"[Boost]!"
"Doryaaa!"
"Ahem." Ravel flapped her wings, propelling herself backwards just enough to avoid Issei's wild blow.
"Urraaaaa!"
Ravel dodged backwards again, causing Issei's swing to miss.
"Please stop, this is embarrassing." Ravel's 'placating', ojou-sama-like words caused a vein to pulse on Issei's forehead.
"Stop running away!" Issei felt quite aggravated by the fact the cute yakitori in front of him wasn't fighting but was just dodging and fleeing.
"I apologize but I have no desire to be touched by you, red dragon emperor-sama." Ravel made a formal, if slight, curtsy from outside arm's reach while being visibly wary of him.
A crashing sound came from somewhere behind Issei and he glanced at the source of it.
"Koneko-chan!" Issei shouted in surprise and fright as he saw that the white-haired girl had been thrown against the benches of the gymnasium, piling them up as a wave-like mangle of broken benches with Koneko stirring weakly at their peak.
"Ravel-sama! I think we got the nekoshou!" The qipao-wearing woman shouted while her voice was clearly relieved. "We'll help you now!"
"Please stop, Xuelan-san! If you attack Red Dragon Emperor-sama, his 'points value' will go down!" Ravel called out. "I shall retire him once he has exhausted himself!"
"Like hell you are!" Issei charged at Ravel, who dodged… But instead of trying to pursue her further, he passed her altogether and charged towards Koneko.
"Oh- Change of plans! Xuelan-san! Stop Dragon-sama from reaching the nekoshou! They may be planning something!" Ravel made a motion to charge after Issei. "Karla! Isa! Take out the nekoshou! Fast!"
"On it!" Xuelan called back and charged towards Issei.
However…
Issei saw the movement of the Rook's thighs as she charged, as unlike the last time in the ORC clubroom, his eyesight had been augmented by his training and the four [Boosts] he had stacked.
The woman's charge was fast, but not fast enough. Not when her [Thigh]s betrayed her attack trajectory.
She charged at Issei and aimed a kick at his head-
Issei prepared himself with a confident smirk spreading on his face-
Xuelan saw the smirk and her eyes widened in sudden fear and she tried to pull the attack back, but she was already committed to the kick-
The kick connected with the side of Issei's face, sending him off to the spectator's part of the gymnasium where he made his own wave of broken benches with his back.
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"...How odd, I thought he would have dodged that for sure. He seemed fast enough… But why…"
"Ddraig! What are you doing! Surely that low-tier reincarnated devil is no match for you! Dammit! Get up!"
"Albion, please stop screaming and crying at the same time! I'm trying to concentrate here!"
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"Hee~" Issei had a stupid smirk on his face.
Indeed, his plan had worked.
Instead of dodging, he dove into the kick, allowing the Phenix Rook's thick thigh to hit him in the side of his face instead of her shin, massively reducing its damage… And also giving Issei a very soft and pleasant after-feel on the side of his face, if he ignored the pain and the blood coming from his smushed nose.
Ddraig was holding her face with both her hands inside Issei's head while Issei reached up with both hands and cracked his nose back into its proper shape.
"...Issei-kun…" Koneko muttered quietly from nearby. The girl got up shakily, fell to her knees in exhaustion, and crawled over to Issei in concern. "Are you…"
"Koneko-chan, take this!" Issei got up and closed his eyes briefly, recalling the sensation of the soft, alluring thighs… and then moved the strength to his arms.
Koneko tilted her head at Issei in confusion.
"Hentai! It's… fine, I guess…" Koneko blushed and looked away while muttering cutely. Her white cat-ears twitched and shot up, betraying her excitement over the touch…
Issei groped Koneko's small, petite breasts.
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"...Really? In the middle of a battle?"
"Uuuu… Ddraig… I get it now… Your wielder is the worst. Yes, that must be it. Albion! We'll surely crush him and set Ddraig free! We must do this before the reputation of the Heavenly Dragon Emperors is crushed!"
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Issei flew off into the benches again while his face resembled a butthole, courtesy of a fist that had impacted his face.
Koneko held her small fist forwards in a striking position. The fist was smoking slightly after it had caved Issei's face in.
