Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

68. Chapter 68

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

68- Gremory Vs Sitri: To Arms

….

"So, who has it?" Azazel asked cautiously and all eyes turned to the Noble Phantasm specialist in the room.

If Shirou was honest with himself he wasn't sure. "I think Tsubasa-san is a strong candidate."

"And what gave it out? The odd color of hair or the fact she has been, how did that commenter say it again? Ignoring Ki and taking hits nobody had business taking." The Old Man of the North chipped with a chuckle. "Ah, she sounded so frustrated too. Not impartial at all."

"Lord Odin…" Rossweisse tried to sound like she wasn't complaining, she really did. And failed miserably.

"Yoruichi is doing her best. Considering how much she cares for Koneko, she is doing fine." Xenovia pointed out, sitting on her chair and watching the many screens.

Thanks to their VIP box everyone could have their own 'screen' to watch the game or share it with the room and by Shirou's insistence they ended up creating several of them and filled the windows so they could see every angle constantly.

Not that all of them could process everything but Azazel was one of them and he had doubts. "Are you sure she is the one?" He pointed to Tomoe, struggling against Kiba. "That girl isn't strong enough to win this fight and yet she isn't trying to hold Kiba back." His finger moved towards the image of a struggling Tsubaki as Akeno's chains danced around her. "Not like that one. Those were the eyes of someone desperate. Someone trying to buy time at any cost."

"Noticed that too, huh?" Sirzechs wasn't smiling anymore, his observations very similar to Azazel's. Thoughts his wife also shared by the way her face twitch just enough for him to notice. "In any case if this was a normal match I would say Rias had the advantage."

"But?" Zeoticus coached his son.

"But too many on Sona's side are too confident. Her Knight is just one of them."

Rossweisse could agree with Lucifer completely. She had seen many resigned and defeated eyes but on the whole of Sona Peerage only one person, her Queen, had such a look.

But she wasn't the one occupying the Valkyrie's thoughts. "That man is too cold."

"Rossweisse?" Shirou heard her whisper and glanced at her for a moment before focusing on the fights again.

"Kuzuki Souichirou… was it? His moves, his demeanor, they are too…"

"Machine-like." Xenovia nodded with a nod of agreement. "He was always like this. Honestly I can't watch his class without being on edge."

"Wait, he is a teacher?" Rossweisse had seen warriors take the roles of teachers before but none of them as emotionless as Kuzuki was proving himself to be.

All could see as Luvia tried to pin the man down, counter his attacks or blow him away with magic but every single attempt was neutralized with brutal efficiency which always ended with her getting punished even when she wasn't overextending.

Meanwhile he did all that, Kuzuki's face didn't change one bit. Not a twitch of surprise, exertion or amusement to be found. Had someone said the man was made of stone they would find Rossweisse believing them.

Grayfia knew better. "Kuzuki-sensei's past is to remain private by his own request, both lady Rias and lady Sona are well aware due to their duties as Second Owners." She looked at Shirou, making sure he knew the next words were for him. "If you so desire, Shirou-sama, I can make the information available to you."

And be disappointed if he took the offer. "No thanks. He doesn't seem to be trying to do any permanent damage."

"If he was then the girl would have been one eyed like me by now." Odin commented with a laugh that had Rossweisse flinching at the cruel joke. "That man has some killer instinct but it is completely under control, I can see that much."

"Does he?" Medusa asked. While her eyes never left Akeno's fight, and she loved watching her High Priestess dominate an adversary, she was still paying attention to all others. "He has no blood lust nor interest. If anything he is taking care of everything like it was just a chore."

"Ah but his killer habits are still there." Odin commented while pointing to his eye. "Even the way he uses his hands, like daggers of steel instead of flesh, you can tell he is actively avoiding the most efficient targets of his own volition."

"And he isn't missing a beat." Setsuna commented, her eyes fixed on her teacher ever since the match began. "I also can't see any other energy from him. Perhaps if I was there I could but…"

That got Medusa to rub her chin. "Nothing visible and he is hitting hard. Is that some sort of magic?"

"Not a magician." Liz chipped in from the side, a bowl of ice cream in her lap.

Several pairs of eyes turned to her. "Are you sure?" Zeoticus asked and the maid nodded.

Followed by nods from Shirou and Setsuna, the hanyou commenting, "I never felt any trace of mana from him in the slightest."

"If her nose didn't get anything I wouldn't, anyhow." His eyes were on the game and refused to leave it, especially one particular person.

"His whole fighting style revolves around sure kill moves." Sirzechs supplied happily which shocked Venelana.

"He wasn't part of Sona Peerage last time she was here. Are you saying our daughter had a chance to recruit such a strong individual and didn't take it?" As a devil the former Bael was somewhat disappointed.

"They had their reasons." Sirzechs offered weakly.

"Reasons her friend apparently discarded." Venelana retorted aggressively. "What sort of Piece is he anyway? A Rook?"

Nobody knew the answer. "I could verify if you wish, Lady Gremory." Grayfia offered after a second only for Shirou to shake his head.

"Won't make a difference now." His eyes were jumping around all the fights as his inner self tried to reproduce some of the movements in his Reality Marble, trying to find a pattern. "You asked me who had a Noble Phantasm, right?"

Blinking at the topic coming back, Azazel nodded. "Tsubasa?"

"I don't know." The Mage replied honestly. "I really don't know because she isn't the only one fighting like she is holding back."

"I see…" Odin understood immediately and one by one everybody began to realize the implications of it.

"I mean, is that possible?" Rossweisse asked upon seeing her god's pensive look. He was really considering an outrageous train of thought. "Could they all really have Noble Phantasms?"

"Most but not all." Sirzechs commented, eyes on Kuzuki. "We still don't know how Sona did it either but…"

"If she can arm peerages with Noble Phantasms then the Underworld military power will grow exponentially for every Piece." His wife concluded his train of thought, the implications staggering.

Only for Medusa to shake her head, eyes landing on Shirou. "Using Noble Phantasms isn't that easy." Her Champion nodded but she kept going. "They aren't using it yet either so they may be the kind of weapons that need certain conditions to activate."

"If they are weapons at all." Azazel leaned forward, watching all the fights with deep fascination.

"It is not… I mean." Rossweisse paused, also checking every fight with a critical look. "Could they really acquire so many Noble Phantasms?"

Liz was the one who asked the most important question. "Why not?"

Instantly everyone knew the maid had a point; without knowing how it was done how could any of them claim it was either impossible or even improbable.

Standing in his Reality Marble, Shirou saw all the Noble Phantasms he ever came across surrounding him in a circle. Considering his condition he knew it was possible but his own existence was so singular he couldn't see the exact how as of yet. But it was hard to disagree that someone else could reach similar results through effort with the right set up.

'A Reality Marble still isn't True Magic.' He took a deep breath before saying, "In any case Noble Phantasms don't necessarily mean victory." Shirou's eyes settled on Tsubasa, a pit of dread forming in his stomach. "Nor are so freely given."

…

'This is bullying. It has to be.' Tomoe couldn't help but complain in the back of her mind as a blade of wind almost cut her down and she almost slipped on a ball.

Truly the wind wasn't going to really cut her down, just scratch her as the Gremory Knight wasn't really pulling any power behind his attacks or calling the swords' names to unleash their full might.

Instead he was focusing on trying to force his opponent out of the cramped store full of miscellaneous sports articles that made it harder for him to move. Just him because Tomoe was proving herself to be far more agile than he was even if Kiba was sure he was faster.

In either case he was right behind her, a green sword in his left hand and a white one in his right. "There is no escape." Kiba took a swing with the white sword and a trail of ice moved to capture Tomoe's leg. She managed to dodge by jumping on a wall and running on it, surprising the blond. "Since when can you do that?"

"Maybe I always did and you didn't know because you refused to spar with me." The Sitri Knight maneuvered until she reached the true back of the store and laid on top of a huge baseball bat suspended in the area.

Certainly a hazard for a normal store but this was basically a ring and devils didn't care about it.

Yet Kiba chose to ignore the scenery and focus on the girl. "No, you couldn't. I watched you spar once and you were not even close to that agile."

"You watched me spar?" She was pretty sure to have no memory of the blond ever doing it but found the notion somewhat flattering. "When did that happen? And why did nobody tell me?"

"Just stumbled on your team practicing your moves once a few months ago. You are quite skilled with the blade but past me had no interest in humoring you." He confessed with a sincere smile asking for forgiveness. Fact was that Kiba knew he was stronger than her even then and was too focused on revenge to try and approach someone for a fun spar unless he needed to. "Maybe if you have asked a month or so ago after some stuff happened-"

"Then we could have practiced together!" It did help that, unlike most girls on Kuoh, Tomoe had no romantic feelings for him so Kiba would have accepted. "Well damn."

Kiba shrugged, smile still in place. "We can correct that later if you want but for now we have a Rating Game to finish." Crossing his swords the blond gathered mana around them. "You better use that Noble Phantasm if you want to keep up."

Mana circulated the blades as they were activated at the same time before the Knight unleashed a double slash that released both their elements. It was a powerful attack that wouldn't destroy anything in the store but he was sure it would harm the girl at least a little.

After all he called a real, "Instant Blizzard!"

Wind and ice danced together, the store growing covered with snow as the temperature fell close to zero faster than nature could do on its own.

So low in fact that the ice from the blades didn't even need to hit anywhere for it to form from the very air growing solid. Not that Tomoe cared for that as the attack still connected and fragments of ice began to cut her body before she dove to the side. Her escape wasn't clean as the wind pushed several american football helmets from a shelf on her head.

Protecting herself the girl took the gauntlet and kept running through the falling objects without looking back. 'I don't want to be the first.' Tomoe complained to herself but realized she didn't have any real choice. Kiba was too strong and she found herself lacking. "Damn it! I didn't know I was so weak."

"Most people don't until they are cornered." The Gremory Knight was running beside her with his usual smile. Not for the first time Tomoe found it annoying. "But only when knowing you are weak can you grow strong!" He commented while swinging his swords at her. When her katana blocked the man's weapons she saw it was a trap as her weapon was quickly covered by ice. "Looks like I got you."

"No you didn't!" Abandoning her sword stung her pride a bit but the Sitri Knight let it go before the ice reached her hands. She jumped backwards several times as Kiba bashed her discarded sword away and channeled mana on his blades one more time.

"Instant Blizzard!" As a devil Tomoe could take flight and avoid the hit but soon noticed her folly as Kiba had forced her to move on an area with a lower ceiling.

It took her hitting her head to notice it as it was the changing room with several cabins to try new clothes and no way for anyone to take a peek from above. Obviously she had no space to escape and barely managed to raise her arms making a magic circle before the blizzard hit.

A hit so hard that Tomoe found herself pushed into the wall and making an imprint on it as ice began to cover her. Winter version or not, bullet proof or not, her uniform was barely protecting the girl at all, especially her tights that were exposed. Fact was that it was a uniform to use inside a school, not to face the elements.

Fortunately for her the attack didn't last long and for it to keep going Kiba needed to take another swing with his weapons, something he hesitated to do when Tomoe fell to her knees with her eyes closed and several wounds.

He gave her a moment to compose herself before asking. "Do you wish to surrender?" Chivalry wasn't dead after all.

However in that moment he shouldn't have been chivalrous, not because Tomoe didn't appreciate it because she did, just on several levels. "Ahh! I can't beat you." She acknowledged bitterly. "You're faster than me, stronger than me. Are we really the same age?"

"Well, I am a month or so older, right?" Kiba asked gently. "Also I have been training with swords for way longer than you."

"What? Were you born with one or something?" Tomoe took her time getting up, mana flowing around her body showing she wasn't out just yet.

Fine with the blond who was confident in his victory regardless. "Haha, not really. Then again my sacred gear is Sword Birth so maybe?" Kiba shrugged, preparing his swords for another blizzard. "You will never reach me before I take you out."

A truth that Tomoe couldn't deny. "Pretty much. Crap, I really didn't want to be the first… No, I wanted to beat you with my own power, show you that I am a true swordswoman." Mana focused around her heart, her Core, her Evil Piece.

"I should apologize for all the times you asked for a spar and I rejected it. It wasn't personal and had nothing to do with you. I was just in a bad place at the time." Kiba couldn't feel it and only saw when the Knight of Sitri's power retreated back on her. In his mind that was pretty much a surrender but he didn't lower his guard. "If it is any consolation I promise to spar with you once per week for a month after this. Just to fix that mistake."

Tomoe's eyes began to shine at such a promise. "You better not forget it," hand landed on her breast as the hidden power answered her call, "after you lose!"

From her breast the girl pulled a sword that almost seemed made of light in Kiba's eyes and he didn't waste a second. "Instant Blizzard!" Once more his swords unleashed their combined elements, filling the hallway and most of the store with ice.

However Tomoe didn't fear such an attack before and with that sword in her hands she feared it even less. The milliseconds it took for the blizzard to reach was the time she needed for her body to grow light as a feather and for her stats to rise as the blade's Legend empowered her.

Already she could imagine herself not as Meguri Tomoe from the Sitri Clan but as a young noble from a prestigious clan with a playful nature and a penchant for chaos or mischief depending who asked.

The sword in her hand was a new katana with a black handle colored with some red and silver. It was small, perfect for someone of a lower stature and of excellent make, perfect to cut man and monster alike. For most intents and purposes it looked like a simple sword and if anything the interesting part of the weapon was its handle that looked like a raccoon's tail.

When Tomoe's hand began to draw the weapon she felt as if no wind could stop her charge and the blizzard before her was nothing but a small breeze. She charged, practically gliding without wings after a single step, her weapon dancing at speeds unmatched as it cut down the icicles from the storm.

It wasn't an attempt of an escape as much as it was a counter attack. The advantage of the position Kiba trapped her in was that he had as few escaping avenues as her. Sure his back wasn't on the wall but his sides were blocked.

The blade danced, cutting all the ice as Tomoe took a second step and reached her opponent with a confident smile. Her attack came in the form of a stab and Kiba almost lost the fight as his two swords barely had time to stop the tip of her weapon. He didn't have time to process anything but instinctively tried to freeze her weapon as soon as they made contact.

Only for Tomoe to kick the floor and do a flip over his head, her sword arm moving fast even in the compromising position. Her blows reached her opponent and Kiba barely managed to save his shoulders and arms from her attacks. Attacks that in fact pierced his uniform and armor with ease.

When she landed Tomoe tried to kick the Gremory Knight back but Kiba refused to be pinned. The moment he had a wall on his back he would lose because of the new reality where the Sitri Knight was faster than him. So he used his swords' elements separately to accelerate his weapons and try to cut her down.

It failed, her leg kicking one of his hands away as the other blade was blocked by her own. Both kept moving, Kiba releasing one of his weapons to call Holy Eraser mid swing while Tomoe finished her spin and brought her sword for another block.

The sides struggled for a moment, quickly realizing that Kiba was still the stronger party in their match. The blond tried to capitalize on it as he brought Wind Monarch back to attack the ginger's shoulder but she repositioned and escaped with a slash to his chest.

Shirou's armor saved him, of which Kiba was sure when despite its presence he could few the blow scratch his skin. Without it he would be done.

Mostly the blond also was only in the game because his opponent didn't aim for the head as that would be a wound he wouldn't survive, Rating Game precautions be damned. And he knew it. He also knew the reason he failed to block most of her strikes was because she suddenly grew faster than him the moment that sword appeared.

Still she took a few pot shots to his temple with her sword's handle and about it the Knight could only say that it hurt a lot but wasn't fatal or crippling.

He watched her with wariness as Tomoe skipped back with a giggle of excitement. "That is some good armor." She acknowledged before her eyes focused on Kiba's. "Do you want to surrender now? Or after I cut it into pieces?"

For a moment the Knight of Gremory didn't reply, careful steps carrying him away from the trap he previously had his opponent on. "That is a Noble Phantasm."

There wasn't even a need to ask as the power that sword was projecting was enough to outshine all of his own weapons by a lot and it had easily managed to damage an armor made to survive one of Muramasa's creations.

Tomoe had no problems letting Kiba escape, her confidence shooting through the roof as she held her blade in front of herself proudly. "Care to guess which one?"

"Not even bothering in denying?" He replied playfully.

"Doesn't matter. This is a Noble Phantasm, the power of a Legend usually afforded to Heroic Spirits and that will take the Sitri to the top. No, it will take us to the top!" With a casual slash Tomoe cut in half several sports articles around her, including some baseball helmets and bats. "Also it has no weakness so even if you can guess its Legend it won't make a difference."

Kiba didn't know if he believed in her or not. "Then care to share? I mean, most of the Underworld is watching us. You can give them a show."

The ginger blinked before looking around, suddenly remembered they had an audience. "Oh yeah, we do… Why not?" Tomoe held her blade vertically with a smirk. "Or do you want to try and guess?"

Already with enough space to run if necessary, Kiba laughed. "Not really. Best I can do is say that it is a Japanese katana."

