To Burn a Phenex
In a forested area was Issei Hyoudou who slowly made his through the dense brush. The only light being the city in the distance where he lived. He estimated that it would take about an hour or two to reach the city limits but that wasn't his objective…no his purpose laid hidden in the shadows and the vague threat in them that could strike from any distance.
'How did things come to this, it's a school night I'm supposed to be at home sleeping' He thought, straining his sense to detect any movement in the forest. Twice he had freaked out over nothing more than small animals but he couldn't lower his guard she was out there somewhere. He was wearing an old looking shirt with numerous holes in it and while it wasn't visible in the dark, Ise could feel painful welts beneath the shirt from previous attacks from Her.
As he entered a clearing, he couldn't hold back a grimace at the identity of his hunter. What she did to him not two weeks ago still hurt. He tried to ignore it but in quiet moments he couldn't help but fall into those memories and what he thought…he knew he had felt for her.
At moments like that he was glad that he had someone like Asia, blindly honest and pure who he could trust to always be kind and….there! His senses picked up something to the left and his body tensed as he slowly turned towards the bad feeling. He was about to call out when his instincts still fresh and new drove him to Summon his boosted gear and twisted to the side just as a pink spear of light raced towards him.
His arm rose towards where the spear was coming but too slow, his hasty attempt to block with the gauntlet failed and the spear struck true, stinging Ise with its force before shattering in fragments.
From the shadows she came her wings tucked in to avoid making any unnecessary noise and Issei avoided looking at her face as memories of it twisted into something terrifyingly cruel flashed before him.
"Well that was pretty good Ise, you detected her attack and almost blocked it. If you didn't need the time to activate your gear you probably would have succeeded." A voice commentated as Aotaka came from the shadows dressed in dark blue which was not only one of his favorite color but also helped him blend in with the background.
Trailing behind him with a mane of gold was Asia Argento, new bishop of the Gremory peerage with a worried look on her face.
"Are you alright Ise? Did the spear hurt you before it broke?"
Giving Raynare a glance Taka commented blandly. "It shouldn't have done any real damage if you held back on most of the power like I asked Raynare?"
The targeted fallen who was trying to avoid attention in this group of people who had all been wronged by her looked at them and answered curtly.
"I did, at least as much as I could while still maintaining a light spear" She said with a hint of defensiveness.
"I'm alright Taka, her attack didn't even break the skin just left some annoying welts because of the light in them." Ise said as Asia still ran her emerald glowing hands around him healing the damage from their training in a matter of seconds.
"Well that's good, since I've never really come up with a training program I thought this might be a waste but even with restricted use of your gear you picked up dodging fairly quickly…maybe it's because it's night" The mage said looking up at the moonless sky.
"Or maybe I'm just awesome" Ise said with a cocky grin that turned annoyed when Taka just snorted in response.
"I seems to recall you getting hit like ten times in the first half-hour even though Raynare didn't bother hiding"
Normally Raynare was an upfront striker who depending on the speed of her throws to take down her opponents but after Ise started to adjust to her attacks without even using his gear Taka decided to give her some advice.
"Listen Raynare throwing spears might have worked when you were only fighting low-class devils who could be taken out with a lucky hit but now our enemies are likely to be both stronger and lacking that weakness to light you depend on."
"So what am I supposed to do, throwing spears is what I'm good at. Not fighting up-close like you" She said with a small amount of aggression at his dissection of her fighting style.
Taka just gave a shrug which made Raynare's annoyance grow before he ran his hair through his messy hair and elaborated.
"It's not that there's something bad with attacking from a distance, in fact with my close up style it'll mesh well…How about this, both time we fought, the serious blows you landed were when I was distracted…" He said with a bit of a grimace at the memory "Those did major damage. Completely different from your normal telegraphed ones and I didn't see them coming even though my senses are pretty good… especially when it comes to light attacks."
"So what you think I should only attacking from behind? That not a realistic fighting style" She said, especially considering that the enemies they were like to face in the future would probably focus on the traitor.
"Not from behind…at least not just from behind but striking where your opponent's guard is low is reasonable especially when I'll be facing them up-close distracting them with my fists. When you're alone if you can distract your opponent with telegraphed attacks and attack them with a surprise attack…how good are you with changing the shape of your attacks?" he questioned trying to get a better grasp of her abilities.
The familiar looked at Taka contemplatively before answering.
"Usually when I make the shape of my light weapons it's to something simplistic like a spear, If I need to making a sword isn't much more difficult but the more detailed the weapon is the hard it is to make."
At this information Aotaka stayed silent for a moment thinking about when he had made gauntlets using his blaze armament that resembled Ise's boosted gear. Other than that he had used the ability to make simple constructs like staves so he could understand what Raynare was saying as apart form that type of instinctive creation making complex weapons would be inefficient. He would still practice and see if he could find a work around but for Raynare who used spears for centuries he saw no reason to change that.
Finally he had come up with a way for Raynare to increase her ability to strike unseen by having her participate in training Ise's reflexes and battle awareness. This gave her the opportunity to practice striking at an opponent from their blind spots and hiding her presence and power from someone looking for her.
"So why did we do this without my gear again?" Ise asked as he deactivated the Longinus to conserve his stamina. This training wasn't very strenuous since it required mostly intense focus than physical exertion though for Ise it still drained him to do that kind of continuous concentration.
"Well I've been thinking about that sacred gear and I realized even though its ability is broken it's also hard to really use effectively."
"What do you mean?" Ise asked looking at his left arm and remembering how it allowed to face Raynare and Freed despite them being more powerful and skilled.
"Well…remember when you fought Freed? You were pretty bashed up and I know Freed was in a pretty similar condition, but at the beginning of your fight who got the best hits?" Seeing Ise's grimacing face as confirmation of his theory Taka continued.
"Yeah I'm betting that if Freed took you seriously at first he would have taken you out before you boosted enough to be a threat. You see that the gear's main issue isn't really the stamina consumption but that you need time to build up your power. Stamina training is also important since the gear uses it up with every boost but if you can't survive long enough then that point is moot."
Ise crossed his arms and thought about how he couldn't avoid Freed's opening blows and how the light's poison actually drained his stamina more than the gear did. "So by doing this training, I should be able to train my reflexes so that I don't waste my stamina being injured and can avoid attacks until I've gathered enough power right?"
After nodding Taka decided to give a bit more elaboration on the exercise "Yeah I figured that I should make it so that the exercises would suit you and make it easier for you to train your instincts. I don't really feel a difference but you're more active and energetic in the night so training now gets a better results. Plus using the light spears will help because it stand out in the dark and devils can sense the light instinctively so when you do get hit even if it doesn't do much damage, your body tries harder to avoid it."
"Yeah I get the idea…but I'm not sure that it worked, I thought I was doing better but that last time I thought I was sensing something but I was attacked from the opposite direction so…" Ise trailed off with evident disappointment but Taka just went and looked at the place that Ise thought he sensed something before walking into the brush with a look of curiosity.
