Chapter 65: Overwhelming Force (II)
To say Team A was tense would be a criminal understatement. They had all been paying attention to Grayfia's announcement. Listening as their comrades were systematically plucked off one by one, in a matter of mere seconds. Hardly even giving them the chance to consider reinforcing the other team.
And it had only taken one member of their opponent's peerage to unleash all that devastation. Literally cutting their master's plan in half and leaving only four of his Pawns remained standing.
The Rook and Knight of Team A, Isabela and Karlamine, were at a loss. How were they supposed to proceed? Should they simply continue their promotion plan? Or take a defensive stance by holing up in the gymnasium and using it as a pseudo-fortress?
This isn't good. Isabela bit her lower lip. Judging by how things sounded on the transmission, I don't think Team B even managed to inflict any damage on the enemy Knight.
She opened a transmission line to her Queen. "Yubelluna, have you encountered the Knight yet?"
"No," her voice bit back, evidently irritated. "He's a slippery one, that's for sure. He was already long gone by the time I got here. I'm doing what I can to find his trail, but I'm not sure I'll have any luck."
Could he be coming after us next?
"I see, any word on how Team A should proceed? We'd reach enemy territory within a minute, but if Team B's been hit, there's a good chance we're the next target." 4 Queens wouldn't be quite as impactful as 8, but it was still a considerable power advantage they couldn't afford to let slip through their fingers.
Especially not when they had just lost nearly half their peerage.
"Stay where you are and take up defensive positions. I already sent Ravel and Mihae towards you when the attack on Team B began, they'll be arriving any second now to help you sense your surroundings as you advance. In the meantime, I'm going to keep a lookout for the Knight, and the enemy Queen."
"Understood," Isabela began examining the gymnasium's interior, eyeing out which positions would be most ideal for them to stand guard in.
In total, the gym had three entrance points. The front door, back door, and emergency exit, as long as Team A was organized in a manner that kept every entrance within their field of view—it would be virtually impossible for anyone to catch them off-guard.
However, she still had to be careful with how she positioned the team. She couldn't afford to let any more Pawns be eliminated. If she placed them too close to one of the entrances, chances were they'd be the first target of their opponent's ambush.
And after what had happened to Team B? She wasn't so sure she and Karlamine would be able to properly defend their Pawns, even with the magical support of their Bishops.
"Everyone!" Isabela called out to the team. "Spread out! We're waiting for Ravel and Mihae's arrival before we continue!"
They nodded their understanding, sprinting to position themselves.
"What's wrong?"
All except Karlamine, whose attention had become fixated on the ground.
"Do you feel that?"
Isabela blinked. "Feel what?"
"It's faint, but I think the ground's… trembling."
Wait a minute, eventually, Isabela did pick up on the sensation her teammate had described—but it wasn't coming from the floor.
It was coming from the roof.
BOOM!
Team A looked up in horror, watching as the entirety of the gymnasium's roof mysteriously caved in on itself, breaking into slabs of steel set to fall directly on the heads of the team. Crushing them into a fine paste and wiping them all out in one fell swoop.
Shit! The Pawns!
Isabela quickly realized how badly her plan to scatter the team had just backfired on her. Now that all the Pawns were dispersed, she couldn't rush to their aid and guard them with her Rook-enhanced body.
Even if me and Karlamine bolt to protect one Pawn each, there's a high chance that both of us will be knocked out in turn. Only two Pawns would remain of Team A.
There was no time to pause and deliberate, she had to make a decision, now.
"Karlamine!" She yelled, grabbing the Knight by the wrist and pulling her close, charging her body with demonic power and moving to shield Karlamine from the oncoming rubble.
If all four Pawns could be protected and successfully promoted, she wouldn't mind being eliminated alongside Karlamine, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen.
As her master said, she needed to decide whether or not a sacrifice play was worth it, and in this case—it wasn't.
