Chapter 85

I suck in energy, healing Isabella's violent blows, which make my nose bleed. I've used up a lot of stamina and energy, and I've got about a quarter of what I've accumulated left. It's rather frustrating, but never mind, I'll have to gain time against Riser.

"Apparently, Isabella and I took this [Pawn] lightly. As Ravel-sama said, we shouldn't have seen it as an ordinary [Pawn]." I can hear Carlamaine talking in the distance, still trapped among Kiba's multitude of blades. "He even destroyed a building as if it was nothing... It's terrifying..."

"Ah that... Let's just say that our Senji-kun's blood runs a little too hot sometimes... but it helps us in situations like this." Kiba comments.

(I don't know if I should take this the wrong way...)

"But a demon sword bearer... what a fortune. I may have the destiny of met swordsman who carries special swords." Carlamaine frees herself from the swords and stands as best she can, impaled in several places.

"Hmm? So there's someone other than me who uses demonic swords?" Kiba seems interested.

"No, it wasn't a demonic sword. It was a holy sword." Carlamaine replies.

Kiba's expression changes instantly, a heap of murderous intent emanating from him.

"Tell me more about this sacred sword-bearer." Kiba asks in a low voice.

"Hmm, it seems this swordswoman has some connection to you. But since we're swordsmen, talk would be rude, I'd answer you with my sword!" Carlamaine brings her blade forward again.

"...That's right... If your mouth can move, then there won't be any problem even if you're at death's door." Kiba's mood change is sudden.

Both express murderous intentions to the other. I can feel it from here. I'm seriously beginning to wonder what his problem is with a simple holy sword...

Suddenly, I hear several footsteps behind me. I turn around to see four girls walking nonchalantly towards me.

"So it's here."

"Huh? Where's big sister Isabella?"

"Don't tell me she was defeated?"

There are two [Pawns, one [Bishop] and one [Knight]. The last remaining members of Riser. Do they want to try a final attack here? The problem is that Kiba is busy with the other [Knight, so I'm alone against them. I can still hear and see the distant explosions and flashes of lightning ravaging part of the field. But no news from Rias and Asia.

(Has the plan been compromised, no... we'd have been warned, so...)

"Hey, [Pawn]-kun over here." One of the girls points at me.

"What can I do for you?" I ask, getting into position.

"Riser-sama says he wants to take on your princesses one-on-one, but she won't answer. Warn her." Asks another.

So Riser wants to get in on the action. Too bad for him, I'm not going to warn her or let him do it.

[Senji-san, can you hear me? Senji-san?] Asia's voice is heard through the earpiece.

"I read you Asia, is everything okay on your end?" I ask.

[Not really, Akeno-senpai is taking longer than expected to confront the opposing [Queen, so President decided to speed up the plan, we're getting out of the base and joining you!]

"...Roger... Take care on the way, normally you won't meet anyone but you never know." I hesitate.

[Senji-san? Is something wrong?] And as I suspected, Asia sees it very clearly.

"...Riser. He wants to challenge President to a one-on-one, so don't let her respond." I say it anyway, preferring to be on the safe side.

[ Copy, Senji.] Rias takes over. [We're getting close to you. Asia will heal you if necessary, then it's up to you. I'm counting on you to be my champion and answer his provocation for me.]

"With pleasure. Over." I refocus on the opponents in front of me.

"What's up? What does she say? She who seemed so dignified and sure of herself, I'm sure this is the perfect time to show everyone that she doesn't need this wedding." Riser's sister approaches me, smiling.

"Why would I tell you anything?" I ask, surprising her, but she nods and giggles.

"Well, well. That says it all. My big brother is offering Rias-sama a challenge, since you're doing so much better than you let on. But if I've understood correctly, she's refusing the duel? What cowardice! At the same time, I understand her, she must know full well that she doesn't stand a chance! Besides, I'm still wondering why you keep on fighting, since you'll never be able to defeat my brother." She boasts, laughing as she puts her hand in front of her mouth.

