Edited by: Priapus, Marethyu, UWU

– Sona –

"You're coming tomorrow?" Sona blinked. "But the conference is next week, isn't it?"

"Yepyep!" Her sister excitedly answered through the phone. "I got permission from Daigo since it's Parent's Day!"

Oh no. Sona grimaced. I completely forgot about it.

This… could be a problem.

"Yes, Parent's Day, not older sister day."

"Oh, puh-lease! You know those old coots are too busy to bother!" Serafall deflected. "So I thought I'd visit in their place. Magical girl Serafall to the rescue!"

Sona could already feel the painful headache as she heard her sister's declaration. Why, oh why, would Daigo ever agree to that? It wasn't, in any way, shape, or form, a viable political move. Was he just being nice? If that was the case, then Sona thought he was being too nice.

It wasn't like the conference had already gone through. What would he gain from this? How had Serafall even convinced him? Granted, he did let Sirzechs in before, but that was a one-time thing. Why would he do that again?

Was it because the conference is right around the corner? Honestly, Sona wasn't sure. If it was some kind of a political move, then she didn't see it. It sounded like he just agreed on a whim, or, worst case, Sera had either begged him and embarrassed herself in the process or somehow managed to strongarm him into agreeing.

Perhaps both. Somehow. There was no length that Serafall wouldn't go through for her, which she highly appreciated, of course. Sona loved her sister to death, but sometimes, she could be a little too much.

…She was going to be embarrassing Sona, wasn't she? Oh, she could already see it. Serafall making a complete moron out of herself with her stupid magical girl antics. Why the hell was she so obsessed with them anyway?

'I just like them' isn't an answer.

Still, maybe things weren't that bad, right? For as moronic as she acted, Serafall was still the Leviathan Satan. She wasn't exactly what one would call 'dumb'. She probably knew what to do, right? Yeah, she was one of the leaders of the New satan faction. It'd be fine.

…A small part of Sona— just a teeny tiny part of her made her feel like she was being delusional just to save her own sanity, but that couldn't be true.

"T-that's fine, I guess," Sona said, feeling defeated. "But please, PLEASE don't wear that outfit."

"No dice!"

Of course, she was. Why had she expected anything else?

"Why?!" Sona shouted over the phone, incredibly frustrated with how casual her sister was being.

"Cuz I wanna wear it!"

"Sera, you're going to be in a professional environment in ENEMY territory!" Sona tried to explain, immediately losing her temper. "You HAVE to be professional about it!"

"Don't worry about it! I will be professional," Serafall responded. "It's my combat outfit, after all!"

Sona was always proud of the fact that she could control her emotions really well. She always stayed calm, analyzing the situation and proceeding in the most professional way she could. But when Serafall entered the picture, all that went out of the window.

Truly, nobody in this world could drive her mad better than her own flesh and blood.

"You're going to embarrass me in front of everyone," Sona said scathingly, grinding her teeth. "And I'm going to hate you forever."

"What?! No way, everyone's gonna think you have the coolest sister ever!" She responded. "Nobody can say 'my sister is a real magical girl' like you! Isn't that awesome?! Everyone likes magical girls!"

What am I going to do? Sona felt nothing but despair. Why was she like this? What have I done to deserve this?

Sona, having lost all hope and energy to be mad, plopped back in her chair, a little thankful that nobody was in the student council room with her beside Rias, who was busy with her own phone call. There was nothing she could possibly do to stop Serafall when she was like this.

Goodbye, social life.

Sona wanted to crawl into a hole and cry right now. She didn't want to do anything else. No school, no training, nothing.

"Sona?" Sera called. "Sona, you alive?"

"I'm still alive." She responded tonelessly. "Unfortunately."

"Why do you sound so depressed all of a sudden?" Serafall asked innocently. "It's gonna be fun! You can introduce me to all the friends you made there!"

It was over for her.

"Yeah, sure." Sona sighed deeply. "Are you done? I have work to do."

"Ohoho! There's my diligent little Sona-tan!" Her older sister giggled. "Then don't let me keep you busy! You know, I also have lots of paperwork to—"

Sona ended the call, put the phone on the table, and let out a pained groan.