"This is more than a Japanese katana! If anyone could find the original they would have a historical treasure in their hands!" Tomoe proclaimed. "After all this blade once belonged to Minamoto-no-Raikou before finding its true owner; the Greatest Strategist of Old Japan, Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune!"

A moment of silence passed before Kiba chuckled with embarrassment. "Sorry but the name isn't familiar."

"Tut tut tut. You need to brush up your knowledge in Japanese History a little more, Kiba-kun." Tomoe commented playfully. "Maybe you know the other names a little better; ever heard the Wandering Tales of Shana-oh? Or maybe about Ushiwakamaru?!"

"Ushiwakamaru…" Indeed Kiba knew that name, his King was a fan of Japanese culture so it would be hard for him to not do so.

Strategist, noble, descendant of heroes, Ushiwakamaru was a reverent figure from Japanese History and the sort of person that was easy going when with allies but terrifying against enemies.

A warrior with few peers, there were many stories about such a person, one of the most famous being the dispute against Benkei where the monk not only admitted defeat but became a loyal retainer, both dying together after Ushiwakamaru's brother's betrayal.

'The greater the Legend, the more powerful the Noble Phantasm.' Kiba remembered with dread as the sword couldn't leave his eyes.

Ushiwakamaru's Legend was well known around Japan, told and retold in many forms of media so people could always remember it even if just the highlights. A tragic tale of talent and envy, of duty and sacrifice, honor and loss. A complex character that was loved by many, at least after death.

With the advent of modern animation, Ushiwakamaru's Legend spread further around the globe. Even if the details escaped most people, even if they only knew about the fight with Benkei, or their deaths, or any other detail, it spread. The more people know the stronger the Heroic Spirit of Ushiwakamaru will be if ever summoned.

That also translated to Noble Phantasms, every single one of them, that sword included.

Powerwise it looked inconspicuous. There was no explosion of mana, no blinding light or ghost of warriors from the past standing besides its current user. But its presence was still massive and Kiba could feel it, Shirou's Muramasas failing on something fundamental compared to it.

They lacked a true identity, an identity Ushiwakamaru's sword had. The closest things that came to the Knight of Gremory's mind were Caliburn and Bakuya which rang true for him.

Yet the power there lacked something that God's Holy Sword and the White Twin had, its absence didn't diminish its luster but Kiba was sure that was missing.

Took him a moment to realize what. "It is borrowed, isn't it." Kiba realized with a smile that made Tomoe flinch. She should have hid her reaction better. "I was right. You don't have all its powers."

"... That isn't technically wrong…" Admitted Tomoe while scratching her cheek embarrassedly. "I mean, you have to ask Olga-chan for more details on how this whole thing works but don't think Usumidori is weak!" With a foot raised to her knee the girl pointed her sword at Kiba from the side. "With it I'm almost as strong as Ushiwakamaru in her prime!"

What Tomoe said sounded intriguing to Kiba's ears. "Sounds like you met her." His observation only made her smile grow which in turn made his eyes grow wide. "Did Olga Marie manage to summon a Heroic Spirit?!"

"Hah, I wish. Then I could show Ushiwakamaru how much Japan has changed." Her smile turned into a sad one. "No, we only met once and she bestowed me with Usumidori but that doesn't matter." Mana bursted around Tomoe and Kiba felt how strong she really became with a Noble Phantasm in her hands. "I wanted to defeat you with my own abilities but… well, winning is winning!"

Her dash was faster than before, way faster, but Kiba was already anticipating the attack and raised his blades in time, Holy Eraser taking the brunt of the attack and cracking upon impact as Wind Monarch kept pushing back.

But that left him open for the raccoon tail-like sheath that hit his chin and forced him to look up. With a smile Tomoe pushed his swords to the side to slash his shoulder but Wind Monarch unleashed a gust that pushed its owner to the side so he avoided the hit. But just about and the ginger wasn't done as she easily chased with a jump trying to cut his arm off.

Kiba almost lost it, "Sword Birth!" If he hadn't made his Jet Sword and used its ability in the nick of time.

The blond allowed his weapon to take him far away from the girl, flying at full speed out of the store only to land on a glass and falling inside another one. A beach articles store this time.

Not that Kiba cared as he jumped to his feet and watched Tomoe look at him with a smirk. "Time to take it up a notch!" Sheathing her sword and closing her eyes the girl let out a wave of demonic energy that involved her completely. "Decapitator of spiders, bring the enemy's head for the sake of my master." Then she opened them and shouted. "Usumidori! Decapitating Blade Steps!"

With its True Name unleashed, Noble Phantasm increased her already boosted parameters another two fold and she disappeared with a speed that even Kiba couldn't keep up with. At least not with his eyes as his instincts were screaming about the danger long before Usumidori was called.

Few people in the audience saw when Tomoe attacked and even fewer saw that Kiba was trying to preemptively dodge before the attack was executed. Then it came and nothing the blond did saved his swords which were both cut in half trying to block the slash, or his right shoulder that was cut to the bone.

Blood practically jumped from him to try and follow the angle of the slash as it flew after Tomoe who landed on the back of the store below some umbrellas on display. There the girl remained with her sword held high, blood dripping from its steel as she kneeled in a stance ready to spring forward again.

For his part Kiba took a look at her before moving his arm and trying to stop the bleeding. 'So this is the full power of a complete Noble Phantasm. And I wanted to destroy Excalibur?! Am I an idiot?' He was glad nobody could hear his thoughts. "That was quite brutal, Tomoe-san."

Calmly he summoned a magic circle with his usable hand and took EM from it, making sure the scalpel was hidden by his hand so she didn't notice it. With how big the wound was it would take a ton of mana to heal everything. He either needed to get back to Asia or grit his teeth and deal with it.

"Haha! See?! That is Usumidori's power!" Slowly Tomoe got up and turned to him, the power once surrounding her body diminishing. Just the much used on the last attack though, as the Noble Phantasm's power had returned to its previous state, still stronger than him by far. "Ready to surrender now?"

Realizing the danger he was in Kiba began to stall. "Hardly fair when you use a Noble Phantasm like that. I can't even use my arm anymore." He commented while moving his body around and making the limp member 'dance'. A morbid image he could see bothered the girl. "Talk about a cheap shot."

Biting her lips, Tomoe shook her head. "This is a Rating Game; there is no such thing as cheap shots and stuff like that." The ginger took a step forward only for her knee to buckle a little, catching the blond's attention. "And if you aren't going to surrender I am going to cut you up until you do."

Kiba studied her face for more than a few seconds and noticed an excess of sweat that definitely wasn't there before mixed up with a small frown of her eyebrows like she was struggling with something.

He couldn't see why since she held all the advantages but decided to take a gamble and healed his arm just enough to stop the bleeding before hiding EM in his sleeve. Slowly he moved his hand closer to his face and pretended to stare at it but in truth was watching the girl.

When she didn't immediately attack, Kiba debated if it was out of consideration or if it was something else. "Well, I am not quitting." Still taking a gamble he called his Sword Birth to create Holy Eraser one more time. "So make me."

A harsh resolved look grew on Tomoe's face. "You bet I will." When she charged it was far slower than before even if her power was the same.

Still Kiba didn't underestimate her, expecting a feint of some kind, and took several steps back. Once again she reached him faster than most could see however not fast enough for the Gremory Knight. Holy Eraser parried Usumidori to the side successfully and the blond realized her strength was also slightly reduced.

But just slightly as the returning sword proved by cutting Holy Eraser in half. Kiba didn't even bother to stay still and try to counter, disengaging completely by turning his back to Tomoe.

The ginger blinked with surprise but didn't hesitate to chase him, the two moving around several chairs and towels before Kiba landed on an area with fake sand. The blond could feel the skin on his shoulder ripping itself apart due to effort but chose to focus on his legs to keep running.

When he took a sharp turn the Knight of Gremory turned completely and placed a hand on the floor. "Sword Birth!"

Another gamble as he didn't know if the damage was going to be too much or not but Kiba still made a wall of steel on the path, one that Tomoe saw and could clearly avoid by jumping over it.

Instead the girl cut the swords in half to keep her charge going, Usumidori approaching rapidly to hit for another stab that Kiba barely managed to avoid by jumping over a chair and kicking it in Tomoe's direction.

When she once again refused to jump Kiba couldn't help but smile which made Tomoe stop. "Is this a trap?" She asked while looking around. "Are you setting something up?"

Keeping his smile in place Kiba moved his right hand over his shoulder one more time, EM activating. "No, just running away, trying to understand your Noble Phantasm. Anything to get an advantage." His smile remained the same but from her glare it was clear Tomoe believed him. "Usumidori gives you more speed and power, right? Anything else?" When he saw her grit her teeth the blond's smile grew more confident. "There is nothing else, is there?"

"I don't need anything else." Mana surrounded Tomoe and she sheathed her sword getting into position to unleash its full power again. Instead of staying in place Kiba turned around and ran, shocking the ginger. "Get back here?!"

"Attack from there. You certainly were fast enough." Despite replying the Knight of Gremory didn't bother to turn around which just made the Sitri Knight frustrated. And he already understood why. "How are the legs? Still hurting?"

With a grunt of irritation Tomoe bit her tongue and charged at Kiba with all speed she could muster. Or at least as much speed she could with her legs pretty much catching fire from overextension. An unfortunate side effect from unleashing Usumidori's True Name.

No, the sword wasn't cursed or demanded any sort of cost to use its full ability. In fact Tomoe didn't even need to charge herself with mana to call its True Name, she did it because it was either that or rip herself apart. Muscles, bones, blood vessels, would all be torn open as Tomoe wasn't the right person to use Usumidori.

She wasn't Minamoto-no-Raikou nor Ushiwakamaru. She wasn't a Heroic Spirit or even a particularly strong devils. All Tomoe could claim to be was average even if she could use swords fairly well but that was due to training more than anything.

"Usumidori's power is for cutting, right? But to use it you need a certain level of skill." Kiba commented flatly, smile still in place. Tomoe was starting to understand most of Kuoh boys' desire to punch it. "When you call its name it forces you to the same level as Ushiwakamaru, right?"

'Right on the nail's head.' Tomoe wanted to cry for having such a weakness exposed by the enemy. Worse yet it wasn't just hers but a defect of Olga Marie's process to summon Noble Phantasms.

The long white haired girl succeeded in her experiment and managed to call forth the weaponry of Heroic Spirits by allowing people to make contact with them and request their arms.

Truly Tomoe had talked with Ushiwakamaru who was revealed to be an upbeat and cheerful girl much to her surprise. She could still remember that long raven hair tied in a cute bun, the light white armor, the daring smile and the upbeat attitude while they talked in some plane outside of existence.

"Forced is… exactly the right word." She admitted with a sigh as she relaxed her muscles and let them rest a bit. Just fine with Kiba who used the time to fix his shoulder. "I'm not as strong as Ushiwakamaru, not even close. I mean, I only met her once but-"

"First Okita-san and now Ushiwakamaru…" He found it funny that it happened twice. That wasn't even mentioning what Shirou told everyone about King Arthur's true gender.

"What was that?" The ginger asked with a glare at being interrupted.

Realizing he still needed a little more time to make his arm at least usable, Kiba bowed apologetically. "Nothing, nothing, keep going." He bowed his head again, saying. "Just remind me to introduce you to Lucifer-sama's Knight. I think you will get a kick out of meeting her."

"... Anyway, Olga-chan said that we met somewhere outside of existence when… I don't know if I should tell you these things. Actually I shouldn't." With a new glare she raised her sword one more time.

However by then Kiba could already move his arm again even if it was far from fully healed. "Point is that you can't use that attack all the time. You aren't as strong as Ushiwakamaru, you are lacking. Every time you use her technique you are-"

"Just her full power! Usumidori can get me close enough to her without going all out so that I'm still stronger than you!" A truth he couldn't deny.

Yet Kiba was confident as a broad sword appeared in his hands and he held it close to his face. A huge blade taller than his arm, polished to perfection made of the purest steel that Sword Birth could create. It was his pride, his joy and the result of his month-long training.

"Yeah, you are stronger than me, faster than me. Heck, you were practically running laps around me ever since that sword showed up." He could hear them, the voices who kept him moving even after they were long gone. "But we can still win."

With such a declaration that utterly baffled the ginger, Kiba raced towards the exit of the store. "Wait, are you going to fight or not?" Tomoe began pursuing him immediately, her legs already much better.

They didn't get very far as the blond reached the sports article store from before and turned to face her with a grin on his face. "I probably can't face Ushiwakamaru," certainly not if just a fraction of her power could cut his blades into pieces, "but we certainly can beat you."

"You keep saying 'we', Kiba-kun. Did you lose your mind?" She asked half in concern, half in mocking as she jumped out of the store and prepared to rush him.

Kiba just smiled before shouting to the heavens. "Balance Break!" Mana bursted from his body in a powerful flash that blinded Tomoe for a second, forcing her back. When she opened her eyes she saw that Kiba hadn't changed at all, instead he was no longer alone. "Blade Brotherhood!"

Surrounding Yuuto Kiba were warriors made of steel, ruby, emerald, gold and sapphire. Indeed Tomoe counted the five knights with care, noticing all of them had the same broadsword as their creator but in their respective colors.

Tomoe was sure that there was nobody in those armors yet she could almost feel the eyes beneath the helmets staring at her aggressively. Even that should be impossible since there was no space for their eyes in any of the helmets but a shiver went through her spine when the ruby one leaned forward 'staring' at her.

Smooth surfaces, with defined edges, they all looked like a royal guard of some sort despite having no symbols to show their allegiance. Their helmets all looked like something used for jousts but with no openings whatsoever, shaped vertically to the sides on a horizontal 'v' but not so quite forming a beak.

Every single millimeter of their bodies were made of a lustrous metal colored distinctively different, some had lighter armor while others had heavier models but the swords were all the same, broadswords one and all.

Some of them were tall as each one had a different size and one of them was actually shorter than Tomoe herself. 'Golems? No, they are a Balance Break.' She could feel it in her bones, the power Kiba had unleashed was truly one capable of challenging the order's World, and yet, "Aren't these guys a bit too small to be a Balance Break."

The tallest of the knights was just shy of three meters or ten feet and while he looked impressive in his emerald armor he wasn't the bulkiest of the warriors. That privilege went to the golden knight who had the biggest shoulder pads and had its sword stabbing the ground like a silent protector of some sort.

All the others had their swords drawn, ready and waiting for the smallest of moves. "So, what do you think?" Kiba finally asked with a smile.

"Impressive. Congrats on the Balance Break." Her words were sincere if not a little condescending. Her legs were better and her muscles relaxed as she sheathed her sword once more. "But it doesn't compare," a powerful leap had her on Kiba's face, sword ready for the last strike, "to Usumidori!"

It would be a deep cut that would cut off Kiba's unharmed arm and definitively eject him from the Rating Game. Tomoe knew his armor couldn't protect him, knew his swords couldn't save him.

So everybody watching could see and understand her surprise when the Noble Phantasm was blocked completely for the first time since it appeared. The loud 'klang' of steel clashing against steel basically filled the hallway they were in and the arena as the crystal ball was focused on their fight.

The only person not surprised was Kiba who still held his sword close to him defensively. It wasn't the one that just protected him but it was connected to the one which did.

Everyone watched stunned as the ruby knight, the shortest of the bunch, perfectly blocked Usumidori's blow. As the milliseconds ticked everyone saw how it had jumped on the way to protect its creator and was suspended midair between him and the Noble Phantasm. The ruby blade was shaking but barely moving as despite her speed and power Tomoe failed to dislodge it.

But ruby wasn't the only one to move as the other knights began to surround and throw slashes in Tomoe's direction in a four pronged strike from almost all directions. Almost because the Knight of Sitri had enough space to kick the ground and jump up, avoiding the many blades cutting the area where she once was.

With a back flip the ginger prepared to jump back down when the steel knight, the most average of the bunch and just slightly taller than Kiba himself, jumped in pursuit with both hands on its blade.

Instead of finishing her jump Tomoe chose to counterattack, deflecting the sword to the side before stabbing the armor in the eye. However the steel just came back and an upside down ginger had to kick the ceiling to avoid the hit. She tried to get back down but the emerald knight was there, sword coming from behind its shoulder for a strike.

Tomoe used her scabbard as a guard but the hit was so strong she was blown back and collided with another store, one that sold couches but unfortunately for her none there would have stopped her body and she destroyed a few before hitting the floor.

Still the girl refused to stay still and jumped back to her feet when she saw the six figures, Kiba and his knights, getting inside the store. "Sorry about that, my siblings are overprotective."

"'Siblings'?" To say Tomoe was confused would be an understanding. She watched as the knights stood in front of Kiba, each in a different stance like they were trained to use the same weapon but had their own preferences.

"Not in body or spirit but a dream in my heart." Kiba commented, taking his own stance. "That is what Balance Breaks are, our most cherished desires."

Only Kiba had escaped the hell that was the Holy Sword Project, only he survived and only he remembered the faces of every single child that died during that harrowing time. All the victims, all the souls that failed to escape and died so he could live. Asking him to forget even one of them would be asking him to rip out his own heart with bare hands.

