AND... This marks the end of this arc, plus the epilogue of this arc. I dunno, that was a pretty intense chapter even for me, and I'm kinda happy to finally put some character developments and struggles to an end. I just hope all of you don't end up hating some characters because whatnot. I'mm really happy to finish this arc, and I hope you all hope for a new arc, since I'm laso very excited about it. :3. Thanks for your support. You guys are awesome!
and, as always, Highschool DxD goes not belongs to me~.
I just used everything in my power.
Literally everything.
From traps to paper-bombs, to summoning my ninja turtle Albert, to use the booby-traps I placed beforehand the match and even some ninpo techniques, yet nothing had stopped the train-track called Nemesis Gremory! And she even didn't use her Power of Destruction at full power yet!
And now, things came to end like that: I'm on a dark corner, completely wasted and out of breath, with Albert's shell right next to protect me and hide my own energy while I recover my stamina, in a destroyed room of the old building, more specifically, the original class where the old Occult Research Club used to hang out. The ceiling had been completely blown out, and the two Gremory sisters were facing each other. My booby King had bruises all over her body, her clothes were at a fanservice'd mess and she was breathing heavily, while Red Boobs II was looking at her with an air of contempt, her eight eyes and arachnid claws twitching with every passing second...
"Ready to give up yet, Rina? I'm going easy on you, and your major Bishop and Rook are out of commission. Your Queen might be okay for now, but who knows what will happen to him if I give the command." She said, blinking a few times. Gremory tensed up, but after a quick sigh, she frowned again.
"I'm not afraid, Sister! Ichijou-kun might be still new, but he's the Sekiryuutei! He'll defend my position no matter what!" She said with confidence, and I saw Nemesis-San frown even more, her pearl-like extra eyes twitching even more. She's pissed now. "And as a devil from the House of Gremory, I'll not let you win this time! You might have forsake your own gremory lineage, but I have...!"
"Shut it, Rina!" Nemesis-San cut her sentence with a venomous remark, as she was now gritting her teeth. Yes, Gremory explained that: Nemesis's affinity with her Alastor Bloodline is more linked to carnivorous beasts, mainly a spider. Thus, her general behavior in that state is more aggressive and violent. I wasn't expecting to be rude too. "Forsake... My own bloodline?! Unlike you, I don't need any mastery in just one ability just because it's from the Great King Bael, lord of all Devils! Unlike you, I chose the filthy, ridiculous power of our Father, an Alastor, to show everyone I'm not afraid of any part of my lineage! Unlike you, I'm not afraid to me! If someone has forsaken anything, it was you, RINA!"
"Tch..." My king quietly spat, as she formed another ball of Power of Destruction, and Nemesis-San extinguished her extra limbs from the black flames of her own unique ability.
The first to act was from the younger sister, as she threw her sphere of annihilation against the other one, but the former was faster, and used her lower extra limbs to jump from the ground, dodge and stuck herself on a wall. She leaped from there against her sister a second later, but Berolina were faster and tackle her in the stomach, using the closure between the two to pick Nemesis-san's shirt and toss her to a random direction. However, the older one used one of her spider arms to stuck in the floor and, turning around, she slapped her sister away with another one. Berolina went flying away and hit a wall, falling from there to the floor.
"What did I said, Rina? If you keep relying solely on your power Of Destruction and basic abilities, your own power won't have any effect against me. I know everything about you and the Bael's ability." Nemesis-San said with contempt as her sister was trying to stand up again. "Face it. Being a Rias Gremory now is a waste of time and energy! I surpassed her, and you can as well! Only stop trying to follow her!"
"Shut up..." The other Gremory said in a surprisingly ominous tone, as she lifted her gaze to her older sister and revealed her split eyes, red and multifaceted, like a fly's. She was so enraged. "Who are you... To talk about Lady Rias like that?!"
"Someone who surpassed her enough to say that her power was 'normal'." Nemesis-san said, crossing her arms. After that, Berolina almost lost control: her split eyes were almost jumping out of her orbits, and grey fur was starting to grow on her face. In the end, however, she blinked a few times, and shook her head left and right, returning to normal. Nemesis-San became visibly irritated. "I see. You're rejecting your own blood, your Alastor lineage. From our honorable father, a living legend and a paragon of the underdog, just like Issei Hyoodou and Lord Sairaorg Asmodeus."
