Chapter 101
"Lady Rias rolls a 4, and Lord Sairaorg rolls a 5! The total is NINE! A BIG START TO A BIG GAME!" Engilvice roared, the crowd shaking the stadium in response.
Engilvice stayed as the other three walked through a person sized teleport circle, popping back through the wall of the commentator's booth and seating themselves. "The two Kings return to their booths, to take no more than fiiiiiiiiiive minutes to decide who enter the field! They will do this in total isolation of each other, and us! Who will they send? A possible trade of queens? Three on three? Three on two? What are your thoughts?"
He pointed his microphone at the booth, and a light labelled 'Broadcasting' turned on in the corner of the huge window wall of the booth.
Diehauser took the first shot at the microphone in front of him, "He might seem incredibly straight forward, but Sairaorg isn't a fool. He probably won't send out his queen this early in the match. With all pieces available, the risk of getting overwhelmed is far too high." He glanced over to his left, at Azazel.
"Rias can be a bit stubborn as well, but she's got a good head on her shoulders. However, knowing her, she'd leave a big choice like this to her team." He gave my arm a tap, then went to take a sip of tea.
I waited until after he grimaced at it before touching the 'talk' button on my microphone like they had, "It's all about trust. They've spent months learning how to work alone and together, and no doubt they're considering all options. Even that one."
"Do you think she'd step out this early?" Azazel asked, a little surprised.
"She'd consider it for sure." I replied, hoping that she wouldn't actually do it, but knowing she would put the opinion out there.
"If you ask me, it would be a perfect opportunity for Rias's queen to use her wide area of effect magic." Rudiger commented, "But I'm just here to make sure they don't play dirty."
"I'm really curious about his pawn." Azazel commented, "As far as anyone has seen, he's just taken a nap in the corner of the field, and stayed well out of the way of the fighting."
"I won't spoil the secret." Diehauser said, "But seven pawns might have been a cheap price to pay for that one."
I watched three of Rias's team stand up, but only two from Sairaorg's side. With what looked like a final word of encouragement from both Kings, they stepped into a magic circle, and sunk into the floor.
"AND THEY'VE DECIDED!" Engilvice screamed, "Lady Rias has sent out both Knights, Kiba and Xenovia, and one of her bishops, Asia!" A pause as the holographic display expanded over the entire field, showing the inside of a barrier space that looked exactly like the real thing, "While Sairaorg has sent his Rook Gandoma, and his Bishop Misteeta!"
Again the 'broadcasting' light popped on and once again Diehauser picked up his microphone first, "This is surprising. You would think that a pure supportive type would never hit the field. Last I heard her healing ability is on par with Phoenix Tears." He glanced to Azazel, but the Fallen just nudged me again.
"You would think that. I've never known a kinder, gentler soul." I smiled, "But that soul is made of iron." I nudged Azazel.
"I'm just surprised Sairaorg isn't sending out three at once. This Gandoma fellow is huge, but against two knights?"
"Both teams are warmed up, the arbiter is ready," Only when he said it, did I notice a little green button in front of Rudiger, "Sound the buzzer!"
With a quiet 'fizz' of static, I, and I suspected everyone else, could hear what was going on in the barrier space. I couldn't help but chuckle (earning three sideways glances from my table mates) when the first word out of Asia's mouth was, "Grow!"
As Asia began the chant, both Kiba and Xenovia started to glow. With a grin, Xenovia swept the massive blade of Ex-Duradal over her shoulder, executing her signature move. A wave of golden destructive force swept across the field towards Gandoma, ripping up the ground and scorching the air as it passed.
Being at the other end of the football field length arena, both Gandoma and Misteeta had plenty of time to dodge, the huge stone devil picking up Misteeta and rolling out of the way without issue. This seemed to be in line with what the Rias team had planned however, as Kiba's insane speed made him look like a comet as he ran towards the two of them, using the smoke of Xenovia's attack as cover.
"I will cover." Gandoma said, hunching forward and using his huge body like a bunker over top of the smaller Misteeta.
Kiba, a master swordsman, didn't need more than a finger span of space to stab through, but even as he formed a new blade, a fencer's epee, a little hand peeked out from the gap he was aiming for. Making a right angled turn, Kiba just barely avoided a veritable avalanche of molten fire as Misteeta filled the newly divided half of the field with enough fire and heat to block some of the cameras and turn the ground to near molten stone.