Sometimes, in his solitary moments Kiba wished they were there by his side.

He wished to introduce them to his friends, to his girlfriend, to the city he learned to love. He wished that they could talk again, pray again, share bread again, anything and everything.

Just for one more moment, one more second.

Previously when lost in rage his sacred gear was using that fury to evolve but that wasn't his innermost desire. No matter how much he wanted to punish the people who took his first family in reality he wanted them back. To embrace them all one more time.

Love and hate, both powerful emotions pulled at each other in a tug of war that threatened to break him, neither emerging as the winner since one emotion was responsible for the other, feeding each other.

So once the hatred was gone, once the young man found peace, Sword Birth was free to evolve in the manner that most suited him. The end result were the knights that now standed besides him, each fit with the personality of some of his most dear siblings.

As far as things went it wasn't the most powerful Balance Break and it could never give him what he really wanted but Kiba learned to appreciate it nonetheless as his teacher, Souji Okita, pointed out that every move they made was independent, built on the memories of his deceased family.

It wasn't all of them, he wasn't strong enough to make twenty and nine knights, but the five truly fought like he remembered his siblings did and for the life of him Kiba didn't know if it was his heart playing his memory through them or if it was a Miracle.

He chose to believe the latter. "So, shall we keep going?" Kiba asked with a bow, like a proper knight.

Besides him the multicolored knights all had different reactions; the ruby one played with its sword in excitement, the emerald one got ready to charge, the gold one looked to be laughing, the steel one prepared its sword and the sapphire one moved to stand in front of Kiba protectively.

Tomoe didn't know what to think so she tried to take a side step to attack from another angle but the knights repositioned perfectly to block her path. "Are you sure you aren't controlling them?"

"No, not at all." Kiba confessed with amusement, a joy he had forgotten filling his heart. "Ready or not, here we come!"

The knights charged and Tomoe jumped back in a panic knowing the fight just grew far more complicated.

…

'This situation is truly vexing?!' Luvia unleashed several blasts of mana in frustration and a little bit of desperation.

The multicolored blasts all had several effects, mostly curses of the less destructive kind, and one single target. Kuzuki dodged them all like a leaf in the wind; with flawless moves that looked too perfect to be natural yet they were all the same. Any of the attacks could cause some real damage even if their destructive power was low yet he moved around them without a drop of fear.

Because it was just the shorter path to reach Luvia who had no time to dodge and received a chop to her shoulder which came close to dislodging it before a knife-like strike struck her side.

But that was all she was going to take as Gemini came to her rescue for the fourth time since the fight began. At least one of the gems from the spell came as the other had been destroyed a couple seconds before when Kuzuki managed to anticipate its flight path and strike it down.

Still one gem was enough to make the assassin turned teacher wary as it went straight for his eye in a ridiculous fast pass from outside his peripherals. Still the man was extremely aware of his surroundings, his training allowing him to calculate where the gem was from his last glimpse of it.

Which was why he knew the exact time to take a step back, allowing it to pass along harmlessly, while kicking Luvia's chest and shoving her several meters back to stop any attempts of a counter.

Luvia crashed on the floor before rolling and getting up, feeling a great amount of pain everywhere. Touching her left side she feels her dress turning wet, stained with blood, which made her eyes grow wide.

'His attack not only pierced my Rook's defense and Reinforced skin but also ignored my dress.' Considering everything she didn't want to know what the attack would have done if she hadn't taken precautions. 'What sort of Piece is he?'

She was about to ask but the black haired man wasn't going to give her a chance, his dash closing the distance between them again and almost like it was a practiced routine Luvia unleashed several spells to thwart his advance.

However she made a few modifications upon realizing she had no chance of a direct hit. Instead she focused her left hand on shooting the man down while her right drew a gem from her sleeve which began to glow with mana.

Kuzuki accelerated, prior observations telling him to not give Luvia a chance to do whatever she planned, but the remaining twin came back with a vengeance and not even trying to be subtle about it, going straight for the middle of his forehead.

Then again the man was already prepared, never letting the gem escape his awareness. He raised a hand and hit it with his palm, a magic circle increasing the potency of the hit several times over.

While Gemini finally broke Luvia kept her attack going so Kuzuki moved immediately after the stone's destruction in the same fluid movement as before only to stop and sidestep to the right as a bigger blast almost consumed him.

Such an attack was way too easy to dodge but forced him to halt his motion completely, buying Luvia an extra second that doubled when she closed her fist and caused the ball of mana to blow up in his back.

Two seconds, it was all she would have as the Sitri devil turned around, swiping his arms and neutralizing her attacks with a combination of mana manipulation and fast moves that cut through the air.

Not that Luvia was surprised, his skill already impressed her several times over that day and if anyone told her that Kuzuki Souichirou had been Reincarnated into a devil years ago she would have believed them.

Still the distraction did its job as the gem in her other hand was ready and she quickly closed her fist for the next spell. "Leo!" The mana cultivated in the jewel returned to her body in a more powerful form as the figure of a proud blue lion roared behind her.

If she had a choice Luvia would have preferred to blast Kuzuki to kingdom come with as much mana she could throw at him. However the rules weren't going to allow her that and she feared that with his skill he would survive the initial explosion even if she willingly sacrificed herself to take him down.

With that being the case the magus allowed the blue lion to fill her body with power as every muscle, bone and molecule grew stronger in a level that Reinforcement couldn't reach no matter how perfect.

Of all things it was more similar to the Red Dragon Emperor's Boost but something Luvia developed and that could increase her power at least five times over comfortably without side effects.

Already the benefits presented themselves when Luvia saw her teacher approaching far more clearly than before and managed a clean block for the first time by pushing his arm away from its target.

Her adversary gave no reaction other than move around and try to attack from another angle but the magus managed to dance around the attack and hit his shoulder with her elbow. She couldn't help but smile as a rib broke in his body and Kuzuki was sent back several steps, finally giving her propper room to maneuver.

Luvia took her turn with gusto by jumping over his head with an elbow drop that would break every bone on her teacher's body. If he was hit which he was not as Kuzuki moved just in time to get away and counter with another knife-like strike to her already wounded side. The blonde tried to throw a swipe with her leg but despite her physical boost the man was still faster.

"You are a Knight." She didn't bother to wait for a response, at that point she knew there wouldn't be any.

Instead she converted her swipe into a kick on the floor to charge at her opponent, both arms above her head as she dropped her Reinforced fists on his location. She missed and the floor cracked with her landing but despite Kuzuki maneuvering to her side again the magus was already prepared.

Dropping to a knee and bending her back just a little, Luvia placed herself in the ideal position for a palm strike right into her teacher's chest. That got the man to fly back until he hit a display glass and gave the blonde a chance to get to her feet safely. It was a short chance as the man jumped to his own feet no worse for wear even as his body was presenting injuries.

His suit was mostly intact but his face wasn't as the glass managed to cut some of his skin, practically confirming he had to be a Knight. 'What better Piece for an assassin than the one which is all about speed?'

Mana flowed around her body as Luvia focused it on her indicator, taking aim and firing a concentrated beam that should take Kuzuki out. It pretty much became a laser of concentrated power that cut down some of the stuff around the teacher but didn't do enough damage to retire her from the game.

Using his speed the man dashed to the side but instead of running towards Luvia he began to run around as the laser pursued him. As her attack was a laser and she only needed to point her hand towards him, Kuzuki ended up hit in the back leaving an ugly burn. However that was all as he ducked and rolled before pivoting for a counter.

Luvia lowered her hand fully intending on cutting the man in half he surprised her by accelerating further and covering the whole distance before she could finish moving her hand.

His strike came straight for her solar plexus and besides the defenses she had already up Luvia could do nothing but take the hit. However what impressed and scared her was that there was a clear difference from all the previous attacks and that one; her defense truly failed.

Indeed the blonde had to grit her teeth and stop a scream of pain as Kuzuki's fingers had managed to truly hit her organs instead of just slightly cut her skin. So far the damage had been considerable but that last attack the man had moved at full speed without any hesitation whatsoever as her guard was down.

And he wasn't done, far from it. Not one to gloat and knowing the Rating Game's rules, the teacher began to push his hand further inside. Either she would pass out from pain or bleed out. Either worked as Kuzuki knew the hit was both painful and devastating.

However his arm hated completely when Luvia's hands grasped it in a vice and the girl smiled at him maliciously. "Finally… I got you…" Her circuits began to glow as she went all out, Kuzuki trying to stop her with his other hand. It was too late as his right was broken and his skin ripped by pure brute force before Luvia pushed it away and charged with a lariat. "It is not over yet!"

Once his back hit the ground and damaged the floor further, Luvia grabbed his useless arm to lift him up just enough so she could get him from behind and execute a devastating suplex that created a bigger crater.

And she wasn't done as turning around she grabbed the upside down teacher in a bear hug and jumped so high that his legs touched the ceiling. Just touched as her plan was to break his neck with a piledriver.

Not intending on losing like that, Kuzuki managed to move both of his arms and created a magic circle that did nothing more than serve as a platform. A platform well positioned for Kuzuki to stop his momentum with his good arm while Luvia almost lost her grip when he did so.

Still the blonde wasn't going to give up easily and to restore her balance she opened her wings to take flight only for the man's heel to hit her forehead with a devastating blow that sent her all the way down.

Took a moment for Luvia to shake off the dizziness but she recovered fast enough to jump back from Kuzuki's position while summoning an EM. Considering her wounds and the damage she took on her head, attacking wasn't the best strategy in her mind.

Also she could see her opponent's state and while Kuzuki managed to land with some semblance of grace it was pretty clear the hits had actually got to him when he didn't resume his offensive immediately.

'I just need to get rid of enough wounds so they don't stop me.' She stabbed the scalpel just below her chest, making sure to focus on her organs first. 'Besides, I doubt he can keep fighting for long.'

The state Kuzuki Souichirou found himself in was considerably painful yet the man made no sound as he stood up with a cold look towards his absolutely useless right arm. The limb was so broken that there was no way modern medicine could fix it, only magic or a Miracle would make it functional again.

Taking stock of any other damage was actually a little harder considering how many bones Luvia's attacks managed to break. In his experience as a former assassin Kuzuki could at least say his spine should be broken and his lungs pierced by his ribs. Fortunately for him a devil's body was sturdier than his old condition as even age stopped being a factor.

Yet not even his improvement could keep going in the state he was in and the man knew it. Too much damage, too many bones out of place risking piercing something important. Not to mention how his body was having difficulties to function because thanks to all that.

Anybody else would be at least showing some reaction to the pain; a normal person would be screaming constantly, a veteran warrior would be sweating and struggling.

Kuzuki just finished studying himself and concluded that before proceeding with the fight in any sense he needed to take care of his wounds. Fortunately the Magician of Sitri gave him a solution for those sorts of situations.

Luvia watched as Souichirou raised his left hand and gathered mana around it with concern. That concern grew exponentially when instead of a magic circle a staff was formed and its presence filled her with a familiar dread.

Because even if she didn't know its name the blonde could tell what the staff was from a glance, not even accounting for the magical energy the thing was emanating which basically proved its status as a Crystalized Legend.

As a magus Luvia had the privilege of seeing and even facing a few Noble Phantasms, especially over the last few months. As a devil she spent a whole month around Hrunting, a Noble Phantasm which she was familiar with thanks to Shirou and learned more about by watching Beowulf using it.

Suffice to say the original weapon had a greater luster that the Mage of Swords failed to reproduce, something small but nonetheless marked it as the legitimate article from Legend.

The very same presence poured from the staff in droves but with a tad of Divinity that she could identify thanks to spending months in Medusa's company. There was no denying that was a powerful Noble Phantasm and Luvia pushed as much mana she could in her wounds to get moving.

Fear had consumed her thoughts on what sort of attacks that staff could unleash but that eclipsed her mind over something she already had determined as fact; Kuzuki Souichirou wasn't a magician and knew little of magic.

He was an assassin by trade, retired or not, and focused almost exclusively in fighting with his hands. Magic needed study and practice, a Noble Phantasm couldn't just give that. Using it on the offensive would demand a level of considerable control that the teacher couldn't have.

She was correct, he couldn't use it like that for that wasn't even the staff's function. It wasn't given to him out of hatred or obligation but out of a love he failed to comprehend. All he knew was that when he met that woman with long bluish purple hair she didn't hesitate to bestow her Noble Phantasm with a smile that seemed to radiate joy.

Kuzuki didn't understand and could never ask her why, especially when the power he received didn't suit him at all. Yet it was perfect for a person like him with little regard for his own life for it wasn't one to do harm but to instead protect him just like the woman wanted for some reason.

He could actually use it like a weapon if he wanted; the staff was taller than him, its body made of a material tougher than stone with the flexibility of wood and its head which depicted two moons, a big one with a small one inside connected to the top of its bigger kin, was made of a bronze that was blessed by the gods themselves.

However Kuzuki couldn't bring himself to do it as every time he tried there was that woman's face and the love she seemed to feel for him despite never having met neither as a teacher nor as an assassin.

Had he done so Kuzuki knew he would never have forgotten her.

Certainly her Noble Phantasm didn't as the same love was carried by his words even when he felt none. "Pain Breaker." With its True Name revealed the staff covered its owner in light.

Luvia couldn't believe her eyes when she watched as a radiant warm light covered the assassin and began to knit back all his wounds in less than the blink of an eye.

From a moment to the next the assassin went from having a foot on the grave to his previous healthy state. If nobody knew any better they would affirm that time had been reversed for the teacher but the time travel 'ban' applied to all dimensions so that couldn't be happening.

Yet they could still believe it as every wound, tear and damage was reversed. Soon Kuzuki was standing straight without any problems. The Gremory Rook watched as the previously crippled right arm began to move and the former assassin raised it for inspection with a calculated look in his face.

'This has to be some sort of joke! It has to be.' Complained Luvia with a look of despair as Kuzuki moved his arm and hand through a few motions before throwing a few punches with the newly restored limb. 'Did it really heal him in full? Blood and all?' Because if so, then the Noble Phantasm surpassed anything EM or Phoenix Tears could do. "This is bad…. this is really bad."

Upon hearing her voice Kuzuki snapped out of his reverie and focused his eyes on her. Already informed of EM he knew that Luvia was healing herself but it was too slow. Compared to her he was ready for round two while the blonde wasn't even close to her best.

As her teacher perhaps the man should show her some sympathy or sportsmanship by giving her a few more moments to heal herself. Unfortunately for the magus, Kuzuki only knew how to fight as a tool obeying orders and his King's orders were to win with anything short of killing.

So there would be no courtesy or kindness from his part, the staff returning to his Evil Piece in motes of light before the man returned to his stance. He truly was fresh once more, much to the magus' chagrin.

Luvia had no time to waste and quickly forced mana in the stone hidden in her chest on a necklace before Kuzuki ran the whole distance. She also raised her arms and closed her guard just as the strike was about to close in.

Finally the jewel's mana that once powered Leo ran dry but the new gem acted swiftly as their owner activated the next spell. "Cancer!"

Faster than her teacher the figure of a crab appeared behind the young woman before surrounding her body and forming an aura around its creator that radiated with as much power as Leo's from before.

However when the hit connected Kuzuki immediately noticed the difference as his fingers failed to come even close as a blue aura blocked them. The concept of auras was still new to him but the teacher understood enough to know that it wasn't an aura that got in his way or at least something more than a simple aura.

It was too thick, almost like an armor made of mana, surrounding Luvia's whole body in a manner not dissimilar to a carapace which helped the man understand exactly what the magus' spell was doing.

So he decided to test its limits and unleashed a sequence of attacks faster than most guns, hitting wherever he could reach while trying to break the magus' guard looking for a decisive hit.

The fight had returned to its beginning stages with the extra caveat that Luvia had abandoned any form of offense and focused exclusively on defense. Kuzuki could see her aura moving to absorb the hits with more precision, nullifying the damage completely.

'She can't counterattack.' Concluded the assassin as he took a step back to study the aura more calmly. 'Another approach may be required.' Then he ran around the young woman until he was behind her and unleashed a devastating chop that, if connected with her neck, was sure to knock her out. Only for the carapace to move and block, Luvia turning around with a jump, arms still up. 'Can she control it? Yes, she can. But it also moves automatically.'

Realizing trying to get around the problem wasn't going to solve it Kuzuki returned to his onslaught upon recalling the basic rules from magic his King taught him over the month; every magician had a limit and without support any spell would break sooner or later, it was just a matter of time.

He also knew his strikes drained far more energy from her than him as only a light coat of mana increased the power in his hands while her aura not only needed to counter him but also move everywhere he attacked.

Facts that Luvia also was aware but could do nothing but grit her teeth. 'Cancer mostly has no offensive capabilities but I need it to hold on.' She acknowledged as his hand almost reached her chin. She took a few steps back but the Knight was pursuing, refusing to give her any breaks. 'Leo's power wasn't enough and I need a clean hit. Just a small mistake and I can still win.'

