One-Punch DxD: Legacy
A bit note for the readers and reviewers:
I sincerely appreciate those who actually gave constructive reviews and understanding. I hope you can enjoy the rest of this ride with me. m(_ _)(y)
I have nothing to say for those haters and flamers - I just don't want to bother with them, but I will spare some time to respond to Bogoljub igoja: You want to know if Saitama will remain invincible in my story? Why don't you just shut up, sit back, and patiently read in f**king peace? You dissed me because of you're having a f**king bad day? Sorry, but that's still no excuse for you to vent your shit on other people. That question sounds like… Asking the colour of the sky.
Without further ado, enjoy! R&R!
Chapter 42: Heart (III) – The Game
It was late midnight before dawn, when Rias suddenly woke up at the sudden surge of energy coming from below her, or more precisely, way below her. She got up from her bed, put on enough clothes to cover her modesty as she stormed out of her bedroom. She then met Akeno, Asia, Koneko, Xenovia, Rossweisse and Irina who also woke up from the power surge. Rias even received a call from Yuuto and Gasper all the way from their apartment.
On that note, Ravel had already gone ahead few days prior for the underworld to make few arrangements.
When they hurried down to the basement, where the source of the power had been located, they saw two figures sitting in the middle of the training ground.
Saitama was sitting right in front of meditating Issei, who was clad in his signature dragon armour. When the former noticed everyone's arrival, he merely waved his hand casually. "…'Sup."
"Saitama-san?" Rias furrowed her eyebrows as everyone cautiously approached closer. "What are you two doing here?"
"Well…." Saitama turned to his son for a second before addressing Rias. "Ise is having last-minute training. I'm here to make sure things won't go out of hand."
"Okay… So why is Issei clad in his Balance Breaker?" Rias pointed at his armour-clad fiancé.
[This is just a side-reaction, natural response from what is happening within his soul.]
Everyone blinked at the sound of Ddraig echoed from the jewels on the armour. "Welsh Dragon?" Rias asked. "What is going on? What is Ise doing?"
[Simply put, my host is currently… talking with his predecessors. The real deal has just begun.]
"…Okay, I see." Rias nodded grimly. "So… how is he doing in there?"
[Err….. I think he's getting along with everyone….?]
Ddraig's answer caused everyone to raise their eyebrows skeptically.
oXo
BAM!
The sound echoed across the room when one of the past Red Dragon Emperors managed to land his fist right on Issei's face-plate, cracking the helmet in the process.
Issei stumbled back, but he used the force of his enemy's punch to easily back flipped and land his left foot right on another enemy's shoulder that was approaching from behind. Then, he sprung back with his hand to his feet and intercepted the one that just punched him, by sending a nastier punch right on his chest-plate, forcing the enemy to stumble few steps back.
However, two enemies outflanked him by grabbing both of his shoulders respectively, and Issei quickly retaliated by jumped and performed a split in the air, both of his feet kicked enemies on his sides away. He then parried another strike from his right when he just landed, and another enemy quickly approached from his six. Without wasting any time, Issei jumped again, performing a quick jab on the enemy in front of him while sending his foot on the enemy behind.
The one that just punched Issei's face earlier was already on him again. Issei, still laid on the ground, mustered the strength on his leg to send his predecessor away with another kick. He stood up while performing a round-house kick on another incoming enemy, and when he just recovered his ground, another one sent a hammer fist on him.
Issei easily caught the fist mid-way, but the enemy quickly grabbed a hold on his torso, and immediately performed an over-head throw on Issei; sending the boy hurling to the unforgiving ground.
Groaning, Issei then looked up to see several people were going to drop on him. He then activated the booster on his Scale Mail and skid away to safety, avoiding the enemy's feet from stomping him flat.
Meanwhile, Ddraig, Belzard and Elsha were standing on the side-line, watching their current host being chased by a mob of past Red Dragon Emperors.
"WAAAAAAGH!" Issei screamed in agony as he was running for his life.
"Whew, look at how he run." Belzard observed.
"You are doing good, Issei! Keep it up!" Elsha just cheered, although Issei did not hear her.
[Is this really okay?]
Ddraig on the other hand, was the most worried out of three.
It had been like this for over an hour; Issei had been surprisingly, able to fight off tens and dozens of his predecessors non-stop. However, there were actually hundreds consciousness of the past Boosted Gear possessors that were after Issei. It would not be surprising if Issei would be outnumbered sooner or later.
There were two reasons why those three did not interfere; first, they believed that this was a trial that Issei needed to overcome alone; and second, they were actually pressing themselves against the very gate that sealed the 'power' of Hyoudou Issei. The power beyond the gate was attempting to break through as the royal rumble went on.
However, Issei truly was faring better than they expected. Apparently, the past Red Dragon Emperors before him came with variable strength. Apart from Belzard and Elsha, there were some that were particularly gifted, talented, or even weak, depending on how they lived their lives previously.
Those that were considered as weaker possessors had already been taken care of; after Issei had taken them down, the weaker ones decided to simply remain idle without giving any further attempts to attack him.
Those that were stronger, however, proved to be far more stubborn and resilient as they kept coming at Issei no matter how many beat-downs Issei had given them.
Back to the boy, he just kicked another enemy away from him, followed by intercepting another two- no, three hostiles. He landed a hay-maker at the enemy in the middle; then while dodging a hook from the enemy on the left and right, Issei kicked the left one on the rib-cage, and landed another kick that launched the one on the right away from him.
There was no room or time to breath as Issei had to immediately jump-kicked another approaching hostile in front of him. He landed only to quickly crouched so he could swipe off a hostile's footing behind him, and before the hostile could have fallen to the ground, Issei immediately followed with another kick, launching him towards few more hostiles behind him.
Issei then was engaged by another pair of his predecessors, but was quickly overwhelmed as one hostile managed to land a punch right on his chest, pushing him to stumble back. Issei then was immediately caught by another enemy waiting behind him; and with his movement restrained for a moment, one enemy quickly punched his face, which Issei retaliated by kicking him away. Another enemy followed-suit to strike, but Issei quickly stopped him by another kick. Issei then sent his knuckle to land on his captor's face, forcing the said captor to release him, and Issei proceeded to slid through him and overthrow him towards a mob of enemies.
The brawl went on as Issei fiercely fought back against the relentless assault of his predecessors. The boy had been punched, kicked, thrown and even blasted from every direction, but he preserved. He did not know how long he had been fighting, but he knew he could not stop or back away now, not when the match was close.
He had to make it, he had to succeed; for her, and also his own sake.
One enemy just ambushed Issei from behind again, grabbing him in place so the rest could gang up on him. Issei retaliated the incoming hostiles with numerous combination of kicks, and Issei proceeded to throw his head back right on his captor's face-plate, releasing his grip. Issei performed an over-head throw on his captor, however, right after Issei recovered, another enemy had already right in front of him and landed double straight on his chest-plate.
BAM!
"Gahk!" Issei coughed out, his armour was finally shattered from the stress. Issei's body was launched until his back hit a wall, or to be precise, his towering Evil Piece.
Issei crouched on the ground as fatigue began to take its toll. He panted heavily as he looked up to see the enemy numbers remain strong. Then, all of the predecessors proceeded to jump on top him, using the sheer weight of their numbers to pin Issei down.
As Issei was overwhelmed by the multitude of his predecessors piling up on him, he heard them whispering.
"It is futile…"
"There is no other way…"
"Juggernaut Drive…."
"It is the only way…"
"It is perfection…"
"This is as far as you can go…"
"This is our limit, your limit as well…"
oXo
Back to the reality, everyone suddenly felt another spike of energy, or rather, they noted that Issei's aura was fluctuating.
"Ise, what's wrong!?" Rias shouted in worry as she reached out her hand.
[No, don't touch him!]
Ddraig's roar managed to freeze Rias on her tracks.
[If you interrupt him now, everything will be for naught. Or worse, my host might end up losing control.]
The dragon's explanation even gave more reason for everyone to think that Issei should stop his stunt.
However, before Rias could have voiced anything else, she suddenly noticed Saitama raised his hand to stop her from doing anything else. "…Saitama-san?"
"Just watch for now." Was all Saitama said as he kept his eyes locked on the prone form of his son. His eyes did not seem to have any emotion, but if one took a closer look, they might have seen a small glint of faith and conviction within the man's orbs.
Everyone still hesitated, but they decided not to question Saitama for the time being.
oXo
Back to Issei's soul; from the side lines, Ddraig, Elsha and Belzard looked downcasted as they also heard the whispers of the past Boosted Gear possessors. Especially for Belzard and Elsha, the highest peak they could ever achieve was when they utilised the Juggernaut Drive.
