Once certain she was unobserved, Rias focused, activating the teleportation linked to the flyer's magic – only to be violently repelled. A powerful magical barrier blocked her.
"Akeno!" she snapped into a communication circle. "Something in the residential area is blocking magic! Call the others and meet me there! Now!"
"Understood, Rias!" Akeno's voice crackled with urgency. "Should I inform Sona?"
"Tell her to evacuate civilians in the area and prepare for casualties!" Rias ordered before severing the link. She took flight, speeding towards the disturbance.
Makoto watched Rias disappear, Messiah's warning ringing in his ears. He summoned the Velvet Key and stepped into the blue door materializing mid-air. Inside, Ryoji lounged on the counter, munching chips.
"Hey, Makot—" he began, waving.
Makoto didn't hesitate. He yanked out his Evoker, pressed it to his temple, and pulled the trigger. "The Wanderer!" Nothing happened. No familiar click, no rush of power, no manifestation of Mercurius's theurgy.
"Makoto! What are you doing?" Ryoji asked, startled and confused.
"Why doesn't it work?" Makoto demanded, frustration warring with urgency.
"You need time to recover," Ryoji explained calmly, offering a drink. "Martyr's Doom drained you deeply. I'm bound to this form too. Even the Attendant would be limited right now."
'Such are the consequences of reckless power expenditure, Universe,' Lucifer stated coldly, confirming Ryoji's words before Makoto could ask.
"Messiah said a friend is in danger. I have to help her," Makoto insisted, already heading for the door.
'Messiah, where is Ito?' Makoto projected.
Guided by his truest self, Makoto dashed back into Kuoh's streets, leaving a concerned Ryoji behind.
04/10/2012, Ito House, Night.
Inside the devastated Ito residence the oni whi just slaughtered the poor people residing in licked his lips, savoring Irumi's terror. Her desperate flight ended abruptly as his thrown kitchen knife pierced her ankle, dropping her to the street.
He stalked closer, his massive frame blotting out the dim streetlight, the broken tetsubo resting on his shoulder. Her choked sobs were music to his ears.
He paused, noticing the red leaflet glowing faintly in her pocket. "You think this trinket grants salvation?" he sneered. "My ward bars escape, traitor. Your blood will cleanse the stain on Japan's honor!"
He slammed his weapon down beside her, the impact spraying debris. Irumi curled in on herself, silent tears her only defiance as she awaited the final blow.
Then, the gauntlet blazed. Her defiant scream echoed as crimson light erupted from her arm. The manifestation startled the oni only for a second before he dismissed it.
He reached down, grabbing the unconscious girl by her hair, his claws digging into her scalp.
"Sturdier than expected. This bauble might be useful. Your soul will serve the Dark Mother well!"
"GET AWAY FROM THAT GIRL, ONI!" Rias's voice, sharp with fury and authority, cut through the night. She stood flanked by Akeno and Koneko at the edge of the ruined yard, magic crackling around her. "You attack a civilian in Devil Territory! We are authorized to use lethal force!"
Kazan turned, his grin widening into a maniacal rictus. "The invaders arrive! Vermin infesting Japan's sacred land! I will relish tearing your cursed bodies apart!"
With a bellow, he charged, swinging the massive tetsubo in a devastating arc aimed at Rias. The ground cracked under the blow, but the devils scattered.
Akeno unleashed crackling bolts of lightning, which the onj's armor harmlessly absorbed like a lightning rod. Rias retaliated with a searing Bolt of Destruction, forcing him to leap aside.
"That power! That hair! The Gremory!" Kazan howled, recognizing her. He ignored Kiba's rapid slashes —his sword skittered off the thick armor or was parried by the oni's surprising speed.
"Yuuto, grab Ito! Get her to safety!" Rias ordered, seeing Kazan's focus shift to her.
"But—" Kiba protested, wanting to fight.
"Now!" Rias commanded. Kiba gritted his teeth, swallowed his pride, and darted towards Irumi.
"Annoying fly!" Kazan snarled as Rias took to the air. He hefted his tetsubo to throw it, but Koneko and Akeno harried him, preventing a clear shot. He lashed out with a kick, but Koneko, remembering Sothillis, dodged nimbly.
Akeno tried adjusting her aim, however her lightning continued to ground uselessly on his armor.