With those thoughts in mind, and her pride that refused to call for help, Luvia kept focusing on her other gems, mostly two other huge ones hidden in her sleeves. Once she had an opening she was planning to let it all out and just hope it wasn't too much damage to retire her.

But she still needed an opening and odds were that Kuzuki wasn't going to give her one.

…

Ise's knee was getting acquainted with Saji's chest when the Sitri Pawn screamed from pain before his back collided with a table, stopping only after he slid off it and fell in a chair much to the Gremory Pawn's satisfaction.

Still it was a two on one fight as Ddraig was quick to remind him. [Lightning at three o'clock.]

'I got it.' And indeed he did with a small turn and using the Boosted Gear to catch the Element off the air with his hand. Seeing Ruruko's shocked face brought some satisfaction to his chest. 'Being strong is awesome!'

[I know, right?] Ddraig loved when his hosts got to the point they could dominate most fights.

There was always a feeling of pride accompanied by fulfillment every time those he deemed as partners managed to crack the metaphorical ceiling and became a force to not be trifled with.

And while Ise started slow compared to many of his previous hosts he was finally there and the original Red Dragon Emperor couldn't be happier.

Obviously the same couldn't be said for their opponents as Ruruko's face was colored with frustration by the same measure Saji was showing a great deal of pain. 'Ow, ow, ow. I need to get more energy.' His Absorption Line was ready, it had been for the last few minutes. Ise was just not letting himself be tagged anymore. 'If I don't then Ruruko doesn't have a chance.'

Their opponent was just too fast and too strong with the potential to go even beyond if the power still accumulating in the gauntlet was any indication. It honestly scared the Sitri Pawn how strong his friend managed to become in just a month but that wasn't an excuse to quit.

At least not while Ruruko looked ready to keep going if the magic circle she made was any indication. The girl wasn't even holding back anymore, unleashing a torrent of mana that certainly would cause enough damage to get her retired.

If it hit anything but it wouldn't, not with Ise on a high thanks to his own power as he finally fought against people where he could see the results of his training. Since he wanted to test himself, the Red Dragon Emperor raised his gauntlet one more time and took the hit, sliding back a few centimeters before closing his fist and destroying the attack.

'I don't even need to go all out!' Ise was almost jumping in place from excitement at the huge difference.

He could tell his opponents weren't weak, his previous self would have been defeated long ago by either Saji's sacred gear or Ruruko's surprisingly strong spells. Still neither of them could compete with dragons and Ise did face some that threw lightning around instead of flames and it wasn't even a competition.

[Time to wrap this up.] Ddraig commented, bringing his partner back to reality. [We have bigger fish to fry in this game and clearly it isn't either of those two. If you really want to test your mettle, facing a Noble Phantasm is going to be a proper challenge.]

The reminder was enough for Ise to begin pulling something from his sacred gear. "You're right. I still need to give Kaichou a run from her money." Then he quickly jumped back as the purple Line almost caught him.

"You aren't escaping, Ise!" Several tongues flew from Saji's sacred gear's mouth as he poured more energy on it.

The Red Dragon Emperor then revealed the stone in his hand, a small round thing that looked like a ball. "Gift!"

[Transfer!]

Perfectly round, the stone began to roll in Saji's direction and the blond Pawn didn't think twice about wrapping his Lines around it, ceasing its movement. Ise was already running, planning to follow up the stone with an attack once his friend dodged but since he didn't the brown haired boy changed tactics and cocked his fist back.

With a mighty punch the Boosted rock cracked in thousands of pieces that exploded in the direction of his opponent. Saji was caught flat footed with how fast the attack happened and was about to take a rain of stone to the face.

If Ruruko wasn't there already running in his direction, mana pulsing in her mana. "Saji-kun!" Her shout was almost desperate as she put herself between her crush and the attack with a huge shield.

Fortunately for her it was just rocks so her magic circle blocked every single pebble flying in her direction. Unfortunately for her it left her standing between Vritra's Host and the Red Dragon Emperor as the latter rushed towards them with a Dragon Shot ready and waiting.

Only for the mana to fall apart as the Lines once stopping the rock wrapped themselves around him. "Wait, what?"

[Fool, you got careless!]

With that many Lines Saji didn't hesitate to absorb energy with every single one of them."I got you now!"

"Oh no you won't!" The gem inside the Boosted Gear shone brightly as its owner called for more power.

[Explosion x10]

Ise exploded with energy showing how much stronger he was as the new Explosion multiplied the power from the previous one. With new strength the Red Dragon Emperor ripped every Line apart before focusing on his Dragon Shot one more time.

Ddraig quickly saw a problem. [Do you want to retire?]

It was too much energy and if Ise took the shot he would take both oppoenent's Pawns out but also himself as his control wasn't nearly enough to contain that much power. The brown haired boy blinked twice before clicking his tongue and pulling his mana back before charging towards the opposition.

At that point Ruruko was ready to counterattack once he got too close but she knew it wasn't going to be enough as Ise was moving too fast. But she wasn't alone as Saji went past her towards his friend with his own fist held high, mana pulsing from his body, much from the energy he just absorbed.

Seeing what was about to happen in slow motion the girl knew her crush couldn't win but also he wasn't trying too and instead took the opportunity to prepare her own attack when Saji's failed.

The blond boy didn't even consider that, just wishing for victory. "Ise!"

"Saji!" Both fists sailed forward until they hit their opponent's face, once more the difference of power showing itself as the Red Dragon Emperor's gauntlet drew blood and sent the blond flying.

That was expected and a Line was already wrapped around Ise's neck who couldn't help but be pulled forward by the force of his own punch. Saji was almost knocked out from the hit and couldn't move by himself due to the pain. However the Line remained firm, forcing the Red Dragon Emperor to take a few steps back before he eventually cut it off.

Saji was sent sailing through the air until he hit a pillar of stone and despite the pain he couldn't help but smile at a job well done as he watched Ruruko fly through the air with a ball of golden mana at her fingertips.

Going higher and higher, Ruruko had begun flying before the two sides clashed and was close to the ceiling just when their fists connected. From there she saw Akeno take notice of her but doing nothing as Tsubaki blocked her path with hundreds of naginata thrusts. Good for the Pawn since she wouldn't be able to stop the Gremory Queen and attack their Pawn at the same time.

However she was confident about facing them one at the time with the power that was swelling in her chest. It pulsed with each heartbeat as it moved from her Evil Piece to her arm.

Lightning began to take shape as Ruruko raised her arms above her head, just enough to give herself some wind up as the weapon began to take shape. Considering its weight swinging it was basically impossible for the girl even if she was Promoted to Rook and that was why she needed to position herself.

With a crack of Lightning that caught everyone's attention, the weapon revealed itself to be a huge ax but it was far from a conventional one; the head alone was bigger than Ruruko's torso, with the handle, a curved thing made of black metal, it was almost as tall as her, golden layer held the ax's edges in seven separated blades and behind the head there was some sort of gun's handle.

Thunder roared as the power imbued in the ax began to flow and Ruruko directed herself towards the ground with gravity doing most of the work. She was just pushing it straight for Ise's shoulder with every intention of bisecting him.

Power covered the whole area and the Red Dragon Emperor looked up to see a Thunderbolt approaching his direction. Ise was stunned by how much power that thing was packing, stronger than every dragon he managed to face in the forest by far.

And it grew larger when Ruruko shouted the name given to it by the hero she met in the space between dimensions, many Japanese knew his Legend as a warrior, son of an ogre and the strongest of Minamoto-no-Raikou retainers.

However few to none knew the Noble Phantasm's name, not even her. She only knew the name that man imparted with a confident grin and smug look like he had done something great.

"Golden Spark!" When she became Lightning and Thunder, Ruruko was laughing like a maniac because her hero's tastes and hers were so alike.

When the power spiked further Ise couldn't deny that he failed to react as his fellow Pawn's speed grew so much that his brain needed some time to process what was going on. He had only milliseconds before impact and was a bit stuck in the bad position Saji left him.

Undoubtedly both members of Sona Peerage believed that it was a checkmate.

Instead of panicking the brown haired young man focused on his left arm and forced an escape route. "Balance Breaker!"

His partner gladly responded. [Scale Mail!]

In that moment the crystal ball in the stadium zoomed on the impact zone as an explosion of golden light covered every corner of the arena, blinding many devils, specially those who came from remote regions where they still had no sun.

When the light subsided they didn't see the defeated Pawn of Gremory like many expected but instead in his place there was a tall figure covered in red armor. Didn't take a genius to figure out who it was, not when the helmet of the armor looked like a dragon's head in the first place.

Those old enough could remember the mighty Red that clashed with the White. Just looking at that armored form, no matter how human it looked like, they all felt shivers even if they were in a whole dimension away.

The Red Dragon Emperor's scales weren't that different from his Destined Rival and their Balance Breakers were practically a mirror of each other, the same design that reminded people of advanced robots with minor differences.

On the similarities there was the heavy armor that covered every centimeter of the owner's body covered with several gems pulsing with power. They were even in the same places going with several on the chest, two on the gauntlets and knees.

But obviously of different colors; where Albion was white Ddraig was red, where the Welsh Dragon had green like a field, the Vanishing Dragon had blue like the ocean.

There were also their wings which couldn't be more different from each other; the White Dragon Emperor had a of crystal pair wings that bathed those around him with a celestial light, the Red Dragon Emperor's pair looked much like the typical dragon's wings, no flair, just metal that looked like scales and leather.

Mighty scales from one of the strongest dragons, strong enough that both together managed to stop Golden Spark on its tracks despite its titanic power. Indeed the impact was so strong that all tables and pieces of glass around them, including the dome on the rooftop, cracked and broke.

All the fighting stopped and the other Pieces leaned over to see if anyone was going to be retired, either for the damage caused or if Ise had met his match. Quickly the answer was no, much to Akeno's suspicion but she didn't blame any of the Sitri and threw herself at Tsubaki once more.

Koneko had stayed stunned for a few more seconds before jumping as far away from Tsubasas as she could, the former bluehead giving her a knowing look as she knew the nekomata was afraid.

Those fights would keep going but neither had Saji's attention as he managed to get back on his feet with a resolute expression. 'Damn it!' He rushed forward, already knowing his fellow Pawn was in danger.

Ruruko's eyes were wide as her hands failed to move and her Noble Phantasm. She could see the right wing, the one which took the blow directly, crack and almost break but the most important thing was that it softened the blow.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

Then, much to her horror, Ise let out a dragon-like roar and opened his wings fully, bashing her away with a mighty gust of wind as the Boosted Gear's restrictions were lifted and every Boost empowered him directly.

Ruruko could do nothing, much less hold her weapon, as she was sent flying like a missile. Fortunately for her, Saji saw what was about to happen and jumped on the way, catching her in the air and transferring the momentum to himself.

When Ruruko noticed what happened it was because she saw Vritra's Host coughing blood after hitting another wall. "Saji-kun!"

"I am fine." He said with gritted teeth and a glare in Ise's direction, slowly standing up.

"No, you need to sit down and rest. We have to get back to Momo and-"

"You really were holding back on us, eh, Ise…" The blond managed to say while pushing the girl away from him and standing by his own strength despite the excruciating pain.

Concern and worry filled the Red Dragon Emperor but he bit it back. 'This is a fight.' Ise reminded himself. 'If I hold back then…' "Not really. Balance Breaker takes a lot of energy to turn on and I wanted to save it." He admitted honestly, opening his wings which began to glow red before being restored. Moving his head for the benefit of his friend, his eyes landed on the ax buried on the ground. "Was waiting for a Noble Phantasm to show up. Ddraig says 'thanks', by the way."

With an unconcerned stride the Red Dragon Emperor approached the ax with curiosity. [I wonder if we can use it.] Asked the dragon with obvious curiosity. [None of my partners ever had a Noble Phantasm. Maybe you are going to be the first.]

'We can ask Kaichou later…' Ise had no intention of stealing anything but getting the enemy's weapon during a match sounded fair. Slowly he took the ax on his grip and began to pull, finding it stuck. "What the hell?"

[Boost!Boost!Boost!]

The floor began to break apart as Ise tried to pull with all his strength but the ax refused to budge. "What the fuck is wrong with this thing? Ruruko was using it just fine."

[Hmm… No, she wasn't. She flew above our heads and summoned it from who knows where and basically left it to fall while unleashing its name.] Analyzed the Red Dragon Emperor pensively as his host seized the ax with both hands and tried to pull again.

Despite having Ddraig's scales it was safe enough to say that he still hasn't reached the Original Red Dragon Emperor's power. Sure the boy was as strong as many dragons but Ddraig was in a category of his own and so was the original owner of the ax.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

However his sacred gear was Boosted Gear so as long as his body and stamina could sustain him Ise could grow infinitely stronger. It was never a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when' he would reach the necessary power to start moving the ax from its resting place and lift it up for all to see.

Only for the thing to turn in a ball of light and disappear. "What the fuck?!"

"Hah! You think you can get our Noble Phantasms that easily?!" Asked Saji confidently as he saw Ruruko glowing, the weapon back in her Evil Piece. "Think again! Hahaha!"

"Saji-kun… he lifted Kintoki's ax." Said a fearful Ruruko who was looking at the red armored figure with new fear. "That was-"

"Well, he trained with dragons." Saji stood up with a closed fist and a determined look. "But that doesn't matter. Stay back, Ruruko-chan. I will deal with him."

She could believe he was going to try but doubted he had a chance. "How? This sort of power… he is stronger than anyone on our team." Ruruko almost jumped back when Saji brought his sacred gear closer to her face.

"He ain't the only one with a dragon." Saji began to step forward while focusing as much power on his sacred gear. 'Come on you stupid thing, wake up! I don't care if your soul was split into pieces! Didn't you try to kill a god? Here is an easier target!' Surprising the young man the Absorption Line actually reacted, its eyes glowing with a menacingly dark blue. "Let's go, Vritra!"

Ise watched his friend running in his direction with apprehension. 'Is he insane?' The boy knew how much stronger he was compared to Saji, Balance Breaker no withstanding.

[He has something to prove.] Ddraig commented amusingly. [Were you any different when we fought against the Phenex's Pieces?]

There was no reply as Ise focused on dodging the Line which had moved way faster than before. His eyes were locked on Saji who accelerated further before jumping and flying in his direction apparently unprompted. Purple flames appeared in his hands before turning blue and the blond unleashed them at point blank range.

Ise dodged the attack but Saji kept sailing forward, his sacred gear had tied itself to a pillar that he used for the improvised flight. Then he cut the Line and flew in the red armored warrior in pursuit, blue flames still strong.

Several Lines then exploded from his arm, carrying the flames with them and moving faster than before. Ise easily dodged them all, moving closer to Saji in the blink of an eye and shoving the blond away.

It was just a shove indeed, almost not a push even, yet the Sitri Pawn was sent flying farther than when he was punched. Turning in the air Saji protected his back by letting his shoulder hit the remains of a table and held on until his momentum stopped. Once it did the young man jumped to his feet, his right shoulder was dislocated but he just stepped forward and punched with his other hand, more Lines being unleashed.

The Red Dragon Emperor just dodged them all again before raising his wings high and unleashing another gust of wind that threw several chairs and debris at the Sitri Pawn.

The blond created a magic circle to protect himself but some debris hit so hard that they made his power falter as defense wasn't really in his skill set, the gust growing stronger. And Saji couldn't fight against it, being launched around like a ragdoll before he got buried by the equivalent of all contents inside a trash compactor.

Ise stood there watching for a moment to make sure his friend was out but he didn't hear the announcement of his defeat. [Why do you hold back?] When he got no response, Ddraig let out a sigh. [You are doing more harm than good, Partner.]

'If I hit him too hard he is going to die.' Replied the boy as he watched his friend drag himself out of debris, covered in blood. 'I shouldn't have used the Scale Mail-'

[And be bisected by a Noble Phantasm? If you haven't used it I would have. I don't know the spells in a Rating Game but one of my previous Partners died like that.]

'But he-' Ise felt a strong pain in his left arm.

[No buts! This is a fight and he knew what he signed up to- Look out!] The warning came too late as while Ise managed to raise his head to see what was happening he barely could react as a dozen or so Lines wrapped themselves around his body. Dark blue fire covered them and both Red Dragon Emperors could feel their heat. [Those are Vritra's flames!]

'Weren't they black?' Ise began to break them apart but Saji roared with determination and the torn Lines grew back or reconnected with the parts still on him. The flames also grew more intense as they ate his energy. 'Fuck!'

[See what happens when you hesitate?] Ddraig was going to make sure to never let him forget. [Remember what Rias Gremory said; this is also for Sona Sitri's sake. You can't be seen giving them the win.]

He was about to reply when Saji approached with his fist held high and catching fire to deliver the strongest haymaker he could to Ise's face. The blow was so strong that it actually managed to make the Red Dragon Emperor take a step back despite not feeling pain. Of course he wouldn't, those were Ddraig's scales and Host of Vritra or not, Saji was literally punching above his weight class.