Issei did not say anything back for few seconds. One might have thought that the boy had surrendered, consumed by the negative thoughts of his predecessors. However, the predecessor heard Issei muttered something. "…Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
Ddraig, Elsha and Belzard blinked as they caught Issei's murmuring.
Slowly, but steadily, the past possessors felt power building up from beneath them, particularly from the body of Hyoudou Issei as the boy slowly raised up.
"Don't you dare…." Issei's eyes then flashed as he exploded. "…DEFINING MY LIMITS WITH YOUR OWN!"
BOOM!
The pile of past Red Dragon Emperors suddenly erupted, leaving Issei flailing a past Red Dragon Emperor around before he threw it away to a distance.
At the same time, Issei's statement seemed to strike a chord within Elsha and Belzard.
They almost forgot; Issei was the symbol of new possibility, and here they began to think that they shared the same limitations. His limits are his own, and for all they knew, Juggernaut Drive was might as well nobody's limitations but their own.
It was them who believed that Issei could reach new heights in the first place.
However, when Belzard and Elsha took a step forward, ready to interfere and give Issei helping hand, the rest of the past possessors raised up, ominous aura surrounding them.
"….It can't be!" Belzard widened his eyes along with Elsha. The source of their wariness was the words that came out from all of the past predecessors.
"I, who am about to awaken…"
Issei also blinked and widened his eyes at what his predecessors were about to do.
"…Am the Heavenly Dragon who has taken the principles of domination from God."
Even Ddraig knew that they were in for it.
[This is bad…!]
The past possessors were going to forcefully coerce Issei into entering Juggernaut Drive.
"…I laugh at the 'infinite' and I grieve at the 'dream'…!"
Ddraig was about to call out for Saitama to intervene, when a new presence suddenly let itself known.
{My, my… It appears that you people are in a real pinch right now.}
Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the voice, and their eyes were met by the sight they did not expect to see of all things.
"You are…." Elsha muttered in recognition, along with Ddraig and Belzard.
Issei could tell more or less who he was staring at, but his biggest question was, how could he be here?
"You….!" The rest of the past Red Dragon Emperors however, were completely aggravated as they gave hateful glares at the newcomer.
The said newcomer, equipped with a pair of shining wings of light, only showed fearless expression as he bowed down theatrically.
{Hello, everyone. The White Dragon Emperor at your service.}
oXo
"What the?!"
Rias and everyone had to close their eyes when Issei's armour was suddenly enveloped in a blinding crimson light. Saitama himself was not perturbed at the light, as he simply stared at the turn-out of events with absolute interest on his expression.
Ravel Phenex had dressed herself up appropriately for the occasion, complete with her usual hair-style, as she stood by the entrance of the gondola port on the floating island of Agreas.
Few days ago, she had volunteered herself to prepare necessary arrangements for the arrival of Rias Gremory's peerage on the day of the match with Sairaorg Bael's peerage.
She checked the clock, then double-checked the schedule and her bookings again, as she noticed that the group she assigned on would arrive at any moment shortly. Then, she noticed several familiar faces approaching her from inside the port; that was her cue. She then put on her best etiquette and expression as she curtseyed in greeting.
"Welcome, I have been waiting for you…? Ise-sama, are you alright?" Her greeting was cut short when she noticed that Hyoudou Issei was looking haggard with bags under his eyes – sign of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
"It's… I'm okay, Ravel. Just lacking some sleep, is all." Issei yawned as he was holding a cup of coffee. Some of his friends only rolled their eyes good-naturedly at the Pawn's antics.
On the other hand, Rias and some other girls were not amused of the fact that Issei had pushed himself too hard. For the duration of the morning, even during the trip from the human world to the underworld, Issei had been asleep for most of the time; he only awake when he had to walk to the station, changing vehicles, or if he wanted to use the restroom; otherwise he would just fall asleep there and then, in order to restore as much stamina as he could.
"This is what you got after pulling that stunt without telling any of us." Rias chided. "I expect you to perform at your best during the match. Understood?"
She might have sounded cruel, but everyone had to agree with her in more ways than one. None of them aside from Issei was crazy enough to pull such exerting all-nighter. What he did was as same as, if not worse, than a failing student pulling all-nighter before national exam.
Moreover, Issei also had missed some worth-noting discussion during the trip; such as the politics between Bael clan, Gremory clan, as well as the Four Great Satans themselves; the anonymous message that said about a certain group of outlaws led by the White Dragon Emperor offering extra security, ensuring that Khaos Brigade would not interfere the fight between Gremory group and Bael group, etc.
"Well, just give him a rest, Rias." Azazel intervened. "If what Saitama's words were true, then we can expect that Issei had achieved something incredible for the match later. Just trust your fiancé for now, will you?"
Azazel's half-advice, half-teasing only received several glares from the students, especially from Rias and Akeno. Overall, the rest of the trip towards the stadium inside the limousine was spent without much conversation, as Issei fell asleep once again.
oXo
When the group had arrived and entered the luxurious hotel next to stadium, Issei blinked his drowsy eyes when he noticed a group of hooded figures in the lobby. What caught his attention was the fact that the said group was definitely not devils.
Especially the one in the centre of the group, which appeared to be the leader, since the aura centred around him. If Issei had to describe the appearance of the leader, he could only describe him as a 'walking skeleton'.
Indeed, it was a skeleton; the other distinction compared with the other hooded figures was, that the attire the skeleton was wearing resembled the attire worn by high-priest of ancient order – a mitre cap on his head and a ornamented staff in his hand.
When the skeleton's eyes landed on the Gremory group, Issei saw the empty socket of his eyes flashed in recognition. "Well, well… If it isn't the heiress of Gremory clan and the fallen angel governor…"
His voice sounded somewhat unnatural, whether the voice was product of magic or ancient mysteries, the fact remained that the skeleton just talked.
"Oh, if this isn't the Ruler of Realm of the Dead, Lord Hades." Azazel returned the greeting sarcastically. "What brings you all the way from the depths of the your realm, until here, along with your squad of grim reapers? I thought you don't want to associate with devils and fallen angels like us?"
"Fafafafa… You sure know how to talk to your elders, you raven brat. As for my reason to be here, it's because I heard a lot of noises up here, so I've come to observe."
Azazel took in Hades' words before replying. "I see…. Say, old man skeleton. It seems like you are the only Greek gods that hasn't made a choice about entering The Alliance."
"And what of it? Are you going to oppose me, just like what you have done with Loki?" Hades asked. If his face possessed a bit more resemblance with that of a normal human flesh, his expression would have been slightly offended.
The members of Occult Research Club swallowed a lump nervously – except Issei. Nobody offended the Greek Ruler of Underworld and walked away unscathed.
Azazel then shook his head and sighed, wishing no hostility. "No, nothing like that. I'm just hoping that you'd be more open-minded like Odin, or your brothers from Mt. Olympus."
"Kukuku…" Hades chuckled as his aura dissipated. "You expect me to enjoy the noises made by herd of crows and bats flocking together? Do not forget that I prefer peace and quiet in my realm."
From the metaphor Hades used, it clearly showed that the God of Underworld was not fond of devils and fallen angels in general.
Then, the said god turned his attention towards Issei and his eyes flashed in recognition. "The Welsh Dragon… How nostalgic."
Everyone shifted when Hades set his hollow eyes at Issei. While the Greek God of Death did not seem to want causing trouble, who knew what he could do with mere flick of a wrist.
"…I still remember the days where you and Vanishing Dragon were rampaging across my realm of the dead…" Hades reminisced with neutral tone. "…Come to think of it… The wielder of Boosted Gear… Of course, the descendant of that recent hero, eh?"
Everyone, even Azazel blinked when Hades referred to a certain bald hero. Even Issei's drowsy eyes seemed to widen. "…Mind to share, old skeleton?" the fallen angel governor narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Saitama encountering Hades? Even Azazel never heard of that.
"Kukuku… I only know of him from stories…" Hades chuckled again. "The rumours of a mortal wielding Thor's prized Mjolnir had spread across the world, including Greece."
"…But enough of that." Hades then prepared to leave. "I will enjoy myself for today. Try not to die early, youngsters… Especially you, Red Dragon Emperor… Fafafafafa…." The god even gave a small tap on Issei's shoulder – that caused everyone to inwardly freak out, fearing the worst – before he finally left while laughing with his squad of Grim Reapers.
