When Seiren, Hikaru and Tokura reached the area near the entrance of Nebula to bring everyone there back to Saya and help her finish off Ukris Nightsong, the trio found the most unlikely ally was helping the Summerbolts and the Earthlings. Lara Jade, Mia and Kia Nelaz – Martian Class #3’s Hera Trio – had joined the fight on the side of those they considered enemies until recently, revealing their allegiance had changed after a group of ordinari soldiers had tried to kill them.

Quite a bit of shock was piled up for the pervert as after meeting the Hera Trio he saw the state of his class and learned the one responsible for their newest wounds was Tenji Line, their own homeroom teacher. To top it off, he found how badly Yuki had been wounded by Ulura’s father who also seemed to have a role in the whole plot revolving around the Class Battle. Yet as overwhelming as all the things he had seen and heard were, eliminating the mastermind behind the whole conflict was more important at the present time.

To prepare, the Summerbolts imprisoned the four survivors of the enemy forces while the three healers from Earthling Class #1 performed a quick healing session on all their allies, including the Martian girls. This drained their devas to the point where they could not longer stay conscious, the whole group moving out when they were hit by torrents of mini lightning-laser projectiles falling from the skies.

Only with the young pups and the old dogs’ combined efforts did the hot heads manage to move through the downpour, everyone further exhausting themselves and suffering additional damage. Or at least it was so until they came within the range of a suddenly expanded field of solar flames – the type used by Saya.

Having seen the head of the Summerbolt family running her deva through that of another to use it with a healing function, Seiren only assumed she could do that when someone willingly provided their deva as a base for the bright yellow flames. As it turned out, Mrs. Summerbolt could use even an enemy’s attack to channel her fire through, in this case using whatever falling projectiles fell within her flaming field before putting it up completely.

All of the projectiles were broken into laser particles and lightning charges and spread around, serving as a medium so the flames wouldn’t hurt, but would instead heal the Earthlings, the Summerbolts and their allies. This helped the hot heads conserve their remaining energy as they reached the completely ruined field in the center of Nebula right after Saya’s shield around them had disappeared and seconds before Ukris’ rain finally came to a stop.

What they found on the field was a badly wounded half-naked demon trying to finish off its opponent, Yuki and Hikaru saving her while Seiren got a chance to study the blasted terrain with his eyes. Eventually his attention was caught by the other members of Martian Class #3 who were lying here and there amid the rubble, seeming to also be in the process of healing. Of all the surprises the young man had been served since the beginning of the Class Battle, this felt like maybe the greatest one. Or at least like the one he found hardest to believe.

Saya Summerbolt, someone who was supposed to only be able to freely use a 15% deva output, had fought a number of enemies and healed tens of people, some of which with grievous wounds, in a shockingly short span of time. Moreover, her latest feat included protecting and healing all the allies she had already healed once while fighting the leader of the enemy forces alone. And while Ukris may have been the strongest, Saya was without a doubt the craziest and most capable deviant the pervert had ever seen.

Even Hikaru would have a hard time catching up with her in terms of insanity and stubbornness. But if he couldn’t do it, perhaps Seiren could and in that moment he decided his goal would be to become someone like his rival’s mother.

Luckily for him, an opportunity to take the first step down that path had presented itself in the face of the villainess the triple alliance (Summerbolts + Earthlings + Martians) was about to fight. The only person Saya wasn’t able to defeat and the only enemy left standing in the park – Ukris Nightsong.   

The mostly black and partially dark red flames around the body of Hikaru’s mother died out as Yuki left her on the ground near the Summerbolts guarding the hostages, the symbols on her skin disappearing and her eyes returning to normal. Only now did the wounds she had suffered from using too much power become visible – her burns and hemorrhages were even worse than her son’s, her breathing – very faint, a few strands of white being visible in her hair as well.

The worst part of it all was that there was no one left to treat her, which meant the hot heads needed to finish things with Ukris as fast as possible and get her to a hospital. Many others also had wounds that were far from healed, each of them barely being able to stay upright, so the last part of this battle could not be allowed to drag out. How were they going to defeat the now enraged demonic lady, much less so do it as fast as they needed to, though, Seiren had no idea.

All he knew was that it needed to be done and his comrades were surely as acutely aware of that fact as he was, most of all Hikaru, who was probably worried about his mother more than anyone else despite now showing it.

