"Phew… Looks like we made it just in time. You still conscious, Issei?"

Alice said, glancing at me.

Her body crackled with white lightning, her long golden hair now pure white.

In her hand, a gleaming silver spear.

Instead of her usual attire, she wore green combat gear.

Seeing her like this brought back memories of fighting side by side.

"Y-Yeah… Thanks for the save."

My voice was faint.

Honestly, I was barely hanging on. Blood loss was severe, my left arm was gone, and the pain was fading—numbness creeping in.

This was bad.

"Sorry. Dumb question. You're clearly not okay," Alice said.

"Haha…"

Thanks to her, I was alive. If she hadn't shown up, I'd be done for.

Then, I saw the captain, Miu, and Asia running toward us.

I was worried about the others, but at least these three were safe. What a relief.

They reached me and screamed at my condition.

"Issei!? Your arm…! Asia, heal him! Miu, help me find his arm!" the captain ordered.

"Got it! Big brother, we'll be right back!"

With that, the two ran off to search for my arm.

…Honestly, the odds of finding it in this huge town were slim. I didn't even know where it landed.

Might need to start thinking about a prosthetic, like Sensei.

Alice placed her hand on the spear lodged deep in my stomach.

"Issei, I'm pulling it out. Brace yourself."

"Y-Yeah… Be gentle, okay?"

"I know. Here we go…"

"Ghh…!"

A jolt of pain shot through me as she yanked it out.

Good. I could still feel pain. That meant I wasn't done yet.

Asia immediately placed her hands on my stomach. A soft green light began healing the wound.

In seconds, it was completely closed.

"Thanks, Asia…"

Tears streamed down her face.

"To let yourself get like this…! Issei-san, please, no more recklessness! If you were gone, I…!"

"S-Sorry…"

"But… I'm so glad you're alive!"

After my stomach, she moved to my leg.

Lately, I'd been relying on Asia a lot.

"What about the others?"

"Kiba-san and Xenovia-san are with Sensei and Tia. Once I'm done with you, I'll head to them."

Sounds like Kiba and the others were okay.

Surviving that attack was no small feat.

Then, I saw figures approaching.

Kiba and Xenovia, carrying Tia.

Her right arm was gone, and a massive hole gaped in her stomach. She needed treatment fast, or she wouldn't make it.

Tia lifted her head weakly.

"I-Issei… You're okay…"

"It's weird to call this 'okay,' but I'm alive. Asia, I'm good enough. Help Tia."

My arm could wait. Stopping her bleeding was priority.

Tia summoned a small magic circle.

From it emerged—

"Your arm… I grabbed it when it was cut off. And… this is mine. Please… reconnect Issei's first…"

With that, she collapsed.

Kiba and Xenovia caught her just in time.

"Kiba, is Tia—!?"

"She's in bad shape, but she's breathing."

Thank goodness…

Kiba brought my arm over, aligning it with the stump. Asia's healing aura flowed, slowly reconnecting it and restoring function.

Kiba asked, "Where're the captain and Miu? Not with you?"

"They went looking for my arm. Didn't know Tia had it."

"Got it. I'll call them back."

"Thanks."

With my treatment done, Asia and Kiba moved to Tia.

Her wounds closed quickly under Asia's care. She'd pull through.

Now, I was worried about Sensei…

But that wasn't all.

The town was still crawling with monsters left by Rossward.

They could harm the townsfolk.

The captain, Kiba, and the others were exhausted. Fighting in this state would be brutal.

"Don't worry, Issei," Alice said, as if reading my mind, a bold grin on her face.

"I didn't come alone. Feel it? Their presence."

I hadn't noticed due to my injuries, but I focused my remaining senses on the town.

I felt it—

"Hey, Issei. Got roughed up pretty bad, huh?"

"Looks like Alice made it in time."

Maurice, carrying Sensei, and Lisha, casting healing magic on him, appeared.

A few minutes later, we reunited with the rest of the team.

Seeing my battered state, they rushed me, tears in their eyes.

"Big brother's alive…! Waaah!"

Miu was still sobbing, soaking my clothes with tears.

I patted her head, reassuring her I was okay.

"Sorry. Made you worry again. I promised not to make you cry…"

Miu shook her head.

"No… I'm just happy you're alive…"

Her words hit hard.

