Life 15: Still My Heart Is Blazing
As was expected as our squad of four arrived at the market district, it was quiet enough only the echoing sounds of the fight between Aoi, Akeno, and Riser's Queen were heard. But, like before Koneko and I had sent out familiars to scout ahead, and as Rias had suspected the rest of Riser's pieces were already here too.
"Well, might as well get to the point. We already know you're here, so quit slinking around and come on out! It'll be a lot easier for all of us if you just come out now so we can kick your asses!" I called out as we scanned around, and the first reply we got was laughter, followed by a girl in armor and a sword at her side appearing from behind one of the shops.
"I'm Karlamine, one of the Knights in service to Lord Riser. And to be completely honesty, asking us to come out and fight makes me question your sanity, but far be it from me to refuse an idiot his reckoning! Lord Riser's wishes or no, me and some others have been itching to strike you down for daring to attack our master!"
"Spicy, I like you." I chuckled as Karlamine drew her sword, phoenix fire immediately bursting across it's edge. "But I don't think it'll be me you'll be facing."
"That would be me." Yuuto said, stepping forward and drawing his blade. "I am Kiba Yuuto, a Knight in the service of Lady Rias. I hope you're ready, because I've been looking forward to battling another Knight!"
"Well said! Then en garde, Knight of Rias Gremory!"
And not shockingly at all, the two Knights got to fighting at full speed immediately, becoming a flurry of clashing blades and fire within seconds as they shot around the streets.
"Yeah let's not get between that." Tsuno muttered, spinning his axe across a hand, Koneko nodding, the two then turning around as two more presences made themselves known, a woman with a half-mask on, and the girl who if memory serves, is also Riser's sister.
"Best so, because you three will be preoccupied." The masked woman spoke, and the sister let out a sigh.
"That Karlamine, her head is filled with nothing but swords, swords, swords, it's just ridiculous! She was way too bothered by those other pieces we sacrificed too."
"So, you're telling me she's not a total bitch? Well, points to Riser I guess, at least he's got taste." My dry remark got the girl to give me a flat look, plus the arrival of the rest of the Peerage around us to.
"Oh don't be so smarmy you half-blooded fool. But now look at things… just when I think I've found a couple of cute boys, one is also a sword freak, and the other is an arrogant fool who actually thinks he has a chance at defeating my brother!"
"You're giving me mixed signals Chickadee, sure you ain't a brocon?" And to my amusement, the girl only looked offended but also a bit red in the face at that insinuation.
"As if! What I mean is that you're simply nowhere near him in terms of power! Don't go thinking something weird!"
"So he doesn't slap all of you in fetish outfits because he has a weird theme going on?" Tsuno tilted his head as he brought that up, and the other Peerage members shuffled around a bit awkwardly as they grumbled various excuses. "I mean not like I care, this is a feast for me eyes!"
"Focus on fighting perv." Koneko tapped Tsuno with her elbow, only prompting a laugh from the Oni.
"Speaking of fighting, Tsuno, we should make it quick, so, how about releasing a bit more of your power eh?" As I said so, I drew my sword up as the Boosted Gear glowed again, and Tsuno chuckled as he slammed his axe into the ground and cracked his knuckles.
"Alright then. After all, it's eight against three, so might as well even the odds a bit!" And with a burst of aura in the air, the feeling from Tsuno's aura changed as he was surrounded by the darkly colored energy expelled by his released power. It wasn't much, but it was enough that one could visibly see his body change shape, and when it faded down, gone was the shota from before, and now Tsuno looked like he actually was the same age as me, pulling his hair back into a mess as he chuckled.
And amusingly enough, the fact Tsuno's actual look when not in low-power mode swapped him from shota to pretty boy like me and Yuuto came with, surprisingly, mixed reactions. A couple of the Pieces looked surprised by the look, and others a bit disappointed… so Riser has shotacons in his group eh?
"Well, at least Lady Rias has good taste in men. But do keep those weapons away from me, I have no intention of actually fighting any of you." The sister said, waving a hand about. "Oh Isabella, would you please? In fact, let's just get this over with, all of you go at them at once!"
"Talk about making this easy on us." Koneko got nods from me and Tsuno as she slammed her fists together. "But figures the sister wouldn't wanna fight. Must not want to ruffle her feathers."