An unfortunate fact he only realized when looking at his left hand after the hit and realizing it was broken. "Hahaha! This just isn't fair." Pain began to cloud his vision and still the boy brought his right hand up and punched Ise on the chest. It was a much weaker hit but it broke his bones nonetheless. "Dammit!"

Unleashing his aura, Ise threw Saji away and got rid of his Lines, a look of guilt hidden behind his mask. [He isn't going to stop.] Ddraig said quickly before his partner made a mistake. [Loving someone can give you power beyond your limits but most people have limits for a reason. He isn't going to stop and if you don't break him he is going to break himself.]

Already Saji was standing up again, Ruruko shouting at him to stay down. "Don't interfere, Ruruko-chan!" He was back on his feet, steel in his eyes despite his waning flames. "I got this! Just get ready!"

Surprising Ise was the fact that his fellow Pawn just looked at their friend with acceptance, standing up and gathering that golden mana again but otherwise not supporting her wounded comrade.

"Saji…" Ise closed his fist and left it shaking in frustration with himself. "Saji, since you aren't going down, I'm going to kick your ass!"

Grinning at his friend, the Host of Vritra raised his broken fists. "Bring it on, Ise! I am the Strongest Pawn!"

Bold words normally, fighting words to any other Pawn who heard it including Ise who opened his wings and floated in place for a second before charging at his friend with speeds that transformed him in a streak of red light.

"ABSORPTION LINE!" Saji put everything he had left in his sacred gear and unleashed hundreds of Lines towards his friend with the goal of taking all his power.

Power that covered Ise completely before it began to transform and grow until he was completely covered by it before focusing the eternity of its magnitude into his left fist.

"Red Dragon Emperor Fist!" Ise let all of the power go, the attack taking the form of a smaller version of Ddraig.

Yes, he based the attack from one of his favorite mangas, at least its movies, but it was also different in the sense it wasn't a serpentine dragon but a pure huge European breed with huge limbs and wings.

It was also the sort of attack that certainly would demolish half of the mall but Ise was betting that Saji wasn't going to dodge nor run and would instead face attack head first to show his own power.

And he wasn't disappointed when every Line directed themselves towards the mana dragon and tried to absorb as much power as they could before it eventually reached their owner. It did but several times weaker and unable to create the big explosion Ise knew it was able to unleash.

All it managed to do was swallow Saji whole and that was more than enough.

*Sona Sitri's Pawn fought valiantly but Vritra or not all dragons know the Red Dragon Emperor is not to be trifled with.*

Feeling a little exhausted, Ise planted his feet on the floor with an odd satisfaction on his chest. "Good fight, Saji…" Yet he knew something was wrong as well. "Ddraig, where did the energy go?"

[What do you-] Before the dragon could finish the question both felt a huge power behind them, Ise turning to see Ruruko standing with a red aura surrounding her body. An aura very similar to their own. [Oho, that is where it went.]

"But how-" Then his eyes saw an almost invisible Line disappearing into the ether, a connection Saji managed to keep hidden since he began his last stand. "He wasn't trying to take my energy, he was giving it to Ruruko."

When the other Sitri Pawn raised her head he saw tears and a grin on her face. "Good job Gen-chan. I should have known you wouldn't disappoint Kaichou." It hurt her heart a little that her crush was so enamored with her King but she took it well. But that wasn't enough to bring her down or stop her from doing what she needed to do. "Don't worry, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain."

Red turned to gold as the Noble Phantasm in her Evil Piece was ready to answer her calling. Light as a feather the Pawn of Sitri charged towards Ise who raised his arm to defend himself only to realize he was much slower.

'Shit, Saji took too much-'

Ruruko's empty hands began a swing and once more the ax of Kintarou or Sakata Kintoki took form. "Golden Spark!"

This time it met Ise's chest and the Red Dragon Emperor took the hit in full. Instead of fighting it he let himself be sent flying as his body was assaulted by Lightning and Thunder that definitely didn't lose to Akeno's in quality.

Spinning in the air both Red Dragon Emperors lost control over body and armor, left to drift freely until he hit the ground hard enough to rattle his skull. Impossibly enough there was also a huge cut/burn on his chest just above his heart. The sort of wounds that shouldn't happen at the same time but Noble Phantasms rarely cared for common sense.

"Ow." Ise dragged himself to his feet while feeling his nerves screaming. That was actually a situation he was kind of familiar with. 'Need to thank Tannin-ossan for the training.' He thought while moving his armor with his spirit.

Only his armor though as his body was practically in lock down as Golden Eater's electricity kept running around his body and stopping some of his nervous system from working. And that was after it broke through Ddraig's scales.

[Time to use it?] The Original asked the new one with distaste.

A distaste mirrored by his partner. "No, I can still-" Both felt their power again being turned into the Noble Phantasm and Ise turned his head to see Ruruko above him, ax reforming on her hands in a mirror of its first strike. "Shit!"

"Golden Spark!" The girl dropped down like the Lightning her Noble Phantasm unleashed and Ise needed to use his wings to escape.

Still the impact not only damaged the area even further, making some question why Ruruko wasn't retired, and hit him on the desperate exit electrocuting him some more in an excruciating manner.

It was his turn to have his back hit a wall as he watched Ruruko let the Noble Phantasm return to ether and look at him with a weaker but still present red aura surrounding her body.

[On the bright side it looks like they are going to win fairly.] Ddraig pointed out while focusing on the other fights in the area. Something was happening on the third floor but he chose to ignore it to egg his partner on. [That was what you wanted, right?]

'Well yes but… I don't want to lose like this…' Being thrown around wasn't cool by his book and not the sort of defeat he was willing to accept.

[Then stop playing around and recover your energy.]

"... I'm not that desperate." He said after getting back to his feet with some effort and a push of his wings as Ruruko began to charge at him with a Knight's speed despite not being Promoted. 'Did she get our Boosts too?'

Golden Spark was about to be unleashed again and Ise prepared himself for another shock.

…

Tomoe wasn't the first one to use the Chaldea System, that honor went to her teacher, but she heard the man speak about the experience and Olga's observations about what happened and how to behave once she met a Heroic Spirit.

She chose to ignore most of the second part because the very same girl had said she would be meeting someone like her, someone compatible with her. The whole criteria was still unknown and Kuzuki's attempt threw most theories out of the window but Tomoe was hopeful she would meet someone she would like.

And if they were anything like her then they would appreciate her winging it. That would be their first and only meeting and the ginger judged that an honest first and last impression was cooler than a lie.

When she stepped inside the special room with hundreds of rules written around it and the shield on its center for a moment she hesitated thinking that she would be like Momo who. despite having the greatest mana capacity of them all, failed to make contact with a Heroic Spirit.

However that didn't last even a second as excitement took over and Tomoe placed her hands on the shield eager to meet a Legend in the 'flesh'.

A flash of light later and she found herself somewhere she could only describe as a mountain range close to a forest of some sort.

"Hello. Were you the one calling me?" From above her head Tomoe heard a chipper voice and turned to look at a teacher with long dark hair with classic Japanese features but at the same time a beauty unrivaled. Matters were not helped by the extremely revealing armor that allowed her to jump in a perfect flip and land in front of the ginger, leaning forward eagerly. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Stunned by the beautiful eyes that resembled the sky during twilight Tomoe took a moment to take stock as her brain tried to catch up. During that the girl turned her head cutely on a level that, were she a man, the Sitri Knight would jump on her then and there, spirit or not.

Her long hair reached far past her back and was just barely above her heels with a neat bun tied on the side of her head with several accessories. Her samurai armor was black and white mixed with parts of red and gold that protected one side more. Detached sleeves covered her arms, one of them a shade of purple that also was present on her only pant leg.

"Anyone there~~~" The girl asked closer to Tomoe's ear which startled the ginger and made her jump. "Aha! You aren't a statue after all!"

Recovering barely enough to be coherent, Tomoe bowed in apology. "Sorry, sorry. I was just… shocked."

"Shocked? Why? You were the one who called me here, right?" Looking around the place the black haired girl couldn't help but smile. "But man, this place looks just like the mountains where I grew up. How did you do that?"

A question Tomoe had no clue how to answer in full. "I didn't. It was a friend, she said this was some sort of pocket dimension that was created by your soul so we got into contact by virtue of your ascension to the Throne of Heroes…" She stopped talking upon noticing a confused look. "Sorry, most of it flew by my head."

"Hah! I know how that feels sometimes." The girl replied by leaning back on her feet and placing her hands behind her head. "Basically since I am a Heroic Spirit this place was made so you could make contact and I just painted it in my colors, you could say."

"... Sounds about right." Tomoe then shook her head and bowed again. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Meguri Tomoe, nice to meet you."

With a grin the black haired girl bowed back and replied. "Nice to meet you Tomoe, my name is Ushiwakamaru. Ushiwaka if you find it a mouthful."

The last part almost wasn't heard as Tomoe was freaking out mentally before starting physically. "Ushiwakamaru?! The real Ushiwakamaru?! Victorious over Benkei?! Shana-oh himself- Wait a minute! Aren't you supposed to be a man?"

Looking at herself, Ushiwakaru gave the ginger a noncommittal shrug and a smile. "Dunno. Maybe I am not Ushiwakamaru and I am just pulling your leg."

"Nah, you don't look like a liar." Just looking at her eyes Tomoe could affirm that with confidence. If that girl claimed to be Ushiwakamaru then the ginger believed wholeheartedly by her expression alone.

"Thank you." Which pleased Ushiwakamaru immensely. However she knew they didn't belong wherever they were, it was a spell, a ritual made by a magus and steps needed to be taken else there would be consequences as there always were. "So, what do you want? You called me here, right?"

Gentle words to coach Tomoe to focus and get her attention. "Ah, no, I already said it was a friend that…" As Ushiwakamaru knew, she just needed the ginger to focus on the facts. "... so I could get- I mean ask- I mean request-"

"You don't like being formal." The Heroic Spirit commented with her hands on her hips. "Hey, no need for that. Just speak with your gut."

"'Speak with my gut'?" Ushiwakamaru could already tell Tomoe loved the notion.

"Yeah, speak with your gut and tell this Ushiwaka what she can do to help." Because she wanted help of some kind, it was obvious for the brilliant mind of the Heroic Spirit.

"From my gut; I need a Noble Phantasm!" Tomoe said with a determined look, gaining all of Ushiwaka's attention. "My King, she is a brilliant girl and the sort of person you can really count on when the chips are down… but we are weak. That is why-"

"Sure." The Heroic said with a grin, surprising the devil.

"Wait, hold on, I didn't even-"

"I already said 'sure' so sure, I am going to give you… I think I can only give you one Noble Phantasm, at least it is what I feel I can safely give, however temporarily." It wouldn't be a complete transfer either as Ushiwaka could tell it would be something equivalent to a Servant's Noble Phantasm, a temporary weapon that would last as long as Tomoe did. "Besides I can tell that you really care about your Master. As long as you swear to never betray her, I see no problem."

Considering Ushiwakamaru's story Tomoe felt a pang in her heart but smiled and nodded all the same. "I swear it."

With such resolve from her new acquaintance, Ushiwaka turned around and raised a hand. "Great, there is just one more thing you need to do."

"What is it? I will do anything." Tomoe felt something touching her nose.

A playful finger was the culprit, one that belonged to Ushiwakamaru. "You have to catch me first." She then waved around Tomoe and patted her back hard. "Tag, you're it!" She said before running away.

"What?!" Asked a very confused Knight.

"You are it! Don't you want a Noble Phantasm?!" The Legend giggled. "Come on! Work for it!"

With that Ushiwakamaru ran up a mountain and Tomoe had no choice but to chase anyway because she refused to leave empty handed. She also was extremely excited about having something from such a noble figure.

From her part Ushiwaka knew just giving a sword wouldn't be enough, she had already decided on a sword upon seeing Tomoe's hands and noticing they were calloused from constant practice.

The soul reflected the body so Tomoe truly was well versed with it even if she wasn't that strong from what Ushiwaka could sense. If things were a bit different she would have gladly taken the devil under her wing and put her through the paces but considering they were just souls at that moment it was impossible.

However Ushiwakamaru wasn't considered a great tactician for nothing and easily realized that while she couldn't properly train Tomoe she could at least teach her how to move quickly to confuse the enemy and control the battlefield.

Also she wanted to have some fun and being the first Heroic Spirit to play tag in some sort of high dimensional plane was a proposition too tempting for her to resist.

Back in the present Tomoe danced as the 'training' she received kept her on her toes as five swords made their best attempt to cut her down. Usumidori blocked a ruby sword before she used it to push herself up and avoid a steel like one that almost nicked her shoulder.

Spinning in the air the ginger reached the ceiling and repositioned herself, aiming the next stab at Kiba only for the emerald Knight to get in her way and reach for a slash with his huge sword.

Tomoe had no choice but to jump down and do another flip only for the sapphire and ruby to already be on her with their swords coming from different directions. She managed to block one but to dodge the second she had to spin after a jump and open her wings to fly away otherwise leaving herself vulnerable.

Except she was still vulnerable as Kiba, gold and steel jumped on her with their swords pointed down the moment she managed to evade the other two. Usumidori sparked as it hit the closest sword to her position, the gold one, and she used it as leverage to get more distance.

'This is getting me nowhere.' At least to herself Tomoe would admit it as she stopped herself and used her sword for support as the knights approached again. "Grr."

She blocked the ruby one before kicking it to the side and doing a flip to reach the sapphire earlier than it expected. Their swords clashed but while their blades could survive Usumidori it was still capable of damaging their swords even if they were a byproduct of a Balance Breaker.

Proof of that was the cracks appearing on the most aggressive armor as sapphire had attacked her more than any other. Those cracks were a weakness and soon Usumidori cut the sword before bisecting the armor. Flipping her weapon in a hand Tomoe moved it quickly to block a strike of steel as the other armors moved to surround her.

Kiba was right next to gold again as both stayed back and from the corner of her eyes the Sitri Knight could see the armor forcefully pushing the blond to keep them apart and the male devil safe despite the small glare he was giving it.

She was starting to believe they really were alive but didn't feel any worse when she deflected steel's sword to the side and rushed the emerald one to stab it in the chest. However it was an armor, living armor that was true but it lacked any organs and she had to let her Noble Phantasm go or lose her head.

"Don't kill her!" Kiba shouted with concern and the emerald knight paused for a second before taking another swing at Tomoe's neck. "Goddammit!" It was getting pretty clear he hadn't that much control over his Balance Breaker as he wanted.

Blade Brotherhood truly created five autonomous armors with their own fighting styles and personalities based on his missing family as such they didn't really want to obey him when they disagreed with his opinions.

Gold and emerald were the hardest to control as they were based on two overprotective older boys that were the oldest of the orphans and the first ones to fall on Valper's slaughter so they wanted his safety above anything else.

Ruby, who was jumping around with a more aggressive stance to stab Tomoe from the side, was a girl that was overly kind and emotional but had a mean streak the size of the moon once provoked like when Tomoe damaged sapphire to the point the armor was dead.

And it was really dead, laying on the side cut very much like the eager boy it was based on when the bullets began flying that fateful day years ago. Steel, based on a young girl with more talent than most, stayed above it, looking between its sibling and Kiba, waiting for something.

But the blond didn't want to spend energy, not when the emerald knight had Tomoe on the ropes and forcing her back further and further.

At least until the ginger raised her hand and Usumidori disappeared from where it was stuck to reappear in her grip just as the green blade was about to connect. Sparks flew and the sacred gear construct began to gain ground as its size gave it a clear advantage. It wasn't enough as Tomoe bended her knee and slid between its legs while slashing its knees.

The construct lost its balance and fell, the other knights and Kiba rushing to its rescue but it was too late as the Sitri devil did a flip and stabbed the emerald knight's neck before tilting her blade and cutting off its head.

Once the emerald one fell the ruby one reached her position and the two clashed on its 'corpse'. Three fast blocks and deflections had the ruby sword cracking and it tried to retreat only for the ginger to swipe its leg making it fall. She tried to follow up by cutting its head as well but the steel one got in her way just in time and blocked the hit.

A lethal dance of two seconds started but Tomoe had to break it and run back to the sports store to avoid Kiba who looked annoyed at being left in the sidelines for so long. Behind him was the gold armor who had jumped with an overhead slash that would surely cut the devil in half.

She waved to the side and rolled as the three identical swords came her way, blocking the steel knight's only for Kiba's to hit her arm, managing a deep cut that almost crippled her left.

Lucky for her she managed to react quick enough to summon a magic circle to blast him back which appeared to infuriate the gold and steel knights who threw themselves into the offensive.

'He really isn't controlling them!' Finally Tomoe was starting to believe as she blocked a sword and dodged the other twice before throwing a slash at the steel knight's shoulder that the gold one blocked.

Once the gold made it an opening the steel one leaned to the side and threw a stab at Tomoe's leg which hit and forced her to run away. There was no way the Knight of Gremory was controlling his constructs while stunned by her blast or how they were moving with such synchronization despite the hit their creator took.

