Chapter 195 — Shadows In The Factory

Yuki

I clutched my side as Koneko caught me before I fell to the ground. 

Asia quickly reached me and began to use her Twilight Healing on me.

I hissed in pain.

“What’s wrong, senpai?” Koneko asked.

It was getting harder to focus on controlling Malediction’s Embrace through the pain.

I’d become better at resisting its influence after my increased training load, but right now, between the pain from my wound and Koenko’s and Asia’s proximity, it was becoming a struggle.

I forced myself to stop baring my teeth before I replied.

“The one who was hiding has a Sacred Gear just like the man with the light bow. While I was fighting the three Hero faction members we knew of, a different colored light arrow came out of one of the shadows and hit me before I could dodge,” I explained with a growl. 

“We’ll need to warn Ise and Yuuto, then, Rias said as she and Gasper-kun came over. “The

Behind them, I could see Akeno, Irina, and Xenovia finishing off the last of the dark humanoids.

The mob of fodder enemies had shrunk from hundreds to a few dozen at this point.

“Ise! Yuuto! There’s another enemy light user! Yuki says their Sacred Gears are similar!” Rias shouted over Issei and Yuuto.

Ise glanced over and nodded.

Yuuto didn’t take her eyes off of her opponents.

A moment later, from one of the shadows behind Yuuto, a green arrow of light shot out and headed straight for her.

She spun and cut the light arrow down before diving out of the way as the fire user sent a wave of flames at her.

“Yuki, you need to hold still. The light from the attack that hit you is making your wound worse and harder to heal,” Asia said as she continued to heal me.

I could feel it working.

It was just much slower than normal.

I held back my anger as I let her heal me.

My training had been working.

The control of my power was getting better, and I felt stronger.

But I was still taken out of the fight after I was taken by surprise.

I needed to be better than this.

I let my state ability drop so that I could think more clearly

“Buchou. You saw that my Shadow Briar can interfere with the shadow user’s Sacred Gear. Even if I can’t move well right now, if I can get close enough to the fight, I can still help.”

“Yuki-senpai, you need to stay back and let Asia-senpai heal you,” Koneko said firmly.

“She’s already healed me enough that I’m not in danger. She can finish healing me after the fight is over. Right, Asia?”

Asia frowned as she held her glowing hands above the wound in my side.

“I…You’re right that you’re not in danger anymore, Yuki. But I don’t want to wait to finish healing you.”

Rias looked away from the fight and turned to me.

She stared at me for a moment as she thought before giving orders.

“Koneko, help Yuki move. We are going to get her close enough to help without putting her in danger. Asia, stay next to Yuki. Keep healing her. Gasper, get ready to drink the vial of Use’s blood you have, and if any more of those light arrows are launched at us, it’s your job to stop them.”

“Y-Yes, Buchou!” Gasper-kun shouted in response.

“…Yes, Buchou,” Koneko said.

I could tell she was unhappy with the order but knew that it wasn’t the time to argue.

Being allowed to protect me while I was healed seems to pacify her enough.

“Yes, Rias-oneesama!” Asia said.

Koneko helped me stand, and we moved towards where Ise and Yuuto were fighting.

As we moved, Rias called out more orders.

“Irina! Go help Yuuto fight the two Hero faction members! Xenovia and Akeno can handle the rest of those things! Ise! Disengage and come here!”

“Sure thing, Rias-san!” Irina cheered as she flew towards the fire and shadow users.

Issei glanced over at us before deflecting one of the green light arrows that came out of the shadows around the two Hero faction members.

He then turned and rushed to us with his boosters.

Irina took his spot in the fight and began to try and strike the shadow user with light spears and her sword.

She let out a surprised yelp as one of her light spears was swallowed by a shadow and sent back at her.

She dodged out of the way and tried to attack again.

Issei arrived in front of us and turned to Rias immediately. 

“What’s the plan, Buchou?”

