Kusari
Azazel-sama and Katerea tore through the sky flashing arcs of white and black, each collision spilling enough force that the whole battlefield below seemed to shudder in answer.
Every time I looked up, I felt how much smaller our fight was.
Every time I looked back down, I had to remind myself that smaller did not mean unimportant.
We had just finished another engagement and were catching our breath.
We were all wounded at this point from the drawn out fight but we were all still standing.
More Magicians spilled in through a circle near the athletic field.
Too many, but we didn't need to win, only hold their attention.
Yuuto changed direction first, drawing some of them off with her speed.
Xenovia-san met the nearest cluster head-on because that was how Xenovia-san seemed to approach a fight.
Head on and with brute destructive strength.
I stayed half a step farther back and tried not to allow myself to push too far too quickly with my spells.
I had more leeway than before, but still needed to pace myself.
Especially with how tired I was getting.
A Magician raised a layered spell circle high above the others.
It was a support type, reinforcement, likely intending to thicken the durability of any protective spells they used.
I used my new tails ability to disrupt him.
A tendril of shadow latched onto his leg and jerked.
His knee dipped harshly as he fell and his concentration slipped.
The reinforcement spell faltered and faded away.
Xenovia-san’s next slash smashed straight through the weakened group and sent bodies spinning across the grass.
Yuuto vaulted off a low stone planter and cut downward through another caster before calling, “Kusari-san!”
I turned and saw three of them were rushing her position from different angles.
I saw why she called instead of retreating.
If she moved to avoid the nearest, she’d allow them to attack Xenovia-san and I.
I answered illusions
Multiple copies of Yuuto appeared and ran at the Magicians around her.
They panicked and launched spells into the fake Yuutos.
As they removed the fakes, the real Yuuto struck down one of them and then quickly advanced at the other.
I fired a Baleful Bolt at the last one.
As he crumpled to the ground I felt my arm lock up for a moment before it settled into a sharp pain.
I exhaled slowly through my nose and forced myself not to build the next spell immediately.
Then, above us, Azazel’s voice carried across the grounds in a laugh that had too much delight in it for a battlefield.
I looked up despite myself.
Katerea hung in the air opposite him, her presence swelling as a wave of power spread from her.
Her power spiked, reaching a level close to Sirzechs-sama’s.
Azazel-sama sent a volley of spears of light at her, but with a wave of Katera’s hand they dissipated.
“She swallowed something,” Yuuto said.
She had noticed it as well.
Xenovai-san cut another attacker down and moved beside us. “Whatever it was, it amplified her.”
“No kidding,” I said.
I let out the breath I had been holding.
The coldness under my sternum had spread farther. It was another drawback that was smaller, but still there.
I rolled my right shoulder once and looked over the field.
“Next wave is shifting right,” I said.
Yuuto followed my gaze immediately.
Xenovia did not bother looking before moving.
That was probably why the three of us were functioning as well as we were.
We all fought in completely different shapes, but none of them fought the others.
Yuuto was precision and pressure, ideal for exploiting a break.
Xenovia was blunt force honed into the shape of a Holy Sword and somehow more effective than that description sounded.
And I had always thought of myself as a support first.
Mark the weak points. Create openings. Punish mistakes.
That was still true.
But tonight, with four tails and another seal gone, it was no longer the whole truth.
I could do more.
I could make my own openings and then take them.
We were approaching the next group of enemies when something changed.
Gasper-kun’s power that had been forced out of him this whole time wavered, then broke.
The wrongness vanished so quickly that for a second my body overbalanced against the absence of it.
Yuuto felt it too. Her head snapped toward the old school building immediately.
Xenovia-san looked the same direction half a breath later.
I did not need to ask what had happened.
Rias and Issei had reached him.
The forced activation was gone.
The pressure from his boosted Sacred Gear over the field had ended.
For one brief second in the middle of the battle, relief went through me hard enough to almost hurt.
Then I looked up quickly as Azazel-sama was struck down from the sky by a new figure floating near Katerea.
____________________________________________________________________________
Issei
Once Buchou finished sending the captured women away through the transfer circle, the room felt strangely empty.
Just moments ago we had been fighting to save Gasper from the Terrorists.
Gasper had told me to kill him because of how much trouble his Sacred Gear had caused.
When one of the Magicians had threatened Gasper’s life I used Ascalon to cut myself and have him drink my blood.
It allowed him to stop using his Sacred Gear and then escape by transforming into bats and swarming the Magicians.
When the Magicians decided to attack Buchou and I, Gasper used his Sacred Gear to protect us and froze all of them in place.
All of the Magicians were female, so we used Gasper and I’s special move and used Dress Break on all of the frozen Magicians.
I had struck a pose while staring at their naked bodies.
Buchou hadn't been happy.
And now we were leaving the club house with Gasper clinging to my back.
He was lighter than I expected.
Or maybe I had just gotten used to carrying heavy things because of buchou’s training regiment.
That and I had carried out multiple members of the Occult research club out of danger before
Asia was first after Raynare, and now Gasper.
I hope that this isn't going to become a trend.