A moment later the trio in the clearing heard a bit of a chuckle coming from that location and Taka returned holding a pink spear of light in his hand. As one they all turned to face Raynare before Ise with visible discomfort asked "So did you put that there to distract me and make it easier to hit me?"
Unable to avoid a direct question the fallen responded "Yes…just attacking wasn't working anymore since you were so on guard so I tried to distract you by placing a spear with concentrated light in a different direction"
Ise nodded at the explanation a bit more confident that his senses weren't wrong just mislead before turning away while Aotaka just looked at his familiar a bit intrigued at the deception. It which wasn't really his style but Raynare felt a sense of approval through their link which reassured her that her master wasn't completely biased against her despite the many reasons he had to be.
"By the way Raynare, how is that thing I made working out? It should've been useful in letting you get used to manipulating light in smaller amounts" Taka asked looking at the small arcane markings on her hands.
"Yeah it's harder to use my light but in this case it was useful and I can focus on the speed of my shaping instead of on power" She said though some part of her mind thought that the magical runes that Yume had placed on her simply made it harder for her to defend herself.
This was something that Taka had come up with to help with their potential fallen enemies by focusing the natural light inside her into a defensive ability. The idea was similar to how many higher level beings can nullify attacks from weaker ones without even trying simply due to a large gap in power. This should allow Raynare to have a higher resistance to light in exchange for a reduced amount of light to use for attacking. It would also make it harder to sense her fallen nature which would be useful which made Ise's progress more impressive when Taka thought about it
"You know I thought that we would be doing some kind of extreme training program. You know to help me get stronger but this is kind of…simplistic" Ise commented as they got ready to use the teleportation circle had to head to Taka's house.
Aotaka just looked at him with evident amusement "Ise I kinda get where you're coming from but that kind of training isn't much help when you're dealing with someone who's never even done any sports" Pausing for a moment to appreciate Ise's amusing tears at his friend's callous evaluation, Taka continued "physical conditioning takes a while and so I think it's probably better to get you used to fighting, any increase in strength will make your gear more effective but I think it's better to do this first…hey why don't you join the swim team with me? Swimming is pretty good for exercising the entire body and it's not going to pack on muscle quickly but it should be good to start with."
Ise thought about the offer for a moment. He had made the decision to improve so that he could help his friends like Taka. If swimming could help then he wouldn't say now plus now that he thought about it…being part of the swim club had one major advantage over other clubs…the girls!
Taka felt that something was wrong when Ise had that smile that took over approximately 80 percent of his face and his subconscious screamed to abort but come on what could go wrong?
"Well Aotaka Yume, I've got complaints from each female member of the swim club about the antics of certain new member" Sona said to a blank faced Pyromancer who was inwardly wondering just how he was going to get out of this.
"Alright I've actually stopped Ise from peeping on the girls while they're changing so the worse he's done is ogle them while they're swimming which is actually better than what he's done with those other two perverts. Besides he needs to do some physical training so that he can get his skills up to par…" He let the implication of their potential enemies say the rest.
Sona gave a sigh before setting back into her customary stern face "I have noted that overall the actions of that Trio have decreased but Ise's still have a negative effect on the swim club and their upcoming competitions so you need to do a better job of corralling Hyoudou-san"
Taka just closed his eyes and stretched out in the soft chair that he was offered, wondering how to calm down his senpai. Ise had been in the swim club for a couple of days and despite the sun weakening him, his fellow pawn had showed pretty good persistence especially considering the spars they had afterwards, though that might due to the girls in swimsuits.
After a minute his piercing blue eyes opening with a gleam in their depths "Alright how about this. Hyoudou and I will participate in the upcoming swimming competition. Even in the day Ise's stronger than the average human so he can do well and I was pretty good even before my reincarnation"
"I thought you didn't have any interest in swimming competitively?" Sona asked inwardly approving that Taka was doing more and not just avoiding direct attention.
"Well there's not really a reason to avoid it since you guys already know and if it's really bothering the team I should do my part" he had no personal reason not to help and while he wouldn't call the swim club friends they let him basically use the pool as his personal exercise so why not?"
Sona thought about the offer and how the captain of the swim team would react. Taka had never participated in any sports competitions but he was good enough to exceed his peers with the increased strength of a devil.
"Alright I think that the team will approve of you taking a greater interest in their competition so let's put that issue aside for now and talk about your training" and Taka saw the king's lips curve into a small smile that promised nothing good.
He had avoided doing anything serious by focusing on the purely theoretical form of magic where Sona couldn't use her high-class demonic power to crush him. Instead she was limited to just brow-beating him with the gaps in his magical education though this was lessened by the fact that those gaps pushed him to create novel and effective ways of using his magic. But now….
'Looks like Sona not satisfied with just hitting the books and is looking for something more…physical I need to throw her off' Taka thought as Sona shifted her now glowing glasses.
"Um Sona I think I should go and tell Ise about the upcoming swim meets and…and why is the floor glowing?" he finished before he vanished in the light of teleportation magic and appearing in a forest area similar to where he trained Ise. Then he fell straight in his ass as the chair didn't take the trip with him but he looked up to see that Sona did follow along with Tsubaki and Saji. Analyzing the situation for a moment leading him to have to ask.
"Really? Offering a comfy chair after a long day with a hidden teleportation circle on it just to make sure I can't escape, isn't that going a bit too far?"
Sona scoffed before answering "I wouldn't have to go this far if you would just accept that this was going to happen one way or another. You say that you need to get stronger well this will help you get some experience fighting diverse opponents"
Taka folded his arms and looked at the Sitri's Queen and Pawn; Tsubaki had the same controlled expression that she and Sona always shared while Saji just looked annoyed to be there which he could get.
He couldn't beat Tsubaki as she not only out powered him by a large margin and her reverse magic was something he was unfamiliar with, plus she had a weird feeling to her that he couldn't describe but felt distorted somehow. Way too many variables to account for.
Saji was a maybe but while he couldn't sense any large amount of demonic power there was something about him that seemed familiar somehow. Still compared to what he expected from Sona this was fairly ordinary and benign which meant he had to be on his guard.
"Well…I suppose that while I can't beat a queen yet I should still get the experience and it'll be interesting fighting a fellow pawn, Ise and I don't use our abilities in our matches so why not." With a shrug he got up and headed to the middle of the clearing and Saji followed with a determined look.
'This guy fought a fallen before he even became a devil so this will be dangerous but he doesn't have a sacred gear so I've got to show what a pawn of Kaicho can do!' With this Saji activated the sacred gear on his arm which instantly drew the attention of his opponent who had a look of surprise and…familiarity?
"A sacred gear huh? Hey Saji is that gear connected with…dragons?" Taka asked, the question shocking the other devils.
"Yes…you are correct Aotaka it is indeed a dragon type sacred gear how did you know?" Sona asked fixing her glasses not expecting Taka to surprise her before the fight even started.
