Life 4. Ultimate Battle of Strength

Part 1

"That Rito, forcing a tie with Akai instead of finishing the battle. Well, Akai was clearly going to win, so this is for the better to us."

Mint says such a harsh comment towards Rito. Well, I agree that Akai was winning, so this is indeed for the better.

"Well, I'll be going."

As Ram says that, I, Rina Kushihashi, look carefully as the Kings roll the dices again.

{Ram Phenex rolled 6, while Silverage Lucifuge rolled 4, so it is a total value of 10.}

When Ram goes back with us, a barrier covers our base. With this, the opponent won't know who'll be send until it's too late to change it. Now we have 5 minutes of planning time.

"I'm pretty sure you already know this, but the safest would be if I don't go. I want to keep Jin until later in the game since they haven't seen him."

"If sending someone with powers they don't know will be the key for the later parts of the game, then neither Haruka, Xie, Mint or Ham can be sent."

"That sounds logical Rina, however, the information about Ham's [Balance Breaker] and Mint's [King's Spear] has reached them."

We're shocked hearing that! How did that happen?

"Mint, can you explain how that happened?"

Mint tries to not look at us while he explains the situation.

"Let's say that, because Silverage was sending me emails saying how his team would beat us, I may have revealed mine and Ham's new powers to intimidate him."

"Mint!"

I yell to him! I know he has been resenting Silverage ever since we fought against the Star of Belen Magicians, but telling him such important information is beyond the limit!

"Now, with this, the ones who can go are Mint, Ham, Rina and María."

We start thinking about how things could go. Haruka is the first one to speak.

"We could send Ham and Mint, but we don't who they could send, so it's better to not sent both of them now. Ham could go with María, or Mint and Rina could go by themselves."

"Since all members of Silverage-dono's peerage have a high value, they'll probably are sending only person, so doing the same would be the fairest."

Xie says that. Yeah, maybe she's right.

"I would rather save Mint for another match, so it's your turn, Rina."

"As you wish, Ram."

As the barrier gets denser to avoid the opponent to know who will be send, Ham stands up and gives me some inspiring words.

"Even if you don't who'll be your opponent, you have to fight with everything you have. I'm pretty sure your cousin will like to hear you won against Silverage's peerage."

"Thanks for that, Ham. Now, I'll be going."

I get to the magic circle and get transported.

When I appear into the battlefield, I see who was sent by Silverage.

{From Ram Phenex's side, Queen Rina Kushihashi; from Silverage Lucifuge's side, Bishop Yami Konjiki and Knight Spadaccino Nero.}

[Rina, things didn't go as planned! We totally forgot about Yami!]

Yes, that's right! I always forget about that easy-going blonde since she's so irrelevant!

"Well, Rina Kushihashi, I'm honoured to fight you on this match."

Nero is such a gentleman. I like it, and he looks hot with that long blonde hair.

{The second match starts now.}

As soon as he says that, Yami starts launching multiple red arrows! They're made of light, so this is dangerous! I summon my tokko to block them.

I throw many talismans to the air and start chanting.

"That which is born out of earth, whose spirit was cast out of iron, by means of water purified, hasten forth before me."

With that, two golems appear in front of Nero and Yami. Nero starts running towards them while yelling something.

"Shintoism has interesting abilities. However, I'll show you the power of Christianity with this!"

And just like that, he's able to cut off the arm of one of my golems with his sword!

"The legendary Holy Sword of Roland, Durandal, which is able to cut through everything!"

Durandal is going to cause me huge problems. I need to find a way to defeat at least one of them.

Yami launches more arrows, but I'm able to block them by creating rock pillars. I create a hurricane to avoid getting more arrows, but that doesn't stop Nero from creating waves of holy energy. While my golems where able to stop those waves, now I lost them.

"I see you're good with defensive techniques; however, you lack fire power, and without that, you won't be able to win."

Nero takes his fights pretty seriously, and it's clear he likes to fight opponents who are as capable as he is, since he lectures them even when fighting.