"Don't you dare compare Lord Issei... TO THAT WALKING FREAK!" Gremory said one more time, shooting a ball of power of destruction from her palm. Nemesis-San casually dodged that one, and leaped again against her sister. This time, she was too fast for Berolina to keep up with it, and so Nemesis-San tackled her with her massive spider arms, tossing her to another side.
"Huh. Calling our lord Lucifer a freak. Our great-grandfather wasn't the best in his true form either." Nemesis-san said, as Berolina stood up from the ground again, her eyes covered by her bangs and stumbling a little to stand still. "But now, Prepare yourself. I'll use the Power of Destruction you respect so much to defeat you. Call it... Poetic irony."
"Tch..." The other Gremory said. Nemesis-San began to charge her own power on her palm, until it became a massive ball of annihilation. However, under closer inspection, I saw it. I saw the signal. Berolina Gremory, my dear King, smiled. "Your next line will be... 'Now, vanish from this match and see the failure lady Rias really is'!"
"Vanish from this match and see the failur-... WHAT?!"
"NINJA! Now!"
And that's my cue! Finally with my energy at full power, I kicked Albert's shell out of my way, hitting Nemesis-San right in her face, distracting her enough to rescue my Booby King before the stunned Nemesis-San could toss her attack! We dodged it just in time, and when the onee-San opened her eyes again, I tossed a handful of shurikens and knives at her, as Berolina boosted them with her power of Destruction!
"Pitiful! You're pitiful, Rina!" She said angrily, as she used her own extra spider arms to cover herself in a cocoon of hard exoskeleton, successfully blocking my blades but taking damage because of the P.O.D. crusted on them. "Tch! Your attacks are not gonna work on me!"
"I was counting on that!" And before she could move, I pulled a web of strings from the holes of the floor, that surrounded the older Crimson King and wrapped her in her own arm-protection! Now, she can't escape the prison the made it herself, as my strings were strong enough to hold her, not to mention that she doesn't have any space to move and she can't reach the strings with her arms without damaging herself! She's trapped! "How about that, you buggy freak!"
"RINA...!" Screamed the older sister, as she tried and failed to retrieve her spider arms. Berolina looked at me, and then made her Power of Destruction run through my strings to her sister! It hit her right in the core, and soon she was covered in black flames. "Uwoooh...!"
"We don't have much time! She'll use her own to extinguish mine!" Rina said. I nodded at her, and as fast as I could, I use all of my strength to pull Nemesis-san and start circling the string around, gaining force with each turn! In the end, I tossed her into the air, where she wouldn't escape in any way, and unwrapped her, as she was still burning! I gave the green light to my king, and she tossed a massive sphere of Power of Destruction at her sister! Nemesis-san couldn't even blocked it, and then it hit her right on! *BOOOOM!* the sphere went, and soon after, the body of Nemesis Gremory escaped from the cloud of dust from the aerial attack, and landed face-first on the floor, lifting a curtain of smoke...
And then... Silence...
...
...
I guess... This is it...
"We... We won... Ahahahah! We won! Ninja, we won!" Cheered my King, as she hugged me with those massive bazzongas and cried to the skies. I can't hear a thing from Nemesis-San, and if a king falls, this means the opponent team wins... Right? "We won! We won! For a nail, but we won!"
"Yeah... I guess..." I said, too weak to stand straight for too long. That last attack used all of my remaining strength and chi, so I can't move very well now. When I was about to fall, Gremory caught me just in time. "I'm... I'm fine. I'm just... Tired. We've been fight her since the start."
"Yes. But at least, we did it! We are awesome, and when we begin our own Occult Research club, everything will be the way it should! You, me, the witch, the monkey and Ichijou-kun!" She said enthusiastically. Even with that, I can't bring myself to smile. It's not about the match, but the fact that she rather call me 'ninja' instead of my name bothers me. And not just with me... Well, better not to think to much about it. We won! This means one step closer to beat you up, papa!
"Yes. Indeed. Thank you, Gremory, but I can walk now. Don't worry." I said as I let go of her and stood again in two legs. She nodded at me, and then turned her attention to the skies.