Gandoma stood up quickly, on hand picking up Misteeta and plunking him on one of his shoulders, while the fire mage continued to heat up the field.
"WHAT A PLAN!" Engilvice shouted as the crowd cheered, "Normally a knight would outpace a rook any day of the week! But with the floor turning to literal lava, they will lose their ground advantage!"
"That's not bad at all." Diehauser mused, "What most people don't know is that Gandoma has almost impenetrable magic resistance, add that to his ability as a rook and his natural toughness, and you have a solid pair here."
"Except Kiba..." I started, only to be overridden by Engilvice.
"It looks like Kiba has the answer, and Xenovia-chan is RIDING A WAVE OF ICE SWORDS? WHAT MADDNESS!"
Undaunted by the sudden field of lava, Kiba retreated from his abandoned attempt at a quick kill and started creating swords made of ice. Being able to make any sort of blade he wished, and being boosted by Asia's empowering spell, he summoned a wave of blunt edged swords of every shape and size, creating a path for Xenovia to run across, her massive blade ready to strike again.
Misteeta tried to savage the charging Knight with a dozen smaller fireballs, but Kiba was throwing knives made of ice at each of the flaming projectiles. The pyromancer had to rely on Gandoma to raise a hand to ward off the razor sharp ice knives, the Rook going down to one knee and scooping a huge handful of molten stone at the two knights.
Xenovia executed another slash of massive destruction, then had to roll out of the way. Kiba darted towards her, slapping his hand to the ground and creating a small platform of icy swords to stand on, while Xenovia covered them both with the shield cube in her bracer. Some of the flaming debris still got through, but Asia's empowerment was also healing them, and as fast as the burns happened, they were healed again.
"Rias's team seems to have all the answers! How will Sairaorg's Rook and Bishop win when nothing they do seems to have a lasting effect?!" Engilvice howled over the crowd, the two person team about to get surrounded with Kiba and Xenovia on either side.
"You weren't kidding about tough." I commented, "I'll tell you, Kiba has worked hard at learning to throw those knives, and he can make them really sharp."
"He has good accuracy." Diehauser nodded, "But Gandoma is far too sturdy for such a light weapon to harm him."
"OH! FIRST BLOOD HAS BEEN STRUCK!"
Misteeta, still guarded in by Gandoma's hand and body was struck suddenly by a black iron throwing knife. The wound wasn't deep, but it had just missed his throat. The crowd 'oooo'ed as the fire mage burned the wound closed, then started to redouble his efforts, throwing more fire. But then he stopped.
Kiba and Xenovia were now exactly opposite each other, with Kiba on the far end of the field, and Xenovia between them and Asia. Most of the field around them had cooled as well, Misteeta's efforts cooled by the constant creation of ice by Kiba's swords.
Then Kiba and Xenovia charged at the same time.
First, Misteeta stood on Gandoma's shoulder, his hand suddenly encased in a gauntlet similar to Issei's only purple. It still had the scaled look of metal plates, but instead of a single gem on the back of the hand, it had three smaller ones, almost like eyes, near the knuckles.
Gandoma turned to face Kiba, raising his hands and bracing for a fight.
"Trick VANISH!" Misteeta called out, now facing Xenovia and pointing his encased fist at the rushing knight.
With a sudden wash of black flame, Xenovia's legs and arms were encased in darkly glowing runes. And with a lurch, it seemed the knight was trying to run under water, her movements sluggish and clumsy.
She had just enough time to get her sword up to try and parry Gandoma, as he whirled around, lunging forward with one massive fist and slamming it into the faltering Knight. Even braced for the impact, Xenovia was crushed into the ground, and sent rolling down field a little ways.
Without hesitation, Kiba slashed at Gandoma's now exposed rear, carving a deep gash into the Rook's back. Seemingly uncaring, Gandoma turned around while Misteeta jumped off his shoulder his devil wings opening up and propelling him towards the slowly healing Xenovia.
Blocked by Gandoma, and with Asia too far away to place a barrier, Xenovia was burned off the field by what looked like magical napalm as Misteeta scorched her way towards Asia.
The crowd went silent for a moment at the aftermath of the exchange, until Rudiger clicked his microphone on and, in a voice every bit as showy as Engilvice, "Rias's Knight HAS RETIRED!"