"...Hentai… is the worst…" Koneko mumbled. And then she blinked in confusion before looking at her hands.
Issei sent a thumbs-up from the pile of broken benches while he was bleeding from both his nostrils again, though only partially because of the strike.
"...I've recovered my strength?" Koneko sounded surprised as she clenched and unclenched her fists while getting back to her feet. "...I see… Hentai. I won't forgive you… but thank you."
"Xuelan! What's wrong?!" Ravel called out as the Phenix Rook had stumbled and collapsed on her knees after the kick.
"Exha… usted… haa… that… took a lot… out of me…" Xuelan was panting hard while rubbing her thigh. "Hurts… That thing's head… too hard… like kicking a steel pole…"
"Xuelan! Get back, we'll take over!" The two Knights stood forwards to cover for the Rook. "Ravel-sama! Please distract the Red Dragon Emperor! We can't afford other losses!"
"I'm… not done yet…" Xuelan wobbled to her feet, but Ravel pushed her away.
"Do not lose! If you lose now, Riser-niisama will lose points!" Ravel looked concerned, though Xuelan was looking away with a mixed expression as it didn't sound like Ravel was very concerned about the Rook herself.
"Alright! Ddraig!" Issei stood up from the pile of benches while adjusting his nose again.
"[Boost]..."'This makes the fifth boost. 'Partner', you'll risk damaging yourself if you do more.' Ddraig looked like she didn't want to let Issei know about his quickly approaching limit as a form of retribution, but she did anyway. 'And please… take this seriously. I'm about to lose it over here.'
'With Rias-buchou's virginity on the line, there was never a moment when I wasn't taking this seriously!'Issei felt pumped and flexed his arms and neck, causing the two approaching Knights to sweat nervously. Koneko, meanwhile, was sighing heavily.
"Hentai is speaking aloud." Koneko informed quietly while Ddraig squatted down and kept screaming quietly while covering her face with her hands inside Issei's mind.
"Oh. Well, it was my honest thoughts on the matter!" Issei felt no shame over speaking the truth, all the while the Phenix group looked to be conflicted between disgusted and worried over Issei's claim.
"No more running, Red Dragon Emperor-sama. Let us resume our battle at your leisure." Ravel gave a very shallow curtsy and charged forwards, and Koneko charged towards the two Knights who braced themselves.
Ravel formed a ball of fire between her hands and threw it at Issei.
The fireball flew straight and true, and Issei instinctively swatted it out of the air with his Boosted Gear, causing the fireball to explode as a result. The force of the explosion blasted Issei a few feet backwards and caused the flammable benches around him to catch fire, as well as Issei's shirt.
'I see you're making use of the Red Dragon's resistance to fire.' Ddraig noted a bit dryly as Issei hurried to get his burning shirt off.
"Owie! It still burns! What gives?!" Issei yelped as he tossed the burning piece of fabric away.
'I said 'resistance' not immunity, 'partner'.' Ddraig huffed and continued to sulk.
"Kya!" Ravel blushed slightly as she saw Issei shirtless, but it didn't waver her from her follow-up attack.
Issei felt like covering himself up instinctively, though Rias's training as well as the week of high-intensity training had ended up getting him a relatively toned body that he wasn't exactly ashamed of, even though he couldn't exactly call it 'ripped'. Not that it mattered- He didn't pack spare clothes and it wasn't as if he could just go scavenging the gym for spare clothes during battle to preserve his 'modesty', if such a thing existed.
'Hold on, this sort of thing, it would make for a good attack-' Issei thought as he got an idea, only to be mentally grabbed by Ddraig by the throat with both hands, and then shaken away from his daydreams just in time to dodge another fireball aimed at his face.
'Dammit, when that cute yakitori is not attacking me with her thighs I'm at a disadvantage, I can't read her arms!' Issei growled internally as a swift follow-up ball of fire sent him careening off into the wall of the gymnasium, where he caused a small X-shaped crater in the wall before flopping down.
He landed on his feet, stumbled a bit… And realized that Ravel had charged in for a fiery punch.
