Good Evening (Morning?) to All,
Alas, real life has been quite a drag lately and the aftermath of office work leaves little time or energy for writing. On top of that, this chapter had the worst case of writers block I have ever experienced; I must have sat down a dozen times and stared at the screen before walking away in disgust. All that to say, apologies for the long time in between uploads. I wish I could say that the next one will be faster, but it very much depends on factors which are a moving target at the moment. I felt pretty good about this chapter in the end though, a decent romp for all the sword and shield clangers.
Let me preface this chapter by saying there are notes at the bottom, please read them if you notice some discrepancies (especially with Vali's powers) that annoy you before posting some rant about it. I love good reviews, but reviews that nitpick or complain just tend to suck further energy from my current low supply.
As always, please do enjoy yourself.
Silence greeted the almost empty atrium as the few remaining denizens paused their conversations to stare at the unfolding drama in glee. Azazel paused his own conversation with Sirzechs to shoot his protege a withering glare, his warning against causing a scene obvious to everyone present.
His warning was completely ignored by the silver clad individual as he continued to stare down his target.
"Vali Lucifer; I'm surprised to find you at a supposedly peaceful meeting. One wonders if you were brought just in case things didn't go as planned," Sirzechs mused out loud.
Azazel gave Sirzechs a smile that was all teeth before backing down.
"You must forgive my protege, he gets restless when he hasn't had his daily battle. In some ways it is like dealing with a troublesome dog that must be fed treats consistently in order to behave properly."
Vali shot Azazel a droll look out of the corner of his eye briefly before returning his gaze to Sasuke.
Sasuke gave Vali a considering look.
"While you receive pleasure from fighting I see no reason to indulge your bloodlust, given the lack of incentive for me to do otherwise."
Vali laughed scornfully.
"Are you some kind of mercenary that only fights for money? How much then?"
Azazel stepped towards his protege aggressively.
"Vali, leave here now before you cause more damage. This was meant to be a meeting to smooth things over, not start further hostilities. I believed you could master your base instincts long enough to get through this meeting; apparently I was mistaken."
Anger and something else flickered through Vali's eyes as Sasuke watched the scene closely with his Dojutsu activated.
How interesting. Unless Sasuke was mistaken, Vali was planning to betray his leader at some point in the future. He couldn't be completely sure given that it was a complicated emotion to read, but a proper mix of anger followed very quickly by smug self-assurance usually pointed in that direction.
Hmmm, this could prove problematic. Vali overthrowing Azazel's leadership in some sort of coup would likely lead to far reaching consequences. Most notably, the Fallen angels would become far more aggressive in their endeavors with Vali in the driver's seat, potentially leading to the entire faction killing even more civilians on a regular basis as they endlessly battled their supernatural counterparts. Of course, there was another option that would allow Sasuke to kill two birds with one stone.
Vali was getting ready to verbally return fire at Azazel when Sasuke spoke.
"Only fools and children fight for no reason; as adults we should only fight when there are stakes involved."
Everyone in the room suddenly looked very interested in what Sasuke had to say.
Vali laughed.
"Winner take all, eh? I like you human! What then shall the stakes be in our fight?"
Sasuke gave a smug grin.
"The fight will proceed until one party can no longer continue. If the loser still lives they will become servant to the winner by standard vassal contract. Does that conflict with any contracts you are currently bound by?"
Azazel stepped forward.
"It does not; when Vali was accepted into the Grigori I never bound him in any way and he has accepted no contracts since then. Obviously this wager of yours is problematic for my faction, considering that Vali often serves many roles within our organization. Can I entice you into backing out of this wager Vali has foolishly brought on himself?"
Sasuke shook his head in the negative.
"I say this not only for his sake Sasuke-san, but for yours as well. I have no doubt regarding the rumors regarding your power, and that you may be able to push Vali very far. Even still though, there are very few beings in existence that can stand against the Juggernaut drive should Vali activate it. Are you really so willing to risk your life or your freedom over this boy's foolishness?"