"Hey, Serena! We can go now! We won! We won!" She screamed, as I was also waiting for something to happen. If I recall correctly, once the match is over, the MC was suppose to announce the winner and use the escape magic to take them out of the artificial arena. However, this one was taking too long, and after a few seconds, only then I noticed something was off. "Huh... How strange. This is my first rating game, but I don't think it was suppose to take this lon-...!"
*ZOOM!*
"GASP! Gremory, watch out!"
"Huh...?!"
*SLASH!*
"NINJA!" It hurts... It hurts a lot! Out of the cloud of smoke, in just one second, a long, segmented and black tentacle emerged, and tried to reach for Gremory. Acting out of instinct, I pushed her from harm's way, but ended up wounded myself, as small hook-like appendices from it's borders cut my skin like a chainsaw. It also pushed me away and made me hit a wall. Once in the floor, I coughed blood, and couldn't move anymore, not because of the pain, well, not JUST because, but because my body wouldn't obey my commands... Some kind of poison, perhaps?
I turned back to the cloud of smoke that was cleaning up little by little. The dust was thick, but I distinguished a known silhouette from it. When it finally clean off, I could see the figure hidden under it: it was Nemesis-san, her clothes a mess and her ponytail undone, but still conscious, as I could see long, large and dark centipede-like appendices coming from her lower back, twitching now and then, flexing it's segments...
I don't need to be a genius to figure it out now: Nemesis-san somehow morphed her extra arms from a spider's to that... Thing, and tightened her own defenses using her flexible new arms. Shit... So close... Damn you... Alastors...
My body won't obey me, and soon enough, I felt sleepy out of the sudden, I can't use ninjitsu while m arms are numb. The possible poison the put on me is taking it's effects now; as I slowly drove to unconsciously. Shit... So close... So close... I can't... I couldn't beat her... Papa...
Papa...
[ANNABELLE HELLSING HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!]
.
~~x~~
.
'When I grow up, I want to be just like Rias!'
'Hey, onee-sama, did you know that Lady Rias had only one daughter with lord Issei?! She was also the Godmother of all of the other DxD children!'
'I'll have the red Dragon Emperor in my peerage too! Just like Lady Rias!'
'Onee-sama... Why would you do that?! Use the filthy Alastor's Metamorphosis?! You don't respect our Lineage!'
'I hate him! Cohen Alastor is a Freak! And you're a freak too, nee-sama! You don't deserve to be a Gremory! I hate you!'
'Give my pieces now, sis! Okaa-sama said I'm mature enough! Otou-sama said I'm mature enough! Give my pieces now, sis!'
'No! It is you who don't see, sis! As long as I can control [EXTINGUISHED STAR], I'll be fine! You underestimate Rias, you traitor!'
'I'm... I'm... A Gremory! And nothing else!'
Those words echoed in my head like a hammer. Since she was born, Rina always wanted to be like our distant and honorable relative, Rias Gremory. At first, it was fine. She became determinate like Rias, intelligent like Rias, fit like Rias and innocent like Rias. She was determinate to become a true Rias Gremory, her idol, her heroine, her way of living...
However, as she grew up, that... Obsession became unhealthy: she forsaken her Alastor lineage, and our own honorable father, because he was a 'commoner freak', unworthy of a Gremory like our mother. She concentrated all of her training in the power of destruction, and simply halted it when she dominated Extinguished Star and Annihilation Nova, Rias Gremory's signature moves, even though she could reach even higher. Not to mention, she lost all of her friends when she became super-protective about her hair, and changed her eye color to resembles Rias's. That obsession made her lonely, alienated and hollow. Everything she says, Lady Rias already said. She didn't became a legacy... She became a reflex, an emotionless image from other...
Well, if words can't reach her... Maybe my fists will make her listen to me!
"S-Sister..." She muttered, turning to me, scared shitless. Yes, this is the first time she sees me in this form. I developed that form during this spring, and since she lived with that Tsukino kid since she left home, of course she'd be unfamiliar. "What... You're... You're a monster! I can't look at you! You're soiling the name of Gremory...!"
"Maybe, maybe not. Rina, now I'll show you... How Rias would be powerless against me." And I broke a rage vein, as she tensed up and threw a bunch of Black orbs at me. I took a deep breath, and with a swift move from the centipede-like arms from my back, I blew those powers of destructions away. Simple and quick, even I was speechless...