However as he stumbled forwards, he tripped on a broken bench, causing him to fall forwards instead of trying to dodge backwards-
There was a crashing sound as Issei toppled over Ravel and pinned her under him by accident, causing the fiery punch to miss his head by a few inches.
Ravel blinked in confusion and then shrieked in terror as she saw that now-shirtless Issei had buried his face into the girl's breasts and was holding her sides with his hands, as he had instinctively grabbed the girl's flanks for support when falling. "Eh- Kyaaah! Ecchi! Noo! Get away! I'm too young to become a mother! Niisama! Anyone! Help! Please!"
"No! Get away from her, you beast!" One of the Knights made a charge to help Ravel, but Koneko tackled her aside while having a severely conflicted expression on her face. "Get out of my way, you damn cat! I need to save Ravel-sama's purity!"
"...I don't like this either, but if I think that it's for Rias-sama then… I'm just going to punish Hentai afterwards…" Koneko muttered quietly as she blocked the approach of the two Knights.
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"...Zeoticus, I would like to formally request that you back up my petition to condemn Rias's Pawn as a Stray for-"
"Let's not go that far just yet, Lord Phenix."
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'This… I can hear… Their song…' Issei thought as he felt the hot, smothering heat of the Cute Yakitori Breasts against his face as she was panicking and swatting his shoulders with flaming fists, which didn't actually do that much damage as there was nothing to catch fire there anymore, and Ravel had to watch the intensity of her flames or she'd burn her own clothes as well in such a 'close quarters' 'battle'.
'Great Red, not another 'perverted ability'... Please no…' Ddraig seemed to fall to her knees and start praying desperately as Issei pursued his current train of thoughts.
'I can hear… their call…' Issei realized that, much like the crushing power of [Thighs] had a voice of their own, so did [Breasts] have a voice, now that his face was up against the latter.
Indeed, while [Thighs] spoke of destruction, [Breasts] were less so, and spoke of softer things, things closer to heart (which made sense to Issei, considering the anatomy of Breasts). 'In other words… [Thighs] are tactical, [Breasts] are strategic.'
'If I kill myself, would the [Boosted Gear] migrate to a new host or would I just be in coma until you died? Academically speaking…'
Issei stood up, assisted by Ravel managing to get her feet under herself and kicking him in the chest to pry him off her.
Issei looked at his hands as he realized the [Voices of Breasts, much like its twin ability, the [Voices of Thighs]. 'I need a better name for this… Later.'
He then looked at Ravel, who was scurrying away in terror while sending him freaked-out glances over her shoulder.
'I can't be a wife anymore ;_; I'm sorry my potential future suitor, I've been sullied by this beast' spoke Ravel's left breast. 'Mom, dad, I'm sorry… Riser-nii! Baka! Why didn't you come and save me! Idiot! :C'
'Riser-niisama should be done with Rias-sama's Queen soon while having the Pawns in reserve in that small classroom at the back of the Academy, I just need to hold the insane Red Dragon Emperor-sama until Riser-niisama is ready to engage Rias-sama. It'll end with a checkmate.' spoke Ravel's right breast. 'I'll just need to hold until then. Just a bit longer… Please…'
"Koneko!" Issei called, forgoing honorifics as he realized what the Yakitori's plan was! "I've got it! The damn Yakitori plans to go and beat Akeno alone while having his Pawns reserved in classroom B-4!"
"How-" Ravel's face scrunched in sudden terror.
"Hentai- are you sure-"
"The cute yakitori's breasts told me the truth- I'm certain of this! You need to let Rias-buchou know and get Akeno out of the clubroom before she is ambushed!" Issei shouted. "Go! I'll handle these here!"
"...You better not lose, Issei-kun." Koneko sounded shocked but her expression morphed into one of determination before she dashed past Issei, just pausing momentarily to bump her head against Issei's flank. The strange gesture confused Issei but he brushed it off as he had more pressing matters- Namely, the two Knights and the mini-Yakitori.
