Ride 18: Re:Flect

Mira found herself back at the ORC Building's main office once more.

"H-Hello?" she said as she looked around. "... Anyone?"

She tried to look outside, but the fog was too dense, as if the whole area had been submerged into a sea of milk. She tried opening the windows, but the hinges connecting them weren't there.

In desperation, she then tried breaking the glass pane, but her bo staff snapped in two upon impact, leaving the window completely immaculate.

Looking around, she then spots a door leading a way out. It would've been easy to simply turn the knob, but something felt wrong.

Why aren't my hands moving? she thought as she looked at them trembles like a leaf. "... Come on, move!"

Forcing her hand to turn the doorknob by wrestling it with her other hand, Mira then tackles open the door-

*splash*

… Suddenly, her ankles felt uncomfortably wet. She did not look down, for there was no reason to.

The hallways were painted red with blood. Walls, ceilings, floor, everywhere. Blood, guts, shredded clothes, and limbs.

She tried to scream, but all that came out of her throat were empty gasps of horror. Mira tried going back, but as soon as she turned back to the office-

*SPLAT*

She was drenched with a burst of sanguine hue.

*thud*

Then a topless torso wobbling on its legs then fell to its knees before limping back to its open stump where its exposed organs were staring before Mira's eyes.

Losing whatever calm she had left, Mira sprints through the blood-soaked hallways of ORC screaming her lungs out. Whatever sanity she had was long gone, howling and blubbering like a child in a world of death.

Not looking where she's running, Mira then trips over something before her own face is covered in blood. She looks back, and finds Mihae's disemboweled corpse behind her, her feet and ankles snared around her spilled intestines.

"Nee-sama...!" she hysterically sobbed before she reluctantly violated her corpse even further to escape before resuming to run away.

As she continued running through the halls, more corpses could be found in horrific states of evisceration.

Ile and Nel's frontal and rear halves were each stitched together back-to-back, creating a pair of meat dolls assembled solely to violate the sanctity of life.

Ni and Li's skins were hanging like animal pelts, their flayed bodies left behind to rot like a pair of discarded anatomical models.

Marion and Burnet were found skewered like fish, both pierced through the same shaft.

Shuriya was found scattered, her head, limbs, bodies all laid about like a child's toys that were refused to be cleaned up.

Isabela's head was found inside of her torso, pushed down like ramune soda's marble.

Xuelan was found completely burned, the mere brush of her charred corpse causing it to crumble to ash.

Both Karlamine and Siris were found laid on a board, their bodies neatly sliced and arranged like a macabre charcuterie board, their own weapons as the utensils.

And Yubelluna was found laid against the wall, her face gouged out of her head, leaving a spherical hollow in its place.

Next to her was a door, and as soon as she reached the way leading outside...

"... No!"

She found Lady Ravel and Lord Riser impaled on stakes that were set ablaze by their own [Hell Fire], dryly groaning in unending agony, unable to die in their Roman candle-like display.

"... Mi...Ra."

The Pawn's ears perked up. "RISER-SAMA?!"

Then the perpetually-burning Lady Ravel groaned. "... Ru-"

"One, two, three, four... Who's the whore that left the door~?"

The bass voice that she recognizes causes her whole body and flood to freeze solid.

"Five, six, seven, eight..."

Mira turns around and the manor where the ORC Build once stood was replaced with Grendel, in his green-scaled and burning majesty, the charred corpses of her fellow Peerage members hanging around his neck like a set of trophies.

"I'm gonna shove my fist up your taint."

As soon as the whole world around her was set on fire, Mira ran.

She did not scream, she did not beg, she did not reason. She just ran as Grendel casually walked towards her like if this infernal land of death was an afternoon stroll.

The flames around her then turned into a sprawl of hands. Hands that were clawed and reached out towards her, intending her to drag Mira back to their master to make good on his threat of turning her into his ugliest sock puppet.

Suddenly, she spots a gap within the flames. Taking no chances, she then leaps towards her salvation...

*thunk*

Her face instead squeaks down across a glass barrier. From the other side, she saw the faint vision of Re:Live's visage looking at her before turning their back on her.

But before she could react. Grendel seizes her by her head before being picked up like a small animal.

Mira tries closing her legs as soon as she sees the Evil Dragon ball his hand into a fist, but the fiery hands grab her ankles before prying her pussy open.

"Do me a favor..."

Grendel's visage then turns into Takeshi's.

"... And scream for me."

*SPLURCH*

29th of April, 2019 AD (2/3 of the Cycle)

Mira then springs up from her cot screaming and sweating. Upon realizing that she was back in the waking world, she looks around to see the following.

The rest of the female Phenex Peerage members were in their shared tent, with their King sleeping at a separate tent, Mira herself was in her (standard-issue) tank top and sweatpants while inside her sleeping bag, and Re:Live was crouched down before the entrance, air horn in one hand, a megaphone in the other.

As soon as the two made eye-to-visor contact, Re:Live shushes her by placing their finger where the lips were at, before pulling the megaphone's trigger and placing the air horn's muzzle against the former's mic.

*HONK!*

Literally everyone else inside the tent all woke up screaming.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Yubelluna exclaimed, her luscious violet hair now a frazzled mop.

"I think I'm now deaf one ear..." groaned Xuelan.

"No Master Sergeant...! It's not morning yet...!" Karlamine talked half-asleep before being shaken out of her delirium by Siris. "... Oh. Good morning, everyone."

"The sun's not even out yet..." Ravel pointed out, there being large bags underneath her eyes. "... Seriously, does common courtesy not apply to you, Re:Live?"

"No," they answered bluntly before tapping the air with their finger, creating a spatial ripple that caused Riser to fall out of it from above. "All of you wash up and get dressed. Morning training starts in 30 minutes."

Collectively groaning, the sixteen members of Riser's Peerage all head to the stationed wash sinks to clean themselves up and dress into their olive-green military fatigues.

"I miss our old clothing already..." bemoaned Mihae. "My kimono was so much smoother."

"It feels weird having to dress this much..." Shuriya commented. "... I mean, aren't we Devils supposed to be a hardier lot than that of humans?"

"Counterpoint, it saves us the time from having to repair our clothes with magic..." Burnet pointed out. "... Plus, these horrendous looks aside, I sort of appreciate their longevity."

"Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that I almost suffered a heart attack when it was distributed via firearm!" Marion countered.

"Yeah! Yeah!" the twins added as they went and retrieved their chainsaws.

Then all of them hear the sound of the pipe wrench banging against the bucket, signaling them to hurry up.

"... Lady Ravel, are you well?" asked Isabela.

"Oh no, I am wonderful," she sardonically replied. "I wish I was wishboned yesterday!"

Mira sighs as she was the first to finish changing. "... Oh Satans below, what sort or horrific method will be brought unto us to torment us?"

As soon as everyone else finishes changing into their uniforms, the whole Peerage line up before Re:Live, the latter now standing before a herd of heavily-armored rhino-men and a larger rhino the size of a commute bus and with a golden shamshir-esque blade on the ridge of its nose. All of them were sleeping peacefully, the only thing animated on their bodies being their occasionally flickering ears and heavy snorts akin to a car engine.

"Shh..." Re:Live shushed as everyone dared not to move a muscle. "... Good. You're all learning."

No one dared to even make a peep lest they're one blamed for starting a rampage of rhinos.

"... I'll keep it as brief as possible," the superhero whispered. "You all run... around the lake... while these things chase you... until I say stop."

And just before anyone could bring up the topic of wings, Re:Live then takes out a remote before clicking a button, activating a planted magic seal on the backs of their uniforms, preventing anyone from taking the easy way out.

"It's now 4:30 AM..." As soon Re:Live took out his Beretta 92FS Inox, the entire Phenex Peerage took off running with their mouths covered. "Good. They're learning."

*BANG*

All of the rhinos wake up at the sound of gunfire before they see the sixteen Devils running away from them.

Screams of utter horror were heard as soon as the stamping of ornery rhinos were heard.

Meanwhile, at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD-!"

*KABOOM*

"I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD!"

The entire Gremory Peerage were running for their lives as Grayfia, as promised, forced them to run while she floated behind them, shooting her demonic energy blasts as "incentive."

"... What are they singing?" asked Kikuchiyo, the Kasha then letting out a mewling yawn before stretching.

"Beats me," Chiharu shrugged, the Oni watching the morning workout with her fellow Yōkai.

As the rest of the Peerage ran from Grayfia and her Ultimate-Class powers, a certain thought was brought upon them beyond the explosions and the fear of being blasted into atoms.

"Hey, is it just me, or is senpai's singing somehow not killing us?" Koneko pointed out.

"What?!" Pandora remarked, still not (fully) in the know of how BAD his singing is. "... I mean, it can't be that bad-"

"SHUT UP AND KEEP RUNNING!" Rias screams as another blast nearly vaporizes her from behind.

"Perhaps practice what you preach, milady," the maid pointed out as she continued with her volley.

At the front of the pack, Takeshi, somehow marginally improving in a single day, was thinking about another thing.

Is it just me, or am I enjoying this? he thought as he recalled all the times when he watched all of those Vin Diesel films while actual explosions were happening behind him. ... My chest is burning, my arms are sore, my legs are screaming, and my joints are on the verge of snapping... but it all feels so right!

Grendel grumbles as he rebuffs Takeshi's attempts at appealing to him, even though he found this strenuous exercise to be pleasant.

Never took you for being a complete elskan, Grendel, snickered the Evil Dragon of Envy. ... Can't handle the cold, hard truth?

Shut up, corpse-breath, growled back the Evil Dragon of Wrath. ... I ain't in the mood for your bullshit.

Typical Tuesday, meathead. Nidhogg then goes back to enjoying the show as his host is running around the mountain as the other members of the Peerage catch up to his heels after the initial explosion that sent him flying ahead of everyone.

"It appears that you're slowing down, Sir Ryuugamine," Grayfia pointed out as she then prepared an especially-large sphere of demonic energy in her hand. "... Surely, that cannot be your best."

"BRING ON THE FUCKING PAIN, GRAYFIA-SAN!" Takeshi cackled like a madman. "EXPEL THE WEAKNESS FROM MY BODY!"

"He's becoming more like Grendel every passing second..." Yuuto commented.

"Maybe a coping mechanism, but points for enthusiasm!" Akeno pointed out as the maid then blasts her larger spell towards the rest of the ORC fleeing from her.

*KABOOM!*

"... I dunno if they're gonna be okay after that," the Kasha pointed out as she and the Oni saw the large explosion from the camp kitchen.

"Hey, they survived Hisaya," Chiharu reassured as she began washing the rice. "... I'm sure they'll survive this."

Back at Lake Tōya...

"Congratulations. You all survived," Re:Live remarked as they clicked their tally counter to "18". "... Mostly."

Mira's legs were more akin to tubes of toothpaste that ran dry while everyone else were in varying states of mutilation, with Ravel's left eye healing after her head was impaled by a rhino-man's horn from behind, Karlamine's left arm now a blood-dripping stump, and Ile carrying her twin sister Nel's body, whose neck was snapped in two after getting ran over.

Overall, the morning run around the lake was Hell. Some were forced to be left behind and risk getting run over until they were picked up by the others during the next lap, but that also came with the risk of getting the rescuers mauled from them slowing down.

The rhino herd all returned to the lake's reflection afterwards, with some wondering what other, horrifying monsters that Re:Live kept as their army of familiars lurked within the mirror-like world.

"Those in states of mutilation, come with me," Re:Live ordered as they took out their [Transteam Gun] along with a cylindrical vial of [Pure Phoenix Tears]. "Rest of you, wait at the canteen. Breakfast will be served soon."

The relatively intact ones dragged their feet to the camp's canteen area while everyone else were dragged away to get (painfully) resurrected.

Once reaching the tables, the remaining Peerage members all sat down with each other.

"... I'm grateful that he brings us back from the brink every time we die, but why does it hurt so much?" asked Mihae.

"Probably have to do with something about the brain sending signals to the rest of the body as a sign of being alive or something," Isabela pointed out as she cleaned her goggles. "... I mean, maybe that's how it's supposed to work?"

Everyone then looked towards Riser for reference.

"... Admittedly, when I first manifested [Immortality], Lord Father literally decapitated me with a sword," he explained.

"It's true," confirmed Marion. "Lord Phenex can be quite cold-blooded for a Devil who's House masters [Hell Fire]."

"Poor Lord Riser was crying to his Lady Mother during that traumatic experience," added Burnet as the screams were heard from those being resurrected by Re:Live's aerosol. "But so is the House's tradition to those who bear the blood of the Phenex."

Riser neither protests nor argues at their testimony, only bitter that despite the Hell that Lord Father had put him through during his childhood, it still wasn't enough to impress him compared to his two older brothers.

Just what are you planning, Re:Live? he thought as he wrapped his head with his arms. Trying to make me relive my childhood just to set me on a correct path? Invalidating my own pain for your own amusement?

Once the resurrected Peerage members return with the fold, Re:Live then takes out a cardboard box.

"Breakfast is served." They then hand out MRE packets before each of them.

"... The Hell?" Ravel remarked as she and the others looked at the packet with great confusion.

"Be grateful that the cheese and vegetable omelet was discontinued a decade prior."

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"Top of the morning, aren't you, President?" Takeshi pointed out as Rias began reading the old grimoires of the previous Rating Games while the rest of ORC ate onigiri for breakfast.

"Just trying to be as efficient as possible," she replied before cramming a rice ball into her mouth and resuming reading her materials.

"Everyone, be sure to eat as much as you can but take heed to chew your food lest you choke," Grayfia informed as she stood by the dining areas.

"Come to think of it, why aren't you eating with the rest of us?" Takeshi asked.

"A maid eats after her charges have finished," she plainly answered.

"Despite you being the strongest one here," Nidhogg remarked with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh, the fucking horror."

Meanwhile, Pandora gawks at the sheer quantity of rice balls that Koneko was packing away while she was feeling bloated after her second.

"... You're not gonna eat that?" the Nekomata asked the Knight, to which the latter gave away the rest of her portion without a word.

"... I'll review my scroll before our next workout." Pandora was then the first one to leave the canteen.

"Ara, so soon?" Akeno remarked.

"I'll take her advice and pack light." Yuuto then finishes his current onigiri before leaving the table.

"More for us then," Koneko remarked as she then raised her hand. "Hey, I want another pile of rice balls, STAT!"

"Grilled or steamed?" asked Kikuchiyo.

"Whichever one is faster." The Nekomata then resumes eating the remainder of her pile while Chiharu watches her eat in abject horror.

"... I know that she can pack away since we visited 7-Eleven, but by the gods, she needs to cut down," the Oni commented.

"Hey, less talking, more packing," the Kasha ordered as she then handed her the tin of freshly-steamed rice.

Takeshi then suddenly grows bored of eating just plain old rice balls and begins thinking of something. "... You know, onigiri is good and all, but as they say, variety is the spice of life."

From his pocket, he then takes out a bottle of Chaos Karma Dragon's Breath Habanero Sauce, dripping the hellish concoction onto the rice ball as its borderline-caustic composition emitted a searing sensation that caused the others to gag.

"What in the... Satans' name... is that thing...?" Grayfia coughed out as everyone else present began to keel over from the 10k Scoville Units behind Takeshi's indulgence.

"Heaven in a bottle," Takeshi answered without irony as he then bit into the fiery onigiri, a wave of catharsis being released throughout his brain as the spices assaulted his senses while everyone was on the verge of fainting. "... You know, maybe we can use this in the Rating Game. The smell alone will be enough to make them submit."

"I... doubt it..." Akeno's eyes then rolled to the back of her head before she was rendered unconscious.

Takeshi continued eating his breakfast without worry, blissfully ignorant to everyone else's suffering due to him enjoying the spice that much.

"I should've... taken him eating raw wasabi... as a warning..." Koneko groaned before fainting from the spice.

"Seriously...?!" coughed Chiharu as she tried not to suffocate from the hot sauce's scent.

Grayfia, using her magic, creates an air filter around her head before walking up to Takeshi and snatching the bottle from him. "I am confiscating this."

"Dammit." Takeshi clicked his tongue as he saw the sealed bottle being put away into her magic circle.

Back at Lake Tōya...

"You know, presentation aside, the food wasn't that bad," Ravel remarked as she finished her chili mac before washing it down with powdered Gatorade (grape-flavored).

"Pity that it leaves a mess on the mouth," Yubelluna commented as she wiped her face with a wet wipe (provided with the MRE package).

"If my company had these during the Habsburg Wars, then we wouldn't have risked our lives to raid the Janissaries' camp for their food," Siris remarked before she let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"The humans consider these luxury brand-goods?" Riser asked as he looked at the drab packaging of the MRE. "... Soldiers be soldiers, I suppose."

"Good, you're all finished," Re:Live curtly said as they came in.

"No 'how was the food' or anything of sort?" Ravel pointed out.

"This place isn't a restaurant, so all of you shut up and meet me by the camp's forested edge in five minutes," they replied before leaving the mess hall.

Once the time was reached, the entire Phenex Peerage lined up before Re:Live.

"Alright, you're all here on time," the superhero said as they checked their watch. "Now, before we begin, I'll have to assign each of you to separate areas for your individual training sessions."

They then took out a tablet before going over the roster.

"Riser, Ravel, you two will head to the clearing at the East," they ordered as the superhero then handed the siblings a red bandage. "Karlamine, Siris, Xuelan, Isabela, Ni, Li, Mihae and Mira, you eight will head to the dense thickets at the Northern section of the surrounding forest."

"Why not the clearing, though?" asked the Rook with the goggles as her division was handed a blue handkerchief. "Surely, we'd be able to learn more if we're able to fight in an open space."

"You're all too used to fighting in open spaces, so the limited space will act as your test," they answered. "Oh, and don't bother trying to break through the trees. The local Ainu Pantheon and I have agreed that no substantial damages are to be inflicted to the forest during the duration of our stay, so I went and placed magic seals around that section of the forest to make the trees unbreakable."

"Ainu?" replied Mihae.

"Basically, they're a recent subsidiary of the Shinto Pantheon ever since Hokkaido got annexed during the mid-to-late 19th Century," Re:Live explained. "They hold an autonomous status within this region but are tributary to the Shinto Pantheon because well... you know what happens when one side's worshippers get a little testy."

"I see..." Mira sighed.

"Yubelluna, Ile, and Nel, you three are going back to the tent next to the generator and start studying," Re:Live ordered as they handed them notepads with pens tethered to them. "Take as many notes as you can about the topics that relate to you the most. Because you'll be using them in a special Tactics Theorem that's coming up within a few days in this temporal displacement. You're not just here to muck about. I better see you three actually learning something. Understood?"

"Doubt that we'd be able to learn anything from works of fiction..." the Queen grumbled.

"We'll do our best!" Ile replied.

"The bestest we can!" Nel chipperly added.

"And finally, Marion, Burnet, and Shuriya, you three will come with me to the center of Lake Tōya," they ordered. "I have a special training menu laid out all just for you three in regards to expanding your demonic energy reserves."

"What kind of training will it be?" the dancer Pawn asked.

"You'll know when you get there," the superhero answered before walking towards the lake. "All of you, get to your stations in five minutes, or you're going to end up as my familiars'' chew toys for the evening."

Everyone made a break for it double-time.

At the Eastern Clearing...

"So, this is the place?" Both Riser and Ravel find themselves at a clearing with a crude flagpole tied with the same-colored handkerchief fluttering around it.

"Brother, I am absolutely looking forward to how our host tortures us this time around," Ravel deadpanned as she then began looking around the surrounding forest. "What now? Shark-men? Rhino-men? Crab-men? Bat-men?"

Ambient sounds of the leaves rustling in the spring breeze of Hokkaido's wilderness.

"... This is already getting asinine," the younger Phenex grumbled before walking up to the flagpole. "COME OUT ALREADY! WE'RE READY-!"

*TWACK!*

From behind, Ravel was struck on her head by a blunt object, causing her to shrink down onto her knees to reveal the perpetrator, revealing themselves as a black-cloaked figure wearing a white and red Kitsune mask over their hooded head. Held in their gloved hand was a jian-like longsword sheathed in a scabbard lacquered jet-black and studded and tipped with brass bits.