"I can hear you ya' know!? And my name is Ravel, quit not using my name, you all know it!"
"To be honest I totally forgot." I said.
"And I don't know you, so peh!" Tsuno pulled down an eyelid and stuck out his tongue, Ravel going red faced, probably equally from embarrassment and aggravation.
"Okay that's it, no mercy then! All of you, kindly wipe these jerks off the battlefield!"
"Have it your way! Might as well get out Pieces outta the way. I'm a Knight, and these two are Rooks!"
"I call the masked chick with the tits!"
"Of course you do." Koneko had the same response I did in my head as Tsuno shamelessly cackled while ripping his axe free of the ground.
We got rushed by the group of five. The one dressed like a miko hung back and started shooting at us with magic, marking her as a Bishop, while two others who went at Koneko didn't give much of a sense of their power, so were probably Pawns. As for the masked woman, who from how she'd approached earlier must've been Isabella, the power her blows had as Tsuno chose to match them while swinging at her with his axe said she was the remaining Rook. And the other Knight went for me, though the error there was the fact she was swinging at me with a sword bigger than she was.
Compared to Yuuto's relatively even fight, that just felt insulting by comparison. As for him, I chose to tune into that for a bit while dodging the cavalcade of sword and spells being sent my way in the middle of the melee, cause from the looks of it his opponent was thinking she had the upper hand as a strike from her broke his sword in two.
"Well, makes sense Holy Eraser wouldn't work." Yuuto jumped back all he was left with was the hilt, and to assist I fired a shot at Karlamine to make her back off too. "But that was expected, so how about this, Freeze!"
The blade in Yuuto's hand changed in time with his call, the hilt changing to a new form and becoming one made of clear ice.
"What?! How do you have two Sacred Gears?!" Karlamine struck at Kiba again, but when her blade collided with his, the flames froze over and shattered, though she quickly tossed it away and drew out a shorter blade. "Whatever, even if you can change your element, I still control flames, wind, and life, as all members of the Phenex Clan do!"
"Yeah well, see, I don't actually have multiple Sacred Gears. Mine just let's me make a lot of swords!" In response to the change in weapon as the flames came at him anew, Yuuto's sword changed shape, into a blade with an odd piece atop it, that then formed a dark ball that sucked Karlamine's flames into it, which he struck back with quickly. "Magic swords, to be precise! My Gear's name is Sword Birth, ever heard of it?"
And when she dodged the slash, Yuuto stuck his hand to the ground, a magic circle appearing where his foe landed, and she sprung away quickly enough to avoid getting skewered by the bushel of blades that sprouted from it.
That's pretty handy… actually, that just gave me an idea for something.
"Hey, Tsuno, Koneko, I got an idea for how we can take them out all at once!" I said, still dodging spells. I didn't want to waste my own energy in the event Riser showed up in the middle of this, so while I wasn't being passive I was being sure not to too do much but dodge and parry the other Knight's sword.
"How so?" Koneko said, her fist and foot slamming into her foes and sending them reeling back.
"Just tell us the plan Boss!" Tsuno swung back at Isabella after dodging a flurry of punches and kicks from her, the Rook moving away quickly as the lightning from the axe struck out at her.
"Simple, get them close together! Yuuto, I've got an idea, and I'm gonna need your help for it!"
"Gotcha!"
"First… let's take care of this annoying one who won't get off my ass!" As the Knight came at me again, her sword crashed down onto my left hand, the metal scraping hard against the scale plating of the gauntlet, to her clear surprise. "Hehe, sorry hot stuff! But, we gotta make this quick, so…"
[BOOST!]
"Get on outta here!"
My hand clamped down and shattered the sword into nothing but shards, while I also flipped my sword around into a reverse hold. Red energy shot from the emerald blade as I swung it forward, the arc that followed blasting out in a wave of energy that engulfed the Knight and tore through the buildings past her, exploding once it finally stopped, leaving nothing but the gouge as Grayfia called out the Knight's defeat.
"And that's one more. Now c'mon Ddraig, I need more than just this, so get your ass in gear like me!"
[Dragon Booster, Second Liberation!]
The sudden call as the gauntlet on my arm glowed with gold runic lines came as a surprise, the burst of emerald light that followed interrupting the ongoing fights as the form of the item also changed. It expanded out a bit, new golden marks appearing as it's shape became more defined while two jagged formations appeared at the side, along with the fingers becoming more defined claws as a whole.
