As the rest of the group went down to the old capitol for a meetup, Ravel and I walked over to a vast courtyard on the Gremory estate where I would be meeting with whom I'll be training with.
"Besides you, I'll be with two other devils during the training, right?"
"I believe so. Aside from the devil that will be overseeing us."
"Mother never really did tell us who will be officiating, did she?"
Ravel shook her head.
We stood alone in the courtyard for a few minutes until the two devils finally showed up. One of them was a familiar face…
"Yo! White Dragon Emperor!" Riser greeted me, "How's my rival doing?"
"Uh… Good." I replied.
"I hear your harem is coming together nicely! Hell, I wish I had a maiden as fair as a Valkyrie…"
I guess gaining servants is like collecting Pokémon to him.
"I apologize for my colleague," the other devil said, "I am Sairaorg. Heir to the house of Bael."
He had at least ten centimeters over Riser in stature, who was already taller than me. Being as tall as Grayfia and Rias does not seem like much of an accomplishment right now.
Not only that, but he looked like he came straight out of an '80s shonen manga with his sheer muscle mass.
"Don't let his lack of affinity with Destruction magic fool you," Riser commented, pointing to Sairaorg. I didn't really need that warning. "I sparred with him once, and he was easily my hardest opponent."
"Before Milcom Amon," Sairaorg corrected.
Riser started grumbling.
"Already getting at each other's nerves, are we? I guess that's what I get for putting two of the most hot-blooded devils together."
I looked up at who said that. It was… a dragon!
"Didn't you say the person overseeing us was supposed to be a devil?" I asked Ravel.
"Greetings, White Dragon Emperor. I am the former Great Dragon King Tannin."
"… Greetings. May I ask why you said you were the 'former' Dragon King?"
"Because he is technically no longer a dragon," Sairaorg said. "Lord Mephisto Pheles reincarnated him into a devil long ago."
My eyes widened. And I thought I was hot shit for reincarnating a Valkyrie.
"It has been a long time, Tannin…" Albion said to him.
"It has been, indeed, Albion. Hopefully, by the time this is over, I will see the White Dragon Emperor closer to his true form…"
Sairaorg hopped onto Tannin's back. I followed suit, though, unlike Sairaorg, I needed the assistance of my wings.
"It'll be safe to hang onto you, right?" I asked Tannin.
"Don't worry. I'm a very stable flier"
Riser winced. "I think I'll just hail a gryphon or carriage and follow you guys there."
"Don't be such a baby, big brother," Ravel said as she flew up to join us. "This is part of the training."
"Ridiculous. This is barbarian training! I am a noble high-ranking devil-"
Tannin grabbed him and tossed him onto his back. Riser broke the landing with his wings, and he scoffed.
"Now I see why Mom asked you to help us…" I muttered to Ravel. "To babysit your big brother."
"Is everybody ready?"
"No," Riser replied.
"Yes!" the rest of us replied.
"Alright, let's go!"
Tannin lept into the sky and Riser yelped loudly as he took off.
We flew through the Gremory territory at great speed. As the Dragon said, his flight was stable, and we were secured on his back.
After several minutes of flight, we approached a large mountain range.
Littering this mountain range was several dragons and other vast monsters.
"Welcome to my territory!" Tannin announced.
A few moments later, two other dragons showed up next to us.
"You called for us, Lord Tannin?"
"Yes," Tannin replied to the dragon. "I will be working primarily with the White Dragon Emperor. Figure out which of you is taking Sairaorg Bael and who's taking Riser."
The two dragons convened midair to mutter amongst themselves.
"I'm taking Sairaorg."
"You know he's going to be easy to manage. Don't be lazy."
"Sounds to me like you just don't wanna take Riser."
Riser scoffed as we overheard that part of their conversation. The two of them eventually settled it over rock-paper-scissors. It looked so weird seeing two massive creatures engage in a human game.
They eventually reconvened with us.
I overheard the one who appeared to have lost, "Well, I'm an ice dragon after all, makes sense to take the Phenex."
Moments later, we arrived at a snow-covered trail. Me and Sairaorg hopped off followed by Riser. Ravel stayed behind, continuing to ride on Tannin.
"Alright, you three!" Tannin announced. "Your goal is to reach the top of the mountain and find Lady Gabriel's little present. Me and the other dragons will be right behind you to ensure you are making sufficient progress."
Riser didn't look too enthusiastic about that bit…
"There will be caves along the way to stop when you need to camp for the night. Now let's go!"
We started trudging along. Even with the hiking gear, the snow was hindering my movement. Not to mention, the temperature was quite frigid.