Taka tilted his head as he kept his eyes on the gear watching it like a haw…eagle "I don't know about the different types of sacred gears or dragons but I sensed something similar to Ise so I guess dragon sacred gears feel the same or something" he finished vaguely.
'So he's got skill at sensing as well? I didn't think it was possible to just feel the kind of sacred gear that someone had' Sona thought, it had some value and was fairly interesting but seemed too unspecific to be practical.
"Well I've seen three sacred gears so far so show me what yours can do Saji" He said wondering just what effect this new gear would have. Sacred gears seemed pretty diverse in their abilities but he wasn't too worried as he had a tool of his own to help even the odds, against devils at least.
His question was answered when Saji aimed the gear which looked like a black lizard attacked to his wrist and fired some string projectile at him.
Saji expected he would evade it, giving him an opening but instead Taka just stood there and let the absorption string attach itself to him and looked at it curiously "Soooo what does this do" He asked absently flicking the string.
"You let it hit you? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of fighting expert" Saji asked incredulously while Sona and Tsubaki just shook their heads. Taka wasn't taking this the slightest bit seriously.
"I don't know what you've heard but…huh?" Taka stopped and looked at the string with renewed interest "My energy's decreasing, that's an interesting effect but it's probably more effective when you've got allies stopping people from doing this" He said activating his Flame Armament Gauntlet Version and forming claws that he used to cut the string with the heated edge.
'Waa?! How did he cut through my string so easily? And what with that shape? I though he didn't have a sacred gear?' Saji thought getting into an instinctive defensive position at Taka who was now taking the initiative as he raced towards his fellow pawn.
Taka started with a few light punches with his right arm to test Saji's physical skills and noted that he had a bit of combat experience already allowing him to block them without losing his stance. Next Taka aimed a heavy blow with his gauntleted right arm and saw Saji commit to a focused defence in expectation of the great attack from the right.
An expectation that fell short when Taka changed the attack to a solid sidekick from the left catching Saji completely off-guard and into the dirt.
'This guy's like Ise focused on hand to hand combat so he doesn't expect kicks wait…' Taka looked down and saw another string attached to him but this wasn't for absorbing as before he could react Saji pulled it before he could recover from his kick stance and he lost his balance.
"Ouuff! That was annoying" Taka grumbled in the dirt before cutting the string with a release of flames through his leg that he focused into another flame armament and jumping back up as Saji recovered similarly though he did hold his side gingerly.
'Damn that bastard's kicks are no joke, that size and speed isn't fair!' Saji thought checking his side 'But I don't think he seriously bruised anything.'
After a moment though Saji seemed to recover and got back in his stance prepared for any more surprise attacks but Taka decided to instead stick to utilizing normal straight punches to pressure the Pawn. Keeping an eye out for any strings and avoided any committed attacks that could be taken advantage of. So while there wasn't a large gap in their actual fighting skills, Aotaka's large build gave him a strong physical advantage over Saji.
Inwardly Taka considered the fight 'This is going well, he's got stamina but doesn't seem to know any magic so if I just keep'
"Permission to promote granted!"
Sona's voice rang through the clearing followed by a second of pure silence before Taka gave her an incredulous look 'Oh…oh no!'
Realization set in but before Taka could focus on his foe, Saji with a pleased smile cried out "Promotion Queen!" and Taka's senses showed a clear increase in strength emanating from the pawn 'Well I'm right fucked aren't I' was all he could think before he was hit in the chest with the strength of a rook and sent flying
Recovering in mid-air thanks to his wings Taka was able to control his descent landing in a crouch and faced the promoted pawn with eyes of azure jewels that showed no pain at the near rib cracking blow just intense focus.
Promotion was a serious game changer, being a queen was putting a lot of stress on Saji but it allowed him to change the game with a single blow. With a thankful smile at his Kaicho he raced forward at knight speed towards Taka who didn't bother to hold his ribs instead using the pain to focus.
'That speed isn't quite at the same level as Kiba if I can just….now!' With an increase from a burst of flames and screaming instincts the mage dodged a strike aimed right for his chest. Focusing on his gauntlet and the unused energy on his right leg Taka's minds cobbled together a plan that would be simple but effective.
As Saji raced towards him once more Taka didn't raise his fists in defiance instead just as the new Queen reached his range the Pyromancer stomped the ground with his right leg and a wave of flame spread over the ground.
'Damn! That's hot' Saji thought stumbling back his feet looking downward to see them lightly burned then he raised to see Taka flying towards him on devil wings enhanced with flames flaring from his feet and with his left arm covered in an orange gauntlet that he drove his fist right in Saji's stomach
The blow carried incredible force pushing him back but Saji focused on the rook aspect further increasing his defense and refused to fall, taking the strike despite feeling the damage through his entire body. "That won't work!" he growled in a firm voice with a confidence that he didn't feel. He wouldn't back down to any foe especially not in front of Kaicho!
While Taka wasn't fooled by the bravado he did sense that the person in front of him won't fall to anything less than his best so with a small smile he opened the same fist he had struck and said in a calm but strong voice.
"Blaze Burst"
And a single ray of pure orange heat shot out from his extended palm sending the promoted pawn flying backwards with a harsh fire burning his chest 'Damn it' was all Saji thought before the dark took his senses.
A single moment of calm fell over the clearing as Aotaka looked at his fellow pawn.
"That…was interesting" Sona said drawing an unamused stare from Taka at her understatement and even got a look from Tsubaki. Not only did he have an attack powerful enough to beat a queen but to also utilize his wings so soon?
"I was wondering what you would do but letting him promote to Queen just when I thought I was going to win? Looks like Akeno was right when she said she found a kindred spirit." Taka said dismissing the drained Flame Armament on his arm as well as the one on his leg
Ignoring Taka's comment "Your control over your fire is greater than I thought even with what Rias said about that" He couldn't help cringing at her tone, when he had gone to school the day after his bout of pyromania Sitri had chewed him out thoroughly and spat out an extremely humbled mage.
"I picked up that attack from something that Ise can do using his boosted gear, it drained most of the power that I put into the Armament but…I needed it to take him down." He said looking at the downed Saji now being healed by Tsubaki
"Saji is a valuable member of my peerage. He has a lot of potential that he is only beginning to tap into."
"Kinda like Ise" Taka murmured thinking of his Longinus using friend as he looked at the other dragon gear user.
The King and Pawn both turned to see a now moaning Saji who was slowly getting back up. After a moment of looking around in a dazed state the blond saw Taka and as realization set in a sad look came over his face as he walked towards them.
"I…lost" He said drawing a look of exasperation from Taka, he had to deal with this every time he took down Ise before he could boost enough times to overpower the mage.
"Saji there's no reason to angst, I beat Ise yesterday and his sacred gear is as overpowered as it gets. It's not your fault that I'm just too awesome." he finished with a shrug.
