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"Rias" - Speech
'Issei' - Thought
[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear Ability/ Ddraig and Albion Speech
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With normal human martial artists, when they fight seriously at least, the first unblocked blow to land is usually the final blow. With those who know how to use Ki, Chi or Tōki, it can take a little more effort but the situation is much the same.
If you then turn your attention to one of the supernatural races -Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, Yōkai and the like- you will find that due to multiple factors, such as the Fallen Angel's ability to turn their skin to the hardness of iron, any one of them will last far longer than even a highly experienced human martial artist, even if the supernatural in question is only minimally trained.
Going higher still, to the most powerful members of the supernatural races and you will see battles between godlike beings. Sirzechs-sama and Serafall-sama can defeat any number of lesser opponents without so much as breaking a sweat. To reach such a pinnacle of power is rarer than hen's teeth, yet I still seek to reach that plateau, as should you all.
-Mei Schwarzwald, The Queen of Blood and Betrayal, addressing her sisters a year before her betrayal.
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Chapter 5: The Fifth Move: Queen Takes Pawn
The tension in the air was very much palpable as Chiaki and Mei squared off against one another. On the side-lines, the Gremory Group kept close to Issei, just in case Mei got any ideas about going after him.
Ophis, Azazel, Sirzechs and Serafall stood to one side, along with the Sitri Group, with Sairaorg and Fafnir to the other side.
"You might want to [Promote] to [Queen] or [Rook], Chiaki-chan." Mei said softly, "You won't even put up a decent fight otherwise."
Chiaki gritted her teeth in anger, but pulled out a card with the Bael emblem on it, held it up and shouted out, "[Promotion: Rook!]"
A red glow covered the former [Pawn] of Amadeus Bael, signalling the promotion was a success. A [Rook] promotion made sense, raising her physical strength and defence to an extreme level, perfect for a martial arts fight.
"Much better." Mei said with approval, "Hmm, your demonic power is very high. You've been training hard, little one."
"All for the sake of killing you!" the girl hissed.
The Stray Devil laughed aloud. It was sad and slightly mocking. "Chiaki-chan…you do recall my former nickname from before, don't you?"
"Mei Schwarzwald, the Untouchable Queen." Sairaorg rumbled, "Never so much as touched during a Rating Game and the only member of her Peerage to never be eliminated during a match."
"Just so, Botchan." Mei agreed, "Now then…Grayfia-sama? Would you care to officiate this match?"
The Queen of Sirzechs' Peerage glared at Mei angrily. "Are you attempting to mock me?"
The icy tone of her voice made even Sirzechs step back in slight fear. He knew all too well how his wife could get when she was angry.
"You assail an ally of my husband and declare your intent to slay my future brother-in-law for his Sacred Gear and you dare to ask this of me?" the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation continued calmly, "Just what you are thinking?"
"Merely that you have the most experience in such matters." the Queen of Blood and Betrayal replied simply, "I hacked into the feed of Rias-sama's Rating Game against Raiser Phenex and watched it. Your performance as announcer was very impressive."
This earned Mei another frosty glare from Grayfia.
"…very well." the maid said reluctantly.
She moved in between and to the side of the two combatants. Looking between the two, she began to speak in an emotionless voice that gave away nothing of her feelings on the matter.
"This is a match between the Stray Devil Mei Schwarzwald and the [Pawn] of Lord Bael, Amakusa Chiaki. The rules are as follows; no demonic magic, witchcraft, Sacred Gears or outside interference is permitted. The match will be fought until one combatant surrenders or is rendered unconscious. Should Amakusa Chiaki emerge victorious, she is permitted to slay Mei Schwarzwald. Should Mei Schwarzwald emerge victorious, she claims Amakusa Chiaki as her property. Should I witness any breach of these rules, by either party, I will personally step in and strike down the one who violated the rules. Is this understood by both parties?"
"Hai, Grayfia-sama." both girls replied without hesitation.
"Very well. Take your positions."
Mei kicked back and gently leapt to a point twenty paces behind her former position, her masked visage showing nothing of her features. Her body language, on the other hand, broadcast excitement and anticipation as she assumed the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm.
Chiaki, by contrast, turned her back on her former Queen and walked the same distance away at a slow, even pace. Her body was taut with anger and those who could see her face flinched slightly at the unmitigated hatred and fury that sparkled in her eyes.