Again they advanced, the steel knight moving ahead with a cautious sprint while the gold one moved around while remaining close enough to support its ally. Tomoe held her sword close with one hand as the other created a magic circle, magic wasn't her strong suit but she needed some sort of edge.

A blast of mana was shot towards the steel knight but it was slow, so slow in fact the armor had time to move and return to its previous sprint easily, the gold armor still circulating them when its sibling reached their target.

Fortunately the knight wasn't as skilled as Kiba, if that were because of his memories or inability Tomoe wasn't sure but she would count it as a blessing as she could parry the armor's blows while keeping an eye on its brethren.

Their swords clashed four times, the steel armor avoiding Usumidori's edge to the best of its abilities, trying to make an opening. But the steel armor wouldn't succeed, neither would the gold armor, for Kiba came back with a vengeance and managed to cut Tomoe's back, forcing her to a knee.

With that the gold armor pounced but she quickly grabbed the other half of her Noble Phantasm, the scabbard, and blocked its sword. Kiba was already following up with a proper stab but Tomoe rolled to the open side, the only escape avenue available. The steel armor was close and tried to get her with the side of its weapon but the ginger flipped and cut the sword in pieces.

She ran as far away as she could as the three stood together, deep breaths showing some of her exhaustion. "Your Balance Breaker is so unfair."

Kiba raised an eyebrow and just said, "Noble Phantasm." daring her to try and argue. Instead of doing so Tomoe sheathed her sword and began to gather her mana, making the Gremory Knight's eyes grow wide. "Oh no!"

"Usumidori! Decapitating Blade Steps!" True Name unleashed, in a more exhausting manner as Tomoe skipped the aria, the blade rang as it left its sheath and executed the intended maneuver.

This time it wasn't a fair fight as it would have been preferable but three on one and Tomoe would have to compensate. She tried to accelerate and move past the armors but they already had positioned themselves in front of Kiba the moment she prepared her Noble Phantasm.

Once more the steel armor was in the front but with her stats boosted all Tomoe needed to do was tackle it and keep going as her speed was enough to shove it away. The gold armor was Kiba's last line of defense and it was already shielding him completely, feet firmly planted on the ground.

So the ginger held her sword up until they were close enough that the initial movement of drawing it from its sheath earlier than she should for the technique because Tomoe needed the blade to get rid of the armor.

The end result was a half drawn Usumidori that cut through the gold armor and its sword. It couldn't compete and began to fall as she maintained the rest of the blade sheathed and ready for Kiba.

However the Knight of Gremory anticipated that and when Tomoe got past the gold armor she didn't find her opponent. Also she couldn't stop her dash as her muscles screamed in protest during its execution and any attempt of canceling it would make matters worse.

With that the Noble Phantasm unleashed a slash on the empty air, the ginger using the remaining of its power to search for the blond only to find him back to back with the remaining armor, swords at ready.

Tomoe kicked the floor as hard as she could in a mad dash for a secondary attack, her hand shaking as her muscles screamed but Kiba was on sight and wasn't running away. But not because he was cornered and he proved it by charging at her while the steel armor went after for support.

Kiba got into her guard and managed to cut her shoulder just as Tomoe tried to course correct for a third time while the pain only grew stronger. Then the steel armor came and stabbed her abdomen, the sword going so deep that it crossed her intestines and exited on the other side.

Pain and anger were powerful motivators so Tomoe ignored logic and cut down the armor that harmed her far more than her fellow Knight managed to. It was cut in four pieces before falling and she held the sword inside her body with a whimper of suffering as she tried to keep the blood in.

Meanwhile the ginger Knight recovered, the blond one went around and held his sword defensively. "Good try but this is checkmate." Not to say he wasn't suffering or exhausted but the big wound on his shoulder was far more irrelevant than a sword on the gut. As things stood Tomoe knew she was going to be retired so she bit through the pain and began to remove the steel blade. "I wouldn't recommend-"

"Can you be… a himbo for a minute… and shut up!" Gritting her teeth Tomoe extracted the sword all at once, a scream of pain escaping her lips and Usumidori ended up used as a support as her legs lost her strength.

At the sight of such suffering, Kiba felt awful for the girl. "You don't need to go that far." He said calmly, warmly and as gently as he could to not aggravate the situation. "This is just a game. I know it is important to Kaichou but-"

"When I took this sword… I made a promise to Shana-oh." Fierce, determined eyes met Kiba's who couldn't help but be impressed Tomoe could make that expression between labored breaths and extreme pain. "That I wouldn't disappoint my Lady!" Feet planted firmly, the girl managed to stand up even as it aggravated her wounds. "Besides… this is a game… the only place we can… cut loose."

Technically she was right as the spells in place wouldn't let her die unless it was accidentally but most of them wouldn't activate as long as she remained willing to keep going. Fact was that accidents happened and most of the time it was because a fighter was being stubborn.

Still neither was naive and both knew Tomoe was out after this and her only hope was taking Kiba with her. While he wouldn't complain about defeat in such conditions it just wasn't going to happen. Both may be running out of gas but unlike his opponent, Kiba still had a few tricks on his sleeve.

Mana began to cover his sword just as Tomoe was about to charge again. 'What now?' She watched as it spread, fearing he was about to summon more knights.

Instead the blond took a wide swing with his sword and a wave of mana spread through the area, the Knight of Sitri raising her sword in a panic. She had no way of knowing that the wave would pass by her harmlessly and seep into the armors.

"You know, I wanted to save my energy for later." Kiba admitted, some of his own exhaustion evident. A smile grew in his face as he continued. "But if you show me such an earnest spirit, I am left with no choice but to fight with everything I got. Blade Brotherhood!"

When the blond raised his sword for the call his armors raised with it, mana connecting the damaged parts with each other or replacing anything that had been lost like the broken swords.

Ruruko Tomoe realized that she was in a worse position than she previously thought as gold, steel, ruby, emerald and sapphire armors surrounded her with weapons drawn. "This is the power… of a Balance Breaker?"

Kiba's smile became positively radiant as that wasn't a question he could answer honestly. To him that wasn't happening because of his sacred gear or Balance Breaker but because of his beliefs.

Those armors, those knights, they were his family or at least their representatives and Kiba honestly believed that as long as he lived they would live on even if just as memories and stories he would pass along, never forgetting a single one of them.

And his Balance Breaker truly reacted with his desire for as long as he could keep fighting he could also raise those knights again and again until his opponent was defeated or he was broken.

Presently the odds of the former were higher than the latter. "I don't think you will surrender if I offer, will you?"

Rage and resignation swelled on Tomoe's chest as she raised her sword while doing her best to cover her wound with her other hand. It and Usumidori's sheath were practically bathed in blood and she wasn't going to last long.

But giving up wasn't an option. "For Sona-sama!" She declared while leaping in Kiba's direction, her intent obvious.

The Knight of Gremory took a step back and positioned his sword where she would run in on it or at least her shoulder would. That was exactly what happened, that and the several constructs of Blade Brotherhood stabbing the girl down. They made sure to not hit anything vital but still Tomoe crashed down on the floor looking more like an inverse porcupine than anything else.

For a moment their eyes met and he saw her absolute disbelief just as the Rating Game's spells took her away.

*Aaaaaand it is settled! The first Noble Phantasm was defeated and Sona Sitri's Knight has been retired!*

'First?' Kiba thought with horror as the adrenaline began to fade. The steel armor moved to help him stand but he had no time to thank it. "Buchou-"

*I heard.* Concern was evident in her tone. *As did everyone else. At least we can thank Naud's boisterous-*

*Looks like the trading of blows is not over! Another Rook was retired and it was one of Rias Gremory's!"

Both froze at the announcement and Kiba feared for who had fallen and tried to rush wherever he could help only to grunt in pain as his shoulder was still hurt. A lot more so as his healing was subpar and the wound opened during the last moments of combat.

Rias easily noticed something was wrong. *Kiba, be honest with me, are you in any condition to keep going?*

He offered her his best smile despite her not being there to see it. "Don't worry, Buchou. I just need to rest a minute and-"

*Then come back so Asia can check your wounds.* His King interrupted flawlessly. *This is a Rating Game, there is no reason for you to push yourself too hard, especially since we have an alternative.* His silence would be followed by a protest but she nipped it in the bud. *That is an order, Kiba. Your mana reserves were never the best so let Asia help you. She needs something to do anyway.*

There would be no disagreement for him as even if he was able to relax and rest a little after his match the Knight of Gremory was really running on fumes and his wound was honestly debilitating.

However keep going was an alternative as his Balance Breaker didn't drain any mana unless when it was summoned or he needed to rebuild the armors for any reason. At least for the moment as that power was still in development but in either case he needed to train his reserves further so exhaustion wasn't that much of a problem.

Letting out a sigh the blond began to march back to base, his armors surrounding him in a diamond formation. 'And here I thought I wouldn't have any troubles thanks to Blade Brotherhood.' If he was honest to himself Kiba believed if anyone had a Noble Phantasm they would go after Ise or Akeno.

He was half right.

…

Despite his previous vocation, or perhaps because of it, Kuzuki had never left Japan nor claimed having interest in visiting other places. Had he not been Reincarnated and needed in the Underworld the man would have been content on spending the rest of his life exclusively in Fuyuki.

However that didn't mean he was ignorant or even if it was just seeing pictures from time to time, especially as a History teacher. A World History teacher to be more exact was that was his main branch of lessons and the man always strived to do an excellent job.

So he knew plenty about the world outside of Japan even if he never saw much personally, at least on Earth, and could easily identify the place his soul was sent to had to be somewhere around Greece if the temple was any indication.

A huge building that looked a lot like a palace, it was made of marble and painted black, purple and blue. Around him he could see statues of the Twelve Olympians, masterpieces that portrayed the Divinities with weapons or treasures that made identifying them all rather easy.

Kuzuki approached one of those he was sure was Zeus if the Lightning Bolt in his hand was any indication. The god's build would make any bodybuilder cower in shame and confused him a little as it didn't fit the aesthetics of later Greek artists.

Then again the teacher had to remind himself he wasn't on any place on Earth but a dimensional construct made to connect two souls. What he was seeing could be the work of an artist or a reflection of the Heroic Spirit which was more compatible with his soul. From that point of view, depending on who it was, the spirit could have more knowledge of the gods than any sculptor.

As the first to undergo the procedure, mostly because he was an adult and refused to allow his students to do something before it was properly tested, he lacked any sort of reference on how things should go.

Yet he could admit he liked the temple/palace as its silent atmosphere wasn't morbid but peaceful. So much so that he had no problem walking around the statues and studying them before looking for the Heroic Spirit.

However he couldn't help but freeze upon notice an extremely damaged statue to the left of one which he identified belonged to Ares. Lacking a head, arms and most of its torso, the only indication it was a woman were the legs, exposed in a provocative manner from its toga.

That could mean an infinite number of things but before Kuzuki could think much on the topic a gasp of surprise caught his attention and he turned around to see who could only be a Heroic Spirit.

Considering the type of person he was Kuzuki had no idea why a Greek Hero would be the one making contact and much less so why would it be a woman with bluish purple robes, eyes and hair of similar colors reaching her lower back and regal features that could only mean she was a royalty of some sort.

She looked shocked by his presence and considered it was because of a spell never done before Kuzuki could understand. "Greetings, Heroic Spirit. I am sorry for dragging you here but I hope to make a request."

The shock vanished from the woman's face and she approached to study him. "Who are… No, is your name Kuzuki Souichirou?"

Surprise grew in his chest as she got closer and he focused more on her face and noticed her pointy ears. "Yes."

"I see." She began to walk around the man, studying every centimeter of his being. The teacher could really feel like she was looking into his soul. "You wouldn't be a magus, would you?"

"No, I am not." How did she know his name but not that detail raised some doubts in his mind but he didn't voice it.

Both Sona and Olga Marie had warned everyone several times that irritating a Heroic Spirit would be a mistake. Considering he was there and even with his inexperience he could feel the colossal power form the woman he would truly heed to the advice.

"You aren't human. Why aren't you human?" The unknown woman asked carefully with irritation in her tone.

"I was Reincarnated as a devil to assist one of my students, Sona Sitri, with her dreams and to protect my city."

The woman froze by his right, a look of disbelief in her face. "Reincarnated? Why? What happened? Did you die?"

"No, she asked and I said yes." He could see a greater confusion from the woman. "From what I understand it is a procedure devils have been doing fairly recently."

The woman began to walk again until they were face to face. "So she did not force you?" He shook his head and the woman nodded. "Very well. Then answer me this; why did you accept being Reincarnated in the first place?"

She wasn't the first person to ask that question and she would receive the same answer he gave everyone. "Because she asked."

"Elaborate." Again, not a new request despite most people just accepting it as enough.

Only Serafall Leviathan, extremely overprotective sister that she was, looked at him in the eyes with murderous intent and made a similar demand. On that occasion the wrong response would have him turned into a block of ice or statue before he was broken into a million pieces.

However this woman, who he would in a few minutes learn was Medea of Cochis, looked at him with eagerness like she already knew the expected response.

"Something happened and Sona, my King, was afraid. She was afraid and lost, trying to hold herself together with whatever will she could muster but almost desperate." Kuzuki didn't like the idea of telling that to a stranger but he was under orders to acquire a Noble Phantasm by any means. "Upon seeing her like that I asked 'what is wrong?' and she replied 'I am weak and can't do anything about it'." Displeasure seeped in his expression. "So I offered to lend an ear and instead she asked for my help. After she explained the truth about devils, that she knew about my past and that she needed my strength I saw no reason to not offer her my assistance since I found her goal harmless and even worthy of praise."

"And what is her goal?" Medea asked gently with an expression Kuzuki failed to read completely.

"To build a school so everyone has a chance to grow in life. I saw nothing against it and decided helping her would be a good thing."

"Hahaha! Of course you would." Surprise and wonder were written all over his face as Medea turned around with happiness. "A sincere man like you, of course you would want to help someone equally sincere. She is a lucky girl." She sounded whimsical for a moment before turning at him with a smiling face. "You want a Noble Phantasm, right? That is what this spell is about. A decent piece of thaumaturgy and I can detect that in the World it came from the gods still play a role." That seeped some of her happiness as she glared at something.

Turning around he noticed the broken statue again and understood the woman before him hated a goddess so much that the thing could only appear broken in her mind. Either that or she broke it before they met but Kuzuki couldn't know the truth regardless.

A flash of light and his eyes turned back to her, a crooked dagger on her hand. "This is, technically, my strongest Noble Phantasm. Versatile, powerful, useful for an assassin such as you." Then she made it disappear with a mirthless chuckle. "But I don't want to give it to you."

"Understandable." He wouldn't trust a stranger with a weapon like that either.

Medea giggled as she knew what he was thinking but decided to not correct him. "No, what I will give to you… is something better. A way so that I can protect you even if we never know each other in your life, Souichirou Kuzuki."

Confusion wasn't an unfamiliar emotion from the man but the way she spoke, the affection in her tone, almost made him shake. "Did we… know each other from somewhere?"

"Fufufu." A staff manifested in her hand and Medea began to pour a fraction of her power on it.

She would promptly introduce herself, explain her Noble Phantasm and completely ignore the question.

Kuzuki examined his missing arm with a frown as he had miscalculated and lost it in an attempt to take out the Cancer spell still surrounding Luvia. He had previously suspected the girl's absolute defense meant a lack of offense. It was a mistake he paid after an overextension when she trapped his arm between her own and crushed it into paste.

Hecate's Staff reappeared to correct his lack of foresight. "Pain Breaker."

Luvia could only grit her teeth and watch as time seemed to reverse for Kuzuki again, his arm returning without a single problem despite its utter destruction a minute before. "Never took you for a medic, Kuzuki-sensei. Would you be willing to treat my own wounds?" Once again he gave no reply as Pain Breaker finished patching him up. 'If I am not mistaken it uses the same quantity of mana no matter the size of the wounds.' A considerable bit for a normal devil but she didn't know her opponent's reserves just yet. 'Most of his attacks are physical and so he saves his energy whenever he needs his Noble Phantasm.'

Either way, counterattacking was worthless as she risked leaving her heart vulnerable to trap his arm only for the effects of her gamble to be completely brushed aside. If she wanted to win she would either need to attack constantly to beat Kuzuki into submission or throw something so strong he would be defeated before healing.

Another alternative would be hurting him enough for the man to heal and repeat the process until he fell but Kuzuki barely seemed winded and not close to tired which implied Pain Breaker didn't drain that much energy at all.

Prideful as she was Luvia knew that surviving that long wasn't on the cards, the teacher wasn't going to overextend again. She was already leaning heavily in the second option as she knew a battle of attrition would be folly.

'One or two minutes.' Her decision made, Luvia began to focus on two gems at once while keeping the Cancer spell running. 'Just need to last that long and victory will be mine.'

Cautious as he was, the man wasn't planning to give her any space as he charged at Luvia with renewed vigor and began to assault her arms at full throttle. Dozens of chops, thrusts and knife-like strikes threatened to break her bones and her Cancer spell ran damage control by going everywhere as quickly as possible.