"I just thought that since Kaicho needed four pawn pieces to make me part of her peerage I could handle you."
This comment drew a look of confusion from Taka before he commented "Why would that matter? The amount of pieces used just shows your potential, Ise took 7 pawn pieces to reincarnate but right now he's pretty much the weakest fighter in Bucho's peerage.
This tidbit of information drew a shocked look from Saji which he could understand but what was strange was that Sona and Tsubaki had the same.
"You only took one pawn piece to become a devil?" Saji asked incredulously "that can't be right!" and the King and Queen nodded in agreement
Aotaka ran his head back to that night and how he was revived before he remembered "Oh…yeah I wasn't revived with a regular piece, Gremory had a mutation piece that she used to make me a devil though I don't know how much it was worth."
"So your potential is unknown…" Sona said "Looks like you will be a quite the variable in the upcoming rating games."
The unfamiliar term stuck out to Taka "Rating Game? What is that? Some kind of competition that new devils have to do?"
"She hasn't told you? Well I trust Rias will inform you when the time comes, it isn't something you'll have to participate in for now but it is something that for Rias' entire peerage to do not just you."
'Must be some kind of team competition then' Taka thought before checking his ribs and noting that the pain was fading, he had avoided a clean hit by instinctively back stepping away just before the rook level punch hit so his ribs just had some light bruising. It was a pretty good spar and while he never had to pull out any tools or all or nothing techniques, Saji was an interesting sparring partner with impressive durability.
"Well that was informative, I've been interesting in Promotion but never really had time to try it out with Bucho. I'll ask her just to get a feel for it since I should be able to handle the strain, can you fire up the portal Sona?" He asked.
"Not just yet" Sona said with a blank face that didn't seem ominous in the slightest…really.
Aotaka just looked at her with some trepidation, he might not in bad condition but that fight had been pretty intense and he didn't think he could take on Tsubaki who was an actual Queen and well versed in her capabilities.
"Sona I really can't take on Tsubaki. I'm man enough to admit that she'll crush me so yeah no thank you." Taka said with his arms crossed in a X position.
Sona just straightened her glasses once and did something he did not expect…she agreed "I have no intention of makes you fight Tsubaki after seeing you handle someone with a Queen's capabilities, no…. now I wish to see how you'll handle someone would clearly out-classes you."
This confused him, he could sense that in terms of power the gap between him and the queen was comparable to that of Raynare and his previous human self. There were people who had much greater amount of power Rias was one, Akeno as well but they weren't here he would sense them. Which only left…
"Oh fuck me." Was all he uttered towards the Devil before extending his hand forming a circle to his own teleportation circle. Even if it would drain him it would worth the cost. But before it could even properly form he had to jump into the air to avoid the wave of water that nearly crushed him.
"Sona this isn't funny" He cried as he used the black wings to avoid blasts of water that could crush his bones if they impacted.
"I know that it isn't funny but that fight with Saji showed that you were holding back, I mean really? Letting him attach his Absorption Line to you just to see what it does? I thought you were clever than that."
"That was a spar." He defended twisting to avoid the almost lazy blasts of water "there was no reason not to see what he could do, I thought this was about letting me see what other type abilities were out there."
"There are smarter ways to find out. What would you have done if the string couldn't be cut?'
"I don't know maybe channel fire through it and use it as way of attacking Saji?" This probably wouldn't work as the string wouldn't conduct the flame but the quick planning was admirable.
"Well if you can come up with a plan for that then let me see what you can do for this" She said sending multiple hawks at him which drew a very annoyed look from the Pyromancer.
"Alright Miss Sitri but if you want to hunt a hawk then you've got to be wary." He mutter under his breath as his eyes noted her attacks which he avoided with a little wasted movement as possible. He wasn't going to waste his energy trying to match each one of her blows no this would require more….
He quickly formed the now familiar orange armament around his arms each one holding a large portion of his reserves. Like a stone he dropped from the sky falling headfirst towards the earth evading the attack that sent at him, not even bothering to move from her starting position.
With a flair for flying that surprised Sona as new Devils normally needed months to adjust to using wings, he straightened the fall into a low swoop at her with a foot long stave forming in his left hand. All of the armament's energy poured into that one construct.
'Sona's a king they don't get any advantages which is why Akeno is technically stronger than Rias. She'll be easier to damage and like Raynare focuses on long range attacks. I guess in battles, Tsubaki probably compensates normally with close range fighting.'
As he neared the king, his wings eating up the distance between them in a matter of seconds, the mage suddenly diverted to avoid the lions and wolves that she had created.
Fine. Let her create beasts to guard the land, her little birds were just an annoyance and he could avoid the blasts of water. He could tell that she wasn't taking him seriously and considering that he hadn't even used any attacks the same could be said for him.
In a moment he continued a pattern of swooping towards Sona only to abort the attack in the face of her water creations. Then after gaining a grasp of the facsimiles' capabilities he changed that pattern swinging his stave at the oncoming water lion and while the stave wasn't close enough to touch it, the thin blade of concentrated flame emitted from it end was.
Taka had noted that he could use the weapons formed of his Flame Armament as a way of controlling his fire to a greater and quicker extent, it was not a stable creation as the blade was already fading but the speed of creation and low magic cost made it a dependable ability.
Sona watched as her guardian was sliced in half destabilizing the lion creation. But her face was impassive as with a thought the other creations congregated on him. At this sight Taka's face showed nothing as his eyes flickered to the beasts. Tracking their movement, as soon they entered desired range he went from his low flight into a controlled roll on the ground. When he came to a stop only a few meters from Sona, the creations were only a single lunge away. Then the stave's end began to glow not forming another blade but instead burning intensely like a flare
"Searing Sphere"
With a swing the mage was covered in a dome of fire, a barrier that fueled by all the energy left in the stave which was just enough to turn the attacking creatures into a heavy steam. Then using a quick push of wind magic Taka spread the stream around the clearing concealing the area and himself.
This brought a small smile from Sona who ignored the calls of concern from Saji and was instead trying to find Taka. Him using a combination of both their magic to help conceal himself was impressive but a high-class devil wouldn't be taken out just by that.
She created a circle of water around her and with a gesture the clump of water turned into bullets that shot out in a circle. Sona grew suspicious as no cries of pain, shock or even alarm came from around her then remembering his previous use of flying she looked up to see Aotaka in the air.
His right arm was still clad in the armament but the orange glow was fading as the energy was drawn to his hand with his fingers outstretched in shaking hooks as something small but glowing bright blue formed in the centre of his palm.
Before Sona could react however the projectile was fired at her as Taka's arm dropped to the side spent of all it's energy. She fired a large wave of water to intercept the bullet as it headed towards her but the attack did not stop, piercing the hasty barrier as they met. The flame too concentrated to even bother clashing with the attack.
Taka watched as the projectile raced towards the King in fascination. 'Come on I bought enough time to make you with the steam trick work work Work!'