"Hehehe, surprising me like that in the middle of a fight eh? Thanks for that one partner! Guess this part of my Gear had to catch up sooner or later!"
"What the, how is that fair?! You're getting stronger in the middle of a fight!?" Ravel said, and I cackled as I turned to her.
"Oh? And who was the Chickadee being all smug about how I didn't have a chance in hell not a few minutes ago huh? What, feathers shaken now that you've seen us fight? And don't go saying things are unfair when you've got that damn Cheat Item your family can produce!" Ravel flinched like she hadn't thought we knew about the Phenex Tears as I chuckled. "Lemme guess, Riser sent the Queen out cause he figured no matter how powerful a foe she faced, she could just pop those Tears and win easy right? See, here's one thing, that Queen's got a bit of a problem… a certain thorny sorceress I oh so adore isn't keen on letting people pull cheap tricks on her. Just ask her sister, she's got plenty of stories about that!"
"What are you even getting on about?" Ravel countered, and I just shrugged.
"You'll get to see as much after you're in the recovery room. Now, in the meantime, I can pull my plan off. Everybody, knock 'em together and then form up on me! Now… grab the Gauntlet and then hit them with everything you've got!"
The others only nodded at me as they were quick to respond to it, knocking their opponents all together quickly as I retreated back. They all grouped up on me and placed a free hand on my gauntlet as I moved it back, and then a glow came from it as Ddraig's emblem shone from the gem.
[TRANSFER!]
And as I'd expected, a new call also came with it. There was another function of the Boosted Gear, because it doesn't just stockpile power for me to use. That whole Second Liberation thing was the activation call for unlocking it's other power, Gift, the ability to move that built up stockpile to something else. And with that boost, Tsuno, Koneko, and Yuuto no doubt felt the rush of power that suddenly flowed into them. And in response to it, all of them loosed their best attacks with the renewed strength they had, Koneko loosing endless gouts of blue flame, Tsuno a towering wave of lightning, and Yuuto a storm of swords. And not to be left out on it, I charged power into my drawn gun, the large blast that fired from it being tinged in both red and blue as it ripped forward.
All attacks that couldn't be easily dodged with the power behind them, and the cries of disbelief from our foes as they faded in defeat was like music to the ears.
I am definitely a bit of an S if I'm thinking that…
"Two of Lord Riser's Pawns, two of his Bishops, and two of his Knights, retired."
"Hells yeah!" Tsuno cheered out, he and Yuuto slapping a high five while Koneko let out a breath and tapped a fist to mine as I held it out.
"And right about now, let's hope those two are about done as well." I looked off to where the still visible clashing was still happening, the explosions of thunder and blue magic telling enough even from here.
"What the… so many at once?! Why are you all suddenly so powerful?!" And Riser's Queen was of course shocked by the declaration of the rest of their forces being knocked out so rapidly, Akeno and Aoi chuckling as they stopped for a moment. All participants of the fight were showing damage from the intensity of it.
"Well we did spend ten days training day in and out. Some of us even pushing further. He may be a half-blood, but don't go underestimating our cute provisional now. By this point I'm pretty sure he outclasses both me and Rias in terms of raw power." Akeno said, chuckling as the Queen's eyes widened, and Aoi chuckled as she swung a leg from where she was sitting on a street light.
"Gotta admit Bomb Queen, this has been fun, but how about we wrap this up here?" Aoi said, and the Queen's demeanor changed from shocked to smug again.
"Oh yes, let's. I'm sure by now you two must be low on magic." And she then reached into her robes, pulling out a small vial. And the moment she did, it was blasted out of her fingers by a precise shot from Aoi, who clicked her tongue as the woman gasped. "What… you knew about the Phenex Tears?!"
"Of course we did." Aoi said, tugging an eyelid down with her middle finger. "We're not idiots you know? We actually did research on you guys before all of this!"
"And since this Rating Game isn't really that official, we planned ahead knowing you'd probably save some Phenex Tears for your big hitters." Akeno added, lightning already sparking from her hands. "Not like they're banned in a match solely between two families after all! I would say I'm sorry, but I'm going to quite enjoy finishing you off! Aoi-san, do you wish to join me?"
"With pleasure!"
