«Transmission! - Dryg's voice once again announced the successful energy transfer. Akeno, who was the target, groaned slightly, but held back further reaction. A drastic increase in strength, as it turned out, could elicit a less than humble reaction from the target. Ichika even had plans to "boo" the President in the future, and then.... You know what I mean.
The sparkling yellow lightning between Akeno's palms gained momentum dramatically. Even Ichika's hair began to take on a life of its own because of the tension in the air.
«Ha ha ha ha! - Akeno laughed a chesty, triumphant laugh with a hint of sadism. - Die!
The accumulated charge discharged in an instant into the fallen standing nearby. A few seconds of screaming, accompanied by Akeno's laughter, and the fallen were nothing more than a pile of ashes. Akeno's lightning bolts, amplified by her, were simply taking out entire groups of enemies.
"But still..." - Watching Akeno's eyes gleam triumphantly, Ichika thought. - "Akeno-sempai is terrible..."
Indeed, in her everyday life, Akeno was an all-knowing and flirtatious sempai. A kind of big sister who would always help, and sometimes tease her to keep her on her toes. There were often disturbing tendencies, of course, but now, when the enemies are on the doorstep.... Anyway, don't piss off Akeno-sempai!
Originally, Ichika had also participated in the battle, but then Akeno had suggested a scheme where she would transfer some magical energy to her, and she would amplify it and transfer back much more. The Figures of Evil held many secrets, but the ability to transfer energy between members of the same retinue was known. The most effective transfer was from Emeric to them, of course, but it could be done between each other as well.
So Ichika served as a battery. And this method proved itself to be more than worthy of praise. She could take out a maximum of five enemies in a couple minutes. But Akeno-sempai with her reinforcement, which she spends the same amount of time on, can take down entire groups. So Bishop has turned into some kind of artillery piece.
It was okay, if she was more useful as a 'battery' then so be it. It was becoming too obvious that Ichika was still too early to believe in her power....
Speaking of strength...
BOOM!
Hundreds of meters away, another explosion occurred in the air. The result of a clash of true titans, namely Valerie, as it turns out really unrealistically strong, and Azazel, with some fright of foes. The statuses between those around them changed so often that she didn't always have time to keep track of it.
Their "stray" hits destroyed entire blocks of buildings, and they didn't aim for that. Just the remnants of a real engagement.
They were fabulously lucky that the school had a huge territory, and so far the battle hadn't gone beyond it. But even that didn't solve the issue of conspiracy, which had gone to hell from the start. Ichika hoped they had some sort of magical device, like the Men in Black, that could erase the memories of the entire town. And there was no doubt that everyone realized that some bullshit was going on. First of all, the city was completely isolated, and secondly, the fucking sky had turned purple! Not to mention the explosions that were constantly ringing throughout the neighborhood.
So, despite Valerie's monstrous strength, the battle could hardly be called equal. She held off Azazel, but that's about it. The old man was abnormally strong! Now Ichika understood what a "superior plus" strength class meant. It was really hard to imagine.
Akeno frowned anxiously as she saw Valerie's armor crack once more. Pieces of white metal just fell away, but in an instant it recovered again, and the queen returned to the battle with a growl. There was no telling how much longer her stamina would last.
«Ichika," Akeno shifted her gaze to her. - You can't "step up" yet?
«No," she shook her head negatively.
Enhancement. The exclusive ability of a "pawn". With the permission of the king, she could once assign the properties of a piece up to the queen. This ability and made the pawn such a useful figure, depending on the situation, any pawn could become much stronger. The peculiarity of this ability is that this very "potential" is taken from the king, that is, at the expense of his demonic power.
Until now, Ichika had used some sort of figure in every battle, simply because it was safer that way, yes, she had used it in past battles too. When she fought behind his back, Emeric probably just didn't pay attention to the energy drain, apparently thinking she was practicing.
But in this battle, she couldn't "step up". Which means Emeric himself needs all his potential. He's also fighting somewhere, and from the looks of it, it's not an easy battle. That's why Akeno's question carried so much meaning. She was simultaneously assured that no help was to be expected from him and that he himself was in danger.
The huge serpent, woven from water streams, "devoured" another portion of enemies. Sona had done it.
Her entourage did not stray far from her, also throwing something around alternately. But it was obvious that they, like her, were not used to this.
In general, we can say that they are leading in the score, because so far there have been no losses on their part. But...
The battle between Azazel and Valerie didn't let anyone relax. It was clear that if Valerie lost, they wouldn't be able to fight back. It was nowhere near their level.
And the exorcists...
The glow that made her instinctively cover her eyes colored the night again.