Everyone let out a breath that they had held in for who knows how long, while sporting some cold sweat and shivers. "…I did hear some stories about Lord Hades from my seniors back when I was a Valkyrie…" Rossweisse commented. "But even when he wasn't doing anything to us, I could feel as if he's holding my soul within his grasp…"
"T-t-that skeleton is scary…." Gasper whined as his body could not stop shaking.
Everyone silently nodded in agreement, safe for Issei, who was more nodding from drowsiness.
"Ise, are you okay?" Rias asked in worried tone at her Pawn and fiancé.
"That old man earlier… He's crazy strong." Issei muttered. "But… Yeah, I'm good. Still sleepy, though." He yawned again.
Everyone could only blink owlishly at Issei's reaction. Hades was one of the eldest and most powerful supernatural entity to date; the god who governed over the souls of the dead within the domains of Underworld. Legends stated that a single wave of his hand could turn a jungle into a wasteland, a continent into land of the dead. Normal humans could have their very souls taken away by simply staring into his hollow eyes.
And after facing such power, Issei could still feel sleepy? Not to mention that he just made a direct contact with the hands of death itself. Was it because Issei was just too sleepy to care? Or was it because he simply felt no threat at all?
Everyone else were likely not able to sleep anymore for the rest of the day after facing the Hades. Azazel was staring at Issei with the mix of calculating and bewilderment in his gaze. He understood if they were talking about Saitama, but…
Suddenly, a thought struck him and he smiled lightly few seconds later. Perhaps, just perhaps, Issei had started to become more like his father little by little.
However, two boisterous voices suddenly interrupted his musings.
"DEHAHAHAHA! I HAVE COME, AZAZEL!"
"AND SO HAVE I! GAHAHAHA!"
Azazel's expression brightened up as he turned to address the two newcomers; one was an elderly man with well-built body with moustache adorning his face, a crown on top of his wavy grey hair that reached his shoulder, and clad in toga; another one was also an elderly man, but this one was topless, and his expression was more friendly than the other person – who was actually seemed friendly enough as well.
"So you came, old man Zeus and old man Poseidon…" Azazel addressed the toga-wearing old man and the topless man respectively, who apparently were the legendary Greek God of Thunder and God of Earth and Seas. "Good to see you guys loud and clear as always. Man, I wish that Hades can share your bright attitude."
The two Gods of Olympus and the Scapegoat began to converse with each other like old friends; although Azazel seemed to be overwhelmed by the gods, he enjoyed their company nonetheless.
"I am here, you lot."
A familiar voice caused the group to turn and see a small purple dragon floating in the air. It took few seconds for everyone, including Issei to recognize the heavy voice coming out from such small body.
"…Old man Tannin?" Issei narrowed his sleepy eyes. For a second, he thought the lack of sleep started to cause hallucination.
"Looks like you are not used seeing me in this form." Tannin nodded in understanding. "After all, it would be inconvenient if I walk around this place in my true form, would it not?"
Everyone nodded at the sense of Tannin's words. It appeared that the former dragon king possessed shape-shifting ability.
"…Hyoudou Issei, what is with your appearance?" Tannin narrowed his eyes slightly at Issei's drowsy state.
"Please forgive him, Lord Tannin. It's just… side-effects of his last training session." Rias gave the boy a quick glance before she turned her attention back to the dragon.
Tannin remained silent as he observed Issei, and the rest of the group, before he finally sighed. "Get yourself together, Hyoudou Issei. After all, the one you will face today is the strongest of the young generation. However…" His eyes then returned to appraise Issei once again. "Despite your state, I sense…. That you have grown significantly stronger."
Everyone then blinked at Tannin's comment, before giving their respective small smile at Issei who only blinked owlishly.
"In any case, this is your big day. Go out there and show them what you are made of!"
[Yes!]
Everyone chorused, albeit Issei's reply was not as energetic due to his lethargic state.
Then, Rosweisse suddenly caught something at the corner of her eyes. It was an elderly man clad in ornate robe, with long white beard that reached all the way down to the floor, and a monocle on his eye. The Valkyrie's eyes widened as memory of hardship, humiliation, and betrayal washed over her brain. Her eyes flickered for a second to a young woman who was clad in an armour that was similar like hers during her days as a Valkyrie, before her eyes returned to the elderly man.
When her eyes and the old man's eyes met, the latter seemed to recognise her with a hint of fear on his face. Well, not exactly fear, more like heavy reluctance to interact with her.
"Oh, shit." The said old man simply muttered and he quickly made his way out of the lobby.
"Hold it right there, Lord Odin!" Rossweisse suddenly lashed out as she moved to go after the old man. "You old bastard, we are going to have a talk whether you like it or not!"
When the former Valkyrie had vanished at the entrance, the rest of the group could hear her voice echoing from outside. "WHO'S THE VALKYRIE JUST NOW!?"
Rias sighed at the sight of Rossweisse's episode. She was about to ask Issei to go after her new Rook, but she held her thought as Issei was still too lethargic to carry out the duty. Thus she had to settle with others. "Yuuto, Xenovia, Koneko, can you please go after Rossweisse and bring her back?"
Thus the day went on.
Issei woke up on a couch inside a spacious room complete with furniture, food, drinks even training equipment. Apparently the group had been assigned into waiting rooms for the Rating Game contestants to relax and prepare for the match. On that note the group had six hours before the game.
"Ah, Ise-san." Asia was the first to greet him. "Good morning, how are you feeling?"
Looking at the time and circumstances, one might thought that Asia was being sarcastic, but everyone in the room knew that Asia could not and would not ever being sarcastic; her greetings were genuine with her signature smile.
"Hey, Asia." Issei stood up and stretched his limbs for a bit. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Um… I think almost three hours." Asia then turned to the others. "Everyone else is doing some last exercises."
Speaking of, everyone else also noticed that the Pawn had awoken. "Ise." Rias called out. "Are you good now?"
Issei finished his stretching as he shook his head one last time. "Yeah…. Yeah, I'm awake now." He took a sip of quick drink before he walked to join the others. "Okay, so I'm game. What are we doing now?"
Just when everyone was glad that Issei was back in shape, someone entered the room. "Pardon the intrusion."
When everyone turned to see the guest, Rias and Ravel did not expect who they saw.
"Riser!"
"Onii-sama!"
The guest known as Riser Phenex raised his hand casually in greeting. "Glad to see you're doing well, Ravel." Riser then nodded at his ex-fiancee. "…Rias."
Everyone, including Riser, took a seat and Akeno poured the guest a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Riser then explained his purpose of visit. "I came here simply to discuss about the game. Considering that my dear sister is involving herself with you lot, I guess I should give some advices as a veteran in Rating Games."
Everyone followed so far; while Riser still sounded a bit haughty, an advice from someone with more experience could be very useful for future references.
"You guys are probably new for the game, but I'll say this; this upcoming match is on the same level as the professional games. There will be lots of spectators, your performances will be rated and evaluated. There will be pressure and stuff when you are standing on such a grand stage, so I can only suggest that you go all out there." Riser said with no non-sense tone. "Especially you, Rias. This might be a team-battle, but the higher-ups are looking forward to see of how you, as the King, are managing your servants."
Rias nodded in understanding. "I understand. Of course I will give my best for the game. Although I'm not as smart as Sona or as powerful as Sairaorg…" she admitted her weakness. "…But I'm blessed with my servants." Rias said with brighter expression.
"That is true…" Riser nodded, and his expression went a bit sour. "…And you also possess an element that I hate to have; working hard. You and others of the youngest generation are the first ones to actually train and strengthen your group as individual and as a group." Riser then scanned the rest of Rias' peerage and everyone could see approval in his eyes. "…And again, you have some kind of talent of gathering those with talents. I mean, look at your peerage."
Riser then gestured at Issei, Asia, Yuuto and Gasper. "First, Sacred Gear users. Even you got someone with a god-slaying Longinus to boot." Then Riser pointed at Rossweisse, Koneko and Akeno. "And there are also those with unique heritage, making them specials even among reincarnated devils." Then Riser pointed at Xenovia. "And, I think you are one among few that have a devil servant with a holy weapon."
Everyone felt flattered from Riser's appraisal. Rias herself only smiled proudly at Riser's comment. "So, there you have it, one helluva roaster of your servants. You should treasure them." That comment only boosted everyone's confidence even more.
"So believe me when I say this; you guys are already on par with professionals." Riser said again. "Especially that Red Dragon Emperor there. Perhaps my defeat from you had already been sealed, the moment you reincarnated him as your servant. With someone like him in your group, you have a chance to win against Bael, the so-called strongest youth."
Riser then stood up as he prepared to leave. "That's all I have to say. Good luck out there, Rias."