"I don't know what you're complaining about so much." Rias, who was apparently done with her phone call too, suddenly said, prompting Sona to look at her. "I would kill to have a sister like her. Serafall is so fun."

"You say that because you never lived most of your life with her." Sona glared. "And it's Lady Serafall."

"Oh, come on, we're close enough." The redhead argued. "So she's coming over tomorrow?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She huffed. "What about you? Word on Gasper?"

"Yeah…" Rias grimaced. "He's not… doing well. Something's really wrong with him."

"I thought we had already established that."

"No, it's just way worse than we thought." She clarified. "When asked after he calmed down, apparently he lost control because Akane kept provoking him."

This made Sona frown deeply.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm not really sure either." She added. "In his own words, she was insulting him, calling him useless, a coward, and so many other terrible things. Even telling him to kill himself."

Sona was beyond confused and concerned at that. That didn't make any sense— Akane had been entirely encouraging to him, as per her own promise. There had been none of the harshness she'd shown Rias, almost to a point where it felt out of character.

And even if it was, everyone knew it was for a cause. Someone like Gasper, who was suffering from severe anxiety, would need a more gentle approach compared to Rias. Obviously, she would show kindness, even if she didn't truly believe what she was saying.

How had Gasper seen it that way? Regardless of how harsh Akane was, she wouldn't tell someone like him to 'kill himself'. That was way, way too much for her, right? It was very odd. Was Gasper really that mentally ill?

"That is…"

Sona was at a loss for words. There was seriously no other explanation.

"It's bad." Rias nodded grimly. "Gosh, I feel horrible. I should've known it was this bad."

"Rias, this is not your fault—"

"No, it is." She shook her head, a pained frown on her face. "Gasper is my responsibility, Sona. I should've tried harder than just letting whatever's bothering him fester. I thought leaving him alone and giving him his own space would help, but…"

Sona wasn't sure how she was supposed to comfort her friend. It was unreasonable to blame Rias for something like this. She wasn't psychic; she couldn't possibly know how bad Gasper's mental state was.

He was supposed to be anxious, maybe a bit depressed, but not… schizophrenic.

"Then you should visit him," Sona advised. "Will Lord Sirzechs or your parents be here for Parent's Day?"

"Not really, no."

"Then take a day off tomorrow." She said. "Go see how he's doing. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

Rias stared at her for a moment, then smiled gratefully.

"You're right." Her best friend agreed. "Maybe I can't really fix what happened, but I can still show him that I care."

"Exactly." Sona nodded.

"Thanks, Sona." Rias gave her a quick embrace. "Don't forget to tell Akane, alright? She probably deserves to know as well."

"Of course."

It wouldn't hurt any of them. Perhaps Rias could get a clearer explanation from him directly, and Gasper would feel better if his peerage visited him. He probably needed someone he was friends with to stay by his side until they figured out what the hell had happened there.

– Ichiban –

As the school bell rang and the students left the classroom in bulk, Ichiban leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. While he wasn't doing too bad in school, generally speaking, getting A's and B's with the occasional C here and there, he hated science— it was his worst subject by far, only barely ever getting anything above a D.

Frankly, he surprised himself. He had never been a school or educational type of person. He'd dropped out of middle school a year in and barely had time to catch up with the material before getting into Kuoh Academy. Getting these kinds of marks made him really proud of himself.

He glanced to the side, watching his best friend working on her laptop again. Though credit where credit was due, she'd helped him out a ton. Most of their texting was just her explaining and clarifying things he didn't understand in class at his request. It made him feel kind of bad, but she was the smartest person he knew.

Her method of teaching was clear and concise and didn't need several pages to explain.

Ichiban should probably pay her back somehow. He tried offering either desserts or something like that, but surprisingly, Akane would refuse it. Unsurprisingly, she would tell him to add one more day of his servitude to her.

At this rate, he would be her eternal slave.

Which would be horrifying if not for the fact that she was too busy to even tease him recently. After school, they would train. After training, she would go straight to her home and continue working on something, declining all his offers to hang out.

It made him sad and kind of worried. He missed the times when they'd just dick around in the arcade or walk around Kuoh doing all kinds of stupid shit. Akane seemed like she'd been pushing herself nonstop the past few weeks after Kokabiel's defeat, especially after becoming Asia's trainer last week.

