There were 3 days left on Ginsei Academy's summer break. In just a little bit, the second term would start.
In general, all the Candidates were preparing themselves, expecting the war to pick up once the second term started. That was also true for the Candidates of Strength and Justice, the Sannou twins, Rikimaru and Seigi.
"Woooo! Everyone come at Rikimaru-chan!"
"""""Woooooooohhh!"""""
Despite barely taking the Devil King War seriously, Rikimaru was also training with her Cards. To be more specific, she alone was facing all of them.
Rikimaru's Characteristic Magic was called Strongest. It was very true to its name. By manipulating kinetic energy, she could, for lack of better words, punch really hard. Of course, there were many other applications, but that was the gist of it as far as Rikimaru was concerned.
Rikimaru's Cards also enjoyed the benefit of that Characteristic Magic, though to a much lesser degree. That said, they were all muscle brains, so no one really explored the power of that Characteristic Magic.
"So noisy."
Seigi said, as she opened an eye to observe her sister and her Cards' training.
In this case, the twins couldn't be more different. While Rikimaru and her Cards are loudly just punching each other to their heart's content, Seigi and her Cards were much more quiet, silent in fact, as they practiced their sword fighting.
Seigi's Characteristic Magic was called Sixers, and it allowed her to create Devil Swords and give them abilities at will. Her Cards didn't enjoy any direct benefits, but Seigi made sure to create swords well suited for her Cards, so they were all sword fighters.
Since the Sannou family was one of the few noble devil families known for giving birth to powerful swordsmen, it could be said that Seigi's power was much better seen than Rikimaru's. In fact, most of the family ignored Rikimaru and focused solely on Seigi.
Unlike Rikimaru's everyone against her routine, Seigi divided her Cards into duos so they could practice and learn from each other. The only real problem with her setup was that Swordia, her newest Card, was so skilled she couldn't really learn if she didn't face Seigi herself.
But Seigi wasn't training right now. She had already dedicated a few hours for that today, so now she was doing something else. As such, Swordia was either tutoring the other Cards or maybe she was just resting.
"Well, I'm sure she's actually doing fine without me worrying about her."
Seigi was in the garden of the mansion. She wanted access to a leyline so she could use a lot of mana at once.
What she was doing right now was fixing Tenka Fubu, as she had promised Yuuto. Creating a Devil Sword was easy enough, but changing it after it was created required a lot of mana, and it wasn't possible to change a lot at once, so she was stuck doing a little bit every day.
If it wasn't a mess she made herself, Seigi would never be doing this. But if she was going to ally with Yuuto from now on, she could see it as an investment and keep going.
"?"
Seigi felt something strange. Her thigh was wet. A raindrop?
That itself wasn't too strange, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Not just that, that drop of water was strangely dark. Black even.
"There's something wrong. Everyone, inside!"
She heard Swordia shouting. It seemed that she was inside the house, so she had probably been resting, Seigi thought.
Seigi knew Swordia wasn't one to make a fuss over nothing. If nothing else, it was worth asking her what was going on.
Just as Seigi was going to get up, as soon as she placed her weight on the leg that was hit by the raindrop, she felt a sharp pain for a second and then fell.
"Aaarg! What the hell?"
This was no muscle pain from sitting for too long. Once Seigi looked at her thigh again, rather than a single black drop, she could see that the black thing was eating at her flesh.
Instinctively, Seigi used her Characteristic Magic. She chopped off her own leg, and made something to protect herself. She also made "sword umbrellas" for her Cards, as well as her sister and her Cards.
A second after, the sound of rain. But it was no normal rain. It was black. The same that had fallen on Seigi's thigh.
"Pick up the sword and go!"
Seigi shouted. All the Cards that were still confused did as told and started heading towards the mansion.
But, as said before, this was no normal rain. The ground may as well be a minefield.
"Aaaaaa!"
"Kyaaa!"
"Woooah!"
Seigi's Cards were obedient to a fault. They started moving as soon as they were ordered to, some of the less dimwitted Cards of Rikimaru also obeyed. Naturally, they stepped on the black water.
That meant they were consumed the very next second.
"Get off!"
Rikimaru stomped the ground, sending the black water flying. She used this chance to go get her sister, while the surviving Cards made their way to the mansion.
The rain had stopped. In reality, it only really lasted a second. But the water started gathering in one place, then it formed the shape of a boy.
Despite the wolf-like ears on top of his head, Rikimaru and Seigi recognized him. It was Death's Candidate, Lost.
"Yoo. I heard you two gave us the slip while I was sleeping. I'm a pretty nice guy, but betrayal is something I'm not going to take."
Was that really the reason for Lost's attack? No. He planned this from the beginning. Rikimaru's Characteristic Magic was too good to pass, and Seigi's wasn't half bad either. This was simply a good excuse.
As soon as Rikimaru and Seigi made their way inside the mansion, Swordia activated a switch that put up a barrier.
However, even if just that of a few Cards, Lost now also had the power of Strength Arcana.