Screeching over the packed Colosseum Engilvice played back the last few seconds, "With a masterful execution of a bait and switch, the Sairaorg pair FLATTEN the suddenly powerless Knight! With his ability to curse an opponent with 'Trick Vanish', Xenovia's advantage in speed was erased, just in time to catch a GANDOMA EXPRESS TRIP to the GROUNNNNNNNND!"
The replay ended, just in time to see Misteeta laying at Asia's feet, arm and neck broken, and Asia bowing an apology.
"WHAT THE HELLLLLL?!"
"Sairaorg Bishop... ouch, yeah..." Rudiger seemed speechless as a replay showed up on the little screen in front of him. I leaned over watching as Misteeta, screaming victory and blazing fire, slammed into what looked like the upraised hand of Asia, as she activated the clear as glass, strong as her will, barrier cube. Fist flaming, Misteeta had maybe a half eyeblink of warning as his fist and arm shattered against the barrier, the rest of him flying into it like a bird into a window.
Asia remained bowed to the twitching body of Misteeta until the Rating game system removed him to the medic ward. After the sparkles of the transport system faded, she turned, teary eyed, towards Gandoma and Kiba and started walking towards them, the white glow of Haruhime's spell increasing.
Without turning on his microphone, Rudiger mumbled, "That is the scariest kitten I've ever seen. I thought you said she was a gentle soul!"
"She simply defended herself. Not her fault Misteeta didn't pay more attention to the match between Rias and Riser." I shrugged.
Gandoma took the loss of his partner with a stoicism that matched his rocky features. He didn't really have time to mourn however, since Kiba was starting his attack. Severely outclassed in speed, and facing a blade (or blades) (or blades and throwing knives), he just couldn't get a hand on Kiba, no matter how hard he tried. Waves of thrown dirt missed their target, thrown rocks were cut in half or evaded entirely, and the ONE time he tried to aim at Asia, Kiba slammed a heavy blade against his arm, cracking Gandoma's rocky skin and sending the projectile far wide of its mark.
Seeing that his fight was futile, he hopped out of the way of Kiba's next strike and bowed his head, "I concede." Covered in minor cuts, with one arm cracked and most of his legs covered in scorch marks, he vanished from the field.
"UN-be-LIEVABLE! With the loss of both a Rook and Bishop, Young Lord Sairaorg is down eight points to Lady Rias's three!" Engilvice raged into the microphone, "While the opening exchange was MASTERFULLY executed, the sudden loss of the FLAMING Bishop shattered any chance for Gandoma to counter Kiba's Sword of the Betrayer!"
"It's unfortunate, but hardly a game ender for young Sairaorg." Diehauser nodded, "I was quite surprised by that timid looking bishop though."
"You and almost everyone here I think." Azazel added, some of the excitement in the stands changing to laughter, "It's always the quiet ones."
"Well, maybe if they ask nicely, she'll visit Gandoma and anyone else in the infirmary after the match." Rudiger laughed.
"They won't have to ask." I said, "She'd go there now if they weren't in isolation for the match."
"The players have returned, and the two kings step up the podium to roll off once again!" Engilvice continued, the holographic field under his little floating island switching up to a close up of the nice jade box lid and the two dice."
The drum roll got steadily louder as they picked up the dice and rolled.
"A discarded roll of double one!"
Another drum roll.
"Both Kings roll a THREE! The TOTAL is SIX! Who will they choose?"
"Oh, this will be a tough one. Unless Rias wants to send out a solo rook, her only options would be to send out a tired knight or bishop and her other bishop." Diehauser chuckled, "While Sairaorg has all kinds of options, none of whom might be tired."
"I suspect Rias will be kind of stuck here. But, her rooks are quite skilled." Azazel added.
"I'm pretty sure Kiba has the endurance for another round, but while he did well at the end with Asia, I know she used up a lot of magic power during that fight." I scratched a ear, "Oh, seems like the choice has been made."
"And after only two minutes, BOTH teams have sent forward their choices!"
Down in the isolation booths, two from Sairaorg's side stepped up, vanishing into the projected barrier space, while only one entered from Rias's side.
The crowd raised the roof as a near mirror of the last match appeared on the field. On Sairaorg's side, Liban, sword in hand, and Buruka, astride his big grey horse. On Rias's side, Koneko, tightening up her Hello Kitty pink gauntlets.