That thought should have bothered me more than it did.
Instead, I just adjusted his weight and glanced sideways at Buchou as we stepped out of the room and moved toward the entrance.
She had already changed into a spare uniform after hers was damaged in the fight.
She looked composed again.
As if she hadn’t just walked into a room full of enemy magicians, told Gasper she would never abandon him, and then watched me and Gasper work together to strip all of our enemies.
Actually, now that I thought about it, Buchou’s ability to keep looking elegant after being surrounded by absurdity might be one of her most terrifying powers.
“Senpai...” Gasper said quietly near my ear. “Your hand... is it really all right?”
I looked down at the bandaged palm where I’d cut myself to get my blood to him.
“Yeah. It’s fine. I’m kind of used to getting hurt now.”
That was probably not the best thing to say out loud.
Gasper made a soft, distressed sound.
“T-That’s not something you should be used to...”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Maybe not.”
He was quiet for a moment, then mumbled, “Still... thank you.”
That made me grin.
“No problem. I mean, I told you, didn’t I? Me and Buchou aren’t going to abandon you.”
At that, I felt him tighten his grip just a little.
I smiled wider.
Buchou opened the front doors and stepped outside.
The night air hit us all at once.
The barrier around the grounds was still up, though it looked dimmer now than before.
The worst of the pressure from Gasper’s runaway time-stop was gone too.
Things were still bad, obviously.
But now that the time stop was gone and Gasper was freed the peerage was back in action.
I shifted Gasper a little higher on my back and stepped out after Buchou.
That was when something dropped out of the sky with a loud crash.
The impact hit the ground right in front of us hard enough that dust and broken stone erupted upward in a cloud.
Instinct shoved me backward a step.
Gasper yelped and nearly fell from my shoulders.
Buchou raised one hand immediately, power gathering there before the dust had even started to settle.
Then a voice came out of the cloud.
“...Tch. So that’s how it is going to be, Vali. You’re siding with the Terrorists.”
I knew that voice even before the dust cleared.
The Governor of the Fallen Angels was on one knee in front of us, looking badly wounded.
His clothes were torn, blood darkened one sleeve and part of his side, but his face had an irritated, almost amused look on it.
Across from him stood Vali, still in his bright white armor.
Next to him stood a woman I didn’t know.
I was instantly distracted by the amount of skin her outfit showed, mainly her cleavage.
Her dress’s neckline plunged dangerously low and I was staring deep into it.
“That’s right, Azazel,” Vali said.
“When you decided to pursue peace, Hakuryuukou decided to join us. With his help we will be able to ruin the peace talks and kill the leaders of the Three Factions
The risque dressed woman glared at me.
“Who is this who is staring at me so brazenly?,” she said. “Is this child the Sekiryuutei, Vali?”
“Yeah,” he said. “While regrettable, it’s true. He truly is a pathetic host for the Sekiryuutei.”
“Don’t speak like I’m not here!” I shouted immediately. “I’m doing my best over here!”
The woman looked at me with pity.
“Oh,” she said. “He really is disappointing.”
What was with these people?
“Should we just kill him, Vali? It seems like it would be for the best?”
“I haven't exactly decided yet. I wasn't even expecting to run into him here.”
Then my brain finally caught up to the more important part.
“Wait. Why are you two fighting Azazel?” I demanded. “No, more importantly, who are you, lady?”
Azazel laughed once under his breath.
It was ugly kind of laugh..
“Geez,” he said. “I must have lost my touch. For one of my own to pull something like this… Vali, when did you decide to betray me?”
Vali answered him.
“While I was returning with Kokabiel. I’m sorry Azazel but if there is peace then there won’t be anyone for me to fight. I can’t allow that.”
I stared at him.
He looked completely serious.
“So, you're going to serve Ophis then?” Azazel asked.
“No, I’m just cooperating for my own goals. When they approached me they offered to set up a fight against Asgard. It sounded too good not to accept if I would be able to test the power of Valhalla.”
“...I see. I’ve always been aware of your desire to fight the strong. I should have seen that it would have come to something like this.”
“And thanks to you not realizing, the Hakuryuukou was able to feed us information and help prepare the attack on the summit. It’s funny that you who wanted peace are to blame for us being able to stop it.” The woman sneered.
Ignoring the lady sneering at Azazel, Vali reached up and the mask-like section of his helmet slid away with a metallic sound, revealing his face.
Then he looked right at me and said calmly
“My real name is Vali. Vali Lucifer.”
Lucifer? As in the extinct line of the original Maou?
There was no way.
Buchou clearly thought so too, because when I looked at her, she had gone visibly still.
Vali kept talking.
“It’s true. I am a descendant of the original Maou Lucifer. But I was born to a human mother so I am only a half Devil. So I, who is of the original Lucifer line and half human, became the current Hakuryuukou.”
Buchou looked shocked at what he said.
“No way... That can’t be...”
“It’s true. And because of it he will become the strongest Hakuryuukou of all time.” Azazel said.
I have already been called the weakest Sekiryuuti, and now I’m supposed to face the strongest Hakuryuukou?
