Not far from Rian, Alice's holographic projection sat casually atop her Tesseract body.
Alice could only let out a long sigh before commenting sharply, "Even Alice hates admitting this… but this time, the old smoking man is right."
"Alice, was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" Luis asked from the Interface.
"I don't know," Alice replied lazily, lifting her holographic shoulders in a shrug. "Maybe both. But since Alice is a kind-hearted girl, then—"
"Sigh… daughter and father are exactly the same."
This time it was Sherly who chimed in, her voice clear among the chatter.
Rian chuckled softly. Even while admiring himself in the mirror and indulging in his narcissism, he heard every part of the meeting—multitasking was trivial for him.
"Alright, alright," Rian finally said, leaning briefly against the mirror. "Let's get back to the main focus. Overall, your plan looks good. I approve."
He then stood up straight, his voice firmer now. "And… as usual, Luis. You'll take my place whenever I'm occupied with another mission."
"Heh, understood, amigo," Luis replied with confident ease. "Leave it to me—I'll smash their rotten faces in. It's starting to become my favorite hobby."
Moments later, the communication network disconnected, signaling the end of the meeting.
Everyone had agreed on their next steps to counter the rising threat of B.O.W terrorists spreading throughout the Resident Evil world.
With a relaxed stride, Rian walked toward the large window behind the principal's desk.
Gazing outside—where the three faction forces stood on high alert—Rian furrowed his brow, then let a faint smile touch his lips.
"Even like this… they still look pathetic, huh?" he muttered in his mind. "Or maybe… this world just loves Issei too much? Always giving him the stage to shine?"
"Either way, Issei is the golden child of this world," Alice's voice responded directly into his mind via the Mind Stone.
Rian glanced to the side. Alice hovered calmly beside him. He gave a faint smirk, lifting both shoulders in a lazy shrug.
"Well… can't deny that," Rian said casually.
But then, Rian's Six Eyes caught something.
His gaze sharpened, and he whispered under his breath, "Hmm? Has it started already…?"
A split second later, the entirety of Kuoh Academy seemed to freeze. Time stopped. Soldiers from all three factions froze in place like soulless statues.
But not everyone was halted. A few individuals could still move—and Rian was one of them.
He recognized that distinct aura instantly.
A magical energy sharp enough to pierce space and time itself… None other than Gasper's Forbidden Balor View.
Rian casually turned the chair behind the principal's desk and sat down. He kicked his legs up, crossing them atop the table while his right hand propped up his cheek.
Through the interface glasses, his Six Eyes gazed out the window, observing the world trapped in stillness.
Instead of rushing to fix the incoming chaos, Rian decided to relax for a moment.
Alice, who had been floating in the air, slowly descended with graceful movements and landed on Rian's thigh.
Responding to that, Rian's left hand reached out, gently caressing Alice's holographic form sitting sweetly atop her Tesseract body.
Alice's hologram closed her eyes, as if she could truly feel the touch—savoring every affectionate stroke from Rian.
"Papa isn't moving yet?" Alice asked with a curious tone. "Even though Alice was ready to say: have fun."
She already knew the real reason thanks to the Mind and Time Stones, but she still asked anyway.
"No need to rush, Alice…" Rian replied warmly with a faint smile. "Let them play out their roles first… then we make our move."
Alice let out a small giggle, her voice sweet as ever. "Papa's style is really similar to Aizen… but the max-level narcissistic version."
Rian didn't answer. He simply smiled gently, continuing to stroke her hologram as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
"While we wait… should Alice prepare some coffee?" she asked, lifting her holographic face to look at him. "And… play the Aizen Theme—Treachery—as background music?"
Rian let out a soft chuckle. "For the coffee, bring me a can. Besides, this won't take long. But about the Aizen Theme… Alice, you're making me look more and more like an Aizen-vibe character."
"Understood. One coffee coming right up," Alice replied cheerfully as she manifested a can of coffee in front of Rian. "But… isn't the Aizen Theme perfect for you, Papa?"
Rian grabbed the can, popped it open, and took a long drink. After lowering it, he gave a faint smile.
"Yeah, I know. But this charismatic-man aura might make me look too evil. So don't."
Hearing that, Alice giggled softly. Her voice sounded like tiny bells swaying in the breeze—sweet, cute, and irresistibly charming.
Not long after, the coffee in Rian's hand was already half-gone, and at the same time, the flow of time—which had frozen across the entire area—began to return to normal.
Rian quickly downed the rest of the coffee and let the empty can fall.
Just before it could touch the floor, Alice snapped her little fingers.
In an instant, cosmic purple flames—the manifestation of the Power Stone—engulfed the can, disintegrating it without leaving a single trace, controlled with the precision of a maestro.
At the same time, Rian was already rising from his seat. His body stretched slightly, the muscles in his arms tightening as though preparing for the next act.
Opening the window, Rian's gaze immediately locked onto Vali, who stood in the middle of the open grounds of Kuoh Academy.
