Black feathers drifted like snowflakes from the night sky, bathing the area in red moonlight and crimson rage. Ryusei stood at the center, her steel arms dripping with dark energy, her eyes burning a brilliant blue. Her breath came heavy.
Above, the swarm of fallen angels circled like vultures. But Ryusei raised her hand, pink light condensing into spears above her in the air.
"Move you die."
The moment a wing twitched, a dozen spears launched, slicing through air and flesh alike. Several angels cried out, their wings torn apart, bodies crashing to the ground in bursts of black feathers and cursed energy.
One slipped past, aiming straight for Issei's unconscious form, light spear in hand.
In that instant, Ryusei's [Rage] skill activated on its own. A deep crimson aura exploded outward, her body shaking from the sudden surge. Her vision narrowed into a tunnel focused only on the one threat targeting her friend.
"You will not touch him."
With unnatural speed, she vanished from her spot, reappearing between Issei and the enemy, a curse-infused punch colliding with the fallen angel's chest. The impact shattered bone and sent him spiraling back with a howl of pain before exploding mid-air in a burst of corrupted light.
The aura around Ryusei raged, black feathers rained harder now, and more angels hesitated.
She stood over Issei's body protectively, steel arms raised, daring the rest of them to make a move.
Ryusei extended her hand forward, cursed energy swirling violently around her palm.
[Lapse: Blue]
A deep-blue, glowing sphere shot forward like a missile, crashing into a cluster of fallen angels. The moment it made contact, the projectile exploded in a brilliant flash of blue light, distorting the space around it. A shockwave erupted from the impact point, dragging the remaining fallen angels inward before they were violently crushed within the expanding sphere.
Charred feathers and ashes rained down in the aftermath.
Just then, a glowing red magic circle flared to life. The Gremory crest glowed in the center.
"Issei!" Rias' voice rang out in panic as she stepped onto the battlefield, followed closely by Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko. Her eyes locked onto her unconscious pawn first, lying still in a pool of blood.
Then her gaze shifted.
Black feathers littered the ground. Shattered weapons. Fallen angels writhing or already dead.
Ryusei's body cloaked in red and pink energy, steel arms slick with blood and light spears still floating in the air above her. Her movements were precise, merciless. She impaled another enemy trying to crawl away, not even looking down at them.
"Ryusei...?" Rias blinked.
Akeno's eyes widened with both admiration and shock. "She's completely overwhelmed them... alone..."
"Akeno, Kiba — help her! She's still fighting!" Rias commanded, snapping out of her awe.
Kiba drew his sword without hesitation, while Akeno began gathering her lightning, stepping forward.
Akeno approached cautiously, her heels tapping against the scorched pavement as she called out gently, "Ryusei... it's over. You don't have to keep fighting."
But Ryusei didn't seem to hear her.
Her breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling under the strain of rage-fueled energy. Her blue eyes glowed like twin moons in the night, the red aura of the [Rage] skill still around her. Another fallen angel twitched, trying to crawl away, Ryusei's arm shot forward forming another pink spear of light in an instant and launching it.
Thwip!
The spear pierced through the creature's back and pinned it to the light post with a sickening thud.
Kiba landed beside her, his sword at the ready but held low, trying not to provoke her. "Ryusei, we're here now. You protected Issei. You did it."
Akeno slowly reached out and placed her hand on Ryusei's shoulder. The cursed energy flared for a moment, threatening to lash out until Ryusei blinked, her eyes losing a bit of their glow.
She looked around.
Fallen angels, bodies torn to shreds, black feathers carpeting the earth. Akeno, Kiba… Rias kneeling next to Issei with Koneko watching their flank.
The red aura around her slowly faded. Her steel arms retracted with a faint mechanical hiss, vanishing as if they were never there. The light spears dissolved one by one into particles of pink light.
Ryusei finally exhaled, her voice soft. "…They were going to kill him."
Akeno nodded. "And you stopped them. You did everything you could."
Rias stood up, her eyes focused on Ryusei. "You were incredible. You protected him better than any of us could have."
Ryusei didn't respond right away. Her hands were still trembling from the adrenaline, and part of her still felt that furious hum beneath her skin. But she nodded, silently.
Then her gaze shifted toward the direction Freed escaped in with Asia.
Rias turned toward Ryusei, about to speak when she suddenly noticed the flicker of cursed energy coil around the girl's feet like mist.
"Ryusei—"
But it was too late.
With a final glance at Issei's unconscious body and the rest of the peerage, Ryusei narrowed her glowing blue eyes and spoke.
"Take care of Issei... Don't be late next time."
And with that, her form vanished into the shadows.
Rias stood there, hand slightly outstretched. Her expression was unreadable at first… but then, slowly, she lowered it, her gaze drifting back to Issei.
"…Be safe,"