On the morning of the second day at Auros Academy, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast. As Issei was eating, Asia and Saji approached him and started talking.
Apparently, the Two Heavenly Dragons were having trouble dealing with the thought-forms of the past Red Dragon Emperors and White Dragon Emperors. The discussions kept going in circles, so they wanted to try something new. The idea was to use the dragon connection to summon the consciousnesses of Vritra—who resides in Saji's Sacred Gear and Fafnir, who's contracted with Asia—from deep within their respective Gears. The hope was that this would help convince the stubborn former White Dragon Emperors, also known as the "Victims of the Red Dragon Emperor Club," to cooperate.
"So yeah," Saji explained, "Vritra came to me in a dream saying he was heading out to help the Two Heavenly Dragons. But after I woke up, he stopped responding when I tried talking to the Sacred Gear. That's when I knew he was serious. I can still use the Gear without him, but it's a pain to control the finer stuff without his help."
"It was similar for me," Asia added. "Fafnir appeared in my dream too, and ever since, I can feel our connection growing more distant."
"Sorry about this," Issei apologized. "Didn't mean to get you both caught up in this."
"Eh, don't worry about it," Saji replied with a shrug. "If this helps us get stronger, then it's worth it. Might even be a good chance to practice more precise control without Vritra holding my hand."
After finishing breakfast and going over the day's schedule, the second day of the open school event began.
From time to time, Issei caught glimpses of the others teaching their classes. They seemed less stiff than yesterday—maybe starting to get the hang of it.
Issei had his share of classes, answered plenty of curious questions from the kids about the human world, some harder than others. One of the more difficult ones being: "If there are ninjas, then samurais exist too, right?!"
Honestly, it's not that far-fetched. There are families of spiritual sword wielders in Japan—like Meguri from the student council—so who knows? You might actually find a real one if you look hard enough.
But then, just as everything seemed normal, a sudden chill ran down his spine. The sky turned stark white, and a barrier engulfed the entire area.
The kids looked up at the sky, more confused than scared.
For now, it was just the sky changing colors.
Then, a school-wide announcement rang out:
"All prospective students, parents, instructors, and staff currently on the grounds, please proceed inside the school building immediately. I repeat, please return to the school building immediately."
The friendly, upbeat atmosphere of the academy instantly shifted into one of tense urgency.
The members of D×D gathered in the staff room.
The children and their families were being escorted to the gymnasium, where Vice President Tsubaki and staff were trying their best to handle the situation, though without much information, they were likely struggling.
That's why we were now trying to piece together everything we knew.
"...No good. I can't reach the outside," Rias said.
"Same here," added Sona. "Short-range teleportation is fine, but I can't jump to the Gremory territory."
"I've established a connection with Agreas and the town's meeting hall. I'll bring up the video now."
Sona conjured a floating screen, revealing Sairaorg and Gendor.
"What's going on?" Sairaorg asked immediately.
It was Gendor who answered.
"It appears this entire region has been trapped inside a massive barrier deployed by enemy forces. Our scans show that the barrier covers both the town of Auros and the floating city of Agreas in an elliptical dome."
The rest of the conversation boiled down to this:
Most of the magic users at the meeting hall had their spells completely sealed.
The one responsible is likely Azi Dahaka, the legendary evil dragon who supposedly controlled over a thousand spells and was resurrected and empowered by the Holy Grail and a fake Red Dragon Emperor.
Because the barrier manipulates time and time inside flows differently from the outside. Reinforcements probably won't be able to reach us in time.
The enemy's goal is likely twofold: to eliminate the top-tier magic users gathered here and to seize the "something" hidden within Agreas—an artifact from the era of the original Four Great Satans.
Now that we had a basic grasp of the situation, we were about to discuss how to break free from the barrier when a staff member suddenly burst into the room in a panic.
"What's wrong?"
"Th-the sky! There's something showing up in the sky!"
We rushed outside and just as they said, a massive screen was projected into the sky, displaying the message: Please wait a moment over a field of flowers.
