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"Rias" - Speech
'Issei' - Thought
[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear Ability/ Ddraig and Albion Speech
Beta'd by BigCC
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Out of all of my sisters, the one who always felt inferior to the rest of us was Chiaki-chan. Unlike the rest of us, she possessed no Sacred Gear. Amadeus made no bones about her lack of utility and usefulness in his contemptuous opinion. I, however, consoled her with a simple piece of knowledge: that because she lacked the cheat code advantages of a Sacred Gear, all of her strength was hers and hers alone. It couldn't be dismissed as just being a result of possessing one of the God of the Bible's little toys. All she had to do was work harder at it than the rest of us.
She took my words to heart and trained almost obsessively, to the point that I had to force her to sleep and eat on occasion. The results of her training were…beyond my expectations. Aside from me, no member of my Peerage could defeat her without using their Sacred Gears, and even that was no guarantee of victory for them. I have never been more proud of her than the time I declared her the second strongest member of my Peerage.
- Attributed to Mei Schwarzwald
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The Fourteenth Move: Pawn Takes Queen
Student Council Room, Kuō Academy
Sona Sitri was, to most people, a very intimidating person. Genius-level intelligence, an extremely strict and somewhat aloof personality, Heiress to one of the remaining 72 Pillars Families, and the younger sister of the sitting Maō Leviathan. That was what most people saw when they looked at her, but that was simply the tip of the iceberg.
Sona cared deeply for those she considered her friends and Peerage members. Rias was her best friend, had been her best friend since they were both small children. They'd quickly bonded over their respective siblings' doting over them, which even at a young age became very annoying very quickly, as well as the pressures they were under as Heiresses to members of the Pillar Families. As Rias had slowly expanded her Peerage, Sona had cautiously befriended them as well.
Akeno was a bit weird with her S&M preference, but she was also very good at releasing the tension in a room with calm words and excellent tea. Koneko was quiet, but she was also a good listener. Kiba was the epitome of a gentleman and Sona's own [Queen], Tsubaki, had a crush on him. Gaspar was odd with his crossdressing habit, but he was also a savant at anything related to computers. Asia was a dear girl, if somewhat more naïve than she would have expected a Reincarnated Devil to be. Xenovia was refreshingly honest, to the point of bluntness, while Rossweisse was rather amusing with her constant lamentation about her lack of dating experience.
When Rias had expended ALL of her [Pawn] pieces to resurrect Hyōdō Issei, the Oppai Baka and one of the Perverted Trio, she had been flabbergasted. The fact that he had cost so many pieces had baffled Sona, right up until Rias informed her of exactly what Sacred Gear he possessed: the infamous [Boosted Gear].
'It had to be a cosmic joke, giving one of the most powerful Sacred Gears in existence to a perverted idiot like him!'
That was what she had thought at the time. Sona's opinion had changed over time, as Rias started to fall for him, as all of her friend's pieces became used up…as he sacrificed his entire left arm to the spirit of the Red Dragon Emperor in order to achieve the power necessary to defeat Raiser Phenex.
Seeing all of the women of Rias' Peerage fall for the surprisingly oblivious pervert had been something of a puzzle for Sona, one that even her impressive intellect hadn't been able to figure out. She could, intellectually, see the attraction, as Issei's determination to protect his comrades was a very laudable trait, and the way he had thrown himself into harm's way to protect Rias from the God-Killing Fangs of Fenrir had proved that he was not afraid to die in order to do that. But was that the only reason? Sona didn't know.
When Issei's Evil Pieces had returned through the Dragon Gate with the taint of the blood of Samael the Dragon Eater, the devastation that had swept through Rias' Peerage had crippled the group, but especially Rias and Akeno. Sona had been unable to reach her, which had killed the Sitri Heiress inside. She was never more thankful for Sairaorg than she was when he had brought Rias out of her despair.
And now, with this latest threat to her best friend's happiness, she was forced, by her sister's orders no less, to stand by and watch while Rias and her Peerage raced against the clock, fighting through an army of Stray Devils and Gargoyle Golems in order to save Issei from the clutches of the Strongest Stray Devil in history.
She hadn't moved from her seat since the Rating Game began, with her Peerage arrayed around her.
"Kaichou…" Saji looked at her in worry.