Luvia didn't dare to give any other opening as Kuzuki moved so fast she doubted capturing his arms was possible or any counter feasible. Any mistake would mean him hitting her head or heart and she would be done.

Turtling was her choice anyway and she focused more and more mana into her arms, the gems hiding in her sleeves also benefiting from the extra defense as she would only need to hold on for a minute.

A very long minute, potentially the longest minute of her life as even when she was knocking at Death's door everything seemed to be a blur or just gone so fast that she needed an explanation later.

Not so much in this particular fight as Luvia felt every painful second since it was pontificated by a hit that was coming dangerously close to breaking her bones, defensive spells or not.

When she realized it Luvia had been unconsciously retreating and being forced back to the point she hit a wall. While that reduced the angles Kuzuki could use in his offensive the man had turned all his focus on a direct assault so that didn't even matter.

He kept hitting hard like a battering ram and there was no doubt in the magus' mind his fists could really bring a castle's gates down. He was just too strong and so fast for her to do anything but stand there and hold on.

Thirty more seconds, by the time she realized her arms went numb she needed thirty more seconds before her counterattack was truly viable. That and also an opening she couldn't find since Kuzuki's attacks were as close to perfect as they could get.

Indeed his skill with his martial arts was so perfect the time he needed to readjust to his new condition as a devil only existed because he was so proficient before. After his Reincarnation the motions of his body were out of sync by a little as new senses and demonic energy called for some adjustments.

Sure enough though the month he grew better and stronger but only in combat the man managed to regain the absolute control he had over himself prior to Reincarnation and Luvia actually helped a bit by lasting long enough so he could get the proper rhythm.

However their dance was about to end and they knew it, Kuzuki taking what he saw as the final steps by focusing several hits on the left arm and then pushing it to the side once he saw the signals of numbness and muscular weakness.

Devil or not, their body was so close to a human's that his techniques still applied.

Luvia saw the hand that would end her and realized it was 'all or nothing' from there on. She pushed all her reserves in the Cancer spell to create a bubble of mana that quickly expanded and threw the man away.

Kuzuki didn't expect the counter but easily landed on his feet, completely unharmed and ready to resume only to stop as pure mana began to take shape around Luvia's hands where two new gems pulsed with power.

Brining her closed fists up and placing one over the other with her knuckles touching. Mana formed bonds around her wrists as a new creature began to take shape for the new spell.

A representative of brute strength for where the lion was seen as the noble King of the Jungle the next one was considered the runaway train of nature. The sort of creature that did little but trample those in its path when going all out in its many interactions. Even when raised domestically there was always the danger of an unfortunate soul getting in its way and dying from more than a few broken bones.

This was it, Luvia's strongest attack. "TAURUS!" A bull made of blue mana left her fists with a silent snarl and eyes full of bloodlust.

Its figure was intimidating enough with its size alone, big enough to barely fit the hallway they were in and comparable to a big pick up truck, but the aggressiveness pouring from it was enhanced by the demonic energy which gave it life.

Kuzuki wasn't one to be intimidated, that emotion didn't exist in him since childhood., but he was cautious when his senses warned him of the incoming danger as the huge mana creature charged like the animal it was based on, horns ready and aiming at his heart.

The charge was short, just a couple of meters, and Taurus reached Kuzuki before the man could really dodge. He raised his arms defensively, a strong magic circle forming exactly as he was taught.

It wasn't even close to enough and he was carried all the way back to the Sitri's side of the battlefield before Taurus properly exploded. Looking at herself Luvia expected to be retired but upon forcing her vision she saw most of the damage was minimal as Kuzuki absorbed most of the impact.

It was hard to say which looked worse, the floor where Taurus' charge or the man who took the brunt of it, the magus would definitively say the latter by the lack of a leg and shoulder after the explosion.

However there was a huge problem for the blonde; the man wasn't being retired and his eyes looked as sharp as ever despite the amount of pain he should be feeling. Fact was that pain was irrelevant and even if his nerves were on fire Kuzuki would be able to keep grading his papers without a worry in the world.

To survive the attack the man strengthened his limbs as much as possible and punched Taurus before they hit a wall. Sure thing his body was sporting several burns and two of his limbs became dust as a consequence but Souichirou was still conscious and had some energy left.

What he was going to use it for was obvious, so obvious in fact that it could be said he had already won.

In a panic Luvia began to gather mana in her hands to shoot him down before the inevitable happened. Unfortunately for her it was just that, inevitable, as Hecate's Staff made another appearance and the man called for its power.

"Pain Breaker." Calling his regeneration unfair would be fair as the missing limbs, decimated bones and lost blood were fully restored in a millisecond, Kuzuki dancing around her attack before charging at her again.

*Aaaaaand it is settled! The first Noble Phantasm was defeated and Sona Sitri's Knight has been retired!*

The announcement came suddenly but Luvia had no time to ponder it as her opponent closed the distance between them in a heartbeat and Kuzuki wasn't going to make her mistake.

He went straight for the head but to make sure it wasn't going to be a fatal wound all she did was shove her head against the wall with all the strength and speed he could muster. As a Rook it would take a little more to get Luvia bleeding but by letting Hecate's Staff go he had both hands free and a vulnerable magus.

By the sixth hit Luvia had lost her conscience and was removed from the battlefield.

*Looks like the trading of blows is not over! Another Rook was retired and it was one of Rias Gremory's!"

Once the dust had settled Kuzuki looked where his student had been with a curious look that held some measure of concern. Knowing his blows wouldn't kill anyone was one thing but seeing them being saved before they breathed their last was another. He also was stunned by how sturdy a devil could actually be. He would have to consider that in future matches.

The very idea of fighting for sport wasn't appealing to him but Kuzuki accepted it for a good cause. "I need to-" His vision grew blurry and the teacher had to support himself with a wall as his body seemed close to shut down. "This is… mana exhaustion I believe."

It spoke highly of Medea's skills that her Noble Phantasm used as little mana as possible for Kuzuki's benefit. He wasn't the same man she fell in love with, a tale from a different life, but he was that man nonetheless in another form. And as Pain Breaker was built by love she could improve it to maximum efficiency for a minimal cost.

But there was still a cost and while an athletic man prior to Reincarnating he didn't have magic circuits nor experience in magic. His skill was born from hours of training and study about human anatomy, nothing that could be considered supernatural in the slightest.

Flexing his fingers, Kuzuki remembered every lesson he had over the last month about mana. Thanks to prior training the man knew that in an exhausted state he would need at least half an hour to be fully functional as he was able to ignore muscle archers and such.

However his mentality as a killer came into fray warning him it was not enough for while he would be able to move optimally he wouldn't be able to use Pain Breaker as much as he did against Luvia.

His next opponent would be Rias Gremory and facing the Power of Destruction without his healing ability would be akin to suicide since Luvia had him dead to rights at least three times without it.

Not waiting for instructions or even seeking them Kuzuki decided returning to base was the best thing he could do. It would give him time to recover and heal while they waited for more allies to win their fights.

A decision his King would approve once she heard it.

…

Lightning and steel clashed in a perilous dance as Tsubaki did everything in her power to keep Akeno's attention even as her teammates fought on the floors below. The raven haired beauties traded blows twice as a chain wrapped itself around the naginata which was quickly discarded.

For a moment the Sitri Queen was vulnerable and jumped back as far as she could just as another chain came to capture her leg and unleash several volts of electricity that could cook a chicken in seconds.

A new naginata dropped in her hand and Tsubaki destroyed the chain, getting ready to clash again only to see Akeno was moving towards the railing.

The hybrid could feel another Lightning being unleashed and all in the food court heard, "Golden Spark!" trying to bring down her own teammate.

She opened her devil wings and actually managed to take flight before the tip of the naginata hit one of them, forcing her against a wall. There was no blood, Akeno was too strong and Tsubaki was too weak, but there was irritation in the hybrid's eyes due to the devil's insistence on keeping her busy.

"Golden Spark!" Also Akeno was growing very worried as the Lightning unleashed by that Noble Phantasm wasn't weak in the slightest.

With a swift movement the Gremory Queen sent her chain towards Tsubaki's face who wasn't fast enough to fully dodge and ended up with a burn and a cut across her cheek. "Did you have to bring these sort of dangerous toys?"

Tsubaki wasn't surprised by the question, both could feel Ruruko going all out but they also could feel her failing as the boost Saji gave her began to wane with every use of Kintoki's Noble Phantasm.

Still she wasn't going to apologize about what they had to do. "All fair in love and war."

"Only this isn't war and you all brought several Noble Phantasms that could kill any of us by accident." Suffice to say was that Akeno was truly tempted to say 'screw the consequences' and unleash her Holy Lightning.

Her counterpart just settled in her stance before replying. "Your peerage can take it." A genuine reply in Tsubaki's opinion. "You can't blame us for leveling the playing field."

"Oh my~ Want to talk about the rules on this farce? Or perhaps how I could have already dealt with you if I didn't have to care about the building at all." Passive-aggressive as she was acting, Akeno was really losing her patience.

But instead of shame she only got a scoff for her troubles. "We both know it wouldn't make any difference. Not against my Mirror Alice."

If there was one thing everyone on Sona Peerage knew for sure was that Mirror Alice, Tsubaki's sacred gear, was the perfect counter for Akeno. "Oh, so trusting about reflecting my attack back. Want to test that?" Sparks flew around the hybrid's fingers. "We never had the chance before."

"Suit yourself if you want." Yet Tsubaki didn't change her stance or make any motion to summon her sacred gear.

Akeno knew she wouldn't, it was too risky but also too annoying. 'This is beyond frustrating.' The raven haired beauty thought, trying to remain calm even as she heard her friend screaming from pain. 'I don't know how long Ise-kun can hold on but I need to deal with her before doing anything else. Even if she can't harm me, a single mistake and Mirror Alice will do some damage'

There were some tricks Akeno was sure she could pull off to neutralize Tsubaki's sacred gear. It wasn't considered a Longinus for a reason as its power needed a direct hit and gave the attacker enough time to move around and dodge if they knew about it. Both were conditions Akeno had realized but even if she threw something too strong Tsubaki didn't need to use Mirror Alice.

Dodging was always a valid option and if Akeno caused too much destruction she would be retired from the game. 'Then again, I can use Holy Lightning and… potentially kill someone. Dear Medusa, fighting devils and not killing them is annoying.'

Not willing to give Akeno to plan anything, Tsubaki charged once more with dozens of stabs from her naginata. The Gremory Queen was already growing tired of that opening and decided to punish the other woman for it.

A quick step inside her comfort zone, Akeno prepared a sphere in her hand and unleashed it before the girl could react. "Thunder Sphere!"

Had any glass still been standing after Golden Spark made an appearance then the roar of her Thunder would have finished them off. Tsubaki would attest to that as she felt her bones practically cracking as she was sent flying back over the other side of the food court. Her midriff was now exposed, a red mark as proof of the blow she took.

Akeno didn't bother in pursuing her opponent, looking down from the top floor and getting ready to help Ise only to see he was still standing up. 'He is really healing by himself.' She couldn't help but smile as the Pawn of Gremory got back to his feet. His armor was damaged and he was bleeding but the wounds were closing even if at a slow rate.

But what really made her want to laugh was the state Ruruko was in; on her knees with a huge ax by her side yet utterly done. She was exhausted and it was clear to see, Akeno's attuned senses telling her the girl had wasted pretty much every scrap of energy Saji had given her and she was left with just dregs.

From what she was feeling during her fight with Tsubaki, Akeno could estimate the girl wasn't going to be using her Noble Phantasm without a good night of rest and a healthy meal.

Either way she was done and Akeno felt she could relax. Certainly she could if Tsubaki hadn't come back with a leap and her naginata descending from an overhead swing.

The place Akeno was standing previously got destroyed and some of the floor began to crumble but the ravenhead ignored it, focusing on dodging Tsubaki's new barrage of stabs and slashes.

None of them hit and Akeno countered with an arrowhead going through her shoulder. "It is over!" Announced the Queen of Gremory as she unleashed Lightning on Tsubaki's system.

Body shaking and muscles fighting against her every move, Tsubaki still managed to cut the chain down. Akeno relaxed a little and watched the girl fall with mirth and enjoyment at her pained expression.

"Two of your Noble Phantasms are defeated. I bet Kuzuki-sensei has a third since I doubt he could have defeated Luvia in a fair fight." Akeno commented as she watched Tsubaki using her naginata for support to stand up again. "Ruruko is out for the count as well and Tomoe, it was she who faced Kiba, right? Regardless, none of them managed to cripple our boys enough for them to not come back."

A quick visit to Asia and both of them would be ready to go again with minimal issues. Exhaustion maybe but since the rules allowed for unlimited time they could just rest for a few hours to get back to their feet.

None of that would matter to Tsubaki in a few seconds anyway, not if Akeno had anything to say about it. "Fufufu. Any last words?"

"Yeah." Realizing her disadvantage and how much stronger Akeno was compared to her, Tsubaki went for a desperate play. "We don't have just three Noble Phantasms."

As expected the shock of such information froze Akeno in her steps. "Excuse you?"

Smiling at her opponent, Tsubaki took advantage of her stunned state to attack again with a circular wide swing to accumulate momentum and cut Akeno where she stood.

Only for the naginata to be destroyed in her hands as Akeno unleashed a chain with the combined might of Lightning and Thunder, startling Tsubaki who began to realize Akeno was holding back quite a bit to not damage the mall.

Still her attack was a counter so the ball and chain remained in her hand as the naginata crashed on it and fell apart. "Do you mind repeating that? Did you just say that Sona managed to acquire four Noble Phantasms?"

"'Summoned', would be a better word. At least for three of them." Stalling for time, Tsubaki called for another naginata only for it and her hand to break as Akeno sent solid Thunder to destroy it. "Aaaahhhh!" The Queen of Sitri fell to her knees, holding her hand in pain.

Akeno didn't care about that, moving past any enjoyment from her imminent victory and glaring at the girl with a harsh look. "Summoned three Noble Phantasms but had a fourth one. Is that what you are saying?" It was important information, enough so that she Altered the ball at the chain's tip into a blade and held it to Tsubaki's neck. "Who has the fourth one?"

From below their feet Akeno felt it, felt a power as great if not greater than Golden Eater but much more 'solid' and grounded unlike Kintoki's sacred gear which seemed to be being dragged around Ruruko's spirit on a level she couldn't comprehend.

That new power on the other hand was anchored, connected to someone else in a far deeper level, a level that made Akeno nauseous as it and the person's soul seemed to be clashing in some way the second it properly manifested.

It generated a lapse of attention, one that Tsubaki used to kick Akeno's legs and jump down to safety as the battlefield was about to change again.

Chastising herself for her mistake and pushing aside the complex reaction the new Noble Phantasm was assaulting her senses with, Akeno rushed to the ralling only to see something she really didn't expect.

One of her friends, completely defeated.

…

"Hahahahaha! You're cool, Ruruko-chan! Really golden!" Said a man with blond hair, blue eyes and lots of muscles.

He was shaped in such a way his body could be confused with an unrealistic statue as his muscles were big enough to be the size of boulders yet aesthetically easy on the eyes. Ruruko was pretty sure just his biceps was twice larger than her head and when she asked him to measure it the man did so, both laughing as it turned out she was right.

"Nah! You're the cool one, Kintoki! Crap, I wish I could take an autograph back home. Nobody is going to believe I met you!" She said while laughing all the while at her situation as she wasn't just meeting any Legend but one of her favorites. "So what Tomoe-chan got to meet Ushiwakamaru, I got the coolest hero of all Japan, Kintomaru!"

"Hahaha! You bet you did! But you can call me Kintoki or Sakata if you want! 'Kintomaru' makes it sound like Boss Raikou is getting ready to drag me for more training or something…"

Despite his massive size, Kintoki was almost two meters tall and his bulk was so much he could only be called intimidating, the man proved himself to be as gentle as a butterfly, with a sunny disposition the same color of his bright blond hair.

Dressed in clothes Ruruko could only guess were fit for the time, black robes and blue bag pants that gave him a lot of mobility while not dirtying his handsome looks and black armor with its own set of golden highlights.

On his head there was a blue and black bandana to keep his hair out of the way, a wide ponytail holding the rest behind his head, and a huge butcher knife-like sword on his back tied around a pink sash of a high quality silk probably more expensive than anything else he was wearing.

Also there was his ax, a huge thing that the devil was pretty sure could cut her in pieces and it wouldn't even be hard.

For a moment there was some confusion from the man when he saw her but soon it melted with a smile as he approached. They got talking a minute after and respectfully Ruruko asked if she could take one of his Noble Phantasms back with her which earned a raised eyebrow.

"Sure but with one condition." He had said previously with an eager grin. "Tell me why I should give you one."

Part of the Sitri Pawn expected some sort of trial or challenge, perhaps even a fight she was sure she wouldn't win but be acknowledged for trying anyway, not to have a chat and upon asking him to repeat his request they started doing just that.

In the middle of the street where they met.