"..." I sigh, exasperated. "It's amazing how ignorant you are. It's not cowardice, it's safety. Those who can't tell the difference are really stupid. We know the risks, that's why we keep fighting. Now, then." I project a blade into my hand [BOOST]. "It seems to me we're not here to look each other in the eyes, are we?"

"You know the risks huh..." Ravel lets the insutle pass, even if I saw her face tense up. "The Crimson-hair Ruin-princess, Priestess of Lightning, Sword Birth and Boosted Gear. Just hearing those names gives me the shivers. But your opponent is the immortal bird. No matter what kind of power you have, it means nothing against the immortal bird."

"We're going to have a good laugh..."

"Wanna bet?" I say.

"You... want to beat him until he loses his will to fight? Or defeat him with a blow rivaling the power of a God? Are you really looking to win this match? How funny!" scoffs Riser's sister.

"It's really unfortunate to make fun of other people's efforts you know, did you get a good education or what?" I ask.

"Tss! It's because you don't stand a chance against Riser no matter what, that it's mockable! Your efforts are pointless, they failed before they even started!" She gets angry, then regains her composure, her ego getting the better of her. "It just goes to show you how dreadful the word immortal is to you."

Without waiting, She snaps her fingers, ordering the servants to surround me.

"Carlamaine. I'll leave this [Knight] to you. But you'd better win, or we'll all finish him together. Or maybe you're trying to tarnish the Phoenix name?" Ravel interjects in an authoritative tone.

"Tsss, I'll take care of it." Carlamine accepts uneasily, continuing the fight against Kiba.

"Sieris." Ravel calls one of them.

"Affirmative." The one on my right steps forward, drawing a large sword from its scabbard.

"She's the other [Knight] of big brother. Unlike Carlamaine, she has none of that Knight honor. She will defeat her opponent, period." Ravel explains, a smile on her face.

"But she'll take care of the final blow. Ni and Li." Ravel calls two other girls.

"Nya."
"Nya-Nya"

The two advancing towards me have feline ears on their heads, and are both [Pawns].

"These women are warrior beasts. Their hand-to-hand combat is remarkable, you know." Ravel brags

The two [Pawns] leap forward at high speed, and I barely have time to put my sword to defend myself before I receive several blows. I suddenly turn to strike, but she quickly dodges. Allowing the other to strike me in the back.

(Okay, I get it, I wouldn't have them with a weapon and they're fast, but not as fast as Kiba.)

[BOOST] I throw my sword at the [Bishop, who protects herself with a magic circle. Then I turn my attention back to the two warriors. I brace my body, trying as best I can to read their movements, fending them off, dodging but still taking blows here and there. Suddenly, I see her coming straight towards me. I move out of the way, surprising her, then grab her, holding her firmly, forcing the other [Pawn] to stop, allowing me to throw her sister towards her, forcing her to catch her.

(Damn, they leave me almost no opening!)

"Ni, Li! He has many abilities! The first is Boosted Gear, which allows him to double his power every ten seconds! The second allows him to suck up the energy around him to increase his amount of energy! And he can also create weapons at will! You must defeat him as quickly as possible or you lose!" Ravel explains.

"That's a lot of power!" Li exclaims.

"It's almost cheating!" Ni adds.

"Yeah! And yet you seem so bad!" Li scoffs.

"You talk too much." I say. [BOOST]

I charge my circuits at once, creating a dozen clones around me. The two warriors closest to me are directly attacked, taking everyone by surprise.

"Don't be afraid, it's just a simple cloning technique, they're not that strong and most importantly the real one has his Sacred Gear! Keep an eye on him!" Warns Ravel.

The two warriors struggle, gradually regaining the upper hand, but the [Knight] arrives, sweeping her sword around to destroy my clones with ease.

[BOOST] Wasting no time, I leap forward and come face to face with Li, who is surprised to see me, already busy with my clones. I strike her instantly in the face, knocking her to the ground, but her sister comes to her defense, sweeping my clones into the air. She makes contact with me, trying to punch me in the jaw, but I stop her, grabbing her hand. She gets away and throws a kick that I parry, only to retaliate with an elbow that she stops with her hand.