Not like that appeared to significantly hinder Sairaorg, who was getting ahead much faster than me.
"Don't let up, White Dragon Emperor!" Tannin called out to me as I was starting to lag slightly.
"Ooh yeah. I can already feel my legs are getting a workout…" I commented.
I used some light magic in one hand to generate some heat and I picked up the pace again.
"Fight, Makoto!" Ravel cheered for me.
I thought I was lagging somewhat, but Riser…
"Yeow! Don't you put my fire out!"
"Then pick up the pace, Lord Riser! Maybe we need to incorporate a chant for motivation!"
"Hell no! I'm not doing that shit!"
"Must you complain, big brother? This training is to help you get stronger!"
He looked like he was being chased by that ice dragon.
"You're doing alright, White Dragon Emperor. Keep up the pace," Tannin assured. "That guy is another can of worms."
"Good grief…"
"Man this training is harder than I expected," Xenovia said, nursing what appeared to be a sore arm as she and Irina arrived back in the Living Room on Break.
"Yeah. Because it's training you out of that 'brute force' strategy you like to use…" Irina replied.
"What someone like me supposed to use with a big sword?"
Irina then turned to me. "Hey, President, what'cha doing?"
I exhaled. "Rossweisse and I are working on breathing exercises. Helps improve the flow of energy to make our attacks more focused and potent."
"I was the one who suggested these particular exercises," Rossweisse commented. "I first used these during my Royal Guard training."
"Oh wow!" Irina exclaimed. "You really are highly skilled."
"I wouldn't have gotten my teacher position without it," she said, and then began to mutter, "Now if only I were as skilled at finding a man…"
"I think it's about time for a break," I said. "Too much stress can negatively affect breath control."
"Oh! Right!" she blurted and then breathed out.
Asia came up to us, "May I massage your shoulders, Ms. Rossweisse?"
"Oh, yes! Thank you so much, dear!"
She immediately looked much more relaxed as Asia went behind the couch and began rubbing Rossweisse's shoulders.
"Oh! That's the spot!" she exclaimed. "Even without Twilight Healing, you're incredible at healing my maladies!"
"You making any progress, Asia?" I asked her.
"Not really…" she said, slightly downtrodden. "I haven't really improved my range quite yet. Ms. Gabriel suggested going around helping out other members of the club."
"Acts of kindness, huh?" Irina said. "That might have an effect on healing!"
Meanwhile, I was overhearing the conversation that Ms. Gabriel was having with Akeno.
"Well, holy and light magic is best used through the channeling of positive energy."
"Such as when I'm thinking about Makoto?"
"Well… That depends... How wholesome are those thoughts?"
Akeno giggled. "Very wholesome, I assure you."
Aika was walking in with Koneko, "Somehow I doubt that."
Koneko seemed to be much more comfortable in her nekomata form, as she walked in with her ears and tail out
"How's your training going?" Xenovia asked.
Koneko suddenly jabbed Aika in the back, who was suddenly knocked across the room.
"Ow!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry…" Koneko commented and then glanced at her fists.
"My, diverting the power from concealing your nekomata form really boosted your power." Akeno commented.
Asia began to rush to Aika's aid.
"Hold on, Asia," Ms. Gabriel said to her. "Start using your Twilight Healing from that position."
"Okay," Asia said as she held out her and hands, which began to glow.
"Now try to focus that energy and fire it at Aika."
She focused hard for a few moments and eventually a green ball of energy formed in her hands.
She extended her arms out, but the ball merely went a few inches and then fizzled out.
Aika groaned, "Yeah, use the Pawn to test brand new techniques, why won't ya!"
"I guess we'll have to work on that one," Ms. Gabriel said as Asia rushed to Aika's side and healed her normally. "Don't worry, we won't be using you as a guinea pig, Aika."
"You'd better not." Aika sat down on the couch next to me and turned on the TV.
"Oh yes! I'm about to come up."
She was signed up for the new season of Underworld WipeOut.
"Ms. Gabriel told me it would be an excellent test of my endurance."
"Oh wow! I remember the Earth version of this show!" Xenovia exclaimed. "It was one of my favorites!"
It was very similar to the version aired on Earth television, except the obstacles stood above a pit of slime.
Aika scratched her head as the previous contestant took a tumble into the slime. "I'm still gonna have to get some of this crap out in the bath."
One of the hosts was none other than Lady Leviathan.
"Ooh! So close!~" she exclaimed. "Maybe next time!"
"Up next is a newcomer. Servant of the one and only Rias Gremory – Aika Kiryuu!"