"Dammit! The Red Dragon Emperor-sama is far more dangerous than we thought!" Ravel growled while covering her chest with shaky hands, even though she was fully clothed and unharmed. "Riser-niisama's plan has been seen through! We can't afford to delay anymore- Crush him! Rush and crush Red Dragon Emperor-sama! Even if we lose out on points! Xuelan! Go to Riser-niisama and let him know!"
"Ravel-sama- I'll try-" Xuelan got up and started to limp away, but a bench thrown by Issei hit her in the back and knocked her off her feet.
"You're going nowhere! I'm going to take all of you down… And then grope your thighs!" Issel clanked his fists together in a 'warrior's challenge' that he had seen in anime.
And then he flicked his unarmored hand a few times while letting out 'ow ow' sounds as hitting his unarmored fist with the gauntlet had proven to be a bad idea.
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"...Hmmm…. I wonder if he just pretends to be a perverted idiot. Yes, that must be it. You were right at the start, Albion, I was almost fooled. He must have awakened several of Ddraig's abilities- As well as somehow awakened or innovated a miniaturized version of [Divine Dividing, somehow, considering how that Rook reacted. He must have concealed the activation of the ability under the guise of getting hit… In other words, he is a genius [Sacred Gear] user who has learned how to adapt and modify a [Sacred Gear]'s abilities and is using the guise of an idiot to keep it hidden until he feels ready to go on a warpath. After all he knows that the battle is televised and intel is half the battle, so it's only wise to keep one's stronger abilities hidden until they are truly needed. This 'Issei' must be at least on the same level of understanding of [Sacred Gear]s as Azazel."
"...No, I refuse to believe it. If he was a genius then he wouldn't insult Ddraig's honor (and mine by extension) by acting like a pervert! Do not fall for it, Vali!"
"Hm… The cover-up is indeed suspect, but he must have been able to suppress the inherent arrogance of dragons, enabling him to appear as a pervert with no shame. After all, no-one would expect him to be a genius warrior-scholar if he appeared so… unworthy of his title. However, his actions betray his true skill, as well as his self-confidence to not care in the slightest what others think of him. I'm getting excited… I wonder if his guise and genius are linked somehow… Could it be that-"
"Vali I swear to Great Red I will have your head if you start acting like a pervert to mimic Ddraig's wielder-"
"This Issei… He mentioned something about 'netorare'... I'll need to look-"
Albion proceeded to forcibly unlock [Scale Mail] and choke Vali to unconsciousness with his own armored arms before he could finish the sentence.
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"Koneko!" Rias dodged a spherical bomb that would have impacted her neck and caught a glimpse of the white-haired girl who had suddenly joined the 'attack' group.
The bomb aimed at Rias careened off, taking a huge chunk out of the academy's sports shed and causing the small building to crumble like a house made of cards. "Koneko, what are you doing here? You were supposed to be with Issei!"
"Hentai learned a new ero-powerup. I couldn't stay or I'd have lost my sanity." Koneko spoke harshly.
The 'attack group' were backpedaling towards the ORC clubroom while were trying to bait Riser's Bishop and Queen to close in and fight properly, as they were currently kiting Rias's group from so far away that they couldn't be easily caught, and were taking advantage of their superior range to hinder, slow and annoy Rias's group without facing a proper retaliation. It was annoying, but dealt no real damage to either group while hindering both- But while Riser's group had the advantage of time due to Riser's power, Rias had no such luxury.
"Explain, Koneko-chan!" Rias called as she made a ball with [Power of Destruction] and flung it in the direction of the incoming spells, deliberately hitting the side of the school and causing a huge chunk from it to break off and collapse, shrouding the area in a temporary masonry-dust storm to limit the vision of their long-range harassers.
"Hentai figured out where yakitori's Pawns were by interrogating the small shitbird. They're hiding in class B-4 and head yakitori went to fight Akeno alone." Koneko looked slightly traumatized so Rias didn't prod further on how the information was gathered, or Koneko's choice of wording.
"Good! We're pinned, so we need to break that first, and we need to crash the Pawn party and take them out en masse! But before we can go we need to get Akeno before-" Rias started to theorize but a crackle of lightning and bouts of fire that lit the sky forced her to pause. "Oh no."