Suddenly, all my senses are on alert. I release her and leap to the side, narrowly dodging the [Knight's] enormous sword. I look around to see that all my clones have already been defeated.

[BOOST] I stand up and try to suck in some energy. But the [Knight] leaps forward, much faster than the two [Pawns, and brings her blade down on me. I catch it with my left hand, protected by the gauntlet, but I still feel the impact, dislocating my shoulder. I thrust the sword, planting itself beside me and striking her in the face, stunning her. I barely have time to step back when the two [Pawns] are already on me, ready to strike. One hits me in the face and the other in the stomach with her foot, throwing me to the ground.

"Senji-kun! Shit!" I hear Kiba accelerate to defeat Carlamaine quickly.

"Carlamaine! Hold still for about ten seconds! I know you can't win against that [Knight]! But we'll be able to defeat the Boosted Gear user in no time! Keep the [Knight] busy a little longer!" Ravel laughs enthusiastically.

It's getting harder and harder to breathe. I try to get up, but my body is barely willing to move. My eyelids become heavy and my body aches, feeling all the blows I've taken twice as hard.

I slowly turn my head, remembering that Akeno is still fighting, and so is Kiba; I can still hear their swords clashing. Rias and Asia haven't even entered the arena yet, arriving any minute.

(And here I lie, the first to follow Koneko... I couldn't do anything, I failed again... I've lost...)

I turn my head to look up at the artificial sky, staring at the colorful amats moving like waves overhead. I feel calm. I can't hear anything, but I can feel the footsteps of my opponents approaching me, surely to give me the coup de grâce, as I've lost.

(Did I lose? But if I don't get up, Rias will be forced into a marriage she'll regret for the rest of her life. It's my mission to stop it. Why am I still lying on the floor? Even if my body's screaming in pain, if I'm losing body parts, if I'm unrecognizable. If I'm breathing then I've got to act, that's all I've got left, that's all I've got to do!)

I glance at the sword planted near the [Bishop] who had protected herself with a magic circle. I activate all my magic circuits and wait until they're close enough, swapping places with the sword, leaving them speechless.

"How is that possible?!" Exclaims the [Bishop, running to join her comrades.

I let her pass, sucking in energy to put my shoulder back in place and heal the bruises. But the excessive use makes me vomit blood, feeling a sharp pain in my lungs. I ignore it and spit to empty my mouth, refocusing on my opponents.

"Tsss, there's something I don't understand." Ravel steps in front of the fighters. "Why go to all this trouble when it's already over. Look at you, you can barely stand and here you are vomiting blood. What drives you to do so much? Are you in love with your princess by any chance? It's pathetic, someone on your level couldn't hope for a relationship with her."

"Love? Perhaps. I don't quite understand this feeling yet, but you're right, it probably has a part to play. But it's much more than that. I have to protect her. It has nothing to do with me becoming her [Pawn] or the contract we made together. Rias must have the choice to live the life she wants, unlike me." (I fight for others, it's the last thing I have going for me.)

"What?! There's something wrong with you." Ravel looks shocked.

"If you feel like it." I turn my gaze to my gauntlet, feeling the accumulated power gradually disappear. "Hey, Ddraig, if you've got something in your box to help me, now's the time."

"Hmm, maybe it's a bit too early for that... But this, this is perfect. My gift to you, partner! Put it to good use!"

[Dragon Booster second Liberation!]

My gauntlet glows with a bright red light, exuding a power I've never felt before. I can feel it moving and expanding, and when the light fades, the sacred has indeed changed slightly, the jewel that is on the hand part of the gauntlet also shows up on my forearm and golden symbols appear all over the gauntlet.

"Listen to me partner, in addition to increasing your power, this upgrade comes with a new capacity, you can transfer your power to others, either to your other abilities, or to other people's abilities."

