Hey everyone and get ready for this chapter. This is part four and the final chapter of the Rating Game, it will feature nothing but an all-out fight between Shirou and Raiser, hopefully, it lives up to all of the hype and all of your expectations. Hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX, and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.
"Shirou" Regular speech.
"Shirou" Thoughts.
DRAGON SHOT Attack names.
(Shirou) Words said previously.
"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.
[Ddraig] Dragon talking.
Final Clash, Dragon Vs Phenex
I walked. Where was I going?
I didn't care. All I cared about was the simple fact that I could.
I was free. Both myself and Mika were finally free. I had money, strength, Special skills, and other useful things that would help us live.
I knew that soon I would have to go to school. It would be tough. Someone like me would definitely stand out without even trying. But I didn't care about that.
As for Mika, I won't make her do anything she doesn't want to. The thing that's most important to me now is that she stays safe. Anything else isn't a problem.
That's a vow I made on that day, no matter where we went, or what kind of problems came our way. I would protect her.
However, this won't be the end of our troubles. I could feel it. But even so, that wouldn't stop me from getting what I had always desired.
Ever since that day, I've always been striving towards the Same. Single. Goal.
And I'm going to get it.
I would rather die than ever lose sight of that dream, the dream we both shared. And I made my second vow on that night.
I vowed that no matter what manner of opposition I faced, I would live. I would survive. I would never allow myself to be killed. Regardless of the situation, death would never be the outcome.
The day I ever broke one of those vows would be the day I died.
No matter who gets in my way. I will be victorious.
The moment his brain had regenerated enough for him to control his motor functions, Raiser immediately brought his right leg, coated in flames, around to strike Shirou in the face. Thankfully (For Shirou at least), any part of Raiser's damaged body that had flames on it was an obvious attempt of an attack, and Shirou veered to his right to avoid the kick.
Shirou being thankful for his heightened reflexes flipped off of Raiser's partially crushed body. He landed on the ground with his legs skidding backward a few feet before standing up straight. After examining his condition, he could tell he was still as fully capable as before. All he had to do was defeat Raiser before the power of Explosion wore off, though plan B was to charge up Explosion again, but he doubted Raiser would give him the chance.
Raiser stumbled as his half-regenerated body attempted to stand, everything restoring to its proper condition. He clenched his head as if he had just experienced a terrible migraine.
That thought put a smile on Shirou's face.
"So, you think you're a comedian, do you?" Raiser sneered.
Shirou shrugged. "I'd say you're the joke here if you still think you can win, that is."
"You do realize that, even if you were to destroy every single part of Raiser's body, Raiser would simply regenerate at full strength!" Flames radiated from his body; some of them were trailing up his arm into the palm of his hand and into the space just above it in the form of a massive fire. "The difference between our strength is the same as that between a dinosaur and an ant! YOU CAN NOT DEFEAT RAISER!" He unleashed his flames in Shirou's direction.
"You really believe that, Dontcha?" Shirou muttered without moving from where he was standing. All he did was raise his Boosted Gear-covered arm and held it up in front of his body as the flames were closing in. Soon the large blast of fire reached Shirou and completely consumed his body. Raiser smirked, believing he had succeeded in inflicting large damage on his enemy, but soon his smirk was replaced with a look of surprise. The reason was that his torrent of flames started dissipating before it completely cleared.
Standing in the same spot was Shirou, who was completely undamaged from that attack. The fire hadn't even left so much as a single burn. While in Shirou's left hand that stopped the flames, in his half-opened palm, there were small embers that were still there, before he completely closed his hand, putting them out. Shirou then smirked.
"Hmph…So I'm an ant, and you're a dinosaur, is that it?" He asked, amused. "You can think that if you want, but remember that the ants have survived since the dawn of time, while the dinosaurs were the first to die out. But if you really want to be an extinct creature—" Shirou cut off his sentence.
Shirou then jumped forward from where he was standing. The ground where he was standing exploded from the impact and leaped towards Raiser at a blinding speed. He then punched Raiser in the face with his right arm. The hit was strong enough to knock Raiser off his feet and blew him back a few steps while spilling a few drops of blood. "—Then I hope you don't mind playing the part." He finished his sentence.
Play OST Naruto Shippuden - Kokuten Extended
Raiser landed a few feet back, standing up straight. He wiped the blood off his mouth and glared. "Enough playing around."
Shirou nodded. "I agree."
No more banter, all they cared about now was crushing each other into dust. Shirou and Raiser kept their eyes on each other as if they were daring each other to make the first move. The one who dared was Shirou. He dashed forward once again, this time covering his arm with magic, his fist cocked back. "Now take this!"
Shirou's fist tore through Raiser's stomach as he zipped by the Phenex heir. He turned as the wound created by his attack was slowly being healed as flames started to restore his body. Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Hehehehe…You fool, that isn't going to work on Raiser." Raiser said, smirking at him.
Rias and the others watched from the hole in the wall created from the start of Shirou and Raiser's fight, and an unreadable expression appeared on Shirou's face.
"What's he thinking?" Rias wondered.
Suddenly Shirou smirked wickedly and said. "Good, I'd hate for this to end too early."
Raiser narrowed his eyes. "You'd hate for this to end too quickly, you say?"
"That's right, a simple fight that ends too early wouldn't satisfy me. I want to give you much worse than that." Shirou said. "I plan on dishing out every bit of power I have on you. That way, even if your body is immortal, your pain threshold will break!" Shirou shot towards him again, this covering his arm in wind magic, and forming a chop in his hand, thus shaping the wind into a Sword. "I'll beat you in the most painful way possible!"
Raiser felt himself being bisected at the waist as Shirou shot by him. He quickly healed, and Raiser turned around to look at him. "It doesn't matter how much power you can dish out at Raiser. It will still be nowhere near enough. Regardless, why do you assume Raiser wants to end this quickly? Raiser wants nothing more than to completely destroy you." He then cracked his knuckles. "And, Raiser wants to draw it out as much as possible."
"Then we'll be here all night." Shirou said. "You really think your regeneration powers can last that long?!" He asked as he punched him in the chest, his fist tearing through. If he were another man, there would be a hole in his heart, but for Raiser, he simply healed again.
"Do you think your stamina can last that long?" Raiser asked with a smirk.
"It'll last long enough for me to break the limits of your healing." Shirou proclaimed, without doubt. "Your regeneration can heal your body, but the pain still goes through, so it's just a contest of who can outlast the other." Shirou dashed at him. Using both his fists, he landed a one-two combo on Raiser twice in his ribs before hitting the center of his body with a straight right, this destroyed Raiser's entire ribcage. "And it'll be a cold day in Hell before I fall before some loser like you!"
Raiser pieced his ribs back together. "Hmph… He earnestly believes he can accomplish such a task?" Raiser thought, collecting flames into his left palm. "Heh, you may be the Red Dragon Emperor, but trust Raiser… A Dragon is nothing compared to a Phoenix!" He said, shooting off another large stream of flames at Shirou.
Reacting quickly, Shirou brought his arm up, and instead of blocking it like before, he gathered magic in his hand, preparing to use a spell of his own. He then held up both of his hands and unleashed a fire spell of his own, clashing Raiser's large stream of fire with his fire that was the same size. "Let's see whose flame burns stronger!" Soon Shirou's flames won out and pushed Raiser's flame back.