It was a miracle how unfazed she looked, but she was probably hiding it. Or, knowing her, likely hadn't realized it yet. Ichiban understood where she was coming from. Though, that felt like the worst part of it.

"Whatcha doin'? He asked, leaning from his chair to see what she was typing on her laptop. "More government hacking?"

Akane snorted. She wasn't, of course. Unless she could somehow do that with an Excel Sheet, but Ichi was committed to the bit.

"I wish. Would probably get me in trouble with the Tojo Clan if I actually tried it." She responded, then paused for a moment before giving him a fun fact. "Did you know that nearly every human government in the world knows about the supernatural?"

"Really?" He blinked. "That's neat. Kinda obvious in hindsight."

"Makes you think what would happen if everyone knew," Akane added. "Probably nothing good."

"How so?"

"Are you kidding?" She raised a brow. "Imagine telling everyone that not just God is real, but so is every other god we 'came up with', from Greek to Celtic. Everyone would lose their shit. All of Earth would be in a state of panic, and no amount of memory erasure would save us from the absolute chaos we'd be plunged into."

"Then why were you wondering what would happen if you knew?"

"I'm not a clairvoyant, Ichi. I don't know what would happen. I'm just giving a general answer through assumption." She shrugged. "I could be wrong. Besides, isn't it interesting to wonder how our lives would've turned out if the supernatural was common knowledge?"

Ichiban paused and thought about it for a moment. Since he had been born with the Boosted Gear, would he have been hunted down by literally everyone around him? Not just devils and whatever else, but also fellow humans?

In fact, would he have been born in a brothel? Perhaps his parents— his biological ones, wouldn't have abandoned him. Maybe he would've gotten a normal childhood like everyone else, wouldn't have had to seriously budget his purchases since he was nine, and just… had a better life in general.

Maybe, instead of being hunted, he would've gotten offers or something to join different factions. Sane people didn't always go for the nuclear option if diplomacy was on the table. Who knew? Perhaps he would've become a real-life hero by now.

If it was common knowledge, then maybe his life wouldn't have sucked so much.

That depressing thought disappeared the moment he looked at his best friend.

Nah, no way.

"I think it would've been awesome," Akane said, and before he could ask, she continued with her signature self-satisfied smirk. "I would've been spoiled way more. Ah, I wish it was that way."

"Of course, that's what matters to you." He sighed. "Personally, I don't think it would be great. For me, at least."

"Really? Why do you think that?"

"Besides being an orphan with a Longinus?" He replied. "Well, because I don't think I would've met you."

Akane's eyes widened for some reason, reeling back in shock. It was the truth—the friends he'd made here were precious to Ichiban. And even without considering them, he wouldn't have ever met Arakawa, the man he looked up to the most—the man who had saved his life and given him a purpose beyond just living and waiting for the next video game.

He couldn't just give all of that up for a 'better life'. Lives shouldn't be easy anyway. That was boring.

"I mean, you could argue I might've had a better life, and yeah, probably." He agreed. "But it's not like I'm not happy with this one, you get me? My first few years in this world might've sucked ass, but that just made spending the time here with you that much more special."

All things considered, Ichiban was blessed. Legendary power, loyal friends he wouldn't give for the world, and a grander purpose than himself. What else could a man ask for? He was happy where he was, and nothing would change that.

"But that's just me." He shrugged, blinking as he saw Akane's face going red. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She was refusing to make eye contact, which made him realize how corny his response had been. Oh, she was holding her laughter, wasn't she? This was embarrassing. Now, she was going to just tease him again, probably for the next few weeks.

What the hell did I just say? He thought to himself, already wanting to die.

"That's um… really nice of you to say, Ichiban." She responded while playing with a lock of her hair almost timidly, surprisingly not laughing her ass off. "...Thanks."

"R-right…" He looked away, ignoring his heartbeat going faster.

…Why was it suddenly so awkward now? What was he supposed to say? If anything, why didn't she just laugh at him like always? It almost looked like his words genuinely moved her, but that couldn't be it. He was being unbearably cheesy, and she probably thought so, too.

She was probably just being nice to him today. After all, for as busy as she was, she'd been in a really great mood the past week. Like, even better than usual. Maybe she just didn't want to embarrass him any further than he had himself already.