Akeno then swung her hand down, bolts of lightning crashing onto the Queen like a storm had kicked up. And when the shocking display ended, Aoi leapt from her perch with mana surrounding her limbs, rapidly beating on the Queen before swinging in the air and slamming an axe kick down on her, sending the woman crashing right into the ground. And not to be cocky about it, Aoi and Akeno followed up by sending charged blasts down at the same time after, another explosion bursting around and leaving a crater in the square that the two landed at.
"My oh my, talk about furious! Quite arousing I'd say." Akeno chuckled as she licked her lips, Aoi just shaking her head.
"Haha… you may have beaten me, but…" The Queen muttered, Akeno and Aoi raising their hands at her. "Don't think… defeating Lord Riser will be so easy. You fools… haven't won yet."
And with that remark, the Queen faded away. Grayfia's call should have felt victorious, but, it more felt like an omen. And it was proven as to why all too quickly. Because the air was rocked by a loud screaming noise, the space then being rocked by a mass series of explosions, the market area getting torn to shreds as blast after blast of flaming pillars ripped through it until it was no doubt left as a blasted crater once it finally ended.
"Oh no…" Akeno murmured, Aoi's eyes going wide.
"Two of Lady Rias's Rooks, and one of Lady Rias's Knights, retired."
"That was almost all of them! Damn… at the least, I can guess who survived that." Aoi muttered, clenching her hands tightly. "Let's go, Gremory is heading that way too, and if the fried chicken is out here now, doing something like that means he's pissed!"
"Agreed, let's move!"
And the two leapt off with that, in as much of a hurry as Rias and Asia were elsewhere on the battlefield, because they of course had seen the same series of explosions, and were now rushing there themselves to see the results…
"Ah… dammit, that fucking hurts."
I was definitely the lucky one when that surprising as hell bombardment happened. I'm the one with the dragon attached to me, and one strong in fire at that. So sure it hurt like hell but for me, something like that, which had left the market area a smoldering wreck with little more than scorced rubble remaining where it once stood, was survivable… but I can't say the same about Koneko, Yuuto, and Tsuno. I saw all three of them, out cold and scorched to hell, fading away in shimmers of blue as I slowly stood back up.
"Well well! Riser is actually quite glad to see you were able to survive that! I will commend you for that at least, half-blood whelp."
And of course. Riser came down in front of me, his fiery wings out on display as he mugged at me, looking convinced he'd already won this just from that alone.
"Don't go talking like I'm all you have to deal with. You're on your own, and three of our stronger fighters are still here to fight." I said, Riser shaking his head dismissively.
"Oh, but Riser thinks that is the case. Your Queen and that temporary Bishop are no doubt spent from fighting Yubelunna. And while my dear Rias is powerful, her King status means us fighting is all too in my favor, as Riser will long outlast her. Not even her Power of Destruction will stop me, and that Bishop with the Twilight Healing will tire long before her healing can keep either of you going. So, yes, whelp, I would say you're all Riser needs to properly deal with. After all, Riser does need to pay you back for that punch you gave me." Riser then lifted his hand at me, flames gathering at his palm. "And Riser quite likes that situation. So, do not frustrate Riser further with your insolence, half-breed, and fall!"
A slew of fireballs were launched my way, which I countered with charged shots from my drawn gun, bolstered by additional power from the Boosted Gear. One of the darklight shots rocketed through the exploding flames, luckily managing to plug Riser right in the shoulder, and he let out a yell as he was hit.
"What the?! What was that?!"
"Oh, don't like the taste of that? See, little tidbit…" And with a flick of my wrist as I rocketed forward, my sword also lit up with the same energy across it. "I'm what you'd call a paradox! I'm a Devil who can use something close to light itself!"
"Tch, impossible, no Devil can wield light!"
"Well this one can!"
As my sword came at him, Riser countered it with flame covered fists that managed to avoid direct contact with the energy coursing along the blade, but the mix up of randomly placed gun shots forced Riser to actually avoid getting hit. That one lucky shot had told him that my attacks could actually hurt him, so of course he wasn't about to let me take potshots he'd just heal off and completely ignore. Which I'm sure he'd be doing otherwise.
A collision of a charged slash and Riser loosing a close range fireball sent both of us skidding backwards. Before the fight could resumes, blasts of dark energy, blue light, and lightning ripped between us, Riser giving an amused hum as I turned to see the rest of the group arriving, Rias and Asia from behind what was left of some of the buildings, while Aoi and Akeno descending from above.
