The morning air smelled of metal and ozone. The academy grounds were quiet, deceptively calm, as though the world itself were holding its breath. Sarah stood at the edge of the newly formed portal, the swirling vortex of crimson and violet energy coiling like serpents across the sky. Her harem gathered around her, the early sunlight reflecting off their hair, their eyes catching fragments of power that no mortal should ever see.
Rias was the first to speak, her voice taut with controlled excitement. "The portal…it's real. And it's stable, barely."
Akeno's lips curved into a smile that was both teasing and warning. "Stable or not, it's asking for attention. And I intend to give it." She brushed her hand against Sarah's forearm, sending a ripple of desire into the lattice, synchronizing their vectors before a single step had been taken.
Koneko crouched low, muscles coiled. "We don't know what's waiting on the other side. It could be monsters… or worse."
Rossweisse already had a glyph of stabilization prepared, hovering faintly in the air. "Then we proceed carefully. Our synchronized field will have to absorb any anomalies immediately. There's no margin for error."
Xenovia's hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword. "Then let's find out what awaits. I'd rather face the unknown than be stuck here wondering."
Lilith Fragment's consciousness flowed through Sarah, calm but sharp. Every layer of the portal hums with intent. It's not random. It wants us to step inside.
Sarah inhaled, her eyes narrowing. It wants the harem with me. The Proto-Ascension requires full integration to handle this.
She stepped forward, feeling the first pulse of energy brush against her skin like invisible fingers. The vortex responded instantly, tendrils of light wrapping around her aura, probing, testing.
Rias's hand pressed to her back. "We're with you. All of us. Every pulse, every spark."
Akeno leaned closer, lips brushing her ear. "And every desire… weaponized."
Koneko, Rossweisse, and Xenovia aligned themselves around Sarah, forming Formation Omega-Zero. Each heartbeat, each breath, each subtle shift of weight reinforced the lattice. Proto-Ascension flared outward, interacting with the portal like a key turning in a lock.
The world around them blurred as the portal pulled them in. The first sensation was weightless, then sudden impact—the floor of a city street greeted them, cracked asphalt beneath their feet, buildings fractured as if by some great invisible hand.
Xenovia hissed, scanning. "This… this is our world. But distorted. Altered."
Rossweisse's runes shimmered. "Temporal displacement and spatial distortion. The portal didn't just move us—it fused realities. The Chainsaw Man domain is bleeding through."
Akeno's smirk was sharp. "Perfect. Dangerous. And deliciously chaotic."
The harem moved as one, instinctively forming defensive and offensive vectors around Sarah. Proto-Ascension flared again, projecting a lattice that not only defended but scanned, analyzed, and adapted in real-time.
Then they appeared.
Hybrid entities—monstrous amalgamations of human and demonic energy, their forms twisted by conceptual distortion—emerged from shattered streets and rubble. Teeth and chains protruded from bodies, glowing red eyes scanning for prey. Their snarls weren't just sounds—they carried a weight of intent, a mental probe aimed directly at Sarah.
Sarah's lips curved. This is exactly what we needed.
Akeno's hands traced arcs in the air, unleashing controlled bursts of energy that dissolved the nearest attackers into sparks. "Focus on me, darling," she murmured, sending a pulse of synchronized desire into Sarah, amplifying her offensive lattice.
Rias's hand pressed firmly against Sarah's chest. "We anchor you. Don't lose control. Remember the stakes."
Koneko's fists struck first, bone and density shattering limbs as constructs lunged. Rossweisse's stabilizing glyphs twisted around the battlefield, redirecting attacks in perfect synergy. Xenovia cleaved through hybrid forms with precision, every motion rehearsed, every strike coordinated.
The creatures adapted quickly, morphing, shifting. Chains and blades erupted from torsos, probing for weaknesses in the harem's formation. But the lattice responded instantly, analyzing, countering, projecting predictive overlays that neutralized strikes before they landed.
Lilith Fragment whispered. They're trying to map you, test your Proto-Ascension limits. Every touch they make is a probe, every strike a calculation. Don't let them learn you.
Sarah's aura expanded, threads of crimson-lilac wrapping around each harem member, each node now a weapon and shield. "Then let's show them what we are."
The first hybrid was pulled into the lattice, every movement stripped away and rewritten as energy absorbed, processed, and returned as a wave of destructive force. Chains snapped, limbs dissolved, their screams folding into harmonic resonance with the lattice.
Akeno's touch sent a shiver of focused energy through Sarah, her whisper sharpened by intent: "Every desire is a weapon. Every glance, a blade."
Rias reinforced their bond, hand tracing Sarah's side, each pulse a silent command, guiding every defensive and offensive vector. Koneko, Rossweisse, and Xenovia operated with perfect cohesion, each strike amplifying the lattice, each maneuver protecting Sarah's core while asserting control over the battlefield.
The hybrids faltered. Their movements became erratic, their probing ineffective. Sarah stepped forward, lattice flaring in concentric waves, and the creatures disintegrated before reaching their formation.
The cityscape itself seemed to respond, rubble shifting, streets bending, as if reality acknowledged the presence of the Proto-Ascension. A faint pulse echoed through the distorted world—a resonance that matched Sarah's heartbeat.
And then… a figure emerged.
Chainsaw blades spinning, blood-streaked, eyes glowing with a manic, predatory intelligence. The aura radiating from him was raw, uncalculated power—a perfect contrast to the precise, lethal symmetry of Sarah's lattice.
Akeno's lips curved. "Oh… he's alive."
Rias's grip tightened. "He's testing us. Not just the Proto-Ascension—you."
Sarah exhaled slowly. "Good. Then let's give him a proper welcome."
Proto-Ascension flared to maximum, the lattice now a living network of defense and attack. Every pulse from the harem synchronized into one unstoppable force. The city around them cracked, distorted, and shifted in response, a battlefield molded by desire, strategy, and raw power.
The first clash was inevitable.
The Chainsaw hybrid lunged. Sarah's body reacted before thought, Proto-Ascension projecting energy to meet him head-on. Akeno, Rias, Koneko, Rossweisse, Xenovia—all moved as extensions of Sarah's will. Desire, trust, and precision fused into every strike.
Impact exploded across the street, a shockwave that rippled into the distorted city. Concrete splintered. Air ignited. The hybrid's chainsaws met the lattice head-on, sparks and energy scattering, and yet Sarah's formation held.
Her lips curved in a faint smile. This is the real world. This is the crossover. This is where the next arc begins.
The battle was only beginning.