Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!
OechsnerC; Thanks very much! Yeah, they've managed to trap him!
deltanz; Thanks! Yeah, we'll be seeing the fights continuing this chapter!
ShadowUzumaki55; Yup, the Rating Games underway. Riser's beginning to realize it alright~ Haha, yeah, seems like Xuelan is a bit sensitive about that. They did yeah, they trapped Bedeze, and he only has a few places that he can run. Zenki's gonna be prepared to fight and take them down yeah.
Unzueta; Thanks very much! And yeah, that would be pretty cool, thanks for the suggestion!
HolyKnightX; Thanks! Yeah, Zenki wouldn't take any opponent for granted, even those he knows should be weaker than he is, he respects their admiration and strengths. Haha, that's Isane for you~ Exactly, he believes that he's talented, but he kinda contradicts himself. Yeah, it's going to grow with intensity!
Connor Worsnop; It's probably more of an upgrade than downgrade, since she'll be able to use all aspects of the Evil Piece system as a Pawn. Yup, he's got some harem members.
Skull Flame; Yup, he was going to take out Tiamat, to gain control over the Rating Game system, so he could frame Zenki for murdering Riser. Yup, Zenki and Ajuka together managed to shut down his plans, and are ready to take him down. He does hold some kind of grudge, we'll be seeing where that goes as time presses on.
Guest; Probably yes.
guest; He'll probably be in Class 1A, the girls from 1B can still be with him.
Silver crow; Thanks very much! It's to build durability. Haha, yeah she intends to use it on Zenki. We'll see moments between them. Yeah, it was said that he was taking his time for Bedeze to reveal himself. Zenki would do anything to protect his peerage, not just Asia. Maybe he will say something like that. Yup, Zenki didn't let them around to promote. Some of them do understand that, but still tried their best, something that Zenki respected. We'll see how the fight goes. Bedeze might be an idiot, or it might be an act, and something more sinister is going down than what he believed. We'll see what his goals are and what he's truly after. I don't know if they'll appear yet, I'd like to know more about them before writing them. It still damaged Astaroth that Diodora did that, as mentioned by Tiamat last chapter, and times before then. We'll be seeing who that is in the future. Those are great Black Clover ideas. That would be pretty cool. Hana wouldn't be alive in that fic. That mask would probably remind him way too much of Overhaul. It just depends on the person, and Hero's don't really aim to kill people. He might have a transformation, we'll see what it does.
Andrew123456; I'd have to brush up on Soul Eater, not read that in a while.
Neonlight01; He did yeah, Zenki's pretty strong. Riser's beginning to understand his situation but he's still rather determined. Bedeze's the type to not go down so easily.
Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it's time to start the chapter!
Bedeze's schemes part two
Zenki was currently busy dealing with Riser, and his Queen Yubelluna, wondering what was happening with the outside world. He wondered if Bedeze had made his move yet, and wondered how his peerage were handling it.
Yubelluna didn't look as if she wanted to be there. She knew that this fight wasn't going to end in her favour. But for her King, she would stay and do what was necessary for the fight ahead.
Ajuka looked at the scene before him, while Sirzechs placed a hand by his mouth.
"It's so amazing to see that your son has grown so much. From that little green haired boy to a man like this. He's definitely come a long way. Yet, he's also still got a lot of growing to do in the power department since he's still young. So much untapped potential."
"Indeed. But, for the moment, I'd say that I'm rather proud of my son."
Rias heard what Ajuka said, and allowed a small smile to appear.
She then turned towards Ravel, who's eyes seemed narrow focused on the match going on.
"Ravel, how are you holding up anyway?"
At the question, Ravel simply placed her hands together.
"...I do feel as if Riser-nii-sama is learning about his situation today. The fact that Onii-sama has acknowledged that Zenki-sama is a strong combatant is a step in the right direction. Lately, I had been wondering if he could show humility, but the Onii-sama before me...I definitely can see that he's becoming stronger."
Ravel's response made sense to Rias, and she simply sat there, waiting for what was going to happen next.
Riser on the other hand wasn't pleased with what he was seeing. With his peerage being totally annihilated, save his Queen, seeing that Zenki didn't even have a single wound on him...he just couldn't anymore.
He couldn't face the man before him in a normal mindset.
He was preparing for battle.
The flames on his body grew with his anger.
The flames began to spin around them, creating a vortex. Even around Zenki and Asia as well. Isane murmured "How is he not becoming overwhelmed by the heat? Even Asia..." but Akeno giggled, pointing forward, pointing something out to Isane.
"Around their bodies, is a cooling like barrier. Mixing ice magic together with barrier magic, Zenki-kun's created a way to stay cool from flames such as that. He's doing the same for Asia-chan as well."
Ravel saw the flames seemed a bit more refined than usual.
Riser has grown stronger…
But she knew that it wouldn't be enough.
"Zenki Astaroth, this is going to be our final battle! Who's stronger? Phenex or Astaroth?!"
Riser's hand aggressively went towards Zenki as flames shot around him. As if they were dancing in the air, the flames swirled around him in a vortex like barrage that threatened to rain down on Zenki and Asia.
Asia looked on as Zenki remained calm and collected.
It seemed even in the middle of a large flaming spiral, he was able to remain calm.
Riser on the other hand, seemed to be getting more and more angry as time was going on.
"Zenki! Have this!"
Riser directed his hand forward, compressing all of the flames towards Zenki's body. The flames came at him like a massive hailstorm, the intense heat was even beginning to melt the ground, Zenki had to admit that Riser had grown impressively.
But, he placed his hand outwards, creating a magical circle, a barrier that began blocking off the heat around him. Going to use his Kankara Formula, Yubelluna's hand lit up with some magical power, Zenki noticing what kind of power it was, quickly flicked his hand that direction, taking control over the technique, and reversed it back onto Yubelluna's body.
Yubelluna's movements instantly sealed, as she let out a small gasp.
"R-Riser-sama! I can't move!"
Riser was stunned.
Seeing the magical seal around her, it was clear to him that Zenki had managed to diver the attack like that.
"But, you were supposed to seal his movements!"
"I-I know, but I...I can't do that!"
Riser growled while Zenki, taking the Kankara Formula, turned it back towards Riser's flames, allowing it to manipulate the flames. Riser saw the green glowing overlaying with his fire.
As he took control over the fire, Zenki called "Reverse!" which turned half of the flames into ice, which also froze the remaining flames by Zenki controlling it via his Kankara Formula, increasing the ice turned from fire power, rendering it a giant ice pillar in between them.
Riser looked bewildered.
Shocked at what he had seen happen before his very eyes.
Seeing his attack being destroyed like that.
It was overwhelming for him.
"...My attack got taken from me like that...I couldn't fight against it. Even though I've trained..."
"Riser, you haven't done anything wrong in the way your powers came together with your Queen. But you still have to keep training. I've been training for a long time now, I didn't just reach this with talent. It does help, but talent only gets you so far. Talent and training together, can make you truly strong, and even those without talent, like Sairaorg-kun, trains constantly, and his power is amazing to see."
Riser gritted his teeth.
Feeling the emotional defeat already, it was something that he couldn't even fathom.
"...So, you're saying that my efforts have been for nothing?"
Zenki shook his head.
"What I'm saying is, you need to keep at it. It doesn't just magically happen, you have to polish your abilities, train and use them in different ways. That's what I always say to my peerage members. Even people like Vali-chan who is a very scary existence, knows that there are stronger people out there. I also know that they're stronger people than I am out there. I came across someone like that recently. His power was scary Riser. But I'll keep training until I reach that level, and beyond it. You said that it was my peerage that makes me strong...and to an extent, you're right. Each of them try so hard, so as their King, I also have to try equally as hard, and do my best."
