Akeno Himejima recalled her other familiars, and the group headed toward the girls' locker room. Surprisingly, few people blocked their way, as most had already gathered in the gymnasium. Under Koneko Toujou's loli fist, the iron door of the girls' locker room let out a mournful cry, officially signaling its demise.
Caleb was the last to step into the locker room. Inside, besides the sleazy fat man, there were several partially undressed girls. Unsurprisingly, they were the targets he had hypnotized and brought here for nefarious purposes.
When the iron door groaned and flew off its hinges, the sleazy fat man's greasy body violently shook, and his thrusting lower body instantly ejaculated. Caleb walked in just in time to witness this disgusting scene. Rias and Akeno Himejima had already turned their heads in time, avoiding the nauseating sight.
Caleb glanced at the girl lying beneath the sleazy fat man, her eyes rolled back. Her figure was average, and she was moderately cute, but Caleb didn't recognize her; she appeared to be a random extra. He looked at her ravaged lower body. There was no blood, so it wasn't her first time. That was relatively good. After the incident subsided, if her memory of this event was erased, she could continue her life as before.
Lying beside the victim of the hypnotic assault was a blonde girl in a messy uniform, panting and flushed, one hand reaching into her panties, masturbating. If Caleb and the others had arrived any later, she would likely have been the next victim.
Caleb's gaze lingered on the blue-eyed, blonde girl for a moment. He hadn't expected to see another familiar character in this situation. She was Rena Kurashiki, one of the main female characters. She had a pretty face and an excellent figure, and her long blonde hair and blue-green eyes gave her a distinct appeal. Her behavior was somewhat aggressive, fitting the popular image of a Gyaru. She had a dominant, high-powered mother, which resulted in her personality not being particularly likable. Unlike Sakura Miyajima, she had already slept with her boyfriend in the original story, having lost her virginity before the hypnosis.
Caleb didn't like her personality, but he was somewhat interested in her body. If she also possessed a talent, he might try to get her into bed for a session. Of course, he wouldn't use despicable means. If she refused to hook up, he wouldn't force it. However, he imagined she wouldn't refuse. Under the combined effect of the Allure Talent and the Victim Template, the more carnivorous a girl was, the less resistance she had to Caleb.
Retracting his gaze from Rena Kurashiki, Caleb looked at the terror-stricken sleazy fat man. It was a good thing she wasn't the first victim. If Rena Kurashiki were the one lying beneath the sleazy fat man right now, Caleb wouldn't touch the woman again, even if she had a talent. His Little Caleb simply couldn't get hard.
"What a shame, still too late..." Caleb regretfully looked at the sole victim. He had chosen not to retreat earlier precisely because he was worried about this situation. Yet, he couldn't believe that this sleazy guy, on the verge of death, was still thinking about harming girls. He had time to do this but didn't think about escaping Aiho Academy. Only ten minutes had passed since Caleb used the magic circle. He had already acted with the utmost speed to resolve this matter.
While Caleb surveyed the scene, the sleazy fat man was also observing Caleb's group. Looking at the alluring and mature Akeno Himejima, the dominant and graceful Rias, and the adorable white-haired loli, his inner filth and desire suppressed his terror.
"You three, I am the government's Sex Instructor..." He launched his hypnosis at Rias and the two others, but was met only with four looks that viewed him as already dead.
On the way to the broadcasting room, Rias and Akeno Himejima had already cast a defensive spell on Caleb and Koneko Toujou. They, of course, hadn't forgotten themselves. However, a mental attack of this strength wouldn't affect them even without the defensive magic. With the spell, the mental shock didn't even cause a ripple.
"Confirmed, it's the glasses causing the problem." Having witnessed the hypnosis being deployed firsthand, Rias made the final judgment. "We still can't be sure if it's a Sacred Gear, but let's deal with this guy first. He makes me sick just looking at him."
"I concur." Koneko Toujou raised a small hand, like a student answering a question in class.