"My my, and so the rest arrive as well. Tell me ladies, did you come here to witness Riser crush the hopes you've placed on this miserable whelp? If so, I do hope you'll enjoy, especially you my lovely Rias." Riser didn't even flinch when Rias promptly blasted one of his arms off, only chuckling as it regenerated in a burst of flame like nothing happened.
"Enough of the game's Riser. With the numbers here you might as well give up now! All of us here can and will beat you down if you insist on fighting!"
"Rias! You said I could take him, what are you…"
"Look at yourself Soren." Rias cut me off, and I flinched when I could see the concern in her eyes. "You may be strong, and you may be able to heal but after an attack like that? Don't push yourself further than you need to."
"Oh wow Rias, you would actually request he do so?" Riser said, almost cawing with laughter. "So let me put this correctly, you agreed he and Riser should battle, yet because of some poor surprise attack, now you don't want him to fight because the whelp might get hurt a bit more? Oh how caring of you my dear! To show such mercy to this disgrace to our kind!"
"YOU SHUT UP!" And that ripped through my throat as I pulled the gun upwards and fired.
Riser screamed as a blast from my gun ripped through the side of his face, and he growled at me as it slowly regenerated, much like the wound in his shoulder still was. I lowered the weapon down and stuck it in its holster, letting out a breath.
"Rias, I appreciate the concern… but let me do this."
"Soren come on, don't be crazy!" Rias said, though I didn't take my eyes off of Riser.
"Gremory, don't try to stop him." Aoi said, and I glanced over to see her shaking her head. "There's no stopping this idiot when he's set on something, you know that."
"Exactly. So, watch me, will you?" I raised my sword up, and with a move, the blade vanished as I brought it towards the gauntlet, a port opening on it as the hilt came near. "Because right now I don't want to stop… everything in me right now is screaming at me, because right now, more than anything… I want to beat the powerful person right in front of me!"
"What can you do now whelp?! Just lay down and be defeated! Riser is sick of you standing before him!"
And at the same moment I rammed the hilt into the gauntlet, Riser loosed another blast of fire at me, but it was stopped dead when a wall of emerald aura burst up in front of me, an aura that quickly started coursing with red and blue as the Boosted Gear glowed like a furnace.
"Now or never Ddraig! We're doing this for real, so come on, give me everything you've got!"
"Let's do this, partner!"
[WELSH DRAGON OVERED BOOST! BALANCE BREAKER!]
As the roaring call from Ddraig sounded, the aura around my burst outwards and took shape in the air as I raised the completed gauntlet up and slammed my hand shut, causing another burst of power in the air that sent waves of aura out across the field, the shaped structures flying around before crashing onto me.
The Balance Breaker of the Boosted Gear is a pretty simple one: A synthesis between the wielder and their dragon, one that clads the user in an armor that enhances all of their abilities and removes any limiters on the Gear itself to let it's power run wild for a time. Normally like the Gear itself, the armor would have a stock appearance no matter the user, but, not like I used a normal Boosted Gear. Because just as I'd altered the normal Gear, the Scale Mail that was produced by me was unusual as well.
A smoother form that kept to my normal size more than otherwise, and a chest plate that looked like dragon wings folded over my chest and around the central crystal located in the plating, and a rounded helmet bearing golden highlights, and a split emerald visor that was surrounded by the highlight colors, while two tail like extensions came from the shifting portions of the armor at my back.
I do admit, some of the inspiration for the look is because I was binge watching a certain tokusatsu show but that's irrelevant to the moment here.
"What, do you think cladding yourself in some sorry armor will help you whelp? Please."
"You don't sound so confident anymore Riser." With a move of my hand, a portion of the armor at my waist opened up, and it produced the sword portion of the normal gear for me to draw out, while the guns had also been put into scaled over holsters now at the back of my waist. "Actually intimidated for once?"
"Don't flatter yourself whelp! Even if you've become stronger through this paltry trick, you still have no hope of winning!"
"Well then, let's see how well this paltry trick works out for me!"
[BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST!]