Stopping roughly twenty paces from the centre point between them, Chiaki spun around and assumed the standard karate stance, her eyes boring into Mei's masked countenance like a pair of targeting lasers.
"This…isn't going to end well." Issei mumbled to himself. He could feel how strong his fellow [Pawn] was, but he wasn't getting anything but that aura of intimidation from the Stray Devil. He couldn't get any sense for how powerful she was, which was odd. Normally, unless they were purposefully suppressing their strength, he could get a general idea of how powerful opponents were, but this Stray Devil…it was as if she wasn't even here.
Precisely what that meant was what was giving Issei bad vibes about this fight. If she was consciously suppressing her own power yet still exuding an aura of intimidation, then what did that say about the degree of power that she had attained in the three years since her betrayal?
"On my mark…" Grayfia said as she raised her hand. Pausing, she looked between the two combatants before bringing her arm down sharply, "…begin!"
[WHAM!]
In less than a second, the Mei and Chiaki closed the distance between one another and unleashed a punch each that met each other in a loud clash of displaced air.
"What the heck?!" Ravel winced, clapping her hands over hear abused ears at the loud noise, "I thought magic was forbidden during this match?"
"Yakitori-hime, this isn't magic…it's chi." Koneko intoned emotionlessly, "They both enhanced their bodies and strikes with chi. Technically, it isn't a violation of the rules."
This earned her a wrathful glare from the only daughter of the House of Phenex.
"You've trained your chi well!" Mei shouted as the two drew away from that first clash, "Let's just see how good your chi control really is!"
Chiaki responded with a snarl as she closed on Mei once again and unleashed a blistering barrage of punches and kicks that the Stray Devil danced around as if they were slowed down with bricks.
"Your rage is making you weak, little one." Mei remonstrated her former sister, "Dodging this level of attack is akin to fighting a child up to her calves in sand."
"Shut up!" Chiaki growled back and redoubled her efforts, with no success. She just couldn't seem to come anywhere close to touching Mei, no matter how hard she tried.
"Damn." Issei said, "She's treating Chiaki like she isn't even there."
"Baguazhang is designed to fight multiple adversaries at once, with a variety of strikes and weapons." Sairaorg stated, "If you look closely, you will notice that Mei is still keeping to the basic circular footwork that is the basis of her martial art. If Chiaki was keeping a cool head about her, she'd notice this and act accordingly, but as angry as she is, her sight is clouded and she is merely striking out her rage."
"My turn, I think." Mei said with a grin audible in her voice. She grabbed Chiaki's next punch and executed a perfect over-arm throw, sending the [Pawn] flying through the air to smash into -and through- the nearest tree.
Not pausing for an instant, Mei dived at her former sister with a shout of…anger? Pain? Despair? All of the above? Issei couldn't tell. Chiaki had swiftly recovered however, and leapt to one side, avoiding Mei's attack.
It didn't seem to matter what the younger girl did. Punches, kicks, grappling, throws…Mei expertly avoided each and every one with almost contemptuous ease and responded with blisteringly fast strikes of her own that Chiaki had a hard time avoiding.
Yet avoid them she did. As the match went on, she regained a cool head and the playing field became more level, with Mei having to back off on her attacks in order to focus more on her defence and dodging. Now the two of them seemed to be relatively even in skill.
Contrary to what she should have been, Mei seemed to be delighted by this turn of events.
"Oh little one…I am so proud of you." she called to Chiaki happily, "Your growth is incredible. At last, you can match my strength and speed from three years ago! I am very impressed!"
"What do you mean?!" Chiaki snarled as she leapt back to avoid a scything kick that would have possibly disembowelled her if it had had demonic power added to it.
"Exactly what I said." Mei straightened up and gestured at herself, "I have bound my physical abilities to limit them to my strength and speed as of when we last met. It really wouldn't be fair otherwise."
"STOP SCREWING WITH ME!" Chiaki screamed, waves of demonic energy coalescing around her body as her rage was made manifest by her loss of emotional control and subsequent slip over her control over her abilities. Lightning and flames danced around her, intermixed with the crimson-red colour of Bael demonic power.
"If you want me to take you seriously, little one, you will have to land at least one solid hit on me." Mei shrugged indifferently, "As it is, I doubt I'll have to do so."
This made Chiaki shriek in rage again and charge forward to try and prove her wrong.
"This isn't good. Mei's playing her like a fiddle." Sairaorg muttered to Sirzechs, "Why haven't your Peerage members followed the plan?"
