It was a terrifying sound—a mix of self-derision and the pure, ecstatic joy of a warrior finding a worthy opponent. A wild, beast-like aura erupted from his body.
"My name is Razul! Known to the world as 'The Breaker'! Red-Eyed Sniper, let us see who falls first!"
"Gladly," Lisha replied. "It is the duty of a sister to clear the path for her brother—her King. I will not miss. Sally, Fina, let's go!"
"Roger!" the fairies chimed in unison.
Lisha unfurled her devil wings and took to the sky. Magic circles manifested around her, summoning a swarm of floating Magitech rifles and autonomous shields.
"I don't have my full arsenal yet... but this will suffice. Promotion: Queen!"
The pressure radiating from her spiked instantly. With her stats boosted across the board, she became a blur in the sky, raining down a relentless hail of fire from every conceivable angle.
Razul leaped into the air, smashing ice bullets with his fists and conjuring repelling shields to deflect the rest. He moved with explosive power, closing the distance.
"Hah!"
He threw a punch, sending a massive shockwave rippling through the air. Lisha's floating shields intercepted it, but the force was too much, sent her reeling backward.
"Long-range shockwaves... How troublesome," she muttered, performing a mid-air recovery.
She immediately began firing again—ice bullets from her pistols, and compressed fire slugs from her floating rifle bits. Razul swatted them aside, closing in. He was no longer using his "Attraction" ability, knowing Lisha would just use the momentum against him. He was relying on raw strength and "Repulsion."
Razul clapped his hands together, forming a sphere of highly compressed aura. He hurled it like a pitcher throwing a curveball.
The sphere arced through the air, growing larger as it neared Lisha.
BOOM!
The sphere detonated with a deafening roar, releasing a localized shockwave that pulverized everything in the vicinity.
"How do you like that!?" Razul grinned. "I can compress repulsion into projectiles! And I'm just getting started!"
He slammed his fist into the ground below. The pavement shattered, and massive chunks of the road flew into the air. He punched the debris toward Lisha, but they didn't just fly—they hovered around her, acting as anchors.
"He's imbuing the debris with gravity! Lisha, watch out!" I yelled.
"I see it!"
Lisha's rifle bits pivoted, systematically destroying every piece of debris before they could trap her. Her precision was flawless.
"Fina, let's do it," Lisha commanded. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Fina replied. "The atmosphere in this area is already under my control. All we need is Sally's spark."
Lisha nodded, her wings beating as she soared even higher into the stratosphere. Razul pursued her relentlessly, throwing spheres of repulsion and air-pressure strikes.
Razul's weakness was becoming clear: his effective range was short. Against a high-mobility sniper like Lisha, he was constantly forced to play catch-up.
High above the clouds, Lisha looked down at him and clicked her two pistols together, docking them into a single long-barreled unit.
"Tell me, Razul... do you know that water can be decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen? It's a fundamental law, both here and in Ast-Arde."
"What? You giving me a science lesson now?" Razul scoffed, though he looked confused. "Yeah, I heard you were a teacher. I know that much."
Lisha flashed a meaningful smile. "Then let me ask you one more thing. Do you know what happens when you introduce a flame to those gases?"
Razul's face went pale. He looked around frantically, realizing too late that the "mist" Lisha and her fairies had been spreading throughout the fight wasn't just for show.
Lisha pulled the trigger.
"—Blast Shooter."
The sky over Agreas vanished in a world-ending explosion.
The park was a chaotic symphony of war. Maurice and Valse were a blur of clashing steel and tremors, while the sky above remained a roaring orange furnace from Lisha's gambit.
As I watched, breathless, two figures stepped forward from our side.
Miu and Alice.
They took their positions in front of Belle and Vika.
"We've fought these two enough times to know the drill," Miu said, her voice steady. "We'll take it from here, Big Brother."
"It's time to settle this once and for all," Alice added, tightening her grip on her spear. "Our history with them has gone on long enough."
It was true. Between the attack on Auros and the investigation into the Underworld, these pairs had become fated rivals. Miu vs. Belle. Alice vs. Vika.
Vika leaned her head back, smiling playfully. "I like that. You got the better of me last time... shall we see who's truly stronger today?"
"Absolutely," Alice replied with a fearless grin. "Since we have to fight anyway, let's make it the last time."
The air between them screamed as their massive auras collided, warping the very space of the park.
Miu suddenly turned back to me. She gave me a bright, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, okay? Leave this to us, Big Brother."
I looked at her—really looked at her—and felt the weight of her resolve.
"I'm leaving it to you," I said firmly. "It's a King's job to trust his Peerage. And it's a brother's job to trust his sister."
"Hey, don't forget to add 'wife' in there!" Alice puffed out her cheeks in mock annoyance.
I couldn't help but chuckle. Even in the middle of a battlefield, they were exactly who they always were. I let out a long breath and grinned.
"Right. And it's a husband's job to trust his wife. I believe in you both. Miu, Alice... you know the promise, right?"
They answered in unison, their voices ringing with absolute certainty.
"We're all going home together. It's a promise!"
With that, they vanished into the fray.
I watched their retreating backs for a moment, my heart heavy but proud. I knew the burden I was asking them to carry. Our enemies were gods, or damn close to it. Even if I said I trusted them, the worry would never truly go away.
But I had to believe. In my Peerage. In my family.
"Issei..." Rias said softly, her eyes full of concern.
"It's okay. Miu and the others can handle this," I said, my voice hardening with purpose. "Now... let's go do our part."
We turned away from the battlefield and raced toward the government building, leaving the fate of the park in the hands of the people I loved most.
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