There were more than a few 'Koneko-channnnnnnnnn!' shouts from the crowd before Engilvice started speaking again, "While our combatants give each other the stare, some of you might be wondering about that massive horse!"
I didn't click the button on my microphone, but said, "That is the first horse that's ever growled at me." I also didn't have any cookies for a peace offering so maybe there was still a chance to make a friend.
"That is one of the very few native animals in the frozen level of Hell, Cocytus. Intelligent, mean spirited, and exceptionally powerful, taming one is nearly impossible, and riding one even harder! Yet Buruka and his Pale Horse Altobrau move as if they were of the same mind!" Engilvice then stage whispered, "For the purpose of the games though, it's really just a battle accessory, but don't that that to the horse!"
The crowd got one last ripple of laughter in as the start buzzer counted down its last seconds.
"Hey, what's she getting out of her pocket?" Rudiger mumbled.
"Probably a blessed cold iron ball bearing." I replied.
The buzzer started, the two knights on Sairaorg's side of the field starting to charge.
"BY THE BEELZEBUB'S MESSY HAIR! THE HORSE GOES DOWN!"
Buruka's horse managed maybe two steps before something hit it squarely in the chest, just above the steel plate protecting it, the safety system of the arena teleporting it right out from under the surprised Knight, just before the 'CRACK' of displaced air shattered the sudden silence. With a clatter of armour and more than a little foul language, Buruka hit the dirt face first. Quickly, Liban got between his downed partner and Koneko, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Get up! Quickly!" He urged as the ground around Koneko fractured, her second throw missing, shattering the arena wall behind the two knights.
"Honourless feline!" Buruka growled, getting up quickly, setting his lance to his shoulder, and running down the field, "Just disrupt her aim! Even without my steed I am still a knight!"
Koneko, with a fully armoured knight (minus horse) running towards her, focused on recovering her stance. But instead of trying to get out of the way, she seemed to be waiting for Buruka to get close. Her cat ears and tail came out, and her body started glowing.
"No matter how skilled you are, I will not let the slight of attacking my steed before me go unpunished!" Buruka roared, about ten metres from Koneko now, "Replication!"
He put on one last burst of speed, his body splitting into a half dozen exact copies of himself. In response, Koneko was struck many times, just managing to dodge a fatal blow, though her clothes were practically shredded off her, and the points of the lances left many cuts over her skin, but instead of falling she lifted one foot up, then brought it down sharply. A sudden wave of dirt and mud rippled out from the point of impact, scattering the charging knight and his clones, but more importantly, breaking Liban's line of sight on her.
"WOW! Even with Liban's skill of increasing gravity, the little Koneko (adorable cat ears by the way) creates a shockwave of dirt and mud! Defending herself and breaking the gravity effect at the same time!"
"I'm still learning how to do that, but that was an advanced application of Senjitsu." I said, "Chiku nami, the Earth Wave."
"Of all of Rias's peerage, Koneko is the biggest little box of surprises." Azazel added.
"It might not save her in the end though." Diehauser commented, "Even without his horse... Oh, never mind..."
In the few seconds she had before Liban could get his eyes on her again, Koneko took a big step forward, and stomped the ground again. Yet another ripple spread out from her foot, flinging the still recovering Buruka back onto the ground, while Liban got closer while he couldn't see Koneko. It was the only thing that saved Buruka from getting his helmet crushed, the knight catching sight of her just as she got close enough to punch the fallen Knight in the back.
She didn't miss entirely though, her weighted glove putting a deep fist imprint into Buruka's armour right behind his liver. Even through the pain, Buruka rolled over, getting to his feet and ripping off his breastplate as fast as he could.
"Let's finish her!" Liban drew his sword.
Buruka, his lance out of reach, simply punched Koneko with his metal gauntlet. Some of the crowd 'boo'ed, others 'oooo'ed.
I shook my head and laughed.
"What's so funny Sensei?"
"She's a rook, and strong enough to bench press a metric ton, while looking bored. And he just got close to her, on purpose."
"OHHHHHHHHHHHH HE'S GOING TO FEEL THAT IN THE MORNING!"