Isabela clenched her teeth, wincing as a large slab crashed against her muscle-bound arm, splitting into hundreds of small pieces and rolled against the floor.
Fuck! My forearm nearly just snapped in half!
The impact left an agonizing, throbbing sensation behind for her to anguish in.
But it was well worth it, she had successfully protected Karlamine after all.
Wait a minute, as the dust cleared, she looked from side to side, wondering why she had yet to hear Grayfia announce the elimination of her teammates.
They survived? How?
To her immensely pleasant surprise, defensive barriers were covering the tops of all four Pawns. Struggling, but managing to keep the debris from squishing them into oblivion, giving them enough time to move to safety before the formations collapsed.
"Mihae! Ravel!" Through the gaping crater in the gymnasium's ceiling, Isabela could see the hovering figures of both Bishops.
"Sorry, Isabela. If I had tried to guard you as well, my barrier would've been spread too thin to protect everyone." Mihae offered the Rook an apologetic smile.
Isabela returned a dismissive wave. "It's fine, you got the job done, that's all that matters." It was only natural that she counted on Isabela's defense to handle the blow.
The entirety of our team's still in the game, which means the fight's still on!
Isabela's confident grin quickly morphed into a scowl as she looked upon the third figure up above, standing on the ledge of the ruined roof, looking down on them.
A petite-framed, white haired girl.
That's their Rook! The Nekoshou!
Shirone's eyes were just as callous as Isaiah's were when he launched his assault on Team B.
Slowly, her gaze moved over to both opposing Bishops, expressing not even the slightest hint of surprise or irritation. As if she'd known they would interfere in time beforehand.
Her posture shifted, startling the Bishops as they flinched under the Yōkai's fighting intent.
But her intent only lasted for an instant, diminishing as she focused on Ravel's figure.
"Pointless," she muttered before jumping down into the gymnasium, completely ignoring the Bishops.
She turned her back on us? Ravel frowned in confusion. How reckless.
The young Phenex raised her arms into the air, spreading them wide and breathing life into a whirlwind of scorching, demonic Hellfire. Using her family's Wind Manipulation to heighten the flame's ferocity just like Riser usually did.
Even if you're their Rook, aren't you being a little overconfident?
She arched her arms backward, ready to hurl her flames and incinerate Shirone's exposed back at a moment's notice.
Ravel knew for a fact that the Nekoshou was aware of her flames, but still, Shirone seemed fully intent on pretending like the Phenex wasn't even there.
Fine, have it your way.
Before Shirone's feet could touch the ground, Ravel launched her Hellfire at her with as much strength as she could physically muster. Letting them roar and blitz towards the Rook with a level of intensity her teammates would usually expect from their master.
BOOM!
The flames made contact, erupting into a gargantuan pillar of smoke that obscured both Ravel and Mihae's airborne vision as well as that of Team A's on the ground.
Lady Ravel, Mihae looked at her widened eyes. You truly have grown.
Embers floated around the atmosphere, radiating an intensity that'd make even a bona fide High-Class Devil think twice about confronting.
However, despite Ravel's undeniably impressive show of strength, the tension among the peerage showed no signs of subsiding.
There's no announcement, Ravel's frown deepened. How? How did she survive a point-blank attack like that? I know for a fact it connected, I felt it.
Instead of foolishly waiting for the smoke to clear on its own, Ravel summoned a gust of wind, dispersing it elsewhere and restoring everyone's visibility.
"...Oh you've got to be kidding me." Ravel's jaw dropped as the smog vanished, revealing Shirone's unscathed figure, covered in a thick sheen of white Touki. "...Not even a little bit of damage?"
"I don't like the smell," Shirone scowled, her nose twitching as she wiped the ash off her clothes. "Don't do that again please."
///
"Hahahahaha! Atta' girl!" I erupted in a burst of erratic laughter, watching the screen displaying the academy's gymnasium with an ear-to-ear grin.