"I'll do it." Akeno Himejima cupped her hands, and two balls of cerulean flame appeared before everyone. The temperature did not rise due to the flames' presence, but the visual effect of light twisting whenever one looked at them indicated the terrifying energy contained within. Because of this characteristic—the heat being completely contained within the flame—the burning process created little commotion, leaving no residue, making it ideal for destroying evidence.
The sleazy fat man had already fallen into a mental breakdown when he realized the hypnosis had no effect on any of the four people before him. "Impossible, how could this be... I paid such a high price..." He lowered his head, muttering, "Fake, it's all fake! My hypnosis is invincible!"
As he spoke, he attempted to use hypnosis again, trying to manipulate Rias and the others into killing Caleb and then offering themselves to him. The response he received was two balls of cerulean flame carrying the aura of death. When the pain of his body burning hit him, the sleazy fat man finally sobered up from his frenzy. He frantically slapped at the flames on his body in sheer terror. "You are monsters! You are all monsters!"
The flames continued to burn unfazed. Under Akeno Himejima's control, there was no fear of collateral damage. "I was wrong! Spare me! I'll never dare to do it again..." He begged desperately, rolling on the floor, trying to extinguish the flames on his body. Caleb watched him impassively. Fearing he might accidentally harm others, he moved the other girls lying paralyzed in the locker room to a safer distance.
The cerulean flames burned rapidly, and soon the sleazy fat man lost the strength to struggle. Feeling death approaching, he let out a howl of despair, followed by obscene insults. In his dying moments, he looked at Caleb with resentment. "Why, why did I not get to..." Caleb looked at the sleazy fat man with a blank expression. He knew what the man wanted to ask, but he wouldn't and couldn't answer.
"Akeno-senpai, can you increase the flames?" Akeno Himejima nodded, and her magic power surged.
Boom!
The cerulean flames completely enveloped the sleazy fat man's remaining head and chest. The black shadow within the flame continuously disintegrated, becoming part of the fire, and then completely vanishing from the world.
Clang~
The flat, rimless glasses dropped from the air, still completely intact. Surviving the scorching of the cerulean flames, they were definitely not ordinary glasses.
"The possibility of it being a Sacred Gear just increased again." Caleb walked forward, about to bend down to pick up the 'culprit,' when a red flash streaked past, making him instinctively shut his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, the floor was empty.
"Buchou..." He turned to look at Rias and the others, asking if they had seen what just happened. Rias nodded slightly. "It's confirmed. It is indeed a Sacred Gear, and a rather malicious one at that."
Sacred Gears reside within human hosts, and their choice of host is their own. A weak host will be influenced by the Sacred Gear's will. Judging from this incident, this pair of glasses clearly didn't align with good intentions or order. Seeing the 'culprit' escape yet again, Caleb felt a rare surge of frustration.
"Buchou, what should we do? Should we just let this Sacred Gear run wild?" He frowned, saying irritably, "The next time something like this happens, we might not be able to resolve it so quickly."
"Akira, don't panic." Rias smiled gently. "Who said we're letting it go?"
"But the glasses are gone now..."
"That part is indeed unexpected. It's rare for a Sacred Gear to actively flee." Rias looked at Akeno Himejima. "Akeno, it seems you'll need to maintain the barrier for a while longer."
"No problem, Buchou. Maintaining the barrier doesn't consume much." Rias nodded, continuing her instructions. "Koneko, go knock out everyone in the academy. I'll go back and bring someone proficient in spirit magic to resolve the hypnosis. Then, we can slowly search for that malicious Sacred Gear."
Hearing this, Caleb understood. Although the glasses could transfer, they couldn't break the barrier, so they must still be within Aiho Academy. Searching the entire academy for a pair of glasses wouldn't be easy, but it was better than searching the whole world.
"As for Akira..." While Caleb was lost in thought, Rias instructed him, "You are responsible for gathering everyone Koneko knocks out. It will make resolving the hypnosis easier later."