I was a lousy brother, always making her worry.

Sensei and Tia, like me, had their wounds closed. Everyone was injured but alive.

Talk about luck.

Maurice stretched.

"Time to clean up. Took out a few on the way here… maybe ten left? Me, Alice, and Lisha can handle three or four each."

Lisha chimed in.

"No need for quotas. Whoever can take them down should. Rias-san, please look after Issei. We'll be back soon."

She smiled, summoning a magic circle.

A sniper rifle emerged, its barrel etched with intricate patterns and ornate designs.

"Issei, stay put. Don't even think about fighting," Alice warned.

I gave a wry smile.

I knew. I'd only be a liability now, dizzy from blood loss.

Alice, Maurice, and Lisha turned to face the battlefield.

Their backs reminded me of the days we fought together.

The monsters, sensing their immense aura, charged.

GRAAAH!

As the captain and others braced, Maurice stepped forward, calm as ever, hand on his sword—

Clang!

In an instant, the monsters' bodies were cleaved in half.

"That technique…" Kiba muttered.

It was the same move Maurice used to slice Xenovia's barrage—a shockwave from a god-speed draw.

"No matter how tough they are, they're useless if they can't move," Maurice said.

The bisected monsters flailed on the ground. Some crawled with their many arms, but they were sluggish.

Maurice approached slowly, drawing his second sword.

"Cutting down immobile foes ain't satisfying for a swordsman… but for monsters, I'll make an exception."

Holding both swords outward, his sword aura exploded outward.

Even from a distance, it sent shivers down my spine.

Kiba and Xenovia, who'd faced him before, stared in awe.

"Return to dust."

Maurice swung both arms.

Too fast to see—beyond comprehension.

No one could follow what he'd done.

As he sheathed his swords, the monsters crumbled to dust.

Kiba whispered, "When did he… I couldn't see it."

"No surprise there," I said. "Maurice is called the Sword Saint. His swordsmanship's leagues above mine. Auderia's knights train in both sword and magic, but he's an exception. He doesn't need magic. That's how incredible he is."

Kiba swallowed, staring at Maurice.

Technique surpassing Kiba's, power beyond Xenovia's.

That was Maurice Noah, Ast-Ade's greatest swordsman.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Thunder roared.

"HAAA!"

Alice, cloaked in white lightning, shot toward a monster at blinding speed, leaving a white trail like a flash.

Her lightning intensified as she closed in, thrusting her spear into the monster's chest.

The sheer force shattered it.

Akeno said to me, "Alice uses lightning like me, but her style's different."

"Yeah. You release lightning to attack. Alice uses it to enhance her body."

Alice rarely attacked with lightning directly. Instead, she channeled it to boost her strength, defense, and speed. The spear thrust, powered by that speed, was devastating enough to one-shot even these resilient monsters.

"But that technique…" Akeno started.

"Requires immense magical control," I finished. "Without it, you'd burn yourself out."

Her hair turning white from gold was a side effect of wielding that lightning.

Her title: White Thunder Princess.

"Hey! You're in the way!"

Alice spun her spear, focusing lightning at the tip. It arced outward, scorching the monsters surrounding her.

They froze, and she didn't miss her chance.

A flurry of thrusts turned them to dust in an instant.

"She could stand to think about collateral damage," Lisha said nearby, chuckling.

Yeah, Alice's attacks were flashy and destructive. Even now, buildings were crumbling from her lightning.

Not that I'm one to talk…

Click.

Lisha aimed her sniper rifle, her eyes shifting from blue to red.

"There."

She pulled the trigger.

The rifle's patterns glowed, and multiple magic circles formed at the muzzle.

Instantly, several monsters' heads exploded, followed by their arms and legs, like a chain reaction.

All in fractions of a second.

"Impressive," I said. "The Red-Eyed Sniper's skills have only gotten sharper."

Lisha gave a wry smile.

"These things aren't my forte. Bad matchup."

Yet she'd already downed several in under ten seconds.

She specialized in ultra-long-range sniping, but this rapid-fire precision made compatibility a non-issue.

"Having to shoot multiple times to kill them is exhausting," she said, lowering her rifle, her eyes returning to normal.

In mere moments, the monsters were wiped out.

"That's the strength of Issei's travel companions…"

The captain and the others could only stare, awestruck.

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