Underworld.
Seconds of twenty seconds had passed since the Assassin appeared, and the battle still hadn't started. Why? Asako decided to give them time to prepare since her target is basically children, even if they don't need to be killed. In a normal situation, it would have ended before it even started.
Either way, all I saw in their eyes was fear and panic, to which a disappointed sigh came out of my throat.
I realize they're still high schoolers and all, but hasn't it been made clear to them what kind of world they live in? Especially since they're demons, which most supernatural beings dislike. Even at home, they're not completely immune to surprise attacks or assassination attempts.
I wasn't the only one who was disappointed. Azazel and Sirzechs shook their heads as well. After all, Rias and her entourage hadn't used those twenty seconds in any way. Really, with the exception of Akeno and Zenovia. The former had begun to stealthily accumulate mana and kept every facet of the Assassin in her field of vision. The latter was just raring to go, but waiting for Rias' orders.
- It's... disappointing..." muttered Azazel, who had become Rias's club supervisor, "I think I'm going to have to change their training schedule a bit and add critical thinking lectures. What do you think, Sirzechs?
- I - Do what needs to be done. - With a tired sigh, he replied, and then looked at me - And you too, Romani-san. When this is over, contact me. I want to... think...
At those words he beamed, to which I shrugged and Azazel shook his head. After a couple seconds, turning towards the Assassin, I gave a short order to act.
The response was immediate. Sixteen faces suddenly tore toward Rias's retinue, spreading out two for each demon.
Akeno, Koneko, Rias and Asia, hiding behind Gasper's back, quickly grouped themselves in the farthest part of the carriage. Issei, Kiba, and Zenobia stood in front of them, prepared to take the attack.
- No attack! We must hold out until reinforcements arrive! - Rias shouted, throwing a ball of Destruction, which the assassins easily dodged. And Akeno supported her with her lightning bolts - Ise, don't use the Balance Crusher until I say so!
- Okay, President! - Issei replied and pointed his fist in the direction of the attackers - Reinforcement! Reinforcement! Dragon Shot!
Of course, his attack didn't hit anyone, but only flew through the destroyed part of the wagon and away into the distance.
Immediately after it, he, Kiba, Zenobia, and Koneko had to hold back the attacks of the assassins, whose numbers didn't decrease at all. Gasper and Asia did nothing. More precisely, they couldn't do nothing. The former is too afraid to use her power, and the latter simply can't attack.
Kiba and Zenobia swinging their swords just didn't hit the Assassin. They were too slow for a Servant, even relying on their Konya speed.
I'm not talking about Koneko at all. It was like she was punching the air. As soon as she swung, her target would disappear in the next instant, and then instantly counterattack, forcing the Rook into a deafening defense.
Square attacks didn't work either, as all the faces that weren't involved in the battle dissolved into shadows and waited. Meaning the first sixteen were still intact, to which my palm was frantically rubbing my face.
At one point, someone finally decided to take the initiative. Akeno took to the skies to gain the advantage when she noticed that Assassin couldn't fly. But as soon as she did, an arrow flew into her the very next second. Queen Rias, of course, tried to defend herself by forming a protective circle hastily, but the arrow promptly pierced through it, damaging her wing.
- Aggh!" she cried out in pain, and fell a little farther away from the group. The two faces she was targeting immediately headed towards her.
- Akeno! - Rias shouted worriedly - Issei! Balance Breaker!
- Yes! Balance Breaker! Scaly Armor of the Boosted Gear! - He shrieked and flew to Akeno's aid as the armor formed, just in time to protect her from the knives.
- Don't pay attention to me! Focus on your opponents! - Akeno shouted.
- But-" Issei was about to object when she interrupted him.
- Quickly! - After shouting at him, she pushed Issei out of the way and immediately began firing lightning bolts around her to keep the Assassin away from her.
As a result, he had no choice but to try and hit the Assassin, occasionally flying up to dodge the attacks. However, as soon as he did, arrows would immediately fly at him, forcing him down where the faces were already waiting for him.
Kiba quickly stuck his sword into the ground, and then the blades quickly erupted out of it, trying to at least get a hold of the Assassin. But, once again, it all went into the milk. The Edge decided to take advantage of his sword being in the ground and pounced on him, but Kiba was defended by Zenobia, who arrived just in time to give him time. They ended up standing back to back and holding off the onslaught of the four faces. Missing blows, of course, but getting by with scratches and shallow wounds.
Things were getting worse for Koneko. She was physically unable to do anything, except miss blow after blow. Rias was doing her best to hold off the onslaught of six faces, four of which were trying to come at her from different directions, while the two she'd been assigned to were distracting her attention.
The hundred faces were taking full advantage of their surroundings. That is, powerful attacks that could simply blow up the entire wagon were out of reach of Rias' entourage, as there was a risk of snagging their own, as well as losing the cover of the wagon walls. Even the dumb skilled pervert realized this after his last sparring session with Emiya. Of course, they could have simply left the wagon using the wings, but that option was completely overridden by the other Servant who had actually hit Akeno.
Speaking of which...
- Shirou, did you even fucking train them? - I asked, looking at this... misunderstanding.