"Here goes!"
He punched the barrier. The whole mansion shook. This was clearly no ordinary power. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before he breaks in.
"Damn it."
Seigi made 6 more Devil Swords. 5 to reinforce the barrier and another to serve as a makeshift leg for her, as well as to heal the open wound. Rikimaru let Seigi stand on her own.
Of course, no one planned to make a last stand here. What they needed was a way out. And there was one.
The Gate. They could escape Lost if they went to the Devil World. Of course, only if they could somehow prevent him from doing the same and following them.
Seigi and Rikimaru, Swordia, Flor, and about 4 more of Rikimaru's Cards were left. Still a considerable fighting force, but it's important to remember how many Lost had killed just now. They were also a considerable fighting force.
"What do we do, boss Rikimaru-chan?"
Flor asked. Everyone thought she was stupid, but Seigi knew Rikimaru could assess the situation well enough, so there was only one answer she could give.
"We fight!"
"Stupid nee-sama!"
Just as Seigi slapped Rikimaru on the back of the head, the mansion shook once again. It would not be able to handle another attack.
"Nee-sama, we should think of a way to escape. We already lost too many people."
"Seigi-chan, you're supposed to be smarter than that. There's no escape. We either fight and win, or lose and die. That's the Devil King War."
Seigi wanted to complain to Rikimaru, but she couldn't find the words.
Sure, using the Gate to escape seemed like a good plan, so long as they could block Lost's way. But the method to close a Gate was lost to time, just like the method to open one, so they'd have to block it somehow. But was there really something that could block Lost? And, even if there was, what then? Would they simply run from Lost while hoping someone defeated him?
In reality, Rikimaru's proposal was much more realistic. It wouldn't be easy, but it was their 1 chance at survival. They'll fight with all they have. If they win, they get to live. If they die, then that's the end for them.
"Alright then. Let's get ready."
"Yes!"
Swordia replied to Seigi. She felt bad for risking her life when she was so close to getting her fight with Reina, but it couldn't be helped. Of course, Swordia understood that much. They'd just have to do their best to survive.
They felt the mansion shake again, it wasn't hard to tell that the barrier was now gone. They waited for Lost's attack.
And waited.
And waited.
But nothing.
Just as they were about to wonder what was going on, the ceiling fell on them. Lost had opted for an attack from above.
Seigi, Rikimaru, Swordia and Flor were able to dodge, but Rikimaru's 4 other Cards couldn't. The rubble couldn't kill them, but the black liquid that was Lost sure could. They died without as much as a scream.
But there was no time for mourning. While Lost was still reforming his body, Rikimaru punched him.
Of course, she knew she couldn't touch him, so she stopped right before she made contact. Just the power from that was already enough to blow a hole through Lost as well as the mansion.
"As I thought, there's a big difference between the Candidate and a Card!"
But even that couldn't defeat Lost. Right before he could attack Rikimaru, Flor clapped her hands. While not to the same extent as Rikimaru, the shockwave from that still made Lost unable to hold his liquid self together for a little bit.
From above, Swordia took advantage of that split second opening. Seigi had made 6 swords which, when put together, made a barrier. Swordia used Imperator to grab that barrier and slam it against Lost.
Yes, the barrier wasn't being used for protection, but rather as a glorified mallet. A single hit broke through the floor and sent Lost to the basement, but Swordia knew that wasn't enough. And so did Seigi.
"My max, 6666666 Devil Swords!"
Seigi created over six million Devil Swords in the basement Lost was thrown in. Obviously, there wasn't enough space in there for all that. But that was fine.
Her objective was, put simply, to blow everything up. Not only were there natural phenomenons taking place there, such as swords that emitted gas and swords that emitted flames, but there were magical phenomenons of the same kind as well. All to make the biggest explosion possible.
Swordia moved the barrier again to protect herself, Seigi, Rikimaru and Flor. A second after, there was a loud boom that could literally be heard from places that couldn't even see the explosion.
The Devil Swords barrier was strong, but it couldn't withstand the explosion. It protected everyone from the rough of it, even if they were sent flying to the garden, but the barrier and the swords were gone as if they had never existed.
After a few seconds, they raised their bodies. Everyone wanted to know the same thing, but no one dared ask, in fear of jinxing it.
Just when they were about to relax.
"Not good enough!"
They heard… a voice. Lost's? Not quite. But it seemed to be him. It came from a black thing that crawled out of the crater. It didn't have Lost's form anymore, but it was probably him.
Without even waiting a second, Lost's hand extended, trying to grab Swordia. Maybe tired, or maybe too hurt, she couldn't dodge.
But she wasn't caught. Flor pushed her out of the way, but ended up caught in her place. If not for her blindfold, everyone would have seen Swordia's eyes widen in surprise.
"Now, boss Rikimaru-chan!"
"Flor-chan! I'll always remember you!"
Rikimaru couldn't let go of this opportunity. Once again, she punched in Lost's direction, hoping something would be different this time. And it was.