"So you're to be our opponent?" Riser remarked as he then unleashes his [Hell Fire] around himself. "Then have at thee-!"

*TWACK!*

"BLOODY HELL!" the older Phenex exclaimed as he clutched his head in pain after being struck.

"Too slow." The figure then taps the sheathed blade across their shoulder as both Phenex siblings recover from their stricken heads throbbing in pain. "Were this an actual battle, you both would've died."

"So I take it that you're our mentor for this excursion, then?!" Ravel remarked as the cloaked figure got into a combative stance with their sheathed blade.

"Make yourselves worthy for me to unsheathe my blade, hatchlings." The figure then moved in a blur as the two siblings readied themselves to fight back-

*TWACK!*

*TWACK!*

... First, they must learn how to dodge after centuries of using their [Immortality] made their reflexes rusty.

At the Northern Thickets...

Isabela then taps her knuckles on one of the trees as she and the rest of her contingent make their way through the dense evergreen forest. "... Yep, this is it, everyone." The Rook then looks up towards one of the branches tied with a blue handkerchief. "We've arrived."

Karlamine then tries marking the tree's bark with her dagger, but it simply slid off, the blade's point not even making a single indentation. "Re:Live wasn't kidding," the Knight commented. "We might as well be in a cage made of girders."

"How are we supposed to fight in here?" Xuelan sighed as she tried to move her footing to get a proper angle for her kicks. "The things that I shudder to think about should my shins collide against one of these invincible trees."

"No uprooting them, either," Siris analyzed the soil and found them airtight like dried cement. "The Ainu Pantheon must really love nature."

Ni and Li begin sniffing the air, which Mira herself noticed.

"What's the matter?" she asked before one of the Senri sisters pointed upwards towards the trees' canopies.

"There's something coming!" Ni pointed out.

"It's flying towards us!" Li added. "And I smell... cream and sweet coffee-?"

"WHAT'S UP, BITCHES?!"

Swooping into the thick forest from the skies was none other than Chiha, the secular bikuni nun sitting cross-legged on her giant paper airplane while slurping on her cup of Caramel Frappé (with extra whipped cream and caramel, and large-sized) underneath her tengai-basket hat.

"... I can never tell Re:Live's trying to fuck with us or not," Mihae remarked before letting out a deep sigh.

After finishing her drink, Chiha then leaps off of her ride without hesitation, skipping from tree branch to tree branch before landing gracefully, despite being dressed in cumbersome-looking jūnihitoe not unlike Mihae's (albeit in a drabber color palette of dark-grays and a splash of beige-orange).

"Top of the morning, sluts!" Chiha cackled out as she tapped her mallet's side on her hand. "So who's ready for pain and suffering beyond all imagination?"

The paper airplane where she came in then descends towards the gathered group before its folded construction begins transforming itself into something more compact.

Gone was the simple-looking triangular paper airplane, and landing behind the nun was a humanoid construct vaguely and abstractly resembling a horned warrior with a set of three short-length capes from its upper crest, upper shoulder spike, and lower shoulder spike. Brandishing in one of its hands was a broadsword with a large, pincer-like fork as its tip.

"No way..." gasped the Bishop as the others failed to recognize what that construct was. "... A Shiki-Ouji?! Here?!"

Mira then chokes on her own spit as the same realization sets in towards her as well. "... Oh gods. We're fucking dead."

"Please explain," Isabela requested. "... Not all of us are from Japan."

"A Shiki-Ouji is the strongest shikigami that could be created through the art of Onmyōdō!" Mihae explained. "It's so strong that it tends to go on a rampage that destroys entire villages... and whoever can pacify, let alone, control it, is considered one of the strongest Onmyōji around!"

Karlamine and Siris analyze the Shiki-Ouji's behavior and notice that it was behaving rather calmly and confidently, standing proud beside its master like a knight in shining armor, ready to carry out her will at a moment's notice.

"She's not even worried..." the Knight remarked as she instinctively reached for her flamberge.

"Even from here, I can sense its power..." the other Knight commented as she drew her longsword. "... It's High-Class."

"... So, she's a bigger deal than we thought," Ni gulped in fear.

"Wait, isn't she like... Buddhist?!" Li pointed out before the bikuni laughed at the Senri's befuddlement.

"Secular Buddhist, kitty-cat." Chiha then flicks out a set of shogi pieces between her fingers from her robe's sleeves. "It means that my arts aren't bound to a single school of faith, as you're all about to see, right now."

Tossing the game pieces into the air, the bikuni then uses her [Uchide no Kozuchi] to enlarge the pieces into the size of cars as they all unfolded and transformed into different forms, ranging from a lion, an Eastern Dragon, a bear, a simian, and a flying sea turtle.

"Get punked on, you whores." Flipping them all off, she then signals her familiars to attack the contingent, moving simply and organically despite their slightly-bulky appearances.

At the Tent Next to the Generator...

"So, how does this thing even work?" Yubelluna asked herself as she cracked open the My Hero Academia Blu-Ray case. "Last time I saw one of these movies... I remember sitting in a plush chair next to Lord Riser at a theater."

"Sis, do you know how this works?" Ile askes as her head was tangled in the Xbox 360's cables.

"Beats me," Nel replied as she tried to figure out what the manual was saying. "I mean, it should be like the Sega Saturn we have back at Lord Riser's place, right?"

"Great," the Queen sighed as she failed to figure out how the damn Blu-Ray Player works before cracking open her manga. "Don't tell me that us figuring out how these things are supposed to work is part of our test."

"No," an unfamiliar voice called. "Even Re:Live wouldn't set the bar that low-"

Instantly, both Ile and Nel pin the intruder down by pinning their chainsaws onto her neck and onto the dirt.

"Who are you?" Yubelluna asked as she readied to use her explosion magic. "A Fallen Angel?! Here-?!"

"Slow your roll! I'm with Re:Live!" Raynare then opens her palm to reveal her designation seal. "... Lord Azazel transferred me to them after... certain reasons. Now I'm their errand girl. Or a slave. Really, it's not as bad as it looks."

Both Pawns look at each other before letting her go, allowing the Fallen Angel show herself as a woman dressed slate-black high-pants that accentuated her hip's curves, a black cashmere sweater with a plain dark-gray vest over it, a pair of shiny black pumps over her feet covered in thick black stockings, and a pearlescent spool of prayer bead-like necklace worn around her neck that radiated with compressed, yet noticeable power in each of the orbs.

At least Re:Live has the courtesy of not dressing their interns (read: slaves) in rags. If anything, Raynare, minus her blackened wings, could easily pass of as a rising young socialite in Tokyo's upper crusts (her clothes that she's wearing right now cost about 85,000-90,000-yen total) by her looks alone.

"By the way, if I take these off, I die," Raynare pointed out as she gestured towards her necklace. "And for those attempting to remove them... unless you're Re:Live themselves, they're also going to die. No ifs, and, or buts."

"Thank you for clearing that up," Yubelluna sighed. "... And I suppose you know how to use this infernal contraption?"

Without a word, Raynare helps the Queen install the Blu-Ray disc into the player as Episode 1 of My Hero Academia starts playing on the screen.

"... Thank you," the Queen remarked in a flat tone as she watched the anime.

"Please, it's nothing special," the Fallen Angel scoffed before heading towards the twins' direction. "... And correct me if I'm wrong, but the last console you two played... was the Sega Saturn?"

"We don't remember video game consoles being this hard to install!" Ile commented.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Nel added. "It's not our fault that we didn't have time to buy the GameCube!"

Raynare sighs before helping the twins install the Xbox 360 into the TV. "... Silver lining, at least I'm not fighting you guys right now."

"Thank you, Miss Fallen Angel!" the twins said in unison, their words unintentionally hurting Raynare a little inside.

"... Just call me Raynare," said the Fallen Angel as she tried not to cry how old she is compared to the Pawns as the latter pair began playing Suda 51's collaboration with James Gunn.

"Miss Raynare, I gotta ask..." Ile said as the introductory cutscene started playing.

"Is Sega still making consoles?" Nel asked as the game began. "I heard rumors that they were developing the Sega Neptune to compete with the PlayStation 2."

Raynare sighed in pity at their naivety.

"... Sorry, kiddos. They stopped making consoles about 20 years ago."

"Aww..." both of the twins groaned in disappointment.

"Regular humans wielding so-called 'Quirks'?" Yubelluna commented on the anime. "... Well, at least I know who this 'Bakugou' is. Clearly, he's an asshole and a half."

At the Center of Lake Tōya...

"Uh..."

The three Devils looked in stupor as they watched Re:Live walk on the surface of the lake without so much as causing a ripple with every step they've taken.

"What are you all waiting for?" the superhero said. "... Come on in. The water's great."

Reluctantly, the three Pawns looked towards each other for who goes in first, reminding themselves that the lake is where Re:Live's deadly familiars came out from.

Shuriya then casts a stone into the lake, the mirror-like sheen of the lake's surface triggering a crab-man to come lunging out of the water before submerging back to its habitat. "I KNEW IT!"

"How are we supposed to reach you without our wings?" asked Marion as she and Burnet pointed towards their uniforms. "It's not like any of us Devils are Jesus!"

"Use your imagination." Re:Live then stops at Lake Tōya's center. before standing cross-armed "After all, you three have magic, no?"

All three of them then realize that they're going to have to use their demonic energy to basically float with their bare feet alone.

Taking tender steps across the monster-infested lake, Shuriya, Marion, and Burnet all tiptoe across the water without trying to spook the crab-men underneath the surface.

"Oh, Satans below, this is hair-raising..." Marion commented.

"Keep your wits about you!" Burnet rebuked. "We are proud servants of House Phenex! A mere monster-infested lake won't be enough for us to relent-!"

*BANG*

Suddenly, Re:Live then fires their Beretta 92FS Inox into the air, the bullet casing being caught in their hand as the bullet makes its way up towards the sky, steadily coming back down before it hits the water.

From the ripple emerged the crab-man before it sank back down. All three of them tried not to lose focus from the sudden shift in tension lest they end up as crab feed.

"The name of the game is 'Concentration'," revealed Re:Live. "The rule is simple: keep focus on not panicking the crab-men waiting below, or else you'll die. Either by drowning or being picked apart by their mandibles. Dealer's choice on which one would you like to happen first."

The three Pawns gulped in anticipation as the superhero checked their gun's feed.

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

At Shikoku, the Gremory Peerage resumed their individual training after breakfast.

Takeshi himself was now sparring with Grayfia herself, both to grow strong enough to confront Grendel, and to get used to using his [Berserk Devastator] while under the effects of the increased gravity within the established space.

The current objective was to push her out of the circle she'd drawn around herself. Through whatever means necessary.

So far, on his own terms, Takeshi had failed to make even Grayfia flinch.

"Sir Ryuugamine, your movements are starting to become predictable."

Takeshi then lets out a yell as he then delivers a flying roundhouse kick towards the maid, but the latter easily catches it before throwing him back towards the cavern wall. The Evil Dragon User softens the impact by flaring his greaves' thrusters before recovering his footing.

"[Promotion: Bishop]!" Switching tactics, Takeshi then spins the serrated discs around his heels before unleashing a flurry of flaming crescent waves with his flip kicks towards Grayfia, to which the latter blocked with her magic circles. "NOW!"

Suddenly, a pulse of anger shocks Grayfia's mind, interrupting her spell and allowing the flames to make contact with her.

*BOOM!*

Normally, Takeshi would celebrate, but so far, he'd learned well that it took more than a single explosion to subdue an Ultimate-Class like Grayfia.

"Impressive." As the dust cleared, the maid revealed herself, completely unscathed, not even a single fringe of her dress being slightly toasted. "To think you'd use a long-range support power in a Sacred Gear that specializes in close-quarters combat. How atypical of you, Sir Ryuugamine. Especially when you've managed to unleash that burst of rage from Grendel to dispel my magic instantly."

"Hey, whatever works, works," Takeshi pointed out. "... By the way, I think I saw you stumble back when you got struck by Grendel's infectious rage."

The maid looks at her footing, realizing that she'd taken a step back from the rage's influence.

"By and by, I must confide," Grayfia said. "But how is your handling with [Berserk Devastator] currently?"

Takeshi then presses a button on his [Cataclysm Zone] before dematerializing his armored form. "... So far, I think I can use it without going apeshit, but right now, I feel like it's not as powerful as it was previously."

"How so?" the maid asked.

"Allow me to explain," Nidhogg intervenes. "You see, the Sacred Gears that our souls are bound to tap in our own individual powers when our users wield them. My ashes and ability to absorb all natural anathema to my host is carried over to [Mayhem Striker], just like Grendel's flames and ability to break minds with his infectious rage via his [Berserk Devastator]. Consequently, since our souls are bound to these Sacred Gears in the first place..."

It didn't take long for Takeshi to figure out why [Berserk Devastator] was only about half of its original power as of now. "So Grendel's throwing a hissy fit and shutting himself in his own cell?!"

"Basically," the Evil Dragon of Envy confirmed.

"I guess this 'synchronization' is truly a two-way street, as one would put it," Grayfia commented. "... And I'd like you yourself to confirm this for me, Sir Ryuugamine, but how did you overcome Grendel's influence in the first place? If I recall, you did go on two separate rampages during the incident with the Fallen Angel Cluster and their Stray Exorcists."

"At first, Grendel solely focused on overpowering me with his sheer might, taking over when my mind goes semi-catatonic every time I entered a state of near-death," he explained. "... Evidently, being shot with holy energy-infused bullets will do that, even after holy energy resistance training with Himejima-senpai."

"I see..." the maid nodded as Takeshi continued.

"So after taking Re:Live's advice of 'finding a reason to become angry,' me, against all common sense, embraced my own rage and made it my own," the Pawn confirms. "Normally, you'd expect that the Evil Dragons to feed off the user's negativity, but I figured out that as long as I don't deny these feelings without succumbing to them, I can reverse the flow and use my own negativity to use the Evil Dragons' powers to a certain extent."

"Simply put, Grendel overplayed his hand and now has no cards left to play," Nidhogg clarified. "That said, he still owns the 'house,' meaning that he's withholding all of his Sacred Gear's benefits from the whelp."

"Meaning that synchronization is the only option left," Grayfia added. "... He challenged you to a brawl, so you'll have to meet him on his own terms."

"Assuming he even lets me in," Takeshi grumbled. "... But no, [Section Heorot] is locked from the inside. I don't think provocations are going to work anymore. Funny as he overplays his hand, we also fell into the trap of pissing him off so much that he's now pouting like a child."

"At least you won't go on a rampage..." the maid pointed out. "... But I supposed that you're not satisfied remaining as such, no?"

"Hell no," Takeshi rebuffed. "... The whole Peerage is like a stool. If one of us, myself included, isn't ready by next Monday, then the whole team isn't ready."

Grayfia chuckled at his surprisingly insightful claim. "... You know, despite being a mere Pawn, you have the means of being a King sometime in the future."

"Maybe?" Takeshi remarked. "... But for now, I gotta keep up-no. I have to surpass my past self and keep moving forward. Otherwise, I'll lose everything that matters to me here and now-"

*creak*

Then suddenly, Takeshi collapses to the ground in pain.

"Shit...! Forgot about the pain inhibitors..." he heaved as Grayfia made her way towards the collapsed Pawn.

"Steady now." Grayfia begins casting healing magic over his broken body, mending his fractured bones and torn muscles.

"... Damn, I wish I can use magic like yours, Grayfia-san," Takeshi winced as he felt his body pulling itself back together. "... I would be dead without them, but curse these Evil Dragons for not allowing me to have nice things."

"If you think this is impressive, then you will love the Underworld's skies," the maid replied. "Did you know that an artificial moon was added for the sake of the Reincarnated Devils so that they don't suffer a psychological time-dissonance? It's that principle that allowed Lord Beelzebub to conceptualize this very time dilation space as the base."

"Preach it, Grayfia-san."

And so, the training days for both the Gremory and Phenex Peerages carried on, both sides putting their best foot forward in order to better themselves for their upcoming demonstration to all of the Underworld.

For the servants of Gremory, it was for the sake of their honor and pride that was challenged by a prideful fool who thought that he'd held the higher vantage.

For the servants of Phenex, it was for the sake of their standing within the society that has now declared them as nothing but wastrels by those who rebuffed them.

Day by day, bones were broken, blood was spilled like sweat, limits were pushed, and their collective definitions of the word "Hell" was redefined.

Despite all that, neither side were neglected of their meals and rests in-between each of their rounds of training. Broken morale doesn't lead to broken limits, after all.

29th of April, 2019 AD (3/3 of the Cycle)

It was nothing short of Hell for both Riser and Ravel as the siblings failed to make any leeway against this elusive swordsman (gender unconfirmed) that has continued to bonk them on their heads with their sheathed jian.

The lack of an edge actually made the pain worse. At least when cut, it was relatively quick.

"... Brother," Ravel groaned as she and Riser groggily stood before the cloaked swordsman. "... Perchance, I may be seeing double."

"Concussion is the least of your worries, hatchling," the cloaked figure curtly pointed out as they pointed their sheathed sword at the pair. "Stop limiting yourselves to your past. You're in the present now."

"Again, with the cryptic nonsense..." growled Riser.

"It wouldn't be training if I simply gave you the answer now, would it?"

The figure disappears in a blur before the Phenex siblings, causing the pair to immediately go on guard, sticking back-to-back to make sure that all possible angles are covered-

*WHACK!*

"DAMN IT ALL!" Ravel cursed as her head bled from a cast stone before it healed with her [Immortality]. "REALLY?!"

Riser tried to focus on how they could lock down this mysterious swordsman before he looked at the bloodied rock.

"To be in the present..." he heaved out as his brain went into overdrive. "Think... what do I have with me that I can use right now-?"

"Thinking out loud while I'm listening? How bold."

Instinctively, Riser shoves Ravel away from himself before using his own body to take the hit in her place, striking against his collarbone before he then grabs the sheathed sword's scabbard.

"You're not going anywhere!" Riser's body then begins emitting [Hell Fire] as he gradually begins to stop holding back on himself and accept using all of his gifts.

The cloaked figure scoffs. "Finally taking this seriously, aren't you?"

Immediately, they pull out their sword from the caught scabbard before the older Phenex sibling unleashes his infernal flames, scorching the earth around the clearing as he and the figure begin fighting against each other in earnest.

Riser, now accepting himself, unleashes a blast of [Hell Fire] from his fist towards the cloaked figure, who was standing unfazed by this hellish gout of supernatural heat closing in on them.

Ravel, her eyes peering through the afterglow of her brother's flames, saw the jian in fuller detail. The blade was dull-brass in color, its flat wasn't grooved, but rather, it was smooth-faced, and on the surface of the blade's flat was an image of an Eastern Dragon that began to glow with the same light as House Phenex's [Hell Fire] trait.

With a single swing of their blade, it sends a fiery wyrm towards the Devil, colliding against Riser's own wave of [Hell Fire].

Once both flames clash until burning each other out, standing on the charred patch of land were Riser and the stranger wielding a blade radiating with traces of holy energy and Eastern Magic.

"No way..." gasped Ravel as she recognized the type of weapon that the stranger was wielding. "A Holy Sword?! Here?!"

The stranger scoffs as Riser catches his breath.

"... Is this all the great Riser, soon-to-be-former scion of House Phenex, has to offer?" the cloaked figure asked in a provocative tone as they pointed their fiery brass jian at the Devil.

"NEVER!" Riser then unleashes a pair of feathered wings made of verdant winds from his back before they combine with [Hell Fire], turning [Gale Wings] akin to that of an actual Phoenix's fiery sails.

"Then have at thee!"

All Ravel could do was watch as her brother now fought like his life was on the line against the mysterious stranger with a Holy Sword, the former barely keeping up with them despite the latter not being a Devil themselves (or human, for that matter).

She could see that beneath all the veneer of a playboy and a lackadaisical third son of a prominent Underworld House, Riser was truly formidable. It's just now that the latter has now broken out of the former like a shell no longer fitting its wearer anymore.

"... And compared to that, what can I do?" she asked herself as she looked at her own hands before looking back at the fight, to which Riser was steadily gaining ground against the stranger, relearning how to use all three of his inherited traits in tandem.