But the Sitri Heiress would not back down from this as an enormous amount of water formed a shield in front of her and Taka watch as she used the same technique he did condensing and spinning the water into a circular shield that combined both impressive control and raw power into a barrier and as Taka saw something he could never do all he could say about it was
"That Isn't Enough."
And as Sona saw the incoming attack just before it hit her shield, she noted that she wasn't the only one to take their opponent's technique and the projectile was not in the form of a simple bullet but that of an Azure Predator diving at its Prey.
"Striker of Sky Blue Beak" Taka called with a wide grin as the two elements clashed in an explosion of power that he could feel through the air.
'That shield couldn't have protected her entirely, that was my best attack there's no way she-IS THAT A DRAGON!'
Taka was wrong. It was three dragons made of water racing out of the steam, they were just clumped together though that didn't change the fact that it was an attack that would completely screw him over.
'Oh COME ON! Did she launch that attack as the Hawk impacted her shield to blast through it? DAMN IT SONA!'
Aotaka saw the attack and while he had a fair chance of escaping he couldn't, not for something stupid like honor but because Sona had faced his most destructive attack and beat it through a simultaneous defense and offense and while he didn't have enough power to beat her he damn well wasn't going to get taken out by a dragon, Ise wouldn't shut up for weeks.
The three headed dragon he knew would be weakened after going through his blue beak. It would not be enough to make a difference in power but if its form was destabilized after facing the highly concentrated flame then he had a chance and the hawk would grab any opportunity in its talons.
Sona, Tsubaki and Saji watched as instead of running the mage faced the incoming blow with his arms pulled back to their sides and while they couldn't make out any detail, all could feel the determination in that mid-air stance.
'What are you doing Aotaka' they all thought as the Pyromancer meet his opposing element.
The King couldn't understand what she was seeing as the dragons crashed into Taka and instead of blasting through him or being negated into steam with one of his attacks were halted in their tracks. 'How' that was all she could think, not being able to make out what he was doing with the dragon blocking the way. Then suddenly her creation was torn apart and instead of flying victoriously above Taka plummeted to the ground uncontrollably.
Not wasting a moment the King raced towards him on her wings and before he crashed, summoned a large amount of water to ease his descent. Still the mage tumbled to the ground in a heap despite her efforts and when she reach him a moment later she saw that he was somehow still conscious despite the intensely pained expression and not understanding why he was fighting to stay conscious she soon realized that he trying to say something to her.
"Taka what is it!" she asked losing her composure at his crumpled form.
Steading himself Taka found the energy to speak to his opponent whose two subordinates was now joining the two fighters.
"I…I…I *BZZZK* Win Sitri"
Sona's violet eyes widened and she looked down to see what her devil senses had already told her, at her throat was an exorcist's holy sword brimming with light that had a pale red hue. She didn't know how he had gotten it and at that moment she didn't care as an uncharacteristic amount of anger began welling up at her at his deception.
Sona took a deep breath to begin a rant but when she glared at the mage's face expecting to see a large victorious grin that she would soon dissuade him of entirely she stopped. Instead of joy, his face was expressionless and the azure eyes as sharp as any hunter had become unfocused and glassy for after declaring his 'victory' Aotaka Yume's flames had been spent and he had neither inclination nor desire to avoid the dark's embrace.
For a moment Sona had no idea what to do, a novel state of mind for the collected and strategic devil but as different emotions flitted across her face, she finally decided to release the deep breath she had taken and turn to face her Queen and Pawn with her customary stern expression.
"Saji help up this idiot and Tsubaki heal him when we get home." She said, already creating a blue teleportation circle to take them all back to Kuoh Academy. Without a word the two obeyed both shocked speechless from what they had just witnessed.
Tsubaki knowing that despite his claims Taka likely could have defeated her if he avoided standard close combat and instead used that powerful azure strike, Her gear was powerful and would have helped but she knew that it was a one shot technique ill-suited for a one on one battle.
Saji was amazed that a pawn could actually push her king and even clash with the attack of a high-class devil. He supposed that he could lament that he wasn't that powerful but from what he knew Yume had been training for years before he reached this level, while he was still a novice in the world. He wouldn't give up, he was just learning what he could do and he wouldn't cry just because someone had an earlier start than he did. He was Genshirou Saji a proud pawn of Sona Sitri and he would grow stronger for her.
"Now what exactly were you thinking Taka? I don't know what you did to stop my attack but it broke six of your fingers, and left you drained of demonic energy."
"Yes that is certainly true Sona." Aotaka said nodding along with her analysis before a Cheshire grin formed and he add in a singsong manner "~But~ I ~won~" This earned a glowing glasses of doom from the Sitri Heiress as he expected but he really didn't care, she's the one that pulled him into this after all.
To her credit Sona did not fall to the pawn's provocations instead she went into default intellectual mode.
"Your 'plan' was inadequate Taka, a strategy that depends on an opponent's kindness is far from certain. The usage of an exorcist's weapon to compensate from your lack of power is interesting but against a high-class devil they will not work effectively."
Taka just shrugged and opened his hand summoning the aforementioned weapon into it, slightly wincing as the hilt fell into his palm. That technique had broken 3 finger on each hand and even with the healing they still felt sprained, he would need Asia to take a look at them.
He supposed that this kind of result could be expected for using a half-finished ability with drained reserves against a very powerful oncoming attack.
"A normal holy weapon wouldn't work but I had Raynare overcharge this one to make it stronger." He said turning the blade on and the slightly red blade emitted from the hilt. "I went through a couple before I found the limit and they stopped exploding but as long as she recharges it every now and then, this is a good deal stronger than the average exorcist weapon."
Sona nodded along looking at the weapon with interest. Using a mass-produced holy blade was uncommon for devils as even though they could use it they couldn't enhance it with their demonic power but for Aotaka who had to conserve his energy and who had a fallen familiar to make it more powerful, this was an interesting strategy.
Saji looked at the blade with consideration, he wasn't a swordsman since using it with his Absorption Line would be awkward. Instead he focused on fist fighting which made it easier to attach his line.
"So Yume-san you are also a swordsman as well." He asked looking at this blade in the mage's hand and wondering just how many skills his fellow pawn had accumulated.
"Not in the slightest." Taka said wondering why Saji suddenly face-faulted. "I've never really got any kendo training or even been in a sword-fight so I going to see if I can get Kiba to show me how to handle it properly. I don't really want to focus on swords but I'll be fine with knowing how to use the basics besides I'm not even going to keep this one, red's not my color."
He turned off the blade and got up wincing as Tsubaki's quick healing didn't do anything to stop the ache of crashing into the ground 'God I need a Tylenol' He was done for today that much was certain so he headed toward the door.
"What do you mean you will not be keeping it." Sona asked with a curious look that turned annoyed when Taka just looked back at her with a grin "~Secret~" he said in that increasingly annoying sing-song manner before leaving the Student Council room.