Riser's mind was blown with his words.
It seemed to be almost unreal that Zenki was saying these things.
Zenki's hand turned towards Riser, with the ice formed from fire beginning to be manipulated once more. The ice formed together, mixing together, and created what seemed to be a giant ice Dragon. The scorched ground began to freeze as Zenki increased the ice Dragon's power, breathing out a dense cold mist which began freezing the trees that were burning thanks to Riser's fire, freezing the flames solid.
Isane's face became a little more pale as did Riser's, seeing the incredible power of the ice Dragon.
"H-Holy shit, that ice Dragon...h-he just created an ice Dragon like that, and it's moving and everything...it's almost as if it is alive..."
Isane wasn't fully aware of what Zenki could do. So seeing this and how he was able to manipulate various things, Zenki was someone that kept surprising her, and she couldn't wait to see what this Dragon made of ice could do.
Rias, seeing Isane's confused face, began to explain the best that she could do.
"By using Riser's flames, and turning it to ice with Reverse...it seems that Zenki's created an ice version of the Hell Flames of Phenex. I suppose this could be called Hell Ice of Astaroth." Rias said with a small laugh. "But, it is amazing to see his level of control with the Kankara Formula, to be able to do that within a few moments. I remember a time where Zenki took time to do this, now he's doing it with powers near instantaneously. He's definitely grown. But, Isane. We still wont lose, lets keep getting stronger."
Rias showed her more determined side to Isane, who was quite thrilled to see it.
Zenki directed his hands in complicated ways, with the ice Dragon responding.
The ice Dragon opened its mouth, and spewed out a massive wave of ice.
"T-This is your abilities Zenki Astaroth!"
The wave of ice was huge.
It was dwarfing the school building easily.
Riser's eyes turned to worry as he summoned his own flames. The flames shot out, trying to burn through the ice, but the Dragon's wave of ice overflowed with much freezing power, taking down the flames that froze all the way towards Riser's body.
Riser's body began to freeze up, which would take him out of the game due to him not being able to free himself, then Zenki was shoot an attack that would be reversed into light, and destroy Riser to a point where he couldn't get out of it with his Regeneration abilities, and he'd end up losing.
Yubelluna could see it happening before her eyes.
Yubelluna saw the anguish on her own King's face, seeing that he couldn't go forward, so she summoned her power around her. Despite being sealed, she couldn't shoot her power...but, she could create an explosion around her, which was near Riser.
"Riser-sama...please, do your best. And whatever happens...it doesn't matter. You don't have to be the best...just be Riser-sama."
Riser's eyes turned towards her, seeing that her power was increasing more and more. She was intending an attack to erupt outwards, and perhaps stagger Zenki, but most certainly, to make sure that the ice would shatter and save him.
"Yubelluna...what are you..."
Yubelluna simply smiled towards him.
Her eyes displayed, and her strength.
But also…
It showed her caring nature for her King, and her attitude at wanting to help him out.
Even if she thought he was being foolish.
"It's alright Riser-sama. I know how this has to go, I realize your feelings. Go forward, and do your best."
Watching the emotional words of Yubelluna, Zenki couldn't deny that she was a good Queen for Riser. She supported him, she also had a level head, and was able to make decisions to benefit her King, knowing that she'd not be able to do anything else.
"Zenki-san, Yubelluna-san right now...she's really going all out for her King. Isn't she an amazing Queen?"
"Yes, no doubt, Riser found himself a good Queen. He should be rather proud of her."
Zenki placed a barrier around himself, and Asia, watching as Yubelluna self detonated the area around her, including catching her own body in the fierce attack. The attack swept through her, and became stronger as it grew, becoming like a cocoon of flames that hit the ice Dragon's form, which was strong enough to break the ice growing on Riser, allowing him to retreat backwards.
Zenki's Dragon of ice however, froze the remaining explosive power, turning it into a dome of ice, as the retirement light went around Yubelluna. Seeing her being taken away, Riser's eyes were a mixture of sadness, and appreciative.
Zenki mentally praised her, as Grayfia's announcement called.
[Riser-sama's Queen, retired.]
Riser looked on with his emotions flaring. His heart growing more and more with powerful feelings. His flames turned on high, turning them on Zenki who remained calm, but was also giving praise to Yubelluna's actions.
"Your Queen did well Riser, she's someone to be proud of. Her actions to try and help you as much as she could. I can see such devotion in her eyes for you."
"...Yes, my Queen did amazing for me, who has been taking her and the others for granted. My obsession on becoming stronger than you...it pushed them away. But, seeing them now...they still stand beside me, and are always here for me. It's a wonderful sight. I wont let her sacrifice go to waste Zenki!"
Riser exclaimed, his flames growing by the moment. Wings of fire came out of his back, making him look like a true phoenix at that moment. Zenki could see that he was being serious at this moment, and he respected that.
Regardless of if he won or lost, Zenki knew that Riser was taking many things away from this fight. One important thing was, his comrades, and how they were there for him, and how he had been ignoring their feelings.
Zenki thought he wouldn't be doing that now.
Bedeze's eyes couldn't leave the forms of each and every person there.
People such as Yumi and Koneko, he was sure he'd be able to take down. But people like Vali and Serafall, he wasn't so sure. Kuroka also was a bit question mark, she was powerful in her own way. He didn't know the capabilities of Le Fay, so he couldn't say if he could or couldn't take her down in a fight.
"Please, give up right now. We don't have to have a fight like this, your sentence will be eased if you willingly hand yourself over."
Le Fay tried to speak to Bedeze, but he waved off her concerns.
"Who said that I was currently in a negative situation?"
Bedeze's hand went towards Le Fay, but the moment that he tried to fire off any kind of aura, Yumi revealed her own Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, donning a sword in one hand, and then crossed the distance, slashing towards Bedeze's hand with her swift movements.
Bedeze gave her a dismissive look, shooting her with some of his aura. Kuroka waved her finger, and muttered "Nope~" and created a barrier to block off the strong assault, cancelling one another out, allowing Yumi to get in close, slashing towards his chest.
However, Bedeze's Hole opened up, swallowing the sword whole, spitting out the sword from behind Yumi. Yumi swiftly dodged out of the way, retreating back towards the others, Koneko looked towards Yumi.
"...Senpai, are you okay?"
"Yes...but, it seems that Bedeze's rather fast."
"...It's alright, we'll leave it to people like Serafall-sama, and the others."
Yumi clutched her hand at her sword.
"Yes, I know that you're right...but, I simply couldn't..."
"...It's fine, we'll become stronger."
Koneko murmured, trying to be strong at this moment in time.
Bedeze looked between them all, wondering what he was going to do next. How he was going to handle this kind of situation.
With dagger in hand, he attempted to turn it towards Tiamat, but Serafall waved her wand forward, releasing a massive ice wave. Bedeze barely had any chance to create a barrier to block the massive wave. His Hole ability wouldn't have been able to deal with the massive ice wave, so he had to block or he would have been taken out.
"Geez, this Bedeze-chan is going to be a nuisance." Her hand went to Vali. "Vali-chan, you and Tiamat-chan shouldn't be fighting this person, with the Dragon slaying object in hand, he could cause you a lot of damage before you could get through."
Vali's eyes went towards Serafall, who kept giving her the peace sign.
"Heh, sounds as if you're underestimating me. A mere fake Dragon slayer cannot slay me so easily. Albion and I aren't weaklings like that to suffer at the hands of someone such as Bedeze who mocks people for a lack of talent, yet he himself also doesn't have much talent."
Bedeze's eyes sharpened at the insulting nature of the woman before him.