"Akeno-san is…" Kiba sounded worried and concerned as the group saw the show of lightning and fire as Riser and Akeno clashed in an aerial battle above the clubhouse.
"Dammit-" Rias bit the fingernail of her thumb in annoyance and anger. "Akeno was caught in a battle with Riser, alone… Dammit. We planned for this, but only if she could also engage the Pawns and wipe them out… We can't extract Akeno or we'll get caught in battle with Riser as well, with his Queen and Bishop shooting us in the back all the while."
"Akeno-san said she'd make her escape. We have to believe her." Kiba supplied, though it looked like the words pained him greatly as he too must have known that Akeno's chances were not great against Riser.
"...Dammit all. We'll need to take down the Pawns, we'll need to be able to avenge Akeno if she loses. Asia, be ready to heal Akeno if she manages to flee." Rias glanced back where Koneko came from. However before she could decide on further plans she was forced to take cover while grabbing Asia and Koneko to shield them from harm.
A barrage of metal balls rocked the area, breaking walkways and the school building's walls into mud and masonry as Riser's Queen carpet bombed the area from afar. However her aim was hindered by the distance and the 'shelling' barely managed to graze the Gremory group- Except to split them apart as Kiba had dodged the other way and took cover behind a broken pile of masonry, while Rias's side was covering behind the high school building's collapsed exterior wall.
"...Rias-sama. Go. I'll hold them back." Kiba noticed the positions and drew his sword again, this time forging an elegant, long-bladed katana from [Sword Birth].
"Kiba, you'll…"
"I am your sword, Rias-sama. Moreover, if I lose here, I lose in a two-on-one battle therefore my 'value' will be just two points. I'll give you enough time to take care of Riser's Pawns, this I swear!" Kiba was resolute as he stood up and parried one of the bombs thrown at him, causing the bomb to get split in two in such a perfect manner that it didn't detonate but just flopped apart behind him, spilling its volatile contents on the ground. The second bomb Kiba just dodged, and it detonated against the ground, igniting the spilled powder and causing a shockwave-explosion that launched the boy at the far-away enemies.
"Kiba-san!" Asia looked shocked and frightful, but Rias grabbed the nun before she could do anything stupid like running out in the open and getting hit in the crossfire.
"...Do your best, Kiba-san. I swear I'll avenge both you and Akeno." Rias's eyes blazed with hatred and determination as she grabbed Koneko and Asia and ran forth towards classroom B-4.
When they arrived there, Rias didn't bother with the door, rather, she just crashed through the wall.
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Burent and Marion, the twin maid cosplayers of Riser's Peerage were serving tea and biscuits to the 'backup team', or rather, 'spare points team' in the classroom they had commandeered as their hidey-hole.
"Sad… We're too weak to be useful…" Ni, one of the two cat-girls of the Peerage mumbled sullenly as she sucked on her milk-dipped biscuit.
"Riser-sama usually takes care of all the enemies by himself so it's not like our strength meant much in the past…" Li, the cat-girl's twin sister, mumbled back with much the same tone.
"Neeeh. It's just the scenario hampering Riser-sama's hand. Otherwise he'd have called us to accompany him and watch as he destroys his enemies and gives us the weaker ones to play with." The two girls in bloomers and wielding chainsaws commented in unison while they were kneeling on the floor and playing with their weapons
"Hold. Quiet." Isabela, the Rook that Riser assigned to guard the Pawns, held her hand up to stall the quiet conversation in the classroom. "Something's-"
The wall exploded behind Isabela.
No, the wall disintegrated so violently that it looked like it had exploded, sending sharp spikes and flashes of red-lined absolute darkness that devoured everything it touched.
The shockwave sent the group of Pawns reeling and knocked the tea-table over, and as soon as the group recovered enough to look at the doorway-
They saw a creature of pure terror standing in the gaping hole in the wall, red hair seemingly flying behind her while her face was strewn to a mask of absolute demon, holding in her hands two balls of black energy that sparked red arcs of darkness that meant certain death.
"Kyaaah! O-oni! It's a demon- bleuh!" Li and Ni hugged each other in terror before the room was bathed in [Power of Destruction].