(Roger, partner. I already know how to use it, so that's perfect.)

"KIBA!" I shout his name to challenge him. "Get ready!"

"He's going to try something, stop him!" Ravel exclaims.

the two [Pawns] and the [Knight] rush towards me. I project a dozen swords at them, causing them to hesitate. I throw them at them, dodging and protecting themselves as best they can, but I take the opportunity to send one in the direction of Kiba, falling close to him.

"What's that?! He's going to teleport again! He's going to join the [Knight]! Stop him!" Ravel remarks.

I activate all my magic circuits and swap places with the blade, which calls out to Kiba and Carlamaine.

"Free your Sacred Gear!" I exclaim, placing my left hand on the ground.

"...?!" Kiba is confused by my request, but he doesn't think and stabs his sword into the ground. "Sword Birth!"

The floor lights up and many demonic swords emerge from the ground. This is my moment, I activate my magic circuits, covering the ground around me and connecting to Kiba's power. I release half the power I've accumulated, passing it through my Sacred Gear to increase Kiba's power. Releasing a wave of energy to the ground.

"Boosted Gear! Gift!" I exclaim.

[Transfer]

The flashing sound of metal can be heard far and wide, almost deafening, and in a fraction of a second the entire sports field, or at least what's left of it, is completely covered in swords, all pointing skywards.

(It brings back memories, in a way...)

"You know you can use it don't you?"

(…)

"...Impossible..." The [Knight] who has chased me this far groans.

"Are you telling me that this is also the power of the Dragon?..." Carlamaine can't believe her eyes.

I look at Riser's four servants, all impaled by the swords. Then, after a few seconds, their bodies begin to glow and disappear, leaving only their blood on the blades.

[Riser Phoenix-sama's two [Pawns, two [Knights, and one [Bishop, retire.]

I take deep breaths, concentrating to stay conscious. It's not over, we can win, all that's left is the [Queen, the [Bishop] and the [King, Riser. It's still possible.

I just need to regain more power and victory will be ours.

"Senji-kun. I'm so surprised, this power..." Kiba looks around in amazement, realizing that his power has done far more than he thought.

"Yeah, I used my gauntlet to strengthen your..."

[Rias Gremory-sama's [Queen] retires.]

At that moment, it's as if time around me stops. Kiba is shocked, not believing a word of Grayfia's announcement. Me too, seeing her still confident in front of the [Queen]. My eyes widen, and I turn quickly, raising my hand to where the two were fighting. [Rho Aias] I deploy the shield, but my fatigue prevents me from fully deploying it, releasing only three petals. The explosion on the shield destroys it and throws us several metres.

"I see you're learning from your mistakes, little [Pawn, I can at least give you that." The [Queen]'s voice can be heard in the air.

"Senji-kun! Are you okay?!" Kiba gets up quickly and approaches me.

"It's a good thing you stopped your power, or we'd have ended up chopped up..." I try to move but my body refuses.

"I acted on instinct, seeing you turn around all of a sudden. Can you stand up?" Kiba grabs my arm but pulls away directly. "Damn it, Senji-kun! You're burning up! Get some rest, I'll hold off the [Queen] until President arrives."

"Don't talk nonsense..." I stand up slowly. "We have the [Queen] in front of us Kiba. I can't afford to rest. If we defeat her now, even Riser will have a doubt in his head. We have to do it." I rise to my feet, struggling to stand.

"...It's impossible to stop you when you're stubborn isn't it?" Kiba sighed.

"That's not very gentlemanly of you, ignoring a woman." The [Queen] steps forward, feet on the ground.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you..." I give a sigh.

"Senji-kun, you stay at a distance, I'll take care of the attack." Kiba picks up his sword, ready to pounce on her.

"That's fine with me." I project a bow. "I'll cover you and create as many openings as possible."

"Okay, I'm counting on you." Kiba is about to pounce, but I stop him.

"Wait... Something's wrong..." I inspect the [Queen]. "She's fine, no damage. Even though she fought Akeno-senpai... What does that mean?"