[Hell Fire] fused with [Gale Wings] allowed him to retake the skies while raining Hell upon all that it flew over. [Immortality] and [Hell Fire] allowed him to form a fiery armor that repelled most physical strikes. And [Gale Wings] combined with [Immortality] allowed Riser to phase through attacks as if he were made of air.

However, his executions were sloppy, like a newborn learning how to walk for the first time.

"Congratulations on finally learning how to use all of your gifts at once, Phenex," declared the stranger as they gripped their Holy Sword with both their hands. "... About time I stopped holding back."

The fiery Eastern Dragon then curls around the stranger as Riser prepares himself for another clash.

As soon as the tip of the Holy Sword was excavated from the dirt, Riser sprung his feet towards the swordsman as he unleashed a culmination of all three of his traits at once. In return, the swordsman then sends forth their fiery Dragon to intercept the attack, riding along the wyrm's back before leaping off to strike Riser from above.

"YOU FOOL!"

Drifting back, Riser then leaves behind a trail of fiery afterimages of himself before the swordsman, to which the latter's Holy Sword was embedded into the head of the fiery fake.

"NOW BURN!"

*KABOOM!*

The swordsman was engulfed in a trail of [Hell Fire] that had erupted before them, with all that remained being their cloak that fluttered in the wind.

"Brother, did you kill them?!" Ravel pointed out.

Riser scoffs as he walks back to his sister. "If they're trusted by Re:Live of all people to train us, then it would take more than that to finish them off-"

*swoosh*

Like a phantom drifting in the faintest of breezes, the stranger reappears behind Riser, gone were the cloak in place of a full-bodied, tight-fitting, navy-colored and black-armored catsuit, its silhouette being that of an young adult woman's curvature, her hair being short wavy mop of brown-black with streaks of blue-silver in some strands held back by a wide silver hairband with grooves akin to Damascus Steel, and her face still obscured by the Kitsune mask bound behind her head with a red cord.

"Funny way of showing confidence, hatchling." The fox-masked woman then thrusts her jian towards Riser's back with the latter caught unaware.

"BROTHER!" Moving by pure instinct, Ravel then whips out her collapsible baton before running her own demonic energy though the extended shaft, parrying the blade with a lucky swing.

*CLANG!*

The masked stranger was repelled, much to Ravel's shock and surprise at her surprisingly formidable display of strength despite being a mere Bishop.

"Dear sister, are you well?!" Riser ran towards her to check on her.

"Miraculously, I am." She then looked back at the fox-masked woman. "... A Holy Sword and Eastern Magic? You're no ordinary human, that's for sure."

The woman chuckled bemusedly as she pulls herself up by her planted sword "... Curious, aren't you?"

Her blade then alights anew with its holy flames around its brass blade, reigniting the giant flame Dragon as it coiled around her like her own familiar.

"Then try to keep up with me."

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"Come on... come on... hold... still!"

Between Rias Gremory's hands was an oscillating orb of [Power of Destruction], trying to get it under control so that she can shape the damn thing.

Around the clearing where she was training for the past days in their training camp, the ground itself was more craters than actual ground.

Not for the lack of trying, but as much as she took enjoyment of throwing shade at Riser's expense of his carelessness that got most of his Peerage killed by Grendel (a cold comfort, at best), she herself, after several failed attempts to get her powers under control, realized that she was on the same boat that she accused of her (not) suitor was on.

"No, no, nooo-!"

*KABOOM*

Another failed attempt, resulting in the [Power of Destruction] in its concentrated form exploding right in front of her face, sending her flying towards the edge of the clearing, landing right next to where Takeshi was standing.

"... How long were you here?" she asked as she looked up towards her Pawn.

"Grayfia-san let me leave a bit early after she kicked my ass ten ways to Sunday," he answered with a wall-eyed look and a flat smile. "... Damn. Guess you're having it rough too."

"It's more annoying than anything," Rias remarked as she looked at her hands. "... The [Power of Destruction], the more I look back on using it, the more I realize that I was letting it use me more than I can possibly imagine. Kinda like riding a wild horse, trying to buck me off its back the moment I try to bridle it."

"Yep, definitely sounds familiar..." Takeshi then looks down at his [Cataclysm Zone].

"You Devils and your First World-Problems earn no sympathy from me, stelpa," deadpanned Nidhogg. "Then again, I'm an Evil Dragon. Being an asshole is part of my job."

"Glad to see that you're a dedicated professional!" Takeshi replied with a chipper snark.

Rias grumbles as she sits back up, looking out at the field resembling a surface of a Swiss cheese block before her and Takeshi. "... What in the Satans' names am I doing wrong here?"

Takeshi then suddenly recalls something similar happening to him before. "... You know, this kinda reminds me of the time when I tried to use my demonic energy to shoot a bullet, which ended up exploding in my face the first time, and then breaking my finger like Ito-sensei's Uzumaki from the recoil alone."

"... Come to think of it, did you make any progress on that basic magic?" Rias asked.

"Nope, because the Evil Dragons won't let me have nice things!" Takeshi then threw a small fit before calming down. "... But, yeah. The first time I felt it, it was like riding a... wild horse..."

Rias then blinks as Takeshi goes quiet all of the sudden. "... Takeshi?"

He then snaps his finger in realization. "That's it!"

"What exactly?!" Rias remarked before she was dragged out to the clearing by Takeshi's hand holding hers.

"President, try using your [Power of Destruction], but make it as small of an amount as possible!" he suggested with the eagerness of a scientist discovering something new.

"I... uh, sure?"

Heeding her Pawn's advice, Rias then conjures her [Power of Destruction] between her hands in as small of a size as she could muster, forming a black energy marble that was more stable than she thought.

"... How am I supposed to, you know, destroy, with this pitiful amount of output?" Rias pointed out.

"That's the point," Takeshi answered. "... President, I may be speaking out of turn, mainly because I don't have the [Power of Destruction] like you do, but I think the reason why you have limited uses on your trait per day is that you instinctively use [Power of Destruction] to destroy everything that it touches. Perhaps it's that unspoken predisposition is why you're more inclined to unleash it at that killing-threshold every time, resulting in the excessive energy runoff."

"That... actually makes a lot of sense," Rias agreed as her mind realizes that her trait can be used to do more than just simply destroy, as its name indicated. "It only felt like a wild horse because I treated it as such. So rather than 'push down'... I can 'pull out'!"

She then begins stretching the black energy marble like taffy before fashioning it into a crude throwing knife the size of a letter opener. Upon completing its mold, she then throws it to the nearest tree, staking it before bursting apart like a balloon.

Both Rias and Takeshi head over towards where the knife-construct had landed. Shining a penlight into the indentation, both the King and the Pawn find that the knife's runoff energy had left a very deep wound, about roughly four times the size of the construct's original size.

"... Well, I'll be damned," Rias chuckled.

"Even 9x19mm bullets can kill as well as a 5.56x45mm!" Takeshi cheered, pumping his fist in celebration.

After making progress from days of failure, Rias then heals the tree's wound before going back to the crater-laced field.

"... To think that you'd be the one helping me out," Rias remarked with a wry smirk. "... Don't tell me that you're trying to come for my position as King, Takeshi."

"I just noticed the similarities between those differing scenarios," Takeshi replied with a nervous grin and shrug. "... If anything, I'm just glad that I could help, President."

"I should be the one thanking you, Takeshi," she answered back with her own smirk before the pair shared a laugh. "... To think I considered myself better than my peers just because I showed more experience with worldly matters and showed more temperance with my behavior and powers. What a blunder I've made from my own presumptions."

"Guess we still have a lot to learn about ourselves while we're still in our teens, huh, President?" Takeshi pointed out. "... By the way, just curious, but how old are you actually?"

"Oh Takeshi!" Rias then slaps his shoulder semi-playfully. "... Didn't your mother tell you that it's rude to ask a woman of her age?!"

"Ah, my B."

As the two Devils conversed with each other, Grayfia was eavesdropping on their conversation while hiding behind one of the trees around the clearing since the very beginning.

"... Perhaps letting him go early might be the right way to cultivate the Peerage's growth," the maid remarked to herself, admittedly a little proud of the work that she put into her subterfuge.

As expected of the "Strongest Queen" and "Ultimate Maid."

30th of April, 2019 AD (1/3 of the Cycle)

Yuuto was heaving as his own section of the grotto was littered with various swords of his own making.

Ever since being introduced with the fact that he was able to summon his pseudo-Demonic Swords anywhere besides his hands, he's been on a bit of a marathon to see how he could apply the principle of this irregular angle.

So far, his current maximum range was about 7 meters radius. It was a bit further than his prior range, but in the Knight's mind, it was still nowhere near satisfactory.

"Okay, so far, I can use [Sword Birth] to make it rain..." he said out loud as he jotted down his notes regarding the development of his powers. "So far, being able to shoot my blades with my Sacred Gear..."

He then looks towards the cavern wall riddled with broken blades, each weapon snapped in two from the impact of being shot out with such force that it was improper. Taking another try, Yuuto then concentrates before manifesting another generic sword from his [Sword Birth] to have it shoot out from its materialization, the weapon flung across the air until it collided against the stone wall.

*SNAP*

"... Unsatisfactory," the Knight grumbled in discontent. "... Maybe I should try using my stronger elemental blades? Maybe [Flame Delete] or my [Land Cleaver]-"

A whistle was heard before it was followed up by footsteps.

Going into a state of alert, Yuuto then manifests two swords in his hands before pointing one of them forth, revealing the intruder as Takeshi.

"... Chill, man." Takeshi then gently moves the pointed blade away from his face. "... It's just me."

Yuuto sighs in relief before dismissing the weapons. "Ryuugamine, what are you doing here?"

"Grayfia-san let me leave early after she kicked my ass a thousand different ways beyond all human understanding. Again. So I figured I'd wander to the nearest place where I can hear loud noises," he answered with a smirk before walking past his fellow Devil. "... Whoa. Trying to recreate [Unlimited Blade Works] here?"

"My progress on learning how to use my Sacred Gear's unspoken function is... shall we say, slow," Yuuto pointed out. "I took Grayfia-san's advice and started manifesting my blades as projectiles or as a blade rain. The latter feels like I'm doing my [Full Release] technique but with extra steps, and the former feels as if I'm not shooting hard enough."

Takeshi then walks over to the cavern wall where a pile of broken blades laid before the few that remained stuck, picking out one of the latter and inspecting it.

"No wonder why you're having such a hard time," Takeshi remarked as he looked at the one-handed longsword. "These blades aren't aerodynamic to begin with!"

Yuuto's head then perks up upon hearing that. "Really?"

"I mean... granted, they're pretty light and sharp enough to cut through air..." Takeshi then takes a few off-hand swings in order to get a feel for it. "... But still, trying to shoot these things like bullets... It's like trying to shoot a clay pigeon out of the sky with a hammer. Doable in some supernatural sense, but nonsensical."

"So what do you suggest?" the Knight asked, admittedly a little curious about Takeshi's own insight as an onlooker.

"I... think I have a few ideas, so let me spitball for a bit," Takeshi remarked as he then began his own hypotheses. "... First, can you try using your wind-based blades as projectiles?"

"You mean [Cyclone Call]?" Yuuto then summons a gladius-like shortsword generating a miniature tornado around its blade.

"I want to test something, to see if the wind can help it fly," Takeshi explained as he ran towards the Knight.

"Alright, here it goes..." Letting out a sharp sigh, Yuuto then shoots his copies of [Cyclone Call] blades towards the wall before him, being more successful than that of his other attempts, in that the shortswords actually stuck themselves relatively-deep into the stone wall.

"Okay, I think it sort of worked..." Takeshi remarked as Yuuto took his notes.

"Indeed," the Knight replies as he closes his notebook. "But still, I'd like to have more options, and not solely rely on wind-based projectiles."

"Ah, the Shin Megami Tensei-mentality. I understand," the Pawn remarked. "... In that case, I think making swords solely designed as projectiles rather than swords improvised as projectiles is another approach that you can take. I'll leave the design to you, but before that, I have to ask, does your Sacred Gear specifically require you to make a sword or allow you to make anything that can pass off as a 'sword' from resemblance alone?"

"What do you mean by that?" Yuuto's notebook and pen were then snatched by Takeshi as the latter begins doodling a spade-like blade with small wings as its crossguard.

"I mean, throwing knives are designed and structured solely for throwing, given that their grip is naked metal. But, just because they're not meant to be used like combat knives doesn't mean that they could or vice-versa," Takeshi pointed out. "Maybe designing a sword solely designed for throwing might be a step too far for now, but it's a good idea to hold onto."

"I guess..." Yuuto remarked as he looked at Takeshi's design. "But that doesn't solve the problem with my current range."

Takeshi then springs up as he finds himself engaged in another topic about the Knight's prowess. "... Curious, but how far?"

"About a few meters," he answered as he looked towards the spot where he'd initially stood, the diameter surrounded by broken blades. "... 7 meters, give or take."

"... I assume radius," Takeshi pointed out, to which Yuuto nodded in confirmation. "Hmm... judging by the way the blades have landed, I assume you've tried up, around, and your horizontal view, right?"

"I can at least make sure that all of my blind spots are covered," the Knight reassured.

"Really? You think so?" Takeshi remarked with doubt. "... I mean, have you tried... you know, below?"

Yuuto sighs. "... And what exactly am I going to find a use for a sword that is buried seven meters underground?"

"Who says it has to be seven meters?"

Suddenly, Yuuto's eyes then widen at that realization derived from Takeshi's off-hand comment. Curious, he then wills his [Fire Brand] to material plane, only half-buried in the ground it was summoned into.

Picking up a rock, Yuuto then tosses it to his flaming sword whose blade was jutting out of the earth like a crude stalagmite...

*BOOM!*

"HOLY SHIT!" Takeshi exclaims as [Fire Brand] promptly explodes before him and Yuuto. "SAY 'FIRE IN THE HOLE' NEXT TIME!"

Yuuto, however, was chuckling in elation. "... To think the solution was so simple," he remarked to himself before firmly placing both of his hands onto Takeshi's shoulders. "... Ryuugamine, you're a fucking genius!"

"I... uh... maybe-thank you?!" the Pawn stammered incoherently.

"How do you come up with these ingenious solutions with powers not your own?" the Knight asked.

"... I think it's a little bit of practical knowledge and applying mathematics in the real world," Takeshi tries to explain to the best of his abilities. "I mean, when you mentioned 'radius,' I kind of assumed that you also fell into the trap of assuming that said 'radius' would only apply in a two-dimensional plane, when in reality, a three-dimensional approach can work wonders as well. It's something I learned in basic geometry. 'When you think circle, think sphere'. ... That, and I remember you pulling the same kind of move when you and I were sparring around late March."

"I keep forgetting that you're 2nd place overall in Kuoh Academy's academic performance rankings," Yuuto commented. "Just behind Sitri-san by a thin margin."

"To be fair, it's not like you fólk keep the whelp around for his brains," Nidhogg deadpanned.

"Not cool, man!" Takeshi bit back as Yuuto chuckles, to which Grayfia overhears after stalking the Pawn after letting him "leave early" after today's sparring.

"My, it appears milady have neglected to mention that to me," the maid quietly commented with a small smirk before walking away.

As soon as the maid left, Yuuto, high on his recent discovery, does something even more unexpected.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Takeshi exclaims as he witnesses Yuuto commit seppuku with one of his swords before summoning several [Pain Killer] blades inside of his body, healing is freshly-open wound instantly.

"And the best part...!" The Knight then pulls out one of the blades from his body without leaving so much as a scar. "... They can still be used for parrying in case of emergencies! The possibilities of my [Sword Birth]... it's endless! I've finally figured out how to cut the delay for when I use my healing blades!"

"Yeah, maybe next time, leave the mutilation to me," Takeshi requested. "... At least the Evil Dragons won't let me die quickly enough to sever the mortal coil without pain."

"We love you too, whelp."

Back at Lake Tōya's Northern Thickets...

"Come on, come on..."

Running through the thickets, Isabela and Xuelan were being pursued by Chiha's Shiki-Ouji, the latter of which have transformed into a length of paper to snake around the gaps like a serpent slithering through the foggy air.

It was now day three of being chased and soon-to-be-cut-down by this apex shikigami, the tip of the parchment folding itself back to its warrior form, brandishing its broadsword as it now resembled a Lamia or their Hindi counterparts, the Naga.

"Dammit! We can't get a hit on that thing without it skewering us!" the goggled Rook exclaimed, recalling their previous failures of being felled by the paper-warrior (before being revived by Re:Live, again).

"We can't even fly as long as we have these uniforms on..." growled Xuelan as she dodged a dive attack from the Shiki-Ouji that was closing in on them. "... And damn this fog!"

Even with their heightened senses as Reincarnated Devils, the fog itself was actually disorienting them, bringing them back to regular human levels of awareness while trapped inside of this obscuring current.

As the two continued running, Isabela looked back to see if the shikigami was still following them, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit, it gave us the slip...!" the goggled Rook hissed.

"Where will it come from next?!" the Chinese girl asked.

It was quiet for a few moments within the foggy thickets, with nothing more than the sound of their own breathing and the rustling of their own boots against the concrete-like dirt contributing to the eerie ambiance.

"... Xuelan," Isabela said. "I got a plan."

"Whatever it is, I'm listening."

Shifting through the treetops, the Shiki-Ouji surveys the area to calculate whatever possible routes that its prey might take. Slithering from branch to branch, keeping its grill-visor-like eyes on below, it then spots Isabela taking one of the many routes that it had ascertained, giving chase to her from above.

The Rook however, notices, but chooses to play along with its tendencies.

"That's it... come and get me!" she taunted as she deliberately runs half of her normal running speed, letting the shikigami catch up to her before it then raises its broadsword and then dives towards her with the intent to stake her onto the forest floor.

*CRASH!*

The Shiki-Ouji successfully catches Isabela between its sword's dual-pronged tip. However...

"Gotcha, bitch."

Isabela herself smirks before she then grabs the shikigami's sword arm before coiling her legs around its shoulder and neck, trapping the familiar into a triangle choke.

"CAN'T DO SHIT WITHOUT YOUR ARM, HUH-?!"

Celebrating too soon, the Rook then bears witness to the Shiki-Ouji transforming its other arm into a blade.

"Crud."

The shikigami then takes a stab towards Isabela's head, but the latter catches the blade by its tip with her teeth, tapping into her Rook's powers to make sure that her holds are ironclad.

It was now a struggle between the Devil and shikigami, both wrestling over each other on who could overwhelm the other before one could give out. During that, however, Isabela had failed to take notice that the Shiki-Ouji was standing on one leg, the other being a trail of paper that transformed into a smaller, but no less deadly version of itself on the other end.

Noticing too late, Isabela choked on a gasp as she saw the second shikigami beeline towards her...

"AHH-CHA!"

*POW!*

Until it was then intercepted by Xuelan's palm strike, keeling it off-course as the Chinese Rook then began pressuring it through a barrage of momentous blows that propelled her forward with each strike.

Using her own Rook's powers, Xuelan had made her skin akin to armor, shrugging off the smaller Shiki-Ouji's attempts at retaliation with her own strikes. Her kicks were useless against a foe without legs, but instead, they contribute to allowing her to keep closing in her distance between herself and the shikigami.

Keeping her flurry of blows prioritized to its arms, shoulders, and head, all of the miniature Shiki-Ouji's limbs were too occupied of being pummeled to have a chance of striking back.

Seeing that Xuelan was keeping the main shikigami's focus split, Isabela then performs a desperate reversal, pushing her head against the thrust blade caught between her teeth and moving her head to allow the blade to pass through her cheek muscles, preventing her from receiving an unlicensed tracheotomy.

Once freed, she then pulls the sword arm down to ground level, weakening its sword grip enough to allow the Rook to free herself from her pin before mounting the Shiki-Ouji onto its back.

"EAT THIS!"

*BOOM*

Her finishing punch misses, revealing the shikigami to recalibrate back to its smaller self, transforming the latter back to its full-power form, now pushing back against Xuelan's barrage of fists.

Finding herself on the defensive, Xuelan switches from Leopard to Dragon, now following its attacks and riding with the swings.