Raiser stared at him in shock, not from worry but from shock, as Shirou sent his own attack back at him. "Is he really that big of a fool?"
"Raiser is a Phoenix, you uneducated dolt! Fire only heals Raiser!" Raiser said, catching the flames and absorbing the attack into his palm. Imagine his shock when he found Shirou directly in front of him after he was finished. "Damn! No time!"
"Don't get cocky and let your guard down!" Shirou shouted, slamming his Boosted Gear fist covered in Red energy into Raiser's stomach, driving the wind out of him.
Everyone stared in shock and astonishment as this happened.
Raiser cocked his fist back and prepared to sock Shirou across the left cheek. Shirou jumped backward in time and avoided the punch. He smirked. "You know, right now, the "Almighty Phenex" doesn't so invincible to me."
"Guhh…" Raiser coughed. "How did you exploit the timing between Raiser absorbing the fire and launching it back out? No, how did you even know about it?"
"I guessed." Shirou said with a shrug.
Raiser's eyes widened. "You guessed? Then how—"
"I just acted on a hunch I had." Shirou cut him off. "Fact is, nothing is instantaneous, just like how there's no way for you to be in two places at once. I figured just like my Gear. You also needed a cooldown time. You worked in stages: Launching an attack, then absorbing, then launching again. Between all that, there had to be a short cooldown time. After thinking of that, I decided it was worth a shot, so I waited for that exact moment, then when your guard was down from absorbing my fire, I closed the distance and got in a hit." Shirou smiled. "And it looks like my hunch was right."
"Tch!" Raiser scowled.
Ravel, who was hovering by the building in the air, was also watching the battle and heard Shirou's explanation. "He was able to accomplish all that based on a guess?" She wondered.
"Interesting, he's able to look at an enemy's abilities from every angle while searching for flaws or weakness and then immediately acts upon them in a precise manner." Kiba thought while watching. "It's as if he's both a Power-Type and a Technique-Type."
"…Sempai's really strong." Koneko thought.
Rias was the most surprised. Even though she knew better than anyone that Shirou was incredibly strong and possessed great potential, this was actually the first time she had seen him fight before.
"Amazing, not only is he skilled, but somehow he's also very strategic in how he fights." Rias thought. "With his strategic mind during battle and Mika's tactician abilities before battle, the two of them paired up could be unstoppable in the Official Rating Game."
Raiser then summoned his flaming wings. "Raiser admits, Raiser underestimated you. But—" This time, Raiser dashed towards Shirou. "—You also let your guard down!" Raiser said, appearing next to him, grabbing his wrist. Flames spiraling in his other hand. "Reflect this!"
"Shirou! Get away from him!" Rias shouted in worry.
"No need for that." Shirou replied, still confident.
Shirou then pivoted his leg and turned so that he was facing directly in front of Raiser. Shirou then had red energy spiraling around his left arm. As Raiser brought down his arm, Shirou brought up his.
CLASH!
The result was a clash of attacks. There was a violent struggle between demonic power and fire took place that seemed to almost mirror the first clash they had ten days ago at the Occult Research Club meeting room. However, this one was much more intense.
"You Bastard!" Raiser roared.
"You must have the worst memory if you think you can beat me in a power struggle!" Shirou roared back. "THINK AGAIN!"
And with a final push, the power struggle ended with the same result as before, with Shirou blowing away Raiser's fist and sending him flying back in the opposite direction.
Once that happened, Shirou saw an opportunity at that moment, and he rushed toward Raiser.
RESOUND! THUNDER: BLADE!
Just like before, Shirou formed his hand into a chop and covered it with magic, though this time, instead of wind magic, he used lightning magic in order to form a solid blade of lightning coated over his right arm. It was as long as a Short-Sword. His blade tore through Raiser's shoulder. He pulled back, and it regenerated. Shirou repeated this over and over again with the same result. Raiser finally had enough and lifted his knee to slam it into Shirou's stomach at high speed. Shirou brought the palm of his right hand in front of his stomach and blocked Raiser's knee, then quickly jumped away.
Music Off
"Hehehahahaha! Raiser admits you're quite good at dodging, but it's no use. Just give up!" Raiser shouts with a smirk. "You can't beat Raiser!"
Shirou brought his arm down, and his thunder blade arm vanished. "You know Raiser, I been fighting for years and have gone up against people like you wouldn't believe… And honestly, they all had one thing in common. They would always say things like, "you can't beat me", "I can't be beaten by you", "you're too weak to beat me". Every time…"
"Maybe you should have taken their words to heart then."
"Actually, it's the opposite. Despite that, I've never met someone who said that and still didn't end up being beaten by me." Shirou said with a smirk. "And you're no different. When this is over, you'll just be one of them."
"Ridiculous." Raiser taunted. "You should also be aware that Raiser has also met a great many who claimed they could defeat Raiser, and yet all of them have easily been defeated by Raiser."
"Yeah, all eight of them." Shirou taunted back.
Raiser ignored him, though his eye twitched a little. "The point is, Raiser isn't like any of the weaklings you've faced before. This time you'll be the one to fall."
"I think you're the one missing the point." Shirou argued. "Fact is, I'm unlike anyone you've ever fought. This time you're going to fall."
"Well then, it seems like we'll never be able to agree on this."
"Why would we need to? The one who wins is the one who is right after all." Shirou then unfolded his Devil wings.
Raiser then had a smirk of his own.
"Heh, yes, Raiser believes you are right about that." Raiser then unfolded his own wings, which looked like a bird's wings made of fire.
[And that person will be me!]
They both declared. Both of them then took off into the air and started their aerial battle in the sky.
Shirou extended his right arm towards Raiser, and a red magic circle appeared in his palm. A focused red laser blast shot from Shirou's magic circle and sailed through the air towards Raiser. Raiser easily dodged the blast by flying to his side, but unfortunately for him, that attack was merely just a feint. He realized that when Shirou had suddenly appeared above his head, his fist cocked back above his head, and he bore it down on Raiser.
Raiser was knocked away in a downward spiral. He could feel his skull had almost completely cracked under that blow. After a few extra seconds, Raiser's flames healed him, and he straightened himself out in the air, fixing his flight path and returning to his high altitude.
Shirou flew towards him and stopped, hovering right in front of his enemy King. "How strange, You dodged my first attack."
"Yes, and so what? It's a basic instinct in battle." Raiser countered.
"Yeah, you're totally right. It is." Shirou nodded, while his tone suggested he didn't believe Raiser's excuse. "And yet, despite that, you didn't dodge anyone else's attack since this game started. Why is that?" Raiser narrowed his eyes at Shirou's words. "Maybe, it's possible that your healing factor is starting to reach its limits?"
Raiser glared at Shirou. Shirou noticed this and felt more confident in his theory.
"Maybe, after you took some many hits, you started to notice something, that even though it's only a few seconds, your regenerating has started to slow down." Shirou guessed. "And because of that, you don't want to keep chancing it and possibly reach your limit, so you decided to try and start dodging some of my attacks."
Raiser clenched his fist. "Don't… Don't be absurd!" he denied angrily. "Raiser is still perfectly capable of destroying you in an instant!" The Phenex then shot a blast of flames at Shirou's head.
