"That," Azazel said, regaining control of the room, "is a modified version of the Longinus Incinerate Anthem. We've tweaked it to synchronize with Valery's Holy Grail."
The cross made from Walburga's lost Longinus… and Valery's Grail. I wondered what kind of effect that would produce.
Vali asked the question for me. "The Grail is unstable, and the Holy Crucifix is a dangerous relic that chooses its own master. Syncing them sounds like a recipe for disaster. I assume your 'hidden research' provided a solution?"
"It was in the notes of Valery's brother, Marius," Azazel explained. "He hit a crisis point during his Grail research where the power almost went critical. He managed to stabilize it using a fragment of a 'Holy Nail' that the Tepes faction had been hiding. We've successfully reverse-engineered the formula he used."
Elmenhilde nodded. "Vampires have studied the Christian Church—their greatest enemy—for centuries. It's no surprise the Tepes faction secured a fragment of a Holy Nail through their own back-channels. It was likely a royal secret, never recorded in any public history. Regardless, we've recovered the fragment and handed it over to the Three Factions."
Azazel chuckled. "The Vatican was over the moon. Most of their Holy Relics were lost in the Great War. Even a fragment is a miracle to them. Honestly, it makes me wonder what else the other factions are hiding in their basements."
He shrugged, then turned to Rias.
"So," Rias said, looking at the purple cross. "By syncing with a Holy Relic, we can suppress the Grail's power. And you want to use that same technique to shut down the Grail the enemy is using?"
"Exactly. Valery's cross is already tuned. If she can get close enough for the powers to resonate, she can shut down the enemy's Grail at the source. That stops the production of mass-produced Evil Dragons. But there's a catch."
"The identity of the holder," Sona Sitri interrupted, adjusting her glasses with a clinical precision. "And the 'System' Asem mentioned. He claimed he was using one of the Trihexa's split bodies to power it. Can we stop that as well?"
Azazel nodded. "The Grail is likely held by Apophis or Azi Dahaka. Even if they're allied with Asem, I doubt they'd just hand over their trump card. Valery will need to get within range once we pinpoint the location. It's a suicide mission, but…"
"I'll take responsibility for getting Valery there," Gasper said.
His voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that silenced the room. "I'm going to get Valery's Grail back. I'm going to end this!"
It was a powerful declaration. That's a Gremory man for you.
Azazel smiled, placing a proud hand on his student's head.
"As for the 'System,' I believe it's built on the Grail's architecture," Azazel continued. "If we stop the Grail, the system should crash with it. Even with a Trihexa body as a battery, the core logic will be gone. But…"
"It's a gamble," Sona finished.
"Unfortunately, yes. However, it will definitely cripple their production line. If we stop the Grail, we stop the infinite reinforcements. Plus, we've finished the anti-Trihexa sealing formula. It took a lot of work to rebuild it from scratch after Maurice blew the first one to smithereens, but the new version is incredibly robust."
"You're welcome! I'm a genius!" Maurice shouted, puffing out his chest.
"You… do you have any idea how much work I had to do because of you?!" Rossweisse screamed, her eyes brimming with tears of frustration.
I felt for her. She must have been through hell these last few days. Good work, Rossweisse-san.
Rossweisse composed herself with a cough.
"During this operation, we will deploy a specialized binding barrier against all seven of Trihexa's split bodies simultaneously. It has a time limit, but it is almost guaranteed to halt the monsters. That should also disable whatever system Asem has integrated into one of the bodies. However…"
She trailed off, and Azazel picked up the thread.
"The barrier is a one-shot deal. Once it's used, the Trihexa will develop a resistance to that specific magical signature. We'd have to start from scratch with a new theory to bind them again. While the beasts are frozen, Asem will definitely make his move. Which means—"
"Once the Trihexa is stopped, the real clock starts," Vali said, his voice sharp. "We have to take down an otherworldly god in a matter of minutes."
Azazel nodded. "We storm their world, freeze the Trihexa, plow through the Evil Dragons, shut down the Grail, and then take the head of the King. Easy to say, incredibly difficult to execute."
"Clearly," Vali agreed. "But what then? Even if the plan works, the Trihexa is only frozen. Even the gods would struggle to actually kill those things."
Vali was right. The barrier was a stay of execution, not a solution. We needed a way to deal with the beasts before they woke up.
"Ajuka Beelzebub and his peerage are currently analyzing the Gate," Azazel said. "If all goes well, we'll reverse the flow and seal the Trihexa back into that pseudo-dimension, then shut the door behind us. If that fails… well, I have a backup plan. But I intend for this one to work."
His phrasing was slightly worrying. Did he have something else up his sleeve?
As I pondered this, Ikuse-san suddenly pressed his hand to his earpiece, his expression turning grim as he listened to a report.
He looked up at the room. "The report just came in. The enemy is moving."
The air in the room turned ice-cold.
Azazel immediately flicked his hand, changing the holographic display. On the other side of the Gate, something was stirring—a slow, writhing mass of shadows. Countless Evil Dragons, clones of the Red Dragon Emperor, and high-tier Beast-Class monsters.
They were advancing. Slowly, but with the terrifying inevitability of a tidal wave.
The war had begun.
Azazel clicked his tongue. "Dammit, they're early. I wanted to hit them before they organized. Move out, everyone! I'll join you as soon as I finish giving the orders to my subordinates. Listen to me… don't you dare die. Win this, and come back to your everyday lives. Got it?"
"Understood!" we roared.
"Good. Now—GO!"
Following Azazel's command, we sprinted toward our designated positions.
The battle for the fate of the world had finally begun.
[Kiba's Perspective - End]
Kiba: "It's finally the final battle. We can't afford to lose this, no matter what."
Xenovia: "Right. Issei hasn't woken up yet… so I guess I'll just have to cut down enough enemies for the both of us!"
Irina: "Exactly! I'm going to work extra hard for my Darling's sake too!"
Maurice: "That's the spirit! Show them what it looks like when you surpass your limits! Xenovia! I don't care about finesse anymore—just go full power-play! Let's see that new strength of yours!"
Xenovia: "Leave it to me! It's time for the debut of the new and improved Xenovia Quarta!"
Irina: "I don't know… is it really okay? That new move of Xenovia's is basically just 'Muscle-Brai—'"
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