“Yuki’s own shadow ability can disrupt the shadow user’s Sacred Gear. I want you to use your Transfer ability to boost her strength. Then she’ll be able to disrupt their defenses long enough for us to take them down.”

He nodded.

“Got it!”

He moved over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

[Transfer!]

With the cry from the jewel on Issei’s armor, I felt a massive surge of power.

I was more prepared for it this time compared to when I received it, to use Misstep to save Asia.

I stepped forward, away from Koneko and Asia, and raised my hands.

I called upon the shadows around us with the ability of my fourth tail.

Tendrils of shadow rose around us.

I extended my hands and sent all of the tendrils out at the two Hero faction members.

They felt stronger and responded to my will much faster than normal.

And I was able to summon more as well. 

The shadow user noticed and summoned a wall of shadows to block my Shadow Briars.

My shadows collided with his.

They quickly tore down the wall, causing it to dissipate.

The shadow user looked shocked and summoned two large shadows from the ground to act as shields to block my attack.

Our two shadow abilities collided again, and this time his defenses held.

But I could see him struggling to maintain his shields.

Some of my Shadow Briars began to coil around the shields, and others began to burrow through them.

While I had the shadow user occupied, Irina and Yuuto both focused on the flame user.

Seeing this, Issei activated the boosters on his back and launched himself at the shadow user.

“Finally! You won’t be able to redirect this!”

He closed in on the shadow user and hit him with a right hook to the stomach.

The shadow user couldn’t react as I was overpowering him and drawing his full attention.

His body bent around Issei’s fist before he flew across the factory floor.

He hit the ground and slid into a wall, collapsing part of it.

At the same time, Yuuto and Irina had cornered the flame user. 

He let out large gouts of flame as he backed away from them until one of my shadow tendrils wrapped around his legs and tripped him.

He fell backwards to the floor, and Yuuto quickly ran over and kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

Everyone stood still for a moment and watched our surroundings.

But no more attacks came from the hidden final member of the Khaos Brigade.

Yuuto dragged the flame user over to the rest of Issei and us, and Irina came over as well.

Xenovia and Akeno came over as well, as they had finished off the last of the dark humanoids.

“Thanks for the assist, Yuki-san,” Yuuto said as she dropped the fire user to the floor.

“Yeah, that really helped. It was getting pretty annoying to fight the shadow guy. He couldn’t really attack on his own, but it was so hard to land a hit on him,” Issei said as he opened his helmet’s faceplate.

Asia moved next to me and began healing my side again.

“Are you alright, Yuki-chan? Asia-chan and Koenko-chan seemed pretty worried,” Akeno said, her usual smile missing from her face.

“I’ll be fine once Asia’s done with me. I was hit by one of the light arrows from their fourth member,” I replied.

“T-The scanner Azazel-sensei gave us picked up the user’s Sacred Gear data. It’s called [Staring Green], and it’s pretty much the same as the Chinese clothes guy’s,” Gasper-kun said, showing the scanner display to us.

“We will still need to track them down. Gasper, Koneko, can either of you detect them?” Rias asked.

Koneko closed her eyes and focused.

Gasper-kun shook his head.

“I-I searched everywhere with my bats, but I couldn’t find them inside the factory.”

“They have to be somewhere nearby if they were able to send attacks through the shadow user’s ability,” Yuuto said, slowly looking around the factory. 

“We will find them, and I’ll make sure they understand they shouldn’t harm any of my kohai,” Akeno said with a dark smile.

Lightning crackled around her hands.

“…I found him,” Koneko said as she opened her eyes. “He’s on the roof, and he’s trying to run away.”

“I’ll go after him,” Xenovia said as she started to run towards an exit. “Koneko, come with me so we can track him.”

Koneko nodded.

She looked mad as she followed after.

“I’ll come too! I’ll be able to stop their light-based attacks!” Irina said as she flew after them.

“What’s with people always hiding on the roof…” Issei muttered.

He did have a point.

First it was Riser, then Sona-Kaichou, and now this.

