At the same time Rozen encountered Vatler and Iblisveil, the situation at Shinjin Lake had taken a drastic turn.
"Open fire!"
"Keep firing!"
"Shoot them down!"
"Ahhh—!"
Amidst the roars, howls, and screams of agony, a fierce battle raged around the lake.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The water's surface erupted violently as countless Horned Serpents surged from the depths, spreading in all directions.
The Self-Defense Forces stationed at the lake fought desperately against the monstrous onslaught—but they were clearly losing.
No, to be precise, it was a one-sided slaughter.
Countless soldiers frantically pulled their triggers, gunfire lighting up the night as bullets flew—yet they barely scratched the Horned Serpents.
Their scales were unnaturally tough, resisting even specialized anti-Demon rounds, leaving the troops struggling against the overwhelming tide.
The Attack Mage squads, equipped primarily with high-mobility reconnaissance vehicles, lacked the firepower to suppress the swarm.
The defensive line was crumbling.
One by one, soldiers were dragged down by the serpents, their screams drowned in blood as the creatures rampaged freely.
Worse yet, most of the Horned Serpents weren't even focusing on the soldiers—they were scattering in all directions, swarming like locusts.
If there had been civilians nearby, the carnage would have been unimaginable.
It was a nightmare.
Yet, even in this nightmare, a few stood their ground.
"Haaah!"
Yuiri swung her silver greatsword with surprising agility, dodging a serpent's lunge before cleaving its armored body in half with a single flash.
"Watch out, Yuiri!"
From behind, Shio nocked another cursed arrow, her shots piercing through the serpents with eerie precision, covering Yuiri's advance.
The two—a Sword Shaman and a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency—fought valiantly, yet even they were forced to retreat to the shore.
Behind them, Shirona and Hisano also fell back, each carrying a sleeping girl—Avrora and Nagisa—away from the lake's center.
"Why... did this happen?"
Shirona, clutching Avrora tightly, spoke with rare uncertainty in her voice.
"It seems the seal on Shinjin Lake has been completely broken."
Hisano, holding Nagisa in one arm and a naginata in the other, remained far calmer.
There was no doubt—the seal had been undone.
Though the ritual had failed, it had instead triggered the release of the Horned Serpents, the calamity recorded in Kamioda Shrine's ancient texts.
Yet, the shrine held no records of the serpents ever manifesting before. The disaster caused by the Black Shell's release was an unknown even to Hisano.
Her expression darkened, but she didn't lose her composure.
At the very least—
"Even if the ritual failed, we must protect these two. If they die because of us... I could never forgive myself."
Hisano turned to Shirona.
"Shirona, it's time for you to act. We can worry about resealing the lake after we suppress this disaster."
Shirona took a deep breath and steadied herself.
"...You're right. Now isn't the time for hesitation."
Closing her eyes, her hair lifted as if freed from gravity, floating weightlessly.
In that instant—
Invisible spiritual threads spread from her like a vast net, enveloping the entire battlefield around Shinjin Lake.
Through this network, Shirona grasped everything—every soldier, every enemy, every movement.
And then, the threads connected.
To every struggling soldier.
"————!"
In the next moment, the tide of battle shifted.
"BRRRRRRT—!"
Not the sound of water, but the roar of heavy machine guns.
Armored vehicles, once surrounded, suddenly pivoted with uncanny precision, their cannons blasting apart entire swarms of serpents in precise, coordinated barrages.
The soldiers' movements became fluid, their tactics flawless.
They moved in perfect sync—focusing fire, piercing scales, felling one serpent after another before seamlessly shifting to the next target.
Rescue teams moved without delay, evacuating the wounded under seamless cover fire.
Shirona had taken control of the entire battlefield.
Like a grandmaster moving chess pieces, she orchestrated every action with zero delay—absolute synchronization.
"So this is...Heaven's Grace?"
Hisano's eyes gleamed.
The Three Saints of the Lion King Agency each possessed unique, hereditary abilities that placed them at the pinnacle of the world.
Koyomi Shizuka wielded Silent Destruction—the power of absolute preemptive strikes.
And Shirona's ability was to manipulate all things through invisible spiritual threads.
Now, she was using the soldiers' visual data to pinpoint targets, then controlling their actions with flawless precision.
A power that allowed the complete synchronization and command of hundreds—even thousands—of individuals.
Heaven's Grace.
In the modern world, this ability was more dangerous than raw combat strength.
Depending on its use, it could enable assassination, organized crime, intelligence gathering, political manipulation, economic control—even the puppeteering of entire nations.
This was why Shirona was hailed as one of the strongest Attack Mages.
Thanks to her, the battle was turning.
Yet, Hisano felt no relief.
For a simple reason.
"The Horned Serpents are merely the harbingers of calamity."
If the legends were true... did that mean the true disaster had yet to arrive?
The answer came immediately.
"————!!!"
The air itself trembled.
From a single, earth-shaking roar.
"BOOOOOOM—!"
The lake's surface erupted in the largest explosion yet—and from the depths, a colossal shadow emerged.
"What...?"
Every person on the battlefield froze, eyes widening in shock and horror.
"————!!!"
Another deafening roar shook the world.
And in its wake—
A three-legged crow, blazing like sunlight, streaked across the sky like a meteor.