DxD: Ascension - Redux

Chapter 43: Into the Nightmare

BGM: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Storm the Keep

A metal golem immediately targeted Zach, bringing its foot down on his head.
Attri-Boost: Strength! Zach caught the golem's foot and threw it away from the city. "Sairaorg! Heads up!"
Sairaorg leaped into the sky and smashed the golem into the ground, shattering it and crushing some Brigade soldiers. He punched a charging soldier so hard that all his teeth shattered like glass and swung his unconscious body around like a club, knocking away other enemies. 
Rias and Luci stood shoulder to shoulder, using their magic to fight. Rias disintegrated a group of soldiers with her Power of Destruction while watching Sairaorg. "Boys. They're so brutal."
"They never appreciate the finesse of combat," Luci agreed, vaporizing another group with a whip of scarlet energy. "Zach usually likes some flair, but seems he's all efficiency today."
"You know him better than you let on. Just who are you, Luci?"
"Just an observer who finally decided to act."
"So you're not going to give me a straight answer, then?" Rias guessed.
"Correct."
"Fine. I'm sure we'll figure it out ourselves in time."

Kiba swung his sword in a wide arc over his head, sending a wave of sky-blue light at the sea serpent towering above him. "Take that!"
The monster hissed, spitting venom at its attacker, then dove back into the water.
Kiba sidestepped the venom and watched it bubble next to him. "Gross." He looked up just in time to see a cannon from an attacking ship fire at him. 
Tsubaki landed at Kiba's side and made a barrier in front of them, stopping the cannon blast. "Are you alright?"
"I'm a whole lot better now." Kiba smiled. "Thanks for that."
Tsubaki blushed. "Don't mention it." The barrier shuddered and cracked as more cannon blasts hit it. "On my signal, fly up as high as you can, then dive bomb that one." She pointed to a ship that was bigger than the rest. "Looks to be their command ship. If we take that out..."
"...We'll have a much less organized threat to deal with." Kiba braced himself to fly. "Whenever you're ready."
Tsubaki waited until just before the barrier broke. "Now!" she yelled as it shattered.
Kiba spread his wings and bolted into the sky, piercing the clouds above, and came down hard on the deck of the command ship. Swords shot out of the floor, impaling all the crewmembers nearby. Twice as many as he'd defeated came up to meet him.
Tsubaki landed next to Kiba. "A Knight and a Queen fight a gang of pirates. There's a joke there somewhere."
Kiba smiled. "Zach's gonna be so sad that he missed this." He charged the Brigade pirates, a trail of blue light following his movements.

Xenovia and Irina fought back to back, holding off the Khaos Brigade forces quite well. "Doesn't this feel a lot like Budapest?" Xenovia recalled.
Irina fired a volley of light arrows at a group of attacking devils. "You and I remember Budapest very differently!"
"Come on, it was just like this!" Xenovia sent a wave of destructive force at the enemy forces. "Hey, do you want your sword back?"
"Do I ever! I've missed Excalibur!"
"Here!" Xenovia took one of the Excalibur fragments off of Ex-Durandal and passed it to Irina.
The fragment transformed into a familiar katana as Irina brandished it. "Good to see you again, Mimic. Hope I haven't lost my touch. Xenovia! You go left, I go right?"
"Sounds like a plan." The girls split up, each taking on half of the invaders.

Koneko fired a volley of attacks at a group of soldiers, disintegrating all of them. She sniffed their remains: a few weapons and a lock of hair. "These soldiers..." The Gremory magic circle appeared at her ear. "Rias, you still alive?"
"For now," Rias confirmed. "Is everything alright?"
"We're good. But most of these guys aren't real."
"What do you mean?"
"They're artificial monsters like the ones Issei said he fought in Kyoto."
"You mean they were made from Annihilation Maker?! That would explain why they've been so easy to beat... I'll let everyone else know. Thanks, Koneko."
"Yup." Koneko cut off the connection and went back to fighting.
Rossweisse blasted a metal golem away. "Everyone, our reinforcements are here!" A Bifrost gateway opened overhead and hundreds of Valkyries soared out, engaging the Khaos Brigade forces from all sides.
"You owe me for this," Odin's voice said in Rossweisse's head.
"Thank you, Lord Odin. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"Eh, just surviving this and making sure the majority of the Valkyries do as well will be repayment enough." With that, Odin cut off the connection.
Akeno looked up as the cavalry arrived. "Thank goodness... we were starting to get overwhelmed." With renewed vigor, she went back to the fight, blasting the enemy soldiers to dust.