Shirone's always come off as a shy one, who would've thought she had it in her to show off like that? Your humble teacher's impressed! Well done!
"Alright! Now this is just plain ridiculous!" Serafall slammed her palms against the couch, her posture stiffening as she turned to me with an accusatory glare. "You're doping them, aren't you? Don't get me wrong, I expected a decent amount of growth from them while they were under your wing. But the difference in strength here is almost cartoonishly one-sided!"
Heh, sounds like someone's jealous her younger sister didn't get the same treatment.
"Feel free to praise me some more," I chuckled lightly. It's only natural that my students would knock a Satan's socks off.
"While I won't comment on Serafall's accusation," Sirzechs interjected. "I have to agree with her on one point, this level of growth is unprecedented."
If Isaiah and Gasper had achieved Balance Breaker, then they'd be truly left speechless. They might've even handed me an Ultimate-Class Promotion on the spot.
Unfortunately, that isn't something they'll be able to achieve simply with consistent training and hard work. From what I've learned through Azazel and his forwarded documents, achieving Balance Break for the first time is a battle of the soul rather than that of the body.
"You've outdone yourself, Alduin. Consider me more than pleased with your efforts." He smiled at me, offering an appreciative nod.
Hm, I think I just lowered the chances of him executing if he were to ever find out about the Martha incident by 10%.
Not bad, not bad at all.
"I aim to please."
Granted, I'm fairly certain Riser's peerage also underwent some changes, I'm not sure when it began—but the differences are there. Even if the vastly superior skills of my students make them hard to notice.
He must've done some training of his own. I know Riser, the strategies he employed thus far don't align with his character.
But who could've taught him? For Riser to accept another person's teaching, he'd have to lower himself and accept his own flaws. Which should be nothing short of an impossible fea—
Wait a minute.
Haha, there is someone, isn't there?
Poor guy. No matter how skilled the artist, there's only so much they can do with substandard, incomplete material.
"This game is going to be pretty damn boring, isn't it?" Roygun yawned, resting her chin atop my head. "It's a good thing we'll be doing something fun later, don't you think, darling?" Her hand slipped through the collar of my kimono, sending an excited shiver down my spine.
Sheesh, someone's impatient today. Not that I'm complaining.
"Save the flirting till after the game!" Serafall threw two perfectly aimed cushions at us.
Good grief.
///
Unconcerned with what the Bishops hovering above her would do next, Shirone scanned her room for her first target, her detached gaze ultimately landing upon a pair of cat-eared twins.
Ni and Li. Riser's reincarnated Nekomata.
"Of course she wants us first nya," Ni sighed, understandably hesitant to battle her fellow Yōkai after what she had just seen.
Li groaned. "Surely Riser-sama doesn't expect us to be as strong as her, does he?"
One could hope.
Shirone rushed the twins down without the slightest hint of concern. Well aware that there wasn't a single peerage member present that could even attempt to track her Touki-enhanced speed.
[Lord Riser's Pawn has been eliminated.]
With one, perfectly aimed jab, she slugged Ni out of commission. Her attention instantaneously shifting to Li.
"W‒wait a minute! We can talk about this as fellow Yok—!"
[Lord Riser's Pawn has been eliminated.]
And with an equally accurate high kick to the chin, Li was dispatched all the same.
"Disgrace to Nekomata," Shirone huffed.
The remaining members of Team A, Isabela, Karlamine, and the other, chainsaw-wielding twins of the peerage—Ile and Nel, had all huddled up together while Ravel and Mihae reinforced them with supportive barriers, doing what they could to boost their physical attributes as much as possible.
Shirone remained indifferent to their efforts, shaking her head. "No difference." She murmured before bolting at them.
What a vicious little girl!
Isabela lived up to her duty as the peerage's Rook and stepped forward, making herself the first person to face Shirone head-on.
Even with Ravel and Mihae supporting me, there's a good chance her blow will eliminate me anyway.