A white-haired cat-girl followed the terrifying visage of severely-pissed off Rias Gremory, walking through the hole behind the enraged [Princess of Ruin], and proceeded to stomp repeatedly on the weakly-stirring Phenix Rook before the half-mask-wearing girl could do more than to mumble something about 'getting the number of the truck that hit her'.
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Issei grabbed the blade of the sword that the gray-haired swordswoman swung at him.
Or, he tried to do so. However, between his [Boost]s, Ddraig's training, and his ability to translate [Thighs and Boobs, he managed to overcome the sheer difference in speed of a un-promoted [Pawn] and [Knight] to dodge the swing, even though he didn't manage to grab the sword between his fingers like he had planned.
'I resent the fact you put all those three things on the same pedestal as if they're equal' Ddraig grumbled.
"Karla! Dodge!" Ravel called in fear, wanting to avoid the scenario that had led to the previous Knight's fall-
However, before she could do that, Issei channeled his precognition-like ability to sense the flow of [Thighs]... And fell to his knees, avoiding the panicking Knight's attempt to cut his head off his shoulders after her earlier miss.
Issei, powered by five [Boost]s, hugged the gray-haired Knight's bare thighs, drawing strength from the feeling of the soft yet powerful flesh.
"Ghyaaah!" The knight's body spasmed and she tried to wave her sword at Issei to pry him off, but the sword dropped from her limp fingers before she could stab him.
"Karla! No! Don't! Don't leave me alone with this monster! Please!" Ravel pleaded. Her plea was so strong that even Xuelan tried to get up to stand and fight, though the Rook was battered-looking after getting the power of her [Thighs] siphoned and then tossed back in the form of a gymnasium bench. The Rook then made a motion as if she was about to inform Ravel that she was still present as well, but chose not to after a moment of deliberation.
"Indeed, the power of [Thighs] is a terrifying and beautiful thing." Issei hummed to himself while hugging and stroking the gray-haired girl's thighs, unperturbed by how the girl was trying to powerlessly shove him away and hit him in the top of his head with noodle-like arms.
"Karla… I'm… I'm so sorry…" Ravel had tears in her eyes while she prepared a giant fireball.
"RAVEL-SAMA! PLEASE! I AM STILL HERE!" The Knight seemed to notice the massive ball of fire above Ravel's head and screamed aloud while trying to push Issei off her.
'Terrifying? I agree. From my sanity's point of view. Beautiful? No. Not in the slightest. Also that chicken brat is preparing an acceptably big fireball, you might want to finish what you were doing and get moving.'
'Our perspectives differ, Ddraig. I respect your opinion, but while you hinder your power with needless prudence, I am willing to go to lengths no man has ever gone, explore powers beyond mortal understanding.' Issei felt quite strange. Even his thoughts were strangely refined. He felt focused, refined, and full of energy even though he had reached the edge of his stamina in terms of withstanding [Boosts]- And had done so for quite a while now.
'Powers beyond mortal understanding, phah. Sure.' Ddraig grumbled. 'What would even be the next step? Groping, touching, fondling, what's next, licking? Perhaps you'll whip out your noodle in the middle of the battle and-'
'Ddraig… You're onto something.' Issei realized that he was hampering himself. Just [Touch]ing was but a surface contact. There was more to [Thighs] than just groping.
'I'm not even going to mention that the phenix chick is almost done casting that one-shot-kill fireball.'
Issei looked at the thigh that he was hugging… And put Ddraig's theory to the test, earning him a protesting growl from the dragon-girl for both thinking of the 'technique' as Ddraig's skill, as well as for ignoring her warning.
"Itadakimasu~"
"Eh?!" The Knight sounded shocked and terrified as Issei leaned closer… and licked the gray-haired Knight's thigh.
The gray-haired Knight, Karlamine, began foaming from the mouth while her body flopped backwards powerlessly like she had lost consciousness, but she was still twitching quite violently.
"Karla! Noo!" Ravel screamed and sent the huge fireball hurling towards Issei (and the knight that he was hugging).
However… Issei was no longer there.
Instead the fireball hit the borderline-unconscious Knight in the back, causing a massive explosion that sent her right charred body through the gymnasium wall while the pile-up of benches they had been on set on fire like a funeral pyre.