There were restaurants around and places more comfortable to sit but Kintoki planted himself there and he wasn't moving so Ruruko just sat down in seiza and began talking on how she wanted to help her King and such.

Didn't take long for Kintoki to realize she was holding herself back quite a bit and insist she spoke her mind else she would leave empty handed.

Cue to Ruruko to speak way more informally and start calling Sona her Boss much like Kintoki did for Raikou. It was then they understood he was called because they were actually quite similar so they began to talk about anything.

Topics varied between their favorite foods, pastimes and coworkers. Literally anything they wanted to say, they said it.

It gave Kintoki a chance to know the girl asking for his power and found he had no troubles in helping her. Sure the spell that matched them used their personalities on some level but he didn't know the details and needed to test Ruruko on his own.

And as far as he was concerned she passed with golden colors, especially when she complimented his hair.

There was no way she was faking a personality similar to his unless she was some sort of mastermind capable of making up stories and mannerisms and holding them up long enough to hold a proper conversation.

But no, she wasn't. She was just an eager girl who wanted to do her best for her boss and just met one of her idols. If anything perhaps she was too eager and buried her true personality a bit too much for her Boss' sake but that was something she had to work on herself.

Regardless, their good time had to end as Ruruko jumped. "Wait, how long have I been here?"

"Hmm, three hours at most."

"That long? Crap, everyone must be worried sick." She wasn't panicking just yet but clearly it was a problem.

"What is wrong? Is it because your body is… wherever you did the ritual?" Easy to deduce, easier to ask.

"Yeah. Time doesn't move differently or anything like that so if I don't get back soon Boss is going to get me out." Tomoe had gone before her and she spent four hours trying to tag Ushiwakamaru. For that reason that was the time limit Sona established and just because people held her back in fear that getting her Knight out too soon could be harmful. "I'm sorry, Kintoki but I really need to go before everyone gets worried."

The man chuckled and waved his hand to calm her down. "Hey, it's cool. I understand a thing or two about overprotective bosses." She smiled at him and Kintoki decided she was right, their time together was fun but she had a life to get back to. "So, about that Noble Phantasm…" The Legendary warrior started playfully.

"Oh, right. I completely forgot about that!" She scratched her cheek with some embarrassment.

Kintoki could sympathize. "Hehe, that is cool. Just remember to keep your eyes on the prize otherwise it wouldn't be golden!" With that the man slammed his ax between them, scaring the girl to the point she jumped to her feet. "Here ya go."

"Huh?"

"Here ya go. Get it." He pointed to the ax.

Staring at the ax the girl couldn't help but sweatdrop. "Uhh… Kintoki, it's a bit… too big for me."

"Right now, yeah, you can bet." The man laughed loudly. "But if you train with it then sooner or later you will be using it like I would; smacking heads and cutting onis' necks."

Considering she was smaller than the ax, Ruruko couldn't help but hesitate. "Can't you give me something… a little smaller?"

For the first time since they met, Kintoki frowned. "No can do. This' my strongest Noble Phantasm. And I only give the best to my friends." Then he looked to the side and pouted a little before whispering. "Not like I can get you Tsuna's sword or something." Turning to her with his confident smirk he declared. "And it wouldn't be as golden!"

"But I don't think I can use it right now and my Boss… she needs to start getting wins, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. But looking to the future is just as important as looking to the present." Kintoki patted his ax's handle before letting it go. Waving at her to take it, he continued. "Probably you can't use it right now but with time it will be your most trusted companion. If you really are dedicated then," he flexed his muscles, "you will get there, sooner or later."

"... No offense but I don't want muscles that size."

"Hahahaha! Trust me, you don't need them. Boss Raikou looked lean like a branch but could break my neck with a flex of her wrist." Nervously the man imagined that happening and couldn't help but massage his neck. "Give it time. My old friend here never disappointed me and certainly won't leave you hanging. Until then… I trust you are smart enough to figure something out."

Looking at the gigantic ax, Ruruko couldn't help but feel some apprehension. Just as she approached it, she looked up to Kintoki who nodded.

"Go ahead. Take it! Let all of the modern age hear the roar of your-!"

"Golden Spark!" Ruruko slammed her ax on Ise's armored side with all the strength she could muster.

Obviously the Red Dragon Emperor didn't stand still to take the hit, already flying away in a dodge. His flight path was interrupted when the metal made contact and his Balance Break managed to stop it just short of touching his skin.

Too bad for him even Ddraig's scales couldn't take the full brunt of the attack, especially the Lightning invading his body which made it extremely hard to do anything for a few seconds every time he was hit.

Sailing through the air, Ise ended up hitting what would be a Mexican restaurant if it wasn't empty and lacked all the food. Only the sombrero-like decorations told anyone what was supposed to be but the Pawn was too dizzy to pay any real attention to them. Managing to barely get up, his leg spasmed and he almost fell.

"The hell is going on, Ddraig?" He asked while trying to get back to his feet again. 'Fuck, it hurts too much.'

[Divine Lightning. It can ignore most of your defenses and reach your nerves. Be thankful that I am mitigating most of the damage or else you would be really paralyzed so suck it up and get back there.]

"You ain't the one feeling like you had shoved a fork into a socket."

[Who says I am not feeling it?] It was Divine Lightning, of course despite being a soul Ddraig was also feeling pain. However, unlike his partner, Ddraig had worse in his life so he focused on doing his job and repairing the Scale Mail. [Move!]

The warning didn't come a second too soon as Ruruko summoned Golden Eater again and dropped by like a missile and destroyed the place's front. Ise was forced to slow down because his body refused to obey properly but he was still fast enough to get out of the way and throw a punch in return.

Ruruko saw him coming and poured more power in Kintoki's ax, giving herself an aura of Divine Lightning strong enough to stop his fist. Their powers clashed, more of the area was destroyed and Ise almost screaming from the energy invading his body one more time.

Ddraig realized that his partner was trying to end things quickly and the mistake such thoughts were. [Goddamned!] Flexing the armor's wings the Original Red Dragon Emperor forced Ise to retreat. [This is not the time to go into a berserker rage!]

'But I need to take her out!' He complained as both saw the floor of the mall cracking so much the whole food court was being destroyed by Ruruko alone. 'Shit! Why isn't she retired or something?'

[Maybe because they are the favorites.] Feeling confusion from their bond, Ddraig elaborated. [Think about it; the rules never really commented on how much destruction was necessary before someone retired from the game. In that case it means there are judges watching and judging every blast and deciding if it can or can't be fixed with magic. In other words…]

'Kaichou is cheating?!' Ise couldn't believe that, the thought was too alien for his mind.

[Not directly. That girl is too uptight to ever conceive the notion.] Ddraig shared his own thoughts without concern. [However someone is and clearly they are flexing the rules enough that it would need something really big for retirement to be considered. Something a dragon could do for instance. To begin the conversation about that sort of rule is stupid at best.]

As his feet touched the ground Ise couldn't hide a groan of frustration. 'Someone must have noticed it.'

[How? Most devils don't really know what we can do and even if they know we could crush everyone if we could go all out that doesn't mean holding us back doesn't make the game more exciting.]

In the end it was about what the average devil would agree was too much in that sort of match and considering that Sona's team were the underdogs it wouldn't take much for them to be convinced that some restrictions were warranted if just to make the match fair.

Noble Phantasms being used sort threw that argument out of the window but it was a power usually belonging to Humanity, once again the average devil wouldn't know how destructive they really were.

[In any case focus on surviving. That girl won't be able to keep going for long.] Ddraig commented as they both watched Ruruko walking back to the food court proper slowly. The red aura was almost gone. [Same rules as proper Boosting, Partner; if she can't keep up it can do more harm than good.]

'Are you suggesting we stay on the defensive?' A curious Ise asked the dragon with mirth in his voice. 'Where is your pride now?'

[My pride is in not losing due to bullshit.] He already didn't like the idea of being defeated even if giving Sona a run for her money but holding back was fine with him. But losing because someone was trying to make him lose was completely off limits.

So as far as Ddraig was concerned Rias Gremory was winning that Rating Game or heads were going to roll. A train of thought that Ise found himself surprisingly agreeing with as he knew for a fact the Student Council Kaichou wouldn't want to win like that. It went completely against her character and even if politics forced her hand that wasn't an excuse in his book.

'How long before she runs out of gas?' Ise asked while getting in his boxer stance and his sacred gear finished fixing itself.

A response would have to wait as Ruruko let out a roar of determination and pushed far more mana from her body. However it wasn't red anymore but black, Vritra's color, which meant she was tapping on the last of her extra reserves.

[A couple more swings, give or take.]

'Then those are going to be the most dangerous ones.' If he learned anything on Dragon Territory was that a cornered animal was way too dangerous and dragons doubly so. Ruruko was using the power of dragons and Ise classified her as such for the time being. 'Going to need-'

[Boost!Boost!Boost]

'Thanks.' He said before charging towards a surprised twin tailed girl who didn't see coming.

Quickly Ise threw a punch that was only a feint to force her to waste her energy on her aura again. Instead Ruruko just dodged the blow and ran away forcing the Gremory Pawn to chase. She summoned a few magic circles for Lightning and other blasts but nothing that could scratch Ddraig's scales.

She gnashed her teeth in rage as the reality of the Red Dragon Emperor's defense hit her like a ton of bricks. Quite literally as he came in with a shoulder tackle that broke a few of her ribs and sent her flying but Saji's power reminded her what her friend had to endure before.

'If Gen-chan could take the pain,' she thought about the crush she was about to give up but still admired, "then so can I!"

With that roar Ruruko beated her wings for balance before shooting back at Ise like a dart. Golden Eater wasn't in her hands yet but by how she was gathering mana her fellow Pawn knew it was coming and reacted accordingly. Raising his wings to get them in front of her, he also blocked his own vision.

Which was a mistake since it was his turn to be surprised as Ruruko came closer to the floor to jump from it and get more altitude just as they were about to collide. Since his armor's wings were considerably big, Ise had a few instants to see Ruruko going over them before she reached his body.

Both acted fast but the fact Scale Mail gave its owner Ddraig's scales but not the dragon's power and speed made itself known once again. That was still Ise's, which was complemented by Boosts and surpassed the majority of Knights in the Underworld, even Kiba's. However Ruruko was empowered with the power of two dragons and her reactions were faster than his at least in this instance.

With a jump she got over his guard and with her wings she pushed her whole body in his direction as Kintoki's ax returned to her hands for one last attack. "Golden Spark!"

It was a clean hit on Ise's shoulder that had the boy screaming and his scales shattering as Lightning ran freely around and inside him. By far was her strongest attack of the whole game, the girl pouring all she had left on her Noble Phantasm and electrocuting the Gremory Pawn.

He could do nothing except scream as the ax's blades sunk deeper in his shoulder but Ddraig could and he was already moving their wings, bending them in odd ways only possible because of the Divine Metal they were made of.

They got close enough to Ise so Ddraig could use one of them as a bat to send Ruruko flying once again while the other moved up pushing the ax off his partner's shoulder. That wouldn't be necessary as Ise himself fought through the pain and managed to gasp the handle, removing it from his flesh even as his body fought him.

Neither of them wanted anything to do with Kintoki's prized weapon anymore so the Red Dragon Emperor threw it away as both did some damage assessment. Scale Mail was cracked everywhere but his shoulder was completely exposed and bleeding while the side of his face could be seen through the broken mask.

Yet there was no rage in his expression. He wasn't calm by any means but if anything Ise's face could be described as annoyed more than anything. Annoyed with Lightning and with himself.

'Next time we are training on attacks that don't make big explosions.' The highschooler commented while directing most of his energy to heal his shoulder.

Another advantage of being the Red Dragon Emperor was that his Boosts applied to his healing too. He preferred if Asia could take a look if only to be at the nun's tender mercies for a bit but that was without a shadow of a doubt the most useful skill he learned over the month.

[Hardly our fault, you learned by fighting dragons… she certainly fought like one.] With that comment Ise turned around to look at the Sitri Pawn who was trying to stand up.

'Trying' was definitely the keyword as despite still being conscious it was clear she had nothing else to give. Saji's power was gone and so was whatever he had managed to take from the Red Dragon Emperor. Golden Eater wasn't an easy Noble Phantasm to use and it would take years for her to use as much as she did by herself.

Yet neither Red Dragon Emperor could deny the ax's power was impressive as it managed to break through Ddraig's scales despite being in the hands of a subpar user. 'Say, Ddraig, if that is Kintomaru's ax… does that mean that-'

[No!] Protested the dragon with fury. [Don't compare just my scales alone with how they would be with my might and my muscles. Not to mention that I can actually punch back.]

The last one stung Ise's pride a bit but Ddraig was just upset by the question. Had the rules not have stopped him then Ise would have blasted Ruruko away long ago so they both were.

'Right, sorry.' He kept watching the girl trying to get up, feeling how his own body struggled with exhaustion. 'Let's just rest for a bit and deal with Kaichou after.'

[You know we could-]

'I'm not that desperate yet!' Ise didn't want to use that alternative, not one bit. He was almost puking just thinking about it.

Then both felt a spike of power coming from above and the Red Dragon Emperor turned to look in that direction as their senses were warning about something dangerous coming from the third floor.

Just as or perhaps even more dangerous than Kintoki's ax.

No lights or bursts of power came after as his body regenerated and his eyes remained locked in that direction. [We should go check.]

"What? Are you insane?" Yet the feeling persisted. "I'm a foot on the grave."

[Stop being overly dramatic.] He could feel the dragon rolling his eyes. [I thought you left your fear back in the forest.]

"And you are the smart one."

[Just eat the-]

Things changed when Koneko came out of the third floor in a burst of wind and was left at gravity's mercy for a millisecond. The white haired nekomata looked to be in pain and unable to even move, wide eyes frozen in time as she managed to see Akeno and Ise watching her impromptu flight.

Watching her defeat as she knew there was no escaping and her opponent was coming for the finish.

The Red Dragon Emperor almost couldn't see the black blur that jumped on Koneko and both fell down with a small tremor once they met the floor. There the white haired nekomata was crushed by the power above and the ground below as the cracks around the food court grew worse.

*What is that? Can't be just a Noble Phantasm! There is no way!* Sounding distant, that wasn't Naud's voice but Yoruichi's who sounded to be in panic.

*My apologies, Lady Shihouin but I have no answers to give.* Said Lord Belial, sounding impressed.

*And apologies to you both but I have a duty here!* Naud complained but he was in the right. *As I was about to say, the Battle of the Rook ends with Rias Gremory's loss as another of her Pieces was taken down by her opponent who underwent a fascinating transformation!*

Standing up from the crater she previously had buried Koneko in, Yura Tsubasa no longer was dressed in Kuoh's uniform but instead on a very exposing black leotard, open in the navel area and keeping her breasts very firm, much to Ise's delight, with some purple highlights and protection for her neck.

On her feet there were boots, one that was tight high while the other barely reached her knee. She was also using long gloves that reached her biceps, nothing connected to the leotard.

[Focus you idiot!] Ddraig smacked his partner's soul so he stopped ogling the young woman as every instinct told the dragon that if they underestimated their adversary they would be destroyed. [Look at the shield, Partner. That shield is a Noble Phantasm.]

Involuntarily the young devil massaged the back of his neck like if the hit had been real. 'So what? We just defeated an ax. What can a shield even do?'

It was a huge thing indeed and a weapon that exuded enough energy to be compared with the biggest dragons Ise faced. However upon closing inspection the Pawn was pretty much sure Kintoki ax had been the stronger of the two. Didn't help that the weapon he faced just then could summon Divine Lightning and looked extremely intimidating.

Not that the shield looked less impressive in his eyes, a huge thing taller than Tsubasa by a couple of inches with a round center and something that looked like a cross on his eyes yet it didn't harm him in the slightest.

Something was written on it in black as a gray surface with other decorations Ise knew not the significance of. Deep in his heart he knew the decor and words were important but he couldn't understand them for some sort of reason that didn't bother him in the slightest.

While Ise felt power coming from that shield it wasn't as aggressive or dangerous as a dragon or any other Noble Phantasm he had ever seen before. It was almost welcoming in nature in a way that made him relax and when relaxed the boy couldn't help but look at the obvious beautiful girl holding it.

'Since when her hair is lilac?' The thought just popped out of nowhere as despite Koneko's defeat the young devil felt no threat whatsoever.

Yet he could feel Ddraig's wariness as the dragon remained on guard. [Pay attention, get your guard high or else we are going to be defeated in seconds. It isn't just the shield, power is flowing from that girl. I doubt she can even be called a devil at this point.]

Almost like she heard his words, Tsubasa smiled and took a step forward while carrying the huge shield like it was made of cardboard. "You almost got Ruruko there. Cool." She slammed the bottom of the shield in the ground and for reasons he couldn't understand that made Ise's nervous. "Mind if I have a turn?"

Looking at the shield in front of him it finally looked far more daunting than the ax.

….

You can read two more chapter early and support my work on:

P a treon

Apprentice of Life or

P a treon . com (slash) ApprenticeofLife

Until next time.