With a short huff Sona's face turned back to normal, that boy was increasingly annoying but still it was a sight better than he used to be.
"Kaicho?" Saji said looking as if he wished to asked her something badly.
"What is it Saji?"
"Well I was just wondering why you seem to behave differently with Aotaka, I didn't know that you were friends." He asked, wondering just what the relationship his King had with Aotaka as she was normally very formal and controlled.
Sona looked at him contemplatively before deciding to inform her pawn.
"I suppose that it is because of how I became acquainted when he first came here." She paused wondering just how much to tell Saji about Taka's circumstances "He was dealing with a… family tragedy and had become fairly withdrawn trying to hide himself, he was even considering transferring out because of it so I tried to give him some help which worked out for the most part. In our meetings I had to change my usual behavior in order for him to open up and interact with other people. Even though we haven't spoken since then I suppose it has become a habit since then"
"It is good to see that he has become more open to people, I suppose that it is because he has found some good friends who he can be open with"
"Issei Hyoudou you are a liar of the highest order, I don't even know if I can trust someone like you anymore." Taka said shaking his head at the Red Dragon Emperor on their way to the academy, trailing behind them at Ise's request was Raynare or Ame as she was called now and Asia who lived with Ise.
"I'm telling the truth" Ise hissed trying not to draw the attention of Asia.
"You know, I accepted your delusion that Rias for some reason likes to sleep naked, she seems pretty open with her peerage but really Ise? She just appeared in the middle of the night and offered you sleep with you and what's more you said no?" Taka just shook his head sadly, how gullible did Ise think he was? There wasn't a guy and very few girls at Kuoh Academy who wouldn't jump at that chance and Ise expected him to believe that the self-proclaimed 'Harem King' hadn't? Bull Shit and he said as much.
"We were stopped by this maid before I could embrace Bucho's beautiful oppai, you should have seen them Taka, so round and big and…"
Taka's mind drifted away from the lecherous admirations of Ise and focused on how crappy he was feeling. Even with Asia healing the minute sprains he still felt worn physically and his demonic energy still pretty drained.
He wanted to skive off school but Sona would get angry at him despite it being her fault. He had spent last night not sparing with Ise, instead they just looked over the boosted gear trying to see if his theory would work out. It seemed like it had possibilities but he needed a couple of days to sort things out.
'I need to sleep, I wonder if Bucho has anything to help me'
"…wonder who that maid was though." Ise said diverting from his 'appreciation' to something else.
"The maid that stopped you and Rias? I dunno but the Gremory are like devil royalty as far as I know so them having maids seems pretty in character" Taka said, absently throwing in his two cents.
Maybe Ise was telling the truth but he doubted that it was anything important though it didn't really make any sense for Gremory to do something like that…oh well it wasn't like it was any of his business. Ise was his friend but romantic stuff was completely out of his range. You need something burned or unconventional training he was your man, but girls were something he had little experience with dealing with in that manner.
'The only girls I really know are Asia who is more like moral support, Sona who is someone who seen me at my…lower points and' He absently turned his head back to look at his familiar, tilting his head as he noticed that she flinched for some reason before looking at him.
His experience with this…vitriol was growing and while he couldn't stop the feeling, its taste became less sharp and he could think clearly even when it hit unexpectedly. He was glad that he took this path as anger was something he had little experience dealing with and didn't like how it changed him.
Even in the aftermath of his father's death, he became more…numb and apathetic than anything else, desperate for something more to inspire his life. It's what pushed him into the fire and its limits which excited his dulled nature and with his new friends that feeling inside grew. He was a bit of a loner by nature but that didn't mean he hated company and working with Ise was always interesting with his speeches about womanly attributes and their incredible virtues.
Honestly you would think that the guy would run out of ways to describe women's breasts but he could talk until the head end of the universe about harems and what more Taka felt that he was starting to understand the babble and that scared him.
'Still if the worst I have to deal with is harem talk I have no problems….damn it I just jinx myself didn't I? Or does that only apply if you say it out loud'
"What are you thinking about Taka" asked Asia as she and Raynare were now walking beside them
"The specifics of Murphy's law and how to avoid triggering it" He said absently before leaving the bewildered Nun and Fallen. Ise on the other hand just thought that Taka needed to lay off the tvtropes, that stuff can ruin your life.
Later after school had ended, Rias enter the clubroom inwardly dreading the oncoming meeting. Behind her trailed her Queen and Rook while the Knight went to pick up her Pawns and Bishop. She wished that her other Bishop was available but he was still secluded from the world and wouldn't be effective.
With excellent timing a demonic circle activated with a crest that Rias was very familiar with. She was heartened that She was coming to overlook this meeting as she was someone that the Gremory Clan was very familiar with and who shared their large love of family.
Emerging from the circle in a flash of light was The Maid of the Gremory Clan Grayfia Lucifuge. With a disciplined stance and regal appearance that was apparent even with her maid clothing she looked at her charge with striking silver eyes that matched her flowing hair with a braid to each side
"Greetings Rias Oujo Sama" She was all she said as she had to remain impartial in what was to come.
"I have something to announce but we will wait for Kiba to bring Issei, Asia and Aotaka before" Rias said though it was only for the benefit of Koneko as Grayfia and Akeno were already quite familiar with her circumstances.
The petite first year nodded silently before heading towards a small chair before she noted that a couch to the side had a lumpy sheet covering it. Using her enhanced senses she could tell what the lump was but decided to leave it alone so the rook sat on the chair and focused her senses on Gremory noting that her King had a scent of stress that had been present for a while but which was much stronger now.
A few moments later footsteps could be heard and a trio entered the room with Kiba looking a bit shaken by the power he had sensed emanating from it. Ise and Asia were oblivious but the Knight could tell by both the raw power and the fact that he didn't sense it until he was almost at the door that things were about to be troublesome.
Rias looked at them for a moment before giving a slight frown
"Where is Aotaka? Were you not able to find him Kiba?"
The Sword Birth user looked sheepish at his King
"I'm sorry Bucho but apparently Taka wasn't feeling well after yesterday and left to get some rest before I could find him"
She sighed at this, she had heard what the mage had gotten up to yesterday and was surprised that Sona would do something so uncharacteristic. She suppose that it was alright as it let her know just what her new pawn's abilities in battle were which would likely be very important in the near future.
"If Aotaka-kun isn't here then I suppose that we will have to tell him the details later" "actually…" Koneko started but the king continued unaware, "I have something important to tell all of yo-"
Once more Rias was interrupted but not by a withdrawn rook but instead by the club's teleportation circle changing from the Gremory crest to another and with a wave of flashy power revealed a blond finely dressed man in red looking like he was in his early twenties
He looked around, his dark blue eyes studying the surrounding for a short moment with a look of apparent disdain.
"So…the human world, it's been a long while." Then his gaze turned on Rias and the look of superiority turned into a smirk.
"Ah my lovely Rias I have come to take you to our ceremony."