She glanced at Karlamine, exchanging a nod of silent understanding.
But that's fine, as long as Karlamine can get a solid blow in, there's a chance either she, Ravel, and Mihae's combined efforts will take the Rook down, or Yubelluna will finish her off.
"Here goes nothing," Isabela exhaled nervously, raising her arms in preparation to guard.
Shirone, more than happy to respond to the opposing Rook's courage, lifted her feet and pushed them sideways against the ground, shifting her mad dash into a controlled slide that'd boost the momentum of her punch.
BAM!
Her knuckles cracked against Isabela's crossed arms. The daunting sound of the mask-wearing woman's forearms being crushed into paste reverberated throughout the gymnasium's walls. Her body catapulted from one side of the room to another—concrete walling splitting against her back before her body went limp. A single line of drool trailing down her expressionless face.
[Lord Riser's Rook has been eliminated.]
Karlamine clenched her teeth, refusing to let Isabela's efforts to give her an opening go to waste, brandishing her broadsword with both hands and swinging down on Shirone's exposed ribcage while under the effects of Ravel and Mihae's enhancements.
Snap!
"...Huh?"
Karlamine's eyes widened, nearly popping right out of her sockets as her mind struggled to process what had just happened.
Slowly, her head craned downwards, observing the sight of her blade.
…This can't be real.
Or at least what was left of it.
"It broke…" Her hands trembled, a hysterical smile creeping up her face as she looked upon her shattered weapon. Part of her was convinced, or rather, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. "Aren't you… a little too strong?"
"Aren't you a little too weak?" Shirone replied with a barely noticeable smirk, spinning around and smashing her foot into the Knight's forehead.
[Lord Riser's Knight has been eliminated.]
///
"Is something the matter?" Sirzechs queried, scrutinizing me while Shirone continued her effortless onslaught on Riser's peerage.
"No, of course not. Just admiring how much of a show my student's putting on," I tried to dismiss the issue, but Sirzechs' expression told me he wasn't buying it. "Well, maybe there is something," I sighed, sheepishly scratching my nape. "I've been trying to awaken one of the abilities Shirone should have as a Nekoshou ever since I started training her. I was hoping to get it done before the game, but I still haven't managed to figure it out."
My Senjutsu teaching can't hold a candle to Martha's. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's made this much progress. But I was hoping I could leave her with something more useful than half-assed Ki control.
He hummed thoughtfully. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Kasha, would you?"
I blinked, surprised that he guessed it in one go.
"Yeah. I know there's a missing piece to the puzzle, but all I've managed to come up with are some questionable theories—nothing concrete." I shook my head in dejection.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Alduin. Kasha's more than just an awakened bloodline ability, it's a lesser form of divinity, purification." He mused, looking up in deliberation. "Some records even state that it can affect the very soul of a wielder's target, expecting to awaken a power of that caliber and complexity in such a short span of time isn't logical. It's needlessly demanding."
Souls? Seriously?
Maybe I should've asked Azazel for help. I knew Kasha was intricate, but I didn't think it'd involve a concept so hopelessly beyond my comprehension.
"He's right," Serafall added. "You were probably expecting her to awaken it because the incident report you read mentioned that her sister could use it, right?"
"Pretty much," I shrugged.
Sirzechs sighed and chimed in. "Kuroka's different, even by Nekoshou standards, she's far more talented than you'd expect her to be. Everything she was supposed to spend time studying and refining before mastering came to her naturally, at least that's what we heard from her master's family when we investigated them after the incident."
For a second, I contemplated asking him if he had a clue as to the older Nekoshou's whereabouts, but all that'd do is make him suspicious of me, so I abstained. Azazel's undoubtedly the better choice.
"I see."
There's no use brooding about future me's problems, for now, I'll just sit back and enjoy watching my students kick some rooster ass and make me look good as hell in front of my two bosses.
///
Shirone stared down her remaining opponents, Ile and Nel, Ravel, and Mihae.