- Hey! All I managed to do was raise their mana reserves and stamina, and work on teamwork a bit! It's basically impossible to make a schoolboy into a friggin' Servant in a couple weeks! - he replied - And anyway, I'm insulted too, you know! I didn't think they were that bad in a critical situation!
- Really! - I threw up my hands, and then took a deep breath - Okay! Then a new plan.
After contacting Asako beforehand, I explained to them the essence of the new plan of action.
- You want to kill them?! - Emiya exclaimed angrily - What if you don't make it in time? I've killed many people, and I don't want their blood on my hands!
- Master, I support Archer. Your plan is unreasonable. - Asako added.
- 'Go ahead,' I said in a commanding tone, 'I'll do my part and you do yours.
- If... If you make a mistake... - Emiya started, after a couple of seconds - I will personally kill you, Romani.
- Suit yourself," I shrugged and looked towards the wagon, "Begin.
-0-
Rias felt bad. Very bad. Her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and her mana was wavering. Holding back the assassins, she watched her retinue with the corner of her eye. Gasper hid in his box and cried, while Asia treated the wounds the three of them had received, ensuring that Rias herself was still able to continue.
There was no way Kiba, Zenobia, and Koneko could defeat their opponents, who had only forced them to defend themselves. And Akeno kept the assassins at bay, spreading lightning around herself and occasionally supporting the others from her position.
Issei tried to maximize the time efficiency of his Balance Crusher, but even he couldn't deal with even one assassin. The air advantage was waning due to the unknown, instantly shooting down anyone who took to the skies.
Rias' entire entourage, and indeed herself, had wounds all over their bodies, and blood soaked the school uniforms that had been turned into rags. The forces were quickly draining under the onslaught of the unknown assassins, and that was with only sixteen of the eighty-eight participating in the battle.
Hope was slowly leaving Rias, giving way to despair and hopelessness. She didn't know how much longer they could hold out, but it was obvious to her that it wouldn't be long. Her brother, her sister-in-law, her friend, her parents. No one answered her call for help.
Fear began to creep into her heart. Strong and all-consuming.
She didn't want to die... She didn't want to see the members of her entourage die... She didn't want it to end like this...
Koneko collapsed from helplessness and blood flowed from her hands and nose. Kiba and Zenobia dropped their swords and fell behind her, and blood from their wounds began to spread across the floor. Akeno lost consciousness, quickly using up her mana reserves. Issei's Balance Crusher shattered, and he himself landed headfirst on the floor of the wagon, instantly knocked out. Gasper closed his eyes and cried, while Asia supported Rias herself with her last strength. Not noticing one assassin slipping past her, he knocked Gasper and Asia out with a single blow each to the neck area.
Tears began to flow from Rias' eyes, her lips quivered, and the already low amount of energy in her body began to run out, causing her magical shield to flicker from lack of mana. Her uniform, full of scratches and bloodstains, stuck to her skin.
"I don't want to die."
"I don't want to die."
"I don't want to die."
The same thought repeated in her brain like a broken record. She couldn't think straight, couldn't pull herself together, couldn't...hope.....
But in an instant, the onslaught of assassins suddenly stopped. All eighty assassins gathered in one pile again and put away their knives. And then they dissolved into shadows as if they were not there at all.
- W-what... - Rias muttered, dropping to her knee, and a flame of hope lit in her eyes.
"T-they're gone? A-are we alive?"
She wasn't bothered by the questions: "Who was it?" and 'Why did they leave?'. Her heart filled with joy for the fact that they were still alive and could see tomorrow. The labored breathing began to stabilize little by little and the trembling began to go away.
And when she truly believed the danger was over, her hearing picked up a... whistling sound. And when Rias looked up toward the ruined part of the carriage where the sound had come from, the hope that had overtaken her turned to ashes like a dry leaf on a fire.
A blue comet was flying towards her at an extremely high speed. The amount of mana that Rias felt from this comet made her terrified. It was so much that even the combined reserves of her entire retinue couldn't exceed it. And this very comet was running across the sky towards her, leaving a blue trail behind it.
Now it was clear to her why the assassins had retreated. Their partner wanted to blow the hell out of the place.
Gathering the last of her strength into a fist, Rias tried to cover Asia and Gasper with her body, then closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry for letting you down..."
Were her last thoughts as comet had already entered the wagon.
BOOM
A deafening explosion sounded. Rias stopped feeling the floor beneath her feet and the pulse of force threw her somewhere far away. Asia and Gasper, whom she had felt with her hands, were now gone, and the pupils behind her closed eyes caught the bright blue light of the explosion.
But suddenly she realized one detail. She could still think, and she could still feel the air with her skin. And if that was the case, then...
She was still alive.
Gaining courage, she opened her eyes.
Rias was floating in the sky and, realizing that she could still see, began searching for members of her retinue with her eyes.
And she found one.
All of them, just like her, were floating nearby in the air. And seeing this, she breathed a sigh of relief and finally relaxed.
- Are we... really still alive...? - She asked in a whisper, unable to believe her eyes.
- Anything is possible. - came a voice from behind her. Rias turned around sharply, where she saw Romani, who looked... pleased.
"W-what is he doing here? Why did he show up right now, and why him?"
- Sen...sei..." was all Rias managed to mutter.
Was she really alive, or was it all just visions of the dead?
That was her last thought before she lost consciousness.
-0-
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