How surprising; for all his bark and bite it would appear that the Grigori leader was quite fond of "the boy" as he called him. Sasuke would not back down though; he had a feeling going through him like a tuning fork that let him know that this was another crossroads of sorts. Whether it was a latent power of the Rinnegan or nearly half a century of combat in a brutal world that led to his developed sixth sense he did not know, but he always trusted his gut.
"Sometimes the most important lessons are the hardest. I will not back down, it's time he learns that not every battle can be won so easily. Though I believe that Sirzechs also taught him that lesson not long ago as well."
Vali's eye twitched as Sirzechs gained a smug look of satisfaction.
"Very well human, I agree to your terms!"
Azazel's eyes dulled as Sasuke felt a brief flash of sympathy for the leader. He obviously cared about Vali, and was now forced to embark upon a lose-lose situation with this match. If by some miracle Sasuke won, then he would lose his talented protege. If Vali won, the Grigori would lose more favor with Sirzechs and much of the goodwill created by this visit would be wasted.
The contract terms were fairly standard and almost no revision was made to them. The loser would serve until they were dismissed from service or they perished, and would endeavor to follow the winner's wishes to the best of their ability. In return, the winner would provide for their new vassal and see to their needs to the best of their ability (though "needs" was obviously at the discretion of the dominant party and was often times loosely interpreted as they saw fit). In Sasuke's mind, he was able to justify using such a contract against Vali because the young devil was fully aware of the risks and still accepted the wager. If a powerful, well educated adult wanted to risk their life and freedom in order to acquire something then Sasuke washed his hands of their decision.
As the contract was magically sealed between the two parties a stir of excitement went through the small mixed crowd of devils and fallen; it was not often a no holds barred duel of this magnitude took place. Many of the devils walked off into corners, excitedly speaking into their magical communication devices as they called their fellow lords that had already left the assembly.
Sasuke and Vali only had eyes for each other as Onyx eyes met Hazel. The tension in the room was like an undercurrent of electricity as a silent battle of wills had already begun, both parties unwilling to back down. Sasuke was the first to break eye contact, leading to a smirk from Vali. Sasuke hid a smirk of his own as he looked to the approaching figure of Sirzechs; only young men and canines were foolish enough to think that a staring contest meant much of anything when the chips fell. Let the boy think he had won something; he would be more than happy to use that overconfidence against him at the most opportune moment.
"Sasuke-san, are you certain about this course of action? Vali Lucifer is a powerful opponent; I am uncertain if even I could match his power should he engage the Juggernaut drive. If you wish to back out now I can still buy out the contract, I owe you that much for saving my Rias-chan."
Sasuke gave him a serious look before shaking his head in the negative.
Sirzechs sighed.
"Very well; in that case I can only wish you the best of luck. Out of curiosity, why the interest in acquiring Vali as your servant? The way the contract was worded, the losing party is subservient to the winner but there is still a good bit of wiggle room for a strong personality like Vali to be a nuisance with his battle manic personality. Why not make the terms more absolute if you are willing to go this far? I assure you that your life will be a living hell if Vali wins the fight and you become his servant."
Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged minutely before walking off towards the nearby portal. Sirzechs rolled his eyes and grumbled about "disrespectful youths" before joining him. The battleground was a barren mesa in the underworld, far from any civilization. Given the power of the participants, the devils observing the fight would do so under a strong barrier from miles away. Sirzechs and Azazel would be officiating the fight from up close, though both took magical oaths when the contract was signed to show complete impartiality as judges. They were there to ensure the fight did not bleed into any nearby cities and that civilian lives were not put at risk; the winner of the contest would be fairly apparent.