Aika appeared on the starting line. And then-
"BREAKING NEWS"
"Oh, you've gotta be freakin' kidding me!" Aika exclaimed.
"We have a Breaking News Update," the anchor said. "About a week ago, the notorious stray devil Kuroka had been apprehended on a private train owned by the House of Gremory."
"Her warrant had been previously suspended in exchange for cooperation with the Grigori Organization, but was later arrested after trespassing on the previously mentioned private train. Talks with the Grigori are still ongoing about the terms of her release."
"This isn't news! Get back to my show!"
While the broadcast was ongoing as they continued to interview Lord Shemhazai, Koneko was staring menacingly at the TV.
I was getting near the end of the course. Probably in the next day or so, I'll make it to the top.
I woke up at dawn and began to the next level of the mountain. Climbing was initially awkward for me the first day, but after a little guidance by Sairaorg and Tannin, it had become quite a bit less awkward.
I'm still trying my damnedest not to slip and die. Dying would be a bit hard thanks to my wings, but I couldn't just use my wings to simply fly up these cliffs in light of conserving precious stamina, especially in these frigid temperatures.
Eventually, I reached the top of the cliffside, where Ravel was waiting for me!
"Hey, Makoto!"
I panted in exhaustion, "… Hey, Ravel."
She had a basket full of food. "Let's break for Breakfast. You wouldn't mind, dragon?"
"Not at all," Tannin said, flying up behind me. "You've been making great progress, White Dragon Emperor."
She put the picnic basket down on top of a rock and placed a magic circle down around it to provide some heat.
"Thanks for the food." I took a bite of one of the pancakes in the basket and nodded in approval.
"Is it good? I wasn't able to get all the ingredients I wanted around here…"
"No. This is really good. Up there with my mom or Asia's cooking."
"Thank goodness! My mom taught me well," she said. "So, do you know how my big brother's doing?"
I heard a loud crash and a familiar-sounding yelp.
"Come one, Lord Riser! Say it with me! Dragon! Dragon!"
"D-Dragon!"
"That answer your question?" I asked.
"He worries me," Ravel said. "He may be kind of a spoiled jerk sometimes, but, deep down, he is a kind big brother."
I nodded. "I know he's making some progress… Probably."
"He isn't the type to give in easily. I know it."
"So, do you have any plans while we (or at least me and Sairaorg) are training?"
"I know the President and the others are coming down here for the next couple nights. There's apparently a really nice hot spring."
"Hmm. Interesting. Well, you have fun with that."
I could hear Riser and the Ice Dragon yet again.
"There you go Lord Riser, put your back into it!"
"I swear, when I'm done-!"
"Good grief…"
Later that night, I reached the cave where I would crash for the night. Sairaorg had already arrived and lying down in the corner.
I conjured my sleeping bag and put it down along with some firewood I collected in a pit I had created.
Shortly after, Riser hobbled in.
He conjured his own sleeping bag and lit my fire pit.
"I swear, this training will be the end of me," he said.
"You told me you wanted to become stronger after losing to Milcom," Sairaorg said. "So, we agreed to tag along with Makoto on this little course."
"You don't look like you have much need to get stronger, though," I said to Sairaorg. "Why did you come along with us?"
"I never pass on a chance to improve myself," he replied. "Due to my inability to use my family's Power of Destruction, my mother and I were initially shunned by my family and the title of heir was given to my younger half-brother, Magdaran. However, I trained my body and challenged him to a Rating Game for his title and won."
While Sairaorg was telling me this anecdote, I noticed somebody sneaking alongside the edges of the cave.
He continued, "My brother told me he didn't want the title anyway. He said he would rather go into gardening."
"Excuse me, but someone's trying to sneak out…" I commented.
Sairaorg stood up and grabbed Riser's collar as he attempted to sneak past by him.
"Hey!"
"And just where do you think you're going?" I questioned Riser.
"And what if I say I'm going to check out the girls at the Hot Springs!?"
How the hell did he hear about that? Ravel packed up and followed me with Tannin after we had Breakfast. Did he somehow overhear our conversation!?
"Isn't one of the girls going there your sister?" Sairaorg commented.
"Then we'd have a problem." I answered. "We're here to train, not look at titties."
"And why should it? Isn't it a gentleman's duty to peek inside the hot springs while women are bathing?"
"It's also a gentleman's duty to protect their dignity!"
"Oh really? Let's settle our rivalry here, Short Dragon Emperor!"
I busted out my Divided Gear, "174 cm is hardly short."
"Calm down, you two," Sairaorg said. "We have a big day tomorrow if we intend to finish by tomorrow night. So, I suggest we get some rest instead of fighting or looking at naked women."