The successive calls sounded as I rocketed forward, Riser meeting me head on with fire shaped like a sword of his own, the resulting clash rocking the ground as they impacted. Riser threw a punch that I caught, the flames from his hand bursting around, and with my grip on his hand closing, I pulled the Devil down and slammed my knee into his gut while it was coursing with darklight energy, causing Riser to hack as he was knocked back, though I didn't release the hold I had as I followed it with a swing of my sword.
"It won't be that easy!" Riser roared as flames exploded all across his body, forcing me back from the shockwave, and Riser's follow up blow slammed down on my head from both of his hands, followed by a burning kick to the chest that sent me skidding further back, Riser sending a bird shaped blast of fire my way, that I was able to counter with a blast from my sword.
And as our melee started up with both of us slamming blow after blow on each other, cracks appearing on my amor as Riser's body kept a cover of flames from where he was healing from my own blows, feeling the weight on me increase as the Boost calls kept sounding in line with it, there was another feeling there, one I haven't felt in a long while for fights… excitement.
Even as I started feeling the pain from Riser's strong blows, the drain the Boosting was starting to have as I exerted it, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face even if it was concealed by my helmet. And I caught it as I slammed a fist into Riser's face. Maybe he didn't know it, but as he blasted me away again, he was smiling too.
We both skid back with visible scorch marks on us, the ruins around us burning again, and the ones spectating having retreated further away. My arms and legs were starting to feel heavy and sore, and I'm pretty sure I was bleeding in a few places. Riser's flame shroud was just as much his automatic healing as it was his own power running wild.
"Hahaha… hey, Riser, if this is pissing you off so much, if I'm just some half-breed whelp, then tell me will you… why're smiling as much as I am right now?"
"I don't know what you mean. Perhaps I am, perhaps because I'm relishing the thought of seeing your face when I finally defeat you!"
"Is that it? Or… is it because like me, you're a total battle freak?!"
"Huh?"
"I'll admit it, you're strong as hell. Probably the strongest person I've fought in ages. I get why you've won all of your Rating Games. I had to spend ten days getting my ass kicked by a Dragon just to get to where I am right now. And right now, hehe… I couldn't feel any more excited! Fighting to me is something I love! Getting to fight strong opponents, pushing myself to the limit to surpass them! It got boring at home because I'd passed the curve most of the Strays who wind up there fall at. I'm a complete and total battle maniac, so fighting weak enemies bores the hell out of me." And as if in response to this, words I was just letting out without thinking, parts of my armor shifted, starting to flicker with flames of their own as I lifted my sword up. "Right now, every part of me is screaming it: I want to win, to defeat this person in front of me who also wants to win!"
"You think that's what this is about?!" Riser snapped, but, there wasn't hiding the gleam in his eyes. It was the same kind of gleam I could see in Tsuno at times… the eyes of a person who wanted to run wild and fight at their best, just like me. "What I do know is I do certainly want to defeat you! You do nothing but piss me off! Those eyes that refuse to bow, that will that won't break even in the face of a stronger power! People like you, who don't know their place, are the ones who infuriate me the most! So, I will show you your place in this world half-breed, that place being beneath me!"
"Let's see how well that excuse holds up!"
Both mine and Riser's auras exploded as we charged each other again. I drew one of my guns and fired off, Riser meeting the energy shots with his own bolts of fire, and the gap was bridged, my sword meeting his flame construct again, but with another Boost call, the energy around the blade burst into a wild burst of it's own that blasted through the construct, following right through and getting Riser across the chest. He reeled back while yelling as the singe got him, but that was followed by a burning punch that slammed my helmet, causing part of the visor to crack and shatter on impact.
I kicked Riser clean in the gut, and he blasted me away with a full body burst of fire. I shot back at him with a charged blast that hit dead on. Both of us recovered quickly and shot back in, auras crashing into other before we did. I dodged past a punch Riser threw, and slammed the gun right onto his chest, firing quickly from point blank and following up with a powered slash again, knocking Riser away as the combination of streaking darklight and flames trailed off of him.
It has to be stacking up by this point, I can see it, his regeneration is starting to slow down!
"Just fall already!"
Riser roared as he shot back at me, his constructed blade and mine locking together. I was prompt to decide a headbutt right to the face was a proper response, Riser's clumsy kick that followed sweeping my legs out from under me, and we both hit the ground heavily.