Letting out a sharp hiss, Xuelan uses her counteroffensive to drive both arm blades into the ground before throwing it off-balance with a low kick to its shin. Seeing an opening, the Chinese Rook then hardens her whole body, stamps her frontal feet before her opponent, ready to execute her finishing blow.

"MY BODY! IS A SPEAR!"

*THUD!*

The Shiki-Ouji was sent flying off of its feet with Xuelan's one-inch shoulder smash tackling into its diaphragm, the whole weight of her body behind that point's impact being more than enough to completely unwind the familiar.

Seeing the shikigami making an attempt to recover its constitution, Isabela then rushes in from behind where it was flying towards, seizing its arms before performing a bridging suplex to smash its head onto the earth.

"FINISH IT OFF!"

Xuelan then leaps across the forest's fog, kicking from trunk to trunk as her feet then ignited with her fire magic, delivering a finishing axe kick that split the shikigami in twain.

It was over. The Shiki-Ouji that had been repeatedly defeating them was no more.

"... We... we... WE DID IT!"

Both Isabela and Xuelan pull into each other for a celebratory hug.

"Damn, I can't believe I didn't learn how to grapple sooner!" Isabela commented. "Even High-Class threats like it are nothing before it!"

"And I can't believe that my knowledge of kicks actually helped me with my speed," Xuelan pointed out. "... Guess this is how it feels to use my whole body instead of merely my legs."

"Good work, K-Mart Chun Li and Kabbage Bitch."

The two Rooks look up and spot Chiha sitting on one of the tree branches before pulling out a left of loose line paper from her robe's sleeve.

"You think it's over just because you beat one Shiki-Ouji?" The secular bikuni then pulls out her [Uchide no Kozuchi] before bopping the paper as it swelled in size, folding itself into another Shiki-Ouji before their very eyes. "It's not even close to being over, ladies. In fact..."

The newly-created Shiki-Ouji then throws out a pair of ofuda tags that each summon a red-wooded and black-iron Winchester Model 1887 shotguns before retrieving and spin-cocking both firearms at once.

"... The training's only getting started," the nun sinisterly chuckled. "Have fun!"

30th of April, 2019 AD (2/3 of the Cycle)

"... Okay, they're just showing off at this point."

Marion, Burnet, and Shuriya were struggling to keep themselves stable (and undisturbed) while standing on the lake's surface like a trio of newborn fawns, while Re:Live, in full armor and no signs of difficulty, was doing yoga in front of them, currently in a Sirsa Padasana (Head-to-Foot Pose) all by themselves (usually, this pose requires a partner to support the yogi's back and torso).

"Get the lead out, ladies," the superhero advised as they then transitioned into a handstand that leads into a Vrschikasana B (Scorpion Handstand Pose), their hands not even disturbing the water, generating nary a ripple on the mirror-like sheen of the lake. "Your magic is like a human muscle. Break them in first to make them grow past their limits."

"So why aren't we getting out there, shooting up the place with our spells?" asked Shuriya.

"Flinging fireballs and demonic energy blasts isn't as strenuous as you might think," answered Re:Live as they switched into Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose-Variation Feet Crossed) without breaking composure (both physical and spiritual). "Unfamiliar stimuli exist to trigger adaptation. After all, none of you started out your first morning in the Underworld waking up on the right side of the bed, no?"

Marion and Burnet give Re:Live a flat look.

"... My point still stands," rebuffed the superhero as they then shifted into a Eka Hasta Vrksasana (One-Handed Tree Pose), not even sinking below the waters where they were standing, even with all the weight of the body and armor behind the press. "Your old methods of growing stronger have become stagnant. To continue utilizing them is the definition of insanity."

"Yeah, well..." Marion remarked with hesitation. "... Coming from you, I expected something more... bloody."

"Then all of you consider this your first lesson: Assume nothing." Re:Live, with one hand, smoothly shifts their whole body into a Gandha Bherundasana (Formidable Face Pose) before following it up with a Eka Pada Bakasana (One-Legged Crane Pose). "... Also, thank you for reminding me."

"Of what?" asked Burnet.

"Of that."

*gurgle*

Below their feet, the water itself began to bubble before several crab-men emerge onto the surface like military frogmen, sticking their dome-like heads out of the water's surface, their beady-black eyes staring holes at them, waiting for either one of them to lose composure.

"Here's another lesson," Re:Live continued as they shift into a Sirsasana Li Padmasana (Lotus Handstand), facing away from them, completely apathetic to what is about to happen to the three Pawns as they continued to do advanced-level yoga on the water's surface (without disturbing the surface with so much as a ripple). "Magic is not about power. It's how well you can keep them under control, circumstances be damned."

Their breathing quickens as they now find themselves surrounded by these crab-men.

"Meditate, reflect, and find yourselves," instructed the superhero. "Your truths lie within. Your prior experience has led all of you to this point. Oh, and if you so much break concentration, my familiars around here will have the three of you for lunch. Good luck."

Re:Live then goes into an Astavakrasana (Eight-Figure Pose) and holds that position, leaving the three Phenex Pawns with them in the mercy of the crab-men watching them, waiting for them to make the smallest mistake.

... How are we supposed to think and reflect when we're on the knife's edge? thought Burnet as she tried to keep herself calm. Damn you, Re:Live! Just because you're an Ultimate-Class doesn't mean that you can get away from being a fucking hypocrite!

She then looked towards her fellow maid standing next to her, but Marion was looking back at her with a slightly calmer look before lip-synching the following (that Burnet read easily).

... "Everything will be fine"? she thought as she then looked towards Shuriya, who was also deep in meditation as she now stood one-legged Lotus Pose, eyes shut and body motionless.

Suddenly, she then understands what she'd been doing wrong this whole time.

... Come to think of it, ever since me and Marion joined, we've not been doing what we're best at, right?

It was so simple, painfully so.

She and Marion were maids. They're job is to help their Lord Riser not as soldiers, but as helpers.

She then remembered all those times, ever since where she and Marion were employed to House Phenex as servants to make ends meet as Low-Class Devils born and raised in the Underworld's outer fringes.

Of how they raised Lord Riser ever since he barely learned how to walk. Of how they were with him through thick and thin. Of how they watched him grow in place of his Lady Mother, Romary Phenex, who was bedridden from an illness for the majority of his childhood. Of how they protected from his older peers, when he was either beaten by older children due to his initial meekness, or watching Marion chase them away while she healed her little Lord's scrapes and bruises (due to his [Immortality] trait still being underdeveloped around that time).

How could I forget something so fundamental?

A faint light began to blossom inside of her chest as she opened her eyes back to the world once more.

"You finally get it," Re:Live said out loud, maintaining a Hanumanasana (Monkey Pose). "... Wasn't so hard that you'd have to lose a limb or two to figure it out, huh?"

"It's almost embarrassing how easily I forgot about it..." Burnet chuckled with a hint of embarrassment.

"It's the things we take for granted in life that we neglect," Re:Live revealed. "All three of you may be Pawns, Low-Class Devils, and the bottom of the Underworld's food chain, but each of you had lives before this label was placed upon you. You are what makes you. Nothing will change that, even if you die for it."

Burnet and Marion looked at each other with a renewed resolve, the latter now emitting a darker aura that was in no way menacing or malicious, but stoic and hardened enough to take on the world for the sake of her loyalty to her and everyone else's master.

"Now that everyone's calmed down and ready..." Re:Live then takes out their air horn. "... How about we break in those new powers?"

*HONK*

With that signal, the crab-men all lunge towards the maids, freeing the latter pair as they began facing these monsters with their new perspective and powers.

Shuriya tries to join, but Re:Live blocks her way.

"You're staying here a bit longer," they ordered. "You understand your powers better, but now comes the matter of stamina. And right now, it's nowhere near its limit."

"So... what do we do?" asked the dancer.

Marion and Burnet engage the crab-men while their bare feet traverse over the lake's surface, unleashing their new powers of light and darkness to great effect, the former strengthening the pair while the latter encumbered the bipedal crustaceans' movements and coordination.

"Yoga."

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"Thanks for the meal, you guys!" Takeshi then got up from the table with the emptied plate in hand.

"It was my first time cooking curry, and I for one am glad that I did not fuck it up," Chiharu remarked with semi-relief.

"You almost burned it by leaving it over the fire for a bit too long..." Kikuchiyo pointed out as she looked at the burned bit at the bottom of the pot.

"At least there wasn't that great of a mess," Grayfia acknowledged. "... We wash the dishes after we finish eating. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am..." the two Yōkai replied with mild reprehension.

As Takeshi then lets out a burp into his hand, he then stumbles across Pandora, who was reading the scroll from Cyprus from end to end, ad nauseam.

"What you doin'?" he asked the Knight.

"... O-Oh!" Pandora scrambles before composing herself. "... Just studying. Nothing special."

"Given the nature of your powers, I'd say it's anything but," the Evil Dragon User replied as he sat next to her. "So, made any headways?"

"A few." She then shows the contents of her scroll, to which Takeshi translated thanks to his Devil's perks letting him bypass the [Curse of Babel]/auto-translate. "This here shows an esoteric art of Spirit Charming, where one could cultivate elemental spirits within one's body."

"Have you ever tried it before?" he asked.

Pandora shakes her head. "... I tried following the vague instructions left behind here, but I can't get it to click. I know for sure that as long as there's life, there are spirits, but doing it inside of me... it's almost as if I'm trying to dissect and stitch myself back together."

"So, it's a risky maneuver even for someone as powerful as you," Takeshi remarked.

"Definitely not as dangerous as you and your Evil Dragons..." Pandora comments, causing [Cataclysm Zone] to act up (again).

"You're goddamn right, stelpa," Nidhogg boasted with a slight cackle in his voice. "And don't you fucking forget about it."

Both Pandora and Takeshi let out an exhausted sigh after the Sacred Gear goes back to normal (for the most part).

"... So how was training with Miss Lucifuge?" she asked.

"Oh, I got my ass handed, again." Takeshi then lets out a loud yawn before leaning back next to Pandora. "Silver lining, her punches and spells hurt less afterwards, like my body is slowly adapting to the amount of physical trauma it could take."

But not mental, the Evil Dragon of Envy snickers. The human mind is ever fragile. Grendel and his rage can attest to that.

Just another thing to work on, Takeshi replied mentally. At least I don't intend to keep you all bored for long.

Nor do you have any choice in the matter.

Takeshi sighs before sitting back up before the pair sit across from the sunset in silence.

"... You know, your situation reminds me of something," he commented. "It's from something I learned back in history class during... Junior High."

Pandora places her hand against Takeshi's as the latter shudders.

"... You are aware of the concept of 'Humourism,' right?" he pointed out.

"It's a misconception that the human body is composed of four different humors that it secretes," Pandora answered. "Blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm."

Takeshi ponders for a brief moment before proposing the following.

"... What if you can utilize that same principle to supplement your Spirit Charming?"

Pandora blinks stupidly as she stares at Takeshi. "... For the record, just because I'm Greek doesn't mean I enjoy being spat on."

"No, wait! Hear me out!" Takeshi begged, to which Pandora reluctantly stayed to give him her consideration (which was steadily dropping). "... I also sort of recall the four humours being correlated to the four basic elements of fire, water, earth, and air! Maybe... just maybe, the human body can produce facsimiles of said elements already! It's just that we take it for granted because it's so natural to our biological needs!"

"... Like what, to be exact?" she asks.

Takeshi grimaces as he was about to say something so inappropriate for a girl to hear that he was partially begging for the Evil Dragons to kill him here and now.

No shame in telling her the truth, Nidhogg suggested. I may be evil, but I'm not going to kill you for that petty of a reason. That and I'm still sticking to my promise of killing you when you succumb to the deepest pit of despair.

Goddammit. Takeshi then lets out a deep sigh before laying down the truth. "... Specifically, it's about the 'yellow' and 'black bile'."

Pandora looked more confused than anything. "... You do realize that I'm not willing to get sick just to produce quicker results-"

"I'm not talking about what comes out of our mouths, Pandora," Takeshi countered as he gave her the most wall-eyed and blank look to her that he'd ever given. "... I'm talking about what comes out of our lower mouths."

Then Pandora's face turns into increasingly-reddening shades of rubicund while her pupils tremble into squiggly-looking spirals. "P-PERVERT!"

*SLAP!*

All Takeshi can do was stare in penance as he watches Pandora stride away from him, leaving the Evil Dragon User with a red palm-mark on his cheek.

What's her damage? Nidhogg scoffed while his host remained motionless and despondent. I'm covered in way worse from tail to nose, and you don't see me complain about it.

Pandora then finds herself in the clearing by herself, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"... How vexing!" she grumbled to herself as she covered her head with her scroll. "... I mean... it's not like it's going to work like that. ... Is it-?"

*gurgle*

Suddenly, her stomach churns like buttermilk before a wave of nausea weighs her brain down.

"... I need to go to the restroom-"

Then an errant thought pervaded her sane consciousness.

... Oh gods, I am actually going to give it a try, do I?!

With regret and embarrassment in mind, propelling her stride past everyone without her saying a word, Pandora then isolates herself into the dug-out stall near the forest's edge before defecating while her Charm was active.

"... Oh gods, it actually worked."

She now had additional earth spirits within her body and pinpointed the location within her body that acts as a source to produce them from hereon, and all it cost her was her dignity as a living being, leaving her to cry in this unknown sense of embarrassment in the restroom all by herself.

"... I think during the next sparring session, I will hit Sir Ryuugamine extra-hard," Grayfia remarked to herself over Pandora's sobs and whimpers. "And as for Dame Othrys..."

From a magic circle, she then takes out a picture book titled "Everybody Poops" by Gomi Tarō.

"... I am going to have to educate her on how to swallow her pride regarding her body image."

30th of April, 2019 AD (3/3 of the Cycle)

"Okay, so what did you bring me all the way out here for?" asked Raynare as she and Yubelluna went outside of the camp and towards a clearing.

"To test something." The Queen then turns around before showing off her My Hero Academia manga. "All this time, I've assumed the quantity of my explosion magic would be more than enough to fell any opposition that gets in our way... But perhaps, that view was narrow-minded."

The Fallen Angel keeps her mouth shut, in most part to not end up looking like a buffoon.

"So, lo and behold when I saw... other avenues to utilize explosions beyond mere destruction," she continued before putting the manga away. "... Did you know that I am called the 'Bomb Queen' within the Underworld's Rating Game circles?"

"What? Did someone else already take 'Killer Queen'?" deadpanned the Fallen Angel (she's currently living with Chiha, whose residence is stuffed to the gills with video games, anime, music, and other things belonging to a teenager).

"It's lame, I am aware," Yubelluna snarked back. "... I only received that title because of my explosions consuming my foes in a flash while I remained untouched. However, even after my eyes were gouged out, seared, and the rest of my skull crushed like an overripe fruit, I still remember my explosions doing nothing to Grendel. In fact, he didn't even register that he was being blown up and just... walked through and over my signature [Minefield] technique, laughing all the while."

"To be fair, I heard from Re:Live that despite their infamy, the Evil Dragons tend to be underestimated for some weird reason," Raynare commented. "I think it has to do with the fact they're forced to use weaker hosts as proxies that kills their reputation as credible threats... despite all the shit they tend to pull during their prior incarnations."

Yubelluna sighs. "... In any event, Re:Live was right," she confesses as she flexes her fingers, balling them in and out. "I'm basically a third Bishop if I don't know how to fight up close with my explosion magic. Miss Raynare, let me test my theory on you!"

The Fallen Angel stemmers as she looks around. "... Look, I'd love to, but it's not in my contract that I am to engage in combat-!"

As she backs away, her wings then bump into Re:Live's armored chest.

"Then consider that an addendum," they revealed, causing the Fallen Angel's face to pale. "In fact, this will also be your training. After all, you're my asset now. I need you to be useful beyond clerical work and odd jobs."

Raynare incoherently whimpers and stemmers as Yubelluna pops off a few smaller and compressed explosions in her hands, warming them up to see if she's ready to tackle this new frontier of her own powers.

"Don't worry. You're literally not allowed to die as long as I have you as my responsibility."

The Fallen Angel sobs in defeat as she was now about to embark on the full "Re:Live Experience."

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"Ow... ow... ow..."Takeshi groaned in pain as he lumbered through the campgrounds after dinner (grilled fish, egg rice, assorted pickled vegetables, and miso soup). "... Is it just me, or was Grayfia-san extra brutal during today's sparring?"

"You have 94,000 years left, whelp," Nidhogg snickered. "Maybe next time, don't say anything that might upset anyone within earshot. You might never know who's listening."

"And you didn't warn me because...?"

"Your survival is not my responsibility," the Evil Dragon of Envy pointed out, causing the host to groan.

"Thanks for the heads-up, jackass..." Takeshi grumbled incoherently as he then found Akeno sitting on the ground, looking towards the rising moon. "... Senpai?"

"... Oh!" Akeno then turns her head towards him. "... Didn't see you there for a second."

Takeshi then looks around his surroundings, taking Nidhogg's advice to watch out for potential eavesdroppers. "... Mind if I sit next to you for a bit?" he requested. "I just want to talk."

Akeno pats the patch of ground next to where she was sitting. "If only I had a picnic blanket..."

"Eh, I'm used to getting dirty," Takeshi remarked as he sat himself down next to her. "... So, how was your training?"

Akeno's look strains a little before letting out a deep sigh to compose herself. "... It's... it's hard, having to relearn something that one neglected for so long."

"Ain't that the truth," Takeshi remarked with a small smirk. "... I think Grayfia-san kicked me in the dick a few hundred times, and the majority of my 2,000 years of my lifespan spent healing my wounds came from that alone."

"Ara." Akeno then looks down on Takeshi's crotch, causing the latter to cover them up. "... At least I still have something to look forward to in the future."

The two then share a laugh together before quieting down once their mutual tension was unbound.

"... So," Akeno resumed their conversation, "what did you really come here for?"

Takeshi sighs, ready to confront her about the truth that she's been hiding and Grayfia had implied. "... What were those hidden powers that you had but never told me about outright?"

Akeno sighs again, knowing that it was a matter of time. "... Perhaps it's better if I show you."

Standing up, Akeno then walks away from Takeshi before stopping after a few paces. Once standing before him, she then grasps her hands in a prayer...

*FWOOSH*

... And out came a pair of blackened wings, the right one being a chiropteran like a bat's, the other being feathered like a Fallen Angel's.

"... Disappointed, I know," she soberly remarked.

"Senpai..."

Akeno's eyes began shedding tears. "... I'm such a filthy liar-"

"Can I brush your wings?!"

Then, awkward silence.

"... Sure?"

Takeshi then runs off for a minute before coming back with a bristle brush in hand, brushing both of Akeno's wings as he listens.

"... As you can connect, my father was a Fallen Angel," she confessed, feeling relaxed as the brush caressed against her leathery Devil's wing. "... I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner."

"Yeah, if my parents were in someone's crosshairs just for the existence of my birth, I would've kept it locked and thrown away the keys as well," Takeshi agreed. "... And given that your father stayed up until that night, I suspect that he genuinely loved your mother. Am I wrong?"

Akeno sniffled as she dried her tears falling down her cheeks. "... The love he had for my mother makes the pain even worse."

"And combined with Japan's homegrown supernatural community's general distaste for outsiders... sheesh. Assholes. All of them!" Takeshi exclaimed, expressing his rage on behalf of Akeno, much to the latter's gratitude.

"Such is the life of a hybrid as yours truly." Akeno looked up towards the moon.

"Hey, my mom's a third-generation zainichi Korean," Takeshi pointed out his own (literal) half-Japanese status. "... So, forgive me for prying, but who's your deadbeat father's name?"

"Baraqiel."

Takeshi grumbles as he tries to recall the name "Baraqiel" from any Shin Megami Tensei games or any other works of media mentioning that name. "... Doesn't ring any bells."

"He's a Cadre-Ranked Fallen Angel sitting as equals with Governor Azazel and Kokabiel," Akeno revealed.

"Ultimate-Class?!" Takeshi exclaimed as he flung his arms up into the sky before catching his brush after almost performing a pratfall. "... Wait, so how did he end up here in Japan of all places?!"

Akeno bitterly smiles as she now reveals the full story to Takeshi.