"In that case, I'll summon this."

I summon my most powerful weapon: my dad's shakujo. It is a staff able to amplify mysticism, and even someone like me, who wasn't born with the blessing of water, can use it.

"Go ahead, tokko!"

Many tokko head towards Nero, so he starts cutting them with Durandal. However, he wasn't my goal; my goal is Yami!

"Take this!"

A white light is emitted from the tip of the staff, sending Yami flying away! Yes, it works!

"Even when I wasn't born with the power of Shintoism, in preparation for this day, I learned to use the power from a different mythological system: the power of Buddhism. Just like this can amplify the power of Shinto, the power of Buddhism also gets amplified!"

[Rina, why didn't you tell me of this? We could have saved you until later on the game.]

"I didn't tell you since I'm still training, so I only master the basics of Buddhism, because of that I didn't think I'll use this on the game; however, given my opponents, I had no other choice than to use it."

While I didn't believe I'll use this here, I have no choice but to keep fighting. I go to Yami's place and start hitting her many times with the shakujo, all the attacks being powered up with the white light of Buddhism.

"Now, I'll end this with my final golem!"

While Yami is on the ground, I throw my last few talismans over her.

"That which is born out of earth, whose spirit was cast out of iron, by means of water purified, hasten forth before me."

The golem appears, stomping right over her! With that, the light covers her, and she retires! Yes! I defeated Yami! Maybe it took me a lot of effort, but I did it!

"Congratulations on defeating her, Rina. However, I'm still here."

When I look towards Nero, he destroyed my 12 tokko. One of the strongest Exorcists, Nero of the Durandal, he's my opponent now.

My golem charges towards him, but it gets destroyed slash by slash. While he's distracted, I stick a token to the shakujo.

"Now then, you-"

My shakujo launches a light bullet towards Nero before he can finish his sentence! Once it hits, Nero is sent flying, and he ends up lying on the ground!

"Never let your guard down!"

"I can say the same about you."

When I hear that, I feel many slashes on my back! They aren't only slashes, they are charged with holy energy!

"This is the cloning technique Silverage taught me. It really is more useful than one would think."

Nero, who is behind me, says that. I can see the other Nero disappear, so this is probably my lost.

"Sorry, but this ends here."

When he says that, he stabs my abdomen. I can see the light covering me.

{Combatant Silverage Lucifuge's Bishop and Ram Phenex's Queen, retire.}

Part 2

When we hear the results, I count the combatants once again. We're Ram, Jin, María, Xie, Mint, Haruka and I, Abraham Hawkthorn, against Silverage, Goldentime, Nero, Tsubasa and the cat-girl.

While it sounds we're on a huge advantage, Silverage's peerage isn't an opponent we can underestimate.

[Rina-san fought using the equipment from the Five Principal Clans until the very end! Uwaaah! Losing 2 people I deeply care about in a row sure is harsh!]

Oryu says that while crying. Losing both Rito and Rina one after the other must have affected him.

"Sigh, I'll be going now. No matter what happens, you'll be going Ham."

I understand her point. Since I'm the member of those who can go with the lowest value, sending me would be the most logical thing.

Both Kings stand before the stand, hold the dices, and throw them. And the result is-

{Ram Phenex rolled 5, while Silverage Lucifuge rolled 6, so it is a total value of 11.}

"Why?! Why it couldn't be a 12?!"

Silverage yells that. Given he can only appear when a 12 is rolled, a battle maniac like him will be frustrated, since his chances of fighting are slim.

Ram comes back with us, and the barrier covers us. The first one to speak, who did it almost instantly, is Mint.

"He's sending Goldentime."

"How did you come to that conclusion, Mint?"

"You said that you're sending Ham out loud before the results showed. Now that we got a high number, Goldentime is the most logical answer, since he's able to beat Ham."

I agree with Mint on this one. Thanks to his Touki, Goldentime is way stronger than me, and unlike me, his demonic power is average (for a Low-class Devil, of course), while mine is low.