"Watch the screen, Saji-kun." She said calmly. "If Rias fails, we will be going to help her avenge Hyōdō, regardless of my sister's orders."
"Hai." The boy who wielded the power of Vritra, one of the Dragon Kings, nodded sharply and returned his attention to the screen, where the Gremory group was cutting their way through another horde of Gargoyle Golems.
Sona knew that Rias would slaughter Mei Schwarzwald if Issei died again, regardless of what the price to do so would cost her. The fury she had displayed when she thought that Asia had died would pale by comparison. The reason why she would go there would be to try and pull her back from any potentially suicidal moves. Issei wouldn't want Rias to die if he died again, and Sona would act to prevent her from dying.
What were best friends for if not that?
With the Gremory Group
Corridor, Central Tower of Mei's Base
Rias lobbed another blast of raw Power of Destruction at the enemies before her, destroying another dozen or so Gargoyles. The waves of them were unrelenting and numerous. Just how many of them had that Stray Devil made?!
"Buchou, are you alright?" Kiba asked in concern as she leaned against the wall, panting.
"I'm…fine." She said as she stood up. "I'm not accustomed to expending so much power in such quantities over such an extended period of time is all."
"We'll pick up the slack while you recover, Rias-buchou." Xenovia said with a nod at Kiba. Then the two [Knights] were in and among the enemy and swinging their swords.
Rias knew that those watching from the more conservative families would be offended by her servants' seeming lack of respect for her. Not that she cared what they thought of her darling servants, of course. Those old stuffed shirts and stuck-up fools got all of the loyalty from their Peerages that they deserved with that sort of attitude; exactly none.
Once Rias had recovered her breath, they continued their push, with each offensive-capable member of her Peerage alternating at the front to give the others time to recover. Eventually, the Gargoyles stopped coming and everything was eerily quiet.
"It is far too quiet now, I don't like it." Rias remarked aloud, her eyes shifting to scan the surroundings.
"Same here." Akeno confirmed with a frown. A sudden dearth of enemies, when they had been swamped by them previously, was very, very suspicious.
"Doors." Koneko pointed at the pair of large double doors at the end of the passage.
"Be alert." Rias ordered.
As soon as the Gremory Group approached the doors, they swung inwards, revealing the form of Amakusa Chiaki, clad in her uniform as a member of Mei's Peerage.
"Greeting, Rias Gremory and fellows." The [Pawn] said evenly. "For making it this far, you are to be praised."
"Chiaki-san…why are you working for Mei?" Kiba asked. The fact that the girl was walking around without any restraints on her body was proof enough of that.
"That sentence implies that I ever stopped working for Mei-nee-sama." Chiaki answered with a crooked smile. "Before parting from me three years ago, she used one of my Sister's Sacred Gears on me to alter my memories of the incident and to implant new memories into me."
"The [Memoriam Blade]!" Akeno hissed.
"Quite right." The fist-fighter agreed. "When she retrieved me, all she needed to do was to use the same Sacred Gear on me to unlock my memories and disperse the false ones. With that, she gained access to three years' worth of information on the various Bael Peerages, as well as a fighter who trained herself into the ground."
"I could care less. Stand aside so I may advance and rescue my Issei." Rias spat out.
"Nee-sama." Chiaki said simply and a timer appeared next to her before the numbers froze.
"What?" the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess said in surprise.
"While you traverse these next series of rooms, combat is disallowed and thus the timer will be frozen." Chiaki explained simply. "Kindly dismiss or sheath your weapons. This place is sacred to my sisters and I, and I will not permit the purity of this room to be sullied by combat."
Looking sideways at each other, the Gremory Group obeyed and followed Chiaki when she beckoned them in.
The first room that they found themselves in was seemingly built from black and white marble and was shaped like a cylinder standing on one end. Taking centre stage in the middle of the room was a large statue of a woman dressed in robes. She had long hair and an aristocratic bearing, with a kind expression on her face.
Carved into the base was an epitaph that made the Gremory Group gasp in understanding.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF HILDEGARDE VON SCHWARZWALD.
BELOVED MOTHER.
FOULLY SLAIN BY THE MACHINATIONS OF MAO-MAO LIN WEI.