"What the hell is this?! Are they mocking us!?" Issei shouted in frustration.
Honestly though, floating sky screens? The tech in the hidden world is always insane.
As I marveled (probably the only one doing so), a voice came through the speakers.
"Huh? Wait, it's live already? Seriously? I'm still eating my lunch, you know. So impatient. Fine, fine—I'll get on with it."
Judging by that voice and tone, it was probably Azi Dahaka who triggered the broadcast… or maybe Ladon. Definitely not Euclid, though.
Then the video cut to a silver-haired man, way too cheerful for his age or appearance.
"Ciao ciao~ It's your favorite rising star villain—Uncle Rizevim here~Whether this is our first meeting or a nostalgic reunion, I'm here to kindly explain the mess you're all caught up in, it's tradition, right? The villain explains the plan even if it's a tactical blunder. Gotta play the part, you know~"
Everyone's discomfort visibly spiked at Rizevim's tone—equal parts malice and cheer.
"So! You've probably already guessed—we've sealed off the entire towns of Auros and Agreas with a barrier. The one responsible? This guy! Say hello to Ladon, resurrected and powered up by our very own Holy Grail!"
The camera panned to Ladon, while Rizevim clapped mockingly next to him.
"And as for disabling all your magic? That was the work Azi Dahaka! Both dragons were given a copy of the Red Dragon Emperor's power and pushed to their limits. You lot? Can't escape. But don't worry! The Holy Grail restores any life force they burn, so they can spam their forbidden arts to their heart's content! And since time flows differently here, reinforcements won't make it in time. Longinus and Evil Dragons make such a fun combo, don't you think?"
"...Come to think of it, Issei's and Saji's abilities do synergize surprisingly well," someone muttered.
Vritra, Saji's Sacred Gear partner, is both an Evil Dragon and a Dragon King. In the last battle against those stray magicians, Sona had connected Issei and Saji's abilities to steamroll their opponents.
"Was now really the time to bring that up!?"
"I see… Longinus and Evil Dragons really are a dangerous mix," Rias noted.
"President, please don't add fuel to the fire! Vritra's still one of the rational evil dragons. He wouldn't be a Dragon King otherwise!"
Even as the two hosts of dragons argued, Rizevim kept talking.
"Why are we doing all this, you ask? Well, two reasons! First—those magic users in Auros? They don't seem too fond of us. Better to wipe them out before they cause trouble. Second—Agreas! That floating city is packed with mysterious tech from the Old Satan era. And since my dear ol' dad originally owned it, I figured I'd claim my inheritance~"
Claiming inheritance from a war trophy… what kind of logic is that? Besides, Agreas wasn't just made by the former Lucifer, it was built by all four of the original Maou. If anyone had a claim, that'd include Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus too.
...Not that any of those claims would ever be accepted.
"Also, I know you've got those pesky 'D×D' types here trying to beat us. So let's have some fun, shall we~☆ In three hours, our evil dragon army will attack both Auros and Agreas! If you don't want that, try and stop us! C'mon—give it your best shot!"
With a snap of Rizevim's fingers, massive purple flames erupted around Auros, forming a wall that encircled the entire area. This time, the finger snap actually worked.
He looked pretty smug about it, too.
"Purple flames… This just got a lot more troublesome," Gendor said, stepping up from behind us. With most magic sealed, he must've decided to regroup here.
Other magical presences, likely the town's sorcerers, were also converging on the academy.
Gendor stared up at the towering flames with disdain as they shifted—morphing into a massive cross.
Upon hearing that it was holy fire, the surrounding devils immediately grew more alert.
"Nyahaha~ Good luck with all that! Ciao~"
With that obnoxious laugh, Rizevim's image vanished.
And just like that, we began preparing for battle.
Soon after, Sona took command and started leading the town's residents to safety inside the academy. The Sitri and Gremory peerages were working with the staff, sweeping through the city to guide and protect the civilians.