"Well, who else could go with Ham against Goldentime?"

After Ram asks that, Haruka answers her question.

"Since Ham is 3, Mint is 6, María is 5, Xie is 5, Jin is 4 and I'm 3, anyone can go."

We start thinking about the combinations. I could go with María or Xie, since that would 8, leaving 3, which would allow Haruka to go too.

"Hey, Ram, what about Mint going with Ham?"

Jin says that before we can decide anything. Then he explains further.

"I trained with them, so they told me about Goldentime. He sounds like an opponent whose power isn't only his strength, but also his [Sacred Gear]. Ham and Mint told me about the power of Goldentime's [Balance Breaker], and for said reason, I told them to develop a technique to counter it."

"Is that true, Ham?"

"Well, it is true that we were developing a technique to counter Goldentime's [Balance Breaker] with help of Jin, but Mint and I consider that technique to be incomplete. Using it on the game may be dangerous."

"But it also may be our key to defeat Goldentime-dono."

Xie adds that last part. My technique with Mint is incomplete, so using it may be dangerous; on the other part, it may be our only chance of defeating Goldentime.

"I'm willing to take the risk, will you?"

Mint asks me that. To defeat Goldentime-

"Yes, I will."

And like that, Mint and I were selected. After that, we go to the magic circle and get transported.

{From Ram Phenex's side, Knight Abraham Hawkthorn and Bishop Mint Borrow; from Silverage Lucifuge's side, Queen Goldentime Erklight.}

Just as predicted, they sent Goldentime. He summons his [Sacred Gear], [Twice Critical], right away.

"Ham and Mint, I was expecting to fight you two. My brother told me about your new powers, so I was excited to see who is going to win here."

"Goldentime, maybe you won when we fought in the past, but now, with our new powers, we can defeat you."

I see Mint already summoned [King's Spear], which means I have to be ready. When I put on a fighting, I hear the signal.

{The third match starts now.}

" "[Balance Break]!" "

As the pattern, [Dimension Alternative: Chronos Change], appears on both my eyes, I look to Goldentime, clapped on a white armour.

"[Critical Scale Armour], you already saw it, but seeing your [Balance Breaker] makes me happy. You already know the power of this, so I don't need to explain it."

[Critical Scale Armour]'s power is to double, not just the user's power, but anything he wants. While this is a common low class [Sacred Gear], if the user is someone like Goldentime, it may be something deadly.

While I was thinking on that, Goldentime gets covered on a dense white aura: his Touki. Suddenly, his aura gets bigger than before. That must be the work of his [Balance Breaker].

"Mint, it's time."

I stop time for everyone but Mint and I. He gets close to me while [King's Spear] surrounds us. I return Mint to his original size, and he flies towards my chest. As we do this, we start chanting.

" "With strength of the Giant slayer and the magic of the Fairy, we should complete the power left by the First King!" "

And with that verse, light covers us…

Once time resumes, Mint and I are clapped on golden armour with Dragon wings. Our combined technique worked.

"This is a special ability created by Mint and I. The completed form of the Sacred Spear of the Fairy King, [King's Spear]: the Dragon Armour of the Demonic Fairy and the Giant Slayer, [King's Armour]."

When Mint inspected [King's Spear] to see if there was any traces of the rumoured "most powerful weapon", he found out incomplete data about an armour engraved on the magical code of the spear. By training with Jin, we found a way to exploit that incomplete data and create a completed form for this weapon. That's how [King's Armour] was born.

However, the technique isn't complete, so there's a 50% chance that it won't active even if we chant, and if it actives, we can only use it 3 minutes per day, counting my stopped time. For said reason, I have to think how to use this power.

"Hohoho, what a great technique; now then, should we get started?"

Both Goldentime and I rush towards the other, dealing fast blows and kicks on the air.

Goldetime's punches are powered up by his Touki, so they're clearly stronger than mine. Even when I stop time many times to be able to deal more hits, Goldentime's hits are still stronger.