Shirou brought up both his arms and attempted to block the incoming fireball. Upon impact, Shirou could feel this attack was stronger than the rest. It was more raging and vibrant. Shirou struggled, trying to stop its forward march as he used his strength to try and push it back. After a bit of a struggle, Shirou raised his arms up and lifted the fireball, throwing it in a different direction. The fireball was thrown to the wayside, landing in the forest area and igniting a few trees.
But at that point, Raiser began his next attack. The truth was that Raiser had only used that attack as a feint to draw away Shirou's attention. The moment before Shirou had deflected it; Raiser rushed towards him. His fist was covered in flames. This time they were stronger flames than any flames he unleashed before. It was like they were a torrent of flames. Raiser appeared in front of Shirou and bore his fist down on him.
Unfortunately for Shirou, he didn't have time to dodge this attack, so he brought up both his arms to form an X-shaped guard. But this wasn't enough, as Raiser's attack completely blew past his guard, and the torrent of flames unleashed on Shirou, scorching him and causing him to plummet to the ground.
Raiser launched another fireball right after Shirou to make sure it stuck this time. "Eat This!" The blast completely consumed the Silver-haired Devil's body and crashed into the ground along with him.
Raiser gently floated to the ground, walking over to the crater and watching in amusement as the crowd began to gather.
Rias and Asia gathered, along with both Kiba and Koneko. Even though all of their injuries have healed, they still lost almost all their stamina and magic; as things stood, they wouldn't be able to fight. But it wasn't just them; Akeno, who was carrying a worn-out Mika, had also appeared beside them. Finally, Ravel was standing beside them as well.
They gathered around the edge of the crater, watching the Silver-haired boy's body lay there facedown in the crater. He didn't even seem to twitch. He was strong, but a head-on attack from one of Raiser's more powerful spells without any form of protection…
Raiser believed that, in all honesty, it was a miracle his attack hadn't fried him completely.
Still smoking, Shirou still didn't move a muscle. Raiser strolled right up to him, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him up, letting him hang limply in Raiser's grasp.
"Shirou-san!" Asia attempted to rush forward, preparing the heal his wounded body.
"Asia-Sempai!" Koneko hissed and grabbed her arm to stop her advance. "Don't. You can't get in between that." She warned her, worried about her safety.
"But…" Asia didn't stop, still wanting to go.
"Koneko's right Asia." Akeno informed her, stopping the two of them. It wasn't that she objected to the idea of Asia healing Shirou, but rather she would almost certainly die if she tried to get in-between them now. "Let me." Among everyone in the Gremory team, Akeno was the only one still in perfectly capable fighting condition, and as a magic user, she was as strong as Rias, if not stronger. It would be simple for Akeno to cause a distraction and allow Asia to heal Shirou amidst the ruckus. Not necessarily easy, but simple enough for her to have confidence in the plan's success.
"You're both going to die if you get anywhere near that." Mika pointed out bluntly.
"She's right." Kiba agreed. He had his injuries healed and still had enough stamina to summon a few more Swords, but after his first attempt, he knew that it would amount to nothing against Raiser. Even if he used the Strongest Sword he could lift, Raiser would just heal and fry him. "Even if we all attack at once, I doubt we would be able to some much as scratch Raiser."
"That, and you don't want to get in the way once the Red Dragon Emperor starts getting serious."
"Yeah, and—"
There was a long silence that followed Ravel Phenex's comment.
Rias stared at the other child of the Phenex clan. "…When did you get here?"
Ravel gave a frustrated howl. "I've been here the whole time!" She crossed her arms, huffing. "Anyway, it's pretty obvious the Red Dragon Emperor isn't giving it his all. Even if he was injured, he's more than powerful enough to withstand an attack like that. My Brother just hasn't realized that yet."
"Huh, so the blonde featherbrain actually noticed." Mika said harshly, causing Ravel to shoot her a harsh glare, which Mika ignored. "She's not wrong, Big Bro's power is higher than ever thanks to his Sacred Gear, and he was putting Raiser through the pace. There's no way that spell wiped him out."
"That's right, when the fight first began, Shirou used the Boosted Gear's ability to sustain his growth in power for a limited amount of time." Rias stated. "In that moment, his power was at a level where it was beyond even Raiser's own."
"But what does that mean?" Asia asked.
Rias narrowed her eyes. "It means Shirou is planning something."
Mika smirked. "Big Bro hasn't started strutting his stuff yet."
As if on cue, Shirou's head suddenly stood upright, a wide grin on his dirty, bruised and smoking face. "You, Eat This!"
Play OST Naruto Shippuden - Midaregami Extended
Without any real warning, Shirou lashed out with his arms, grabbing Raiser by his wrists, holding them so tightly that there was no chance of Raiser escaping. Shirou pulled his head back before smashing it forward, slamming Raiser right in the center of his face with Shirou's own forehead. There was a crunch of cartilage as Raiser's nose broke. The pain caused the older Devil to relinquish his grip on the younger.
Shirou brought his leg around in a sweeping kick, but Raiser already hovered back to increase the distance between them. Shirou likewise leaped back, albeit for different reasons.
He only had a limited amount of time on how long Explosion would last. Shirou was under no delusion that he would still have the power to defeat Raiser once his Boosted abilities wore off, and he knew Raiser wouldn't allow him just to power up again when it was over. He couldn't afford to be wasteful. Even though Explosion lasted a minute for every Boost, he stacked up before using it. That was still only minutes. He had to make every second count.
Shirou knew it would take some work to bring Raiser down. Even if his body wasn't as tough as Isabela's and even if his hand-to-hand capabilities were beneath his own, Raiser's strength was still considerable, and he still had the upper hand over Shirou in terms of magic power. This battle was literally the hardest either of them had ever been in.
With the time left on his ticking clock ticking away, he knew he only had a certain amount of time to defeat Raiser before things took a turn for the worst. There was no one else on the battlefield besides the two of them who could defeat each other, so they had to settle this if they wanted to win the game. The only way Shirou could win was to keep going on the offensive until Raiser was beaten.
"Grrh!" Raiser dashed at him, kicking at Shirou, only to be intercepted by Shirou's leg, their shins meeting. A circle glowed by Shirou's leg. They landed on the ground and started a violent exchange of blows. Their fists met multiple times. In the end, they locked hands, pushing against each other in a struggle of strength, until Shirou ducked under, releasing his grip, making Raiser go over him. Shirou grabbed Raiser's other leg and swung him to the ground. The impact was so great he cracked the ground beneath him. Raiser got up, slightly in a daze before he cleared up his head. He noticed his right leg was missing before seeing it in Shirou's hand.
"Missing something?" Shirou asked, taunting. He tossed it to him, and it dissolved into fire before reattaching itself to Raiser.
"Tch…" Raiser scowled. "You scum."
They continued as Raiser jerked his head out of the way when Shirou appeared in front of him and punched at it. Shirou smirked and twisted his hand around, grabbing the back of Raiser's head and bringing his knee up to Raiser's stomach, giving him a Muay Thai knee attack in the gut. Raiser coughed but countered by driving his elbow into Shirou's head.
"Grh." Shirou grunted, tanking the blow. Then he pushed Raiser to a vertical base and punched him in the face, then the chest, stomach, ribs, and face again in that order in quick succession. He then spun, backhanded Raiser in the cheek, spun again, and roundhouse kicked him in the temple, knocking him into the ground.