«In Hoc Signo Vinces! - The faintly visible silhouette slipped among the enemies and reduced their numbers impressively. Neither the Fallen nor the other renegades could do much to counter it.
"Under This Sign You Shall Overcome." The cry of the exorcist, who had become just about the most feared fighting unit in their company, not counting the busy Valerie.
«Deus Vult!
The exorcist's silhouette glowed even brighter, and he sent out an energy blade that mowed down another crowd of omnipresent enemies.
Ichika was only glad for another victory, but....
Izaya landed right beside them. He was in an incredibly tired state, sweat pouring down and his hands trembling inexorably. Even his usual smile was still on his face. Izaya looked like a man who was about to faint.
«I... - Izaya shook his head, trying to get his thoughts in order. - This is my limit...
Yes, as it turned out, Izaya was once again their friend and ally!
Unidentified fat man, what's his name....
She'd already forgotten his name. Why are gaijin names so hard to remember? Not like mother Japan! For example, Nazoimetaru Kakurenburo! That's what Ichika understood, a clear and uncomplicated name.....
Ahem...
Anyway, an unknown fat man, who turned out to be Izaya's childhood tormentor, created a new ritual! And this ritual united all the Excaliburs! It's like Gandam, honestly! So, Izaya calmly waited for the ritual to finish, and then he just blew the man's head off! He didn't say anything, just silently finished him off! That's what she understood, he waited for the right moment and took his long awaited revenge! He took the new Excalibur Ultra, or whatever it's called now, thought about it and decided that it was kind of their friend and ally. Allegedly revenge is perfect and now he absolutely doesn't have to be their enemy. That's a plot twist! Although, come to think of it, pretty legitimate. It's not clear why Azazel didn't kill Izaya immediately when he brought all the Excalibur, it's clear that he has nothing to do with them after his revenge. Maybe he thought he'd get rid of them quickly...? Anyway, it doesn't matter!
Izaiah is already a three-time traitor! Or was it Four times? It doesn't matter, the important thing is that they have a pretty good unit now. But there's a catch.
«Careful... - Irina quickly jumped up to her friend and helped him sit down on the ground.
The new Excalibur required too much stamina to use. The six abilities increased the bearer's ceiling by an order of magnitude, but it also consumed a lot of energy.
Ichika cast a glance in the direction of Zenovia lying nearby. Not wounded, but tired to death.
The entire trio could use the holy sword, but even that didn't help much. It was intermittently replaced, but it was becoming clear that the sword was too energy consuming a weapon. Dreadful no doubt, but impossible to handle.
Irina bit her lip, gripping the hilt of her sword. It was obvious that Ichika's friend didn't want to exhaust herself again, but there was no way out. Every fighter counted.
Ichika was about to ask them to rest for a while, but before she could speak....
«Ichika! Can you hear me?!
She heard a voice in her head! A very familiar voice! The voice of her favorite Emeric!
«The President?! - Ichika's surprised exclamation caught the attention of everyone else. Seeds of hope began to blossom in their weary minds.
«Yes! I need you to do something! It's very important!
«Man, if you're in my head, can you read my mind?! Don't think about not wearing panties! Don't think about the fact
«You're saying that out loud, for fuck's sake! Argh! Never mind! I need you to get Excalibur and bring it to me! A matter of life and death!
«Got it! - She nodded into space and turned toward the exorcists looking at her strangely. - Irina, the President said he needed Excalibur.....
«She tilted her head and looked down at her burden. Actually, she shouldn't have done that, but there was no way out in a situation like this. If Emeric Gremory said so, then it was necessary. - Well... here you go.
«Ouch!
«Use your glove, you fool!
«I got it, I got it, I got it! - Ichika took the sacred artifact embarrassedly and with a bit of caution. After that she immediately asked into the void, hoping that Emeric would hear. - And where is it going, President...?
A deafening explosion rang out across the entire battlefield. Far more powerful than anything that had come before. So monumental, in fact, that Ichika's mind conjured up images of a nuclear explosion.
The entire battlefield seemed to stop fighting at once. Even Valerie and Azazel stopped to look warily toward the epicenter.
Everyone watched in awe as the already violet sky began to be covered in bundles of white energy. It was as if they were veins that began to entwine the entire upper space, leaving behind cracks that grew wider and more destructive with each passing moment.
And somewhere outside the city, a veritable tornado of white mist had formed. It didn't move sideways, but its incredibly fast rotation made anyone instinctively take a step back, simply because it inspired some genetic fear, so unnatural was it.
Emeric voiced her greatest fears.
«Right there...
***
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