"Even if he doesn't, she's right Vali-chan. Let Serafall-chan handle this guy. You handle Arthur-chan, with Le Fay-chan getting ready with myself or something. I'm sure Serafall-chan will be able to handle this Bedeze-chan~"
Kuroka added, with Bedeze becoming increasingly angry.
"Don't mock me! You don't understand anything at all!"
Kuroka snickered as Bedeze opened a Hole by his hand, shooting out what seemed to be a demonic wave added with Dragon slayer abilities, with a hole opening up above Vali's body, shooting off the wave so strong that it threatened to flatten Vali's body.
However, the moment it began to move, Vali donned her Balance Breaker's armour, her hands directing upwards, and her Sacred Gear announced [Half Dimension!] allowing the hole that he created to half in size, the massive wave of power collapsed the rest of the hole, Bedeze's face turning sour more and more.
"Your Hole is primary defensive in nature, so you're trying to fight a person that can take down defensive movements with a number of different ways thanks to my Sacred Gear." Vali's hand aimed forward, a silvery aura surrounding said hand. "I wont hold back, I wonder if you can fight this power?"
Vali's hand went to fire off the power, when Bedeze's Hole opened up around Vali, many of them opened up, and all sorts of aura began to shoot out of them, each of them heading for the young woman to crush her body under the aura that was filled with Dragon slaying aura as well as normal waves of demonic power.
Vali's eyes sharpened, allowing her wings to extend more and more as they glowed. Bedeze watched as Vali's aura spread around her, increasing more and more as [Divide!] rang out for as many amounts of aura was heading for her, halving the power of the Dragon slaying demonic power, and took it down when she released her own kind of aura, crushing Bedeze's aura a good deal with the amount of power that she had.
The blowback of the power forced Bedeze down to the ground, Tiamat looked mildly impressed.
"I can see why Zenki made you his Queen. I wasn't sure at the beginning, but seeing you like this...yes, it seems that you were a worthy Queen. If you weren't, I had promised Ajuka that I'd burn you."
"How lovely, seems like you haven't changed all that much Tiamat."
Vali grinned, while Tiamat frowned.
"Honestly, you still are an honest Dragon intent on fighting, and Zenki's butt."
"It's true, she's a girl after his-"
"Kuroka, shut up."
Kuroka stuck out her tongue towards Vali, while Serafall spun her wand around.
"Tiamat-chan, you just keep the Rating Game system safe. We'll deal with this guy~"
"Very well, Serafall Leviathan. Make sure that it hurts this blonde haired bastard."
"Will do~"
Serafall cheered out.
Bedeze sharpened his eyes.
"You think you can beat me, but you don't know anything about me or my comrades. My allies here, as I've said, have been enhanced. They don't die with a single attack, they can regenerate until nothing is left."
"Ooh, so we should shatter their hearts and minds~"
Serafall winked, Bedeze's eyebrows knitted together.
Seeing the situation before him, he knew what he'd have to do, so he pointed forward, allowing the soldiers he had brought with him, which all had a thick aura around them. But Vali could tell that while they were powered up, they still weren't much stronger than Middle Class Devils.
"Did he give you duds? Because these aren't even resembling the ones we fought as kids!"
Vali yelled, shooting off a massive wave of aura.
The aura completely overcame a good number of the people, threatening to take them down. But the moment that her aura was going to hit them, Arthur rushed forward, allowing his sword to go forward, and raise the holy aura of his Caliburn sword, swinging it forward, cleaving Vali's demonic power in half, the two halves of the demonic power smashed into the ground, exploding safely away from the forces.
"Perhaps, but I've got Arthur. A Devil doesn't have a chance against this Holy Sword."
Vali looked on fearlessly, she dint even seem to be bothered that a Holy Sword was pointing towards her.
A fight with a Holy Sword wielder...the Ultimate Holy Sword wielder?
Yes, that was a fight she was happy to be in.
Back with Zenki and Riser, Asia was stood on the sidelines as the fight was going to begin.
Riser had powered up his energies to reveal his flames spreading out around him. Zenki could see his determined spirit, so he placed a hand on his body, and murmured "Release." Riser watched as some magical seals suddenly shot out of his body, landing on the floor, and created small craters in the ground.
Riser's eyes flared as Zenki stretched his arms above his head.
"W-What where they?"
Riser wasn't sure if he wished for the answer.
It was rather troubling for him.
"Just some seals, that's all. Sairaorg-kun recommended that I do this to build my physical strength. I have to say, it feels so relieving to have those things off my body. Now I feel as light as air."
Zenki got into a fighting formation, while Riser did the same thing.
Riser concentrated his flames into his fists, and shot forward…
But Zenki disappeared, shocking him and he looked around for Zenki.
Catching the sight of green on the right hand side of him, he tried to block that way, but Zenki's fist embedded itself into Riser's torso, releasing a strong wave of demonic power through Riser's body, blowing his entire upper half out of existence, while his legs were blown away with the intense air pressure of Zenki's fist.
Sending him flying, Asia placed her hands together.
"Zenki-san..."
Zenki glanced at her, giving her a smile, then turned back to Riser.
Seeing Riser regenerate, Zenki placed his hands upwards, creating what seemed to be spears of demonic power. However, he called "Reverse." and turned them into spears of light, Riser's regenerating body began to become fearful.
Seeing the light, he knew that if he was hit by them, then it could be over.
Once he regenerated fully, Riser yelled "I wont lose!" and sent off a mass of flames in the form of a wave. Zenki shot forward to the flames, releasing the spears of light at the same time. As the spears hit the flames, they erupted in powerful light blasts, destroying the flames within moments.
Riser was fearfully cringing as the green haired Devil got in close, his fists tightened as a demonic aura appeared there. Sending them forward, Riser was stunned as a volley of bullet like punches towards him. All Riser could do was block with his arms, but each punch destroyed portions of Riser's arms, forcing him to regenerate.
Isane also saw that, clicking her tongue.
"Tch, it's not fair. Zenki-kun's punches aren't gonna get through, due to his damn regeneration."
"His regeneration has limits, Isane-sama."
Isane raised an eyebrow at Ravel.
"It does?"
"Yes, it depends on demonic power. If his demonic power is drained sufficiently, then the regeneration wont work. But also, if Onii-sama's mind gets crushed, he wont be able to regenerate anymore either. Though, that last one...while Zenki-sama could do that, it would defeat the point on trying to teach him a lesson. So Zenki-sama will be aiming to drain him of his demonic power."
"Is that possible though? How can he do it?"
Ravel smiled lightly.
"Zenki-sama has his ways and means to deal with the regeneration of Phenex."
Isane became intrigued, watching as Zenki's punches managed to destroy Riser's arms, and got through to his upper body. The fists continued to fly, slamming deeply into Riser's body, blowing away a good deal of Riser's upper body, before placing his hand outwards, and created a large wave of demonic energy, washing over Riser's form, destroying him out of existence apart from his feet.
Riser's body however, began to regenerate once more.
His eyes as they came back when towards Zenki, feeling more and more fear as Zenki moved closer.
"S-Stay back!"
Riser snapped, his flames shooting out like a homing attack. Getting near him, the flames were dispelled by a wave of demonic power from Zenki's palm, with the power splitting apart, and heading for Riser once more.
Riser created a barrier, trying to block off the powers, but the bullets shattered through the barrier, landing against his body, sending him flying backwards.
"Ara ara, seeing Zenki-kun's manly sides right now~ It really does make me feel good~"
Akeno moaned, twitching her upper body in delight.