Shirou spun in mid-air before landing on the ground a few feet from Raiser.
All those present watched in amazement and awe on the course of this fight.
"A-Amazing…" Kiba muttered.
"At this rate, he just might do it." Rias thought, feeling hopeful.
"Unbelievable…This is the first time I've ever seen Onii-sama struggle like this." Ravel thought, feeling unsure.
"Grh…" Raiser grunted as he pushed himself upwards. Blood dripping from his nose. His glare looked all the more murderous.
"Man, you sure do bleed a lot for someone who's supposedly immortal." Shirou commented. "Should probably work on that sometime."
"How dare you continue on spilling Raiser's blood!" Raiser roared. "Such a thing should be—"
"Impossible? Not true, actually." Shirou said, cutting him off. "I'm just better than you, is all. You might have a leg-up in magic, but I'm stronger than you in every other regard, and I've got way more skill than you as well. Now, are you going to get up so we can keep going? Or do you feel like tapping out already?" He mocked, looking down on Raiser, which only served to anger Him more.
"Krgh!" Raiser growled and got to his feet. "Don't get so full of yourself, Pawn!" He gathered flames in his hands and fired a large stream of fire at Shirou. "You are nothing before Raiser! NOTHING!"
HELLFIRE!
Shirou made no move to dodge and instead extended his arm forward, and a magic circle appeared on his palm.
WATER TORRENT!
Rias and the others gasped as a surging blast of water fired from Shirou's hand and collided with Raiser's Hell-Fire spell. The result was a clash between the two elements that were both very large and destructive. In the center of the clash, a large amount of steam was erupting from the two spells clashing.
"Ha! You fool, the Hell-Fire of Raiser's clan can burn anything in this world into ashes!" Raiser declared, confident. "A simple water spell could never hope to overcome it!"
"Is that so? Well, look again!" Shirou responded, putting more magic in his spell.
Soon the Water Torrent and Hell-Fire started to lose their concentrated forms and fluctuate wildly. The rapid rise and drop of the temperature that was born from the intense clashing fire and water were causing a strong gust of wind to blow out in every direction. Soon this came to an end when both spells instantly went out, resulting in a draw. When the steam cleared, Raiser was seen looking wide-eyed by the results.
Music Off
"But how…? This can't be!" Raiser shouted in defiance.
"And why not?" Shirou asked, walking out from the cloud of steam. "Just because you've got more magic? Sorry to break it to ya, but that doesn't always guarantee victory."
"He matched Raiser's magic to a draw." Rias thought, impressed. "Shirou's breaking past any of Raiser's offense while attacking him to destroy his defense. He's overwhelming him."
"But he has lesser magic? How in the world…" Ravel wondered.
"It isn't about having more magic." Mika called out, getting her attention. "Big Bro knew that he couldn't bring out a spell stronger than Raiser's, so instead, he compensated for that weakness by using a spell that had an elemental advantage of Raiser's, for example, water magic." She explained. "But that alone wouldn't close the gap, and he knew that the real purpose for that spell was to slowly lessen the power of Raiser's Hell-Fire by slowly evaporating his fire with water magic. After he lessened the power of the Hell-Fire, he timed it just right and increased the power of his spell at that moment. Once the Water Torrent powered up and the Hell-Fire powered down, they were equal in strength, so the struggle ended in a tie. Big Bro used his head. Instead of fighting desperate, he fought smart like he always does."
Ravel processed this new information and was surprised. From what she had seen of Shirou, she never once assumed he put so much thought into his fighting.
Back to the fight. The Phenex King and Gremory Pawn were in a standoff.
"Face facts, Raiser. It doesn't matter how much firepower you've got." Shirou rushed forward, appearing in front of Raiser, jumping in the air and kneeing him in the chin. "I'll just keep hammering away at you until you'll wish you could die!"
"Gahh!" Raiser gasped in pain as he was driven back.
"You see, someone like you, who's lived the completely lavish, rich boy lifestyle, can't even dream of outlasting someone like me who lives and breaths fighting in battles of who drops first." Shirou said with a smirk. "The day that happens, I'll renounce my name."
"I've won eight Rating Games and have only lost twice." Raiser countered.
"You mean you "threw the match twice", Yeah I heard, about you being a sell-out and all." Shirou said. Raiser glared at him. "Besides, even then, it doesn't change anything. Like I said before, unlike you, it took blood, sweat, and tears for me to gain my power. But all you did was use the power you got from the cradle and decided that it would carry you the rest of your life. You seriously believe you're above training? Let's see you say even after all the times I knocked you flat on your ass." Now Raiser almost growled at Shirou. "But, as much as I hate to admit it, you are strong, stronger than I was ten days ago." He then raised his gauntlet. "But right now, in this moment, you're no match for me!"
"Don't be conceited!" Raiser growled. "You dare to believe Raiser is inferior to some Dragon-Trash like you!"
"I don't think I know." Shirou said. He then disappeared and reappeared in front of Raiser in the air and punched him dead in the face. He pursed him and repeated this action before kicking him in the back of his head, sending Raiser to Shirou's right. Shirou reappeared in his previous spot. "In terms of how much power you got, it might be trouble for me, but all you can do is charge and fire without a trace of skill. And you seriously think that some "power idiot" whose only trick is just to burn everything in front of him can beat me?" Shirou scoffed. "Keep on dreaming."
"D-Damn you…" Raiser sneered.
Shirou crossed his arms and looked satisfied while smirking.
Raiser quickly went on the offensive. He appeared in front of Shirou with a fist coated in flames and socked Shirou across the face, sending him flying to his left. Raiser chased after him, grabbing Shirou's leg and swinging him to the ground. He was on top of Shirou in a second, driving his face across the ground, before punching him in the stomach and throwing him into the ground.
Raiser then approached Shirou at the pace of a casual stroll. "Raiser also hates to admit it, but you are also indeed strong Red Dragon. Give it a year, no maybe just six months and you might have had the ability to defeat Raiser." Raiser looked down at him with a condescending smile. "But don't worry, after Rias becomes Raiser's bride, Raiser will train you. You'll become a strong Devil."
Shirou sighed. "…Thanks, but I'll pass." Raiser's eyes widened. He didn't expect Shirou to sound so unhurt after taking so many attacks. "Besides, I don't need six months to beat you. I can do it now." Shirou slapped his hand against the ground, channeling his mana through his Sacred Gear and into the soil. A magic circle appeared where his hand touched, a red line of energy tracing from it into the earth.
It stopped right in front of Raiser's feet.
Raiser raised a brow at the sight beneath him before turning to Shirou. "Was that supposed to—"
His words were interrupted by the ten-foot rock spire that shot out from the ground, impaling him through the chest.
His expression was outraged, but the only noises Raiser could make (on account of his destroyed lungs and, more than likely, vocal cords) were a series of gurgling noises.
Though surprisingly enough, despite having a massive stone going through his chest, Raiser's ability to use magic was completely unhindered.
Instead of simply breaking the magic, Raiser chose to break his own body, pulling away from the spire at the cost of ripping through his side. Given his regeneration powers, it made little difference as his wounds immediately healed afterward. Raiser then unleashed a stream of flames at Shirou, completely obliterating the spot he had been standing on.
