Chapter 80: Castling
"Hmm...?"
Just as his discussion with the leaders of the Three Factions seemed to be headed in a favorable direction, Vahn felt a sense of incongruency that caused him to fall silent and look around. Microscopic purple particulates had suddenly permeated the air, shimmering and suspended in place like dust harvested from luminous amethysts. Far more pressingly, Issei, Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina were completely encased in them, ostensibly paralyzed or petrified as they didn't move in the slightest...
"Hooo~? It would appear that someone doesn't approve of our pursuit of peace. Though, if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm far more surprised by how few of us were affected by the little dhampir's time stop..." hummed Azazel, sporting a carefree smile as he took stock of who had and hadn't been frozen.
"How embarrassing..." sighed Vali, closing his eyes and shaking his head at the fact that Issei, his supposed rival, had failed to resist the time stop despite being the vessel of a Heavenly Dragon.
Just as surprised as Azazel, Sirzechs, having taken stock of the situation within the room while Michael got up to gaze out the window, supposed, "I presume it has something to do with our young friend here. Unless I'm mistaken, everyone who managed to resist the time-stop effects, besides those with the natural ability to do so, is contracted to Vahn."
"What's going on...?" asked Vahn, sporting a slight frown as he resisted the urge to get up and check on those who were frozen. Fortunately, he received an answer quickly as Rias, sporting a troubled frown, explained, "This is the power of my Bishop, Gasper Vladi's Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View. He's the half-vampire I told you about when you first asked me who was behind the seal at the Old School Building. Someone must have removed said seal, and he is now being forced to use his power. Though I've never seen it used on this scale before..."
"Whoever the enemy is, they're certainly very well-prepared," remarked Michael, his expression now devoid of his previously immutable smile as he noted, "They've hijacked our barrier, supplanted the gates we had in place, and are rapidly diminishing our troops and personnel by teleporting them elsewhere..."
"Hijacking a barrier jointly created by the Three Great Factions is no easy feat..." remarked Sirzechs, his expression and tone serious as he crossed his arms and cupped his chin thoughtfully.
"It's something that could only be achieved if the enemy was informed of the barrier's structure in advance..." appended Azazel, his smile gaining a hint of amusement as he reasoned, "In other words, there's a traitor in our midst."
"Mouuuuuu...these jerks need to learn how to read the room..." grumbled Serafall, sporting a pouty but ultimately unconcerned expression as she joined Michael in staring out the window, periodically rippling as laser-like beams of red, yellow, and blue Magical Energy pounded the exceptionally robust barriers that had been erected to protect the meeting room, strong enough to resist a direct impact from a high-yield nuclear warhead. As for the jerks she was referencing, it was a rapidly expanding group of notably well-endowed, virtually identical female Mages in purple, low-cut, hooded robes that obfuscated the upper half of their faces, adorned with a trio of golden eyes that were stacked from large to small.
Surprising nearly everyone in the room, Vahn asked, "Should I destroy the barrier? Or would it be better to overwrite it...?"