There, Vali was effortlessly defeating a group of people cloaked in black robes, complete with hoods marked with an eye symbol.
Rian curved a faint smile, then stepped out of the room. He moved toward the battlefield using short-range teleportation through Blue.
It wasn't the usual long-distance teleportation that worked by compressing the surrounding space.
This was short-range teleportation—rapid movement through convergent points that pulled him forward, faster than the blink of an eye—almost resembling pure vector manipulation.
***
In the midst of the Khaos Brigade members—after moving at blinding speed and striking them down—Vali hovered calmly.
Clad in his gleaming Scale Mail armor, Vali smirked faintly beneath his protective helmet.
"Hmp," Vali scoffed, "is this all you've got? How boring… you're making me sleepy."
His words ignited irritation among the Khaos Brigade members.
But before they could react any further, Rian suddenly appeared behind Vali—floating effortlessly with his back turned toward him, carrying an aura of subtle authority.
In a relaxed tone, Rian spoke, "Mind if I join in?"
Vali raised an eyebrow beneath his helmet. "Do as you like," he replied bluntly, his unshakable nonchalance intact.
To Vali himself, the Khaos Brigade members were far too weak to pose any real threat, so there was no reason for him to pay them much attention.
In the midst of the Khaos Brigade members—after moving with blinding speed and striking several of them down—Vali hovered calmly in the air.
His gleaming Scala Mail armor reflected the fading light as he smirked beneath his helmet.
"Hmph," Vali scoffed. "Is this all you're capable of? How boring… you're making me sleepy."
His words clearly irritated the Khaos Brigade members.
But before they could react any further, Rian suddenly appeared behind Vali—floating lightly with his back turned to him, carrying a faint air of authority.
With a relaxed tone, Rian spoke, "Mind if I join in?"
Vali raised an eyebrow beneath his helmet. "Do as you like," he replied flatly, his casual tone unshaken.
To Vali, the Khaos Brigade members were far too weak to pose any real threat, so there was no reason to concern himself with them.
From the Infinity Ring, the Knight Killer materialized, its blade gleaming with a cold light beneath the protective magic surrounding it.
A split second later, Rian shot forward—leaving behind a streak of bright blue light from his Six Eyes glowing beneath his interface glasses.
In less than a heartbeat, the dagger tore through the bodies of the Khaos Brigade members, severing limbs and even decapitating several of them—mercilessly, without granting the slightest chance to react.
One by one, bodies collapsed. Blood burst forth like fountains, painting the open school grounds in crimson.
Severed heads spun through the air for a brief moment before falling and rolling across the ground.
Amid the massacre, Rian even assisted members of the three factions—dispatching the Khaos Brigade attackers with effortless precision.
Vali, watching from the side, simply maintained a faint smirk. His arms folded across his chest, he landed on the ground as if watching an ordinary performance.
Meanwhile—moving at blinding speed—Rian wore a subtle, quiet smile.
It wasn't without reason—Rian could clearly hear the notifications ringing in his mind, awarding him 20 EXP every time he killed a member of the Khaos Brigade.
Meanwhile, more and more Khaos Brigade members began appearing one after another from the magic teleportation circles that suddenly opened around the area.
This only made Rian even more delighted.
Compared to the measly experience he earned from killing T-virus zombie dogs, this battlefield was an overflowing EXP farm.
On the other side, inside the Old School Building—the Occult Research Club's headquarters—Issei and Rias were watching from one of the windows.
Issei stared at the massacre Rian was causing with a horrified expression, while Rias observed the scene seriously before placing a reassuring hand on Issei's shoulder.
Beside Rias, Koneko—already in her characteristic nekomata mode—watched calmly, though even her eyes struggled to follow Rian's super-fast movements.
Resting on Koneko's right shoulder was a cardboard box that trembled slightly.
From a small gap in the box, a pair of red eyes peeked out—the box's occupant was none other than Gasper.
"Rian-senpai… can be scary sometimes…" Gasper whispered. "Good thing he's our friend… but still scary. Though kinda cool."
"…Coward," Koneko muttered flatly, closing her eyes for a moment. "If you keep acting like that, I'll give you garlic. So you become brave."
"Kyaaa!" Gasper shrieked in fear. "Koneko-chan is so mean! I hate garlic so much!"
Koneko opened her eyes again. Her left hand moved and tapped the cardboard box lightly—just enough to make its occupant inside let out a pained whimper.
With a flat tone yet visibly satisfied expression, Koneko smiled and said, "Then don't be such a coward."
"Hics… uwaa… Koneko-chan is so mean…" Gasper sniffled, starting to cry as he was being bullied.
Seeing Gasper's reaction, Koneko's smile grew even more satisfied.
Rias let out a soft sigh, while Issei gave an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head even though it wasn't itchy, watching Koneko teasing Gasper.
For some reason, both of them felt that Rian's mischievous attitude seemed to be rubbing off on Koneko.
___
Additional Note;
Sorry everyone, I forgot to update because I fell asleep after the marathon on the holiday. ehehe~ collecting materials.