Only Shirou wasn't standing there anymore.
In a split second, he was in front of Raiser. His legs bent as if he skidded to stop. He looked up at Raiser, a merciless look in his eyes.
Shirou cupped both of his hands together, conjuring a ball of energy the size of a soccer ball between them.
The sphere soon became larger and more powerful. Even Raiser could not help the faint intimidation he felt from the aura alone.
DRAGON BLAST!
He unleashed the blast point-blank, emitting such a roar that it made the heavens themselves tremble. The blast of energy was blinding, far more powerful than anything Shirou had unleashed by that point.
As before, Raiser's body began to regenerate. "You're truly becoming a thorn in Raiser said, you—"
Shirou decked Raiser in the face before his head had even properly reassembled itself. The blow was fierce enough to immediately splatter his non-existent brains once more.
The rest of Raiser's body stumbled, waiting for his head to follow suit. Before then, Shirou brought up his knee, striking Raiser in the stomach and knocking his body away from him. Raiser's head finally regenerated, and he stumbled slightly before getting up.
A tempest of fire burst from the ground beneath his feet, all but dancing around him. "Raiser can heal from any injury you inflict upon me! As far as your meager status is concerned, Raiser is immortal! You cannot defeat Raiser, peasant! Raiser's wounds heal faster than you can make them!"
"Then I guess I'll just have to hit you OVER—" Shirou struck Raiser in the abdomen. "—AND OVER—" Another blow to Raiser's jaw. "—AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOU STAY DOWN!" Shirou blocked Raiser's flaming fist before taking the opportunity to whip his leg around Raiser's side. "And BECAUSE you can regenerate—"
It was a sort of sharp crack followed by a slashing sound.
That was what it sounded like when Shirou swept his leg clean through Raiser's skull. All that was left behind of his head was his lower jaw, his tongue flapping aimlessly around in what had been his mouth. A pained gurgle/gasp escaped Raiser's head stump, his hands trembling as they reached for something that wasn't there.
"I don't have to hold back!"
"You braaaaaaaaaat!" Raiser screeched as his head began to reconstruct itself from nothing, pure anger showing on Raiser's face. His hand was engulfed with fire, the flame swelling around and blooming as it was fed more power. "Raiser will show you what happens when you dare to trifle with Raiser!" Raiser poured an even greater amount of mana into his flames than usual, unleashing flames that coated his entire body, now almost resembling a miniature sun. "Dodge this next attack if you dare! But be warned of the consequences!"
Shirou narrowed his eyes at that last remark. Enough though he knew he had to avoid this next attack at all cost, it was far too powerful to attempt just to tank or deflect. What consequences was Raiser talking about…
Then in a moment of realization, Shirou turned around and understood what Raiser was truly planning. Directly behind where Shirou was standing, a few meters away, stood Rias and the entire Gremory Peerage in the line of fire.
Now Shirou understood that even though he had to dodge, he couldn't because the flames would consume them. And he couldn't allow that for obvious reasons, like how they're all injured or exhausted. If they were to be hit by an attack of this magnitude, they would most likely die, and even if they survived, their injuries would be critical. Another reason being Rias was there, if she got hit by this attack, it would undoubtedly take her out of the fight, and that would result in an automatic loss, which was something none of them could afford. And then finally and most important reason, Mika and Asia were there.
"DIIIIEEEEEE!" The flames radiated off Raiser's body as he unleashed his attack, creating five large tendrils of flames that shot forward from his hands, carving through the land in an unrelenting wave towards their target, propelling forward by the power of Raiser's wind magic.
Shirou grit his teeth and clenches his fist. Pure frustration was on his expression. "Damnit, YOU BAASSSTTTAARDDD!" Shirou roared before blasting forward towards the raging flames that were on course to burn everything to cinders.
Play OST Dragon Ball Super - Desperate Assault Extended
Shirou had reached the tendrils of flames and outstretched both his arms in front of him and conjured a magical barrier in the palm of his hands in an attempt to stop them. Once he did so, the blast slowed down almost as if it had stopped, but in truth, Shirou was struggling with every fiber of his being to do this much. While doing this, his body felt like it was being robbed of all its energy and stamina. His bones were grating, his muscles were crying out in pain, and he couldn't afford to relax a single finger, a single muscle. Otherwise, he would be consumed by the flames in the next moment.
Shirou felt as though he was trying to stop a bullet train from advancing with his bare hands while he was being hit by a raging heatwave that was scorching his flesh like being in front of a giant open bonfire. Shirou wasn't sure how much longer he could last. And to make things even worse, the effects of Explosion were about to reach their time limit and trigger a reset. "Dammit, power! I need more power! I refuse to accept defeat! I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT STOP HERE!"
Shirou's ragging thoughts were suddenly cut off when he noticed something odd.
It was faint, but he could swear the weight had somehow lessened, not by much but still enough to be noticed.
He didn't understand why this had suddenly happened until he turned to his right and saw the answer in the form of a tired and barely stable magical barrier alongside his own, trying to struggle against the force of Raiser's Hellish flames. That wasn't what surprised Shirou, though. His surprise was caused by the sight of the one who was forming the barrier. It was none other than the Crimson-haired master of his team. Rias Gremory.
She looked even worse off than Shirou was in her attempt to stop the spell. It was like trying to use a simple brick wall to stop an eighteen-wheeler truck. Rias was barely hanging on.
"Rias?!" Shirou called out. He could only stare uncertainly about whether or not she had gone crazy. "What the hell are you doing?! Get away from here!"
"I refuse!" The Crimson-haired Devil kept her focus on her barrier, not being able to afford not to as it was slowly starting to shatter. "I'm going to protect you!"
Shirou froze.
Even though every second of this struggle clearly pained her, Rias pushed herself forward, refusing to be pushed back, pouring each last bit of her magic into her barrier. A gasp of pain escaped her mouth, and Shirou could tell she was reaching her limit. Most likely, the shockwaves and the gusts as the air pressure shifted due to the extreme temperature increase made it harder for her to last.
"Are you insane! You're in no position to keep fighting!" Shirou snapped at her. "You need to get back! We'll lose if you get taken out!"
"But don't you understand YOU'RE doing the same thing!" Rias snapped back, taking Shirou aback. "You're our only hope of defeating Raiser! Even if it's not much, I can at least do this for you! No matter what, I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS ALONE!"
Shirou started to get frustrated. Another strong push from the tendrils of flames reminded him they were running out of time and magic.
"Knock it off already! You're just going to get in the way!" Shirou didn't have time for this. He needed to think of a plan.
However, not only did Rias ignore him, she tightened her grasp, and Shirou realized that she was pushing herself beyond her limits to stay on her feet at this point.
"I'm going…" Rias grimaced. "…To protect you."
Rias still refused to stop, managing to stop herself from budging an inch backward, a testament to how strong a magic user she was to be able to hang on, even in the state she was in. But it was still a lot for her. She could feel her hands starting to roast. A scream escaped her mouth.
"You're my servant!" Rias hissed, tears falling from her eyes as she tried to push herself forward again. "If I can't protect you…Then what good am I as a master?! I won't let anyone… Scar you ever again!"
