallen angels. Black wings. Twisted smiles.
One licked his lips. "Where do you think you're going, little devils?"
Seraphina raised a hand. Flames ignited.
"Our leader is already playing with your friend. You'll never reach her," another sneered.
Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "You don't know him. I do. He'll reach her. And he'll burn you all to ash if you touch her."
Eiji, Riku, and Miya charged ahead—only to be halted by a blast of crimson flame.
Ignis.
The flame-wielder from before.
Riku stepped forward. "You again."
Ignis smirked. "Miss me?"
Miya cracked her knuckles. Her hair glowed faintly.
"Go," Riku told Eiji. "We'll handle this bastard. Save her. Bring her back."
Eiji clenched his fists. "I will."
And he ran.
The altar was close now.
Amane hangs in mid-air, bound in glowing chains. Her breathing is faint. Just as he reaches out—
a voice.
Then—
"You again?"
The voice stopped him in his tracks.
The fallen angel from the schoolyard.
She dropped from above, wings curling with malice. "Still playing the hero? You're too late."
Then, another presence emerged.
An older man, tall, dressed in a pristine cassock with golden embroidery. Wire-framed glasses. Eyes empty of mercy.
"The ritual is nearly complete," he said softly. "Her Espiria Gear will be mine."
He turned to the fallen. "Don't let him interfere. Or else our Contract will be canceled, do you hear me?"
The fall cracked her knuckles. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick."
Eiji didn't speak.
He just moved.
Their blades clashed—his magic against her light. Each strike echoed with raw, unforgiving power. Her speed was inhuman. Her spells are divine.
But Eiji fought like a demon-possessed.
He parried. Slashed. Dodged. He gritted his teeth as holy energy grazed his skin. His anger built, but it wasn't wild—it was controlled. Focused.
She laughed. "You can't win. You're nothing but a bug. A Low devil pretending to be strong."
"And you're just a puppet," he growled. "Dancing for a coward hiding behind contracts."
A beam of divine light shot toward Eiji.
Eiji turned.
His body moved on its own.
The black aura exploded from him, fluid and alive. It coiled around his body like a beast unleashed.
And for the first time, it took shape.
A blade. Sleek. Shadowy. And hungry.
Eiji's voice was low. Controlled.
"I told you... I won't let her vanish."
He slashed.
The divine beam shattered.
The fallen angel staggered back, eyes wide. "What... what is that power?"
Eiji stepped forward, blade in hand, eyes burning with abyssal fire.
"It's mine."
And then with ends.
The Guardian clashes with Aika. Riku and Miya battle Ignis.
Seraphina's flames roar—but the field burns her back.
And Amane stirs in the sky, above the altar, beyond the blade.
Her eyes flutter.
And the holy chains tighten.
To be Continued ...