…Right?

Ichiban glanced at her laptop, remembering that she was still working on something.

"S-so uh, you haven't told me what you were doing."

"Oh, right." Akane cleared her throat, thankfully changing the subject. "It's nothing much. I was just making a schedule."

"A schedule?"

"Yeah. Since I kind of have a lot to do, I thought I'd schedule everything properly. Helps me be more focused." She answered.

"A bit overboard, though. Don't think you need an entire sheet for it. You're already good at scheduling as it is."

"You're right," she smiled. So here's another answer: Being organized tickles my brain, and I like it."

"Heh, fair enough," he conceded. This was more like her. "So, is there any chance you could schedule us to hang out sometime soon?"

"...When you say 'soon'—"

"After training. Today."

"Sorry. I'm swamped today." She shook her head. "Can't go out."

Ichiban resisted a frustrated groan as soon as he saw her grimace. It was clear that she was feeling terrible, so he didn't want to be harsh on her, and it wasn't like she owed him anything in the first place. It still left him annoyed, though, because he really wanted to have fun chilling for once. They hadn't done anything like that in a while.

"That's fine." He sighed, then made another request. "Think I can help out?"

But he wasn't willing to give up that easily.

"Huh?" Akane blinked. "Well, no offense, but it's not really something you can help with. Too technical."

"That's fine too. Then can I just watch you?"

"Watch me?"

"Yeah, I wanna watch you work," Ichiban confirmed. "You never told me or anyone else what you're working on, so I'm pretty curious."

Akane paused for a moment, then gave an answer he wanted.

"I don't mind." She shrugged.

"Alright!" He felt himself smile victoriously. "God, it's been ages since we did anything fun. Now I'm pumped."

"We're not going to do anything fun. I'll just be working." She tried to warn him. "Maybe after I'm done, but it will take hours."

"Fine by me." Ichiban remained unfazed. "As long as I get to stick around, I'm cool."

"Like a servant that can't live without his master."

"Call it whatever you want. You're not scaring me off that easily."

She just giggled in response, content with letting the conversation die off there.

Honestly, he was content as long as he kept an eye on her so she didn't work too much. He didn't want her working herself to death because she was the kind of person who would do that and not realize it until after the fact.

But he wouldn't lie; he was very curious about whatever she was working on in her home. She'd been very tight-lipped about it before, so the fact that she was letting him see this project surprised and excited him.

– Akane –

With most of my main projects pretty much done, I thought it'd be wise to go back to the ones I couldn't finish when I was preparing for Kokabiel—primarily the power armor prototype I made.

Super AI? Done. Cloaking tech? Done. General training and learning techniques from my mother? Done. I'm practically done with everything I planned weeks ago, so there isn't really much to do besides working on my new armor and training Asia, who, with my support, is making great progress, already having reached level 95.

Now that she's done with normal weight-lifting, we can start the real training by sparring while using the gravity belts.

Though, obviously, it doesn't mean I'm done with my own training. I haven't learned every Amon technique and special move from my mother yet, but I know enough for now since she's trying to take things slow, and I don't want to rush her. I don't need to.

From gun techniques to sword stances to highly lethal unarmed moves. She's taught me more than I thought she would, as I originally expected her to try to avoid the killing moves and focus on self-defense. Then again, the first real technique she taught me was Flux Fissure, which is extremely dangerous.

It also remains the best and most powerful attack I've learned from her. Every other thing has just been regular martial arts moves. I'm not complaining— the Amon fighting style suits me way more than I thought it would. It's really aggressive, and according to my mother, it incorporates and combines the personalized styles and stances of the greatest warriors in the world, so it's constantly evolving at a rapid pace.

And that's very true because when I tried to combine what I learned from her with what I learned from Akiyama, it worked flawlessly. How the hell did they do that? It's like they- or rather, we-are born for combat.

That's also true because, in Mizuki's own words, the bloodline was conditioned to be the most powerful, existing for the sole purpose of killing and fighting. Is that why I was so strong before getting involved?

Back then, before getting any kind of supernatural power, I used to annihilate entire delinquent groups and new gangs solo. Realistically, a teenage girl shouldn't be anywhere near strong enough to beat normal adults single-handedly, much less armed ones with crude weapons like metal pipes and spiked bats.