(Graid) ‘-Your brats stay with Rose to watch over Saya and the hostages. (he exchanged a glance with his sister who was just as serious and beat-up) Iziya and I will deal with Ukris.’

(Ukris) ‘-I’m in a demon form now, Graid, so I can hear you! (Ukris’ shout turned everyone’s attention to her) You and your sister, eh? The two of you will finish me? While the others are just sitting back? (she gritted her teeth and started roaring as veins protruded all over the surface of her skin, the wound in her chest healing rapidly, the blood around it disappearing in a cloud of steam) EVEN IF ALL YOU WALKING CORPSES CAME AT ME AT ONCE, YOU STILL WOULDN’T STAND A CHANCE!!!!’

(Seiren) ‘-She can regenerate as well?!’

(Iziya) ‘-She wasn’t able to do that in her succubus form before! Ukris has probably gone beyond a 100% output to increase her demonic regeneration's speed!!’

The ground around the heroes cracked further as Ukris landed amidst their ranks a second later, going straight for Saya with only the killer intent of a lunatic in her eyes.

(Ukris) ‘-Saya’s life is mine!!! She owes me that since our last battle here!!’

Her purple lightning was met with a light blue one as Hikaru teleported in front of his mother, blocking Mrs. Nightsong’s destructive swing with the very thick lightning cloak he had put up around him again, his resolve fully matching the enemy’s fury.

(Hikaru) ‘-I can’t have you killing her because she’s yet to receive a beating from me for going overboard against you!! If you want to get to my mother, Nightsong, get in line!!!’

Yuki then jumped over Hikaru’s head, having armored herself in multiple clones again in the manner she had explained to the pervert on their way to the big central field, many icy arms and legs coming out of her and transforming in octahedrons. The figures quickly extended in length to pierce the bat-winged lady, her wings being clad in electricity to cut all the ice lances before they even touched her while a barrage of black laser needles was sent at the mad genius.

Seiren teleported next to Ukris then, blasting her away in one direction with his tangerine fireworks and her needle barrage – in another with his blazing fireworks, grinning at the burned bolt whom he had just saved.

(Seiren) ‘-I guess everyone’s going to be fighting her in the end!’

Yuki and Hikaru joined the explosive warrior in grinning with burning resolve after he said that.

(Yuki) ‘-As it was always meant to be!!’

(Ukris) ‘-You won’t all be fighting me, I’m afraid. (the voice the trio heard wasn’t coming from the villainess that Seiren had just blasted away, he and the others following that voice to another Ukris standing by Rose’s side) I’ve still got a few allies left here, so I might as well use them. (a dual-element ring cut Rose, Iziya and Graid simultaneously, crushing them in the ground and also disintegrating the prisons in which Tenji Line, Rale, Ulura and the ordinari soldier were kept) Thanks for falling in my trap about aiming at Saya, so I could have the time to set up my illusion, brats.’

Things were happening too fast for the young Blackscale to comprehend, but he pushed his body to act beyond his mind’s limits again, going after the black-haired tyrant who had just attacked the Summerbolts, clearly than one being the real Ukris. Seiren’s standard vermillion fireworks were smashed in great quantities in Ulura’s mother this time around while the daughter, her father, the Earthlings’ homeroom teacher and the soldier turned on the wounded Graid, Iziya and Rose. Tenji’s class jumped to contain him again, Lara, Mia and Kia trying to contain Ulura while the Summerbolt trio faced Rale and the trooper, leaving the head of the Nightsong family for Seiren, Yuki and Hikaru.

The pervert formed a hydra combining all three types of fireworks he could currently use, its roars managing to blast Ukris away to another part of the battlefield, the monster’s creator noticing then that not all the Earthlings were dealing with Mr. Line. King and Tokura were using their Daroid and Flexoid respectively to move all Martians spread throughout the field away from the battle while Exo and Yonira protected the healers’ three along with Saya. In the battering ram duo and techno-genius’ absence, Vega was the one who took the leading position of the homeroom teacher containment forces.

Worrying about the others was not an option, however, as the black empress had already regenerated the damage caused by the hydra’s roars, next up forming gigantic skeletal bat wings from black lasers and clad in purple lightning. The wings were swung like axes right at Seiren’s creation, many walls of ice clones connected to Yuki’s body stopping the swing as Hikaru ran his electricity across the whole field.