"Partly because of those gargoyle golems watching them like hawks." the Great Devil King replied equally quietly, "Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem, but when Mei got Grayfia involved, she essentially tied our hands. Now Grayfia will disable any who interferes in the duel because she is officiating it AND the golems will attack."
Off to the side, Rias was glaring at the woman who dared to try and take her beloved Issei from her. She had lost him for less than a day not long ago and it had been one of the most agonising, soul-wrenchingly excruciatingly painful experiences of her short life and she was not willing to experience that again.
Never. This woman would not so much as touch Issei. Not while Rias Gremory still drew breath, a feeling that was echoed by the rest of her Peerage, she knew.
With a cry of pain, Chiaki was thrown backwards by a backhanded blow from Mei. She recovered in mid-air and spun around like a dancer before landing lightly on the balls of her feet.
"Is that truly the limit of your abilities, Chiaki-chan?" Mei asked casually as she strode forward, "Without demonic magic, is that the best you can show me? Truly?"
The Bael Pawn glared at her in silent defiance as she charged back in.
"I see." Mei sighed as she dodged and block a withering hail of blows from her sister, "Well, I will confess to slight disappointment if this is indeed the case. I shall entertain you for five more minutes. Should you not land a blow on me in that time, I will end this."
This was stated with such absolute confidence that none of the watching supernatural beings doubted the truth of Mei's words. She had been toying with Chiaki from the start and could have defeated her at any time. The only reason she hadn't yet was to properly gauge her younger sibling's basic, unassisted combat abilities, from what everyone could tell.
"Could she have been telling the truth?" Sirzechs mused aloud, "Could it be that all she wants is to recover her only remaining adopted sibling? Why? She has no Sacred Gear to extract, so why?"
To anyone who thought about it, it didn't make any sense. Mei had betrayed her adopted family and Master in exchange for their Sacred Gears and Evil Pieces. Someone like that, seeking out the sole member she had spared because she had no Sacred Gear to extract, just for the sake of having a family again? Preposterous and laughable.
Chiaki somehow drew upon previously untapped levels of stamina she hadn't realised were there as she continued her assault on her sister. Inside her head, she created and discarded countless plans to defeat her sister that wouldn't work.
'This is impossible. Mei-nee-sama is…why?' she thought sadly.
"Why?" the Bael Pawn asked softly, then raised her voice to a shout, "WHY!? These three years were supposed to grant me the strength to kill you, and yet…why?!…why is it you still stand above me?! Still remain untouchable?! Still stand as a pinnacle before me!?"
"Because I care for you, little one." Mei replied simply.
With a roar that spoke of someone who had finally been pushed beyond their last strand of tolerance and patience, Chiaki unleashed her most ferocious set of strikes yet, actually forcing a surprised may onto the defensive and even forcing her back slightly.
"My, my…whoa, Meotoude!" Mei exclaimed as she dodged the karate technique, "Little sister, you are impressing me now…yikes! You've abandoned all pretence of defence, haven't you?"
Chiaki just growled and continued her attack pattern. She knew she couldn't maintain this kind of exertion indefinitely as even the bodies of Devils had their limits and, after the punishing blows she had taken in the early stages of the fight, she knew that she had to finish this soon.
Mei raised her arms to block a blow to her face, but grunted in pain as she was hit simultaneously with a strong punch to her abdomen.
"The Yamazuki…!" she grunted out before Chiaki released an explosion of chi from her fist, sending the Queen of Blood and Betrayal flying back with a pair of large holes ripped in her outfit, one over her stomach and the other on her back.
"Excellent!" Sairaorg boomed as Mei smashed through a tree much as Chiaki had earlier, "A Yamazuki with a hard chi blast loaded into the decisive blow! Magnificently done!"
An ancient karate technique, the Yamazuki launches a blow at the head whilst simultaneously landing the real attack in the lower body of the opponent. Not used in karate competitions, most people rarely see it, let alone use it. Combined with the chi attack she unleashed, Chiaki was certain that, no matter how powerful Mei-nee-sama was, she had to have suffered serious damage to her internal organs and possibly her ribs as well.
"Ah-ha…hahaha…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mei started to laugh as she staggered to her feet, "Indeed! A most excellent attack, little sister! Had I not reinforced my body with chi right before you unleashed the chi blast, I would have been very badly injured! As promised, you now earn the right to fight me at my best. As you have sought…so shall you receive. Gravity Seal…unlock!"