Rias nodded as she smiled gratefully. "Of course. Thank you, Riser."
Riser nodded, and he shifted his gaze to Issei. "Red Dragon Emperor." He then pointed his fist at the Pawn. "We will have a rematch one day, and I will be the one to come out victorious. Mark my words."
"…Bring it on." Issei smiled fearlessly, which Riser also returned the gesture in kind.
"Well said. And, I also leave Ravel to you. She might be handful like Rias, but she's a great earnest girl." He smirked as he noticed his sister's flustered reaction.
"O-onii-sama! It's none of your business!"
Riser chuckled before he suddenly glared at Issei. "Alright, alright… But seriously, do take good care of her. Otherwise I'm going to burn you to crisp. Is that clear?"
"ONII-SAMA!"
Thinking that Issei would accept his request/demand, Riser simply laughed off and quickly left the room to avoid Ravel's further outburst.
Then, when everyone was about to resume their activities, Riser suddenly popped in through the door again. "I actually forgot, Red Dragon Emperor."
Issei blinked when Riser called him out.
"This is just a heads-up. Your father, and a woman who I assume to be your mother, are here in the Underworld. I think they will be watching you from VIP seats along with the rest of Gremory family and other VIP guests. That's all."
When the door closed, signifying that Riser had finally left, the room fell into silence for few moments until Issei muttered one response.
"…Eh?"
The stadium where the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Sairaorg Bael's peerage were packed with people, low-class and high-class devils alike. On the VIP section, there were Sirzechs Lucifer, Grayfia Lucifuge and Milicas Gremory, as well as Zeoticus and Venelana Gremory; along with other gods and leaders from various lands and pantheons who would like to watch the match live.
And from the judge's seats, there were three individuals; the announcer - Naud Gamigin of Gamigin Household, and the special guests - Azazel of Grigori, and Diehauser Belial of Belial Household.
And last but not least, there was a holographic projection of a silver-haired man with European descent in the middle of the stage. It was Rudiger Rosenkreutz, a reincarnated devil who had achieved the 7th rank in Rating Game, the highest position of reincarnated devil ever achieved. The person would serve as the arbiter of the match.
After some introductions, followed by cheers of the spectators, Naud Gamigin then spoke again.
[…And finally from the west gate, the contestant Rias Gremory and her peerage!]
The crowd cheered with thunderous voice, causing everyone in the group to feel incredibly nervous from the sheer voice and pressure. Riser Phenex was not kidding, standing in front of the crowd alone had made their hearts felt like bursting out from their ribcage.
Issei on the other hand, was nervous for another reason entirely. He looked around, and when he saw what it seemed to be VIP box seats, his eyes landed on two humans that were sitting among gods and other celestial beings.
Hyoudou Haruka and Saitama were sitting on the same row as the Gremory clan; the matriarch was seen to be ecstatically cheering at the children; especially her son, while Saitama was watching with his usual stoic looks and Sirzechs was giving him a knowing grin and flashing a thumbs-up. Zeoticus and Venelana on the other hand, simply waved and gave encouraging smiles.
"Wow, they really are here." Xenovia quipped. The rest could only stared incredulously at the unexpected presence, although Asia was sheepishly waving back at her two surrogate parents.
Issei's jaw dropped while his voice seemed to die in his throat. Cold sweats were appearing on his skin as he was worried for more than one reason. His mother, a supposedly normal human, was sitting among the most powerful, possibly also the most dangerous beings on the planet. Hell, the mother was looking so out of place that he could see Odin, the Trinity Gods of Olympus, as well as some other celestial beings were stealing few glances at her.
Issei would not have been able to focus on the match if not for the fact that his mother was safe sitting between his father and the Crimson Satan.
"Oh, look! That's Irina-san!" Asia pointed at a direction.
Issei turned and truly, Shidou Irina was seen among the children spectator holding a banner of Gremory team, cheering and rooting for them.
Rias was smiling pleasantly in gratitude at her supporters. "Now that we have a lot of supporters on our side, let's not disappoint them, shall we?"
Everyone chorused in agreement, while Issei also took a deep breath. Now that his parents, especially his mother, were also watching him, he could not afford to mess up.
Naud Gamigin then proceeded to explain the rules and the settings of the match. Firstly, each team would be given one vial of Phoenix Tears. Secondly, unlike the classic team-battle duel in most Rating Games, the match between Gremory and Bael would be conducted with Dice Figure rules.
Basically, Rias and Sairaorg would have to roll a six-sided dice respectively to determine which servants would battle a short duel on the stage. The number of the value would be added, and the total value would determine what Pieces could be sent to the field. The value was based on a Pawn. A Queen equalled to 9 Pawns, a Knight and Bishop equalled 3 Pawns respectively, and a Rook equalled 5 Pawns. In case of a reincarnated devil that possessed more than one Evil Piece, they would have the added up value of the Evil Piece.
Since both Rias and Sairaorg did not possess a servant that possessed only one Pawn, both of them would have to come up with value of three or higher, otherwise they would have to roll the dice again until the sufficient value came up.
During the match, each team was not allowed to send out the same combatant continuously, the same went for the Kings.
Of course, like any other Rating Game, the peerage would lose together when their King fell defeated. And speaking of King, both Rias and Sairaorg's value were decided by the judging committee; with Sairaorg possessed the value of 12 while Rias possessed the value of 8.
As vexing as it felt, Rias had to admit that Sairaorg was indeed stronger than her in terms of power. Who would win in the end, however, would be decided in the match.
The group then conducted a quick strategizing, considering that Asia was not suited for combat, Rias would only have 8 combatants including herself – Akeno, Yuuto, Xenovia, Koneko, Rossweissei, Gasper and Issei.
Thus, the game began when both Kings were called to role the die.
The game went with the first round resulted in Rias Gremory's favour. With both teams resulted the value of 3 during the dice roll, each team sent out one Knight – Kiba Yuuto of Gremory team and Beruka Furcas of Bael team – to fight the first round.
As soon as the two combatants entered the stage, the magic deployed across the stage relocated the Knights into a grassy plain, where Yuuto and Beruka would face off against each other.
When the match began, Beruka Furcas managed to hold the advantage of his superior horse-riding skill combined with his spearman-ship. His mount and partner, Altobrau, was a pale horse – a species of horse from the deepest part of the underworld that had been known to be notoriously difficult to tame, let alone ride on.
Things became more unfavourable for Yuuto when Furcas revealed that he was capable of creating multiple copies of himself through illusion magic, pressuring Yuuto from all sides.
However, Yuuto turned the tables when he revealed that he possessed Blade Blacksmith, a Sacred Gear that created holy swords, when he achieved his holy-demonic sword for the first time through the help of the spirit of his deceased comrades. Apparently, the holy element that Yuuto received during Excalibur fiasco also contained the Blade Blacksmith.
Moreover, after a couple weeks of training, Yuuto also managed to obtain his own sub-species Balance Breaker: Glory Drag Trooper – Supreme Holy Dragon Knight Army, which allowed him to conjure an army of dragon knights on his beck and call. Each dragon knight reflected the speed and other physical attributes of Kiba Yuuto, although unfortunately, the knights could not reflect his techniques.
Blade Blacksmith's original Balance Breaker was known as Blade Knight Mass – Supreme Holy Knight Army, and Yuuto was able to create a variant of the said move. While Yuuto's Glory Drag Trooper and Blade Knight Mass were awfully similar in both properties and descriptions, it was still up for debate which one was superior.
On that note, according to Yuuto himself, one of the reasons for his Glory Drag Trooper was due to his constant sparring with the Red Dragon Emperor himself.
In any case, Yuuto's newly achieved Balance Breaker allowed him to obtain victory after a heated showdown between him and his dragon knights against Beruka Furcas and his clones.
Currently, both teams were preparing for the next round as Rias and Sairaorg rolled the die, which ended up with a value of nine; allowing each team to send out a combatant or more, as long as their value equalled the die.
Rias rubbed her chin in thought as she contemplated on who she would send out. She looked back to her peerage – Issei or Akeno could go, but they could only go alone, risking a chance that enemy might came up with more combatants. Yuuto was out due to the rules, and the Knight was still recovering under Asia's Twilight Healing. Perhaps she could send out a combination between her Rook and her Bishop and Knight; but for a power-house with holy sword like Xenovia, Rias preferred to save her until later. However, with the value of eight, Rias considered that sending out Rossweisse and Xenovia was the most logical choice.
"…I'll go."
Rias blinked out of her reverie when she, along with everyone, saw Issei raised his hand up, volunteering himself to go for the second round. The other members were surprised at Issei's volunteering, but they themselves were not sure if that was a correct decision. They then turned to see their King's reaction.