Ukris was his prime target, of course, that attack being countered by her purple lightning while her wings managed to break through Miss Iceflame’s walls, her perverted friend clashing the wings of his five-headed serpent with those of the enemy. The heat from the solar fires around the battlefield fueled his blaze fireworks, allowing him to unleash explosions from the hydra’s wings strong enough to at least push back Mrs. Nightsong’s wings, many ice spikes and blades coming from under her on his friend’s command then.

(Seiren) ‘-Nice one, Yu!!’

(Yuki) ‘-Complement me later, Seiren! We need to make sure that the Ukris we’re fighting is the real one, otherwise all of this will be for nothing! (Ukris managed to destroy the spikes and blades with a black laser spire, the next swing of her wings further charged with lightning managing to cut the hydra’s wings to bits) We won’t be able to keep this up for much longer while she’ll conserve her energy with these illusions and hit us with full force when we’re tired enough!’

A hemisphere of electricity with a normal color countered the laser spire, Hikaru landing between Yuki and the hydra controlled by Seiren as the pervert worked on restoring his creature’s wings.

(Hikaru) ‘-Illusions as convincing as that couldn’t possibly be used non-stop. We need to find out what the interval between each usage is and aim for that opening.’

(Seiren) ‘-Or we can use the faster approach, which is to simply wreak havoc in all directions on the ground and in the sky simultaneously.  It looks like King and Tora have managed to move everyone out of our way, so we can let loose as much as we want!’

(Yuki) ‘-Why not do both at the same time? Use the grand destruction we’ll cause to distract her while looking for hints to the interval length between illusions?’

Massive tentacles made of black lasers consumed the electric hemisphere, the tentacles transforming into beams to the last one, aiming at both the hot-headed trio and their friends and allies further behind them.

(Hikaru) ‘-Her main target seems to be my family, so I’ll act as bait. (he brought down lightning from the sky to hit the beams and stop them in their tracks, Yuki blocking them with multiple ice barricades, Seiren blowing them up in all three types of his fireworks) You two blast this field to hell while looking out for another Ukris popping up somewhere to attack me from behind. That’ll be the real one. The moment you spot her, attack with everything you’ve got left. No matter how close I am to her.’

(Yuki) ‘-Hikaru, I can’t just leave …’

(Seiren) ‘-Fine by me, Summerbolt! I’ll gladly blast both of you to hell!! (the rivals gave the other the usual competitive leer) But if you die here, we won’t get a chance to settle our score, so think about that as you charge in.’

(Hikaru) ‘-Duly noted, perverted bastard.’

The burned bolt now started teleporting swiftly in between the lasers to close in on Ukris who had appeared nearby, leaving the blocking of her remaining beams to Yuki and Seiren. While the hydra master was annoyed that his rival was taking the spotlight in the final fight against Ulura’s mother, he also took into consideration how difficult this was for Hikaru.

The Earthlings’ genius was the one with the best observational and strategic skills, so it would’ve been better if he stayed behind to analyze the enemy while Yuki or Seiren served as bait. Given the Nightsongs’ fixation with the Summerbolts, however, there was indeed no better bait than him and Hikaru was aware of that. While practical, the plan was not the best one ever – it was only the best one the hot heads could come up with in the present time. And Seiren prayed such a plan would be enough to bring a swift end to the nightmare in Nebula.

He and the ice maiden now stood back to back, ripping apart half the ruined field in constantly emerging explosive hydra heads, wings and tails and the other half – in long ice lances sticking out in every direction, Hikaru and Ukris meeting amid all that. The mad genius’ cloak had now become almost white in color, at the same time his opponent wrapping her entire body in lasers with only her eyes shining in purple amid the black to withstand the duo of ice and fire’s deva bombardment. It truly seemed as if heaven and hell were clashing with each other in the heart of the apocalypse consuming the cosmos from this distance. Was it glorious or terrifying? The explosive warrior had stopped trying to decide at this point.

As the white bolt and the black wing tried to continuously electrocute each other, at one point Hikaru was pushed back, black laser tentacles starting to wrap around him, just then the illusion being revealed. Another Mrs. Nightsong manifested out of thin air right behind him, aiming the spike at the end of her tail, now clad in purple electricity as well, at the cloak around him. With that much empowerment, the spike was going to break through even the lightning warrior’s extra-thick deva cloak and considering where she was aiming – dig deep into the back of his neck.