Zeoticus looked like a kid on Christmas morning as he setup his throne with a snap of his fingers, enthusiastically engaging his fellow lords in banter as they discussed the upcoming duel. Word had spread very quickly and most of the assembly had arrived, along with many other Lords and Ladies that had heard talk of a new Pillar Lord. Dozens of servants began erecting barriers, each layer designed to withstand enormous amounts of punishment before breaking. At this distance it was unlikely for anything to reach the crowd, but one could never be too careful when two monsters decided to fight.
The crowd quieted down as the two fighters began to approach each other far in the distance. A large holographic projection of the fight was being displayed close to the front row of viewers, much like a cinema screen created solely by magic.
The two combatants stopped when they were roughly thirty yards apart, both looking to the Judges hovering high above the battlefield. Sirzechs and Azazel checked the time before starting a magical timer between the two fighters of sixty seconds. The seconds began to tick down as Vali jumped around, getting loose and calling upon Divine Dividing as he armored up in his scale mail and light wings. Sasuke calmly activated his dojutsu and studied his opponent's movements as Vali continued to stretch out, making note of how fluidly he moved in the armor.
Surprisingly, Vali had sobered up and looked to be very focused as he went through his stretches. It was a stark comparison from the battle mania he usually displayed, and spoke to the serious nature of the duel. For both fighters, they would rather fall in battle than become anyone's servant. In the end though, fate was dealing this hand and they could only play the cards they were dealt.
As the countdown reached 10 seconds, Vali began to get excited and looked to Sasuke with a hungry expression. Sasuke was impassive as ever, his whirling Sharingan and rippled Rinnegan staring down his opponent flatly. It was as if the two fighters embodied fire and ice, Vali's battle passion meeting Sasuke's cold calculation in a clash of wills.
"BEGIN!"
Vali immediately launched himself at Sasuke while yelling out, "Divide!"
Sasuke felt a lurch as a good portion of his strength left him. Vali grinned at the large increase to his power, picking up the pace significantly as he lunged towards Sasuke. Sasuke dodged a mailed fist as Vali began showering him with punches, only a few connecting to Sasuke's body. Sasuke whipped out his sword and began drawing on more chakra to push Vali back.
"Susanoo!"
The familiar demonic warrior appeared as the distant crowd of devil's roared in excitement, bets and alcohol flowing like water on a hot day as the match intensified.
"Divide!"
Sasuke smirked as a scowl adorned Vali's face. It appeared that the ability to steal his opponents power was unable to pierce Susanoo. There was also likely a cool down associated with his ability, at least two minutes after the initial barrage according to his mental clock.
Such a power was monstrous either way. It vividly reminded Sasuke of another overpowered individual that Naruto had to fight more than once, the so called God of the Village of Rain. While Vali seemed to be more of a one trick pony than Pein, his ability to steal his opponents strength was incredibly overpowered and allowed him to win any fight that dragged on long enough, simply because his opponents strength became his own.
Speaking of Pein, perhaps it was time to take a page out of that man's book. Naruto had told him the story of his battle with Pein many times, including one of the man's favorite and most used ability.
Sasuke reached out his hand as Susanoo raised it's blade high.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Vali grunted in surprise as he was pulled towards the towering figure of Susanoo against his will. As he neared the menacing figure, he redoubled his efforts to escape and gritted his teeth while pouring more power into his wings. Grimacing, Sasuke made a pulling motion and used more chakra to pull Vali closer to the executioner's blade. The crowd groaned as Susanoo's blade began bearing down on Vali, bets changing hands as the losers paid up. Everyone had heard about the sword of black flames and knew that even the vaunted Vali Lucifer wouldn't survive this one.
A crash went through the area as the fiery sword crashed down on Vali, raising dust to the extent that none of the crowd could see anything.
Suddenly, the towering figure of Susanoo was seeing flying through the air and crashing into a nearby rock formation, sending up clouds of debris as the crowd cheered and money changed hands yet again. It appeared that the fight was not over yet.
As the dust cleared, the crowd grew silent as they saw what could only be Vali's Juggernaut form. The face plate opened on his armor as a grinning Vali taunted the downed Sasuke.