Rias only stared at Issei with calculative look; her mind was scaling the pros and cons of sending her strongest member early in the match. On one hand, she had a feeling that the second round was as good as hers if she sent out Issei; on the other hand, it was also the same as deploying her trump card prematurely.
Then again, there was his look – the look that showed confidence and comfort, as if saying that everything would be just fine.
Few seconds of staring later, Rias narrowed her eyes slightly at her Pawn, as if she was about to come to a decision. "…Are you sure about this, Ise?"
"Yeah." Issei replied without missing a beat. "…Besides, I can use a little pick-me-up." He said with a small grin.
The others smiled lightly at Issei's confidence, and Rias finally sighed with small smile adorning her face. "…Alright, you can go. Just be careful, okay?"
"I will." Issei nodded and he was transported through the magic circle.
oXo
When Issei looked around at his surrounding, he found himself being transported into what appeared to be a dark shrine. The interior seemed like it was western-style shrine, with massive pillars supporting a building. However, Issei grimaced when he had taken everything into his eyes. After all, the place was similar with the location where Issei confronted Diodora Astaroth; the place where he had almost lost Asia.
Issei then noticed that his opponents had arrived at the location. Emerging from the darkness was two individuals; one of them was a young man with blond hair wearing a set of light armour, a sword was strapped on his waist as well.
The other person was a large man towering around 3-meters tall, his body was packed with muscles and his arms were thick until his fingers. Issei almost felt like he was looking at the Hulk, with his skin was not green and his face was more beastly.
[Oh, Lady Rias Gremory has sent out her Pawn, Hyoudou Issei – The Red Dragon Emperor! While Sairaorg Bael has sent out his Knight and Rook respectively, Liban Crocell and Gandoma Balam!]
Naud Gamigin's announcement received a roar from the spectator, most of them were eager to see The Heavenly Dragon in action.
"I'm one of the Knights serving Lord Sairaorg Bael, Liban Crocell." The young man with blonde haired introduced himself, before gesturing to his partner. "…and this big gentleman is one of Lord Sairaorg's Rooks, Gandoma Balam. We shall be your opponents, Red Dragon Emperor." Gandoma Balam simply nodded without saying any words during the introduction.
"Hyoudou Issei, Lady Rias Gremory's Pawn. Let's have a good match." Issei nodded, returning the courtesy.
"Yes, let's." Liban smiled faintly, at least he got a good first impression of his opponent.
Issei remembered his two opponents from previous encounters during the conference, as well as from the video recording. He recalled that the Knight – Liban Crocell possessed an ability that forced one of his opponents immobile, as if being pinned down by some overwhelming force; possibly a Sacred Gear's doing.
In addition, the Knight also showed talents in magic, allowing him to earn the status of Magic Swordsman – a combination of magic and swordsmanship made Liban Crocell an opponent one could not take lightly on.
Gandoma Balam on the other hand, was a power-house. In addition of his already immense physical strength and defence bestowed by his heritage as Balam, Further enhancement by Rook piece allowed his physical attributes to raise to even higher stats than Rooks in general.
With the combination of magic, swordsmanship, and strength before him, Issei felt that he could not afford to go easy on this round. "So much for saving energy…."
[You could have just stayed behind and let others fight instead, you know.]
"…Shut up."
Issei scoffed at the Welsh Dragon's retort; what's done is done.
[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
As soon as the arbiter announced the beginning of the match, Issei immediately equipped himself with his Scale Mail. "Let's get this quickly over and done with!"
The rest of Gremory group watched in slight worry. Considering Issei's condition, they could not help but wonder if Issei could defeat two opponents within the time limit. Not that they knew that beneath the armour, Issei's face was not worried at all.
And without wasting time, Gandoma Balam charged ahead, while Liban Crocell stayed behind while he was also ready to move at moment's notice. However, the Knight's eyes were glowing as he set his gaze on the spot where Red Dragon Emperor was standing on.
"Gravity Jail!"
As the name implied, Liban possessed a Sacred Gear that allowed him to manipulate the gravity of anything within his line of sight. The extent of how much the gravity he could control, as well as the duration, depended on his reserve of magic power.
As soon as Liban activated his power on Issei, the ground where the latter was standing on was suddenly cracked, as if caving in from overwhelming pressure. Issei was seen still walking towards the charging Balam…
BAM!
And Issei literally launched Balam's massive body to a distance with his fist, forcing Liban to duck to avoid the giant hurdling towards him. The Knight only looked back to see the Rook crashed into a couple of pillars before he finally dropped on the ground.
[Oooh! One attack from combatant Hyoudou Issei was able to send Gandoma Balam's giant body flying! Even Liban Crocell's Sacred Gear was not effective against the Heavenly Dragon!?]
Liban turned his attention back to Issei with disbelief look. "How can you still move like that?" While it was still possible for someone to be able to move under the effect of Gravity Jail, even if the Pawn had promoted to Queen, he at least should have experienced some difficulty in moving, let alone overwhelming Gandoma in terms of strength.
Issei did not say anything from beneath his Scale Mail as he simply walked towards Liban at steady pace, while gesturing his hand in taunting manner. Liban flinched slightly, it was a bit aggravating looking at Issei's taunt, but he could not lose his composure. After all, he could tell that Gandoma would not go down from that easily.
True, the said Rook had recovered to his feet and was returning to his comrade's side. "….Liban." It was perhaps his first words in the match. "…Using your Sacred Gear on an opponent on his calibre is only a waste of energy. I say we overwhelm him while we have advantage in numbers. What say you?"
Liban remained silent for a few seconds, as if taking in Gandoma's input. Then, he closed his eyes for a second, de-activating his Gravity Jail, and brandished his sword. "…You have a point."
Issei suddenly felt his body a lot lighter, perhaps the change in gravity did affect him. Nevertheless, the match went on, and Issei saw that his two opponents were circling him.
The first to attack was Gandoma Balam as he proceeded with a swing of his massive arm, which Issei easily dodged it. However, when Issei turned around, Liban Crocell had already been waiting at him with his sword ready, throwing several strikes.
Liban displayed an impressive speed and swordsmanship combination; however, Issei felt that Yuuto was harder to deal with. Then, when Issei parried a strike and was about to counter-attack towards Liban, Issei sensed that Gandoma was already on him again from the back.
[Such teamwork! Gandoma Balam and Liban Crocell were showcasing a formidable combination between power, speed and magic; placing The Red Dragon Emperor on ropes!]
On another note of Naud Gamigin's observation, Liban mainly served as distraction, a means to keep Issei occupied, while Gandoma was the main damage-dealer. To make matters worse, Liban then began to coat his blade with magic; reinforcing the blade to match against Issei's Scale Mail. While dragon's scale was almost impenetrable, it would be troublesome if Issei did not deal with the magic sword any time soon.
In any case, Issei's tactic against two opponents was the same as the time he was facing the monster created by Annihilation Maker at Kyoto – separate the two, and deal with them one at a time.
Issei just sent a kick towards Liban's abdomen, which the Knight barely managed to block with the flat of his blade. While Liban was able to avoid direct hit, the impact was enough to launch him away, leaving Issei to engage Gandoma.
While Gandoma was powerful for a Rook, his main fighting style relied heavily on his sheer strength and size, which Issei had learned the way to deal with. Focusing each strike to a point, Issei easily dodged each of Gandoma's attacks and delivered precise blows to Gandoma's vitals and joints. If the Rook was in pain, he did not show it. However, he could not hide the effects done of his body as his movement became more haggard from the damage he received from Issei's strikes.
[Gandoma Balam is under Hyoudou Issei's mercy! None of the Rook's attack has even touched the Pawn's armour!]
"HAARGH!" Gandoma finally roared as he slammed his fists down, forcing Issei to jump back to evade the attack and the aftershock.
Then, the teamwork between the Rook and the Knight was proven again when the latter suddenly jumped out from behind the former large built, catching Issei by surprise in the process as Liban brought his sword down.
Issei jumped back again, and noticed that the Knight and the Rook were standing in one straight line. Wasting no time, he charged his demonic power right before them.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
"Dragon Shot!"
A massive bullet of demonic power then shot forth towards Liban and Gandoma, however, when the magic bullet was getting closer, the Knight smirked as if he was waiting for that very moment.
Liban chanted a spell, and a mirror was suddenly conjured in front of him, shielding both him and Gandoma behind him. The mirror's surface was also laced with several markings and enchantment, and when Issei's Dragon Shot made contact made contact with the mirror, the attack was seemingly absorbed for a second, before it was fired back right towards Issei, resulting a massive explosion.