"Why… why does this fight feel so different?" Riser slowly stood up as blood dripped from the wound on his head, and I coughed a bit of blood of my own up as I stood. "Fighting like this isn't familiar to me… all of my wins, I easily got them all, and I only lost because it was to keep a deal! So why… what the hell is it about you that makes this so different?! Why don't you just break?!"
"You really don't get it huh? Well, guess you wouldn't." I rolled my neck as Riser growled at me. "It's called being excited about something dumbass. You feel the same thing right? Every fiber of your being is yelling at you, telling you to beat me and do it with everything you've got! This Game may not be for some grander reason than all of us here being petty bastards, but to me that just makes it better! A fight where we go all out, nothing at risk but our prides!"
"Is that it huh? Hehe… I don't get it all, you're right. But… yes, I do want to beat you with everything I have!" Riser's flames burst again, and like me his wild smile was getting wider, I even tossed by sword away and cracked my knuckles through the gauntlets. "Forget that engagement to Rias, forget what my family wants out of this! Right now, I just want to beat you, half-breed! All that matters right now is that I prove I'm stronger than you, my pride as a member of the House of Phenex-no, my pride as Riser demands it!"
"And I want to prove I can beat you! So, guess we can actually on something! So come on, Riser Phenex, hit me with everything you've got, because I'm gonna give everything to take you down!"
Auras burst again as Riser and I charged at each other for what was intended to be the last engagement. Blow after blow was let loose from us, the sound of fists and feet impacting through the air as we didn't relent, flames and darklight arcing from each impact, be it a clean hit or intercepted strike as we forgot about any kind of form or fighting style. But I was relishing it, this feeling of fighting somebody stronger than me, who wanted to win just as much as me and was giving everything to do it.
My armor started cracking all over, my helmet shattered to pieces, and Riser's injuries had finally ceases healing quickly, both of us showing the cuts and bruises from the battle.
"Tell me half-breed, why so intent on winning?! You're not even a member of Rias's peerage! Aside from the chance to speak with Lord Lucifer for whatever inane reason you have, why fight so hard for somebody you have no reason to!"
"Because… I made a promise!" As Riser slammed a fist onto my head, I stood firm as the blow stopped, Riser flinching as I grabbed his arm and started squeezing down hard enough that I heard the bones cracking. "See, there's another way I'm a bit of a paradox. I'm a selfish bastard who won't do a thing for someone unless I get something out of it… but here's the other thing, I promised her we'd win. So for me it's not just the fact I want to kick your ass… it's also because when I make a promise, I keep it!"
I pulled Riser's arm back as my free fist coursed with darklight almost to bursting, slamming it into his face as hard as I could, then letting the energy loose in a point blank blast as I released Riser, sending him flying back as the beam of energy kept going. When Riser hit the ground, he moved to get back up again, and I slumped a bit as my arms sagged and blood fell from my forehead.
"That's… just the kind of Devil I am."
"Ahehe… dammit…" Riser chuckled as his arms shook from his attempt to get up. He raised his hand like he was going to do something, flames flickering around it before dying down, another chuckle coming from the man as his arm slumped down. "Alright then… I admit it, half-breed… no… Soren Edelweiss. You… win."
Riser slumped down as his eyes closed, a puff of dust rising as he finally went limp. I felt this sudden feeling hit me as the remains of my armor faded as Riser did, like this pause in the air as I watched the foe before me vanish.
"YES!... ahem. Lord Riser has been defeated. The winner of the Game, is Lady Rias Gremory."
The realization of victory settled in as it was declared, and the only sound that came from me was a scream as I threw a fist up… and then, like I'd been hit by a bunch of bricks out of nowhere, as my yelling died down into laughter, my vision went dark as I felt myself lurch forward… because damn do I feel tired now…
"Soren!"
I was too unfocused to know what happened, but I did feel my fall stop. It was Rias's voice, but it felt distant. I could at least feel like I'd fallen onto something soft rather than the ground… but… still too tired.
"Thank you… thank you so much. You can rest now, you've earned it."
"Yeah… I think… I'll do that for a bit."
"Good work partner. Keep getting stronger from here on out… I expect you'll get to enjoy a lot more fights like this in the future."
"Count on it… Ddraig."
My vision finally went dark as I felt myself get pulled in closer to wherever I'd landed, thankful words echoing in my head as I started to drift of… victory can sure feel sweet.