While Mint is on my armour, he talks to me.

[Remember, Goldentime is an expert at hand-to-hand combat; we have to take him out of his comfort zone.]

Mint is right; if I want to defeat Goldentime, I need to attack from a distance!

"Take this!"

I move backwards and launch many balls of Demonic Fairy magic. Since Mint is on the armour, I'm able to use his magic.

Goldentime, however, just takes the attacks and we exchange punches once again.

[These two are excelling at just fighting with their punches, huh. They caught my attention.]

Śakra, Indra, says that. As someone who wants to start a war against the Christian faction, I see why he's so interested on this battle.

Suddenly, Goldentime steps away from us.

"I can see you were training hard all this time, and this technique is the fruit of said training. I'm honoured to able to fight against it. However, my older brother needs my victory, so I won't hold back."

As he says that, a second Goldentime appears. This must be that cloning technique he learned from Silverage.

Both of them charge at me at the same time! Because of their moves, is hard to guess which one is the real one.

[Ham, magic on the right!]

I launch a ray of Demonic Fairy magic to the right, destroying the fake Goldentime! However, the real one hits from the left, sending me flying. Nonetheless, thanks to the hard armour, I didn't feel much damage.

"You two were able to see through my moves, congratulations. Nevertheless, I'm going to win in the name of brother."

I stand up and look at him. The man I always respected is my opponent now, so I need to find a way to bypass his defences.

[Ham, do you remember what Wrath did? What if we do the same?]

That actually sounds like a good idea, Mint. I cover my body on a cloth of Demonic Fairy magic, which should strengthen my speed, defence and, most importantly, attack. Now, I use time paralysis and charge towards him!

"There I go!"

I hit Goldentime all over his body, while my punches are strengthened by Mint's magic!

"300 Blows Technique; if someone deserved to feel this technique, it was you, Goldentime."

After I say that, many rays of purple light appear from his body. Now that time resumed for him, he must feel an immense pain.

"Kuh… that was… a really good move."

Despite the pain, Goldentime stands up once again. Mint, how much time is left?

[I don't know, but I give it around 1 minute.]

So just 1 minute, huh. Using this technique was really risky, and since it isn't complete, we won't be able to keep using for much longer. If we don't defeat Goldentime soon, we may lose.

I charge at Goldentime covered in magic like before, but now he is able to keep up with my punches. This is bad, if I continue losing my time on exchanging blows, we won't be able to win…!

[I'll finish this exchange, explosion!]

A huge explosion of energy is liberated from my armour. The explosiveness was the original property of Fairy magic, so Mint must be exploiting it.

Goldentime's armour is severely damaged, but I have only 30 seconds left, so I must find a way to finish this off.

I active time paralysis, use my 300 Blow Technique one more time and launch countless Demonic Fairy magic, one right after the other.

Goldentime's armour breaks down when the purple light rays appear. At the same, mine dispels since I ran out of time.

"Haa… haa… in just 3 minutes… you were able to break my armour… my greatest respects… haa…"

"Haa… you're the one who deserve that… haa… since you gave us such a fight… even with our new technique… haa…"

I hold Mint on my hand. He ran out of energy. I never imagined this technique would consume this much stamina.

Goldentime walks slowly towards me. Even when he's this damaged, he keeps on fighting for his brother.

"I won't give up… until I beat Ham… haa…"

As I can see the light of retiring covering Mint, I walk towards Goldentime. We must end this like gentlemen.

We walk towards the other until we're face to face. We both prepare our right punches, and hit each other's head.

The punch makes us lose our balance and we fall to the ground. The light of retiring is covering both of us.

" "Well fought…" "

With our last strengths, we just praised each other.

{Combatant Silverage Lucifuge's Queen and Ram Phenex's Bishop and Knight, retire.}

Part 3

After Ham-san and Mint-san retired, we were surrounded by a grim atmosphere. In that moment, I, Xie Xie, look at Ram-sama and tell her.