You'd think it's because of the Yokai blood running through my veins, and that could be true, but the alternative is honestly way cooler.

"Oh, I got one!" Ichiban suddenly says as he watches me build the armor. "How about something that can drain magic from targets? Cuz you primarily use magic, waiting for your mana to regenerate naturally in the middle of a fight might not be a good idea."

"Already planned," I respond, putting the wrench down and picking up the blowtorch.

"Damn, you thought of everything already." He sighs. "I feel useless. Not even giving ideas is helping."

"It's naturally one of the first things I'd think of, Ichi." I try to make him feel a little better, even though I did tell him he wasn't going to be helping. "The thing uses magic for most of its functions."

"True…"

My second prototype — pending name — is just about finished. I asked the yakuza for more of those small generator spheres to make this one, as well as better resources and materials. Whatever junk I get from cars and microwaves isn't gonna cut it anymore.

I got a little manual explaining how everything works, too. Some metals from different dimensions, infused with magic and whatever else. It's surprising. I know I'm really important to them, but a part of me still thinks they are a bit too enthusiastic about this.

As for why I'm letting Ichiban even get a glimpse? Well, no reason not to. It's not like I've tried hiding this. I wore armor in our last battle, so it would be weird to pretend it never happened.

And really, what's so suspicious about this? Besides my sudden interest in robotics and AI, which I doubt looks unnatural. With how high-tech the Yakuza are, you could argue my dormant love of Sci-Fi was reignited, seeing that the advanced technology you'd see in fictional stories is actually plausible.

My talent in building these things is what's a bit suspicious, but it's not like they can make anything out of it.

"Rocket boots?" Ichiban asks.

"Already installed."

"Energy barriers?"

"Next on the list."

"Hmm… Oh, here's a good one." He says confidently. "Independence."

I pause my work to look at him.

"Independence?"

"Yeah. As in, the armor can function without you." He explains. "Like it's own robot."

That… honestly slipped my mind. I was already planning to make an entirely new mech for Nemesis to control, but I could make it so that he could use my armor, too. Not just this one but every other armor I make in the future.

Spread him across all the tech I make so I can have a reliable backup whenever I'm in a pinch. It could be risky, but with how much I prepared with the AI, hacking him should be damn near impossible.

In hindsight, that should've been a priority. How did I not think of that? But at the same time, should I really let Nemesis anywhere near my other stuff? I want to keep him a secret for as long as I can, so maybe it could get risky.

I'll have to think about it later.

"That's a good idea." I nod. "Thanks, Ichiban."

"Hell yeah, I'm helping!" He responds enthusiastically. "Though, wouldn't making an AI for it be really tough?"

This question is really funny.

"Maybe." I shrug, resuming my work. "It's time-consuming, if anything. Not what I'd call 'tough' work."

"I guess." He says. "I wish I learned how to code. I would probably help way more than now."

Besides that being really troublesome for me, why is he so insistent on helping? And why do I always feel kind of happy every time he offers to help? Damn it, being attracted to his dumb ass is enough of a pain as it is. He needs to stop being insufferably sweet. It's bad for my health.

"It's fine, Ichi," I reply. "Having you around is enough. Feels better than doing this alone."

"If you say so." He mutters, and after a pause, he adds: "Still, never knew you were so busy doing this. Since when were you building all this stuff? There's so many different things lying around."

I see him picking up an energy pistol from the ground and examining it up close. The armor isn't the only thing I was busy building. I spent quite a bit of time making other tech, mostly weapons, but all of this was for the sake of raising my level so I could make my own generator.

How am I gonna make it? Not sure yet. I haven't ironed out the specifics, but I want it even better than the sphere generators the yakuza use, so I don't have to rely on them too much. I deconstructed one of them and figured out that they mainly work on mana, though they can work with other types of energy as well.

So far, they're compatible with chemical and nuclear fuel as well, somehow making viable fuel sources around them react and absorb their energy, ignoring any material that is part of the device they are powering. This little device is incredible.

Barely the size of a ping pong ball, yet it can store so much energy it makes nearly every human invention before it a joke. If I were to make a bomb out of it, I could probably wipe out Japan a few times over.