Riser scoffed and went to his sleeping bag.
"Tomorrow night, we should go see my ex-fiancé and your girlfriend in the hot springs."
"Good night!" I interjected, grumbling as we dozed off, "Short Dragon Emperor…"
The next day, I faced a rather grueling final stretch. However, the leg and arm strength I built up over the last couple days made the stretch much easier to handle than the first few.
"You're becoming a natural at this, Partner!" Albion said to me.
"Hopefully this will translate into me being able to achieve Balance Breaker on my own."
By that evening, I had hiked up to the final cliffside that stood between me and the peak.
"You're almost there, White Dragon Emperor!" Tannin said as I was climbing up towards the finish line. "Don't give up now!"
"Wasn't planning on it!"
I continued ascending, all the way to the goal.
I planted my hand on the peak!
I hoisted myself up and made it to the end. But I wasn't the only one there.
"That was quick, Makoto!" Sairaorg said as he was sitting on a nearby rock.
"I don't know how to take that, considering you were consistently ahead of me."
"Not by much, considering my strength advantage. You must be become more in sync with your dragon than you were a couple days ago."
"Let's hope so."
"You know where Riser is behind you?"
"I can't seem to find him," Ravel replied, flying in with Tannin. "He must be far behind."
"So, where's this 'present' that Mom was supposed to have left?"
"No idea," Tannin said. "She just said it would be at the goal."
"Well, while we're here, why don't we test to see if you've reached your goal?" Sairaorg said. "I plan to face Rias' group soon, so sparring with you might be worth the while."
"Bring it on, Sairaorg!" I exclaimed.
He charged at me as I busted out my Dividing Gear.
"BALANCE BREAK!"
He continued charging as I clenched up and tried to activate my Balance Breaker.
Nothing.
I had to strafe out of his way with my wings.
"Shit! This isn't working! Albion!?"
"I don't know. Your parameters seem to about ideal now after the training."
I had to quickly dodge another series of blows from Sairaorg.
One-well placed hit could shatter my bones with his physique. And with how quick he is I can't seem to get another window to make another shot.
I had to do something. I flared up my Retribution aura in desperation and fired straight at the ground.
*CRASH*
Both of us were sent to the ground as the shockwave I created had inadvertently broken an ice formation that was obscuring a pit directly below us.
I winced in pain as I rubbed my back.
"You okay!?" Ravel exclaimed as she flew over to my aid.
"Yeah."
"Were you not able to activate Balance Breaker?" Sairaorg asked.
"Not at all," I replied. "I don't know why."
"There may be one last push that you may need before you can bring your Balance Breaker out," Tannin said.
"Well, if that push isn't anything lewd, I'm all game."
I looked around at my surroundings. There were some steps leading back up as well as a strange door.
I stood up. "Wait. There might be something beyond this door."
I pushed open the door and went in, followed by Ravel and Sairaorg. The area was surprisingly well-lit as we followed the hallway into a circular area where we finally found my mother's present.
"Ascalon!" I exclaimed. "That's where Mother put it!"
And like a true holy sword, it was buried deep within a rock.
I grabbed the hilt with both my hands and tugged with all my might.
I tried again with my Dividing Gear active to no avail.
I had to catch my breath, "I don't suppose you want to try, Sairaorg…"
"I think Lady Gabriel is wanting this to be the test for your Balance Breaker."
"Well, I can't seem to activate it right now, so I guess I'll have to try a bit later."
"Hang on," Ravel interjected. "I think I found something else."
She had wiped off the dust on a wall on the other side of the chamber to reveal what appeared to be a hidden switch. She pushed on it and the wall opened up to reveal another dimly-lit passageway.
"Well, I'll be damned," I said. "I don't supposed Mother even noticed this."
"Let's wait until Riser makes it here and we'll explore this part." Sairaorg said.
I nodded and we turned around to find-
"Well! Fancy meeting you here!" Rahab Amon exclaimed as we caught her trying to pull out Ascalon herself.
"How did you even get here?" I asked. I was more perplexed than angry at seeing her here.
"Well, I'm tight with one of the dragons here, and he said that he saw Ascalon here, so he gave me a ride here."
"What does your dragon friend want dealing with the Khaos Brigade!?" Ravel questioned.
"Relax. I don't work officially with them," she said. "That was a part-time gig through my family connections. My primary gig is with my crew."
"Your crew?" I asked.
"You met them when I mistakenly crashed your date with Lady Rias' queen," she said. "I formed the gang in the Underworld and brought them to Earth to help me look for the sword."