At these words the Gremory peerage all felt that this man was the cause of their King's strange behaviour and knew that they would have to protect her from him and none felt this more than Issei Hyoudou.
When the Devil introduced as Riser Phenex, a high-class devil and more important Rias' fiancé the wariness that Ise had turned into straight up dislike as well as a bit of joy when Bucho appeared to hate the idea of marrying the prick more than he did. The news that Rias' position as the heir the Gremory clan might mean that she would be forced to marry someone she didn't like was surprising and made him a bit angry.
Fed up with Riser's annoying insistence, Rias decided to make her position quite clear regardless of what the older generation might think.
"Riser…I do plan on getting married and carrying on the Gremory line" She said causing a triumphant smirk to appear on his face and just when he was about to congratulated her on coming to her senses, Rias continued "But my choice will be of my own free will and someone I approve of. Not. You"
At this dismissal Riser's handsome face twisted in anger and he rose from the chair slowly.
"Rias I will not allow the Phenex name to be tarnished…if you will not see sense and stop this foolish defiance then I will take you back to the underworld myself." At this declaration wings of yellow flames erupted from Riser's back and in response the peerage readied themselves for battle earning a glare from the 3rd son of Phenex.
"Even if I have to burn your entire peerage to do it."
Just as slowly Rias rose, an aura of black with a red outline, a miasma of destruction cloaking her.
The Ruin Princess spoke.
"I would like to see you try and hurt my family Riser." She could take his assumption and pushiness but threatening her peerage? This bird needs his wings clipped.
Giving a nigh inaudible sigh, the Greatest Queen prepared to end this posturing. Honestly dealing with this children was a chore and not one she enjoyed like taking care of that man. She prepared to flare her power and opened her mouth to say...
"Why is it so fucking hot!?"
Grayfia blinked. That…wasn't her.
Abruptly the tension turned into bemusement and as one everyone turned their heads to the origin of the curse to see a shifting sheet on the couch which promptly rolled onto the ground and in a blur Aotaka Yume shot up from the pile, brushing himself off and looking at the gathered devils with narrowed eyes.
After a moment of collective blinking Rias decided to ask the relevant question.
"Aotaka-kun…what are you doing here?"
The mage hooked his thumbs in his pants briefly wondering who the blond guy before answering.
"Sleeping." He said blandly since that was pretty much all he could say.
Rias' green blue eyes sharpened "Kiba said you left school to get some rest, I allowed it as yesterday must have been tiring."
Taka just shrugged "I guess someone misunderstood. I sent Rayn home and left the class to find somewhere I could rest. I planned on just going to the infirmary but I realized that I still need to make a circle here." He said gesturing at the teleportation circle wondering why the house symbol had changed "I figured that I could do it all in the same place, after sleeping just make a permanent circle and jump home."
After a moment Rias just accept the information somewhat grateful that he had broken the tension.
"Now why was it so hot? I know we don't have air conditioning but the room was getting seriously uncomfortable" He asked shifting the school dress shirt revealing his customary blue t-shirt.
"Yes that was the action of our…Guest, Riser who is third son of the house Phenex" she said gesturing at the devil whose indignation was disrupted.
At this introduction Taka looked at the blond and gave an easy grin "Hi Aotaka Yume, call me Taka" then he tilted his head looking at Riser curiously
"Bucho?" he questioned still looking at the Phenex with cerulean eyes "If he's from the Phenex clan then shouldn't he be a high-class devil?"
'What is he getting at?' she wondered "Yes…he is a high-class devil like Akeno and I. Also like me he is the king of a peerage.
At this Taka looked more confused than anyone had ever seen him and his eyes shifted to Rias looking like he was about to ask a question before he stopped. His mouth half open, slowly closed as he studied her like he just did to Riser then his eyes just shifted to his fellow peerage members. After looking at all of them, Taka just started rubbing his head.
"Wow Sona must have hit me hard than I thought" this comment made Rias a bit worried as Aotaka seemed to be suffering from something.
"What wrong Aotaka?" She asked a bit worriedly motioning for Asia.
"I can't sense...anything? its weird, normally I get feelings from devils but my head feels like someone's pushing a cold wet rag down on it." He shook his head as if trying to get the metaphorical cloth off.
She had heard that Aotaka has a flair for sensing along with flight which was interesting if not as impressive as his fire. She couldn't think anything other than perhaps a curse could hinder someone's sensing and he didn't seem to notice anything strange until now so what…Wait cold?
"Aotaka-kun have you meet the Maid of the Gremory Clan, Grayfia Lucifuge?" she said gesturing at the silver haired queen.
Taka's eyes flickered to the silver haired beauty and he was about to ask Rias why she was here before Rias saw comprehension dawn in his eyes.
"Ah…." Taka realized turning his head back to the maid and studying her intently. After all it wasn't every day you came across someone with more power in their right arm than everyone else in the room together. What's more the power that he felt from her not only dwarfed everyone else but also seemed to be elemental in nature. It was as if she had used an element for so long that it was imprinted on her and what's more the element was one he was very sensitive to.
Ice….or more like the absence of heat. He was used to dealing with water which he knew could mesh with fire but what he felt from her was something that his fire wasn't strong enough to touch. He should be wary but honestly the gap was so wide that feeling something like fear seemed redundant so all that was left was curiosity.
He waited to the side, silently watching until the 'maid' proposed a Rating's Game and the two Kings accepted, as something occurred to him.
"Lucifuge-san are familiars allowed in these games?"
She looked him curiously. "Yes…while it is unusual for devils to use them in matches and battle capable familiars are rare, it is allowed."
After he nodded and faded to the background she still kept an eye on him. The boy had clearly very sensitive to her power even though she was accustomed to hiding it as befitting of a maid. From what she had heard about him, like the rest of Rias' peerage he was…unusual. Honestly what low-class devil turns a fallen into a familiar? Still if it would help Rias then she certainly wasn't going to volunteer the information to Riser. He had enough advantages as it was. Case in point…
"Still Rias you should give up, if this is all the servants. They are nothing compared to my cute peerage."
And in a flash of light from the teleportation circle 15 beautiful girls appeared. A full experienced peerage against a team who had never even participate in a ratings game. Taka did not think this would go well so he tried to get as much of an advantage as he could through his senses.
Thankfully from what he felt they didn't seem especially powerful, on average they were around Saji's raw power level perhaps? Still two of them felt especially powerful, less than Rias and Akeno but in the same league and one of them had a resemblance to Riser which was troubling. It then occurred to Taka that Riser was not only engaged to the woman that a certain pervert had affections for but apparently also accomplished the life dream of that pervert.
'Oh…this…isn't going to be good at all.'
And indeed it was not and Riser just made things worse by making out with the loli twins. The result was inevitably Ise racing to punch the smug devil in his face with the Boosted Gear.
"Yakitori Bastard!" the Longinus User cried out, fed up with the prick's insulting behavior.