Lost simply disregarded her attack, which came at the cost of Flor's life, and made his way to Rikimaru's extended right arm. He easily devoured it.
"Gaaaaaa!"
"After I survived that explosion, you didn't think this would kill me, did you?"
But, rather than simply be consumed, Rikimaru freed herself. Her right arm and some of the skin on her right side was gone, but otherwise she was still able to fight.
And that's what she intended to do. She took out a sword from her Storage.
"Then I'll show you my real Strongest. The Strength that surpasses the limits."
Right after they were chosen as Candidates, Seigi made a sword for Rikimaru. It was this one. It had a simple ability, it increased Rikimaru's power in proportion to the mana it was fed. But that simple ability was ideal for Rikimaru.
The Sannous are a family that value technique more than power. Rikimaru was always considered a failure, at best a tool for political marriage. But Seigi always loved her sister. Now was the time to see the power from the twins combined.
Rikimaru swung her sword. It stopped a centimeter before Lost, but it was hardly a problem. After all, it's the shockwave that was the true attack.
If there was someone in space looking at Earth at that moment, they would have been able to identify the attack. Which wasn't too strange, Rikimaru used Strongest as best she could, and fed all the mana she had to the sword. It was, quite literally, the best she could ever achieve.
In the sky, the clouds parted. On the ground, the earth split open. It was, quite literally, above the level of a natural phenomenon, comparable even to a Divine Disaster like the one that took place in Ginsei Academy months ago. The power was so much that Rikimaru's left arm was completely broken, even healing magic probably wouldn't be able to fix her.
As a result, Lost was…
"Not good enough!"
He was bisected, but quickly put himself back into one. Then, he launched himself at Rikimaru, and Seigi who was right behind her.
Of course, the natural result of that was that the twins were devoured by Lost.
"Kyaaa!"
"Gaaaahhh!"
Maybe because they were both Candidates, or maybe Lost was just being sadistic, he was taking some time to eat them. He was starting from the outside and working his way in, eating the members one by one, part by part.
Swordia wanted to do something, but she was too weak. She knew that, but she still couldn't just escape. What should she do?
Then, out of nowhere, a white ball bounced into the scene. Before Lost could wonder what it was, it began glowing and then burst into light.
"Guaaaah!"
As soon as the light hit Lost, he felt a great pain, the kind he hadn't felt in a long time. It was such a big pain that he let go of the Sannou twins.
Just as Swordia was wondering what had happened, a boy showed up. Amon Gandou, the Devil King Candidate of Fool.
And not just him. The Devil King himself, Barbatos Gandou, stood between Lost and the twins. But it seemed that the one who had thrown the white ball was Amon.
"So the Darkness really is…"
Amon seemed to have his head somewhere else. Even if he was a Triumph Candidate, it didn't seem wise to not pay attention to Lost.
Meanwhile, Barbatos turned to look at Swordia.
"You should take them to a hospital. They might still have a chance of surviving."
"Y-yes."
Swordia grabbed both Rikimaru and Seigi. She noticed how much damage they took, being exposed to Lost for a single second. Their living or dying would depend on how fast Swordia could get them help, so she rushed to a hospital.
"What's this? Did my main dish arrive already?"
"Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Lost seemed to have already recovered and was even rearing for a fight with the Devil King himself. But it seemed the Devil King wasn't taking him seriously.
"From your run-in with Hirono and Aspite a while back, you probably guessed that sensei's looking into you. In fact, I think I have you mostly figured out. Sensei was a little late today, but I promise it won't happen again."
"… What do you want?"
Lost's hostility died down. Even if he felt like he could take on the Devil King, he knew it wasn't true. So he might as well hear him out.
"To be honest, playing this cat and mouse game is boring. So sensei had a good idea. If you promise to show up on the first day of the second term, I'll promise to bring all the other Candidates together. Then, we're going to play a fun game."
"Heeh, I see… fine then, I'll be there. Prepare my meal."
"We'll see whose head will be on the chopping board."
Lost knew to count his luck and leave. Even he knew that the Devil King could dispose of him fairly easily, so why was he being spared? Lost had to wonder about that.
Meanwhile, Barbatos and Amon were talking.
"Are you sure that that was fine?"
"Well, his power is undeniable. So, even if he ends up eating you, he should still turn into an ally."
"Is that the kind of thing you should say?"
"Hey, I'm hoping you'll win. We both know your destiny doesn't end here. How about you? Were you able to confirm your theory?"
"Yeah. The reaction was too strong, it's no power from any Arcana. The Darkness is probably…"
Even if Amon didn't say it, Barbatos could guess it. If that was the case, he'd have to make a call to Michael tonight. What would happen on the first day of the second term would literally determine their futures, for better or worst.
Things are going to get busy soon, Barbatos thought as he and Amon left what remained of the Sannou mansion. In his head, Barbatos also apologized to the twins and their Cards for not arriving earlier.