As she spoke, a set of green cuffs on her arms and legs appeared. At her command, they fell off and vanished into dust. The sense of intimidation that Mei exuded redoubled in strength, making it hard to breathe for the weaker members of the onlookers, mostly just Ravel and Gasper.
Chiaki herself swallowed loudly as she fought her natural impulse to bow to the superior strength being shown by her adopted elder sister. This was just ridiculous. How could she have grown so much in strength in such a short space of time? If she was sensing her correctly, Mei was far above the power level of an ordinary High-Class Devil and seemed to hover on the boundary of becoming an abnormally strong Devil, the so-called 'Ultimate-Class' Devils that stood just under the plateau of power that the Four Great Devil Kings stood upon.
"Why hasn't Grayfia stopped her?!" Rias demanded harshly, "Mei used magic!"
Sirzechs shook his head at that. "That was not an active spell. It was a passive one designed to end when Mei called out the release command. All she's done is restoring her abilities to their original state, something that is permitted by common duelling rules."
"Chiaki-chan…kindly grit your teeth." Mei advised, "Do everything in your power to dodge and defend yourself. If you do not…you might die. Here I come…little sister."
In an instant and a blur of motion, Mei was standing where Chiaki had been standing an instant before, one leg extended from a kick, while the Pawn was hurtling through the air and screaming in pain.
Chiaki recovered in mid-air again and managed to land on her feet, but she knew that no matter what she did, this fight was all but over. That kick had been stronger than any other attack she had ever been hit with and she was really lucky that she had anticipated the exact kick that her adopted sister would use and moved to block it; otherwise, she'd be deader than a doornail.
As it was, she was reasonably certain that her left arm was either broken or had been fractured somewhere. Thankfully, her Devil body was far more resilient than a human's was, otherwise she would be missing her arm very likely.
'What do I do?! Mei-nee-sama is too fast and strong!' was all she had time to think before she was fighting for her life again, dodging punches and kicks that were ridiculously powerful, to the point that she didn't dare risk blocking any of them.
How? How had Mei become so powerful? Even without demonic magic, witchcraft and the Sacred Gears of their sisters, she was just as overwhelming as ever…no, even more so than before her betrayal! How had she done this?!
"Very admirable persistence, Chiaki-chan." Mei called out casually as she continued her assault, "But don't you think that you should call it quits? I mean, everyone can tell that you are going to lose soon. You have to be lucky all the time; I only have to get lucky once."
This was, Chiaki had to begrudgingly admit, true. She couldn't risk being struck by Mei at all, while one solid blow to her torso or abdomen would TKO Chiaki. It was a hopeless fight. Surrender to the inevitable was the prudent thing to do.
Yet…
She couldn't. She couldn't give up. Not here, not against the murderous sister who had all but orphaned her for the second time. Not against the woman who had violated her sisters' bodies to steal not only their Sacred Gears, but their Evil Pieces on top of that.
She would NOT fail them!
A strange glow started to emanate from her body and Mei paused in her attacking as the wind began to form a tornado around Chiaki, obscuring her from sight
"What's this?" she demanded, "A Sacred Gear? Chiaki doesn't have a Sacred Gear!"
"Just so." Sirzechs muttered, "Amakusa Chiaki is registered as a powerful mid-class Reincarnated Devil with no Sacred Gear, yet this is clearly the awakening of a Sacred Gear of some sort. Azazel, any clue what's going on here?"
"It's a low-tier Sacred Gear." Azazel replied with a frown, "The awakening isn't consistent with any Sacred Gear I've come across though, which is saying something."
"Sairaorg, what has the Bael family been doing with her?" The Maō Lucifer asked in a deceptively mild voice as he locked eyes with the younger Devil.
"After Mei's betrayal, she was traded to various Bael Peerages for a couple of months before Lord Bael took her as his sole Pawn." Sairaorg replied, "Most of the ones before him were friends of Amadeus Bael, so it's possible that they knew how to insert a Sacred Gear into someone. What I don't know is how and why it hasn't activated before now…"
"It's a trap." Azazel said with a deeper frown, "Likely, it was set to awaken when Chiaki-san was confronted with defeat at the hands of Mei and only then. Hiding it would be far more complicated, but not impossible for someone with a sufficient intellect."
"The Bael Family will pay for this…!" Mei ground out, "They dare to experiment on my last sister? They dare to touch what is mine? For this, a river of blood will flow from them!"