THE WORLD WAS A DARKER PLACE WITH HER PASSING.
"Mei-nee-sama began the secret construction of this tower, not as a base of operations, but as a tomb and memorial to her mother, over five years ago." Chiaki said softly. "She regrets the necessity of having to convert it into a place of battle, but she is also certain that her mother would understand the necessity."
The next room was a rectangle and had a large sarcophagus in the middle, a carving of Hildegarde lying in repose on the lid. The detail was exquisite and it almost seemed as if it would sit up, it was so lifelike.
"How did Mei make this?" Rias wondered. "A spell?"
"Exactly." Chiaki nodded with a smile. "The same spell was used for the statue you saw previously. It was something that took Nee-sama six months to develop. She wanted to make her mother's final resting place as perfect as she could make it. I would say that she did well, no?"
"Yes…it's beautiful." Asia bowed her head and prayed for the woman who had died to try and protect her daughter.
The next room was a large garden full of flowers and trees, with a fountain in the centre that fed a stream which spiralled around the garden under a grating. The entire room was relaxing and comforting just to stand in.
"Nee-sama built this room in the exact centre of the tower's bottom floor for when she feels the need to relax." Chiaki explained. "It is a place of tranquil contemplation for us."
"It's certainly relaxing." Akeno remarked.
The next room was made of stone and had nine transparent tubes situated around the circumference of it. Inside each was the suspended figure of the bodies of one of Mei's Peerage. All with their eyes closed and dressed in the outfits that their golem counterparts had been wearing.
"Th-this….this is…!" Rias was speechless.
"All of my sisters." Chiaki said with a sad expression on her face. "Nee-sama used a time reversion spell to rewind the health of their bodies back to the very moment they died and then placed them in a state of time suspension so they are perfectly preserved for all of eternity."
"Why? It seems rather…macabre...to keep them around like trophies." Irina said uneasily.
"Who ever said they were going to remain here? Nee-sama has plans for them."
About to question what she meant, Rias was cut off by the doors on the other side of the room opening, revealing a pair of figures. They looked exactly identical, with shoulder-length black hair, black eyes and cherub-like smiles. Out of all of Mei's Peerage, there were only two people they could be.
"Morisaki Reo and Rika, the Time Twins." The Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess acknowledged the last golems that her Peerage had not faced yet. "What is the meaning of this?"
"The next room is where combat will be allowed again." Chiaki informed them. "In order to proceed to the next floor, you need to defeat, Reo, Rika and me there. I'll head in first. Be warned that as soon as you or a member of your Peerage steps over the threshold, the timer will restart."
With that said, the [Pawn] walked between the golems of her sisters and left the room, the two [Knight] golems closing the doors behind them.
"Well this is a troublesome situation." Rias sighed. "Akeno, are the Rating Game Spells actually up?"
"I've scanned every so often and they are." The former Nephilim confirmed. "There's absolutely no chance of us dying here."
That was something else that could be added to the growing list of incongruities about Mei Schwarzwald. For someone who ruthlessly slew her own Master and Peerage, she had and was showing quite a bit of concern for people that she had barely heard of or met, wasn't she?
"Xenovia, Kiba, you two are our best close combat weapon experts." She informed the two [Knights]. "You are to hold your opposite numbers off, while most of the rest of us deal with Chiaki. Gaspar, you will be the exception; your [Forbidden Balor View] will be vital to possibly negating the [Second Hand of Time] and the [Wedge of Time's] effects."
"H-hai, Buchou!" The Dhampir squeaked. Talk about pressure!
Outline of a plan made, the Gremory Group entered the next room, which was a largish arena marked with the symbol of the queen chess piece both in the centre as a large glyph and as smaller mosaics along the circumference of the arena floor.
"Welcome to the arena." Chiaki said calmly. She, along with the two golems, stood on the other side of the arena in front of a large pair of double doors that likely led to either stairs, an elevator or a teleportation glyph. "Would you care to hear the rules?"
"Speak." The Gremory Heiress said shortly.
"You can nominate a number from one to three. That is how many pieces will be permitted to fight at any one time." The [Pawn] stated. "You may then nominate pieces to face either of my sister's golems here, but the one who faces me must be Himejima Akeno, as she technically failed her test out in the labyrinth."