Rias gave her a bemused look while Riser concentrated on his flames. But also, he began manipulating the wind. The winds stirred around him, becoming more and more rapid by the moment, with flames being added onto it, creating a vortex of destructive flames.
The flames span around him more and more, while compressing themselves into the palm of his hands. Zenki watched, seeing that Riser was focused. The flames also seemed stronger than they were before.
"Zenki...you know, I was angry at you."
Zenki wondered where Riser was going with this.
If he was trying to stall for time, or he was trying to genuinely speak his mind.
Either way, Zenki kept up his guard, ready to strike at any moment.
"Why?"
"Because...Because my Imouto went to your peerage. I didn't think you'd be able to protect her. I also thought that maybe it was dangerous to be in your peerage."
"Riser, it is dangerous. Ravel-chan knew that before she entered my group. I told her that it would be dangerous, yet she decided to stand beside me. Riser, I get it. You're worried about your Imouto, but you have to understand. I'd put my life on the line for any member of my peerage. Ravel-chan is not an exception to this."
Riser was beginning to understand that.
It was clear that Zenki would protect Ravel.
But with the thing that Bedeze had said…
He still wondered if Zenki was telling the truth, or was he quite deceptive with his words.
But Riser didn't stop, and allowed his convictions to grow, and his flames did that also.
"But, I also was worried about her! Because of Diodora Astaroth!"
Zenki focused his eyes on the Phenex.
"That's...understandable. You could have thought I was like Diodora. He is a stain on Astaroth's legacy. His actions have hurt Astaroth, and it's been difficult trying to build back up all the trust, the affiliations that we had. I get that you were worried about Ravel-chan, it makes you a great Onii-sama to be worried for her. But, your actions have gone too far. You didn't need to involve Rias. If you had an issue with me, you didn't have to go this far."
"Of course I did! This has to be the way Zenki!"
Zenki placed his hands together, readying himself for the fight ahead.
It seemed that he still had something's to deal with when it came to Riser.
Back with the others, Serafall and Bedeze engaged in a battle, with Serafall unleashing massive ice attacks against Bedeze.
Bedeze used his Hole ability to teleport himself out of the way of multiple attacks, but Serafall didn't give up, her ice attacks repelling the army that had been summoned also.
Bedeze attempted to shoot his demonic power through his Holes and surround Serafall. But when he did, she simply erupted the area with her ice, freezing the demonic power into statues, which shattered with a snap of Serafall's fingers.
"Sorry, but my ultimate battle is going to be with Gabriel~"
"You really hate her, don't you?"
Bedeze sweat dropped as he said it.
Serafall showed a sweet smile.
"Of course! I'll do my best!"
"You'll do your best against her?"
"Yup! You and her!"
Bedeze sweat dropped even more, and continued fighting Serafall.
But it was clear that as time went on, Serafall was keeping him back, he couldn't get through with his defensive movements at all.
In all in, Serafall was overwhelming Bedeze who was more on the defensive than the offensive.
Vali on the other hand, was going to confront Arthur, her eyes went towards Yumi and Koneko, then towards Tiamat.
"You, little cat, and sword girl, your job is to keep Tiamat safe. Kuroka, you work with Le Fay to get the spell ready. I'll be facing off against Arthur myself."
"Ararara, not wanting to be upstaged by Serafall, are you Vali-chan?"
"That's not got anything to do with it. Zenki asked us to save this girls Onii-sama. Lets respect that and beat him and save him all at once. Besides, Zenki got to fight him, so I also want to see if this guy is worth it."
"Alright Vali-chan, I'll work with Le Fay-chan. Shirone, Yumi, do as Vali-chan said. It would be better if Tiamat-chan was kept safe while she concentrates on the Rating Game. We don't have time to waste so get to it!"
"...Since when did Onee-sama become a rather leader type of girl?"
Kuroka stuck out her tongue, then waved her fingers side to side.
"That doesn't matter, just do as we say~"
Koneko nodded, and with Yumi, rushed towards Tiamat, and took up a defensive position. Clutching her sword, Yumi readied herself as did Koneko, as a group of the Devils came close, so they began their battle, with Yumi and Koneko being stronger than the average Middle Class Devil, could cut them down and punch them out with their powers.
But it was clear that their bodies did regenerate, so they pushed forward even further, Yumi moving her sword as she said "I am Zenki-kun's blade, I wont fail him!" and chopped down the enemies before her so finely that it was almost an art form, chopping them in such ways where they couldn't regenerate anymore.
Koneko also saw her determination, and made a stance.
"I am...I am also Zenki-senpai's Rook, I am his fists...I wont lose!"
Showing more emotions than usual, Koneko activated her Senjutsu, and came at the enemy before her. Her Senjutsu fists flew forward, slamming deeply into the opponents, and because of her Senjutsu abilities, it brought them down to a place where they couldn't move anymore, allowing Yumi to slice right through their bodies, taking them out.
Vali tightened her hands, as Arthur spun his sword around. Holy power leaked off the blade, readying himself for the fight with Vali. Vali didn't release even a breath as she flew forward, Arthur could read her movements, which was highly impressive for a human, and ended up reacting to Vali's attack, swinging down at the right hand side, unleashing a massive wave of holy power, forcing Vali to block with a strong barrier.
"Heh, seems like you could be worth a fight."
Vali activated her Sacred Gear on the holy power pushing against her barrier, [Divide!] went off several times, taking the power until it became nothing, and she swatted it away, the silvery aura empowered by Arthur's holy power shot forward.
His sword slipped into a bubble in space, appearing behind the silvery aura, and penetrated it, unleashing a holy wave of power into the silvery aura, collapsing the power under his own swords power, protecting him from the attack of Vali.
"Impressive. For a human, it would be difficult if you received even a single blow of my power. So that's why you decided to take down my power before it reached me." Arthur didn't reply, he simply looked on without any emotions. "It's alright if you don't want to talk, we can get right into the action!"
Vali shot forward with her wings extending behind her. Her movements were so fast that ordinary people like Le Fay and even Kuroka couldn't follow Vali's movements. But Arthur could, seeing her movements, he could react to her powers, and ended up predicting the place she'd be, unleashing the incredible power of holy towards the right hand side where Vali was going.
Vali was forced to dodge out of the way, shooting off several destructive auras for Arthur's body.
Fluidly moving, Arthur cleaved down the destructive auras, closing the distance with Vali. Aiming his sword for her chest, he thrusted forward, as she blocked with her arm, the metals clanging sound reverberated through the area, Vali's eyes widening slightly.
"Now I get it, I can see why Zenki wished for me to fight you. You aren't an ordinary human. He did promise me a good fight. So, show me a good fight Arthur Pendragon!"
Arthur's eyes flickered for a moment.
Le Fay noticed it also, and could see that a bit of her brother shined through.
He was happy.
He was excited to do what he wished to do.
But that was stopped when the mind control happened once more.
His sword retreated from Vali, as he swung it right, through a portal in the air, and came for her right hand side. Filling her hand with aura, she grabbed the blade, stopping it from penetrating her skull, while Vali aimed her other hand towards him, shooting off a strong aura to crumble his stance, knowing that she couldn't kill him.
But Arthur surprised her as she saw that he was channelling the holy aura from his blade, towards the front of his body, acting as some form of wall, which blocked off Vali's shots and that distracted Vali long enough for him to yank the blade out of her hand, which cut into the armour of her hand.
But that fixed easily enough.
Still, Vali could see his impressive movements, and for a human, he definitely was very talented. She understood why the enemy would want to have him in their group, he was a tough opponent that needed to be stopped.
Vali watched as his sword whirled around, creating masses of holy power that shot out as his sword moved. They were strong enough to easily kill a High Class Devil, and injure an Ultimate Class Devil, so Vali had to pick up the pace, releasing her aura from her body, she controlled the power to focus it before her.