Lip now bloody like the rest of her, Koneko shrugged off the punch like one would a tennis ball. Her return punch, even under the ground sundering gravity effect, hit Buruka right in the codpiece. Folding up like a bit of wet cardboard, Buruka vanished from the field.
She was about to turn to Liban, to try and defend against his incoming sword thrust, and would have managed to do it too, except at the last instant, Liban seemed to cut his gravity effect. Suddenly much lighter, Koneko's balance was destroyed, and she missed the block that would have stopped Liban's sword, the blade going right through her chest.
The strike wasn't instantly fatal however, and she managed to hit Liban once, jamming her finger squarely into Liban's forehead. There was a flash of light, but then Koneko vanished, leaving Liban alone on the field.
"Sairaorg's knight and Rias's rook have retired." Rudiger announced.
"AND LIBAN REMAINS STANDING!" Engilvice roared, "The little kitty Rook made an excellent showing! But in the end was overwhelmed by the teamwork and skill of the two knights!" He blinked in surprise, then held a hand to his ear, "What's this?"
The crowd held its breath while he seemed to listen to something.
"OH NO! That last strike from the Gremory Mascot seems to have blinded Liban! Sairaorg's knight has been crippled!"
The crowd gasped collectively, and I tapped my microphone button, "That was a Ki blocking technique. The effects will be temporary, but what will that mean for the match?" I looked across to Diehauser, since I actually didn't know the answer.
"Unless his team has a way of healing it, then unless he recovers before the game's end, he will be unable to be fielded again. It's not uncommon for some pieces retire even after a victory in a dice match." He answered, nodding approval, "While I appreciate the knight's code, sometimes one must get the job done. A fine example of fortitude, even when she about to lose. This match might as well have been a total loss on both sides."
"And there you HAVE IT!" Engilvice took over again, "Rias respectfully waits for Sairaorg to approach, the Strongest Youth making sure his Knight is okay before stepping out of the isolation booth and up to the podium. They both take up their dice annnnnnnnnd!"
Drumroll...
The two dice rattled over the top of the jade box, and came to a halt.
"BOTH KINGS ROLL A FIVE!"
"There's a lot of options here." Azazel started this time, "Queens, rooks, knights, bishops, even pawns."
"Not many choices that will use all the points however." Diehauser hmm'ed, "Heh."
Puzzled at the chuckle, since Diehauser struck me as a serious fellow (though not 'stick in the mud' serious) I looked at the monitors for the isolation rooms. Sairaorg was standing there, arms crossed, head down, practically quivering. The King wanted out onto the field. Curious, I looked over to the other monitor, and yes, Issei was doing the same thing. Rias looked to be trying to talk him down. If he went out at 10 points, he'd be alone. As usual, Issei was once again a blind spot for her.
"Heh." I agreed, "If I were either of them, this would be where I'd try and trade queens."
"Oh?" Azazel and Diehauser said together.
"Sure. Only on a twelve will you have a Queen plus one. Since both teams have monster pawns."
"Interesting point, but fair. Most teams have single piece pawns. As well, it would be wise to have the remaining lower value pieces for the next roll." Diehauser nodded.
"Well, let's see what they choose." Azazel nodded his chin towards the two isolation room monitors.
"It seems both teams might actually use the full five minutes here." Engilvice said into his microphone, "So here's a word from our sponsor!"
The holographic field filled with sparkly images of what looked like hand knitted stuffed figures of the members of both peerages. From an overly tall almost bobble headed cotton Gandoma, to a little Koneko with one hand pawing at a mini cotton ball. All the figures looked good, and were high detail, though Issei's dragon armour was toned way down, it was still recognizable as him in Balance Breaker mode.
"The Rising Phoenix company proudly presents the first line of Rating Game Peerage Plush dolls! Made to order, each one is made of high quality materials, is child safe, are machine washable, annnnnnd..."
A person's hand hovered over the array of Sairaorg's and Rias's peerage, and the screen was filled with a sudden inferno. After a moment the fire stopped, and everything but the little plush dolls was now a blackened smouldering mess.
"They're 100 percent fireproof!"
That same hand placed a Kodori doll on a clear spot near the middle of the charred table, sporting a decent replica of my old coat with seven tails over one of the arms in that 'we all want attention' bundle.
"Order four or more within seven days of this rating game, and you can get a limited edition Kodori-sensei doll for the same price as any of the others!"