"... My father was on a diplomatic mission to Japan to retrieve the [Kusanagi] for a joint archeological survey between Grigori and the Shinto Pantheon before he was gravely injured en route by an unknown assailant," she explained. "By sheer luck, my mother happened upon him before treating his wounds."

"Ah, the 'Florence Nightingale Effect'," Takeshi pointed out before realizing the following. "... Wait, so how did your dad get sucker-punched when he's an Ultimate-Class being?! From my personal experience, those guys are kinda hard to kill!"

"Probably another Ultimate-Class," Nidhogg pointed out. "Probably a local god. Happens more than you think. Those ceasefire agreements are naught but lip service."

Takeshi groans before moving on to brush her Fallen Angel's half of the wing. "... Well, if I could thank him for anything, it is that he brought you into this world."

Akeno smiles, recalling her childhood with her family before they were torn apart. "... The Himejima Clan lynching my mother for being 'soiled' by a foreigner or my father who left her to die... I don't know who deserves my hate even more."

Takeshi sighs. "... Senpai, be honest with me," he addressed. "... You're still not telling me the full story, aren't you?"

"... I guess not," she confessed. "Perhaps my father does deserve some credit for trying to defend her."

"Let's work from there," Takeshi continued as he gently ran the brush against her feathers. "... Any good memories with him?"

Akeno softly sighs before recalling her past. "... He was the only one defending my mother before they secretly tied the knot," she revealed. "My mother was born an illegitimate child from one of Himejima Clan's handmaids, and she was forced to kill herself to hide the shame that would affect our Clan's standing with the Shinto Pantheon. In a way, my mother was a lot like me when she was only a child, exiled to the countryside where no one knows her, fending for herself until that fateful day."

Takeshi shuddered at how eerily history seemed to repeat itself through mother and child.

"After father came into her life and I was born, the Himejima Clan had the gall to suddenly reinstate her back into the Clan just to go after my whole family," she bitterly remarked. "... 'Honor,' my foot. They didn't want to dirty their hands back then, so of course they had to resort to killing two birds with one stone."

"I'd love to visit your family sometimes," Nidhogg remarked. "Their malice sounds irresistibly scrumptious... It'll be like Gifu all over again, only this time, I have a whole banquet of corpses waiting for me!"

"Tempting, but unless we want to rip the Shinto Pantheon a new one, which we can't nor have the means to do so, I must politely decline," Akeno shot the Evil Dragon down. "They sent foreign mercenaries, Onmyōji from the other Five Principal Clans, and even lesser kami subscribed to the Shinto Pantheon spurred by the promises to be worshipped by more people, all in the hopes to kill my mother and father. Of course, given that my father was an Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel who survived the Great War several centuries prior as a renowned warrior... they never stood a chance."

"So why the Hell did he disappear?" Takeshi asked, causing Akeno to cry again.

"... I don't know!" she sobbed. "... He... he just left mother on the day we needed him the most! The whole surrounding village was burned to the ground and forgotten as an example just because he left us to die!"

Overwhelmed, Akeno then cries into Takeshi's chest as the two lay on the dirt.

"Why?!" she cried out. "... Why did he have to disappear?!"

All Takeshi could do was comfort her, wrapping his arms around her winged back as tightly as he could, to let her know that it was okay.

Once she calmed down, Takeshi and Akeno sat across from each other, the latter's eyes looking puffed and misty.

"... Do you hate me, Takeshi?" she asked. "Do you hate me for being a liar? A typical Fallen Angel who thrives off deceit?"

Takeshi sighs before shaking his head. "... Akeno is Akeno no matter what she is," he reassured. "No matter what, I'm glad you're here with us right now. Me, President, and everyone else from ORC... honestly, we'd rather not know what our lives would be like without you."

This time, Akeno pulls him in for a tight hug, cushioning Takeshi's body with her ample bosom.

"... You're so unfair," she murmured, her voice barely a whimper. "... How are you so accepting of me after all I have done?"

Takeshi gently hugs her back. "Because no one deserves to be alone in this world," he answered. "Forget about fighting alone. We're all in this together. I'll lend you my strength... as you have done for me."

"... But I didn't do anything," she pointed out. "... I... I even rejected you for being an Evil Dragon User the first time I met you!"

"And did you push me away even once?" Takeshi pointed out. "... I'm not going to push you away just because your own Clan did, because fuck those guys. Everything that makes you, well you, I'll accept it... so that you can as well. If the Evil Dragons taught me anything, it is that rejecting what we don't like about ourselves causes those things to bite back harder. So please... please Akeno, stop hating yourself, because you have no rightful reason to!"

"... Takeshi."

"Akeno..."

Overcome with deep longing and emotional intimacy, the two shared a kiss under the moonlight. The pair shared each other's physical embrace for several minutes before calming down and separating.

"... My, aren't you a greedy one," teased Akeno. "You already have Koneko, no?"

"Ah, back to your usual self. Welcome back," Takeshi replied with good humor. "... And yeah, I can't deny it. I love you guys so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you all. I belong with ORC. They're my second family who taught me how to live."

"Ufufufu..." she softly chuckles. "So Kiba-kun is also your target as well?"

"... Not gonna lie, Akeno, I'm a bit scared of going after him," he revealed. "... Mostly, I'm scared of myself accidently hurting him, but if I don't own up to these feelings I have for him like I do for the rest of you guys... well, that'd make a total hypocrite, wouldn't it?"

Both Akeno and Takeshi share a laugh, now free from each other's chains that held down their innermost feelings.

"... Now there's nothing holding me back."

From her hand, Akeno then generates a spark of electricity between her fingers. However, unlike the last ones which he experienced (firsthand), there were traces of holy energy intertwined with her demonic energy within the lightning.

"My father Baraqiel was known as 'Lightning of God' during the Great War," she revealed. "In a way, my affinity for lightning magic came from him."

"And now that you have no reason to hold back..."

Akeno smiles. "... Not quite there yet, but it feels... liberating, to say the least," she commented. "... We're still beating up my deadbeat father when we find him, correct?"

"Talk first, then kick him in the dick," Takeshi reminded her. "... Although for the latter, I'll leave the discretion in your hands, Akeno. After he gives his testimony, then it's entirely out of my hands... unless it's half-assed."

Akeno chuckles in good mirth before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "... Feel free to come claim me anytime," she requested. "I won't let anyone but you have me."

"Looking forward to it." Takeshi then gives a wink, causing Akeno to giggle like a child as she flies towards the night sky to celebrate the start of her personal liberation.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Koneko was watching the whole exchange occur since the beginning.

"... I won't lose."

But in spite of the envy, Koneko was partially glad that Akeno had someone to cry on and help her directly address her personal issues.

The former disgusted her, realizing that she had room to grow for Takeshi's and her sake.

"... I won't lose."

Pumping herself up for tomorrow, she then walks back to her tent with a degree of pride.

"... Thank you, Sir Ryuugamine," Grayfia said to herself as she was found (by no one) to be listening in on the whole thing this whole time.

But unbeknownst to even her, the "Ultimate Maid," Pandora was listening in on everything.

"... What is this feeling?" she said to herself, clutching her chest as tight as she could. "Why... Why does it hurt so much?"

1st of May, 2019 AD (1/3 of the Cycle)

"Get the lead out, Tou-chan," Kikuchiyo said as she balanced on her flaming axel. "At this rate, Chi-chan's gonna kick your ass one-handed!"

The Nekomata dodged the Oni's swing of her shichishitō before backflipping from the following ground sweep. Once escaping, Koneko then channels her ki throughout her body as a white aura seeps out like a misty veil before she then shoots out a quick burst of energy towards the Oni.

Chiharu counters this by unleashing a wave of kegare from her body, much to Koneko's shock as her blast was petered out.

"You're not the only one growing, you know," the asymmetrically-horned Oni remarked.

"Sheesh, talk about a massive 180..." Koneko then regains the offensive by tapping into her ki reservoirs, unleashing her Nekoshō form for a boost in power.

The two Yōkai then clash once more, Koneko's Touki countering Chiharu's own coming from her serrated broadsword.

Taking this chance, Koneko then delivers a low kick to the Oni's footing, but the latter counters by digging her heels into the ground as deep as she could, anchoring her point to not only prevent herself from tripping, but also to compromise her posture instead, allowing the Oni to push the Nekomata down to the ground with a hard shove with her sole sword-hand.

But just before Chiharu could deliver a finishing sumo stomp, Koneko then summons a pair of wheels made of blue flame next to her feet, carting her out of the attack's landing point by gaining some distance between them, and then kicking them off as flaming projectiles that flew into Chiharu's face.

*BOOM!*

"Okay, that's enough." The Kasha then claps her hands together, signaling the Yōkai to cease their sparring match.

Koneko let out a deep sigh as she found herself plopped onto the dirt while Chiharu emerged from the smoke, relatively unharmed as her gakuen jacket had shielded her from the surprise blast.

"Damn, Tou-chan. You're already making what I taught you your own that quickly?" Kikuchiyo remarked.

"Gotta make every day count," the Nekomata pointed out. "... No holding back, remember?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," the Oni agreed as she put away her shichishitō behind her back (her ki is what allows it to stick like a video game model). "That said, how did your [Kasha] technique work like that?"

"A little inspiration from a certain Chūni Evil Dragon senpai," Koneko answered with a confident smirk. "If it looks like a wheel and it rolls like one, then I can use it like a wheel. The purging feature is a last-minute addition I added to see if it could work."

"It did, apparently."

The Yōkai then all turn their heads towards the forest to find Takeshi leaning his back against one of the trees.

"Yo." He then does a finger-salute.

"Hey, Takeshi-senpai." Koneko then jogs up to him before the two kiss. "What you doin'?"

"Grayfia-san let me leave early for today's sparring..." Takeshi then winces in pain. "... Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Come here," Chiharu grumbled before dragging him to her and Kikuchiyo. "Let me patch you up in a moment."

Lifting up his shirt, she then places her bare hand onto his back before resonating her own ki with Takeshi's, using her internal supply of kegare to filter out the Evil Dragon's influence while making her healing more palatable to the recipient.

"Hm, not bad, stelpa," the Evil Dragon of Envy commented. "Finally embraced the darkness?"

"Not embrace. Just learned to tolerate as a part of myself," the Oni answered before finishing her treatment. "... There. Any long-term effects should be rendered null."

"Thanks, Chiharu-san," Takeshi replied as he pulled down his shirt before looking back to Koneko. "... How's she doing?"

"For someone practically learning how to walk again, her performance is stellar for a beginner," Kikuchiyo commented.

"As I sparred with her, I noticed that her adjustment to using Touki is less disproportionate than I initially thought," the Oni pointed out. "She can use them in quick bursts to offset the strain of having to boost all of her body's physicality for a prolonged period of time, and while she still isn't used to the heightened senses that come with it, it doesn't seem to hamper her performance as badly as we thought."

"... Senpai is going through worse," the Nekomata addressed. "... I'm not going to make a big deal about my head hurting sometimes when senpai's fighting for his life every damn day."

"I've also noticed a different air about you," Takeshi added as he looked at his first girlfriend's aura. "... That's ki, but more refined. It's almost like latent demonic energy that the Devils have."

"Kinda like another limb?" Koneko smirked with pride. "Yep, pretty much."

She then blasts a ball of ki from her hand towards a tree.

"Not as damaging as my regular demonic energy shots, but I think I can chalk that up to personal inexperience," she pointed out. "Also, you saw my iteration of the [Kasha] technique. Pretty cool, right?"

"There's a saying, 'good artists steal'," Takeshi answered as he gave his girlfriend a playful noogie between her cat ears. "I'm proud of you Koneko. You're getting closer to throwing off that past stigma of yours."

"Not all of us, though," Chiharu commented with a slightly pained look.

"... Oh, right," Takeshi grimaced as he got a closer look at her physical distortions. "... I'm so sorry for what happened to you."

"It's okay," the Oni replied. "... I brought it upon myself."

Chiharu then gets on her knees before kowtowing before the two Devils.

"Everything I've spurred to motion on that fateful day... I cannot apologize enough for what my recklessness had ushered in!" she said, regret weighed in her voice. "... If it weren't for me... then maybe... then maybe... Kumowatari-san would've survived. My fellow Oni who followed me would still be alive...! I AM SO SORRY! I AM SORRY FOR WHAT I HAVE DONE TO YOU TWO!"

It was shocking to see Chiharu, once one of Kantō Faction's hopefuls drunk on her self-righteousness and rage fueled by her loss of a beloved member of her family, bowing before those who she initially had wronged without regrets.

She was humbled beyond all recognition. That much everyone knew.

"You done?" Nidhogg scoffed. "Feeling better for yourself after that fucking obituary? Get real. The dead stay dead, no matter how much you regret. Live with that pain for the rest of your remaining life, stelpa. Because the moment you die, I devour your soul."

"For the record, he does not speak for me!" Takeshi then kneels down to the Oni's eye level before confronting her. "... Look, Chiharu-san. I'm kind of also at fault as well. But if we keep feeling sorry for ourselves, we won't grow as individuals. So, from this point on... let's try doing our best to do right. Not only for our sakes, but also for everyone else's."

The Oni sniffles before nodding. "... Thank you."

"Glad you finally got it out of your chest, Chi-chan," Kikuchiyo remarked.

"Come to think of it, I remember seeing Suguru-san off after Hisaya was dealt with by senpai," Koneko pointed out. "... Where is he?"

Chiharu sighs. "... He also left the Kantō Faction before I did."

She then explains the circumstances behind his self-exile, the implications that Azuza's letter/will was about to be destroyed before Suguru took it with him, how he established the independent Mononoke Faction to gather Stray Yōkai from all over Japan to prevent the Yomi Faction from rebuilding their ranks while giving them a place to call home, and how she was saved during her expulsion before officially joining their ranks.

"Holy crap, Suguru's already making a name for himself..." Takeshi remarked with awe. "Gotta give him a high-five and a gift as soon as we meet again."

"Did you know that he took you as his inspiration?" Chiharu pointed out, much to his surprise. "... In fact, if it weren't for you, then he wouldn't have been able to discover his own ability to use kegare as his own. He accepted his own sins and made them into his own power. I'm the one playing catch-up to him. Imagine that."

"Almost poetic," Koneko commented before she then looked towards Kikuchiyo. "... You're part of an officially-sanctioned Faction under the Shinto Pantheon's jurisdiction, right? So doesn't that mean that this counts as an information leak?"

"Don't worry, Kiyohime-sama along with the rest of the Tōhoku Faction are secretly backing the Mononoke by looking the other way," the Kasha informed. "Re:Live's our intermediary, and Chiha is their liaison to watch over the partnership and make sure it goes smoothly."

"... To think that me of all beings actually inspiring the meek to rise to greatness," Nidhogg commented. "... I won't lie, whelp. I find it genuinely amusing."

"Curious, but what drives the Tōhoku Faction to support the Mononoke despite the risks should it be exposed?" Takeshi asked out of concern.

"Probably because of Kiyohime-sama's own past," Kikuchiyo explained. "... Let's just say that our esteemed Lady is no stranger to rejection, and when she took the leadership role of the region several hundred years prior, she made sure that we are to reject no one, but in return, no one takes anything from us. She turned a bunch of bandits, vagrants, con-artists, and whores into a disciplined army of nature's guardians, fucking up anyone trying to turn our forests into illegal dumping sites, or anyone hunting our animals outside of open season. We are feared and reviled as barbarians for our ruthlessness. We are also respected as being the one strongest Yōkai Factions in Japan through enforcing the sanctity of nature through our martial prowess alone."

Takeshi lets out an impressed whistle. "... Damn, I love to meet her," he commented. "She sounds so cool."

"I don't recommend it," warned Nidhogg. "Word to the wise: Don't come to them. Let them come to us. Remember that bitch we reduced to pasta sauce?"

"Don't remind us..." Chiharu shuddered. "... Speaking of, how is that Evil Dragon of Wrath of yours doing?"

"I can use [Berserk Devastator] without going apeshit, but I feel like it's strength plateaued," Takeshi commented. "... I don't know what's really happening right now, but ever since Grendel threw a hissy fit after his first fight with Grayfia-san, he's literally gatekeeping a majority of his powers from me."

"Did you try talking to him directly?" Kikuchiyo pointed out. "I mean, from what I heard and see right now, [Cataclysm Zone] feels kinda open compared to the prior records we have of its previous Users here."

"If I could, I would've, but Grendel's being such a huge baby about it!" Takeshi growled. "... I feel like when he finally decides to come out, he's gonna go on another rampage again, and if I sort recall what happened, Grayfia-san lost about a good chunk of her face during the process, and his infectious rage might turn this whole mountain into Stephen King's Cell!"

"Senpai..." Koneko then wrapped her arms around his body to comfort him.

The two Yōkai look at each other confoundedly, but get enough of what he's saying to know what he's talking about (in a general sense).

"... You know, it's not as bad as you might think."

Takeshi and Koneko look at them with surprise.

"... Can you elaborate, Chiharu-san?" he requested.

"The way you describe Grendel's influence is almost similar to what us Senjutsu practitioners suffer from," the Oni explained. "As we expose our ki to the outside world, we are also bombarded by the ambient negativity present, which is why they're at the most risk of going on a rampage. So instead of actively fighting back against the unending influence, we devised a... shall we say, a different approach."

Koneko's eyes then widened in realization. "... To make one's own spirit centered and immovable," she realized. "Like a boulder standing on a river."

"Counterpoint, Grendel's rage... bypasses all magic and spiritual protection," Takeshi pointed out. "Dude hates all forms of magic to the point where he won't let me develop any magic that might steal his thunder. Heck, even when he's pulling an Achilles and sulking inside [Section Heorot], I still can't use my own demonic energy to so much as shoot a single ki blast without turning my own fingers into Ito-sensei's Uzumaki!"

"We like to keep our rights to participating in any bloodbaths exclusive," Nidhogg pointed out. "Either the whelp fights using our powers and nothing else, or not at all. I desire for amusement at the expense of others. Grendel wants to feel the pain of war in real-time."

"And what are you trying to accomplish with that angle?" Chiharu asked.

"... Really, 'Synchronization'," Takeshi answers before explaining the process and benefits of said application to the Yōkai.

"... I see," Kikuchiyo remarked. "... In essence, you and Nidhogg aren't exactly friends, but more like reached a mutually-beneficial agreement for the duration of your partnership."

"Dunno how you're supposed to make a raging asshole like Grendel to agree on... well anything," Koneko remarked. "No offense, senpai."

Both Takeshi and Chiharu continue racking their brains together on how they can get Grendel to open up.

"... You know, your idea might just work," Takeshi admitted. "But in the context of Grendel, I think it's missing a few steps."

"So what do you propose?" the Oni asked.

The Evil Dragon User grumbles for a few moments before coming up with an idea so cockamamy that it just might work.

"... Instead of being immovable in the face of that Evil Dragon," he stated, "I'd say I take him on one-on-one."

Koneko's eyes widened like plates upon hearing that. "Are you insane?!" she exclaimed. "You'll actually die!"

"Grendel's stubborn, but he's so stubborn that it makes him inflexible," Takeshi pointed out. "... Hear me out just for a second."

The four then begin planning how to get Grendel's attention and hopefully reach an understanding with the world's biggest asshole.

"... I should probably help," Grayfia remarked as she listened in. "... Maybe a few pointers won't hurt."

Reluctantly, the maid enters the conversation without protest.

Back at Lake Tōya's Northern Thickets...

"Come on...! Come on! I got this!"

Running through the dense forest of Hokkaido, Karlamine and Siris pursue the simian familiar summoned by Chiha's shogi piece.

During this leg of the training camp, the pair were separated by the sudden appearance of two Shiki-Ouji and if Mihae's testimony is anything to go by, then the fact that the bikuni could create and summon them with basic paper (usually, shikigami are summoned through specific papers purified by the Shinto Pantheon's rituals, the secular nun uses basic copy and line paper that anyone could buy at an office-supply store), demonstrates how formidable Re:Live's agent was.

Nevertheless, it still didn't change the fact that they have yet to successfully defeat all of the familiars, since Chiha keeps replacing them faster than the attrition rate.

"Get back here!" Siris then brandishes her flamberge before swinging her blade to unleash a shock wave to knock the ape out of the branches it was swinging from.