BOOM!
[An unexpected development! Liban Crocell suddenly returned The Red Dragon Emperor's attack! What do you think about this, Lord Azazel and Lord Belial?]
Naud Gamigin turned to the special guest.
[Interesting…. I can only assume that Liban was attempting to create something similar like Mirror Alice of Sona Sitri's Queen. However, the mirror did not possess the amplifier property that returns the attack twice stronger.]
[Sairaorg Bael's peerage had done their research on the past matches.]
Azazel and Diehauser Belial gave their respective comment.
However, when the dust cleared up, Issei was not seen anywhere. "What the-!?" Liban widened his eyes when nobody remained from the redirected attack. Something was off, while the shot earlier was powerful, it was nowhere enough to destroy someone, especially someone on Red Dragon Emperor's calibre to ashes.
"Too bad."
Liban and Gandoma froze as they recognised the voice from behind them, particularly from behind Gandoma. The Rook turned to catch Issei at the corner of his eyes, another orb of demonic power was ready to be fired from point blank range.
"…Shi-!"
"This is another more!"
Faster then they could have reacted, Issei immediately punched his fist and fired his dragon shot, launching Gandoma and Liban together through several pillars and further into the shrine's interior, as the massive demonic energy kept firing its course.
BOOM!
[A comeback! The Red Dragon Emperor was able to make a comeback and fired his attack to hit Gandoma Balam and Liban Crocell simultaneously! That's amazing!]
When the dust settled, everyone was met with the sight of Gandoma and Liban sprawled on the ground, among the debris. Liban was seemingly unmoving, while Gandoma was unable to move, albeit conscious enough to groan in pain from the burns and injuries adorning his body. Few seconds later, their bodies were enveloped in light before disappearing from the field, followed by the announcement by the arbiter – Rudiger Rosenkreutz.
[Sairaorg Bael's Knight and Rook retire. The second round goes to Rias Gremory's Pawn.]
The supporters of Rias Gremory's team then cheered. The group was also pleased at Issei's win, when Rias noticed that from the VIP seats, among the esteemed guests that were remained composed yet amused at the development, Hyoudou Haruka was being the most vocal of seeing her son's victory. She sweat-dropped when she saw Saitama had to deal with his wife's childish antics as Haruka shook him back and forth in excitement, while Sirzechs and the rest of her family only smiled sheepishly at the couple next to them.
The match went on; the third round, the die rolled five, where Rias sent out her Rook, Rossweisse to battle, while Sairaorg Bael sent out his Bishop, Coriana Andrealphus – she was a young woman with long, wavy blonde hair that wore a business suit that was similar to Rossweisse's suit in general.
One might have said that it was a mismatch between a Rook and a Bishop – one was specialized in brute strength and defence while the other one was more versed in mystic arts. However, note that Rossweisse had been an expert magician before she was a devil; her Rook enhancement allowed her to withstand all of Coriana's magic, while Rossweisse's variety of Norse and devil mystical arts were able to overwhelm the Bishop.
Overall, it was an overwhelming victory for the former Valkyrie.
Moving on to the fourth round, the dice rolled was eight. Both teams sent out their respective combatants to match the value – Toujou Koneko and Gasper Vladi of Rias Gremory's peerage vs Ladora Bune and Misteeta Sabnock of Sairaorg Bael's peerage.
On that note, while Gasper had been enlisted as a combatant, it was quite surprising when the shy dhampir volunteered himself for the match, something about reserving the main powerhouse like Xenovia for later, as well as showing his fruits of training; Koneko also volunteered to go with Gasper.
They were transported to what it seemed to be wasteland with rocky landscape. When they got a sight of their opponents, they noticed that Ladora Bune – the Rook, was a tall man with lanky build, and Misteeta Sabnock – the Bishop, was a young man with somewhat 'beautiful' face.
The fight began; the plan was to have Koneko to engage Misteeta with her superior close-combat skill while Gasper would keep Ladora in place with his Sacred Gear.
So far, so good; with Koneko utilizing his touki and Senjutsu, she was able to put Misteeta on ropes, the Bishop was doing his best to dodge and parry Koneko's attacks.
On Gasper's side, it appeared that Ladora was stronger than he appeared to be, as Gasper struggled to keep the Forbidden Balor View's effect on.
However, the tables suddenly turned when Misteeta released a weird aura – it was not devilry, Misteeta then focused his attention on both Koneko and Gasper.
"Vanish!"
As soon as the word was spoken, Koneko suddenly lost the feeling of her ki, and Ladora suddenly was freed from Gasper's power. While Koneko and Gasper were disoriented on their sudden loss of power, Ladora immediately used his own trump card as well.
Everyone safe from those from Sairaorg group was shocked when they saw Ladora's body slowly morphed and transformed into a black dragon.
[That Sairaorg…. So he managed to awaken the Bune clan's true power?]
Azazel could not help but be astonished at the development. The Bune clan had been well-known for their abilities to tame dragons. There were even rare cases where some clansmen were able to transform into a dragon itself; and Ladora was actually one of those rare cases.
"Gasper, Koneko! What is going on!?" Rias asked through their ear-piece.
"I-I don't know! I suddenly can't use my Sacred Gear!" Gasper panicked as he quickly turned into a flock of bats to aid Koneko. It seemed his vampire ability was untouched.
"I can't use my Senjutsu as well…" Koneko replied as she stared at her hands.
[Oh! What's this? Combatant Koneko and Gasper are suddenly forced into defensive! Lord Azazel, what do you think is happening?]
Azazel was watching with interest.
[Hmm… I only know from records, but Misteeta Sabnock possesses a Sacred Gear that allows him to seal one's ability. Fascinating.]
Trick Vanish – Coffin of Unusual Talent, was a Sacred Gear of Misteeta Sabnock that granted him an ability to temporarily seal his opponent's ability at the expense of his own reserve and stamina. He just used the Trick Vanish to seal Koneko's Senjutsu, as well as Gasper's Forbidden Balor View.
ROAAARGH!
Koneko and Gasper were snapped out of their thoughts when they saw the black dragon was upon them. The dragon inhaled and both Rook and Bishop could guess what the dragon would do from the gesture.
"RUN!" both Koneko and Gasper barely managed to jump out of the way when Ladora's dragon form released a torrent of fire breath. The dragon did not stop, as he made sure that his flames were spread in front of him.
However, when he stopped, Ladora found the burning landscape without any sign of the enemy remains. There was neither any announcement about the end of the match. The enemies were still active.
Maintaining his dragon form, Ladora looked around and sniffed to the air, before he turned to address his comrades. The said comrade was sitting on the ground, his breathing was laboured as Misteeta was extremely exhausted; the Bishop was barely able to last without being forfeited.
As if knowing Ladora's concern, Misteeta waved his hand. "I'm fine… Just need to have a minute." He said as he calmed his breathing. "Just focus on finding the enemy."
Ladora nodded, and with another roar, the black dragon returned in searching his preys by flopping structures and using his fire breath to smoke out Koneko and Gasper from among the rocks. The problem was, the Rook and Bishop's small built allowed them to use the rocks as a perfect hiding ground.
Meanwhile, Koneko and Gasper were hiding within the shadow of one particularly huge structure, silently and wearily watching the black dragon looking for them. With the dragon's sense of smell, it was a matter of time until the dragon found them.
"W-what should we do?" Gasper stuttered as he was doing his best to not shaking in fear.
"Gasper, can you do something about the seal placed on you two?" Rias asked from their communication link.
Gasper made a quick check on himself, and a minute later, he replied. "I… I can pull something off." He then picked out a vial of Issei's blood from his pocket. "I can just drink Ise-senpai's blood to boost my power and forcefully remove the seal."
Vampires drank fresh blood to sustain themselves. The blood did not only serve as a form of sustenance, but also feeding them power.
"But on the other hand…" Gasper then turned to Koneko. "I can use the blood as catalyst to perform a small ritual to remove the seal on Koneko-chan… The amount of blood is only enough for one person… What should I do?"
The two were faced with a dilemma; basically, only one person could be free from the seal earlier while the other one had to wait until the effect wore off by itself. And during that time, they had a black dragon hot on their rears.
"Gya-kun, use the blood on yourself." Koneko finally came to a decision. "I'll manage by my own somehow."
"W-what are you saying!?" Gasper shot back. "I can't just leave you untreated!"
"I also have an idea about this seal." Koneko replied. "Please, just trust me."
The Rook and Bishop stared at each other for few seconds, before the latter finally gave in. "I… I'll buy you some time." Gasper then opened the vial and drank the content.