Huh, strange. Since my affinity is better with carnivorous animals, my demeanor usual is much more aggressive and brutal with my power awaken, but now... I just feel like a butterfly recently out of it's cocoon. Renewed, changed, seeing everything around me for the first time... I'm not afraid... I'm ready to take flight...
...
...
*BAM!*
"Too slow, Rina!" I said using my extra limbs to launch myself up and avoid another wave of annihilation power, landing right next to my dear sister. She gasped and jumped backwards to try to avoid me, but I picked her by the leg with my centipede limb. With that, I grinned and hit her repeatedly against the floor. "Heh... Is that all you got, RIAS GREMORY?!"
"Gaaaaah...!" She screamed. I finally launched her away to a wall, in which she completely broke to pieces and passed through it. Now, I can think, I can plan. This new power... Is amazing. The next moment, she took flight, and in midair, she launched another ball of power of destruction. I had an idea: I bent over, and then launched myself against that orb. When I was close enough, I turned and morphed my centipedes into a drill, and boosted them with the power of destruction. I pierced Rina's own like it was nothing, and dismissed that form once by the other side, facing a surprised and horrified Younger sister. "H-How...?!"
"Taste the power of a 'filthy commoner'!" I said, slapping her away and making her crash on her ass on the floor, lifting a cloud of smoke. I landed next to her. There she is, down and immobile. I reached for her, picked her by the collar, and made her look at me. He crossed eyes, and she grit her teeth. "So, how does it feel, being outmatch by something so low as an Alastor?"
"You... YOU...!" She lifted one of her arms and pointed at me, ready to blow a power of destruction in my face. However, I was faster, and slashed that arm away with my centipede appendices. She screamed, probably feeling the saw-move and the venom enter her system. Soon, she ceased any any movements, and she calmed down in an instant. In the end, silence, as she began to cry. "Why... Why, sister?"
"Like I've said, Rina. You're not mature enough." I said back, as she grunted a little more, and bit her lips.
"That's not fair! That's not fa-...!"
"Rina, shut up!" I outbursted. She shut up in an instant. Is only screaming I can reach at least a nail into her dense skull. "You have any idea how our father feels regarding you?! He loves you, very much, and yet you say he's a freak just because of his inherit ability and upbringing! 'Gremory should only marry strong and noble Devils' my ASS! He became a Satan just because you didn't wanted to have his surname! How about your friends, Rina?! Do you care, or even want to know about who and what they are, or know them at all?! That Ichijou brat and Annabelle had the worst childhoods ever, but I bet you didn't even knew that! Rias Gremory was not like that, Rina! NOT AT ALL!"
"...!" And after that one, she gasped in horror, only to begin to cry, tears coming down her eyes as she grimace in pain and heartbreak. Is the worst for her, being someone not worth to look like Rias. It looks like that's the only way to pass through her thick skull. But that's not enough. She'll forget that by tomorrow. There's only one way to tattoo this lesson for her. I lifted one of my hands and created a small ball of power of destruction there. She gasped in surprise. "N-Nemesis...?!"
"You know what, Rina?! I'm done talking with you! There's only one way to make you remember that lesson." And then I Approached my burning hand next to her. "I'll burn that filthy Gremory hair with the power of destruction you're so proud of! Let's see how you're gonna react, being betrayed by your own ability!"
"A-Ah... Please, don't. Nemesis! Anything but that...!" She screamed, as I approached even more. During a few seconds, she stayed a little shaken, probably thinking I was bluffing or anything, but as soon it was just a few centimeters away, she began to scream, cry and beg, crying rivers and pleading for me to stop. Maybe it's the Alastor blood, but I'm enjoying this more than I should. "Please! Sis! I beg of you! Don't do this! Stop! Stop! Stop! I give u-...!"
*PUNCH!*
*UGWAH...!"
"Would you shut up for a second? I'm trying to concentrate here." I punched her right in the throat, and so she indeed quiet down, despite the fact that her body was still twitching and eyes wide open in horror. She's still struggling, even with that impeding doom. Maybe I should start by the longer locks, or at least burn the top of her head whole, it will be much faster. "I'm actually glad that you asked for a Rating Game, Rina. Maybe it was the best for you. Now, don't move, you might get hurt..."