"You didn't think it would be that easy did you human? I'm just getting warmed up. If you have any more tricks, you should use them now. My Juggernaut drive destroys everything in my path and I would hate for this to be over so quickly."
Sasuke dismissed Susanoo as Vali dissapeared from sight. The crowd gasped as Sasuke fought off what they could only describe as a blur of air, Vali's overpowered form allowing him to move so quickly even the Lords could not see his movements.
Only Sirzechs and Vali could barely see glimpses of Vali as he moved at an impossible speed, the human somehow able to know where to block even though his movements were much slower than his opponents'. Sasuke's Sharingan danced madly as it worked in overdrive to predict the impossibly fast strikes, Sasuke barely able to meet the strength and speed of each strike before another came.
Though none of the spectators could see it, Sasuke was having the time of his life. It had been too long since someone had pushed his limits, and any shinobi knew that stagnating with weak opponents was a great way to lose your edge and die to a real opponent. Sasuke grimaced as he projected a small piece of Susanoo to block his blind spot before immediately releasing the technique and dodging. Vali blurred in front of him, panting and grinning like a hungry wolf.
"All you do is run and dodge, but you've lasted longer than most against my ultimate technique. Let's have some more fun shall we?"
Speeding to his blind spot, Vali barked out the dreaded word.
"Divide!"
Immediately, Sasuke felt more of his strength fade as Vali became even faster. Sasuke began taking some hits as Vali's power was magnified by his own strength.
Truthfully, there were a multitude of ways Sasuke could have likely ended this fight by now. An early use of his perfected Chibaku Tensei with his full power would likely have killed Vali outright, considering he would not have had time to activate the Juggernaut drive. Killing the young Devil in such a way would be wasteful though; he had much more productive plans for this young devil than a quick death in a foolish duel.
Sasuke began to grow somewhat concerned as more of Vali's blows landed; he was slowing down as Vali continued to siphon more of his power. Given the situation, Sasuke supposed it would be appropriate to go with plan B, even if it rubbed him the wrong way.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Vali was briefly visible as he was sent flying backwards into a nearby mountain, plowing right through it and continuing on as Sasuke's overpowered technique shot him out like a cannonball.
Sasuke panted as he grabbed the amulet around his neck. Vali's greatest strength was his ability to win fights through stealing his opponents power and stamina. Sasuke could already feel his chakra getting low, half of it already stolen by the Greedy Albion wielder.
It was time to end this.
Author's Note:
As I said at the beginning, a few notes regarding Vali. The actual page for DXD ( wiki/Vali_Lucifer) lists his Divide ability as being able to divide his opponents power in half roughly every ten seconds ( wiki/Divine_Dividing). This shows me exactly how much time the author put into writing out the powers of his various cast; Vali was obviously written solely as a foil to Issei and his boost ability; any other opponent would be defeated with almost no effort. Imagine your opponent cutting your strength and stamina in half every ten seconds; even better, that lost power then goes to them and makes them stronger. With this in mind, I made the recharge two minutes and the ability can be blocked or dodged in order to give Vali's opponents a fair chance.
For all those fans that feel the need to wank off to Sasuke every chapter, please do it somewhere else. Yes, Sasuke got pushed around some in this chapter (though if you read the whole thing you will see he was holding back). No, I won't revise anything because Chapter 674 section 5 page 2 of the Naruto canon says blah blah blah "Sasuke should have one shotted this noob". I don't care, and neither does anyone else. As I have said before, there are plenty of poorly written "Sasuke-sama" fics out there you can go peruse without dragging this one down with your unoriginal arguments about Sasuke's "real" power level. As I have said before, since this is OC and AU AND crossover, I as the author take some liberties at times. If this bothers you, please don't let the door hit you on the way out. Vali with his Juggernaut drive activated is a powerful figure in the DXD verse, it's only right that Sasuke struggles a little bit with him before we move on.