A little disclaimer popped up at the bottom of the tank: Model will have eight tails, not seven.
My newest tail was trying to comfort me by patting the top of my head, while I facepalmed.
"Well, they ARE going to need a bit of extra income, fairly soon too." Azazel chuckled, "This is your fault you know."
"I better get one of those..." I sighed.
"ANNNNNND we are BACK!" Engilvice shouted, "And not a moment too soon! It seems like both teams are sending out their players!"
"Looks like you were right." Azazel commented as both Akeno and Kuisha stepped into their booth's teleport circles, vanishing and re-appearing inside the holographic field for all the spectators to see.
"It looks like it's going to be a battle of QUEENS!" The announcer said excitedly, "BOTH are powerful magic users! BOTH have unique abilities! BOTH are AB-SO-LUTE-LY Gorgeous!" The crowd agreed with him on all counts, shaking the floor of the arena with their cheers.
"This will be an interesting match." Diehauser mused, "While I've only watched her matches, Akeno uses holy lightning. Her dual heritage gives her a tremendous edge against other devils."
"Sairaorg's queen has a lot of power as well." I commented, "I just hope Akeno read the notes on her."
At first, it looked kind of odd. The two queens, both amazing beauties in their own right, though from different corners of the world, had the EXACT same smile. That sort of kind, almost motherly smile. The smile you put on when you were gently amused at someone. In a room full of people, it was endearing. But in an arena, where one was looking at the other, it was insulting.
Akeno, wearing the two magic circle bracers and clawed gauntlets I'd made her, reached into her miko robe and look out the wand. She then pointed it at Kuisha, and without a single word, sent a pencil thick beam of lightning from the tip of it. In an eyeblink, that beam crossed the near hundred metre span between them.
If Kuisha hadn't already been moving, she'd have taken that beam of lightning between the eyes. Instead, as soon as she'd seen the wand, she had opened her wings and jumped into the air. As it was, the beam hit the far wall, the roar of thunder detonating almost as loud as the entire back wall shattering.
Seeing that she missed, Akeno's gentle smile changed, turning into a smile one might liken to a cat playing with a mouse. The Rias Queen opened her own wings and took to the air as well.
"WHAT AN OPENING SHOT! Akeno's control of lightning is so ABSOLUTE, so PERFECT, it might as well have been a laser beam!" Engilvice crowed as the back wall of the barrier space 'arena' crumbled to dust, revealing the 'black space' of the outer edge of the field.
"She does like playing with her wand." I commented, the three men at the table trying not to laugh while my microphone was on.
"But Kuisha doesn't look phased at all! LOOK AT HER GO!"
Kuisha was every bit as impressive with magic as one might expect from a Queen. Fire, ice, lightning, binding chains... Her attack magic wasn't all she was good at. While Akeno answered in kind with her own array of spells, Kuisha was able to deflect and block the return volley. The sky above the field was filled with magic circles, barriers and magical effects, filling the stadium with an absolute cacophony of noise, rival to anything a Hollywood movie might produce.
"I think playtime is over." Kuisha said, landing on the ground, hopping backwards to avoid a car sized icicle and using a magic barrier to stop a flame thrower effect from Akeno as she hovered above her.
"Ara, but I'm still warming up." Akeno pouted, "I know you have more tricks than this." She hovered up a little as well, matching height with the opposing queen, "Do I have to ask nice to see more?" She reached into her robe again, pulling out a black vial.
"If you're not going to fight seriously, I see no reason to myself." Kuisha mocked, squinting at the vial trying to discern what it might be.
"Aww, I thought we were playing?" Akeno smiled, shaking the vial and tossing it into the air, "I do love my toys."
"Sensei, what is that?" Azazel asked, the little vial glittering as it spun into the air above and between the two.
"Smoke." I replied, "As the armourer for the Rias peerage, I try and give them all the tools they might need to increase their combat advantage in any situation."
"And we've already approved those tools. Some of them are really clever too." Rudiger added, "I'd offer you a job, but I'm sure I couldn't afford you."
The vial reached its apex, and Akeno pointed her wand at it, "How would black smoke give her any advantage?" Diehauser asked, "As a wide area magic specialist, she'd just as likely hit her own team as anyone else."
A tiny lance of fire smashed the vial, a sudden huge burst of inky black smoke filled the air along with a couple of red sparks.