As the wind died down, Chiaki was revealed to be standing hunched over and two identical weapons gripped in her hands. The H-shaped handles were surmounted by a pair of 35 inch long triangular blades that had intricate swirling designs engraves into them.
"The Artificial Sacred Gear, [Katars of Vāyu], also known as the [Blades of the Wind]." Mei spat, "The weakest of the Artificial Sacred Gears that Amadeus created. Really? They expected this to do any good against me? I'm almost insulted."
Chiaki looked up at Mei with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes were dead and lifeless as she assumed a karate position.
"She's under some kind of mind control." Azazel observed, "Must be part of the Sacred Gear or the spell that hid it from detection."
"That is quite enough." Grayfia announced, "Amakusa Chiaki has officially lost this match due to violating the rules prohibiting the use of Sacred Gears."
She started forwards, only to be halted by an imperious stopping gesture from Mei.
"I'm her target, so back off." Mei retorted, "Now to level the playing field…"
As she assumed the by-now familiar pose that called forth her former Peerage's Sacred Gears, she considered each one and discarded it. No. Using her sisters' weapons wouldn't work. There was only one Sacred Gear that would guarantee victory here…
"By the power of the Queen, I call you forth…[Fatal Attraction]!" she cried aloud.
In a flash of purple energy, a staff appeared. Made of interlocked pieces of silver metal, the top of the staff had a miniaturised hemisphere of the planet Earth rotating on its axis.
"She's not planning on holding back!" Sirzechs growled, "Grayfia! Withdraw!"
Just as the maid withdrew back to her husband's side with a leap, Chiaki punched in the air at Mei with one of her katars, sending a large bullet of air at the Stray Devil, who blocked it with a magic circle acting like a shield.
"[Gravity Bullets]!" Mei said calmly as she levelled her staff at Chiaki and shot a dozen or so dark purple orbs back at her.
Chiaki dodged each and every one with admirable agility. As the spheres imploded and vanished, Mei frowned at Chiaki who now swiped clumsily in mid-air, sending a pair of large wind blades at her.
"Foolish." she remarked as she once again blocked the attack with no sign of trouble, "I helped design that Sacred Gear. I know the exact limits of what it can accomplish. Using it against me is an exercise in futility."
Not replying due to the mind control that she was under, Chiaki crossed the blades of her katars and swept them out, unleashing a large blast of wind at Mei.
"[Gravitation]." Mei said flatly. A wave of purple magic launched itself from her staff and struck the wave of wind, cancelling it out.
"This is becoming tiresome." the Queen of Blood and Betrayal said with an angry tone in her voice, "Chiaki-chan, if you can hear me, fight the control! Break free! If you don't, I'll have to be a bit rough with you."
One corner of Chiaki's mouth twitched slightly, but other than that, there was no sign of her breaking through the spell that held her in thrall.
Mei sighed despondently. "Very well. I shall now halt your assault, little sister."
Once more pointing [Fatal Attraction] at Chiaki, Mei was suddenly surrounded by a thick aura of purple demonic power as she focussed on the spell she was casting.
With a silent snarl, Chiaki hurled herself at Mei, obviously trying to interrupt the spell before it could be cast. Unfortunately, Mei was a very fast caster.
"[Gravija Sphere]!" Mei shouted and let loose a powerful blast of purple energy from the tip of her Sacred Gear, right at Chiaki. The Pawn tried to dodge, but the spell doggedly chased her down and wrapped itself around her, trapping the younger girl in a sphere of purple demonic power.
Chiaki slammed one of the katar into the sphere, causing no damage to the magical construct. She then started battering the sphere with repeated strikes with her katars, with the same result.
"Why isn't she using the ability of her Artificial Sacred Gear?" Azazel wondered.
"The [Katars of Vāyu] can only manipulate pre-existing air, not create wind from nothing." Mei informed him shortly, "As a result, when trapped in such a small area, it's almost completely powerless. I'll be taking my sister back now."
"Nothing in the agreement said you would be permitted to leave with your prize, Mei." Sirzechs told her regretfully.
"Really? You're pulling a barracks lawyer routine on me?" Mei spat in disgust, "Such a ploy is beneath you, Sirzechs!"
Even as she spoke, she made ready with her Sacred Gear.
"Please do not bother resisting; you are clearly tired from your battle with your sister." Grayfia stated.
Mei chuckled dryly. "I think not."