"You are pretty good, Arthur. Zenki allowing me to fight you is quite an honour." Arthur's eyes fluttered, taking his sword up once more. "However, it's disheartening that I have to fight you while your mind isn't fully here. If that was the case, then your tactical abilities would certainly lend you assistance during this battle. It's a shame, perhaps we could fight properly when you're back to normal."
Vali displayed a slightly disheartened look.
But she also was determined to have that kind of battle one day with the Holy Sword wielder.
They continued battling for several minutes. Vali was able to keep Arthur at bay. If she wanted to, she probably could use Juggernaut Drive, but she also thought that if she did, then she'd end up killing him by accident, so she didn't want to do that and kept her power at a steady level.
Once it was prepared, Le Fay and Kuroka grabbed the enchanted orb that flew out. Kuroka grabbed the orb, while Le Fay continued to enchant.
"We need to bind him somehow Kuroka-sama. It will take a few moments to begin working."
"I can bind him, if Vali-chan stuns him for a moment."
"You can bind him?"
"With my poison mist." Le Fay looked worried, so Kuroka waved her hand. "Don't worry, it wont do lasting damage. It will only cause him to feel weaker, and collapse if he stays in it for long. But, it shouldn't be that long."
Le Fay was quite relieved.
They continued watching the match unfurl, seeing Vali taking the attacks of Arthur's and repelling them. If she unleashed her full power, she could kill him, but since she didn't want to kill him, she thought more tactically and managed to break through several of Arthur's complex abilities.
Kuroka then turned to Vali who was in the middle of duelling.
"Vali-chan, it's time! Make him stop in a single place!"
"Right."
Vali channelled her powers through her armour. The armour glowed, as well as her hands. Demonic power swirled around her, concentrating on the destructive nature of her power. Because Arthur's sword was powerful, and he was very skilled with it, forcing him to stay in a single point for a few moments was going to be difficult.
But, not impossible.
Vali's hands erupted with her powers, shooting off the demonic power in a straight like. Arthur's sword swung out, penetrating space and attempted to cut down the demonic power before it reached him.
But the moment it did come close, Vali waved her hand, and controlled her demonic powers movements. Le Fay imagined it was because she had watched Zenki using his Kankara Formula, and had been able to replicate that success. Of course, she couldn't do more on what Zenki could do with the Kankara Formula.
But still, it was amazing to see her doing that.
When avoiding Arthur's slashing with his sword, Arthur tightened the grip on his blade, concentrating on the holy aspect of his sword, increasing the power of it, and swung it down to create a massive wave to destroy both demonic powers being shot out.
Vali saw that attack coming, and the moment that he was going to release, Vali extended her wings, creating a beautiful light that surrounded her body. Her hands directed forward, and she announced "It's time to half." allowing her Sacred Gear to activate at the same time.
[Half Dimension!]
Doing that a single time, while moving the demonic powers out of the way, the holy wave halved in size, allowing the demonic powers to come back down towards her. His eyes narrowed as the demonic power got close, so he made complicated slashes as the demonic power neared him, attempting to cut it down.
But Vali's control over demonic power was rather good in Le Fay's mind. Avoiding each and every slash of Arthur's was difficult. He was wicked fast, his ability to adapt was also stunning, yet Vali also was capable of keeping up and in some ways, even surpassing the way that Arthur was currently moving.
When getting the demonic power in the right places, Vali snapped her fingers, causing the demonic power to erupt into an explosive force, sending all that explosive power at Arthur, who had to focus on defence.
Since he was a human, Arthur's body couldn't handle the immense power of Vali. Even an attack like this could cause a good deal of damage.
But while he was using his Holy Sword to defend against the explosive power, Kuroka's poison mist came creeping in. Arthur couldn't see it due to the blinding light of Vali's explosive energy, and while he was doing that, the poison made it to him, with him unwillingly breathing it in.
For a few moments, Arthur was able to dispel Vali's destructive power, and seemed to be alright.
But when he took a step forward, his body pulsated, his eyes widening as he looked down at himself.
"W-What..."
"Here Vali-chan! Give him this!"
Kuroka tossed the glowing sphere towards Vali, who grabbed it, and dashed forward. Despite being poisoned, Arthur still wasn't going to give up, piercing the ground with his sword, releasing a pulse of holy aura around him.
Vali didn't stop though, she used her [Divide!] three times as the holy aura hit her, and unleashed demonic power, destroying the rest once taking a good deal of the power away, moving closer and closer by the second.
Crossing the distance, Arthur attempted to slash Vali down.
However, Le Fay activated a magic circle, shooting out some rope, which bound his arm, yanking it back enough for Vali to slam the glowing orb inside of his chest, sinking in through his skin, and caused a bright flashing light to shine.
Arthur's eyes broadened exponentially, pain erupted through him, dropping down to his knees in said pain.
"Aaaaaah..."
He let out his voice, while Le Fay rushed closer.
"Onii-sama!" When she went to get close, Vali stopped her with an extended arm. "Vali-sama..."
"Wait, let it do its magic."
Kuroka strolled forward, placing a hand on Le Fay's shoulder. Le Fay looked towards her, seeing Kuroka smiling down at her, she then turned back towards her brother, seeing that he was writhing on the ground in pain, while a gaseous substance soaked out of his body.
"...That must be it, the thing inside of Onii-sama is being dissolved."
"It seems to be."
Vali murmured, as Le Fay placed her hands together.
"Zenki-sama...we did it. We managed to save Onii-sama. Thank you, Zenki-sama. If it wasn't for your ingenuity, I might not have come to a conclusion myself...and thanks to your peerage, I also was able to stop Onii-sama from hurting others."
Le Fay couldn't hide her smile.
She saw Arthur collapse onto the floor, groaning as he looked around. Seeing his normal eyes once more, Le Fay became emotional, moving closer and closer to the young man. Her meek voice called "Onii-sama…?" Arthur's eyes immediately went towards her own.
"Le Fay...what's going on? All I remember was...that man, him placing something on me...and it's hazy. I feel like...we've been fighting...my body feels sore...what's happening here?"
Le Fay shook her head, as she rushed towards Arthur, hugging him around his neck, as she shed a few tears. Arthur seemed confused, but he also hugged her, with Le Fay crying onto his chest.
"It's okay Onii-sama...everything's going to be okay now..."
"Is that so…? I don't get what happened...but, you saved me, did you?"
"Not just me, but Zenki-sama, and his peerage also. Without them, I didn't think that I'd ever be able to save you."
"Oh, you finally met him then? Was it as good as you thought it would be? Since you've been following his career, I suppose it makes sense you'd ask him for help. Well, you did the right thing Le Fay."
Le Fay blushed up a storm, thinking about Zenki and how he had accepted her without even worry, didn't blame Arthur for anything, and was willing to help her without question, it was quite embarrassing for her to even think about it, but with Arthur looking towards her, she did feel more embarrassed than before.
Kuroka watching it from the sidelines, let out a cute little crying sound.
"Look at that Vali-chan? Family together again. It's the reason why I like Zenki-chan so much...I don't even want to imagine a time where I'm not with Shirone, but he made sure that we stayed together always nyaaa. Don't you feel like that with anyone?"
"My family...my family is Zenki, this group and my Kaa-san. That's all."
Kuroka placed a hand by her mouth.
"How cute, you think of us as family huh nyaaa~?"
"Don't let it get to your head, it's a thing that I think, just deal with it."
Kuroka smirked at Vali, glad that they were able to help Le Fay out, and finally, free Arthur.