It was hard to understand how Shirou could keep his barrier up while he was completely stunned.
Rias let out a defiant scream of agony as she forced all her strength into her arms and legs, forcing herself to fight through her pain.
She was as unsteady as a drunkard. Her skin started to singed, the weight she was trying to push back was continuing to bear down on her, and Shirou was pretty sure her arms would soon break, but still she stood. Even though she looked like she could drop any moment, Shirou could still see a fire more intense than any flame of Raisers in her eyes.
She wasn't going to give up.
Shirou wasn't quite sure what happened in the second he had stopped paying attention, but when his focus came back, he was standing beside Rias, his arms outstretched against the tendrils of flames.
"This time…" Rias weakly kept her arms up, her barrier on the verge of breaking. "I will…"
Shirou let out a tired sigh, turning his head to face Rias. "You stubborn woman…" Shirou then removed one of his hands from his barrier and instead pointed it towards Rias. There was a loud whoosh as blasted a gust of wind towards Rias, blowing her away from him and the flames like a piece of paper caught in a draft. "I haven't fallen so low to the point where I need help."
At that moment, Shirou's barrier had finally reached its limit and completely shattered. The tendrils of flames finally unleashed their power and rained down on Shirou.
"This is nothing!" Shirou thought, not backing down. "I already have all the power I need! Something like this WON'T STOP ME!"
[DRAGON BOOSTER: SECOND LIBERATION!]
Music Off
In that second, even though the announcement from the Boosted Gear should have been Reset, Shirou's power should have dropped. Instead, a new announcement activated, the green jewel embedded in the Gear shined even brighter than ever before, and the entire Sacred Gear started to glow a green light.
At the same time, blood-curdling screams were heard emitting from Shirou's mouth. His body was tortured within the pillar of fire that had just consumed him. Afterward, the large pillar of fire detonated into a raging inferno that covered a wide spread of the ground, like the fiery remains of an activated bomb explosion.
"SHIROU!" Rias called out, feeling a tremendous amount of fear and worry overcome her mind.
The rest of the Gremory Peerage along with Ravel soon gathered around the inferno, also fearing for the Red Dragon Emperor's fate.
"…No way." Kiba spoke, not wanting to believe the worst.
Akeno had tears streaming down her eyes while she covered her mouth with her hand. "Shirou-kun…"
Asia had a look of complete despair. She couldn't stop her tears. "Sh-Shirou-san?"
Mika just looked like she was in a daze, like her mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened. "…Big…Bro?"
Rias seemed almost as bad. She could only stare at the fire and smoke in front of her, hoping it wasn't true. "…This can't be." She fell to her knees, never feeling lower than right now. "…I failed. I couldn't protect him." Rias grit her teeth in frustration and grief. "I'm a failure of a master."
Raiser himself soon landed in front of them, standing only a few steps from the inferno of his own creation. He smirked, believing things were finally settled. Even though he had been dealt many blows, Shirou's assault had not laid any lasting injury on Raiser. He may as well have done nothing at all.
"You may as well resign, darling." Raiser taunted. "Your Peerage has now completely fallen in disgrace. Your Knight and Rook were no match for Raiser. Your Bishop and the lovely Mika aren't capable of fighting at all at this point. Even your pet Red Dragon Emperor could do naught but annoy Raiser as I fly would. It's time to accept your defeat and accept your duty as Raiser's bride. This match is over. Let us bond our families in a tie of blood matrimony."
Rias looked up at him with a glare, murder in her eyes along with tears. "Raiser… I won't forgive you."
Raiser scoffed at Rias' murderous declaration. "A noble gesture Rias, but Raiser doubts your current appearance brings any Pride to your house. You're on your last legs, and if you continue, it won't look good for your house or Raisers. It was a nauseatingly touching attempt to aid him; it really was, but you are now out of any pieces to play, and your last hope has been incinerated. He is done."
WHOOSH!
SLICK!
Suddenly before anyone could blink, a large gush appeared on Raiser's shoulder.
"This match is over? Who decided that?"
Everyone's attention suddenly shifted to the voice that had just spoken, and everyone recognized it.
"I'm done? Who decided that?"
Everyone was completely shocked at what they saw, but none were more shocked than Raiser.
Suddenly the flames started to fluctuate as if they were hit was a strong breeze, and in the center was a human-shaped silhouette whose body had an emerald green aura emanating around him. Soon the silhouette appeared and walked out of the flames without trouble. It was relieved to be nonother the smoldering form of Shirou Tsukiharu, who seemed unbothered by the flames around his body.
"I decide when I'm done." Shirou said, and soon the fire on his body went out.
The members of the Gremory group felt relief come over them, but in an instant, that relief turned to a breath-stopping shock the moment they took a look at him.
Even though Shirou seemed well, the fact was the flames that just rained down on him burned a lot of his combat suit, in particular his gloves, jacket, shirt, and everything else from the waist-up, which included the bandages that usually covered his torso. That in-it-of-itself gave everyone present a complete, unhindered view of the scars that littered Shirou's body. Their reactions varied.
Kiba and Koneko felt extreme shock, not feeling sure what to say other than the fact that it was a terrifying sight that clearly held an even more terrifying origin. Asia looked on with grief, closing her eyes and having her tears come again. Mika kept her head down but clenched her fist while her body was trembling. Rias looked at them with sadness, not wanting to have been reminded of those scars so soon, but she didn't look away. She wouldn't allow herself to advert her eyes no matter how much it hurt her to see them because she knew it was far more painful for Shirou. Akeno was just as shocked as everyone else but then noticed how both Rias and Asia were reacting. It was almost as if they had seen them before. And at that moment, she believed she figured out what the two of them saw back at the in-door baths during training.
On the other hand, Raiser looked with disbelief that he had put everything he had into that last attack, and yet Shirou didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. His shoulder was already healed.
"H-Heh, well you may seem confident, but it looks like you took more damage from Raiser's attack than even you were expecting." Raiser taunted, referring to his enemy's scared and damaged body.
"You might want to get your facts straight. The only thing your attack burned away was my flamboyant wardrobe." Shirou corrected him. "These scars of mine have been with me since childhood."
Shirou placed a hand on his chest. In truth, he was upset that his scars were revealed, but right now, he couldn't worry about that. In fact, he noticed something had changed. For starters, his Boosted Gear had changed its appearance. First, the top of the gauntlet went from having a round edge to a pointed edge, the length of the gauntlet extended from his forearm to his elbow, the scale design became spikier, and a second green jewel appeared at the lower part of the gauntlet emerging at the end of the forearm, and six more golden spikes appeared on the gauntlet, two on the top edge pointing forward almost resembling horns, and four small ones in a square pattern in-between the two jewels.
It wasn't just the appearance that changed. Shirou couldn't explain the reason, but it almost felt as though new information had just been inserted into his mind on what this new transformation of his Gear meant and what new abilities it gave him. Like how he knew that after the Boosted Gear transformed, the power he built up didn't vanish and triggered a Reset. On the contrary, his power had sustained itself, restarting and extending the time limit on Explosion, even increasing his power to a higher level than before.
And he also gained a new ability with the Boosted Gear, which he would try out later.
But for now, all he wanted was to put an end to this drawn-out fight.
SHHLLLCCCK!