"Please go."

After I say that, Ram-sama goes to roll the dices once again.

{Ram Phenex rolled 4, while Silverage Lucifuge rolled 1, so it is a total value of 5.}

When Ram-sama goes back with us, I declare my intension.

"I'm going."

Because of the number given, Silverage-dono can only send Tsubasa-dono or Nekomata-shi. Because they're probably keeping Nekomata-shi for later, Tsubasa-dono is going to be sent.

"When I went to Grigori, I saw what Xie can do now. Please send her."

Haruka-san says that. As Ram-sama smiles, she answers.

"Ok, Xie is going."

As decided, I go to the magic circle to be transported to the battlefield.

{From Ram Phenex's side, Rook Xie Xie; from Silverage Lucifuge's side, Rook Tsubasa Shinra.}

Just like I predicted, Tsubasa-dono is my opponent.

"I think we haven't seen each other face to face, but I'm pretty sure the others told you about me, just like my comrades did with me."

He's right on that.

"I'm enjoying my life as a Devil, especially since I don't have to deal with Seiryu… wait, you probably don't know him either. Maybe I'll introduce you to him later."

"It'll be a pleasure."

{The fourth match starts now.}

I take out the weapon Azazel-sama gave me and point it towards Tsubasa-dono.

"This is an Artificial [Sacred Gear], a creation of the Governor General of Grigori that imitates God's system. The one I was given is named [Down Fall Dragon Spear], which contains the soul of the Dragon King Fafnir inside it. However, that isn't everything."

The dagger I hold changes its shape and I utter the words Baraqiel-sama taught me.

"[Counter Balance]."

The dagger separates as light gushes out. The light covers me as I take the last step.

"[Balance Adjust]!"

The light covering me turns into golden plate armour surrounded by a golden aura shaped like Dragon.

"Artificial [Sacred Gears] cannot achieve a proper [Balance Breaker], which unlashes power that breaks the balance of the world, since they're unstable unlike genuine [Sacred Gear]. For said reason, Azazel-sama found a different path: [Counter Balance]. It is state which is attained by the possessor's power being used to forcibly stabilize the Artificial [Sacred Gear]. This is the [Counter Balance] of my [Down Fall Dragon Spear]: [Down Fall Dragon Another Armour]."

I grip my staff with a golden Dragon in the shape of Fafnir as pommel and charge towards Tsubasa-dono. It hit him on his weak points. This should limit his movement.

He summons many tokko, so I take them down with my staff. Some of them stabbed my armour, but they couldn't penetrate it.

He covers his punches in gold with his mysticism, but I'm able to block his punches with my gauntlets.

He covers himself in Touki to continue punching, and even then I can keep up with him.

I land a critical hit right on his throat, sending him flying.

[Xie! This power is amazing! I'm so happy you're back.]

If you think this is amazing, wait until you see Baraqiel's Artificial [Sacred Gear]. It is named [Days Typhon Beast Dagger] and it's a dagger with a decorative gem embedded onto its pommel. Its power is to summon Typhon, who is sealed on it.

I go towards him while he's still lying on the ground, and hit him in multiple weak points all over his body. With that, he starts crying blood.

"I give up, I give up! Please take her out of me!"

And with that, I got the first win for Ram-sama.

{Combatant Silverage Lucifuge's Rook, retire.}

Shinto

"No! Even Byakko-san lost!"

"Don't worry, Oryu, there's still one member on the Shinto faction in battle: Kaihaku."

"That Nekomata over there… is Kaihaku? As in the famous Yokai who is said to have mastered Senjutsu and Youjutsu?"

"That one. I'm anxious to see how they're going to deal with her."

"I hope you're right, Kyubi-no-Kurama, son of the leader of the Kyoto Yokai, Kyubi-no-Yasaka."

"Please, you don't need to call me by my full name."

"Ok, Kurama, son of Yasaka."

"Ha, forget it."