The simian dodges by riding the slashing wind before landing further away from them, taking the time to stop and slap its behind at them while mockingly hollering and hooting them.

"Why are we even after it?" Karlamine pointed out.

"It's better than fighting the Shiki-Ouji-!"

*CRASH*

The two Knights jump out of the way from the explosion, with the paper warrior emerge from the smoke cloud, brandishing its forked broadsword as it lets out a metallic drone.

"Me and big mouth," groaned the ponytailed Knight. "HERE IT COMES!"

The Shiki-Ouji then lunges towards Karlamine as its first opponent, smashing its blade into her longsword before pushing her back with the sheer force of its strength.

Siris then takes the chance to attack the shikigami from behind, but was then intercepted by a flung rock striking her against her temple, disorienting her long enough to allow the ape shikigami to body slam her from above the treetops and begin pummeling her with its fists.

"GODDAMMIT!" the Knight cursed as she uses the hooks of her flamberge to parry the simian's blows while pinned down, leaving Karlamine to defend herself against the Shiki-Ouji.

The other knight facing the warrior shikigami was now locked blade-to-blade, the latter easily overwhelming her through its sheer brute strength supplemented by it pressing its blade with its own hand, widening the vector of the incoming force, limiting her reactive resistance.

It's so strong...! she thought as the Knight struggled underneath the broadsword. I can't... break free...!

Then she spots a faint blind spot from the Shiki-Ouji's posture. It's left breast and armpit was left open while it was overwhelming her.

... I got one chance. Can I really do it?!

The chains that held her back began to snap.

... Am I really going to do this?

As she was about to doubt and turn back, she spots Siris being pummeled by the ape familiar's fists while mounted.

... I have to save her!

In the face of absolute power, honor and chivalry had no place on the real battlefield.

... If I don't survive, then she's going to die!

With the resolve to save another's life, Karlamine then swiftly draws her dagger with her right hand, stakes it into the shikigami's left upper rib before twisting it, unfurling its paper-body construct, slipping out of its lock as she rode her longsword's edge against the broadsword, getting right behind the Shiki-Ouji before stabbing both her blades through its back with her wind magic adding additional force behind her thrust.

The paper warrior now sports a massive hole bored through its chest, unfurling before her feet as she emerges the victor.

"... I... I did it!" Karlamine cried out. "I did it!"

Siris then lets out a roar as she then kicks the simian in its stomach while pushing it off of herself with her flamberge's flat, successfully escaping from her pin as she reclaims the offensive.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, YOU FUCKING PRICK!"

She then swings up her blade to unleash a massive updraft to disorient the ape familiar, but as the latter tried to escape to the treetops, but Karlamine intercepts the ape's escape by swinging both of her blades at it, knocking it back down towards Siris' swinging range.

*SPLURCH!*

The wavy blade of the long flamberge mulches through the ape's torso as it proceeds through the rest of the body, cleaving the familiar in two, reverting back to its shogi piece form, its two pieces clattering against the dirt.

"... Thanks for the save," the ponytailed Knight said.

"I... I sort of took a bang and guess," Karlamine replied as she sheathed her blades. "... And I won't lie. Being able to use two blades without feeling guilty about violating some... ethereal concept that has no meaning in reality... it feels great."

Siris smirked in approval. "Welcome to my world."

Then a low growl was heard from a distance.

"... Shit, forgot that there are others out there," Karlamine remarked.

"What are we waiting for then?" Siris pointed out. "Let's move!"

The two Knights swiftly move through the forest, waving through the trees until chancing upon Ni in Li trying to fight against the bear and Eastern Dragon familiar.

The former was lumbering and charging at the Senri twins, swiping its adamantine claws and tackling its entire body weight at them, while the latter orbited around the whole battlefield, limiting their escape routes by breathing jets of pressurized air at them, creating shockwaves as each breath struck the ground.

"It's not working!" Ni cried out as she dodged the bear's claw swipe. "I don't know how ki's supposed to work, nya!"

"Who do we fight first?!" Li exclaimed as she backflipped away from the Dragon's wind breath.

"Leave the Dragon to us!" Karlamine and Siris get on top of the Dragon's back, planting their blades between its scales. "You guys fight the bear!"

"HOW?!" both of the Senri asked.

"IT'S ALREADY A PART OF YOU!" Siris pointed out as she and Karlamine were carried elsewhere. "BELIEVE!"

The twins look at each other before they were left to fend off against the bear familiar.

"... We... we have to believe?" Ni said.

"We gotta..." Li replied as she saw the bear charging at them. "IT'S DO OR DIE!"

The bear pounds both of its paws to the earth as the twins separate from the point of impact.

Ni takes the first move, tapping into much of her internal demonic energy that she could muster and through her claws, raking against the ursine's hide as hard as she could, drawing some blood from the superficial wound before it retaliated with a vicious backhand.

*WHACK!*

Ni's back strikes against the tree trunk, pushing out a dry cough before she hits the dirt.

"NI!" Li then runs towards her other twin as the bear then got in between them before pushing her down.

In panic, Li then rolls with the tackle, kicking off the bear with a rolling push-kick that sends the bear flying behind her.

"Holy crap, did I just do that-?!"

*CHOMP*

Suddenly, the bear's jaws gripped itself onto her torso, rocking and throttling Nil like a chew toy as Il slowly woke up from her delirium.

"... Li," she weakly grumbled as she willed herself back up to her feet. "... Li!"

"Ni!" the other Senri cried out before screaming as the bear's fangs began breaching into her flesh.

"NO!"

Then a primal urge compelled her, taking over her body and her entire being.

Watching that animal hurt her twin sister, her other half, like if she's a mere prey, awoke something within her.

... Is this ki? she thought to herself as her senses began to intimately connect with her surroundings, being able to pick up the vibrations of life throughout everything from where she could see.

Every leaf, every dirt, every breath, every sensation, everything connected to her synapses screaming at her to embrace the world that she and her sister had left long ago.

She belonged here. The call of the wild resonated with her very soul.

"LI! I'M COMING!" Ni then lets out the deepest, most feral roar she'd ever let out, allowing this primal energy to overtake her entire being.

A silver-white aura engulfs her whole body, her smooth skin replaced with bristles of pale-gray fur spotted with black and brown dots. Her canines extended, her claws darkened and hardened, her posture turned bestial.

Gone was Ni the housecat, for she had now become Ni the Senri.

The reawakened snow leopard pounces onto the bear's back, sinking its fangs into its neck and holding onto it as tight as she could. In pain, the bear let goes of its prey as it tries to remove the predator attempting to take its life.

"... Ni," Li groaned as she saw her sister embrace her ki to reawaken her lost Senri's powers.

Ni fought literal fang and claw as the bear smashed its back with her on it against the tree trunk, but the snow leopard bit and clawed back even harder.

"... I can't just stand and watch!" In great pain, Li then gets up as she embraces her own ki to connect her soul with nature.

Bit by bit, she slowly took in her surroundings as she let the wilderness call her one voice at a time.

Slowly opening her eyes, Li then transforms into her own snow leopard form, immediately pouncing into the bear's throat, sinking her fangs into the trachea, and rips it out with the bloody tube in her mouth.

Ni then bites down onto the rest of the neck, decapitating the ursine as it then reverts back to its shogi piece form.

Both Senri now faced each other in their snow leopard forms, with Ni's mouth covered in blood, making her look absolutely feral compared to her twin sister.

... Ni, Li called out by connecting her ki to her twin's own, feeling like a turbulent storm. ... It's me, your sister. I'm okay.

Upon hearing her voice, the bloodied Senri calms down. With both of them now slowly retracting from their "fight or flight"-mode, Ni and Li revert back to their default forms, their feline attributes now becoming more leonine, now sporting more rounded and furred ears, a thicker and fluffier tail with leopard's spots, and their nails now a darker shade and thicker in width, looking more akin to spades that can tear through flesh more easily.

"... I... I almost... Oh Satans, what happened?!" Ni cried out.

"It's okay..." Li then pulled her twin in for a hug. "... I'm okay. And I'm glad you're okay as well."

Ni let out a soft sob as she wet her sister's shoulder with her tears. "... Is this how the SS-Rank Stray felt?"

"I don't know..." Li replied.

The twins then hear a low thud coming from further ahead.

"... We should get going."

The Senri twins then head towards where the commotion was coming from, spotting Karlamine, Siris, Isabela, Xuelan, Mihae, and Mira all fighting against the Eastern Dragon.

"I HAVE YOU-!"

*WHAP!*

Mira screams as she is sent flying across the forest after receiving a tail whip across her torso, with Ni jumping up to catch her on the way down.

"... Ow," the Pawn groaned as she was gently laid down against the tree trunk by the Senri twins.

"You stay put," Ni remarked.

"We'll take care of that Dragon!" Li then runs off with Ni following her, both of them transforming into their snow leopard forms as they join the rest of their training team to face the familiar, leaving Mira behind to watch the whole thing.

... Why?

Mihae, with her tanto claws, generates a fireball before shooting it at the Dragon's eyes, blinding it long enough to allow the Rooks to hammer in their fists into the Dragon's horned head, bringing it down to ground level and allowing the Knights to engage the familiar.

... Why am I being left behind? she thought as the Senri twins coordinated with the Knights and Rooks to slay the monster. What potential do I have compared to them?

Mihae then taps into her Bishop's powers, her enchantments strengthening her fellows as they all moved in for their finishing blows.

Isabela and Xuelan's fists and kicks pummeled the Dragon.

Karlamine and Siris' blades stripped the monster's scales and cut through its flesh.

And Ni and Li, their leonine bodies flaring bright with ki and demonic energy, tore the Dragon in twain with their fangs and claws.

"... What do I have that they don't?"

1st of May, 2019 AD (2/3 of the Cycle)

Another day, another bout of sparring with an Ultimate-Class Devil.

Such is the life of Ryuugamine Takeshi, the fiftieth Evil Dragon User.

"Someone looks motivated," the maid commented as she parried the Pawn's blow with her hand, actually straining against the punch compared to previous attempts.

"IT'S ALREADY MAY, GRAYFIA-SAN!" Takeshi roared as [Berserk Devastator]'s thrusters flared out. "I DIDN'T COME THIS FAR JUST TO LOLLYGAG!"

Grayfia then puts a bit more force behind her counterattack, sending Takeshi flying from her. He recovers his footing by using his Sacred Gear's jets to reorient himself back to proper footing.

"Perhaps I have been too lenient," the maid said as she stepped out of the circle she'd drawn around herself. "Sir Ryuugamine, I highly advise that you grit your teeth."

She then begins to emit about 100% of her overall demonic energy reservoirs, which for a Low-Class Devil like Takeshi, was like how a dying mouse would feel facing down a lion.

"... Because you no longer have Grendel to back you up."

In a blur, Grayfia disappears. Takeshi's senses all flare up in anticipation of where the Ultimate-Class Devil would show up next.

"I've pushed her this far already..." Takeshi thought out loud as he looked around. "... Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"You're going somewhere, at the very least," Nidhogg commented. "Switch over to me. I'll sniff her out faster than she could-"

Suddenly, Grayfia reappears before Takeshi, leaned down, right hand balled into a fist emitting a critical mass of demonic energy, and her sole exposed eye glimmering with a trail of chthonic red.

"SHIT!" Takeshi then braces himself for a megaton punch-

"Wrong answer, Sir Ryuugamine."

The Evil Dragon User looks down and finds that Grayfia's left hand was placing her fingertips onto his diaphragm.

"Checkmate."

The maid performs a superpowered one-inch-punch with a force of a high-caliber gunshot fired point-blank.

Some Unspecified Amount of Time Later...

Takeshi's eyes flicker open, feeling something soft underneath his head as he spots a silver-haired woman looking down at him.

"... I remember being a Devil," he groaned. "... So why's there an Angel looking down at me?"

"Sir Ryuugamine, I am also a Devil."

Takeshi's eyes widened to see Grayfia as this so-called "Angel" he'd called out towards.

"... Oh," he chuckled out. "My bad-ARGH!"

"Easy now, deep breaths." The maid helps Takeshi sit upright before placing him against a tree, the former's chest heaving in and out from the shock of waking up after feeling as if all of the oxygen from lungs were punched out like a whoopie cushion.

"... How long was I out?" Takeshi asked.

"About half a day," Nidhogg answered. "... And miraculously enough, not a single year of your lifespan needed to be expended to repair your body."

"Here." Grayfia then takes out a sports bottle before clicking it open. "Slowly. You still have yet to fully recover."

Takeshi slowly sucks on the straw of the bottle as instructed, rehydrating himself before being able to speak to the maid who'd watched over him.

"How the Hell did you knock me out without killing me a thousand times over?" he asked.

"After Grendel had his way with me before I knocked him out, I also did a little studying of my own and came up with a personal system to properly gauge your strength and growth," she explained. "With it, I was able to measure your offensive and defensive statuses to properly gauge where your 'knockout' threshold is located. Grendel believes in brute strength being the end all, be all? It only took me about a week to break it down to a science."

"I see..." Takeshi nervously chuckled before getting up. "... Well, no time like the present. I still got training to do-!"

Takeshi then suddenly collapses onto the dirt once more.

"Come on...!" he growled as he tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't even move. "... I can't... let this... stop me!"

"Sir Ryuugamine, please rest for today," advised Grayfia. "... Even after I said that you didn't fully recover, you're still insisting that you continue like this?"

"... The stakes are too high, Grayfia-san!" Takeshi growled out. "President's freedom and the rest of ORC's existence is on the line... because of me! I have to keep moving forward... whatever it takes...!"

"Get towards where, though?" the maid pointed out. "In fact, after this Rating Game, what do you have planned for?"

Takeshi inches his head towards Grayfia. "... Huh?"

"Moving forward without a goal in mind is as foolhardy as blindly walking off the edge of a cliff, Sir Ryuugamine," Grayfia remarked. "So with that said, what do you have planned for the future?"

"... I never had what you call a 'future' in mind even before I joined, Grayfia-san," Takeshi bitterly remarked. "... There's nothing that I can pull from my life that I can use to blame myself for this lack of direction. All of my childhood friends left me after 2011, Junior High sucked my soul bone-dry, and it was only after I joined ORC that I can start living, fighting for our collective survival, bonding through the shared struggle... I've waited too long for me to reach this point in my life. I'm not going to give it up to some fuckboy who can't even be satisfied with 15 women, one of them including his sister!"

"Actually, Lord Riser specifically stated that he and his sisters do not share that intimate of a relationship," Grayfia pointed out. "But I digress. After everything you've just said, what is the point of all of that time you studied to become Kuoh Academy's second best academically-performing student overall? Why put that much effort for something that you don't even know what you want?"

"... Grayfia-san, have you ever looked around what's happening in Japan?" he asked back. "Here's the abridged version: economy is shit, people are stuck in jobs that they're literally dying at, and my life before ORC consisted nothing of me being isolated from the people I once thought were my friends, being framed for crimes that I didn't commit, and making my parents worry because of things beyond my control! A small part of me still thinks that I should be dead, but I came this far, so I can't afford to give up now. I'll deal with the present right now, because for me, the future is just another problem that I have to deal with sooner or later!"

"... Sounds to me that nothing has changed for you."

"Excuse me?" Grayfia then gets up before walking away.

"You're a Devil now," she pointed out. "We have once been like you, constantly agonizing over what we are supposed to do in the future while we were busy tormenting the damned. After the Great War, we realized that we needed something afterwards. Something to work towards when everyone was tired of fighting. It is for that sole reason of how I learned the meaning of the word 'future'."

Takeshi looks down in shame, clutching the sports bottle in his hand. "... So what if I studied my butt off for the past four years just for a hope of a peaceful life where I can live like a normal person like everyone else?" he protested. "Is it so bad that I once deluded myself thinking that is a possibility when I have seven of history's most dangerous Evil Dragons grafted onto my soul?"

"The future is bullshit, anyway," Nidhogg scoffed out. "Can you really call 'ignorance' a future when beings like us continue to exist? Face it, he's stuck with us. At least this time, he's willing to make the most of it."

"What do you Evil Dragons know about having a future?" Grayfia shot back.

"We don't, but you sure as Helvíti don't see us agonizing over those troublesome 'what-ifs'," the Evil Dragon of Envy replied. "And it's not just us. The whelp wants a future? He's going to have to slay gods, stand over all creation, and bend the world to his will, because no one is going to leave us alone long enough for us, let alone him, to have the time to think about a 'future.' I'll be entertained of how his story will progress, so don't spoil the ending with your fucking obituaries. Let the tides come as they may, let us slay whom we despise, and let us cherish what we love most. The choice wasn't even ours to make to begin with."

Grayfia sighs, knowing that it was nigh-impossible to reason with creatures who thrive off destruction of everything that is not them. "Very well," she remarked. "I won't force you to answer that question right now. But please, let me part with you with one more thing..."

The maid turns her head to have one her eyes locked towards Takeshi slouched behind her.

"... You might as well have died back in 2011."

Grayfia walks away towards the direction where the (artificial) sun was setting.

Those last words that Grayfia had said to him struck Takeshi right where it hurt the most.

"... Hey Nidhogg," he asked. "... The previous Users... did they also think of a future?"

"... They did," the Evil Dragon of Envy answered. "And they all died for it, holding onto it, without accomplishing anything related to it."

Takeshi nods, knowing deep down they all met their ends with indignity. "... Yeah, I figured."

"Don't feel so bad, whelp," Nidhogg reassured. "It's because you don't concern yourself with those delusions that you make for our most ideal host. You accept us, but maintain your own autotomy. I say that's a good thing, all things considered. You know that you can't escape us, so you turn us into your strength and strive to make it your own."

Takeshi then lays down before looking up at the fake sky underneath the dome. "... But does it have to end this way?"

"That's entirely up to you, whelp." Nidhogg then recedes back to his [Section Náströnd] within [Cataclysm Zone]. "The story doesn't end when it naturally ends. There only exists a point when the storyteller stops talking."

Takeshi sighs as he takes the rest of the day to digest what he has all heard today.

Back at Lake Tōya's Base Camp...

"Wow, you guys suck at playing video games," Raynare remarked as she was the one to control them while fighting Zed after over a week without any progress.

"They changed a lot over the past decades or so!" Ile complained.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Nel agreed. "We didn't know that games today were so flashy and clunky at the same time!"

"Uhh... Xbox 360 came out over a decade ago," the Fallen Angel pointed out as she entered Phase Two of the boss fight. "But that's beside the point. You girls learn anything from playing this game besides the generational culture shock?"

"We didn't know that chainsaw fighting can incorporate other fighting styles," Ile commented.

"But is... cheerleading an actual fighting style?" Nel asked.

"Fighting styles in general... I think it's pretty open-ended," Raynare replied. "Like, anything can be a fighting style as long as you're particularly good at that field. I mean, have you gals ever heard of capoeira?"

"You mean that flippy-spinney breakdancing thing that black people do?" Ile pointed out.

"Apparently, developed from African Slaves arriving at Brazil who were shackled and needed a way to learn how to defend themselves without getting caught as 'fighting'," Raynare explained as she entered Phase Three. "... Granted, I learned it from reading a guide I found at Chiha's bookshelf, but my point still stands."

The twins grumble in contemplation as they reflect on their past fights and how they used their chainsaws while the Fallen Angel finished the game for them.

"... Come to think of it, did we even last more than five minutes in every Rating Game we've been in?" Ile asked.

"Not really," Nel pointed out. "In fact, I don't think we did much besides distraction."

"So what do we do...?" The twins then looked towards the boss fight with Zed ending with the Dark Purveyor's severed hand flipping off the player.

"... Maybe we can learn how to cheerlead ourselves?" Nel suggested. "... It's better than nothing."

"Well, at least you guys initially dressed for the part," Raynare remarked. "... Although you might want to not look at me for instructions. I just got out of being your Queen's crash test dummy this morning."

"Then leave it to me!" From the tent's entrance came Chiha. "I know a couple dozen moves and routines!"

"Uh, shouldn't you be busy torturing your own contingency of Phenex's Peerage-?"

A few faint screams of fear were heard coming from the North.

