Reincarnated into a Multiverse, but High School DxD

Suzaku Himejima stood in the distance and bowed to Ren.

With Suzaku Himejima setting an example, the others in the Inner Shrine gradually reacted as well.

For a time, words of gratitude flowed without end.

Ren said nothing more. Regretfully noting that no new quest had been issued, he simply left the Inner Shrine battlefield at once.

When they saw Ren leave, the exorcists all breathed a sigh of relief.

That mysterious man's appearance had placed enormous pressure on them.

A powerful great yōkai had been effortlessly killed in an instant, and even Satanael, the legendary fallen angel who had long been renowned, had died by his hand.

If he had been an enemy of the Inner Shrine, how terrifying would the outcome have been?

Fortunately, things had not developed into the worst possible scenario.

Amid the ruins.

Suzaku Himejima stared at the place where Ren had vanished, unable to come back to her senses for a long while.

Though she did not know him at all, she felt as if she had seen him somewhere before. Yet when she thought carefully, she could not recall anything.

Unfading Lake Light

Having searched through her memories, she still could not find anyone who fit.

But perhaps it had merely been an illusion. After all, people sometimes experienced an intense sense of déjà vu when facing similar situations.

At that moment, exorcists from the Himejima family approached.

Suzaku Himejima understood that it was not yet time to rest and immediately began issuing orders. "Gather all the wounded and take them somewhere safe. At the same time, prevent those remnants from launching a counterattack. Also, send word of what happened here to the Five Great Families as soon as possible and report the events here to them."

Upon receiving the orders, the exorcists immediately sprang into action.

Without their backbone, Void Cicada and the yōkai were quickly suppressed. Oz's magicians also swiftly departed along with Walpurgis's retreat.

The isolation barrier covering the skies above the Inner Shrine dissipated as well.

Before long, the battle at the Inner Shrine was declared over.

After some simple treatment, Suzaku Himejima had recovered some of her strength.

Looking at the Inner Shrine—a precious shared asset of the Five Great Families that had now been reduced to ruins—everyone wore complicated expressions.

"After this incident, I wonder what actions the heads of the major families will take."

"Perhaps they will adopt even more extreme measures against the alliance of Void Cicada, the magicians, and the Grigori?"

"But if that happens, organizations like Void Cicada will only become more numerous."

"Also, that man's identity is deeply concerning. The power he used clearly did not come from any of the families, but if it had not been for him, the fate of the Inner Shrine and all of us today might have been rewritten."

"Equally important is the Treasure of Uji. When I went to the altar, it had already disappeared."

"What?! The items that sealed those three great yōkai were stolen?"

"I already examined Satanael's corpse, but I found no trace of the treasure."

A faint bitter smile appeared on Suzaku Himejima's face.

What also puzzled her was that not only had the Treasure of Uji not been found, but even the demonic sword Satanael had wielded in life had vanished without a trace.

Considering the timing of that man's appearance, perhaps the truth of the matter was not as it seemed.

The truth was exactly as Suzaku Himejima had guessed.

The Treasure of Uji had been taken by Ren, and the demonic sword used by Satanael had likewise been automatically picked up by him.

[Equipment: Demonic Sword—Unfading Lake Light]

[Description: Also known as Arondight, the sword wielded by Lancelot, a Knight of the Round Table under King Arthur of Britain in Arthurian legend. Like the Sword in the Lake, it was a holy sword forged by the Lady of the Lake. It originally housed a powerful holy aura and was a world-renowned holy sword, but later lost its qualifications as a holy sword and became a demonic sword. It was lost during the Three Factions War, but was actually recovered by the Grigori. After Satanael betrayed the Grigori, he stole it. Note: Deals additional damage to dragon-type targets.]

"Another old friend."

Ren had already obtained a Sword in the Lake from a previous random reward.

Thinking of that, he took out both swords and compared them.

One sword radiated holy light, while the other constantly emitted black energy.

"I can alternate between the two, or maybe try dual wielding."

After giving it some thought, Ren tossed both swords into his storage space.

After leaving the Inner Shrine's vicinity, he removed the Superman Glasses. Then, after opening the system map, he prepared to check on the magicians' side again.

Because of the Superman Glasses, even though Walpurgis and her group of magicians knew Satanael had been killed, they did not know Ren was responsible.

Thus, the icons on the map were still green.

About ten kilometers from the Inner Shrine.

A forest that had once stood there was now completely devastated.

A layer of pale frost clung to the ground and vegetation. Even stranger, violet flames burned atop some patches of ice.

Trees had fallen, the earth was cracked and pitted, rivers had been cut off, and the forest's original appearance had been utterly transformed.

Even the temperature of the air was beyond description.

After all, one moment it was more than ten degrees below zero, and a few dozen meters away, it became a scorching heat of forty or fifty degrees.

In short, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the wreckage left behind by battle.

Fortunately, the path was unobstructed. Ren soon found the group of Oz magicians temporarily led by Walpurgis.