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"Riser Phenix's Knight has retired. Due to three-versus-one tag-team, including friendly fire, the loss is counted as 'one' point. Riser Phenix has lost twelve points and is seven points away from elimination." The announcer voiced, though the voice was eerily muted in Ravel's ears as her blood surged and her heart pumped rapidly in fear.
"That… beast- is he not… dead yet?" Xuelan whimpered as she got to her feet again, although shakily.
"T-the announcer didn't say a-anything? H-he dodged. He's here… Somewhere…" Ravel's eyes scanned the room for threats while shivering against her will.
She had expected to hold down the Red Dragon Emperor while the rest of Riser's Peerage would go from victory to victory and finally mop up the Gremory Peerage with ease. But between the monster in the room somehow figuring out their game-plan, as well as somehow fighting a pair of Knights (granted, weakened by their battle with the nekoshou Rook) at the same time, Ravel's preconception of the brown-haired teenager's 'danger level' had gone from 'mild annoyance' to 'nightmare fuel'.
"Ravel-sama, get behind me." Xuelan limped to stand in front of Ravel, but was shoved behind the blonde in turn.
"I'm durable enough, don't lose more points for Riser-niisama, he's just seven points away from losing by scenario!" Ravel let her panic over losing the game for her brother overtake her own sense of self-preservation… And the moment of distraction was a moment too much.
A crash came from the broken pile of burning benches and Ravel turned as if in slow motion.
The Red Dragon Emperor soared up from the burning pyre, his body wreathed in flame while his devil wings unfurled in a majestic display, burning cinders spreading around him as his wings were on fire like that of a phoenix rising from a cocoon of burning embers, a toned and utterly naked body in full display in a scene of utter domination and self-confidence as his clothes burnt off his body.
Ravel felt involuntary blush spread on her face and her earlier humiliation in the Red Dragon Emperor's arms felt just a tinge less humiliating and perhaps slightly… exciting…
…The blazing image was only slightly shattered when the man in question stopped, dropped, and rolled to extinguish the fire that clung to him and had set his everything on fire.
"Hot hot hothothot!" The Red Dragon Emperor rolled on the floor, putting out the fire, and then stood up while butt-naked.
He then pointed his finger at Ravel, oozing self-confidence that Ravel had earlier mistook for idiocy and obliviousness. However, now Ravel realized that the Dragon of Domination fully understood what he was saying and meant every word he said. "Now then! You're next, cute yakitori! After that, the shitty NTR yakitori!"
Ravel's heart jumped a bit at that, though not entirely out of fear.
It was mostly still out of fear.
Her mother would be watching, after all.
'W-what am I thinking at a time like this?!' Ravel slapped herself to bring herself into focus. "Ahem! R-Red dragon emperor-s-sama, I'll be your opponent, again. P-please dont h-hold b-back…?"
The human-shaped Dragon of Domination paused in front of Ravel, fifteen feet apart, and was eyeing her up with a look of wanton and dark desire in his eyes. Ravel felt her throat tighten as she realized that her still-developing body was able to incite such intense emotion from-
Ravel slapped herself again.
"Ahem. Please ignore that. My mind wandered." Ravel curtsied again at the naked man. However, her curtsy caused her eyes to drop a bit and look at… look at… 'It's… Is it s-supposed to be that b-big? Um… S-surely t-that w-wouldn't fit… o-or would it?'
Xuelan slapped Ravel.
"Thank you, Xuelan-san. Ahem, please ignore that as well, my eyes wandered." Ravel coughed, feeling her throat being more than a bit hoarse and an embarrassed blush spread over her slap-red cheeks. There was no blush on her cheeks, certainly. Such a thing wouldn't be proper.
