Ren Takakura's desperate, disorienting pulse of Sky Flame, while not physically harming Raynare, achieved its crucial purpose: it bought them a precious instant. The Fallen Angel leader, momentarily thrown off balance by the unexpected wave of pure, harmonizing energy that seemed to push against her own dark power, faltered in her charge towards Asia Argento. Her spear of dark light, aimed at Asia's heart, went wide, scoring a deep, smoking gash in the stone altar just inches from where Asia was chained.
Asia screamed, a raw sound of terror that cut through the din of battle.
"Insolent gnat!" Raynare shrieked, her beautiful face contorted in a mask of fury as she rounded on Ren, her violet eyes blazing with murderous intent. "You will pay for that interference!"
But before Raynare could unleash her wrath upon Ren, who was now drained and gasping from the massive expenditure of energy, help arrived from an unexpected, or perhaps perfectly expected, quarter.
"Now, Dame-Ren!" Reborn's voice, no longer a mental whisper but a sharp, commanding bark that, for a split second, seemed to carry an impossible weight of authority even to the other combatants, cut through the air. Simultaneously, Leon, the chameleon on Reborn's (still baby-sized, as he was back in the carrier Ren had nearly dropped) fedora, transformed with impossible speed into a small, sleek, green pistol. Reborn, with a speed that defied his infant form, snatched the pistol and fired.
It wasn't a Dying Will Bullet this time. It was something else. A tiny, almost invisible needle-like projectile shot from Leon's muzzle, not at Raynare, but at the last remaining chain securing Asia to the altar. There was a faint tink sound, and the heavy iron lock on the chain suddenly, inexplicably, sprang open.
"Koneko! Get her out of here!" Rias Gremory yelled, seizing the opportunity, her own Power of Destruction arcing towards a momentarily distracted Raynare, forcing the Fallen Angel to defend.
Koneko, needing no further prompting, grabbed the now-freed Asia, whose eyes were wide with a mixture of terror, confusion, and dawning disbelief at the sight of a baby wielding a gun. Despite Asia being taller than her, Koneko hauled the weakened nun onto her small back with surprising strength and began to move towards the breach in the wall they had created earlier.
"No! The Sacred Gear!" Raynare screamed, realizing she was about to lose her prize. She tried to pursue, but Kiba Yuuto, having finally dispatched a heavily wounded Dohnaseek with a decisive flurry of sword strikes, moved to intercept her, his demonic sword a silver barrier.
"Your fight is with us, Fallen One," Kiba said, his expression grim but resolute.
Akeno Himejima, too, pressed her advantage. With Kalawarner momentarily faltering under a sustained barrage of holy lightning, Akeno unleashed a massive, crackling bolt that struck the Fallen Angel squarely, sending her crashing into a far wall with a cry of pain. Kalawarner slumped to the ground, unconscious or worse.
Freed Sellzen, who had been dazed by Koneko's earlier punch and Reborn's mallet-assisted intervention, was just staggering back to his feet, his eyes still wild. "Not… getting… away…" he slurred, raising his light-sword unsteadily.
Ren, seeing Freed still a threat, and Koneko struggling slightly with Asia's dead weight as she neared the exit, knew he had to act, despite his exhaustion. He pushed himself up, his Dying Will Flames sputtering back to life, a weaker but still defiant orange glow.
"Oh no, you don't," Ren growled, and with a final, desperate surge of energy, he launched himself at Freed, tackling the surprised exorcist around the legs. They both went down in a tangle of limbs, Ren's fiery aura causing Freed to shriek as it burned against his skin. It wasn't a graceful or powerful attack, but it was effective enough to keep Freed pinned for a crucial few moments.
"Go! Go now!" Ren yelled at Koneko.
Koneko, with a final, powerful surge, managed to carry Asia through the breach in the wall and out into the relative safety of the night beyond the church, just as Rias unleashed another devastating blast of Power of Destruction that forced Raynare to leap back, her dark wings beating furiously.
Raynare, seeing Asia escaping and her forces dwindling (Dohnaseek was down, Kalawarner incapacitated, Freed momentarily tangled with the annoying human Flame-user), let out a scream of pure, unadulterated rage. Her beautiful face was contorted, her violet eyes blazing with a terrifying light.
"You will ALL pay for this interference!" she shrieked, her power flaring around her like a dark nova. "You think you've won? This is far from over! I will hunt you down! I will reclaim what is mine! And I will make you all suffer in ways you cannot even imagine!"
The air in the basement crackled with her immense, uncontrolled rage. The remaining torches flickered wildly, casting dancing, demonic shadows. Ren, still grappling with a cursing, struggling Freed, looked up to see Rias Gremory facing Raynare, her own crimson aura burning with equal intensity. The final confrontation between the Devil Princess and the enraged Fallen Angel leader was about to begin.
Asia was out, she was safe, for now. But the battle in the depths of the fallen sanctum was reaching its true, terrifying climax. And Ren knew, with a chilling certainty, that not everyone might walk away from this night unscathed. The brink of twilight had been crossed, a glimmer of hope secured, but the deepest darkness was yet to come.