"P-Please, don't do it, sister..."
"And who will stop me? Better close your eyes and wait for it to hap-..."
[HIMEJIMA Akio HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!]
[AND AT THE SAME TIME, NADJA SUSTRAI TOO! THE SEKIRYUUTEI IS ON A ROLL!]
Those words coming from Serena Sitri shocked me. What the... Did she said Sekiryuutei?! He really just put both of my bishops out of commission?! No, it cannot be. I mean, Aria said that he would put a match at least against Nadja or Nero, but to put Ginko, Akio and Nadja all during ONE match?! Unbelievable!
"No... It must be my imagination..." I said to no one, shaking my head and returning my attention to my stupid sister on my grasp. "I'll deal with you, Rina, then I'll see what's going on out there..."
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"
"Eh...?"
*BOOOOOM!*
"SHIIIIIIIT...!" And again out of blue, a great explosion by the other side of the wall blasted a door open, and by it, with her ass on flames, there she was my dear queen Aria Argento was launched to our direction, standing on two feet and scarring the floor with her feet deeply stuck there. Another thing: she became an AA-cup for some reason!
"Aria...?" I said to her, loosing the grasp on my sister and trying to reach for her, but she turned around to me, eyes wide open.
"Nemis, get down!" She said, but it was too late. A Crimson flash passed in an instant around us, and when I knew better, I looked at my hand and Rina was gone! I didn't even felt it when it was too late! I frenetically looked for her, and my eyes landed on a certain brunette across the room. He was with Rina on his arms, and he didn't looked tired at all. Somehow, he was... Different now.
"I-Ichijou... -kun...?" My sister, whom was also awed by his new display of power, said with her trembling voice. The lad, who had a confident smile and a new light on his eyes, smiled back to her.
"Almost. Almost, dear Rina." The boy said, as he put her down in a nearby wall and let her rest, while he turned to me, and summoned his Boosted Gear. "But for now, just sit there. I, your honorable Queen, will defeat her for you!"
"Aaah..." Rina wilded her eyes in total shock and surprise, as she began to cry again. However, this time, she had a growing smile in her face, and nodded to his words. "Uh-huh! I believe in you, Ichijou-kun!"
"Aria, you may rest for now. I think I'll have to deal with this prick myself." Aria gasped in surprise, looking at me, concerned. I know I'm dealing with the Sekiryuutei, somehow with his ego and self-esteem boosted to the heavens, but I'm curious. Really curious about that new behavior. Before she could protest, *WHACK!*, I hit her right on he back of her neck with one extra limbs, putting her out of commission as the Emergency exit took her away. With that out of the way, I turned to Ichijou, as he was cracking his knuckles. "I like your new hair, Ichijou-kun. That stupid Crimson cowlick really suits you."
"Thank you, Nemis. It does suits me, right?" He said, strangely too happy for me. Now he's massaging his chest area, with a grin on his face for some reason. "This body does suits me as well. Look at that flat chest. Not even muscular. Granted, I wasn't that good either."
"What are you talking abou-...!"
*VOOSH!*
"What the...?!"
"However..."
*BOIM! BOIM!*
"You're pretty gifted, arentcha, spawn of Sirzechs?" In an instant, he disappeared into the dust, and in another one, he appeared right behind me, only to reach for my breasts to grope them. I let out a shameful moan. Curses! Since when he became so fast!
"Why you...!" I tried to reach for him using my centipedes, but he simply jumped out of the way, far away enough to avoid even those. He's more agile now, too. Did the training did that to him? No, Aria said he learned a thing or two, but nothing too worry about. He would survive, but not become this strong. Besides, those lights in his eyes... "Who... Who are you? Are you really Ichijou-kun? The heir of the Red dragon Emperor Legacy, Tsukino Ichijou-kun?"
" of course I am. At least is what everyone thought so far." He said with a psychotic smirk. That pissed me off beyond all reason, and soon enough, I gathered a small ball of power of Destruction and tossed at him in high speed! He simply dodged to a side, still with that grin, but unknown to him, I used my magic to remotely control the direction of that ball. From behind him, the black sphere made a turn and before he could react to it, hit him right in the back! Is it over? No, I can still sense some danger coming from the curtain of dust the impact just left... But then, *VAPT!*, something came out of it in a blink of an eye!