'More delays! I cannot permit this to drag on any longer!' Rias thought angrily.
"I choose three!" She barked. "Kiba, Xenovia, Akeno…tear them to pieces!"
"Hai!" the three named barked and leapt into the fight. Chiaki and the Time Twins, clearly expecting this reaction, were ready for them.
"[Katars of Vāyu]!"
"[Second Hand of Time]!"
"[Wedge of Time]!"
The Artificial Sacred Gear flashed into place in Chiaki's arms as she leapt towards Akeno, electricity and fire coating each blade. Devils wings appeared from her back as two words resounded throughout the room, in Mei's voice.
"Promotion: Queen!"
The outline of a [Queen] piece was superimposed over Chiaki as her Evil Piece responded to Mei's command.
"How?! Your [King] is Lord Bael!" Akeno said in shock. Only a [King] was supposed to be able to promote [Pawns] at all, let alone a [Queen] from another Peerage!
"My piece has Mei-nee-sama's demonic energy inside it!" Chiaki shouted. "She could have usurped control of my Evil Piece from Lord Bael whenever she wanted! But she only did so when I asked her!"
With that, blasts of fire and lightning shot towards Akeno, signalling the end of any conversation.
Meanwhile, Kiba and Morisaki Reo were in the middle of a rapid exchange of swordplay. [Second Hand of Time] clashed with the swords made by [Blade Blacksmith] and [Sword Birth], each strike creating their own shockwaves from the impacts.
"You are rather good." Reo remarked.
"Right back at you." Kiba replied.
Neither of them ceased their attacks while chatting almost casually.
"I have heard that you have achieved a unique Balance Breaker. Please use it." The time sword wielder requested politely.
"I've heard that you have the ability to wind back time. Why don't you use it?" Kiba countered.
"Who is to say I have not?" the black-haired golem smirked. "I am the only one who remembers my use of [Ages of Time], so for all you know, I've been using it every thirty seconds."
The blond boy narrowed his eyes at that. If that was the case, shouldn't there be some sort of visible sign of its use? A blurring or a haze would usually indicate the use of such a technique. He'd have to work under the assumption that she was bluffing about how often she had used her Sacred Gear's ability.
Xenovia was swinging EX-Durandal in order to try and strike Rika, but she was falling short as the spear user artfully dodged around the swings of the Peerless Holy Sword as if they were merely light breezes. More vexing was the fact that Rika hadn't attacked yet.
"Why are you declining to fight me?!" The bluenette demanded.
"I don't have to win; I merely have to not lose." The spear user answered with a crooked grin. "But if you insist…[Perfect World]!"
At her words, the Qiáng spear in her hands glowed and a bubble appeared around her and Xenovia, freezing the former exorcist in time. Rika then casually walked past the Holy Sword Wielder and scratched her cheek with the tip of her spear blade before leaping back as the time freeze came to an end.
"Ow." Xenovia blinked. Feeling the blood flow from the shallow cut on her cheek, she narrowed her eyes at Rika.
"Cute. Let's see how you deal with this… [Rapidly], [Destruction]!"
Invoking the powers of the cores formerly belonging to Excalibur Rapidly, granting a massive speed boost, and Excalibur Destruction, increasing the destructive potential of EX-Durandal even further, the swordswoman attacked the surprised Rika in a blur.
"[Time Alter – Double Accel]!"
Then Rika was moving in a blur, avoiding the frenzied slashes of the bluenette with a graceful ease.
"How?!" Xenovia exclaimed.
"Excalibur Rapidly accelerates the body using powerful enhancement-type Holy magic." Rika explained smugly. "The spell I used created a small barrier around my skin, clothes, weapons and hair, accelerating my personal time. It would be stressful on a human's heart, and even a Devil would be troubled by it before they became a High Class Devil, but my sister and I are currently golems. We can use all of our time spells, even the ones Mei-nee forbid us from using until we were High Class Devils. Please allow me to experiment. I may not get a chance like this again."
Meanwhile, Akeno was not faring so well. Her two specialty magic, Thunder and Lightning, were matched by Chiaki's own Lightning and Fire. While Akeno's heritage as the daughter of a Cadre of the Grigori meant that her connection and power with Lightning was more pronounced, she had shunned her heritage until only recently, meaning that, despite the similarity between Thunder spells and Lightning spells, the younger Devil actually had greater experience with it, allowing Chiaki to overwhelm her with her own element.