Back with Zenki and Riser. Riser's body was growing weaker with each strike Zenki could give him. He didn't give up, and charged for Zenki time and time again. His fists were enhanced by his flames of Phenex, but Zenki countered with his own demonic power, Zenki's fists smashing Riser's stance apart each time, and unloaded his demonic power into Riser, obliterating most of his body in shots.
Zenki didn't want to kill Riser, so he didn't use light in large quantities, only using it to drain Riser of his demonic power. Calling "Reverse!" when he thought would be appropriate, using the light of his changed demonic power, to crumble his stance.
Riser, with sweat pouring off of his body, pulled his hand back, but when it went forward, Zenki grabbed it, delivering a hard punch to Riser's face, the pressure of the hit sent Riser slamming backwards, smashing into the ground and caused him to cry out.
Zenki wondered how Ravel was feeling right now with watching this.
He didn't get any pleasure in doing this.
But he knew that Ravel wanted him to do this, so he hoped she'd be able to bear with it just a bit longer.
Riser with his remaining strength, pumped his flames into his hand, spinning around in his palm, and shot off towards Zenki in a flame thrower like burst, forcing Zenki to activate the Kankara Formula, and divert the power away from him destroying a good portion of the tennis court where Zenki shot it off.
"He's definitely grown a bit stronger. His flames seem to be at a good tier of High Class Devil. But they're unrefined, Ravel-chan's trained her flames, and she can release them, and even control them to a degree. Though I do think Riser's flames have quite good potential...he just needs to train a bit more."
Thinking like that, Zenki saw Riser coming at him with a strong fist to the face.
Quickly dodging, Zenki got to the side of Riser, tightening his fist, and thrusted it deeply into the upper body of Riser. Riser coughed up bile, slamming him deeply into the ground, and created a shock wave, cracking the earth in several places.
Riser, from the ground, stared up at Zenki.
With the light of the sky surrounding him, Riser wasn't sure what to think anymore.
"Y-You..."
Riser growled, his face messed up with the punches of Zenki.
It seemed now that his regeneration wasn't responding to him anymore.
His powers had been drained, so Zenki held back his fist.
"Riser, I'm sorry about this. But this was the only way to show you."
"...I've brought shame to Phenex, I can't...I can't win against you, Zenki Astaroth. I feel...I feel so humiliated...I'm a son of Phenex!"
"And I'm a son of Astaroth. We both had our clans on the line during all of this Riser. I'm not doing this to humiliate you either. I'm doing this so you can understand something. Something your Imouto understands quite well."
While panting, Riser's eyes met with Zenki's own.
"What's that…?"
"I've been saying it for sometime now. Training, it's what matters. Yes, talent is amazing, and those with talent can go a good distance, like with yourself Riser. On talent alone, you've done quite well. But, talent isn't everything. A talented person who doesn't train a single day, could be one day outclassed by someone who wasn't born with talent while pushing themselves to the absolute limit everyday, and could be taken down by their hard effort. It's the kind of world we live in. And you Riser, you were born with talent, if you took training seriously, then you'd be able to grow stronger. You don't have to believe me, but take this to heart Riser."
"..."
Riser didn't even speak as Zenki continued.
"Actions have consequences. Ravel-chan was upset when this was happening."
"Ravel...was upset..."
Riser began understanding his words.
His actions...had caused Ravel upset.
Something he didn't want to do.
"Yes, Ravel-chan was upset because she didn't want to see us fight. But, she also understood that a lesson had to be taught to you, about humility. Acknowledging people are stronger than you. You don't have to accept that reality and keep training. But you do have to acknowledge that currently, you and me...we have people that are stronger than us. We should keep training."
"...I understand now...I thought maybe it was your peerage...but, the real monster on your group, is you."
Zenki chuckled awkwardly, remembering a certain silver haired girl, and how she'd react to hearing that.
"Well, Vali-chan would be pissed if you said that, and she'd say that she's the strongest, and I wouldn't deny her cute Longinus does give her an edge. But, that doesn't stop me from training either, and inventing. Perhaps you could find something like that Riser, but you also have to understand. Hate me if you want, I don't care. But, Ravel-chan is my peerage member, I have to care for her needs, and protect her heart. So whatever it is between us, I want to resolve it, for Ravel-chan's sake. We don't have to be best friends, we just have to make sure Ravel-chan's heart is at ease."
Ravel, who was watching from the seating area, couldn't help but begin shedding a few tears. Becoming more emotional by the second, Ravel dried her eyes with her sleeve, while Isane glanced towards her.
"Ravel...did this cement you in the harem?"
"I was already cemented in the harem!"
Isane blinked rapidly while Rias chortled.
"It's because Zenki said what he did. He cares about his peerages happiness above his own. He'd put everything he'd have to making them happy. It's a quality that I admire not only as a King, but as my fiancée."
"Your fiancee...huh."
Rias gave challenging eyes to Akeno.
"Fufu, what's wrong Akeno?"
"Oh, nothing at all. I'm just thinking about how we're going to be doing things behind your back and have some cute times together~"
Rias frowned as Akeno showed a light smirk on her face.
Ravel leaned her head back, watching the match between Riser, and Zenki.
"Zenki-sama...thank you, thank you for everything you do for us all. Even when we don't know about it...you're always working hard to make us happy. It's something people might not see...but, we all see it Zenki-sama. And thank you...for helping my Onii-sama. He can be hard to get through too...but, I can see Onii-sama, beginning to understand what's happening right now. Your words...have gotten through to him."
Ravel continued to watch as Zenki placed his hand outwards. Gathering demonic power, Riser understood what was happening now, and in the end...he simply accepted it.
He knew he couldn't win the fight.
So he simply gave up, and leaned his head backwards.
"...Zenki Astaroth, allow me to ask one thing before you finish me off?"
"Yes, Riser?"
"...My Imouto, is she happy with you? In your peerage...do you make her happy?"
"You'd have to ask her that Riser. My answer would be, I try my best to make her, and all of my peerages lives as happy as they can be."
Riser began laughing.
"You know...I heard once that when you fight someone, it's something that you can't lie about. Your hearts are in your blows. When I fought you...I don't know if it was something like that...but, I felt as if I understood that you weren't that bad at all..."
Zenki breathed in slowly.
"Riser, you did well in this Rating Game, you do have a good peerage. Train, I'd really like to have a good battle with you one day. Nothing with anger, but just us trading blows, and having a good battle."
Riser showed a light smirk, and went to answer, when Zenki felt something off.
A chill down his spine.
As if moving from slow motion, Zenki saw some purple flames raining down towards Riser's body.
"Shit..."
Zenki could also see that there were complex magical seals around the flames, preventing him from taking over the flames within seconds with his Kankara Formula, and he knew that if the flames hit Riser, then he'd incinerate in his current condition, and kill him.
So he used his speed to get between him and the flames, and defended Riser from the wild assault.
Asia's eyes widened in fear, and she yelled "Zenki-saaaaaaaaaaaaan!" fearing the worst, knowing that the flames were holy in nature, and if he had been caught up in them...
Just before that happened, Serafall unleashed a large wave of ice, forcing Bedeze onto his back.
Blood leaked out of the blonde haired man, the wounds on his body were devastating. Serafall hadn't gone easy on him at all.
"Y-You...d-damn Leviathan..."
"Yup, I'm a Leviathan that's gonna take you down~"
Bedeze pulled himself up off the floor, and saw not just Serafall, but also Kuroka and Vali moving closer.
Bedeze shot his eyes for Arthur, and saw that he was back to the way that he was beforehand.
"N-No..."
"Face it Bedeze, it's over with this time."
Vali's words were crushing.
It felt like his efforts where for nothing.