"You think I came unprepared, invaders?" Kazan roared, his hate fueling unnatural speed despite his bulk. "I know how to kill your kind! How to make you suffer! How to cleanse your taint from this land!"
He surged forward, claws outstretched, catching Akeno before she could fully evade. Blood sprayed as his claws raked deep gashes across her torso.
"Akeno!" Rias screamed, unleashing a barrage of Destruction bolts to drive him back.
"Koneko, Akeno, get airborne! We fight from the sky!" Rias commanded, recognizing their disadvantage on the ground. They ascended, leaving Kazan roaring below.
"Cowards! Fighting like the locusts you are! No honor, only evil!" Kazan spat, glaring up at them. The fight stalled; the devils couldn't land significant blows, and Kazan couldn't reach them. His burning gaze fixed on the injured Akeno.
"A traitor Himejima! You disgust me most of all!" He crouched, muscles coiling like springs beneath his bloodied armor. "Akeno, MOVE!" Rias shouted.
Too late. Kazan exploded upwards, shattering the pavement beneath him. He collided with Akeno mid-air like a missile, slamming her brutally onto the street below with a sickening crunch. She lay motionless.
"KONEKO! GET AKENO OUT OF HERE!" Rias's voice was raw, unrecognizable in its fury. Koneko hesitated, terrified by the rage distorting her king's face.
"DO IT!" Rias shrieked.
Koneko, tears streaming, grabbed Akeno's limp form and dragged her towards the gap Rias had torn in the barrier. Rias landed heavily, facing Kazan alone. Power of Destruction, dark and volatile, coalesced around her fists. "You DARED hurt my family!"
Kazan laughed, a sound like grinding boulders. "Killing you will be my greatest offering! Mother Izanami will feast on your essence!" His manic grin vanished, replaced by deadly focus.
"I AM KAZAN ISHIKAGAWARA! THE HATE BORN FROM JAPAN FOR INVADERS LIKE YOU! I AM YOUR NIGHTMARE!" He charged.
Rias met him with shields of crackling destruction. Kazan's tetsubo slammed against them, the impact shaking the air. Rias retaliated with raw destructive force, forcing him back. They traded blows—destructive magic deflected by the heavy tetsubo, crushing strikes blocked by flickering shields.
Kazan feinted, then lunged, driving his horns through Rias's defensive magic with a shattering sound. The shields dissolved. Before Rias could react, Kazan swung his weapon in a brutal arc. It connected with her left wing with a sickening crack. Rias screamed, agony lancing through her as the wing crumpled uselessly.
"Now you cannot flee!" Kazan gloated, raising his tetsubo for the killing blow.
Koneko stumbled through the barrier's gap, Akeno's cold, limp form heavy in her arms. Sobs wracked her small frame.
'Why? Why am I useless again? First Senpai Kiba, now the President and Senpai Akeno... I don't want to be alone! Please!'
"Koneko, here you are! Senpai! I found them!" Kiba's voice, laced with panic, cut through her despair. He skidded to a halt beside her, Makoto close behind.
"Koneko! What happened?"
"T-the oni... attacked her..." Koneko choked out, trembling. "The President... fighting him... alone..."
Her desperate, tear-filled eyes locked onto Makoto.
"Senpai! You can heal her, right? Like Elizabeth did? Please!" she pleaded.
Makoto's jaw tightened.
"I can't," he said, the words heavy with regret.
"Why?" Kiba demanded, anguish in his voice.
Makoto didn't answer. He summoned the Velvet Key. The blue door shimmered into existence. "I'll deal with it. Get Himejima inside. Now!" His voice brooked no argument.
He practically shoved the three devils through the doorway before stepping back into the chaotic street, drawing the Sword of Lucifer from the air. Its familiar weight was cold comfort.
'Universe, you cannot be serious!' Orpheus Telos's mental voice was frantic. 'You're weaker than a baseline human right now!'
'He will tear you apart!' Lucifer roared, fury and fear warring in his tone. 'This is madness!'
'I don't care,' Makoto thought back, his resolve hardening like steel. 'I've fought worse. I won't let anyone else die. Never. Again.'
'Universe, your courage is peerless, but our companions speak truth!' Robin Hood pleaded, his usual bravado replaced by stark concern.
'And you plan to die again?' Ryoji's voice, laced with bitter anguish, echoed from the Velvet Room threshold.
Makoto ignored them all, his focus narrowing to the ruined house and the sounds of battle. He sprinted towards the fray.