Play OST Nanatsu No Taizai/Seven Deadly Sins - Escanor's OST
Shirou's left fist punched clean through Raiser's chest, grabbing and crashing his heart in hand.
"Hehehehehehe~" Shirou grinned. It was not one of amusement but pure ecstasy. He could feel the power coursing through every point of his body. And he loved it. "You know something, Raiser?" It was something of a slimy feeling as Shirou retracted his arm from Raiser's chest, making him subconsciously grateful for the protection of his gauntlet. "You really chose the wrong enemy this time!"
He heard Raiser try and approach him, so he shifted to his right and decked Raiser in the face, knocking him to the ground and making him bleed once again.
"Gah!" Raiser said as he stumbled, getting back up. His regeneration activates yet again. "Don't talk down to Raiser, you insignificant dog! Raiser will kill you!" In the second Shirou took to recover from his strike, Raiser extended his hand towards Shirou's torso, unleashing a miniature explosion that launched Shirou back. The younger Devil coughed up a bit of blood and was knocked to the ground.
Raiser coughed. He could feel his regeneration reaching its limit for the first time in his life. He walked tiredly towards the fallen Shirou. "Ah… Why? Why won't you die?! Raiser's used every ounce of power I have to kill you, but it doesn't seem to be enough! DIE ALREADY!"
As he reached him, he prepared to attack. Shirou quickly shot up from the ground and prepared to attack as well. Raiser could still see the tempered steel within the eyes of the Silver-haired boy. A part of him begrudging respect that.
"YOU FIRST!" Shirou charged forward, gathering power into his left fist. Raiser likewise gathered a massive flame in his own hand.
Their attacks clashed with violent fury, shockwaves tearing apart the earth beneath them and creating turbulent winds around them. Their own force pulled them apart, but Raiser increased the volume of his flame wings, using them to launch himself forward at his opponent.
He delivered a mean, burning cross across the left side of Shirou's face. Refusing the be knocked about, Shirou pulled out his other fist and thrust it as hard as he could into Raiser's gut. Again, the two knocked themselves away. This brief interlude did not last much longer than the previous one.
Shirou was the first to regain his footing. He charged at Raiser and punched him in the chest. Raiser grunted in pain. Every time Shirou hit him, Raiser's regeneration rate began to slow down. Shirou shoved him back and then disappeared from sight as Raiser punched at him. Raiser turned to find Shirou behind him, his fists already clenched.
Shirou struck Raiser's body again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
All one hundred times. Shirou kept attacking. He didn't give Raiser time to fight back. He didn't let him breathe. He didn't let him think. He knew there wouldn't be another chance like this. He needed to hit him with every bit of damage he could. This was his chance to win.
Raiser immediately coated his body with fire and blew Shirou back. He knew he couldn't last if that kept up. He could feel almost all his bones break after that onslaught. It became clearer and clearer as time went on that Raiser's wounds were starting to heal at a much slower rate.
The match was beginning to feel even in only one regard: Shirou was covered in numerous injuries but possessed an unbreakable will and endurance that far exceeded not only human logic, but even that of normal Devils. Meanwhile, Raiser had far less stamina, shown by the deep breaths he took as his exhaustion was taking its toll, but a factor that allowed him to heal from any wound Shirou dealt him…Though for how long was a concerning question.
Shirou kicked Raiser in the temple, sending him back to the ground. Shirou landed back on the ground as well. Raiser got up and rushed towards him. They traded blows, each more unsuccessful than the last. Occasionally landing a glancing blow here and there. The two kicked each other in the head. Raiser lunged forward and uppercut Shirou, who pushed his fist down along with his chin and drove his elbow into Raiser's ribs. The Phenex responded by driving his fist into Shirou's face making him stagger backward. However, this was just a feint as Shirou lunged in and kicked Raiser in the chin sending him backward. He landed on the ground and stared across at Shirou.
They met again. Raiser, this time encircled flames around his fingers, forming makeshift claws. Every time they traded blows, Raiser cut into him with his claws. Shirou punched him in the face, and Raiser responded by clawing up Shirou's chest. However, as they traded blows, every time Raiser clawed at him, knocked him back, or punched and kicked him in the face. Shirou always bounced back, unrelenting with the same steeled look in his eyes.
Feeling desperate, Raiser brought his blazing fist around, reducing the size of the flames and increasing their intensity. He could not afford any more theatrics. If he wanted to defeat his opponent, he would have to come close to killing him. "FALL DAMNIT!"
Music Off
Raiser's fist punctured a large hole through Shirou's chest, beginning to burn him from the inside out. Blood spewed from both Shirou's wound and his mouth in large volumes. Even though, by all rights, he should have passed out from the pain or been rendered unconscious, Shirou reached out his hand and tightly gripped Raiser's wrist. His breathing was heavy and pained, but he showed no signs of weakness. The tempered steel in his gaze remained as strong as ever.
"Surrender." Raiser said. He admitted to being hotheaded and, at times, merciless, but even he could not help but feel respect for someone who persevered through having a hole burned through their chest and still wanted to keep fighting. Granted, such fates were casual accomplishments for members of the House of Phenex, but not so much for a reincarnated Devil, even if they were in possession of a Longinus-class Sacred Gear. "It appears you are not quite at the level where you can defeat Raiser, but Raiser must commend you, boy. You've come further than anyone would have ever expected of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Perhaps given one month-No, maybe just even a week or two. You could have even surpassed Raiser in terms of power, but in the end, as you are now, endurance and willpower will only take you so far. Nobody will fault you for losing here."
Shirou tightened his grasp, and Raiser noticed his own wrist had been broken from the pressure.
"I told you before." Shirou smirked. Enough though he was gravely injured, he still did not relinquish his grip on Raiser with his left hand. "I don't need months or weeks to beat! I can do it NOW!" Shirou raised his right hand, tightening it into a fist, his body increasing its demonic power. Raiser tried to remove his arm, but Shirou even more thoroughly crushed his bones in his grip.
Play OST My Hero Academia - United States Of Smash
Raiser attempted to unleash radiant flames from his body, burning Shirou, but it could not stop him.
Shirou caught Raiser's face with his knuckles, smashing his head backward and knocking him away to the ground with an earth-shattering force.
Raiser coughed out, his own blood trailing from the corners of his mouth. His regeneration factor was taking a great deal longer this time around. Even if he showed no injury, Shirou could tell that Raiser was close to running out of stamina.
Shirou did not smirk or grin or smile or laugh. He continued piercing Raiser with his gaze. The next blow would be the last.
Shirou began to gather all of his remaining power around him. First, the wind around him became wilder, then the earth beneath him began to crack, then his aura flared to a blinding glow. Shirou was going to end this fight. Shirou charged at Raiser with all his might.
Raiser, in turn, gathered all his remaining power into his arms and fired off a large column of flames that morphed into the shape of a Phoenix. It shot out and blasted towards Shirou.
The two meet, and Shirou extended his arm, attempting to break through this final obstacle and defeat his opponent. They both let out a defiant roar.
"AAAGGGGHHHHH!" Raiser roared.
"HAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!" Shirou roared.
"I am…" Shirou thought.
"No matter who gets in my way, I will be victorious."
"The day I ever break that vow is the day I die."
"Everywhere I go, there's always those who try and take from me."
"They try and take everything from me."
