By the time darkness began to fall, everyone had spent the afternoon relaxing and mentally preparing for the fight. Then Azazel-sensei called out to us:
"Alright, it's time. I've only got two things to say: First, make sure this summit is a success. Second, come back alive, all of you! …And don't worry, even if you get so badly injured that not even Asia or Phoenix Tears can heal you, I'll rebuild you myself! Hahahahaha!!"
Everyone's gaze naturally shifted to Azazel-sensei's left arm.
I mean, he did just transform it in front of us like it was a party trick.
Rather than relieving the tension, it felt more like he'd just cut off our escape route.
…If we're going to win, we're definitely going to do it with all limbs intact. At this moment, I think we're all in sync.
=====================
After that, we moved to a skyscraper rooftop in Kyoto. Only the Sitri peerage was active; the rest of us were on standby.
The Sitri peerage was scattered throughout nearby buildings, prepared to activate a massive teleportation spell at any moment. Of course, Saji was late, again. And since Azazel-sensei had to attend the summit himself, he wasn't here, but Ddraig's buddy, Tannin, was standing in as support. So, power-wise, we weren't any worse off than before.
The Vali Team was also standing by.
"It's time. The summit has begun," Rias said after checking the time.
The tension among the group rose slightly. Then we felt a faint trace of a teleportation signal.
"They're here. The plague god has arrived," I muttered.
"No tricks this time, huh? How honorable," Vali added.
Everyone immediately tensed up to maximum alertness. "Crack!" The barrier surrounding the area was forcefully breached as Loki, Fenrir, and Sleipnir barged in head-on.
"Target confirmed. Commencing operation."
Baraqiel signaled the Sitri peerage via communicator, and the pre-installed teleportation array lit up around the entire building.
In the next instant, we were transported to an abandoned quarry, perfect for going all out in a fight. Originally, we considered trapping Loki's group in a barrier and hitting them with Kuroka's poisonous fog. But the plan was scrapped. If Fenrir was there, no barrier would last more than a few seconds.
Kuroka muttered something about making a god-killing poison someday, but that's a story for another time.
=====================
"…You didn't resist. Are you overconfident?" Rias asked sharply, not liking how compliant Loki had been during the teleportation.
"There was no need to resist," Loki replied calmly, hands behind his back. "You likely had multiple layers of spells anyway. So I'll just crush your main forces here and return to the summit afterward."
He clearly believed that with Odin absent, victory was guaranteed. He even wore a smug grin.
"Like hell we'll let that happen! Promotion to 'Queen', Balance Break!"
"Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!!"
"Hmph. Then I'll join in, Balance Break!"
"Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!!"
Issei and Vali, now clad in the legendary gear of the two Heavenly Dragons, launched themselves toward Loki.
"This is marvelous! The Red and White teaming up to defeat me? A prelude to Ragnarok itself! Fenrir! Sleipnir! Stand down for now, I wish to taste the might of the Two Heavenly Dragons!"
With a laugh, Loki unleashed a barrage of spells. Vali responded from a distance with a mix of demonic energy and newly learned Norse magic. Issei, noticing the thinned-out barrage, closed in for melee.
"Your barrier's weak to physical attacks, right? Then I've got this!"
Issei's punch met Loki's barrier.
Clang!
"…Huh?"
Issei blinked, stunned that the barrier deflected his attack.
"This barrier was specially designed to counter physical attacks, your known weakness," Loki said smugly. "It's not perfect, but strong enough to block you. Honestly, that human was stronger. Seems you haven't fully mastered your power."
"Tch! Yeah, maybe I haven't beaten Ikki in a spar yet, but don't underestimate me, God!!"
With a roar, Issei threw another punch, right as Loki threw up the same barrier again.
"Divide!!"
The moment his fist hit the barrier, a voice echoed from the Boosted Gear that had no business being there, Vali's sacred gear!
The barrier's durability halved instantly, and Issei's punch broke through, slamming into Loki.
"Gah!? Why do you have the Vanishing Dragon's power?! Impossible! Even if it were possible, the cost would be immense!!"
Loki stared in horror at Issei's right arm, now glowing white.
"Yeah, I had bad luck this time. Took 14 failed activations, shaved off about 500 years of my lifespan."
He said it like it was nothing.
To Loki, Issei now looked like some kind of unhinged terrorist willing to blow himself up.
Still, Vali didn't miss his chance. Loki had taken his eyes off him.
"Fufu. A Red Dragon Emperor using the White Dragon Emperor's power… but are you prepared? You left yourself wide open. Here comes a big one."
A giant magic circle formed above Loki. A beam of light, like a holy laser, shot down and swallowed him whole.