I don’t know if I will be able to survive when we finally do fight, if it isn't going to be right now.
“So, are you ready to die Azazel?” The woman asked, sneering at him.
Her killing intent was leaking from her as she stared down at him.
“...Tch. What did you get from Ophis? How were you able to gain so much power suddenly?” Azazel asked.
Ophis.
Ddraig had called that being stronger than him.
Stronger than Albion.
Stronger than God.
A true monster with infinite power.
The woman smiled proudly.
“For the sake of remaking the world, I borrowed a little of their power,” she said. “Because of that, I can fight you. I may even be able to defeat Sirzechs and Michael.”
Azazel gave her a disgusted look.
“You really are mediocre,” he said. “Do you think Sirzechs and Michael are fools just because they sit at a table asking for peace? They’re far above someone mediocre like you.”
Her face twisted instantly.
“Nonsense! I am the rightful heir of one of the Maou Levithan’s position. I will kill that fake and the other leaders of the Three Factions. But first I will end you. That will be the first step for creating our new world and the end of any peace talks.”
Azazel looked delighted for some reason.
He reached into his pocket and drew out what looked like a dagger.
At first I thought he intended to fight her with it.
Then the atmosphere around him changed.
The kind a freak got when he was about to show off his favorite toy.
“I really have gone beyond just collecting Sacred Gears,” he said. “I make them too. Though most of them are junk, some, like this one, aren't. God’s Sacred Gear system is amazing but incomplete due to his death before all the ‘bugs’ could be worked out. That’s why Loneginus and Balance Breakers appear in the world, but that's just another fascinating part about Sacred Gear.”
The woman sneered at him, like his passion for Sacred Gear was annoying to her.
“You won’t be there, but Sacred Gear will be a thing of the past in our new world. There is no need to give power to humans or other groups outside of our own. Once we take control of the Three Factions we will force Asgard to join us as well. Then the world will truly change.” The woman said.
Azazel nearly growled in anger.
“Now your goals are truly unforgivable Katerea Leviathan! Sacred Gear are an amazing thing! Anyone who wants to rob me of my hobby will have to disappear.”
Apparently the mystery woman working with the terrorists was a member of the house of Leviathan.
But I was more concerned that one of the main faction leaders is more focused on playing with his toys than anything else.
Then the dagger Azazel held began to emit light as it changed shape.
“W-what is this?” Katerea asked.
Before she could stop him Azazel spoke.
“Balance Break!”
When the light cleared, something stood where Azazel had been.
Gold Dragon-shaped armor covered him, leaving only his head exposed.
Twelve black wings had unfolded behind him in a spray of dark feathers, and in his hands he held a massive spear of light.
“Through my study of the Vanishing Dragon and other Dragon Sacred Gears I was able to produce this. It’s is my masterpiece of my research into Sacred Gear. It is my [Fallen Dragon's Flash Spear] in a pseudo Balance Breaker state, [Fallen [Dragon’s Armor].”
Azazel’s power grew and I could sense the Dragon inside of that power.
But how was Azazel able to create a Sacred Gear that could obtain a Balance Breaker?
Ddraig reacted to my thoughts at once.
[That’s not a true Balance Breaker.]
What do you mean? I thought to him
[He has made it enter a forced awakening. Because of that it will likely be destroyed after the fight. To be able to create even a temporary Balance Breaker in an artificial Sacred Gear. I am impressed.]
So it was disposable.
Disposable and still that monsterous
Vali laughed.
“I should have expected you to pull something out like this, Azazel,” he said. “You really are incredible!”
Azazel then pointed the spear toward Vali.
“While I’d like to pay you back for your betrayal, you'll have to play with the Welsh Dragon instead.”
Absolutely not.
I don’t think I would stand a chance at all right now.
“Ah, but with you artificial Sacred Gear, you look like you’d be fun to fight Azazel.” Vali said, then looked thoughtful. “So, that Sacred Gear is using a sealed dragon then, correct?
Vali looked over the armor.
So he had felt the Dragon in the Sacred Gear too.
Azazel gave him the answer plainly.
“You’re right. I decided to replicate the two Heavenly Dragon’s Sacred Gear. So I sealed one of the Dragon Kings, the Gigantis Dragon Fafnir, in it. However I don’t know if I’ve managed to complete it fully yet.”
That explains the Dragon’s power I’ve felt from the Sacred Gear
Ddraig’s voice rolled through me at once.
[So, that was the fate of another of the Five Great Dragon Kings. With the Sleeping Dragon Midgardsormr always sleeping, that leaves only Chaos Karma Dragon Tiamat and the Mischievous Dragon Yulong still active. Though there used to be six Great Dragon Kings.]
Saji’s sacred gear contained Vitra, another of the Five Great Dragon Kings.
It made me wonder what happened to the other three Ddraig named and the sixth that used to exist.
[Well you may meet Tiamat soon enough.]
Why?
[Well…. She hates me.]
Why are you saying that like she'll hate me too?
Ddraig?
Ddraig?!
He wouldn’t respond. But right now I had much more immediate and dangerous things to worry about.
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