Riser didn't seem interesting in fighting so Taka let down his guard expecting Rias to stop Ise. But as Ise leaped towards the Phenex, his foe nonchalantly said "Mira do it."
In mid-leap Ise suddenly noticed that a small member of Riser's peerage was striking at him with her bo staff. Unable to dodge all he could do was block with his gauntlet deflecting most of the force but causing him to crash onto the ground. It was more than he would have been able to do even a week ago but he had dealt with similar thrusting weapons in the practice sessions that he had with Raynare.
Mira, her staff still extended, was about to go to Riser-sama when her instincts caused her to turn her head just in time to see a fist burning red flames aimed right at her. Taka didn't have the power to spare and didn't want to hurt the girl too badly but what did she expect by attacking his friend? He would strike her down like she did to Ise. He didn't really care about the morality of attacking an opponent when their guard was down. It was a hit that would take her completely by surprise and sure to hit which is why he was surprised when he felt the strike come to a sudden halt.
He barely had time to notice Riser holding his wrist in a tight grasp, his face no longer wearing an infuriating smirk but instead one of cold disdain, before Yume's instincts screamed as fire that wasn't his consumed his arm.
With clenched teeth, Taka wrenched his arm burning in the yellow flames of the Phenex, free from the devil's grasp.
"I will not allow a low-class to damage my pieces. Especially not using the element in my domain." Riser proclaimed.
At this Rias' form was once more wreath in destruction as she face him, "How dare you! Attacking one of my peerage!?"
She was about to lose control and start testing the famed Phenex regeneration despite what Grayfia might say and from the looks of it she wasn't the only one as the cry of 'BOOST' could be heard as the Sekiryuutei rose in anger.
Conflict seemed inevitable and Grayfia was wondering if she could simply scare them into submission now. Stepping in and attacking one of Rias peerage himself? That was an insult from Riser that couldn't be ignored. How could she-
"BUCHO. STOP." a voice cried out halting the hostilities.
Rias looked at her new pawn Aotaka Yume, to see him raising his arm still burning but instead of pain he had a look of absolute calm.
"I'm. Fine." He said and Rias watched as the yellow flames faded to reveal the mage's bright orange Flame Armament. "I had enough time to make this I'm alright". But he wasn't, as everyone could see that the mage was unsteady. Forgoing his usually efficiency for a hasty defense had a heavy cost on the mage especially with his already low reserves. Still Riser and the blond that resembled her king looked at his magic curiously. They were creatures of fire and could recognize it when they saw it but for a low-class devil taken by surprise to actually fight fire with fire was an interesting novelty to witness.
Feeling that he had pushed too far in this meeting, Riser decided to make his exit giving a minor concession. "Rias I will give you ten days to make this interesting for me. It would be annoying if people said I only won by weakening you before our match."
"Ten days Rias. You should be able to do something in that time." With that he left in the light of the teleportation circle leaving Rias despite all her power feeling impotent.
"Asia." Taka asked quietly after noting that his façade had worked "Would you come here and help a guy out?" Rias noted that his customary smile was strained and she could see why when the orange covering on his arm faded.
Asia couldn't help gasping and no one blamed her. It wasn't horribly damaged but the exposure that he had to the Phenex's flames has left burns covering most of his hand and arm. And adding that Flame Armament, even if it didn't actually burn him, certainly didn't help ease the pain
"Aotaka! Why did you pretend you were alright?" Rias asked eyes like gems flashing with anger that broke when she saw the barely controlled look that Yume had.
"Because Rias. We would have died." This brought a standstill to the clubroom. "I am tired. Ise is untrained in anything apart from dodging and blocking. Riser has immortality and a full, rested peerage." This was all said in an analytic voice that held a cold fire underneath that Rias felt was aimed at her and how she nearly put her entire peerage at risk.
"that girl that knocked down Ise felt the weakest in terms of power. If we fought them now at the very least Ise and I would die that much I know." His anger was firmly clenched within him as even if he felt Rias behaved foolishly he was no better for doing the same as Ise. Not expecting to be attack by another mid-blow and suffering for it.
For a moment nothing was said while Asia healed the burned arm. Then when the treatment was done, Rias looked at her pawn and spoke.
"Aotaka you may be right. As a King I acted rashly but I will never regret coming to the defense of any of my servants. That more than anything is my purpose as a king."
At this Aotaka eyes looked into hers contemplatively. For all the talk of Kings and Servants he had never felt any special, personal loyalty for Rias. He was ambivalent to her and felt that being a low-class devil was just a job but apparently he was wrong. Rias saw this as a responsibility and something made him feel that he had an obligation to repay that. And so a wry smile came onto the hybrid's face.
"Well my King, if I may advise you." He started in a humorous tone that lowered the tension. "I believe that ten days will be more than enough time to prepare. Phenex are known for many thing. Immortality, Fire, Wind but it is no predator. That title belongs to hunters like the hawk…and the dragon." He finished looking at his friend.
At that last word Ise looked the mage in the eye, a fire burning that Taka felt the need to respond to "Well Ise? We have ten days to sharping our talons. Are you ready to get started?"
There was no need to say anything.
The determination etched on the GodSlayer was all the answer he needed. Turning his eyes, he looked at the people he would be fighting with in ten days each mirroring Ise's determination. At this sight something in him resonated, burning hot and fierce. He took a deep breath and channelled the fire that was stronger than anything he could make with magic through him. He couldn't help that fierce smile as ideas, theories and plans began formulating in his mind all aimed at crushing a so-called immortal.
'Ten Day to refine and practice. Ten days and then we will see if a Phenex can burn'
He could hardly wait.
TBC
Well just another instalment for your viewing pleasure. This is a week later than usual but I was busy with a combination of college and posting a Fate/DXD crossover that was sitting half started on my hard drive. While I do have some other pieces, Utopia for All and On Burning Wings will be my main projects and I will likely be alternating between chapters, if you read what i've posted you can see a little humor part that I reused in On Burning Wings. Now onto the chapter a bit happened with details of the training that both Taka and Ise are going through but this chapter is for me to mainly show the variety of skills Taka has as a jack of all trades and more importantly what his limits are. Unlike Ise, Taka is more stable in terms of power and while they both can, if the moment is right, fight on the level of a high-class devil. Taka is different as he has to forgo direct clashes to strike when it will do the most damage in order to be effective. But while he is stronger than say Koneko and could potentially beat Kiba with some luck excluding something like flame delete he does have limits. Also for now he will not be experiencing major power-ups mid battle which is where Ise shines so I've tried to keep him balanced with the rest of the peerage. Next chapter will be the ten days of training as well as the match if I can fit it all in so I hope that you all enough that. I going to try and do something rather interesting when it comes to some characters' skillsets not just Taka and next chapter should be the start of that and I hope that you will enough that. I'm also looking for a beta to help me with characterization and editing so if anyone is interested please PM. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and check out my other fanfic and please fav and Review with commentary on how I'm doing