The series of skirmishes along the way could be summed up in a single phrase.
Utterly overwhelming.
Against ordinary students, Arius Squad dominated in every respect, whether raw combat ability, experience, or technical skill.
With Wakamo, who was already exceptionally powerful and had completed numerous Black Market commissions alongside Saori as a fellow mercenary, lending her support, the two of them displayed remarkable coordination as they cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter.
However, from the perspective of those fighting on the front lines, the reason they had achieved such decisive victories with almost no casualties did not seem to be themselves.
"Opponents who gave us such a hard time before... are going down this easily..."
Misaki murmured to herself while looking at me with a gaze filled with disbelief and reverence.
Hiyori also spoke timidly.
"So this is the power of an adult... I... I don't know whether to call it amazing or terrifying..."
"Hmph."
Wakamo proudly raised her chin.
"Now that you've witnessed Sensei's masterful command, you should finally understand how foolish you were to ever dream of making an enemy of him."
What a flattering compliment.
If only I myself knew exactly what I had supposedly commanded during those battles, each of which had lasted less than five minutes on average.
After giving it some thought, I could only conclude that my good looks had served to boost morale.
Simply fighting alongside me must have been enough to provide them with all the psychological reassurance they needed.
Misaki nodded thoughtfully.
"...In that case... maybe we really can..."
"We don't have time to chat."
Having skillfully scavenged usable ammunition and supplies from the fallen Arius students, Saori stood up and said,
"Let's move. Judging from what we've seen so far, there are definitely Arius elites waiting for us once we enter the tunnel. It'll probably be a very difficult fight. But once we break through them, we'll be inside the Arius District."
Although only the final stretch remained before reaching the entrance and we still had a reasonable amount of time left, saving as much time as possible was indeed the wiser choice.
Saori continued,
"Hiyori, Misaki, stay behind and make sure Sensei stays safe. As for the vanguard... Wakamo, shall we go together?"
Instead of answering immediately, Wakamo silently looked toward me.
Only after I nodded did she quietly reply,
"Mm."
Our advance resumed.
Saori and Wakamo entered the tunnel ahead first.
At first, Misaki and Hiyori remained close to guard me, but after venturing deeper into the tunnel, confirming there were no enemy ambushes nearby, and receiving my permission, they hurried forward to join them.
Left alone, I continued processing the constant flood of information with Arona's assistance.
While directing the battle here, I also monitored the latest developments at each academy under attack and checked whether any combat-capable reinforcements could still arrive in time.
"Even FOX Squad..."
Learning that FOX Squad had been blocked by a Prophet who had suddenly appeared inside Trinity's district and begun sowing chaos, forcing them to take a lengthy detour, only made my headache worse.
As wanted fugitives, they had already been departing from their secret training base on the outskirts of D.U., unable to use any form of public transportation.
Making it here before the deadline had already been extremely difficult.
Now...
There was virtually no hope.
The coincidence was so uncanny that suspicion crept into my mind once more.
"It almost feels like... every arrangement I've made is already known to the enemy."
"No way, Sensei."
Arona answered seriously.
"Only you and I know where Yukino and the others are and what route they're taking. You're just... incredibly unlucky."
Hearing that, another possibility suddenly occurred to me.
"...Say, Arona."
Recalling everything that had happened before, I asked gravely,
"Could it be... that you got infected with malware last time?"
I still remembered that during my first encounter with the Decagrammaton, they had apparently attempted to hack into the Shittim Chest.
Even if nothing had seemed wrong back then...
Perhaps that was when they had secretly tampered with something.
The thought only made me more uneasy.
"Wah! Sensei!"
Arona protested indignantly.
"You can doubt my character, but how can you doubt my abilities?!"
"I'm the operating system of the Shittim Chest! How could the Decagrammaton possibly hack me without me noticing? The chances of me deliberately leaking information to them because I'm a bad girl are higher than your theory!"
If she cared that much about the image I had of her, maybe she should act dependable more often.
Come to think of it...
In her standards, being incompetent was apparently worse than having poor morals.
Grumbling inwardly, I decided to have Himari examine Arona once this was all over.
Out loud, however, I simply reassured her.
"I was only worried about you."
"Hehe. That's true~"
Arona's anger vanished instantly as she happily giggled.
Then she suddenly exclaimed,
"Oh, right, Sensei! One student actually made it here safely!"
Among all the bad news, there was finally a piece of good news.
The problem was...
Her report came just a little too late.
Inside the narrow passage, the sound of hurried footsteps mixed with the beating of wings echoed clearly.
The noises rapidly approached before stopping just behind me, replaced by hurried breathing.
I turned around.
Standing there was a petite girl folding her pure white wings, her fair cheeks lightly flushed.
Smiling, I greeted her.
"Azusa. You made it."
"Mm."
After catching her breath, the white-haired girl looked at me with her dreamy pale violet eyes.
If we were heading into the Arius District, someone familiar with the area was naturally the best guide we could hope for.
When I contacted Azusa, I had deliberately told her that we would be working together with Arius Squad.
I had even prepared myself for the possibility that she would be reluctant to meet her former comrades after everything that had happened between them.
But it turned out I had worried for nothing.
She had agreed immediately without even asking why, as though she bore no resentment whatsoever.
"Fortunately, I happened to be on standby in the dorm when Sensei contacted me... Anyway... um... where are Saori and the others?"
Judging from how slightly awkward she looked now, Azusa's feelings were nowhere near as calm as they had seemed over MomoTalk.
That was part of what made Azusa so adorable.
Setting that thought aside, I answered,
"They're just a little farther ahead. Do you want to go help them first?"
"Yes. But before that, Sensei... although you may already know this, there's something important I have to tell you."
Azusa's expression turned grave.
"Just before the chaos that is about to unravel... Misono Mika escaped from prison."
"...Huh?"
Having just learned of this myself, I could only let out a bewildered sound.