Just after the three of them left, the shadow user pushed himself out of the rubble with a scream.  

He clutched his head and continued to scream as darkness began to spread over his skin.

The shadows around him deepened and spread across the factory floor. 

Issei, Yuuto, Akeno, and Rias took fighting stances.

He didn’t seem to be aware of any of us as whatever was going on with him continued.

I used my Veil Sight to observe him.

His power was spreading and changing.

It almost looked like he might be achieving a Balance Breaker with his Sacred Gear.

Before anyone could launch an attack at him, a transportation magic circle appeared beneath his feet.

I didn’t recognize it. 

It wasn’t a Devil’s or a Fallen Angel’s magic circle. 

The shadow user was engulfed in a bright light, and his screaming cut off as the light disappeared, taking him with it.

I stared at the area he had been for a moment before sighing and deactivating my ability.

Issei slowly lowered his fists.

“That was really weird,” he said as everyone relaxed their fighting stances.

“It was, but it’s over now. We just have to wait for Xenovia, Irina-san, and Koenko-chan to get back with our last enemy,” Yuuto said.

“We are back,” Xenovia said as she walked through the bay doors of the factory with Koenko and Irina by her sides.

She was carrying a man who must have been the other light user.

He was unconscious, and I could see his face was badly bruised.

“We defeated him before he could escape. He’s injured, but we didn’t kill him,” Xenovia said before dropping him to the floor.

The man hit the floor with a thud.

He looked rough, and one of his arms was definitely broken, with how it was twisted the wrong way.

I looked up from the battered man to the three of them.

“Were you trying to kill him?” I asked

“That, umm…Well, Koneko-chan was rather… brutal… with him when we caught him, and he tried to fight back,” Irina said awkwardly.

Everyone looked at Koneko.

“…He hurt Yuki-senpai,” she said with a frown.

Xenovia nodded. 

“He’ll live. It doesn’t matter if the captive can move his arms or not.”

“Right…” Issei muttered awkwardly.

“Either way, good job,” Rias said. “Akeno and I will get ready to send the prisoners to the Underworld for interrogation. Can someone grab the other light user’s corpse? We should send it as well.”

“I’ll get it,” Xenovia said before jogging off to grab it.

“Well, we managed to capture two of them alive, so that’s good. But we did let one escape,” Issei said as he deactivated his armor.

“Yes, hopefully these two know something. But they’ll likely be like the other Hero faction members we’ve captured,” I said with a sigh. “Whoever’s planning these attacks is being thorough by deleting any memories they have of the Hero faction's information.”

“But these attacks are strange,” Yuuto said. “It doesn’t make much sense for them to send these small attacks at random locations.”

“Whatever happened to him at the end may have been the reason,” I said. “It looked like the shadow user was reaching his Balance Breaker. Maybe they are trying to bolster their strength.”

“But would they really be sacrificing so many members to empower a few?” Irina said while looking confused. “They claim to be heroes, but sacrificing comrades for power doesn’t sound very heroic.”

“They’re also part of a terrorist organization too,” Issei added.

“They may not think of it that way, though. They might frame us as the evil ones,” Yuuto said

Rias and Akeno finished the magic circle, and the three members of the Hero faction disappeared.

“Good work, everyone,” Rias said. “And great job keeping the damage to the surroundings to a minimum. We’ve come a long way with our control since our match against Sona. Especially you, Ise.”

He rubbed the back of his head.

“Thanks, Buchou!”

“It’s good that we are figuring out our fighting style and restrictions on it, but these attacks are becoming worrying,” Yuuto said. “At first they sent power and wizard types against us, but this attack felt more specialized for us. The light users countered Asia’s healing, the goddess they used made Yuki’s single-target curses weaker, and the defensive counter type Sacred Gear of the shadow user allowed them to deal with our powerful attacks that they normally couldn’t defend against.”

“You’re right, but it doesn’t feel like they’re trying to defeat us,” Irina said.