When the light faded, Loki emerged, burned and bloodied, his divine clothes tattered. No serious wounds, but his defenses were down. The next attacks would land easier.
"You even learned Norse magic to counter me… impressive, White Dragon Emperor."
"Thanks for the compliment. But if you get distracted easily, you're in no place to mock Odin."
Vali was right. Loki relied on raw stats, not skill.
Even now, he hadn't noticed Issei dropping down from above with Mjolnir in hand.
"Is that?! Mjolnir?!"
Issei couldn't wield it properly, but with gravity on his side, he didn't need precision, just force.
"Let's go, Ddraig!"
"Transfer!!"
Mjolnir swelled in size.
"RAAAAH! COME FORTH, DIVINE THUNDER!!"
He brought it down like lightning incarnate, except…
It just shattered the ground. No thunder. No divine power.
"HUH?! Why's nothing happening?!"
"Fwahahaha! Mjolnir only responds to the pure of heart! And you tried to force it using the Red Dragon's power? Of course it won't summon lightning!"
Ahhh. It's not like Ascalon, which works as-is. Mjolnir needs to be naturally charged.
You can't light a fire with just oil and no flame.
"Still, I must admit, if one of you could wield it… I might have lost. But enough games, Fenrir! Sleipnir! Slaughter them all!!"
"RAAAWRRRRR!!"
"NEIGHHHHHHH!!"
The two beasts finally joined the fight. Our team split into two groups.
Kuroka and Rossweisse took Sleipnir; the rest of us faced Fenrir.
Sleipnir got distracted by Kuroka's illusions and flashy magic attacks from Rossweisse.
"Now, Akeno!"
"Yes, President!"
Akeno unsealed Gleipnir, the chain that once bound Fenrir, and sent it flying toward him.
"Foolish! I've long since devised countermeasures for Gleipnir!"
Loki laughed, but the newly reinforced Gleipnir, enhanced by dark elves, still bound Fenrir.
Before Loki could interfere, I rushed in from the front.
"Let's knock those pretty teeth out again, puppy!!"
Fenrir understood me, and his glare darkened.
He couldn't move his body, but his mouth was still free. I charged straight in.
And just as he tried to bite,
Rossweisse's teleport spell swapped my position with Sleipnir's.
"CHOMP!!!"
Fenrir bit down with god-killing force, onto Sleipnir.
Blood gushed. Sleipnir screamed.
Our support team quickly restrained him and let Asia heal the worst of it. Not fully, just enough to keep him alive.
"How's that, Fenrir? Tasty, biting your own kin?"
Perfect execution.
Rossweisse had marked me beforehand for teleportation. But Sleipnir couldn't be marked, so they used Kuroka's time-accelerated readings to calculate his exact coordinates mid-combat.
A brilliant setup.
"You monster! You tricked him into fratricide! Are you even human?!"
Loki, of all people, said that?
And don't act like Sleipnir's dead. He's still breathing.
"Very well… No more holding back! Come forth, Sköll, Hati, Midgardsormr!"
Dimensional rifts opened. Two smaller Fenrirs appeared at Loki's side, followed by ten mass-produced Midgardsormr replicas.
And then,
"Sköll and Hati are the real children of Fenrir! Their specs might be lower, but their fangs are the real deal! And I even brought a replica of the Midgardsormr... though, without its infamous laziness, it ended up being much weaker. I still don't understand how sloth could make someone stronger, even if it's my own child."
"Wait, wait, WAIT! Fenrir's kids and a replica of the Dragon King!? This isn't some half-assed assassination attempt, this is an outright declaration of war!!"
Everyone, including Issei, froze in fear as the enemy's forces suddenly multiplied.
As for me? I was still on top of the immobilized Fenrir's back, hammering away with senjutsu to throw off his balance and punching him non-stop. What? You think I'd just not attack when I'm in the perfect mounting position? Don't be ridiculous.
"Kyauuun! Kyauuuuunn!!"
"Hey! Human! Look this way!! You're supposed to be shocked first!!"
Loki yelled as he sent Sköll, Hati, and the mass-produced Midgardsormrs charging forward.
"Hmph! Bringing out a Dragon King replica in front of me? How shameless! I'll handle the fakes in the back! I'll turn them into charcoal in no time!"
Disgusted by the poor imitations, Tannin soared above and unleashed a massive stream of fire upon the Midgardsormrs below.
One of the replicas was hit directly, squirmed for a moment, and, as promised, was reduced to ashes.
"Here comes another!"
Tannin released a second flame, but this time, the remaining nine Midgardsormrs countered by breathing fire all at once, canceling out his attack.
"How impudent! A so-called Dragon King who can't fight without a pack!"
At this rate, it's going to take some time to wipe them all out.
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Note:Sleipnir (Level 100)