Every one of them was injured. Aside from Walpurgis, who still wore that eerie smile, everyone else looked awful.

After all, who could have expected that just as things were going their way, an unexpected interloper would suddenly appear and instantly wipe out several of their strongest allies?

But there was still one battle left.

As long as their leader, the Violet Flame Magician, could win, the outcome would still be acceptable.

Some of the magicians seemed to notice Ren's arrival and looked toward him.

Walpurgis saw Ren as well. When she saw him arrive, she smiled and waved in greeting. "Ren, I really didn't expect you to still be alive."

Although Ren was still wearing the same clothes, after removing the Superman Glasses, no one could recognize him.

"Your way of greeting people is quite unusual. What's going on now?"

Ren asked.

"Master currently has the upper hand. That Ice Princess will lose very soon."

Walpurgis said with a giggle.

As soon as she finished speaking, Ren saw two figures leap over the mountains as they fought fiercely.

Countless magic circles formed around the white and violet figures, then instantly unleashed powerful elemental attacks.

It was not just ice and fire. Lightning, violent winds, arrows of light, pillars of water, and other elemental magic filled the sky as though they cost nothing.

The one battling Jaucusta, an elderly female magician in her seventies or eighties, was merely a blonde girl around twenty years old.

She wore a pure white mage robe completely opposite to the color purple, along with a tall pointed wizard's hat.

[Character: Lavinia Reni]

[Codename: Ice Princess]

[Status: Injured.]

Lavinia was also a character who had only appeared a few times in the original story.

But even if Ren did not have much of an impression of her before, she certainly left a deep impression on him now.

After all, not many women had such magnificent Mount Fuji proportions, and her mage robe was even specially hollowed out beneath it, worn in a way completely opposite to everyone else.

Though it looked more like some kind of erotic costume than a professional mage robe, Lavinia's combat power was undeniably formidable.

But what drew Ren's attention the most were the two giants standing before them.

Before Lavinia stood an Ice Princess formed from ice, pale snowflakes drifting around it. Before Jaucusta stood a flaming giant composed of violet fire, its intense heat sending scorching waves even at him.

The two noticed Ren and the others approaching. A smile appeared on Jaucusta's face, while Lavinia's expression became even more solemn.

"My, it seems you have already dealt with the situation at the Inner Shrine."

"No. Satanael was killed."

Ren shouted.

A Good Opportunity

At those words, Jaucusta froze, and the flames gathering in her hand nearly went out.

What nonsense were you spouting?

"That's right, Master. Satanael was killed by some powerful person who appeared out of nowhere. To avoid being captured, we escaped from the Inner Shrine."

Walpurgis stepped forward and explained helplessly.

"Who would have known that fallen angel officer was so weak? He could not even defeat an opponent none of us had ever seen."

"Something like that actually happened?"

Jaucusta suppressed the shock in her heart.

She naturally knew Satanael was no weakling. In terms of strength, he was fully capable of standing on equal footing with her, someone who possessed a Longinus.

Anyone capable of killing Satanael would at the very least have to be at the level of a fallen angel officer.

Could it have been Azazel of the Grigori, or perhaps Baraqiel had personally arrived?

It was also possible that the Church had sent a powerful expert.

After hearing this news, Jaucusta immediately regained her composure.

Her relationship with Satanael had been nothing more than cooperation. She felt no sadness over his death, only that his dying so quickly seemed somewhat unreal.

But she did not dwell on it. At the very least, dealing with the Ice Princess before her was the most pressing matter.

Upon hearing the news, Lavinia's expression relaxed.

But she quickly looked toward Jaucusta again with an unwavering expression. "At this point, we have already secured victory. My companions will find this place soon, and your conspiracy will never succeed."

"And... tell me where my master is already! What have you done to her?!"

At those words, an abhorrent smile appeared on Jaucusta's face.

"Hehehe, I have not done anything to your master. And speaking of which, it was your master, Glinda, who voluntarily told me about your Independent Longinus."

"What?!"

Lavinia thought she had heard wrong.

She came from Oz Country. As a child, she had been ostracized after awakening her Sacred Gear. After her parents died, she was adopted by Glinda, the Witch of the South, who taught her knowledge.

Later, Glinda disappeared after becoming involved in the conflict between the witch factions of Oz Country.

In order to find her mentor, Lavinia had traveled around the world. Yet now she heard such a thing from Jaucusta's mouth.

"My, my, I never expected you to be such a slow child."

Her aged voice carried a repulsive laugh as Jaucusta explained happily, as though she had discovered a new continent.

"Since that's the case, I'll generously tell you. From the very beginning, Glinda was a witch on the same side as us. The good witch? The wicked witch? Don't make me laugh. Those were merely labels outsiders used to judge us by their own standards. After all, the struggle between the eastern, western, southern, and northern magic factions of Oz Country was extremely fierce at the time."

"But ultimately, Oz Country's magicians had only ever been interested in strengthening their own magic."

"So

, was it strange that your master and I were allies?"