But, he wasn't going to give up just yet.
"Over? It's over did you say Lucifer?"
"You've got three options, and none of them are preferable. You will be arrested. Though if you come at me, I'll shoot you with my power."
"Nyaaa, Vali-chan's showing a serious side right now~"
Kuroka meowed out, while Bedeze kept his gaze upon the people before him.
Believing that he only had one option left, he was going to do a bold move.
"If that's the case, then I'm going to finish off Riser right now! I wont fail him!"
Bedeze placed his hand outwards, creating a portal in the air. Vali went to move, when he tossed the dagger down to the ground. Vali watched as the dagger began to bubble up, growing more and more.
Thick arms, thick legs, at least ten feet in height, fur that was black with Dragon like symbols drawn over its flesh.
It looked like a giant yeti.
"Did he just grow a yeti looking thing?"
Kuroka asked Koneko who shrugged.
"We're dealing with a man, Bedeze's so-called benefactor, that combined creatures together, so why not seal one inside of a dagger?"
"I suppose you're right nyaaa."
The yeti let out a roaring sound, and unleashed a wave of power from its mouth, Vali noticing that it had Dragon slaying properties immediately, so Kuroka pulled forward, erupting a barrier to block off the wild attack.
But in doing that, Bedeze managed to jump through his hole, but not before Serafall managed to pierce his leg with some ice, blood leaking out of said leg.
With Bedeze having escaped, Serafall gritted her teeth and went to move, when more of the soldiers came with their Dragon slaying weapons along with the yeti like monster.
"It's alright, he can only go two places." Serafall murmured to the others. "Either to the other Maou's, or to Zenki-tan himself. But it doesn't matter, he wont be able to get further than that. We should concentrate our efforts here."
Preparing for battle, they were ready to take down these soldiers and this monster that had been formed.
Back on the field with Zenki and Riser, along with Asia, the blonde haired former nun could only watch as the purple flames rained down on the pair.
It was devastating, she wasn't sure if Zenki had managed to take the attack or not.
Asia could hear a small laughing noise coming from above, looking up towards it, she saw that Bedeze was hovering there. His leg was bleeding profusely, his body was covered in wounds, and his stamina had taken a good hit thanks to his fight with Serafall.
His hand went towards Asia.
"So, your King jumped in the way in the end. I'm confused. Why would he even bother?"
"Zenki-san didn't hate Riser-san, and he's also Ravel-chan's Onii-sama. But even if he wasn't, Zenki-san wouldn't allow someone to be killed!"
Bedeze raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so? Well, I was only aiming for Riser...so, if Zenki-kun dies, then it would truly be scary what my leader is going to do to me. Haha, I might have to go on the run if he's..."
Bedeze cut himself off as the fire suddenly erupted out of existence.
Bedeze saw that Zenki was stood with him and Riser, being safe from the flames, save for a nasty burn on Zenki's arm, but apart from that, he was alright.
Revealing Zenki being okay despite the burn, Asia looked immensely relieved, while also seeing that a number of flies were around him and Riser, in protective cocoon, secreting a poison from each of them.
Bedeze noticed that the poison seemed to have offered a protective field around them.
Zenki placed a hand on his arm, and began using some ice magic to cool down the burns, while Asia walked over, placing her hand on his arm, and began healing it.
"Zenki-san, are you okay?"
"Yeah, the flames seemed to have been powered by someone stronger than Bedeze. However, they still had a flaw so I could use that to dispel the flames. Though it took my arm, it was better than taking Riser's entire body, or my own."
Asia nodded, looking on with a kind face.
"Zenki-san, I'm just glad you're okay...I was really worried when you saved Riser-san..."
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Asia-chan."
Asia shook her head, continuing to heal the young man the best that she could.
Bedeze looked angered by this move, flying down in a bloody mess.
"So you escaped death, did you?"
"Your flames, they come from the Longinus Incinerate Anthem from what I've seen before, yet I don't sense it on you."
"Correct, I just borrowed some flames. It was meant to kill Riser over there."
Riser was stunned that he was seeing Bedeze.
He had been helping him...
But now, Bedeze had tried to kill him.
"B-Bedeze-sama…? W-What...What are you doing!?"
Bedeze began to laugh mockingly towards Riser.
"Riser, you are foolish. Trusting my words...I'm glad you were easily manipulated." Riser's eyes lowered a good degree while Zenki tightened his hands. "Pathetic Riser. You never had a chance against him."
"But...what you said..."
"It seems that I don't have to lie anymore. I've been caught out."
Zenki looked towards Riser, seeing his despair growing more and more.
"Riser..."
"You're sad, Riser. Looking at you now, it's clear this outcome was going to happen. Too bad that you didn't end up dying. I thought you'd at least perish, but it seems that Zenki managed to protect you. I'm interested in how you did that Zenki-kun."
"How I did it, is my business."
"Hmmm, is that so? But, you saved this...Phenex, that can't be allowed. I'll have to take care of him my-"
"Tiamat-chan! Is the system still active!?"
Surprising Bedeze for a few moments at the yell, it allowed Tiamat the time to communicate with Zenki.
[Yes, Zenki Astaroth. The Retirement system is still active, Serafall and the others did their job well. Though it seems when he teleported to the Rating Game, there was a barrier thrown up preventing entry, only exit, and even if you end the Rating Game now, the field will remain...we're working on breaking through it. In the meantime, do your best to survive, and destroy the bastard if you want.]
"I see, so we're stuck here, are we…?" Zenki turned to Riser, and placed his hand out. "See you later Riser."
"Zenki, I-I..."
"It's fine, we all have been deceived before. If anyone holds it against you...you always have Astaroth support."
Riser gave thankful eyes, while Zenki unleashed demonic power, strong enough to completely remove Riser from the Rating Game. The light of retirement went around Riser, disappearing into the sky.
[Riser-sama, has retired. The winner of the game confirmed, Zenki Astaroth-sama.]
Grayfia called out, Zenki hearing the smallest bit of joy in her voice.
But also a hint of worry.
Once he was gone, he got before Asia, and stood against Bedeze.
"Bedeze, you wont be escaping here today."
"Escaping here? But I will boy, and you'll be coming with me, King of Flies."
"You want me? Or rather, your boss wants me?"
"Perhaps, but you'd be useful either way. Skills, intellect, you'd be a good person to be in the organization."
Zenki huffed, getting into a fighting style.
"I wont go down without a fight Bedeze. Even if you're the Number Three in the Rating Game, I'd like to see what power you truly possess. Besides, it seems like you've already been in a fight, I'm gonna guess Serafall-sama managed to beat you back?"
Bedeze frowned, taking out a vial of what seemed to be Phoenix Tears, and poured it over his wounds.
"You're still young, I've had plenty of experiences before. You might be talented, but I've got the experience. Lets see if you can keep up with me."
Zenki knew it would be difficult.
But he also knew that he'd have to fight.
Fight and survive the battle ahead against Bedeze.
Now, the true fight between them was going to begin.
As that was going on, upon seeing the events happening before their eyes, Rias, Akeno, Ravel and Isane gasped.
Sirzechs, and Ajuka also were stunned.
They thought that this wouldn't happen.
But…
Somehow, something had gone wrong, and now it seemed that Zenki was being confronted by Bedeze.
"Hahaha, ooh Zenki. You do have your Okaa-chan's spirit, she would have done the exact same. But not the cold and pitiful Ajuka."
A small laughter came from the supposed decoy of Bedeze.
Ajuka's eyes went towards him, while Sirzechs stood up, getting before Rias, and the others.
"Onii-sama, what's going on?"
"It's alright Ria-tan, this person can't hurt you with both Ajuka and myself here."