Then, Gasper's eyes shone, the seal of Trick Vanish was removed by the sheer power boost. At the same time, Misteeta noticed that something had happened with the connection between him and the seal he placed upon the enemy. "Ladora!" he called out to the Rook. "One of my seals had been forcefully removed! Be careful!"
The dragon glanced at the Bishop, and he started to look around, preparing for any form of surprise attack. Suddenly, a flock of bats flew out from one of the rocks. The bats flew around to disorient the dragon and the bat's eyes glowed, staring at Ladora's dragon form.
Then, Ladora suddenly froze, as Gasper's Forbidden Balor View worked its power. The dhampir actually aimed to freeze Misteeta as well, but considering Ladora's raw power in his dragon form, keeping him frozen had taken quite a lot of his hands. It was only the fact that Misteeta was still exhausted that Gasper could focus on the Rook.
Meanwhile, Koneko – still remained in her hiding spot, was meditating in lotus position. She got an idea after recalling the use and application of Senjutsu again; what if she focused herself to tap into her life force? Would she be able to forcefully remove the curse on her by the said life force? Whatever the outcome, it was worth a shot.
The feeling when she was struck by Trick Vanish ability was as if she returned to square one again. However, that only meant that she just needed to 're-learn' how to feel the energy again, and how to do that? – Through meditation.
She could feel the curse was blocking her access to her chakra, her life force, preventing her to utilize her Senjutsu, so she had to concentrate even more if she wanted to break it through. She only hoped that Gasper could last long enough until she could regain her powers back.
Back to the battlefield, Misteeta gritted his teeth in agitation. He had not recovered enough, and using Trick Vanish to seal Gasper's Sacred Gear again would risk him to retire early from extreme exhaustion. He could not afford that to happen, after all, there was still the enemy Rook into account. However, he could tell from looks alone that the dhampir had already had his plate full on keeping Ladora in place. The black dragon showed occasional twitch on his body, almost broke free from Gasper's eyes, but the dhampir stood his ground as he focused his Sacred Gear on the dragon.
If what Ladora needed was an opening to break free, then Misteeta did not have to rely on his Sacred Gear. Conjuring several spells with his remaining reserve, Misteeta then released a torrent of flames and light magic towards Gasper's bat form.
"Eeek!" Gasper shrieked as soon as he saw the attack, and instinctively manoeuvred to evade, the magic ended up grazing him. However, it was enough to make Gasper losing his focus and soon enough, Ladora was free from Gasper's Sacred Gear.
Gasper could not react in time when Ladora immediately released his fire breath upon him. With his bat form flying around to avoid the torrent of flames, Gasper returned to his original form with wounds and burns littering his body, even his clothes were charred here and there.
From the spectator side, the Gremory group could only watch helplessly as Gasper struggled alone against the enemy pair. It could be said that everyone wanted nothing more than jumped into the field and rescued Gasper there and then.
Rias, getting the front seat of her Bishop's fight, closed her eyes as she turned away from the battlefield, unable to bear looking at Gasper's state.
"…Don't look away."
Rias blinked, and she looked up to see Issei was looking ahead, his expression un-wavering. However, she noticed that his fists were tightening so hard that his bones were creaking, as well as his veins were showing around his trembling knuckles.
"Right now, Gasper is fighting as a proud member of your peerage. The shy little boy we knew before is now standing up as a man. He may be losing, but please watch until the end!"
Everyone was touched by Issei's speech. When they looked at the battlefield again, they could see Gasper's expression was not an expression of someone cowering before the enemy; Gasper's eyes remained locked on his enemy, on his surrounding, refusing to give up; the Bishop kept struggling to see any opening he could exploit to obtain victory.
"…Aargh!"
However, a scream caused Ladora and Gasper to turn their heads, only to see Koneko had ambushed Misteeta. With her Senjutsu returning for her to use, Koneko's body was covered in touki, granting her additional strength and speed to overwhelm the Bishop.
Koneko was focusing on taking down Misteeta as soon as she could. The Bishop had proven his ability to be the real trouble for her and Gasper. As long as the supporter was taken care of, both her and Gasper could team up to take down the black dragon down.
Misteeta, exhausted from using his Sacred Gear, as well as using his remaining reserve to distract Gasper and support Ladora, knew very well that he would inevitably lost. If he could not survive, at the very least…
Focusing his power for one more time, he made sure that his attention and power was directed solely on Koneko, as well as Gasper. "LADORA!"
That yell alone was enough to convey Misteeta's message towards his comrade as his eyes glowed with power. "…VANISH!"
With that one yell, Misteeta activated his Trick Vanish on Koneko and Gasper, effectively robbing them of their powers once again. Then, with every ounce of his strength depleted, Misteeta collapsed on the ground as his body was slowly disappeared in a flash of light; the Rating Game system had deemed the Bishop unable to continue fighting.
[Sairaorg Bael's Bishop retires.]
Ladora did not waste Misteeta's sacrifice as he immediately turned towards the most vulnerable of the enemy pair. Gasper was still injured, and when he saw the black dragon making its way towards him, his first instinct was to use his Sacred Gear – Forbidden Balor View to freeze the dragon in place. However, the momentary fear caused Gasper to forget what Misteeta had placed on him.
Ladora did not take any chance as he inhaled another fire breath at the dhampir, aiming to finish the job. Gasper could not dodge in time, even with his vampire power; Koneko was a bit too far away and would not make it in time for the rescue.
When a large stream of flame came over him, Gasper did not falter as he met the attack head-on; for he was a man of Rias Gremory's peerage.
"GYA-KUN!"
Along with Koneko's scream, the Gremory group suffered their first casualty.
[Rias Gremory's Bishop retires.]
"HYAH!"
With all the strength from her Rook trait alone, Koneko lunged and drove her fist as hard as she could at Ladora's dragon-maw. The impact was enough for the black dragon to stagger on his feet.
It was actually an unwise move from Koneko, considering that her Senjutsu was still sealed. Perhaps because it was a momentary rage at the sight of her fallen comrade? At least Koneko was able to land a hit to honour Gasper's tribute.
With the match became a one-on-one between two Rooks, the victor would be decided depending on how the combatant made the best out of the situation. Ladora still used his superior size and strength with his dragon form, as he began to lash out at Koneko with flurry of slash and swings of his claws and fangs, followed with some small fire breath to keep Koneko on ropes.
Now calm and collected again, Koneko began to employ her guerrilla tactics, since her trade-mark ability had yet to return. While avoiding another fire breath, she retreated towards the rocks, using her small build to hide under the shadows, biding time until she could utilise her Senjutsu again.
It became another game of hide and seek with Ladora Bune literally attempting to smoke Koneko out by burning and flipping the landscape around, while sniffing in the air to find Koneko's scent among the smokes and other burnt scents.
It was probably the luck factor playing out, but the hide and seek game did not last long as Ladora found Koneko hiding under one of the rocks. To be precise, Koneko was found meditating, attempting to remove the curse place on her by tapping into her life force – which was interrupted when Ladora ambushed her.
[Oh! Combatant Ladora is hot on combatant Koneko's tail! The Nekoshou still has her power sealed by combatant's Misteeta's Sacred Gear, and Ladora doesn't seem to allow her any chance to recover!]
Per what Naud Gamigin surmised, the black dragon had made sure to keep the cat within his sight. The game hide and seek had become the game of cat and mouse – for the lack of better term.
While dodging and evading Ladora's fire breath, Koneko did not stop as she kept trying to tap into her life force, despite the difficulty to do so without meditation and the curse Trick Vanish placed on her person. Even as a Rook, the past training she had went through with her comrades had allowed her movement faster than Rooks in general, allowing her to weather Ladora's attacks for some time.
"Come on… Come on….!" Koneko gritted her teeth as she mustered her power to forcefully manifest, while she endured the sheer heat of Ladora's flame, as well as the brunt of his attacks. Ladora's hits might be powerful due to his dragon form, but just like average Rooks, it was slow enough that Koneko was able to avoid them with relative ease. However, the shock wave produced from each swing was still enough to throw her out of loop from time to time.
The fire breath, on the other hand, was a bit tricky. Previously, Ladora was unleashing his fire breath for wide area attack, allowing Koneko to exploit the torrent of flames as a wall to cover her escape into the rocks. Now, Ladora had reduced the output of his flame, while remained strong enough to damage her significantly, yet not too big that Koneko could not escape from Ladora's sight.
It proven to be quite a herculean task for both Koneko's mind and body – she had to constantly avoid and weather the black dragon's assaults while tapping into her life force. If she could not remove the curse on her, it would be a matter of time until Ladora managed to deal a fatal hit.