"Trust me, Ray-chan, the job's doing itself at this point," the bikuni reassured as she then rips off her robes to reveal a black-and-gold cheerleader's ensemble with the label "VICTORY" written on the front, her head still encased in her tengai hat. "So who's ready to FIGHT ON?!"

Raynare tries to skulk away from this madness, but Chiha then throws her mallet onto the Fallen Angel's head and strikes true, transforming her clothes into the same cheerleading garbs, with the inclusion of pom-poms in her hands.

"Oh God..." she sobbed in defeat as she was dragged outside by Chiha with Ile and Nel following behind her.

"Don't worry! I read and watched enough Ranma 1/2 to know what I'm doing!" Chiha reassured (to which it wasn't). "You'll only come out with only a few broken limbs and a snapped neck! Nothing that we can't fix."

Raynare didn't bother holding back her tears as she was dragged into another one of Phenex Peerage's training against her will.

1st of May, 2019 AD (3/3 of the Cycle)

Crackling of thunder and lightning hissed and popped across the morning air.

Standing in the clearing sporting fresh burn spots on the dirt, Akeno stood within its median, sweat dripping down from her brows and dampening her clothes, unzipping her jacket to reveal her undershirt.

"Satans below, this feels weird..." she grumbled as she looked around her surroundings. "To think I now have two different sources of energy flowing throughout my body... is this how Takeshi feels when channeling his Evil Dragons?"

She then lets out a deep sigh before resuming her training.

"Well, he's putting the best foot forward like everyone else," the Queen said to herself as she let both demonic and holy energy flow through her body, steadily harmonizing with each other due to her body already being naturally attuned to the latter thanks to the circumstances of her birth. "... No time like the present! Let's kick the rust off of my old skills!"

Akeno then resumes her training, unleashing concentrated bolts of demonic and holy lightning, the latter being unrulier than the former, but not as bad as she initially thought.

It almost felt... natural. It felt as if she was meant for this kind of power to be wielded in her hands, like how she learned how to walk when she was a mere babe.

Reminiscing of the past, it should hurt like Hell. After all, the last several years since the beginning of Junior High was spent trying to get away from her painful memories.

But now, seeing someone who's suffering a worse fate than her actually extend a hand for her while asking nothing substantial in return, it liberated her. She can take the first steps to forgive herself now.

And deep down, a small spark of hope shined within her. A tiny, infinitesimal possibility that she could forgive her father, all in the fleeting hopes of not having to be the one to destroy her remaining family with her own two hands.

After shooting another bolt of lightning, Akeno falls onto her knees in exhaustion. So far, the result of her training feels as if she's getting used to using two different sources of energy in tandem.

"... Maybe I should ask Koneko-chan if she and I could spar," she thought out loud. "... Maybe ask for a few pointers from Chiharu-san and Kikuchiyo-san? They seem familiar with the principles of energy and ki flow."

"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing."

Akeno then turns around to find Takeshi behind her, much to her surprise. "Ara, I almost didn't notice you there," she commented before teasingly smiling. "... Taking cues from Re:Live?"

"Eh... I think I just happen to find you guys while you're all... well, preoccupied with something," he admitted. "Stranger still, every time I walk in, I just happen to run in when you guys are thinking out loud of the same thing that I also needed to think about."

"... Perhaps we're that intimately connected?" she commented.

"Not gonna look at the gift horse in the mouth, that's for sure." Takeshi then sits himself down next to Akeno. "... So, how does using holy energy feel after a long time?"

"... It's complicated," she answered as she moved her knees up to her chin. "... I don't want to use it, but at the same time, I know that my obstinance won't hold out forever."

"Tell me about it..." Takeshi groaned out. "... I think I'm learning how to deal with physical blows better now. I can now safely say for sure that I can last about 10 seconds against Grayfia at her 100% output!"

"That's..." Akeno then nervously chuckles. "... Are you trying to awaken something in you?"

"You mean Grendel?" Takeshi replied, completely missing (Akeno's) point. "... So far, he's still locked the door. And not gonna lie, I'm already missing the sound of his voice, which probably requires some serious therapy!"

"That makes way too much sense..." Akeno sighed. "... But seriously, watch yourself. You're not going to get any stronger when you die."

Takeshi nods before the two sat with each other in silence for a few moments.

"... Speaking of two power sources, I've been thinking of something ever since I saw Koneko spar with the Yōkai," he pointed out to break the silence. "... Hypothetically, since I can't use about... 99% of conventional magic due to the Evil Dragons hating them for various reasons, do you think it's possible for me to channel draconic energy in tandem with my demonic energy for more mundane purposes?"

"You are already provided with the means to do so, whelp," Nidhogg pointed out. "... Remember Gifu?"

Both Takeshi and Akeno grimace at what the Evil Dragon of Envy was implying.

"Other examples, please?!" Takeshi begged.

Nidhogg then lets out a sigh of consternation before explaining another example.

"... Your infernal hawking that you call 'singing'," he revealed. "I won't lie. It actually uses demonic and draconic energy in tandem. The latter breaches all magical and spiritual wards to allow the former to breach into the target's very being unimpeded."

The expression on Takeshi's face turns even more sour than usual. "... Can't I just use draconic energy to shoot energy blasts from my bare hands?!"

"Since you asked, I won't let you."

Takeshi then lets out a loud groan before his back is laid on the dirt. "... Great. Just great," he grumbled while throwing a small tantrum. "So the only ways I get to fight is either I use [Cataclysm Zone], or I can just sing my enemies to death!"

"Is something the matter?" Grayfia then walks into the clearing.

"Grayfia-san?!" Akeno exclaimed.

"Fret not, I am merely here as a maid and not as an instructor," she reassured before facing Takeshi. "So, what ails you, Sir Ryuugamine?"

Takeshi then gives a brief explanation on what he was bemoaning about.

"I see," Grayfia remarked. "... But unfortunately, I cannot see how your singing constitutes as a viable issue that needs amending."

"Grayfia-san," Akeno said with a pleading tone, "whatever you do, don't-!"

"No, I am not believing you until I experienced it for myself." The maid then digs in her heels and stands obstinate. "Sir Ryuugamine, yours and Nidhogg's reasoning may be sound, but I did not earn the title of 'Strongest Queen' and 'Ultimate Maid' from assuming alone. I will not merely take it from mere gospel of the lips."

"... Are you sure, Grayfia-san?" Takeshi remarked as the Evil Dragon of Envy already began digging into the deepest depths of his corpse pile that he called home. "... I must make it clear, but I am not responsible for what might happen to you."

"I've handled worse," Grayfia declared as Akeno slowly backed away, sweating bullets in fear. "Have a little faith, Sir Ryuugamine. I am an Ultimate-Class. I can take care of myself."

Takeshi sighs as Akeno breaks into a full sprint, running back to the camp. "... Alright, you asked for it."

Takeshi then begins singing "Be The One" by Pandora (feat. Berverly) from Kamen Rider Build.

Back on Lake Tōya's Surface...

"And breathe..." Re:Live instructed as they and Shuriya continued doing yoga sessions on the lake's surface while Marion and Burnet busied themselves fighting against the former's army of crab-men right next to the former pair. "... Hold."

Both the superhero and the Pawn held the Nataranjasana (Dancer Pose) while the other two Pawns used their newfound specialties to fend off the bipedal crustaceans, with Marion weakening her enemies with her refined curses and debilitating debuffs while Burnet uses her enchantments to strengthen herself and her fellow Pawn to better fend off their oppositions.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!" Marion remarked as her curses softened their enemies' defenses, allowing Burnet to easily dispatch them with her bare hands and demonic energy blasts.

"Then let's kick it up a notch!" The other maid then began to glow with a golden-orange aura akin to fire. "[Promotion: Bishop]!"

Burnet then moves to the rear as the potency of enchantments increases, allowing Marion's curses to become stronger to the point where they deal actual damage to the crab-men, rotting their shells to expose their soft meat underneath.

"Oh Satans below, it stinks to high Heaven!" gagged Marion as she tried not to vomit, not remembering that crab meat rots really fast and smells twice as rancid.

Shuriya herself tried not to lose focus on expanding her demonic energy reservoir.

"Good, we're almost there." Re:Live then shifts their body into the Mayuasana (Peacock Pose), balancing and lifting up their entire body in a reverse push-up hold. "... Concentrate on your core. That's where the majority of the energy flow occurs. Strengthen it and you'll feel the results."

With great difficulty, Shuriya follows up, now balancing her whole body with nothing more than her two hands touching the water of the lake.

She could see clearly from looking down to the lake's surface. Several beady eyes of the same crab-men could be seen through the waters, all of them staring at her, waiting for her to fall in and snack on her.

"Swallow your fear," instructed Re:Live. "Face your own demons to grow as a Devil."

Shuriya began taking deep breaths as she continued balancing her whole body on the water's surface.

Concentrate... she thought as the world around her began to fall silent, her perspective closing off to the rest of the world. Why is it that I want to be strong?

She thinks. She remembers before the time when she'd joined Lord Rider's Peerage.

Just some poor Pakistani girl sold off to another man from Iran 50 years ago. Just another human who was completely insignificant born in a time of great conflict.

It was by pure chance that she was rescued by Lord Riser and Yubelluna, who were simply passing by.

She had no complicated reason to get stronger. It's for the one moment of kindness alone that she was able to live.

It's for that sole reason why she had developed the urge to become stronger.

... Wow, she thought. That was easier than I thought.

"I see that you're awake now," Re:Live remarked as they sprang their hands back up to their feet. "How does it feel?"

"Not gonna lie, I thought I had to go through some ground-breaking revelation of myself just to feel stronger," Shuriya answered. "You know, since everyone else is... well going through Hell."

"It's the simple things in life that people tend to overlook the most," the superhero pointed out. "... I can sense that your demonic energy reservoirs have expanded in volume."

The Pawn checks herself to feel like she can carry more than her previous affair. "Wow, so it was really about the mind!"

"Then let's put that power to the test." Re:Live then takes out a pipe wrench and a bucket before banging the two objects against each other, signaling the rest of the submerged crab-men to attack.

The entirety of Lake Tōya was now packed to the gills with hungry man-sized crustaceans with pincers the size of machetes.

"Get busy." Re:Live then submerges into the spatial ripple as if they were sinking into the water itself.

Soon after, Shuriya then immediately beelines towards Marion and Burnet, the latter two holding off the horde to the best of their new abilities, but are slowly losing ground due to the sheer disparity of numbers stacked against their favor.

"I have to get there faster!" Shuriya then begins tapping into her newfound powers. "[Promotion: Knight]!"

The dancer then moves across the water like the wind, slipping through the swarm of crab-men as they were too busy marching towards the two maids. As she closes in towards the center, a few dozen crab-men notice her approaching, to which they then intercept her without delay.

She at first, successfully slips through the dogpile, but then finds herself being beset from all directions.

"Can't afford to lose speed at this juncture!" She then taps into her next form to quickly adapt. "[Promotion: Queen]!"

With all of her stats boosted, she muscles through the horde without compromising any of her strengths. Once breaking through, she then leaves behind a few demonic energy shots to deter her pursuers.

Behind her, a few of the crab-men then shed their pincers in favor of molting in new ones, turning them into bulb-like limbs resembling the ones belonging on a pistol shrimp.

"Two can play that game!" Shuriya then adapts once more. "[Promotion: Bishop]!"

Forming in her hands were a pair or chakram that were made from her own demonic energy. Once the ring blades were fully formed, she then cast them towards her would-be snipers, the spinning rings ripping through their pressurized water blasts before they clasped themselves around the crab-men's special claws, shrinking its width into their claws to clog them.

"Good luck trying to shoot from those-!" Shuriya then sees the crab-men purge their old pistol claws in favor of new ones. "Well shit."

She then dodges the oncoming barrage after switching back to [Promotion: Knight]. As she noticed in her rapid-fire usage of her Pawn trait, Shuriya noticed that she was feeling less tired than the last time where she learned how to utilize [Promotion].

My overall stamina has improved significantly! she realized as she continued dodging the crab-men's assaults. It doesn't feel as strenuous as it used to be! I feel great... I feel like I can do more!

Then just standing between her and the maids, a larger, more armored crab-man resembling a lobster emerges from the waters, blocking her way with its massive body and pincers large enough to cleave a man in twain.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" she roared out as her body emitted large bursts of demonic energy. "[PROMOTION: ROOK]!"

*SPLURCH*

Shuriya emerges from the lobster's back and makes it where Burnet and Marion are at on time.

"Sorry if I'm late!" the dancer remarked.

"You came just in time, actually," Marion remarked as she continued weakening her enemies with her curses.

"Mind taking care of our missing gaps in the meantime?" Burnet requested as her enchantments were cast onto Shuriya.

"No sweat!" The three Pawns then hold the line against the massive horde of crab-men in the middle of Lake Tōya.

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

All of ORC were looking at Takeshi with very cross looks as he was left in charge to cook their dinner.

"... Look, she asked for it!" he defended.

"Does it kill you to say 'no'?" Rias raised an eyebrow. "Especially when you're asked to sing?"

"She doubted us," Nidhogg pointed out as Takeshi kept stirring the pot of Mapo Tofu for dinner. "And may I add, very insistent."

"Wonderful," deadpanned Pandora. "Now we learned that Takeshi's singing can cripple Ultimate-Class beings."

"Suddenly, the thought of killing gods doesn't seem off the table..." Akeno muttered to herself.

"Senpai's a monster," Koneko flatly remarked. "... I'm glad he's on our side."

"Finding Grayfia-san twitching on the dirt, with blood coming out of her eyes, nose, and mouth? Yeah, I'm glad he's on our side," Yuuto commented before began to contemplate. "... Come to think of it, can we use his... other gift to have a leg up on the upcoming Rating Game?"

"No, absolutely not!" Rias vetoed vehemently.

"And even if we could, it's not like it's gonna be useful, anyway," Takeshi added, much to everyone's surprise.

"Really now?" Akeno commented. "How come?"

"A few factors stick out." The Evil Dragon User begins to explain. "One, it takes too long for me to set it up. The fastest I can do, during when we fought that Chimera and her pet around last month, is around 3-4 seconds, which with the exceedingly rare exceptions, is the difference between life and death."

"Too slow to pull the trigger," Yuuto remarked. "... Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Even karaoke machines have an intro before the lyrics start."

"Two, I also have to stand still," Takeshi continued. "I may be a fan of Symphogear, but my Satans, it's impossible to sing while I'm fighting, especially when all of my body's functions are focused on maintaining a respiratory equilibrium so I don't waste precious stamina."

"Wait, can't you just disable them while you're singing?" Koneko pointed out.

"Sure, but I also take into account that some people actually last a few seconds before passing out, in which they can easily punch my throat," Takeshi added. "I prefer to not gamble with that possibility lest I suffer an embarrassing loss."

"That and it breaks the flow of battle," Nidhogg added. "As much I like to see my foes suffer and have their souls broken by the whelp's infernal hawking, I prefer if I was conscious during the battle, and not just because I can't stand his singing."

Rias then begins ruminating as she then finds another point to address. "Wait, what about those times when you were singing during our morning runs?"

"Actually, that brings me to point three," Takeshi addressed as he then removed the pot from the fire before checking on the rice. "I have to 'think' that I'm actually singing. Apparently, there's a difference between 'singing' and 'reciting memorized lyrics'. Also, that brings me back to point two, in which how was I supposed to sing when Grayfia-san is shooting warhead-grade demonic energy blasts at our backs?"

"That... makes way too much sense," Rias sighs. "And I suppose point four is that it's too inhumane?"

"Face it, President, the Rating Game is going to be watched by a lot of people in the Underworld, and I for one would rather not get sued. Or be taken to court for possible murder charges." Takeshi then serves everyone's dinner for tonight. "Eat up! One Mapo Tofu Dinner Set, Ryuugamine-Style!"

After dinner was served, the rest of ORC began eating... and not a minute later, everyone's faces turned red and their whole bodies began to sweat as if they were inside a sauna.

"... How... Is this supposed to be hot?" Rias panted.

"Really?" Takeshi continued eating without issue. "Kinda mild compared to my usual tastes."

"Mild?!" Pandora coughed out as she began to feel dizzy.

"Hey yo, Grayfia-san's condition is stable-" Kikuchiyo's nose then picks up on the numbing scent before keeling back hard. "SWEET SUSANO'O! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL?!"

"... Mala?" Takeshi answered as Chiharu came in before fainting from the smell of the spice alone. "... You guys are a bunch of wimps sometimes, I swear."

By some act of God, there were no leftovers remaining... although an additional dugout had to be made in the bushes to accommodate for everyone who had dinner afterwards.

2nd of May, 2019 AD (1/3 of the Cycle)

"Mira, wake up," Isabela shook the Pawn's shoulder in her cot. "It's time for morning training."

"... Leave me alone," she muttered weakly. "Go on without me."

"Mira, if you don't come, Re:Live's gonna get pissed-" Xuelan suddenly stops speaking as the aforementioned superhero arrives at their tent.

"Out," they ordered as they then picked up Mira by her pigtails from her sleeping place. "Now."

Re:Live then throws her into the spatial ripple leading into the Northern Thickets, her underdressed body rolling across the asphalt like dirt. As soon as she stopped rolling, her shakujō staff landed behind her before the rift she came through closed.

"Stupid Re:Live and their stupid training..." she grumbled as she picked up her staff in vain. "... Just what's the point of continuing this?!"

Then a low growl was heard from behind her. Mira then turns around before coming face-to-face with a giant lion familiar summoned from Chiha's shogi piece.

She immediately throws down her staff in resignation. "... Go ahead," she apathetically remarked. "Kill me-"

*WHAP!*

The lion grants her wish via a paw swipe, sending her flying across the forest before her head strikes against one of the trees before plummeting the rest of the way down.

... It hurts, she thought as her senses began to fade into nothingness. ... I can only hope... that the pain stops.

From her blurred vision, she spots Chiha running up towards her before administering a [Phoenix Tear] onto her head, healing the open wound before licking the blood off of her face as she lifted her tengai hat, partially exposing her tanned face caked with makeup belonging to a gyaru.

"... What the Hell?" Mira grumbled out as the secular (possibly heretical) bikuni began to smack her lips to savor the taste of the Pawn's blood. "Wasn't getting off of me being beaten up not enough for you?"

"Oh, you're well enough to talk! Good to know!" Chiha replied cheerfully. "And... no. If anything, I'm getting bored of your wet noodle of a performance. And for me tasting your blood? Well, I want to confirm something with you, Mira-chan."

She then hands her back her shakujō staff.

"Are you... perhaps from Hiroshima?"

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"Alright everyone, it's time for an emergency group meeting!" Takeshi cried out after everyone had finished their dinner.

"Are you okay, Grayfia-san?" asked Chiharu. "You were kinda brutalized yesterday."

"A proper maid takes vigilance on all of her charges' matters," the maid obstinately pointed out. "... That, and I'm only partially deaf out of my right ear. The color-blindness is now mostly gone, although it is concerning that I still can't see shades of blue."

"As long as no one's getting night terrors..." Kikuchiyo grumbled as the Kasha then looked towards the Evil Dragon User. "So, what's the shindig about?"

"After long consideration and consultations with Chiharu-san, I've figured out how to both get Grendel under control and synchronize with him at the same time!" he announced. "Simply put, we're gonna utilize the principles of Senjutsu, my innate draconic energy to breach through the barriers blocking [Section Heorot], and then I'll play his game."

"Which being?" asked Pandora.

"I'm gonna punch him, really hard."

All of ORC freezes upon hearing that cockamamy course of action.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Rias exclaimed. "YOU'LL DIE!"

"In terms of pure strength, yeah, Grendel will literally reduce me to paste," Takeshi agreed. "But he's predictable. Simple to a fault, he's not going to play ball unless I make him earn my respect."

"Coming from the one embodying the Deadly Sin of Wrath? I have some doubts," Akeno reluctantly remarked. "... Takeshi, do you really expect for him to reach an understanding?"

"Honestly, I have my own doubts as well," Takeshi agreed. "But if Grendel is gatekeeping me from going any further, then I will make him answer the fucking door. Even if he's waiting for me with a trap, I'm going to fight him regardless."

"So how will it work?" asked Yuuto.