"Oh, at least one of you noticed." The [Queen] smiles, taking out a small bottle.

"Phoenix tear, it can only be that." Kiba grits his teeth.

"What is it?" I ask, confused.

"Oh, you poor dear, didn't your comrades warn you? Phoenix tears can heal any wound, no matter how serious. Oh and I see you coming. No it's not cheating, I remind you that you have a little [Bishop] just as powerful. That's why I won against the 'Pretress of Lightning'." Explains the [Queen].

"Tsss..." Kiba boils.

"Kiba-san. We must defeat her now. She can brag, she's healed, but she's just as exhausted as I am. We can take her." I project an arrow.

"So here we go." Kiba dash forward, using his [Knight] statue to quickly close in on the [Queen].

"We're not wasting any time, are we? That's fine by me! You'll be joining your dear [Queen] and [Rook] in no time!" the [Queen] spreads her wings and flies off.

"Shit! There's nothing I can do!" Kiba continues to run, dodging the [Queen]'s explosions.

I bend my bow, set the arrow and modify its shape to make it as fast as possible. I aim, taking my time not to miss.

"If you think I can't see you, [Pawns]!" She turns to me, raising her hand.

I release the rope and pull. The arrow is so fast that it breaks the sound barrier, ripping off her left wing.

"What the?!" the [Queen] realizes what has just happened as she begins to fall.

(I suspected that if I'd hit her directly, she'd have been able to protect herself, that arrow wasn't made to pierce, but to go fast, and it was fast enough to rip off her wing.)

I cast new arrows, watching Kiba race towards her. He brings down his blade, but protects herself with a magic circle, which she explodes.

Kiba is thrown backwards. I can see the light of a magic circle through the light. I shoot an arrow into the air, then it multiplies, falling in a straight line towards her. She turns her magic circle towards me and explodes it, reducing my arrows to nothing. She dashes towards me, taking me by surprise. But she stops and dodges the wave of ice, creating a wall to protect me.

"Senji-kun! Can you check on President and Asia-chan! I'm starting to worry!" Kiba runs to the wall and attacks the [Queen].

"Yeah..." I press the earpiece. "President? Asia? Are you receiving me?!" But no answer, only scrambling. "That's not good to hear... Have we lost contact?"

An explosion forces me to stop and climb the wall. Kiba is covered in burns, his clothes torn. As for the [Queen, she has cut marks and seems very upset.

"You two... It's a shame to say it, but I underestimated you... Especially you!" She points her finger at me. "That arrow... I'll make you pay for it!"

Kiba doesn't wait for her to make good on her threat and charges towards her. I project an arrow and take aim.

(Her powers work much like Bakougo's... So to defeat her...)

I aim a little more than she does and fire, tripling up, one going straight ahead in a bell shape and the other two going the opposite way, revealing a bell shape towards the [Queen]. Kiba harasses her with his sword, forcing her to defend herself, and seeing the arrows coming, gives one last blow and dodges.

She creates magic circles, but it's not enough to protect herself from an arrow, which sinks into her shoulder.

"You're seriously starting to get on my nerves!" The [Queen] exclaims, glaring at me.

Suddenly, I hear the creation of a magic circle behind my head, and I turn to see that it's the [Queen] power.

(She can do that from this far away?!)

The circle explodes, knocking me from the wall of ice violently to the ground.

"Senji-kun!" Kiba turns around, surprised.

Yubelluna creates a dozen magic circles around her and detonates them all at once, creating a violent explosion that hits Kiba and sends him onto his back.

As I stand up, hearing nothing more, I look up to see Yubelluna standing in front of Kiba trying to get up. In the smoke surrounding them, she raises her right hand to his face, creates a magic circle and explodes it. As soon as Kiba hits the ground, he's already enveloped in a bright light and disappears.

[Rias Gremory-sama's [Knight] retires.]

I can only watch helplessly. As another blood-curdling announcement echoes across the battlefield.