"Because her team knows she specializes in lightning, and are protected from it." I shrugged, "As for what's in it, well, I'm also a blacksmith, and I have no end of iron dust laying about in the shop."
The three of them (Engilvice as well, from his platform over the middle of the stadium) looked at me in horror.
"Even if I can't see you, you can't see me!" Kuisha mocked, the two of them suddenly enveloped in near impenetrable darkness. Even as she spoke however, Akeno had tossed two more vials into the air, letting them burst naturally instead of making a show of shooting it out of the air. "I'll just blow this away!"
Akeno started laughing. The old laugh she used to use while playing with her enemies. A heartless cruel laughter, reserved for someone who just didn't get it, yet was about to. Even as Kuisha started to blow the smoke away, a magic wind starting to pick up out of nowhere, Akeno's wand and bracers were sparking, glowing, the air around her coming alive with energy.
She pointed the wand dramatically at Sairaorg's Queen, "Enjoy!"
"HOLE!" As Akeno fired another blast of lightning, an absolute sphere of black appeared in front of Kuisha, unknown to Akeno, a second sphere opened up behind the Rias Queen.
But instead of a laser focused blast of pure lightning, this was a full on chaotic shriek of crawling energy who's only 'focus' was 'away from Akeno'. The air lit up with thousands of little red sparks as the energy divided, becoming countless clawing fingers of electricity. The thickest blast of the lightning did indeed enter the black sphere, but instead of slamming into Akeno's back as Kuisha no doubt intended, the bolt of lightning dispersed around her in a near perfect sphere, the iron dust acting as a defence for the lightning mage.
Kuisha wasn't so lucky. Even as she desperately threw up barriers to block the lightning that was left, the energy found its way through every flaw in her defences. As her muscles twitched and her body contorted, she lost control of even those defences.
Then Akeno threw another smoke vial at her, setting it off just in front of Kuisha and turning up the amperage of her lighting.
"CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF PAIN!" Engilvice screamed into the microphone as Kuisha was lost in the black and red cloud of magnetic dust, screaming as Akeno laughed, lightning playing over everything but her, "The Lightning Queen shows her cruelty with her mastery over one of nature's most chaotic forces!"
The crowd went nuts at the brutality of it all, while I frowned at the monitors.
"She hasn't lost consciousnesses, or taken potentially lethal damage..." Rudiger mumbled.
"I wonder where she gets that from. I mean, Baraqiel is about as boring as you can be, and I hardly imagine her mother was like this..." Azazel winced.
"Such a simple, yet effective use of a bit of smoke and dust." Diehauser sounded like he was taking notes.
I crossed my arms, still frowning at the monitor, "Bad Miko, no cookie."
Akeno, still holding the lightning effect up, turned her head slightly to the side, sighed, then cut off the effect. The arena went from chaotic light show, to total silence, the heavy scent of ozone in the air. Nearly senseless, Kuisha fell out of the sky, flopping to the ground. Slowly, she lifted her head.
Then her eyes went wide.
Akeno brought both hands together, pointing them not at Kuisha, but straight down at the ground.
Where all the iron dust had started to settle.
There was no laughter this time, no mocking smile, as the arena once again lit up, the ground, air, walls, everything, flooded with lightning.
"Finally satisfied with her meal, The Lightning Queen stops playing with her food and TAKES THE MATCH!"
Kuisha had vanished off the field, while Akeno vanished in a puff of teleport magic, the holographic field changing to show some instant replay footage.
"A solid, no quarter victory for Rias's queen." Diehauser nodded, "Seems there was a cost however."
On the monitors, in Rias's isolation booth, Akeno was being held up by Issei. Now that the lighting was better, it was clear her miko robes were soaked with sweat. Dutiful to a fault, Issei picked her up and lay her on the little conference table, while Kiba rolled up his jacket for her to rest her head.
"After throwing around that much power, I suspect she didn't expect to go out again." Azazel added.
In Sairaorg's booth, they looked a little down, but they were still ready to fight.
"Let's see what comes up next!"
Rias and Sairaorg stepped out of their booths, and the two of them looked at each other across the little green dice table. Rias said something, Sairaorg frowned, but nodded, and the two picked up their dice.
Drumroll...
"A FIVE AND A THREE! AN EIGHT!"
The crowd went nuts, and from someplace, there started a chant.