They could do naught but quake and shiver in the wake of the Yōkai's unbearably overwhelming presence. Even though Shirone was making no attempt to directly pressure them, witnessing her abilities proved to be more than terrifying for Riser's peerage.
Similar to Isaiah's attack on Team B, strategy had absolutely no effect on the battle's outcome, they completely lacked the necessary power and skills to make their tactics mean anything.
It was depressingly hilarious. Riser had predicted Rias' strategy to go after his Pawn structure perfectly, and planned accordingly to make sure his pieces were properly defended—only for them to be trampled on regardless of his foresight.
The Underworld's core principle remained true.
Power above everything.
Mihae and Ravel looked to one another, a shadow of dread cast over their faces.
Only one option remained—retreat. Without Yubelluna and Riser's direct assistance, attempting to challenge the Rook any further would be nothing short of idiotically suicidal.
"Ile, Nel. We're leaving!" Ravel ordered, taking to the skies with the rest of the remaining peerage and moving to escape through the hole Shirone had left in the ceiling.
What?
Ravel looked back to glance at the Nekoshou, fully expecting her to be chasing to eliminate them before they could make their getaway.
Instead, Shirone sat down cross-legged on the gymnasium's floor. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small cloth pouch containing a bundle of cookies—which she happily began to munch on with an ecstatic, content smile on her face.
W‒what the hell?! What is she doing?!
[Lord Riser's Bishop has been eliminated.]
While Ravel was distracted by Shirone's mind-boggling decision to sit down and have a snack amidst the match, yet another one of Grayfia's announcements echoed through the intercom.
Ravel's head snapped towards Mihae, watching as she plummeted downwards with a pained expression. A trail of blood followed her descent, stemming from the gaping wound that had been drawn across her midsection. Her body slowly faded into specks of light as the game field's barrier teleported her outside.
"Good evening, Lady Ravel." Standing atop the gymnasium's roof with an even, unreadable smile was the same blond-haired man who had exterminated Team B all on his lonesome.
Isaiah.
Paying the Phenex little to no heed, the Knight swung again, his swift blade cutting through Riser's final Pawns with ease.
[Two of Lord Riser's Pawns have been eliminated.]
"It looks like my job's done." Isaiah breathed a sigh of relief, making no attempt to attack Ravel. Instead, he created another blade and threw it into the floor—erecting a barrier from its alloy that served no other purpose than to keep Ravel trapped inside alongside himself and Shirone.
Fully expecting the Knight to barrage her, Ravel summoned her Hellfire in a panic, fully intent on going down swinging.
But still, Isaiah showed no interest in fighting her, jumping down and linking up with Shirone who was still munching away at her pouch of delectable treats.
"Mind if I have one?"
Shirone hissed, moving her pouch away from him and turning her back.
"Haha, I'll take that as a no." With nothing better to do, Isaiah unclipped his sheath and pulled out a cloth—humming a peaceful tune as he tended to his equipment.
"W‒why aren't you two attacking me?!" Ravel shrieked, both confused and mildly offended that they were practically refusing to acknowledge her existence.
"Hm?" Isaiah looked up at her, tilting his head. "That would be a waste of effort, wouldn't it? Trying to dwindle your Immortality down would take too long, and we need to conserve our stamina in case our teammates end up needing our help to fight your King and Queen."
Based on how battling Riser's peerage had gone thus far, he highly doubted such a thing would come to pass.
"Of course, it'd be rather irresponsible of me to just let you go and assist your peerage, which is why I'll have you remain here with us until the game's over." After saying his piece, he continued to polish his sheath.
For a moment, Ravel contemplated destroying the blade responsible for the barrier surrounding the gymnasium.
However, deep down, she already knew trying to do anything from this point onwards was a lost cause. The two monsters resting beneath her were just too damn strong to do anything about.
Whatever! I don't even like being in his horny ass peerage to begin with!
///
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