"That's why I will never be defeated."
"I'll always fight and defeat any enemy."
"Whether there's one or whether there's a thousand."
"Whether they're a Human or some monster from Hell."
"I will defeat them in the most merciless way possible."
"So that they'll try and dare to take from me again."
Shirou looked down at his resting younger sister in his arms and steeled his determination.
"I am… I am…"
"I AM SHIROU-SAMA!"
Shirou didn't realize it at the time. But at that moment, his aura turned from green to a jet-black color. The same that appeared during his fights against the Fallen Angels quite some time ago, coupled with the golden glow that appeared in his eyes just like before. And just like before, when this strange power appeared, his strength and abilities greatly increased as well.
That was proven when he flew straight through Raiser's final attack and cut through the air straight to him, and landed right in front of him.
The moment Raiser saw his eyes and felt his aura, he felt more intimidated than ever before. He found himself frozen in place as if he was petrified.
"Boosted Gear: Gift!" Shirou called out.
[TRANSFER!]
Shirou used the new ability granted to him by Second Liberation. The ability of Transfer was one that allowed him to take all the Boosts he had built up and send that power to someone or something else. He could power up his allies if he wanted to. Though in this case, he Transferred all power to his arm. All of the aura began to recede from the rest of his body, trailing down to his right arm and then his hand.
Shirou raised his right arm, tightening it into a fist. His entire hand was overflowing with demonic power. Raiser knew he couldn't possibly survive this next blow. This would bring everything to an end.
"United States Of SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
Shirou roared with every fiber of his being from the deeps of his soul. His fist crashed into Raiser's face with the force of a wrecking ball, smashing it into the ground with such a strong impact that it shook the very ground, the flat ground they were standing on was so cracked it was like an earthquake had hit, and it caused an explosion of dirt and rubble to blow out everywhere.
[RESET!]
Music Off
When the dust cleared, there was only one left standing. Shirou stood there in that same spot, his arm bleeding and burnt black. His body was covered with injuries, and his aura and power up completely faded, returning him to normal. Shirou immediately felt it when his power left him, the brief lull allowing the pain from all his injuries to fully surface. Especially the hole through his chest. But Shirou was able to endure it, refusing to so much as flinch.
At his feet was Raiser Phenex, beaten completely into the ground, not moving an inch. He was battered, and bruised and his eyes were without light, implying that he was unconscious. That was proven to be a fact when his body was soon surrounded by a glowing blue light signing his retirement. His body dissipated into glowing dust.
After that… It was quiet. It was silent as a grave. Those who were watching were shocked and stunned by what they had just witnessed. Even Grayfia's announcement was late.
[…Lord Raiser has retired. Lady Rias is the victor.]
Once Shirou heard those words, he felt a great deal lighter. It was as if this whole time, he was carrying an extremely heavy weight on his shoulders that had finally been lifted.
Then Shirou's own body started to be consumed by the glowing light of retirement. Well since the game was over, it made sense. Finally accepting the match's end, Shirou looked up, feeling completely at peace.
"Mika, I…" Shirou thought, a peaceful smile on his face while his eyes were covered by his bangs. "…I won."
His tired eyes slid closed, and his body dissipated into glowing dust.
After the game had ended, Raiser woke up in a medical facility. He was lying in a bed.
He immediately felt as if he had a migraine with the way his head was ringing.
"Augh!" Raiser massaged his head. He was exhausted, more so than he had ever been. That must of been the reason why he was in a bed rather than regenerating.
Raiser knew why he was here.
He had lost.
When he looked into Shirou's eyes, he could see it plain as day. The boy would not have given up until he was the victor, by forcing Raiser to retire or by making Raiser concede. Even if Raiser had crushed his skull or torn out the boy's heart, he was not sure even that would have been enough to stop him.
Comparing his spirit to Raiser's was like comparing a wildfire to a candle.
"Brother!" Raiser rose from a sitting position as his younger sister approached his bed.
Though Ravel could have a harsh tongue, Raiser could easily tell the concern in her voice.
"It's fine." Raiser laid back down. Ravel took a place beside his bed. "But it appears that the engagement is no longer valid."
"It makes no sense." Ravel noted. "Those newbies may be strong, but we're from the House of Phenex! Losing shouldn't have been a possibility for us, shouldn't it?"
"No… This is Raiser's loss for sure." Raiser admitted, willing to fully accept the result. "That boy…Shirou Tsukiharu… is a true monster."
Ravel's eyes widened at the expression of uncertainty.
"He did not have any form of protection, but he is the first person to withstand the full power of Raiser's flames. Raiser had been trying to kill him throughout the entire match, but he took every blow and kept on fighting." Raiser said. However, the grin that broke across his face contrasted the negative implications of his words. "Raiser hates to admit it, but that boy's potential…is frightening."
Ravel just stood there, staring in shock.
Throughout her entire life, never once had she ever heard her brother describe any of his opponents as "frightening" before…
Play OST DRAMAtical Murder - Hikari
Shirou immediately regretted regaining consciousness.
He wasn't struggling to stay up because of pain but rather exhaustion. The moment of power he had used throughout the match had left him completely drained.
It was all he could do to stay awake.
He tried to speak, but his throat was incredibly dry, and the sound he did produce was hoarse and unintelligible.
He couldn't see properly. His vision was blurry…
He wanted to sleep, but he also wanted to get up…
"Ssshhh, it's alright." A gentle voice said, in a voice no louder than a whisper. "Shirou… You did it… My brave, adorable Pawn. The fighting is over. Raiser retired from the match… Me, Mika, and everyone, we're all safe thanks to you.
Even with what little awareness he had, Shirou was able to process those words.
The Rating Game…
The Gremory Team won!
He… He had managed to obtain victory… He fulfilled his promise.
He felt a soft caress on his cheek…
He could not recall this sensation, this warmth, but he also felt it was vaguely familiar… Comforting.
"Rest now." The voice said. They were words laced with magic, but Shirou didn't have the energy to resist them. He felt his eyelids become heavier. "You've earned it."
His vision cleared before his eyes closed
He caught a glimpse of Crimson…
And felt a soft touch on his lips…
A thousand blows couldn't bring down the Strongest Man in Kuoh. But those simple words were all it took to take him out like a light.
For now, he would rest. Recover his strength.
Shirou Tsukiharu slipped back into the bliss of slumber, completely at peace.
Music Off
And that's the chapter and the end of the Rating Game. First of all, tell me what you thought: did you like it, did you hate it, was it enjoyable or was it too long. I personally had so much I wanted to put into this fight, so it took a while to write it all down. And I wanted the Rating Game to go out with a bang.
I know some of you were hoping to see Shirou activate Balance Breaker, but I didn't see that happening because I think it would be too soon for that. Shirou will get Balance Breaker soon, not long from now and much sooner than Issei. Don't worry. So for now, just be satisfied with Second Liberation, which I felt was the best time to debut.
And let's not forget the Black Aura and Golden eyes appeared again. what do they mean? Why do they keep appearing at times like this? Questions that will be answered in the near future.
As for everyone seeing Shirou's scars, that was just something I wanted to add for reasons that come later. And his combat suit, well, he'll get a new one later. It'll be similar but have slight differences.
Anyways thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed, if you want more then be sure to leave a review if you like the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.