Xenovia’s brow furrowed. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, this attack and the others don’t make sense. They sent a small group that was weaker than us and then only rescued one of them. It feels like they aren’t going into the fightto wing.”

“…It’s like Yuki-senpai said. They’re trying to force people to reach their Balance Breaker,” Koneko said.

“But could someone really reach a Balance Breaker just by fighting us?” Issei asked. “It took a lot more than one fight for Yuuto-san and me to reach ours.”

“To humans, our group could be considered to be extremely powerful and unique opponents,” Rias explained. “We have the Sekiryuutei, the demonic holy sword wielder, the wielder of Durandal, a time-stopping Vampire, an irregular Kitsune, a half Fallen Angel, half Devil, a Nekomata, and an exceptional healer. Even if they have Sacred Gears, our group is not something a human could stand against normally.”

“But the way they are approaching it is different from how Issei-san trained with Tannin-san,” I continued. “It seems like they’re throwing people at us until one of them succeeds. They’re willing to let dozens of their allies die in a fight they can’t win if it means they can get one person to reach Balance Breaker.”

“You may be right, Yuki. We can report our findings and theories to Azazel. He is the top expert on Sacred Gear in our alliance. But now that the battle and cleanup are over, we can head home,” Rias said.

Everyone grouped together and began to make our way home from the factory.

Asia stopped healing me for the moment.

I was well enough to move, but I would still need a bit more healing due to the damage I’d received from the light arrow.

Koneko was walking close by my side as we began our walk home.

Asia, Rias, and Issei were walking together and chatting.

Issei said something that made Asia giggle, and Rias shake her head.

Yuuto, Xenovia, and Irina were walking and chatting about their fights with the Hero faction members.

Gasper-kun walked quietly on Koneko’s other side. 

Akeno moved to my other side and gave me a smile that immediately set me on edge.

“So,Yuki-chan. Care to explain why throwing yourself head first at pur enemies, alone, was necessary?”

“…Buchou said we need to deal with one of them, and I was able to. I was only hurt because I was caught by surprise,” I answered.

“But you were caught by surprise. And you were lucky it wasn’t worse, because it could have been much worse. You could have told one of us to come with you, or explained your plan, or waited until we were certain it was only three enemies. Ise-kun rushes in without thinking it through because he has his armor to protect him, you’re smart enough to not follow his example.”

I frowned at her.

“My injury was healed and we won the fight. Things could have gone better, but it worked out.”

Akeno’s smile shrank.

“Thats not the point, Yuki-chan. You matter. You shouldn’t have to be injured in every fight. I think that we will have to have another conversation to remind you of that. Right Koneko-chan?”

Koneko nodded. 

I sighed.

“Good,” Akeno said.

She walked ahead, leaving Koneko and I behind.

“…You should listen to her. We hate seeing you hurt,” Koneko murmured.

“I know, but it’s a fight. There’s always a chance you’ll get hurt,” I replied.

Koneko let out a huff but didn’t say anything else. 

We walked in silence for a while.

Then I noticed Akeno humming as we started walking down the main road.

Rias noticed too. 

“You seem to be in a good mood, Akeno. Did you enjoy scolding Yuki that much?”

“Fufufufu, that’s not why I’m in such a good mood. It’s because tomorrow is the day I get one of my rewards. Tomorrow is when Ise-kun and I will be going on a date,” Akeno said with a wide grin.

Rias frowned at her.

Akeno noticed.

“Don’t worry, Rias. I promise I’ll give him back afterwards. Probably.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Akeno…” Rias said in a warning tone.

“Ufufu. Who knows what will happen, Rias. Maybe he’ll decide he only wants me after our date.”

“He’ll realize he should go back to where he belongs.”

Rias scowled at Akeno. 

Akeno smiled back darkly.

I sighed.

I wanted nothing to do with this, and I hoped that Akeno would forget about my reward, but it seems like she wouldn’t.

And as I watched Rias’s eyes blaze as she and Akeno started to bicker over Issei again, I felt like I would somehow get dragged into this as well.