Quickly, the Queen of blood and Betrayal slammed the butt of [Fatal Attraction] onto the ground and shouted, "[Mega Gravitation]!"
A dome of crackling purple energy formed around her and then expanded outwards, hurling all who touched it into the air before slamming them onto the ground, stuck to the ground by the force of gravity. The Gremory and Sitri Groups were taken by surprise by the speed of the attack, but the rest of the Devils, Dragons and Fallen Angels were experienced enough to avoid the wide area gravity spell.
Mei wasn't willing to allow them time to counter attack, however.
"[Giga-Graviton]!" she called out, thrusting her staff at her flying opponents. Unseen by those above her, she dropped a stone tablet to the ground and emptied a vial of blood on top of it.
A seething bolt of purple magic erupted from the staff and hurtled straight at Sirzechs, who regarded the attack calmly. He flapped his wings once and flew to the side to avoid it.
"Such an attack cannot hit me, Mei." he called down at the Stray Devil.
"I would be disappointed…IF you were my target in the first place." Mei retorted.
Just after she spoke, the gravity attack struck the shield that encapsulated Kuō Academy with a loud crack. Mei thrust her free hand up and shouted, "[Assimilate and Control]!"
The barrier, previously a pale white colour, shifted to a dark shade of purple. MacGregor blinked in disbelief as the mental connection he had with the barrier was abruptly wrestled out from under his control.
"Sirzechs-sama! She has the barrier!" he called to his King.
"Activate! Artificial Sacred Gear [Dragon's Tooth]!" Mei called as she leapt to one side. Where she had stood moments before was now a massive stone gateway, two large doors creaking open to reveal a vortex of purple magic.
"My servants! Offer yourselves to the [Dragon's Tooth] for my sake, and the sake of my goal!" Mei called.
With a chorus of roars, the hundred-strong army of gargoyles took flight and dived through the open portal. Once the last gargoyle golem entered, the doors of the [Dragon's Tooth] slammed shut. A powerful purple aura surrounded the Artificial Sacred Gear as it began to create something from the materials it had been fed.
"While that's cooking…time to clip some wings." Mei muttered before raising her staff, "[Fallen Heaven]!"
The barrier blazed with purple light and those who flew in the air found themselves abruptly dropping to the ground, their wings weighing them down. Ophis was the only one who remained in the air, her face as expressionless as ever.
"Mei-chan…why are you doing this?" the disempowered Infinite Dragon God asked in a monotone.
"Ophis…" Mei looked at her, "Because I have a goal to accomplish. Nothing more, nothing less. I am no different from you, who seeks to return to the Dimensional Gap that is your home. I have something to do that means as much to me as that does to you."
"I see." the petite dragon said.
Mei turned her attention to the imprisoned Chiaki, who had not stopped trying to smash her way out of her prison. "Oh dear. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep that up. [Five Gravities]!"
Chiaki was smashed to the ground by the gravity inside the sphere changing from the basic Earth normal to five times that. Mei frowned as the Pawn still managed to struggle to her feet, her legs trembling with the effort.
"Stubborn girl. [Seven Gravities]!"
This time when Chiaki hit the ground, she didn't get up. Her Artificial Sacred Gear vanished as she lost consciousness.
"I wish you hadn't forced me to do that, Chiaki-chan." the Stray Devil said sadly, "Don't worry though. I'll find the ones who experimented on you and make them pay."
"Hardly something you should be promising in the situation you are in." Sirzechs said mildly. He and the rest had put their wings away to prevent the barrier from affecting them and now stood in a semicircle around Mei and Chiaki.
"Ara, do you think so?" Mei asked with a small smirk, "[Antigravity Pulsar]!"
A ball of purple magic appeared in the centre of the dome and started to glow. As it did so, all of the standing supernatural beings found themselves floating in air, the ball of magic having negated gravity within the dome.
"[Mega-Gravitation]!" Mei snarled, sending a pulse of gravity magic out that was blocked yet again.
"Enough of this." Sirzechs said as he sent a bolt of the Power of Destruction at the sphere that bound them to drifting helplessly in mid-air.
Mei giggled and held out a hand at the sphere. "[Barrier of Solomon: Devil]!"
A red magic circle sprang into place in front of the sphere just before Sirzechs' attack struck it. When the circle and the Power of Destruction collided, Sirzechs' attack simply…vanished.
"…what!?" Rias gaped in astonished disbelief.
"What magic trick is this?!" Grayfia demanded.
