Chapter 176: Departure
"That being said, if nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any life-threatening danger. Everyone, there's no need to be too tense."
Rias placed her hands on the desk and slowly stood up, her crimson hair swaying as if stirred by an unfelt breeze.
"Unless they want to start another war."
After a brief explanation, under Rias's lead, all members of the Occult Research Club, including Haruto, stepped through the teleportation gate Akeno had opened.
Rias and Akeno were at the front, the trio of Fallen Angels and the white-haired loli in the middle, while Haruto and Yuuto Kiba brought up the rear.
Walking side by side with Yuuto Kiba, Haruto always felt a sense of incongruity about this handsome blond guy.
This feeling surfaced every time they were close, and as Haruto's own strength grew, it became increasingly noticeable.
Noticing Haruto's gaze, Yuuto Kiba turned his head and gave him a friendly smile, perfectly embodying the image of a campus prince.
Among the male students, both of them were considered "cursed" in terms of reputation.
As for the female students, Yuuto Kiba's popularity at Kuoh Academy was slightly higher than Haruto's.
Haruto only paid special attention to girls with high looks and good figures, which inadvertently made some ordinary girls feel uncomfortable.
Yuuto Kiba treated everyone equally, maintaining a polite and friendly distance from female students regardless of their appearance.
After Haruto joined the Occult Research Club, some fujoshi often paired Yuuto Kiba with Haruto.
When Yuuto Kiba encountered Haruto, they would chat and even have lunch together, showing much more enthusiasm than his attitude toward other female students.
In fact, Yuuto Kiba was considerably warmer toward his companions in the Occult Research Club. Rias had saved him and regarded him as family.
In return, Yuuto Kiba also viewed the other members as family.
As the only "same-sex" companion, Haruto naturally received extra care. However, in the eyes of others, especially the fujoshi, this dynamic had already sparked countless imagined scenarios about their roles...
Haruto responded with an awkward smile and subtly shifted two steps to the side.
He had no interest in same-sex relationships. Until Yuuto Kiba's true gender was confirmed, he would keep his distance, treating him as male.
Well... If Yuuto Kiba were genderless or intersex, Haruto would understand as a companion, but if the other party wanted to take things further, he would respectfully decline.
Through the portal, the group of eight appeared directly at the foot of the cathedral.
Whether out of courtesy or safety concerns, the portal couldn't be opened directly inside the cathedral.
The trio of fallen angels walked in the middle of the group. Amano and Mittelt had also changed into Kuoh Academy uniforms, their pure and cute appearances showing no trace of being fallen angels.
Kalawarna's figure was too tall and voluptuous, coupled with her icy expression, so Rias had chosen a black OL uniform for her, the most common attire for female teachers at Kuoh Academy.
Next semester, under Rias's arrangements, Kalawarna would be employed at Kuoh Academy. Coincidentally, the Occult Research Club had never had an advisor, so she would take on that role as well.
Amano and Mittelt would also officially appear at Kuoh Academy as transfer students. Under Rias's privilege, all three would be in the same class, and even Haruto and Koneko might be arranged to join them.
Facing their former organization, it was impossible for Amano and the others not to feel nervous. However, thinking about the fallen angels headquarters' attitude toward them, along with the tension, a stifled anger churned in their chests.
Haruto maintained a safe distance from Yuuto Kiba while advancing, observing whether anyone was following them.
Perhaps the newly arrived fallen angels hadn't had time or other reasons, but the group encountered no warning measures or scouts along the way.
Even when Rias instructed Koneko to push open the cathedral doors, not a single fallen angel could be seen.
If not for clearly sensing many fallen angels' presence, Haruto would have suspected whether Touko's intelligence was incorrect.
After scanning the clearly cleaned and organized cathedral hall, Rias slowly walked to the basement entrance.
As soon as she stepped onto the staircase, dense fallen angel energy emanated from below—it seemed all the newcomers were hiding down there.
Haruto thought to himself, then reached out to stop Rias. "President, let me go first."
Both he and Rias were S-rank. Compared to Rias who only excelled in magic, his greater proficiency in close combat and superior physical constitution made him more suitable to take the vanguard position in this situation.
If the Fallen Angels were truly reckless and there was danger ahead, Haruto could react promptly to buy precious reaction time for the entire team.
Rias didn't refuse, smiling as she said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Haruto."
Haruto moved from the rear to the front, continuing to lead the team downward.
He had traversed these stairs frequently recently, making the trip back and forth each time he practiced dual cultivation with Amano and the other two.
But this time, he distinctly noticed something different about the staircase - someone had cast magic on it. Not only had the stairs been reinforced, but they also served a surveillance function. He estimated their presence had already been detected.
...
While the Occult Research Club cautiously advanced toward the Fallen Angels' location, a group of Fallen Angels in the underground plaza were gathered around a middle-aged man.
"Lord Azazel," said Dohnaseek, the brawny Fallen Angel wearing sunglasses who was formerly Amano's subordinate. "Are we just going to let them come like this?"
"What else?" The middle-aged man in a Japanese hot spring yukata replied lazily. "We're here to seek peace this time. Don't tell me you still want to confront them?"
"Yes. Leaving aside that Gremory girl, I want to teach those three traitors a lesson."
Dohnaseek straightened his neck, showing no fear toward Azazel as he declared loudly, "Regardless of the outcome, Lord Azazel can simply claim ignorance later."
Knowing it was futile to persuade those destined to die, Azazel said nothing more. He had already assessed the approximate strength of the Occult Research Club members.
The young boy at the forefront particularly caught his attention. When Azazel focused his perception on the boy's left hand, he actually felt a faint sense of danger.
If he didn't intervene, even if all the Fallen Angels in the church attacked together, they would stand no chance of winning.
Azazel couldn't possibly make a move. Before coming here, he had just resigned from his position as Governor of the Fallen Angels, making him the former governor now. If he dared to intervene, regardless of the outcome, the peace talks would certainly fail.
Moreover, if someone of his strength attacked the younger generation, that Demon Lord from the Gremory family would probably come looking for trouble within days.
Seeing Azazel propping his chin and beginning to space out, Dohnaseek bowed, then waved his hand. After some hesitation, about two-thirds of the surrounding Fallen Angels followed him.
The remaining third hesitated for a while before ultimately choosing to adhere to Azazel's approach.
Azazel lazily stretched and ordered, "After the battle ends, send some people to treat Dohnaseek and the others. Report any fatalities to me - don't make decisions on your own."
"Yes, Lord Azazel."
"Dismissed. After the battle, send someone to bring our guests who've come from afar."
Azazel waved his hand, leaned back, and began spacing out again.
After safely passing through the staircase, Haruto immediately spotted a group of menacing-looking Fallen Angels.
Using a detection spell, he found that the strongest among them was only B-rank peak. Haruto turned back and quietly consulted with Rias.
"President, it seems we need to deal with the trouble ahead before meeting that important person."
Rias nodded slightly and mused, "Let the two of us stand guard while Akeno and the others warm up."
The members of the Occult Research Club were all at least A-rank, and with the enhancements from the Evil Pieces, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered but completely overpowered their opponents in strength.
Without wasting words, under Rias's arrangement, Koneko charged head-on, Yuuto Kiba provided flank support, and Amano and the other two guarded Akeno Himejima in front, allowing the Thunder Priestess to calmly chant a large-scale spell.
As the incantation ended, the one-sided battle came to a close.
The fallen angels who had been standing ready didn't even last five minutes before falling one after another.
This was despite deliberately holding back to only injure, not kill, out of consideration for the unseen high-ranking figure on the opposing side.