In other words, it has the power of a High-Ultimate class entity. That's even more than I have.

I'm not sure if these things are mass-produced or if they're still new. I don't care how strong the Tojo Clan is; they shouldn't be anywhere near rich or resourceful enough to be making a lot of these. Maybe they have other, weaker versions of them too? That would make more sense.

I have to find a way to recreate this. Better yet, make superior versions. But I don't know how to do that. This thing is already refined to the absolute limit, meaning I need to make a much bigger device with the same kind of refining to hold more power or find a stronger energy source.

How the hell am I going to do that? I don't know. But that's why I've been making random stuff. I'll figure it out eventually— I know I will. Because this new power armor is massively more powerful than the last one I made, and it's completely separate from the gauntlet. So it has its very own generator.

"Seeing the Tojo Clan have really awesome tech motivated me," I answer. "I thought I could do better."

"You thought you could do better than the yakuza?" Ichiban looks at me incredulously. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah?" I raise a brow. I mean, that's not the main reason, but why does he sound surprised? "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

Ichiban looks at me silently for a few moments before chuckling. What's so funny? Is he making fun of me?

"Nevermind. I should've expected you'd say something like that." He shakes his head, twirling the plasma gun around. "Classic Akane."

"Careful with that," I say. "This thing is not a joke. You can seriously hurt yourself with it."

"Relax. I'm not gonna shoot anything." He responds. "This is really cool, though. If you told me you were out here making laser guns and shit, I would've never bothered you."

"Bullshit. You would constantly beg me to watch."

"True." He doesn't deny it. "But come on, how awesome is that? You're not just a regular wizard; you're a tech wizard, too."

"You should feel lucky that you're my friend." I declare proudly. "Tell me, how many people do you know that can do what I can? None. Nobody is as talented as I am."

And I believe that fully. Even without the system, I'd still be able to leave a mark on the world if I really wanted to. The Game just makes that a complete cakewalk. Still no place for arrogance, though. I know when I need to get serious.

"Hey, I ain't denying anything. You're a badass through and through." He agrees. "You could do without the ego, though."

"It's not ego, it's confidence."

"Massive ego." He grins. "But you know what? I like you better that way. You're not Akane if your head isn't so far up your own ass. I can't ever see you being humble."

"You're such a dick." I laugh.

…Fuck it, I'll admit, having him around while I work makes things way more enjoyable. It's not like I hate working on the armor, of course not, but sometimes it gets too quiet, even with the loud music I usually put on as background noise.

I thought I'd get distracted if someone was around, but I'm focusing pretty well, even with Ichiban constantly starting conversations. Maybe it's because I'm too used to my mother entering to be a nuisance for the sole purpose of being a nuisance, then leaving after losing interest in annoying me.

God, I hate that woman sometimes.

Even Lucifer kind of stopped bothering me after a bit. Mostly because I don't respond to him a lot since I don't want someone to see me 'talking to myself'. Thankfully, he's pretty understanding of that.

I put down the blowtorch as I finish the final details, looking at the armor in thought.

"Oh? You're done?" Ichiban asks, putting the plasma gun down on the workbench. "That was quick."

"Not yet, but I'm done with the important stuff. I've been busy working on it for a while now," I reply. "Though I'll admit, I thought it would take me one more day at least."

"Think we can test it out?" Ichiban asks me, looking really excited.

"That's what I've been thinking." I nod, sharing his enthusiasm. "Wait, let me just…"

As I open up the armor with the remote, I get inside. It surrounds nearly my entire body, leaving only my head, as the helmet is a separate piece. Not one inch is left uncovered, and even then, it moves smoothly. I don't feel any resistance as I wave my arms around, walking out of the charging station it was on.

The armor is still an unfinished prototype, so I still haven't painted it besides installing some other functions. The LED around the armor glows blue instead of red, which is the color of my secret cloaking tech. I want to distinguish between them so people don't connect the dots easily, so I'm probably painting this one white. Or any other color that works with blue that isn't black.

I'm also going to invest some of my time to make entirely different mechs for the 'terrorist' the Tojo should be looking for now, my other persona so to speak, meaning I need to start looking for and gathering my own resources.