"Curses...!"
*ZOOM!*
"Is that all you got? I'm disappointed, Nemesis." I heard that sarcastic tone whispering in my ear. I turned around, but something pushed me hard enough for me to lose balance and came down crashing a wall in the way and forcing my way outside the building into the destroyed baseball camp.
"Ugh...! Curse you, Sekiryuut-...!" I emerged from the broken pieces of concrete and bricks to again try an offensive against that lad, however, the sight in front of me simply let me speechless. No... It cannot be! Red scales, golden spikes, dragon claws and fiery looking helmet. Shit, he already reached that level?! Aria, what the hell did you do to him?! "A-Ah! What the hell?! This is impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible as long as my king Needs me! I shall protect her and destroy everything that stands in our way!" A voice, without a doubt Ichijou's, echoed from inside that red armor, as he unfolded a pair of massive, dragonic wings out of his back and screamed at the top of his lungs. "BEHOLD! THIS IS THE FULL POWER OF THE RED DRAGON EMPEROR, THE CRIMSON HEAVENLY DRAGON OF DOMINATION, WHICH ONLY ONE CAN SURPASS!"
[BOOSTED GEAR, BALANCE BREAKER: SCALE MAIL!]
"So, this is the legendary Red Dragon Emperor's Balance Breaker." I said. Putting aside our little spar, I'm really impressed by his display of power. Curses, this almost brings me to tears, to finally be able to see the Boosted Gear's Balace Breaker this close. I shook those feeling away and prepared myself for the clash. In gathered as much magic as I could for the moment and shot a massive fireball against that armor!
*BOOM!*
"Your lack of power disturbs me, Nemesis Gremory!" I heard from afar, as the sphere of flames in the front of me simply exploded sideways, revealing under the inferno it left the scale mail armor, completely Unscratched. "Now, it's my turn!"
And then, he did the same: he pointed one of his palms to me and a magic circle was drawn there. Out of it, an even bigger fireball, at least ten times my own, was shot against me! I used my extras limbs to leap out of the way in time, and then it exploded. An explosion so massive it broke part of the arena's own reality.
Another blink, and he was again in front of me, those strangely golden eyes shining with contempt and arrogance. In an instant, he picked one of my arms and threw me at a distance! In midair, I threw another barrage of power of destruction at him, all useless when he was fast enough to dodge all of them. He finally reached for me, and punched me right in the gut. However, using my remaining strength, I wrapped one of my centipedes around his arm and used another one to slap him away. It worked, and so he crashed on the floor, as I used my wings to glide and safely land in an safe distance from him.
What the hell happened? He's a lot more assertive than before. I didn't forced him to do anything, and he probably would still be oh so awkward next to me. Besides, he couldn't have reached Balance Breaker in such low timespan, nor maintain it for so long. Something's wrong. Possession? Lost heritage? No, it can't any of those... I saw a shadow standing up for a distance! It's him again! So, normal attacks won't have any effect on him. I never thought someone would push me this far, but he won't go down if I hold back.
"Impressive, Sekiryuutei. Your power indeed grew in the past days, and I must say, never thought you would push me this far, but this ends now!" I said, taking a deep breath to regain some of my energy. I extended my Centipedes and pointed every single one of they little crawlers to the sky, as well as my own hands. From them, dozens of small spheres of power of destruction came, filling the emerald green skies with darkness. I lifted a finger, and pointed it down in a single move. "TASTE THE POWER OF REALITY! [VANISHING NEBULA!]"
And under my mute command, those balls of power of destruction came down crushing everything on it's way! Like a meteorite shower, those small spheres came violently raining on the small spot on the other side of the arena, on that same spot of the Sekiryuutei. With enough force to drain his energy, but at least give him enough time to safely exit the arena!
After a few seconds of constant fire, my own demonic energy came to an thin end, as I stopped myself and, almost out of breath, waited for the best. Serena Sitri didn't announced nothing yet, but after that one, it's impossible for him to endure such power for so long, even with the Scale mail armor. But my fears were awaken the moment I heard a metallic sound coming from the massive hole I've created.
"Oh, no... That's impossible..."