Few minutes later, after constant concentration, methodical breathing, and flexing her muscles – anything that allowed her to force her ki to manifest; Koneko blinked when she felt a jolt from inside her. She looked down to see changes on the markings on her person.
Ladora widened his reptilian eyes when he saw the curse marks on Koneko's person began to fade, and the latter suddenly enveloped in white aura.
[And the combatant Koneko seems to have been freed from the effect of Misteeta's Sacred Gear! Both Rooks are now fighting head to head!]
With touki coating over her body, Koneko had slightly easier time to weather Ladora's fire breath. Pushing through the flames, Koneko jumped out to surprise the enemy Rook as she sent her ki-coated fist reeling towards Ladora's temple. The sudden boost of strength from Koneko's touki was able to finally force the dragon to collapse the ground.
However, even with additional strength, speed and defence, the fact did not change that Koneko was already exhausted from weathering Ladora's assaults from earlier. As Ladora slowly got back on his feet, the Rook engaged each other again.
It was a seemingly mismatch fight between a dragon and a cat, with the former using his superior size, strength and defence to overwhelm the latter.
On the other hand, Koneko's Senjutsu allowed her to disrupt the flow of life energy inside Ladora's dragon body, although the latter's sheer size would need Koneko a while until her Senjutsu took effect.
Until then, it was a battle of attrition, whether the cat would fall before the dragon's might, or the cat could inflict fatal-enough internal damage on the dragon.
When Koneko landed several hits on Ladora's abdomen and chest, the latter suddenly found that it was more difficult for him to unleash his fire breath.
There were many theories about how dragons breath fire. Some people suggested that dragons possessed two sets of lungs. One set was for breathing, the other was to help them flying, as well as breathing fire. Other theories stated that dragons possessed something like 'magical core' – the source of their destructive breath, inside their stomach.
Whatever the truth was, Koneko's ki-fused attacks finally took effect on Ladora's flow of power. His movement had become more sluggish, it became harder to gather magic to breath fire; and to begin with, Ladora was not an actual dragon; thus even with his dragon form, his strength was far cry from the real deal.
However, dragon's physiology and strength still allowed him to deal significant damages on Koneko's petite stature.
All in all, in the end, every fight must come to an end.
[Both Rooks of Rias Gremory and Sairaorg Bael, retire.]
It was a bit surprising, despite Ladora was able to eventually overwhelmed Koneko, the latter's Senjutsu also managed to wreck Ladora's body and system from inside out. One was retired from burns and heavy cuts from a dragon's rampage while the other suffered a severe internal damage of his own life force from Senjutsu attacks; even if Ladora were to be treated by Phoenix Tears, the internal damage would need longer time to heal.
Thus, the fourth round ended with a tie.
The match went on – the fifth round, where Rias and Sairaorg rolled nine; thus they decided to send out their Queens for the round. Himejima Akeno of Gremory group vs Kuisha Abaddon of Bael group.
A match between two Queens – both of them were exceptional in their own right. One came from House of Abaddon, an Extra Demon clan with a unique ability to create 'holes' from thin air and manipulate them. The other possessed blood of fallen angel, giving her the power with holy attribute, the bane for devil kind.
When the fight began, both Queens flew to the air and tested each other out with battle of magic – both combatants unleashed various elemental-magic and countered each other heatedly.
Then, when Akeno decided to use her trademark holy lightning, Kuisha also activated her own trump card.
House of Abaddon, where Kuisha was originated, possessed an ability to create a black hole that served as a portal to an enormous pocket dimension. Members of Abaddon household could use the holes they created to redirect whatever comes their way by absorbing them into the hole, and take it out somewhere else. The said 'whatever' could be physical object, and even lightning. It was also possible for the user to manipulate the attribute and elements of the absorbed object within the hole.
The hole created by Kuisha absorbed Akeno's holy lightning, and Kuisha quickly disassembled Akeno's holy lightning inside the hole. When Akeno increased her output of holy lightning in attempts of overpowering Kuisha, Akeno just basically dug her grave even deeper, as Kuisha proceeded to summon more holes in various sizes to absorb Akeno's holy lightning.
In the end, Kuisha was able to achieve victory after she returned Akeno's holy attack.
The next round, the dice roll was twelve, the highest value. The crowd went wild when Sairaorg decided to participate for the match himself. From Gremory group, while Issei voiced his eagerness to come out and end the battle there and then, Rias firmly rebuked him as she wanted to take a careful approach.
Thus, Yuuto, Rossweisse, as well as the very eager Xenovia – who finally was able to join the fray, to test the waters (much to Issei's reluctance) as well as to wear Sairaorg down as much as possible for later rounds.
It might be sounded cruel to send out troops towards a losing battle, but everyone had determined to do what was necessary to achieve victory.
When the fight began, however, it was fierce, yet almost one-sided at the same time.
It was fierce – Yuuto, Xenovia and Rossweisse threw everything they had at the lone enemy King; combinations of Yuuto and Xenovia's holy and demonic blades, Rossweisse entire arsenals of magic, coordinated attacks between feints, techniques, traps, and even brute force to gang up on him, but Sairaorg flawlessly weathered and evaded the assaults coming at him.
The fight did not last long. In less than five minutes, Sairaorg had made all three of Rias' combatants retired from the game through sheer power and ability of his body.
Note that not only Sairaorg did not use his demonic power, Sairaorg was barely scratched from the combination assaults of exceptional Knights and a Rook.
[U-Unbelievable! Sairaorg defeated all three – combatant Yuuto, Xenovia and Rossweisse within minutes, as if they are children! Is this the power of the so-called Strongest Young Devil?!]
Naud Gamigin's comment elicited another roar of cheers from the crowd, especially those who were rooting for Bael team.
Even Azazel and Diehauser Belial were impressed at the performance. The latter did hear that Sairaorg had received guidance from a particularly strong individual, but he never thought the young devil could have reached that kind level of strength.
"So you have gone this strong, all for the sake of your dream?" Azazel grinned in excitement. "…Or is it for the sake of reaching on that person's level as well?"
Gremory group on the other hand, were going through mixed feelings of awe, worry, and mostly, aggravation; at the sight of their friends fell one by one by Sairaorg's hands.
Rias closed her eyes, giving a silent prayer and tribute for her fallen servants. She had acknowledged their efforts, that they had fought magnificently, she could never be more proud of them. But the showcase of Sairaorg's overwhelming strength – it somehow felt more powerful than the last time he sparred with Issei, and it put her on edge.
Asia was feeling nothing but worry. Her role was the medic for her injured friends, but now that all her friends had fallen and transported to intensive care unit, what else could have she done? She felt so useless.
Issei on the other hand, was surprisingly calm. However, when both Rias and Asia took another look, they could not help but shudder at the atmosphere surrounding the Pawn.
It was rage.
However, they noted a difference. So far, the rage they had witnessed from Issei was akin to wild fire that burned and destroyed the surroundings. This time, his rage felt like a bottomless sea that could swallow everything.
Then, the crowd was caught in surprise of what Sairaorg did next.
"ESTEEMED MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE!" he roared to the air, making sure that his voice could be heard loud and clear. "Is there any point of continuing the game like this?"
Everyone only began to murmur among themselves; while a part of the crowds wished to see the climax of the battle, there was still a rule to uphold. Just what was Sairaorg Bael wanted?
The next words that came from Sairaorg's mouth would surely cause another unexpected development.
"Let us save time; I wish for a team battle, between Rias Gremory and the rest of her peerage against me with the rest of my own peerage!"
To be Continued…
Whew! This chapter was harder than I originally thought. What do you think overall? I hope I didn't mess up with the fights and stuff. I kind of feel that this story felt kind of rushed, because I've hit several walls when I wrote this chap.
I'm truly sorry for Xenovia fans out there; I wasn't able to give her any spotlight during the game. Because seriously, writing something from canon – which everyone had already known of, was a pain in the ass. But since I can't just disregard them, I decide to just summarise them; not too lengthy, but enough to explain the key events.
For those guests who wondered, asked and wished regarding Hyoudou Haruka, well….. Let's say that I'm leaving her details to your imagination. ;3 But you know what, I'll give you this one hint: Bouchuujutsu! XD
On another note, I need you guys to expect for slower updates, since I'm facing my final exam of the semester. I need to put this project aside for the time being, perhaps for one or two weeks; could be longer, could be shorter. Let's just hope for the best, yeah?
Next update, Hyoudou Issei vs Sairaorg Bael! Ahsoei, over and out.