"Do you know him?"
Sirzechs didn't say anything, he didn't even know what to say.
Ajuka watched as he stood up, revealing the man who claimed to be called Shinji stood there, as if Bedeze's form was melting away.
Rias didn't get what it was, and neither did Sirzechs.
Ajuka did though, he understood what he was seeing right now.
"So, you're controlling it from a good distance. It did make me wonder why I couldn't feel your presence. It's a clever move, it allows you to be here, while not really being here. Yet, you can't attack in that form, nor defend."
"Even then, it's got its uses. I developed it myself, isn't it a great decoy body? A corpse doll if you will. Enough to fool even you, the great Ajuka. But, I have to admit, that your spell to seal Bedeze here was quite the ingenious way to do it. I can only open it for a few seconds, so I'm sure you and Zenki came up with a good one that even stops people like me from entering and exiting when I want to."
His cold voice, his whole demeanour, sent shivers up Isane's spine. She wasn't sure what she was looking at. But his face...there was something about his face that displayed pain. Whether that was physical pain or mental anguish, she presumed it was the latter, and if that was the case…
She wondered why he looked like that.
The Old Devils words came out in "Wait, Bedeze's a traitor?" and "What's the meaning of this?" however Shinji just rolled his eyes at their presence, and shooed them away with his hand.
"Shut up you loser Devils. You're just here because people respect age and wisdom...well, they got one right. You are pretty old, wise...not so much. Heh, you even thought that forcing people to marry others was a lovely way to keep a marriage lasting. I have to wonder who thought you were a good idea. We only need the Maou's...well, the real ones anyway, not these pretenders."
Ajuka pushed forward, gaining Shinji's attention.
"...It's been a long time, I never thought I'd see your face again."
Ajuka growled out, Shinji gave a peace sign.
"My, my, Onii-chan. You're totally harsh~ I come by for a visit, and you try to kill me. You're exactly like I always thought you were, a monster dressed in a Maou's suit. Totally undeserving of that by the way. Speaking of, how's Zekram? Not seen that old bastard in a while. Might go and kill him soon, can't trust a Bael after all."
"H-Hey... I have Bael blood in me...is he saying that I'm untrustworthy too…?"
Rias muttered, with Shinji winking towards her.
She cringed, pulling back as Sirzechs moved forward.
"What are you doing here?"
Sirzechs demanded, Shinji began to laugh as if he had heard a funny joke.
"It's the Maou rangers, all you're missing is the lazy guy, and bubbly cheerful girl. Though I'm sure she's aligned herself with Zenki's group right now. Since those illusions over there have disappeared. Seems like many people didn't notice it at all." Shinji's eyes shot for Ajuka who narrowed his own. "You wanted to know why I was here? Shouldn't it be obvious? After you let her die. Of course I'd come here eventually. It was only a matter of time."
"I did not let her die at all!"
Ajuka showed a rare anger that he didn't display even when under stressful situations.
"But, you did. Zenki grew up without an Okaa-chan because of you, and your ways. She was too good for you, Beelzebub was too good for you. Your name, you do not deserve that title. It belongs to Zenki Beelzebub, and you Sirzechs, that belongs to Vali Lucifer. You, do not have the rights to hold those positions you fake Maou's. More than that, you both deserve to be dead already. But, there's time for that. It seems right now, I wont be able to beat you big bad Ajuka-chan~ That's what you also thought, right? That's why she died, because you got cocky, and thought you were the bees knees."
"Bees knees...geez, this young guy talks as if he's an old man."
Isane murmured, Ravel focusing her eyes on his form.
"His mannerisms, I can't figure them out. At one moment, they're youthful, and full of vigour. Yet, in the next moment, it feels as if I'm staring at a wise old man. Perhaps he's quite old...or maybe he's just developed that mentality, wise beyond your years, type of thing."
Rias thought what Ravel said did make sense.
But still, she was unaware of who this actually was.
Sirzechs and Ajuka though did seem to understand who this was.
"Sirzechs, Ajuka. Your time as Maou's have come to an end. I will make sure that you die. For killing her...you will be killed. Painfully, horribly. I hope you're ready Ajuka, because you're going to suffer the most. For every painful event she went through...I'll make you suffer ten thousand times over! You know what they say about payback, right?"
Sirzechs and Ajuka ground their teeth.
The atmosphere was intense.
Isane could feel the air was cold.
It felt like they were staring at the abyss.
"...Is this a declaration of war?"
Sirzechs finally spoke.
"No, war means that both sides might have a chance. This is going to be a one sided slaughter."
"You call me cocky, yet you're saying you can take the Underworld by yourself. Let alone both Sirzechs and I. It seems that you're the one who's being cocky right now. Even if you've grown in your power, I doubt you'd bring us both down."
Ajuka's words carried strength within them.
It was powerful enough to cause a number of people to shudder.
Shinji wagged his finger in a degrading manner for both Sirzechs and Ajuka.
"Who said I was alone? I understand the general concept of Evil Pieces, so I decided to get my own friends. Unlike you though, I do it because I'm actually promising them a better world. You claim to want that, but if that was true...why don't you go and make up with the Fallen Angels and Angels?" His eyes went towards Isane, who winced. "Red Dragon, grown stronger yet?"
"E-Eh..."
Isane felt fearful of what was happening.
The man's cold eyes on her were truly frightening.
But then she breathed a sigh of relief, turning his head from her.
"Well, when you do. Let me know, I'd like to see what kind of potential you have."
Isane could only stare in worry about what this man was going to do to her.
He then turned, and looked towards the screen which showed Zenki and Asia.
"Well, it seems that he's coming along nicely. The true descendant of Beelzebub." His eyes turned back to Ajuka. "Tar tar for now. I'll be seeing you, real soon Ajuka Astaroth. I refuse to ever acknowledge you as Maou, the same for you Sirzechs Gremory. Watch out, you'll see Zenki fighting next, lets see how far he's grown huh."
Waving towards him, Shinji's body became like mud, hitting the ground in lumps, disappearing out of existence. Ajuka and Sirzechs looked to one another, slight worry on their faces.
Rias' eyes though where on Zenki right now, wondering if he was going to be able to succeed in this battle.
Fighting Bedeze…
It was going to be quite difficult.
But she believed in Zenki.
Even if he was the Third Ranked in the Rating Game, she believed that her fiancée would be able to pull it off.
End chapter!
So we got the second part of the Rating Game, with Yubelluna sacrificing herself to help her King, Zenki fighting off the pairs attacks. Meanwhile, Vali and the others dealt with Bedeze, and company. Yumi and Koneko protected Tiamat who was focused on keeping the system active. Vali fought off Arthur, and eventually, with Kuroka and Le Fay's help, managed to bring him back, and Serafall managed to beat back Bedeze, but he managed to escape into the Rating Game, where he's going to have a final clash with Zenki next chapter! Ajuka and Sirzechs also seem alarmed at the presence of Shinji, at least that's what he calls himself, and made a declaration to slaughter the old Maou's, having some sort of grudge against them.
Well, until next chapter, thanks for reading!
Zenki's Peerage.
Queen; Vali.
Bishops; Asia, Ingvild (mutation).
Rooks; Koneko, Xenovia.
Knights; Arthur, Yumi.
Pawns; Ravel (2 pieces), Kuroka (3 pieces), Le Fay (2 pieces), Elmenhilde (1 piece).
Zenki; Asia, Koneko, Ravel, Kuroka, Vali (fem), Serafall, Kunou, Le Fay, Xenovia, Yumi, Rias, Isane, Akeno, Irina, Rossweisse, Ingvild, Ophis, Elmenhilde.