Plus, the former Bael [Pawn] sometimes used this odd type of magic that seemed to be a mixture of lightning and fire, but not merely a simple combination spell; if it was just a combination of the two, Akeno wouldn't be nearly so confused. No, this…energy, for lack of a better term, had properties of both lightning and fire mixed into one. It had the speed and greater heat and penetrating power of lightning combined with fire's ability to feed on oxygen to self-sustain itself and its ability to devour materials to feed its size and strength as well.
"I call it Artificial Hellfire." Chiaki smirked. "It isn't fire and it isn't lightning; it's a completely different element altogether. I made it to defeat Mei-nee-sama, so it should be more than enough to defeat you! Jigoku Kamaitachi!"
Coating her katar in the substance she referred to as Artificial Hellfire, Chiaki sent two scything cuts at Akeno, who responded by blasting back with her [Dragon Lightning]. The combination of draconic energy and Lightning contended with the new element…and found itself on equal terms.
As the two spells combusted and exploded, Akeno stared hard at Amakusa Chiaki. Even with a [Queen Promotion], there should be no way for a [Pawn] to match the real deal in a duel of magic; while the strengths of an individual piece varied individual by individual, a true [Queen] Piece was usually somewhat more powerful than even a [Promoted Pawn].
"You don't get it, do you?" Chiaki floated there with her weapons at the ready. "You can't understand how it is that I can have matched you, despite having only the total 'value' of two [Pawns] to your nine."
The number of [Pawn] pieces a person was worth when reincarnated as a Devil functioned in one of two ways: as a rough measurement of their hidden potential or as a way of enhancing it. Someone who is 'worth' two [Pawns] could still be reincarnated as a [Rook], [Knight], [Bishop] or [Queen]…but unless you had no [Pawn] pieces left, it would be a foolish thing for a [King] to do, to waste a powerful piece on someone who would not make full use of the power initially.
The only exceptions to the rule were [Mutation] Pieces. Specifically designed for those who had the potential beyond the eight [Pawns] or even the [Queen] piece, they allowed extraordinarily powerful beings to be reincarnated as Devils.
"It's quite simple: I worked hard." Chiaki laughed when she saw the scepticism on Akeno's face. "It's true. I was slightly talented when Amadeus reincarnated me, but it was the encouragement of my sisters and my own hard work and perseverance that made me the strongest among my sisters under Mei-nee-sama. It is said that in order for someone of average talent to defeat a genius, they have to become a demon. So then…what happens if someone of greater than average talent becomes a demon…?"
Dismissing her Artificial Sacred Gear, Chiaki created basketball-sized orbs of fire and lightning, one in each hand, and slammed them together, making a magic circle appear in front of her that she threw the ball of merged elements at.
"Shield yourself. This attack defeated two Pureblooded High-Class Devils at once." Chiaki advised as she pointed at her finger at the magic circle, just as the ball struck it. "Raika Gōen Kaku!"
The sphere shot out of the magic circle like it had been fired from a cannon, shooting through three more magic circles that each increased its size and power whilst retaining its speed. By the time it passed through the third new circle, it had grown to the size of a medicine ball and all who saw it felt -DANGER!- screaming from it.
Akeno couldn't dodge it as it was too fast. She also knew instinctively that even her most powerful [Dragon Lightning] was no match for that, so she was left with no choice but to raise as many of the most powerful barriers that she knew how to create as was possible in the little time available to her.
It wasn't enough.
The [Raika Gōen Kaku] literally shredded Akeno's barriers to pieces with almost contemptuous ease before slamming into her, exploding with such force that her scream of pain was drowned out by the shockwave of the explosion.
When the explosion cleared, Himejima Akeno, the [Priestess of Thunder and Lightning], was falling from the air, her Miko robes in tatters and her eyes rolled up in unconsciousness. Before she could hit the ground, she vanished in a plume of crimson red sparks.
"Rias Gremory, one [Queen] Piece, retired." Grayfia's solemn voice stated.
Chiaki smirked.
"Next?"
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Next Chapter: The Fifteenth Move: Sacrifice Gambit
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