"You're pathetic, Nemesis!" I heard from the crater, and in an instant, dragon wings completely open, the Sekiryuutei majestically emerged to the skies, making a twist on the air to finally land by the other side of the hole. "As long As I'm still standing, there's no way for you to defeat me!"
"What's going on?! You're not Ichijou! It's impossible!"
"C-Can you see now, sis?" I turned around when I heard that new voice. She was hurt, she was stumbling, but Rina managed to walk away from her place on the old building and walk to beside me. She was smiling, and tears of joy were comic down of her eyes. She was filled with hope! "Is just like Rias and Issei. No matter what who or what they are, the Sekiryuutei will always come to our aid and help his King. Using his own power and determination, he'll come to break every harm towards us. He's... He's the champion!"
"No... No!" I said. No, she don't understand! That's not Ichijou! He's not following anyone! At least... At least it was what Aria told me! What's going with him?!
"Face it, sis... No matter what you do, I'll become like Rias! I'll be... The new Rias Gremory, of the Gremory house!"
"Shut up!" I tossed a sphere of demonic energy at her, but a Crimson flash crossed my way, and in another second, she was gone. I followed the trace left by the blur, and as I expected, there it was the Scale Mail Armor, holding Rina bridal-style, like he was her knight in shining armor! This... This can't be happening...
"Well said, Rina. Or should I said... Future President of the Neo-occult research club?" The armor said, as Rina gasped in surprise, only to cry again and smile. She looked so happy now, so calm. He put her down and then turned to me, making a battle stance soon after. "Wait for it, My King, this match... Ends now!"
Why are you doing this, Tsukino Ichijou? I know you might care about her, but that obsession of her is beyond healthy! You're smart, you should've noticed! But instead, you're just feeding this idea. Can't you see, Tsukino Ichijou? You're just spoiling her fantasies, making her believe you'll always have her back when her power won't be enough. I just want her... To face reality and break the walls she builder around herself... Why can't you see?!
And he leaped in my direction again, fists ablaze, ready to clash with me! So he's not up for a talk or at least see my reason. That's fine! Even if it's not today, I'll let Rina know she's wrong! I won't let her kill herself just because she can't let go of her fantasy! And if even the red dragon emperor stays in my way, so be it! I'll defeat even him! I lifted my fist, and readied myself against that monster!
"This is the end, NEMESIS GREMORY!"
"It is Indeed, TSUKINO ICHIJOU!"
I stomped hard on the floor, clenched my fist as strong as I could and screamed for him! Yes! This will be the end! And he was coming! And coming! And coming! And then finally...
*PUNCH!*
...
...
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"What...?" I extended my fist and closed my eyes to stand the future shock, but after all of that, nothing happened. I felt nothing, and everything stopped out of the sudden. Did I lost? He was so fast I couldn't tell. I risked opening an eye, and seeing clearly now, he was not even close to me. He stopped right a few meters before the clash. But his hand was in another direction: not against me, but himself. He punched himself in the face, so hard his helmet broke.
There's really something odd happening with this guy today...
"What do you think... You're doing... Yagura?!" He screamed, as suddenly the core of his armor in his chest began to glow, and then exploded, the shockwave alone enough to send him backwards in highspeed. He flew for a few seconds, and then hit the floor, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. And then it stopped. He stayed like that for a few seconds, and stood up like a rocket from the floor, angrily shouting to his red gauntlet. "Oh, that's so mature of you! It's not my fault you wanted my body to do God-knows-what! I'm sick of being a toy to everyone!"
"I-Ichijou... -kun...?" Rina said next to him, as her face changed to a curious and heartbroken one. I wasn't understanding a thing, but I didn't had time for that as he turned to me and frowned.
"Hey, Nemesis-San, it's me." He said, extending his left armored hand to me and looking at me deep in the eyes. "Sorry about that. My Boosted Gear kinda got out of control, and only now I made it."
"Huh...?" He said 'out of control', yet, he mastered Balance Breaker in that moment alone. This lad is weird, this means he knew what was going on, and instead of letting himself win, he halted his transformation and punched himself in control again. I can't believe it. "Why?"
"What?"