"Seriously?" I sighed before clicking on my microphone, "Seems like the crowd is getting impatient."
From outside, the chanting got louder. "Op-PAI! Op-PAI!"
"Will Rias Let him out though?" Diehauser asked, "You would think she'd save him for last, maybe to pair with Gasper Vlad or the like against Sairaorg on a lucky roll of Twelve."
"The Crimson Princess can only resist the Red Dragon Emperor's sad puppy eyes for so long." Azazel chuckled.
Down in the isolation room, Issei was indeed giving Rias the sad puppy eyes. She crossed her arms, then shrugged and gave him a pat on the head.
"How touching! The Princess of Destruction gives her loyal dragon a bit of encouragement and sends him out onto the field!" Engilvice cheered with the crowd, "Annnnnd..." As Issei vanished from the booth and arrived in the barrier space, Ladora and Coriana appeared at the far end. "Another two on one match!"
"Ladora Bune." Diehauser started, "Like most of Sairaorg's peerage, comes from an odd place. The Bune family is one of the ones that is now all but extinct after the great war."
"Bune... Weren't they... oh it's on the tip of my tongue..." Rudiger tapped the desk a few times, "Right! Dragon tamers!"
"Indeed. Not just that however. While some dragons are simple minded beasts, others, like Lord Tannin, are a people all their own. This led to some interesting genetics long ago in their blood line." Diehauser explained, "That connection allowed them greater ability when it came to taming the more simple minded breeds of dragons, drakes and wyvern, but also the ability to transform into them."
"Well, lets see how a dragon blooded devil, deals with a dragon bonded one." I said.
Issei did a simple warm up stretch. A single squat, a shoulder roll, a quick side to side of his head. Then with a sudden flex of his fingers, both his scaled gauntlets formed on his fists. In a fight like this, any fight really, it was in his benefit to simply wait and let his power grow.
Both teams knew it, so while it was no surprise when Ladora started running towards centre field, followed by Corina, while walking at a more normal pace, was summoning magic circles in preparation to use her signature ice magic. The crowd lit up as Issei started running forward as well.
"Fire and Ice against the very popular Breast Dragon Emperor! But what's this? He's running right towards them! Is he going for a promotion?"
At almost exactly the same time as Issei's fists lit up with their second Boosts, he and Ladora met at centre field. Both of them seemed to have that 'all business' face of two tough guys about to throw down. With the crowd leaning a little more forward in their seats as the two of them were about to collide. But instead of Issei changing into his Balance Break. Instead of throwing a punch or kick. Instead of even trying to block!
He instead executed a perfect baseball 'slide into home base', narrowly avoiding Ladora's fist, and popping back to his feet past him. Ladora was momentarily surprised, just long enough to let Issei get away cleanly, but instead of giving chase, he crouched down and started to transform. Body elongating, devil wings changing shape and size, tanned skin growing scales and thickening, he jumped into the air after Issei, not as a man, but a bus sized dragon.
"I won't let you get past me so easily!" Corina clapped her hands together, the air in front of her filling with shards of ice, the ground becoming glass smooth, and behind her, blocking off the end zone, where Issei could activate his promotion, a wall of ice that went right to the ceiling of the barrier space stadium.
It was about here, that Issei's gauntlets went off again, and just two long strides onto the now glass smooth sheet of ice, his body was encased in his scale armour. Between one step and the next, his shoes became clawed armour, the sharp talon like feet unaffected by the ice.
For a moment, it was clear that Coriana was about to try something, but in the face of the unphased, and still charging Issei, she abandoned the thought and started weaving her hands in the air in front of her. Icicles, barriers, hailstones the size of baseballs, she seemed to throw her entire spell list at him as he simply kept charging that last ten metres.
Using his clawed hands, taloned feet, razor sharp tail and some short jumps, he avoided the walls of ice, dodged the bulk of the attack magic, and made it to within two metres of the now VERY worried looking Coriana.
But instead of one last ditch effort to push him away or throw up a barrier, she jumped backwards, her wings opening up to help her, putting her back to the grand ice wall.
Then Landora LANDED on Issei's back. Even as Issei vanished under the great dragon claws, Landora let out a great burst of fire breath, instantly thawing the ground around them and making the huge ice wall sweat with the sudden reversal of temperature.
NOTES!
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