The original plan was to hit the mad genius as well if necessary, but now that it had actually come to this, the pervert felt as reluctant to do it as Yuki when she tried opposing to Hikaru’s idea earlier.

(Seiren) ‘-Yu, get Hikaru out of the way. I’ll blast the original bitch to bits myself.’

The baby doll wasted no time, teleporting next to the young Summerbolt and quickly freezing all the tentacles wrapped around him, so she could break them, pull her friend out of their grasp and teleport away in the matter of seconds. By then Seiren had made his hydra curdle up in a ball to make it explode, but tried following Gorudora’s advice from earlier this time and exited his creation. After that was successfully accomplished, the hydra bomb was smashed in the real Ukris with a three-colored stream of fireworks.

(Seiren) ‘-And that’s it for you, Lady Nightsong!!! Five-Headed Incineration Festival!!!!’

(Ukris) ‘-Nice one. Though I take it you won’t be able to use that technique again in your current state. (the chilling voice he heard came from right behind the pervert, but his mind could not process what his ears had registered, turning his head around to see what his eyes would show him) It’d be troublesome if I had to deal with that one more time.’

The black-haired tyrant was indeed standing behind him, completely identical to the other two his attack had been launched at. There were now three succubi in total. But how was that possible? Could she perhaps create more than one perfect illusion of herself?

No time was left to question reality as blood sprayed in front of the young man’s face, him realizing only too late it came from the wound he had received in the form of an X-shaped cut across his whole torso. The fireworks still spread around him had lessened the damage, but the wound was very deep nonetheless, the source being the thick black laser beams formed by the swing of Ukris #3’s index fingers.

Seiren’s vision blurred almost immediately as he sprawled on the ground, only being able to see Lady Nightsong’s feet now – a sight which he would welcome under different circumstances. Unfortunately, at the present moment he was too busy feeling shocked and being tormented by immense pain to enjoy himself,  barely being able to even hear the black empress’ words.

(Ukris) ‘-You’re a strong one. It’s a waste I won’t be resurrecting you, but chances can’t be taken with a Blackscale anymore than with a Summerbolt.’

(Seiren) ‘-Just how many illusions can you …’

(Ukris) ‘-How many? Only one. The illusion was the one Saya’s son was fighting. The one that came behind him was just a clone. Or did you think I wasn’t capable of creating clones?’

In his final moments of consciousness, the pervert figured it out, the realization bringing him even more pain and dread. The trio had thought that Hikaru could hold all of Ukris’ attention while Yuki and Seiren observed her, but the villainess had actually kept a part of her attention on those two. She had caught on them realizing they should look for the original while illusions are used and had deliberately left a clone to pose as the original, distracting the observers and separating Mr. Blackscale’s friend from him. That left him vulnerable, Hikaru already having partially tired himself out while fighting the illusion of Mrs. Nightsong, only the white-haired beauty being left to deal with.

In Yuki’s condition, she wasn’t going to last long and while Ukris crushed her, the quartet she had released would have further weakened her remaining opponents, finishing them off then being easy. Overall, the outcome of the battle was clear, Seiren blaming himself for being too naïve to realize sooner how things were going to end. Everyone on this field was going to die and the first of them to be sent to the afterlife was going to be none other than him.

Another sound caught the hydra master’s attention when his final contemplation was over, sounding as if something was pierced through, suddenly Ulura’s mother being crushed in the ground in front of him. The hole Saya had left in her chest earlier was reopened, considerable amounts of blood flowing from the wound, Seiren now forcing himself to look a bit further up to see who had hit her in the back.

A parallelepiped-shaped blue laser beam shot out to the sky disappeared as Rale Nightsong put down the arm he had just raised with a pained expression and a gaze focused on his wife.

(Rale) ‘-I am sorry, Ukris, but I worked too hard to set this whole thing up just to rid myself of you. I can’t have you surviving this battle the way you are.’

(Ukris) ‘-The way I am?’

(Rale) ‘-Don’t you remember who proposed to have a Class Battle and use it as a front to eliminate the Summerbolts and their allies in the first place? I was planning on killing you and Ulura ever since then. So I could resurrect you afterwards without the flaws both of you have in the present. Only then would I finally have the family I always wanted and deserved.’