But trying to do that would be hard. It's not as easy as making a singular gauntlet, which I can hide with ease. This garage is a liability— I need to make my very own base that nobody knows about.

"Hooolyyy shiiiit!" Ichiban looks at the mechanical suit with stars in his eyes. "That's so fucking cool!"

"Try hitting me, Ichi," I say. "Come on, activate your Boosted Gear.

"Huh? Are you sure?" He asks. "You said you haven't installed an energy barrier yet, right?"

"Yeah, but I have an emergency forcefield already made, and the metal this suit is made of absorbs kinetic energy," I reassure him. "If my calculations aren't wrong – which they never are – then this can withstand a few hits even from your Balance Breaker."

"For real?!" He questions in surprise. "That's insane! Alright, let me try it. Triple boost."

As the gauntlet of the Boosted Gear forms around his right arm, Ichiban reels it back, clenching his hand in a fist and waiting a while until his third boost. Then, he throws the punch which I block with my forearm, blocking the hit without a scratch.

The force of the attack almost throws me crashing out of the house, but I stand my ground, only being pushed a few feet back.

"Woaaaah…" He deactivates the gear in awe. "This thing is seriously no joke."

He's right. A triple-boosted Ichi is physically more powerful than I am, meaning that, without my armor-breaking perk, this can easily resist all my blows even before completion. Magic is another story, of course, but it's still really impressive.

I can still upgrade it even after I finish it. More and more as my engineering skills become better, and this is only the beginning, so imagine what I'll be able to do after a single year of continuously improving it.

This is making me so excited.

"Imagine, Ichi," I say, getting out of the armor. "Imagine what I'll be able to do once I finish this."

"Nobody could stop you then!" He says. Having supportive and excitable people like him really is a blessing. "You might even be able to take on Saejima-san!"

"Maybe," I say, looking at the armor in pride. I've really outdone myself with this one, haven't I? "If outside weapons are allowed in that Rating Game tournament – which I think they are – then it's gonna be a piece of cake."

"You think we could join?"

"We might be able to, yeah," I confirm. "Sona said it's after the conference, so there's a chance."

"So that's why you were so busy all the time. You were preparing for it." Ichiban says in realization. "Now it makes more sense."

Well, yeah, but also the invasion, which I'm cursed to keep a secret.

"I guess I'll have to turn up the heat on my training too." He adds. "Don't want you leaving me in the dust all of a sudden."

"You're still stronger than me." I point out.

Even with the armor, I don't think I'd be able to defeat Ichiban's Balance Breaker just yet. Unless I use Excelsis, but obviously, I won't do that in a fucking spar.

"Yeah, for now." He snorts. "What makes you think that'll always be the case? I gotta keep it up if I don't want you getting ahead of me."

"You better," I smirk competitively. "I don't want my only rival to slack off. If you do, I'll beat your ass."

Sorry, Sona. You're great, but you don't qualify as a genuine rival.

"And I'm counting on you to do that." He takes it in stride.

Poor Ichi. He doesn't know about my broken Devour doing incredible work for me in literally just a day. I might not have gone on any other sprees yet, but really, that's only because I'm biding my time and planning my next hit.

I don't want to rush things, after all. Not when it's something as risky as devouring souls. In fact, I might not even do anything until after the invasion. Sounds stupid until you realize that the invasion is quite literally a free, all-you-can-eat buffet.

Everyone will be too busy fighting; it should be too chaotic for anyone to notice me eating the souls of my enemies. And not stupid, normal humans that give one or two stats in total. But actual, high-class combatants and above. The amount of stats and perks I'd get from them would be enormous.

Hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands. I'll be able to upgrade my Devour at such a rapid pace that my growth will become exponential. Perhaps I might not even need the armor or Nemesis anymore.

The only possible issue with that plan would be trying to hide my power level after the battle is done, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm way better at regulating my mana than I was before. It will be easy.

…I do not feel the weird withdrawal symptoms from the day after my first devouring spree anymore, but the thought still almost makes me salivate. I feel like I'm starving.

So I might as well let him enjoy the time being the strongest in our group. It's not like I'm that annoyed about it, and it won't take a while for me to catch up and surpass him anyway.

After all, cheating is only wrong when you're caught.