…After all, there was no way she was reliving the feeling of having the Red Dragon Emperor's strong, mighty arms around her waist and her being in his smouldering embrace-
Ravel squatted down and hugged her knees against her chest and rocked back and forth. "Come on, Ravel. You can do this. You can do this. Yes. Riser-niisama depends on you. D-don't get seduced by the stupid, stupid… um… b-baka…"
"I'm a Phenix! The blood of Phoenixes and Devils flows through my veins! There is no man alive who can conquer me- I mean beat me! Beat me!" Ravel finally calmed herself down and she stood up to point her finger at the Red Dragon Emperor while speaking in headstrong tone, noticing that the dominating man had… walked closer to her… and was in… arm's length of her?
Squish.
"Ahn!" Ravel shuddered as the man reached out with his powerful arm and caught her breast in his fiery hold. "I- I wo-won't be d-defeated like thi-"
Grope
Another hand touched her thigh, causing Ravel's face to flash utterly red and her headstrong voice to turn to faint murmurs. "I- I can't believe- I- I was defeated by… t-this sort of…"
Xuelan was sweating bullets behind Ravel.
.
.
.
"Lord Phenix, your daughter seems… distracted…"
"Zeoticus-san, please… pay no attention to it. I certainly am attempting to do so."
"Hm? Hmmmmmmmmm?"
"Lady Phenix, those sounds are…worrying me."
"Ohoho, think nothing of it, Venelana-san. Say, do you have that sausage guillotine I saw in your collection a few hundred years ago? Academically speaking, of course."
"Of course, of course. Academically speaking."
.
.
.
"I believe that this has gone long enough." Riser scoffed at the woman who was glaring at him hatefully, resolute despite her brutalized state and torn wings. She was stirring weakly from the rubble of the ORC clubroom after getting thrown in through the ceiling with Riser following her in with a light hop.
"Your… pawns…" Akeno was bleeding from her lip as she crawled to her feet and stood firm, though hunched over. She was the very image of stubborn resistance as she stood in the ruins of the clubhouse that had been thoroughly blasted apart by fire and lightning.
"Idiot, did Rias think I'd send them to your territory to die because it was the most straightforward strategy? Because it's what the textbook would suggest as the most sensible strategy? As expected of Rating Game virgins. Common sense dictates that King takes the front and center and Queen as well as Knights or Pawns take defensive posture in scenarios where you can't lose your Pieces. Only newbies see this as chess where the King is the weakest and most vulnerable Piece." Riser scoffed and closed the distance to the bleeding and burnt woman, all the while he addressed his words to the sky through the hole in the ceiling. "Sheesh… Rias… You'd think that you would have consulted your brother or someone with experience after someone may or may not have rigged the game."
"She didn't-" Akeno paused to spat out a glob of blood and sent a hateful look at Riser as the man had plopped himself down on the ruined couch and was patting his lap, as if he was saying 'get here and sit on my lap' to Akeno.
"Two Riser Phenix's Pawn has retired. Riser Phenix's Rook has also retired, however due to two-on-one combat her value is counted as 'three'. Ah… Riser Phenix has lost six additional Pawns. Riser Phenix has thus lost eleven points, and has ten points remaining before elimination." The voice of the announcer spoke. "Rias Gremory's Knight has retired, however due to two-versus-one combat Rias Gremory has only lost two points, and has eleven points left."
"What- how- I see. So she isn't as incompetent as I thought." Riser growled as he got up suddenly. "However…"
Akeno turned to flee as Riser's attention was elsewhere.
"The advantage is still mine." Riser spoke to Akeno over his shoulder, but Akeno didn't respond as she materialized her devil-wings, or what was left of them, and went for the broken window-
"Riser Phenix's Knight has retired. Due to tag-team nature of the engagement between the combatants, the judges consider the engagement to have been a two-on-one fight, making the loss worth two points. Riser Phenix has lost thirteen points, and is eight points away from elimination-"
"Alright. Time to stop playing around." Riser covered his face and stroked his hair back away from his face… And promptly appeared in front of the window that Akeno attempted to use to escape
Akeno's eyes widened as she hadn't expected Riser to be so fast, even though she was slowed by her injuries-
Riser grabbed Akeno by the neck, spun her around like a centrifuge, and tossed her into the air like a catapult, right through the broken roof. "Fly, you fool."
After that he performed [Castling] to his remaining Rook, depositing severely-traumatized looking Xuelan to the ruins of the ORC clubroom.