"And what does a devil like you want with the sword?"
"I'm actually part-angel."
…
"Part-angel?" I confirmed.
She revealed her true wings. She had one angel wing and a devil wing. Her halo also had a silver glow.
"Lord Ahab Amon may be my father, but my mother is the former angel Iblis," she said. "That's why I can wield a holy sword so well."
"That's strange," Sairaorg commented. "Lord Amon having a child with an angel is news to me. I thought his wife died years ago."
"I don't know the story. But because of my birth, I have none of the weaknesses of typical devils."
So that's how she somehow shrugged off an injury from Ascalon.
"Well… I don't suppose we're 'finishing our business' tonight."
"Well, since I can't seem to get Ascalon out of this stupid rock – no we're not. If you need me at any time, my crew is currently located within the Gremory territory. You will know how to get to me."
She ran off.
"Good grief…" I exclaimed "We need to meet up with Riser and investigate whatever lies in this passageway."
"If it's alright with you," Ravel said, "I'm going to join the others in the hot spring."
"Sure," I said.
She teleported away.
We waited for several minutes on the peak and eventually Tannin agreed to let us backtrack to search for him, which lead us back to the cave.
"That's odd," I said. "I thought he would at least have made some progress."
"He must have exhausted himself and went back here for the night," Sairaorg said.
I went to his sleeping bag to possibly make fun of him, except what was in his sleeping bag was a wooden dummy!
"Son of a BITCH!" I exclaimed.
"Where is he?" Sairaorg said.
"I know where he is…"
I dashed out of the cave and busted out my Dividing Gear.
The only thing that would make me fast enough to catch him, is my Scale Mail! That ended up being the push I needed. I began to glow and instantly transformed into my dragon armor as I leapt out of the cave.
My angel wings were replaced by a new set of dragon wings as I sped off in pursuit of Riser.
"You did it, Partner!" Albion said. "You transformed on your own power!"
"Now all I gotta do is find El Pollo Loco. I can't let him peep on Rias and Akeno!"
I saw some steam in one direction and followed it, which hopefully will lead to Riser.
Fortunately, he wasn't hard to find with his bright flaming devil wings.
I intercepted him right as he entered the vicinity of the hot springs.
"Stop right there, Riser Phenex!"
"Oh, so you managed to achieve Balance Breaker after all!" he said. "But you still can't stop me from seeing Lady Rias' breasts!"
"Not if I can help it!"
"Don't lie and say you don't want a peek as well!" he said, firing a massive volley of flame at me, which I dodged and returned with a powerful Retribution shot that blew his arm clean off.
"Crap! I'm so sorry!"
Then I immediately remembered why his family was called Phenex.
The arm quickly regenerated in a pillar of flames as I narrowly blocked a punch from the other arm.
"No offense taken!" he said.
He engulfed the arm I blew off in flames and followed up with a massive explosive punch.
Without the protection of the Scale Mail I would have surely been turned into paste, but instead it sent me hurtling to the ground.
But then I realized where I was hurtling towards as I landed on the ground with a massive splash as my Scale Mail dissipated.
"Makoto! Are you alright!?" I heard Rias' voice say to me.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Asia said to me. "I'll heal you!"
"My, my. He should have paid more attention if he wanted to see us before you…"
I opened my eyes to find out I had landed in the hot springs next to them and the rest of the club… and they were all…
Wearing towels.
"Well, that's a surprise…"
Asia took my coat off and laid it to the side.
Riser landed right outside of the hot springs, likely realizing the error of his attack.
"You've got to be shitting me! Towels!?"
"This was to be mixed from the start, as we were anticipating Makoto to join us from the start…" Akeno commented.
"You're not the only one here, either." Yuuto waved to me.
"Plus, I knew you were going to try and snoop, big brother," Ravel added. "So, I warned them, and they decided to take precautions regardless."
Riser looked panicked. "C-Can I still join in?"
Koneko, with her cat ears out, cracked her knuckles and answered. "No."
She sucker-punched him, launching him quite a distance away from the hot springs.
"Now no stupid ex-arranged fiancés can get in the way of you realizing your fantasy," Aika commented.
I sighed and changed into a towel with magic.
"I'm not gonna complain. I need some much-needed R&R after these past few days."
Akeno giggled and grabbed a sponge, "Would you complain if I help you wash?"
I was much stronger, and judging from that little scuffle, so was Riser, but we still need to get to the bottom of whatever lays beyond that door on top of the mountain, not to mention wrapping my head around the bombshell about the house of Amon.
But that can wait until tomorrow.