"For one thing, Ryuugamine-san managing to be immune to Grendel's madness unless unconscious or overpowered by the Evil Dragon directly is a great footing to start on," Chiharu pointed out. "Normally, Grendel's rage dispelling all forms of magic only works when the user succumbs to said rage."

Koneko's eyes then widened upon hearing that loophole. "... Meaning that his soul won't break when he uses Senjutsu."

"That said, we'll have to play this discreetly," Takeshi warned. "When Grendel catches wise of our ploy, I have no doubts that he will go on a rampage... but I have a backup plan in case that happens."

"Which is?" Rias asked.

Takeshi simply smiles reassuringly.

"... I'm gonna pull a Watchmen."

2nd of May, 2019 AD (2/3 of the Cycle)

"So, we're here to discuss your little... shall we say, predisposition, Mira," Re:Live said as they and Mira sat across from each other.

"Disappointed, I know," she grumbled. "... So why bother?"

"You're part of Riser Phenex's Peerage," they answered bluntly. "I'm in charge of you. I think that figures it out-"

"Just shut up, would you..." she growled."... What do you see in me that I don't?! What do you think I'm still capable of when the others are leaving me behind?!"

"Do you want it to end that way?" Re:Live replied.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Mira exclaimed as she clutched her head. "... I don't know."

"... You're scared," Re:Live pointed out. "You're scared of Ryuugamine."

"Who wouldn't be?!" she barked back. "I got reduced to liquid after one punch! MY INSIDES WERE ONCE COVERING EVERYONE ELSES' OUTSIDES! AND YOU EXPECT US TO FIGHT HIM?! ME INCLUDED?!"

"Your King made it into his problem the moment he ordered you to attack him, and you obeyed without question," the superhero pointed out. "If you knew what would've happened as a consequence, would you have done so regardless, or would you have questioned his rash decision?"

"Why would you think that?!" Mira pointed out. "I'm just a Pawn! I am not in a position to question his word!"

"So who's fault is it, then? You for being piss-weak, or Riser being an inadequate King?" Re:Live asked. "Look at it this way. I'm trying to address both problems so that you guys don't get egg on your face."

"... So you're saying that it's my fault for failing to keep up," Mira bitterly remarked.

"No, the problem is even worse than that," Re:Live revealed. "... Mira, I need you to confirm something for me, but before you joined Riser's Peerage, were you perhaps... used to being in a subordinate position. A pawn before you became a Pawn. Were you... perhaps found yourself in a family that treated you as lesser?"

"What are you, my psychotherapist-?!"

*BONK*

The Pawn was knocked out by Chiha's [Uchide no Kozuchi] from behind by the bikuni nun.

"... Everyone else is busy sparring with each other and the remaining instructors?" Re:Live asked.

"You mean to say, 'everyone is getting their asses kicked'?" Chiha replied as the armored superhero then tapped their finger into Mira's head, opening a rift leading into her head. "Yeah, pretty much. I summoned a whole army of Shiki-Ouji to keep my division of trainees busy."

"Make sure that they're kept busy until I get back," instructed Re:Live as they walked into the rift. "Until then, you're in charge of feeding and training them."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't get Freddy Kreuger'd in there." Chiha dismissively remarked as Re:Live ventures into Mira's mind to get to the root of her problems.

Back at Mt. Ishizuchi...

"... Damn, Grayfia-san's cooking makes mine pale in comparison," Takeshi yawns as night settles into the camp.

"Personally, I like yours better," Nidhogg remarked. "... I can actually taste it compared to that bland slop that she calls 'food'."

"To each their own, I suppose..." Takeshi grumbled as he wandered around the camp as everyone else finished washing up for the night. "... Dammit."

"Already having second thoughts of taking on Grendel?" the Evil Dragon of Envy deadpanned.

"I know it's my idea, but I'm still worried," Takeshi confessed.

"Well if you die, then I guess it's nice knowing you," Nidhogg snickered. "Oh, and your friends too."

"Ha ha." Takeshi then lets out a deep sigh before heading back to the mess tent to find something to distract himself with. "... President?"

"Oh." Rias, reading by magical light and with several grimoires stacked around the table where she was reading, then took notice of Takeshi. "... That look on your face... can't seem to feel like you can sleep?"

"This morning's Senjutsu training in preparation for Grendel pretty much set my nerves on fire, so yeah, trying to sleep is an ordeal," he confessed before looking around the dim tent. "... Mind if I sit with you until bedtime?"

"You may."

Soon enough, the pair found themselves sitting together in the dimly-lit ambiance of the later hours of their training camp.

"Huh, didn't know you wore glasses, President," Takeshi remarked.

"They're just there to help me get into the mood," Rias remarked as her eyes didn't break away from the pages that she was studying. "... Come to think of it, we Devils don't need to wear glasses due to our enhanced senses, so mostly, they're just there for the aesthetic."

Takeshi sighs as he watches his President work her butt off while feeling inadequate in his own efforts. "... Getting some last-minute studying in?"

"I won't lie, but I am also nervous," she admitted. "Because this is my chance to show that not only I am worthy of my House's name, but to also get Riser out of my life forever."

Takeshi raises an eyebrow at what he'd just heard. "... Something tells me that there's more to it than just personal stakes."

Rias sighs as she closes her book. "... You're half-right, Takeshi," she answers. "But do you know why I am so driven to preserve my own freedom despite my position?"

"I don't know jack about Underworld politics, or Satans forbid, Earth politics..." Takeshi groaned in disgust. "... I'm all ears."

"My family, despite my House's relatively small stature compared to the rest of the Underworld's nobility, are well known for their individual renown," she explained. "You are perhaps aware that my older brother, Sirzechs, holds the position of Lucifer and the title of 'Strongest Satan' of the current Four Satans?"

"If he has the 'Strongest Queen' as part of his own Peerage, it makes way too much sense," Takeshi replied. "... But holy shit, that's a lot of pressure to live up to, of having your older brother basically be Underworld's hero and leader."

"Trust me, it's even worse," Rias nervously chuckles. "Lord Father is a war hero during the Great War and earned the accolade of 'Hell's Jailer' for capturing several hundreds of the Underworld's enemies and their interrogations providing greatly to our war's efforts. And Lady Mother happens to be the strongest Devil of her generation from the legendary House Bael. Before she and Father married, she was in the running to become the next Asmodeus. Of course, when politics didn't work for her, she easily transitioned to merchantry, and now currently owns the entire 10% of the Underworld's economy, beaten only by the current Lord Phenex, whose [Phoenix Tears] trade raked in so much liquid capital to the Underworld's export economy that's it's not even funny."

"The things you learn..." Takeshi then becomes crestfallen as he then recalls what Riser had said to her in relation to himself. "... Shit. With that much on the line, no wonder why he was so snippy about me being a part of your life. I'm just a public relations nightmare waiting to happen, aren't I?"

"Trust me, whelp, it's already happening," Nidhogg pointed out. "Don't give them the time of the day. If they hate you, make them fear you. And yes, I'm also talking to you, stelpa."

Rias sighs. "... I'm not in the market for making enemies, Nidhogg."

"That Riser fucker being an exception?" the Evil Dragon of Envy pointed out. "Face it, stelpa. Your desire for freedom comes at a steep cost. It doesn't matter how 'civilized' this world is. You're all animals driven by impulse and contradictions."

"Yourself included?" she bit back.

"At least I don't deny who I am," he answered. "... Anyway, you and the whelp have fun. I'm going to sleep since the whelp won't."

[Cataclysm Zone] then disappears around Takeshi's waist, leaving him alone with Rias.

"... I can't believe that he's right in some sense," Rias confessed, causing Takeshi's eyes to widen in surprise.

"I mean, yeah, I guess..." Takeshi agreed. "But proving him right doesn't feel... well, right."

The two sigh before sitting in silence.

"... Curious," Takeshi said, "but how did you first meet Riser, President? Judging by your behavior and word choice around him, it feels like you knew him for a while."

"We first met at one of my earlier galas at the Underworld," she explained. "He was a century older than me, but ever since he first laid his eyes on me, I got the feeling that he wanted me for himself."

"And thus, the beginnings of an actual fuckboy..." Takeshi rolled his eyes. "... I also remember him saying that your engagement is also meant to repopulate the 'pure-blooded Devils'. Is that also an obligation for the other Houses and their children as well?"

"I am also no exception," Rias confirmed. "... But you know, I always had a dream since I was a little girl. Remember when we talked on the Ferris Wheel?"

Takeshi nods as he remembers what she'd said. "... And now everything makes way more sense," he empathized. "Riser sees you as a trophy wife at best, and not as 'Rias Gremory'. At the end of the day, nobility like him see the institution of marriage as nothing more than a numbers game. Politics... what a fucking load."

Rias gets slightly misty-eyed before wiping them with her hands. "Is it so selfish of me to fall in love with someone who I want to fall in love with?" she asked. "Is it so crass that I want my marriage to be like my brother's and Grayfia's, where the two are bound by a mutual oath of devotion rather than strictly filial obligations? Despite everything, I love my family too much to break their heart, Takeshi. They were good to me, so a part of me wants to make them happy by fulfilling my duties... but another part of me wants to live out my childhood dreams of being able to live as just... well, me."

"... This may be my own ignorance talking, but personally, I think being true to yourself is more important than some duty," Takeshi pointed out. "I don't want to see you soil yourself just for something that you don't want to do. I... I want to see you free! I don't want to see you with someone else...!"

Rias then leans over to pet Takeshi's head. "... Thank you for caring so much about me, Takeshi," she said. "... Your efforts, everyone else's, and my own won't be in vain."

Takeshi nods as tried not to cry, understanding that his own perception of humanity won't fit into the Devil's culture, but as himself and his own values, he couldn't bring himself to give up on Rias.

"... I swear," he sobbed. "I swear I'll make your dreams come true!"

Rias hugs Takeshi as tight as he could. "... You can tell me your problems too, you know," she pointed out. "After all, it's only fair that you listened to my problems."

And with that, Takeshi then let out his feelings for her to hear.

"... President, I won't lie, but I'm scared," he confessed. "I'm scared of not only losing you and everyone else... but I'm also scared of losing myself to Grendel should I fail. I'm scared of letting you down, and I'm scared of having all my efforts in vain!"

Takeshi didn't bother holding back his tears anymore, letting them wet Rias' bosom.

"I'm scared of not having a future," he continued. "I'm scared of all of this mess being my fault! And worst of all... I'm scared that the Evil Dragons might be right! I don't have a future as long as the Evil Dragons are bound to my soul! My future might be nothing but enemies to fight for our survival! I'm scared that there will be nothing left for us to build our future upon!"

His sobs then grew silent, replaced by shallow heaves and quickened pulses of his emotional bundle that he'd kept hidden behind his bravado.

"... Do I have to face a future where I have to slay gods just to be happy?" he pointed out. "Is my life after this going to be just one giant enemy gauntlet where I have to stake you guys as my colleterial, even if I don't want to?! Why can't they just leave us alone?! Why am I here like this...?"

Rias silently accepts his pain as the lights she shone grew dim. "... I'm here."

She tightens her embrace.

"... It appears you and I suffer the same ail," she pointed out. "We'll fight for it. We'll fight for our right to exist as individuals... or die trying."

Grayfia listened in on their conversation, stopping herself from coming in to inform them that it's past bedtime.

"Either play by the society's rules or exert enough power to make your own..." the maid remarked as she looked up to the night sky. "... Such is life, Sir Ryuugamine."

She then walks away, trusting the two to get to bed on time.

"... I am grateful that milady has met you on that fateful day."

"... Mira!"

She shakes herself awake upon hearing a familiar voice.

"What are you doing standing there?" a harsh voice reprimanded her. "Hurry up and sweep the stairs! We have guests from Kyoto coming!"

Instinctively, she complies, sweeping the grounds to make way for their important guests.

She vaguely remembers something happened to her before this. Something important that she needed to do.

... What was I doing again? she thought to herself as the scattered leaves were swept up with her broom. ... I remember... something like this... happening.

Once she finishes gathering her leaves, she then wraps them into a cloth bundle before taking them to the back of the estate where there was a trash fire waiting for her.

"Watch it!"

Mira trips to the ground, causing her baggage to spill.

"Stupid sister of ours..." an older voice grumbled. "... How am I supposed to be wed when our youngest has the grace of a drunkard?!"

She then hears a clack, realizing that her broom was gone.

"Well, given that I have to make a good impression to my betrothed, I'll just settle for giving you one good smack to the head instead-!"

Just as Mira raised her arms to defend herself, the world around her stopped moving.

"Finally awake from your nightmare?"

Mira then turns around, seeing Re:Live lean against one of the backyard's trees.

"... What are you doing here?!" she replied.

"I've been around for over hundreds of years watching humanity..." they vaguely answered. "Or I'm just inside your memories as a mere 'spectator'."

Mira's face pales as she scuttles back away from them. "Haven't you heard of privacy?!"

"Tell that to literally every tech mogul running our phone companies and internets," Re:Live scoffed dismissively before looking around. "... So it's clear that your past wasn't exactly roses."

"Why do you care...?" she grumbled. "And why go this far for me of all people?!"

"Whatever it takes to save the world," they answered. "Meaning that I need all of you, both the Gremory and Phenex Peerages at their maximum and beyond."

"... I don't believe you," she hissed with hostility. "Just what do we have to do with this whole 'save the world'-bullshit?!"

Re:Live then places their thumb on the top of their belt.

"[Re:Turn]."

The armor around the figure dematerializes, causing Mira's eyes to widen in shock.

"Do you believe me now?"

The Pawn slowly nods as the figure, instantly recognizing who they are just by looking at their eyes.

"I will help you, on one condition," they stated, their voice no longer hidden behind a filter. "Do not tell anyone about my real identity."

2nd of May, 2019 AD (3/3 of the Cycle)

"So..." Takeshi then walks towards a certain clearing with everyone else gathering around him. "... This is it."

Drawn on the earth was a massive sigil composed of both Eastern and Western magic scripture, the former making up the center and outer rim, with the latter filling everything in-between. As ORC, the Yōkai, and the maid all gather around the circle, Takeshi then takes off his shoes and jacket before walking towards the center.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Chiharu explained. "Takeshi will go in there and activate his [Cataclysm Zone], and as soon as he does, he and everyone else will activate the magic circle to forcibly link his ki to the Sacred Gear's internals."

"Once the signal is given, we then activate the second part of the plan, keep Grendel and Takeshi locked in while making sure that the latter doesn't die," Kikuchiyo addressed. "If reports are correct, then Grendel's not the type who utilizes subterfuge, but rather he'll just be thrashing about like a cornered prey. But even then, we'll have to prepare for several contingencies."

Grayfia then looked back at ORC. "Are you sure that Sir Ryuugamine is ready?"

"Trust me, senpai's a quick learner," Koneko vouched. "You should've seen the look on Chiharu-san's face when she saw that senpai mastered the fundamentals of Senjutsu within 10 hours."

"Enough so to bank his whole existence on this plan..." Yuuto sighed in hopes of calming his nerves. "... Apparently, it's not just our enemies that underestimate him."

"We'll deal with that later!" Rias snapped, admittedly the most nervous out of all of them. "... Akeno, is Takeshi in position?"

The Queen looks out towards the clearing before signaling back a thumbs-up. "Let's do it, everyone!"

Takeshi then finger-salutes back as he then manifests [Cataclysm Zone] around his waist.

"Ryuugamine Takeshi, heading out!" he declared as the Evil Dragon User got into position. "HENSHIN!"

His whole body is engulfed in a blinding veil of arcane light.

To Be Continued...

So, that was the reboot's "Chapter 18," and to be honest, I wasn't expecting it to take this long.

But given that I promised to give every character a "fair shake," this is my promise being fulfilled. Granted, it's not perfect, but that's what the next chapter is for.

Okay, so you might be wondering why it took me an additional week for me to get this out. Well...

I've been playing SMT IV (after two resets), NIKKE and Zenless Zone Zero released their new events, and oh, the biggest one, MY LAPTOP BROKE (and sold the working parts for 75 bucks).

Granted, it was over five to six years old, so it served really well.

I had to write about a good chunk of this chapter on my PC, but let's just say that writing with that is murder on my fingers. Good news, I managed to get a new laptop on time (as my early Christmas Present), so all is well with the world.

Moving onto the actual story development itself: yeah, Takeshi and Mira are going through their own "mirror arcs" that contribute to their growth, with the former showing that despite his proficiency, he's not good at everything and that he's more emotionally-driven than he lets on, while the latter is suffering from crippling self-deprecation and anxiety that is hindering her growth while everyone else is leaving her behind.

Takeshi is what I like to describe as "wrong genre savvy," in that while he does have a lot of good conventional wisdom (look at the ways where he added his pointers to some of ORC's improvements), when it comes to the supernatural world, he's still stuck in the 21st Century norms in approaching it, which partially contributed to the fact that he got manipulated into slaughtering the Phenex Peerage by Re:Live, and that he still can't wrap around how the Underworld's politics and cultural norms work (see the previous chapter's advocacy of Akeno's mental health against Grayfia's insistence). Ultimately, his heart is in the right place, and he's not blind to his own unique circumstances, but his innate desire to "make the cake and eat it" to learn how to live is what spurs his more... reckless actions compared to the original iteration's competitive streak.

As for Mira, yeah, her hindered growth is partially Re:Live's fault for giving her the vaguest advice out of everyone else in her Peerage, but really, the whole "break them down, build them back up"-approach wasn't working for her AT ALL. So, Re:Live is forced to rethink their approach... by literally going inside of her brain, via their version of Transformers Prime's Cordial Psychic Patch.

But strangely enough, both of the Pawns have something in common: they're both directionless beyond staying in their own Peerage. Takeshi out of gratitude, while Mira is obligated out of her lack of autonomy. Granted, it's more complicated than that (Nidhogg made a good point: the supernatural world is a place you do NOT go to coast around), but ultimately, the two will have to find a goal to work towards beyond a present, with Takeshi having to find a place for himself while having to worry about literal gods smiting him for his existence alone, and Mira having to battle her source of chronic depression (and possible PTSD of being reduced to pasta sauce, and YES, she remembers EVERYTHING).

And now, for Re:Live's allies.

The trainer with the flaming jian sparring with the Phenex siblings is the simplest of the lot, but she is taken in by the superhero for a good reason. The mask exists to hide her identity. Oh, and she's armed with a Holy Sword, making her a big deal.

As for Chiha, I'm showing off more of her power, putting her somewhere around upper High or low Ultimate-Class with her ability to summon Shiki-Ouji, the strongest shikigami created from an Onmyōji's ki (stronger Yōkai can be acquired as shikigami, like Ashiya Dōman's Kataki), and to make matters even worse (for her opponents), she can summon them with regular paper that one can buy at an office-depot store, offsetting the cost that comes with making shikigami. Oh, and she has more familiars that she can summon through her Sacred Gear [Uchide no Kozuchi] and shogi pieces.

And Raynare's new design takes cues from Kawakami Momoyo's casual outfit from Majikoi: Love me Seriously! As for her role... yeah, she's Re:Live's designated "butt monkey." Silver lining, at least her benefits are really good (and she's technically Chiha's roommate with no strings attached, minus the whole "bomb collar"-part).

One smaller note: The canonically unnamed Lady Phenex is named after Romary Asuno from Gundam AGE, going off the Underworld's Nobility being named after Gundam characters.

And with that, I think you all for your patience.

See you all next time, where both Takeshi and Mira's minds are ventured into as the days to the Rating Game approaches...

Toku References:

- Re:Live's familiars during the Phenex Peerage's morning run consisted of rhino-men/[Metalgelas] from Kamen Rider Ryuki and alpha rhino/Beast-Fist God SaiDain from Gekiranger.

- Chiha's Shiki-Ouji familiars are based on Akumaro's [Kirigami] familiars from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, and her shogi pieces that enlarge and transform into her own familiars are based on the core Shinkenger's [Origami] Zords, down to the animals (Lion, Dragon, Bear, Ape/Monkey, and Turtle).

- Takeshi alludes to RJ's "Stool Speech" from Power Rangers Jungle Fury when discussing his rush to improve to Grayfia.

NOTE (7th of October, 2024): Fixed Ni and Li's names during their focus segment.