"Oh, it's simple really…just a magic circle designed to totally absorb any and all forms of demonic power." Mei replied gleefully, "Even, as you just saw, the demonic power of one of the strongest Ultimate-class Devils in the history of the world. It is one of my Magnus Opus, my masterwork."
"Azazel, if you would?" Sirzechs asked.
"On it." the former Governor-General of the Fallen Angels replied. He formed a spear of light and flung it at the orb.
The Queen of Blood and Betrayal merely pointed at the magic circle again. "[Barrier of Solomon: Holy]!"
A second magic circle flickered into existence in front of the first one, this one white. Just as with Sirzechs' attack, Azazel's light spear was absorbed by the barrier with just as much ease.
"My other Magnus Opus." Mei announced smugly, "Designed to leech away the holy power of Angels and Fallen Angels. This is the Alpha test of this particular barrier, and I must say it has passed with flying colours."
"Damn…you!" Issei growled. He was fed up of this woman mocking everyone! "Ddraig, let's go!"
[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
A column of crimson power appeared around the trapped and prone form of the Sekiryūtei, overwhelming the gravity magic that bound him before encasing him in the bright red armour of his Balance Breaker.
"So…this is the famous [Boosted Gear Scale Mail]." Mei looked Issei up and down, "Are you so eager to have your Sacred Gear removed from you?"
Issei ignored her as he began to float thanks to the [Antigravity Pulsar]. He pointed a hand at the sphere in question and an orb appeared in front of him.
[Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost!]
"[Dragon Shot]!" Issei snarled.
[Explosion!]
Smashing his hand into the orb, Issei sent it flying at the sphere that bound everyone in antigravity.
"[Barrier of Solomon: Devil]!" Mei shouted urgently, restoring the anti-devil shield to the forefront of the defence of the [Antigravity Pulsar].
When the [Dragon Shot] reached the magic circle, a strange thing happened. As it slammed into the circle, a small part of it was siphoned off, but the rest passed through the magic circle as if it wasn't even there and slammed into the [Antigravity Pulsar] with a loud blast, destroying it.
"What?!" Mei yelled in confusion, before she slowly nodded her head and said, "I see. You used both your power as a Devil and the power granted to you as the humanoid dragon that you were reincarnated from. While my barrier drained the demonic power, the draconic part was left alone. Clever."
"It was just a desperate guess, but those barriers aren't designed to do anything except stop a specific kind of energy." the armour-clad Issei shrugged, "So Ddraig and I figured a bit of Draconic power should upset things for you."
When Issei had fought against Shalba Beelzebub, his body had been destroyed by the curse of Samael, the Dragon Killer. Later, his soul had been placed inside a body created from the flesh of the Dragon of Dragons, Great Red, and the power of the Infinite Dragon God, Ophis. As reincarnated beings can still use the traits of their former species, Issei still had access to the mixed power of his 'second parents' so to speak.
Mei had only taken a second or two to grasp this, as did Sirzechs.
"Ophis…Fafnir…why didn't either of you attack the orb? Surely both of you knew the same thing Issei-kun deduced?" he asked the two dragons mildly.
"…I was supposed to?" Ophis deadpanned.
"I used up a lot of power to revive Ddraig." Fafnir added, "Besides, my contractor has to tell me to do things. I'm not required to do anything on my own volition unless her life is threatened."
[You just couldn't be bothered, could you?] Ddraig asked with a sigh, [Laziest and most perverted dragon in the world.]
"...Chichiryūtei." Ophis muttered.
[Noooooooooo!] Ddraig wailed, [Not that dratted name again!]
"…you guys are having fun." Mei remarked, "And…ah-ha! It's done!"
The [Dragon's Tooth] was now glowing so brightly that it hurt to look at it. Mei waltzed to the front of the Artificial Sacred Gear and placed her hands on the closed doors.
"Now to unseal It." she said before bowing her head, "[I, who am about to awaken, am the Heavenly Dragon who has usurped the power of Domination from God…]"
"What!?" Issei yelled.
"What is she…?" Rias asked in disbelief. She had heard these words once before…
"[I laugh at the 'Infinite' and grieve at the 'Dream']" Mei chanted, "[I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination…And I shall sink you to the depths of Crimson Purgatory!] Awaken under my command, [Red Dragon Golem]!"
With that, Mei withdrew her hand from the [Dragon's Tooth] as the doors started to creak open.
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Next Chapter: The Sixth Move: Forking
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