"You... Knew what was going on, didn't you? Why would you stop? Why would you lose your chance to win this match?" I asked, as I could see Rina behind him, quietly wondering the same thing by the look in her eyes. Instead of doing something drastic, however, Ichijou simply sighed, and scratched his nose, sniffing soon after.
"Why? I dunno, maybe because I'm an idiot." He answered. "I'm an idiot who doesn't want to make Aria-San and Hwan Jin-Yong feel bad about themselves. They wasted they time training me, I'll be upset if they get sad because I awakened this power out of the blue."
My transformation ceased the moment he finished. Rina and I wilded our eyes to this simple sentence. He said that he doesn't want to upset those two. That's... That's actually pretty noble. Stupid, yes, but he simply doesn't care about this match in a way. I'm actually speechless. He did grew up, huh. I don't know if he wants to look cool, or is just his honor speaking louder than his reason, but he is indeed... Cool.
"What are you saying, Ichijou-kun?! You had the Balance Breaker! Use it! Use it again and beat Nemesis! Please! Defend me!" Rina, now crying, screamed to the boy in front of him. Her heart was broken, and she no longer could stand up after that blow. In the end, she was reduced to a crying pile of nothing. He turned to him, and sighed. "Please... Lord issei... Lord issei would never..."
"Rina..."
"Tsukino Ichijou, I love your spirit!" I screamed back, making him return his attention to me. I meant to say that I'm elated about his grown, but I guess he took it on the wrong way, since he blushed a little and looked at me surprised. I sighed one more time, and said. "And as a token of my trust... I'll defeat you with my strongest technique."
With that warning, I sharpened my stare, and took a deep breath, enough to regain the remaining power left inside me. All charged up, I extended my arm for him and Rina, and in a second, I blasted a massive beam of power of destruction at them. Rina was immobile, and Ichijou faltered for a second in surprise. However, he sharpened his eyes, straight his stance, and gathered demonic energy on his left hand, pulling it together with his fist.
[DRAGON SHOT!], he announced, as he punched that sphere and unleashed his own hell. Those blasts collided, and like waves against each other, they ascended to the heavens using each other as they struggle against each other. In the end, however, the expected outcome happened, and soon my own power overcame his own. He and Rina were engulfed in darkness, but the only thing I heard from him before the emergency magic take him away was...
"Tch... You liar."
*BAAAAAAAM...!*
...
...
[AND CHECKMATE! WHAT A BATTLE! THE HOLY KNIGHT, THE ILLUSORY CAT, THE FEARSOME NEW TECHNIQUE OF THE RED DRAGON EMPEROR, THE ROOKIES FROM TEAM BEROLINA SHOWING WHAT THEY CAN DO, AND THE LEGENDARY BALANCE BREAKER OF THE SEKIRYUUTEI! THIS MATCH WAS INSANE! BUT EVERYTHING EVENTUALLY HAS TO COME TO AN END! AND THE WINNER OF THE GREMORY-VS-GREMORY MATCH IS NEMESIS!]
I was so tired that I ended up falling on my posterior, taking deep breaths, but smiling soon after. Yeah... I won. But I think I'm not the only one who did.
"Maybe that Gremory and that Sekiryuutei were made for each other, after all..."
.
~~OMAKE~~
.
Nemesis - Maybe that Gremory and that sekiryuutei were made for each, other after...
Alice - Indeed~.
ALICE SHIPPING LIST: BerolinaXIchijou(Crimson legacy); YokoXIchijou(fluffy tail); Ninja X Ichijou(red shadow); GinkoXIchijou(cat-astrophe); AriaXIchijou(Red-red-love); RavenXIchijou(Tsundere love)
Raiser - Please, don't do this, lady Gremory.
And... This is it. Granted, a season finally full of twists, and maybe an open way to numerous other arcs. The longest arc for my already longest fic. I'm sorry if this was kinda unsatisfactory, but is all i can do for now. I'll try my best! Thanks for reading, and stay golden as always.
OPENING ARC: COMPLETED.
CRIMSON KINGS CLASH ARC: COMPLETED.
VAMPIRE-DEVIL REUNION ARC: TBA.
PS: What do you guys think of the DxD born dub? I personally like it very much, specially the third episode. "Hey , monkey douchebag, how's my buddy Vali doing?". Heheheh, you can't pull this up in japanese.