"Those are the two artificial Sacred Gears. The sword Tomoe is holding is called the 'Blazer Shining or Darkness Samurai Sword' It's a weapon that strikes the enemy with simultaneous high-powered light and dark elemental attacks. As for the shield Tsubasa wields, it allows her to form contracts with spirits and imbue their powers into the shield. Right now, she's only contracted with a fire spirit, but I hope to eventually help her form pacts with a wider range—ideally the four elemental spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind."
I knew it—there's no way that Blazer Shining or Darkness Samurai Sword was something Professor Azazel dreamed up in his youth. That's definitely a recent creation. His "chuunibyou" phase is clearly alive and well deep within his soul...
And as for Twinkle Aegis, the shield Tsubasa uses—while adding more spirit contracts gives it additional versatility, the cost of such contracts makes it something that can't be done carelessly. Quality over quantity, or you'll drown in magical debt.
Outside of the basic four elements, I imagine President Sona would want to aim for a contract with a light spirit to gain an advantage in Rating Games. But finding a spirit eccentric enough to contract with a devil? That's its own hurdle.
…If she managed to make a pact with that water spirit mascot from the Milky Army, then compatibility wouldn't even matter. She'd have built the strongest, most absurd shield in existence.
Just as the foxfire I cast was about to fizzle out, the shield, having blocked it, was hurled forward like a frisbee, punching through the flames. So it can be used for long-range physical attacks too—nice.
I deflected the incoming, flame-covered shield with my Sacred Gear, but rather than falling, it curved mid-air and returned to its owner. A homing shield, huh?
"That must be Tsubasa-chan's shield that can be thrown like a yo-yo! And Tomoe-chan's light-and-dark sword is soooo stylish too! This kind of flair is exactly what the Underworld's politics needs right now."
...True, I guess they are pretty fashionable weapons, but if we actually let this style into formal Underworld assemblies, I can only imagine the chaos.
Thinking that, I caught the flying shield between the twin blades of Zarich, jamming it into the floor. I added Tawrich as well, pinning it in place.
"Hot! Hot hot hot!"
I also disrupted the spirit's energy within the shield, dampening the flame output. That should stop her from melting through the floor to escape.
"Tch! I can't pull it out. But it doesn't matter!"
Tsubasa dismissed her artificial Sacred Gear and re-summoned it into her hand, retrieving the weapon with ease. Turns out, artificial Sacred Gears are just as flexible as the originals.
After testing their capabilities for about five minutes, I ended the mock battle with a pressure-point flick to the forehead of each girl using senjutsu, temporarily paralyzing their bodies.
"Ahhh~ You're too strong!"
"As expected of you, Arima. Once again, you've earned my respect today."
"Um… thanks, I guess?"
"No need to be modest. Back when I was still human, I had this strange aura that naturally attracted monsters and spirits. I fought them with pure martial skill at first, but there came a point where I just couldn't keep up. That's why I became a devil—to obtain the power I lacked as a human. So when I see someone like you, Arima—still human, and this strong—it commands genuine awe."
Whoa... I think this might be the first time I've ever been praised so sincerely.
Also, having a monster-magnet aura? That sounds like a rough life.
"So, what did you think of our performance, Arima?"
"Well... Tsubasa-san, your hand-to-hand skills are solid. One thing I noticed though: at the start, when you blocked my foxfire with that wide-area light barrier—why not use that same expansion technique in close combat?"
"Huh?"
"For example, if you widen the shield's edge while swinging it, you could pull off a kind of shield bash. Or you could trap your opponent's escape path in a barrier and let Tomoe land a finishing blow. Since your shield can stretch and shrink, you should take full advantage of that to control the range more effectively."
"I see… I've been thinking of the expanded shield purely as a defensive tool. I hadn't thought about its offensive uses. Thanks, I'll add that to my next training routine."
After giving my feedback, Tomoe eagerly raised her hand.
"Me next! What about me?"
"Tomoe-san... You're kind of overly reliant on the Blazer Shining or Darkness Samurai Sword, aren't you?"
"Ugh! Don't say the full name! It's so embarrassing!"
Oh? You're embarrassed by that, huh?
"The sword's destructive power is no joke. But because of that, you seem too focused on trying to land a hit with it. Since your main role is as a 'Knight,' you've got speed and combo potential—why not mix in some kicks or close-range moves to create better openings for your sword strikes?"
"…Arima-kun. You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"
Hmm? Whatever do you mean?
"Alright, that's enough reflection for now. Next up—three participants: Momo, Reya, and Ruruko!"
The three stepped forward.
We had Momo Hanakai, a 'Bishop.' Reya Kusaka, also a 'Bishop.' And finally, Ruruko Nimura, a 'Pawn.'
As the match started, Ruruko's legs were immediately enveloped in magical greaves.
"That's Ruruko's artificial Sacred Gear: 'Procellarum Phantom.' As you can see, it's a kick-based weapon."
She vanished behind me in a flash and aimed a spinning heel kick at the back of my head, which I blocked by twisting my torso and raising my arm.
THUD!
Ah, the greaves are releasing aura to amplify her kicks. Not bad.
Blocking that with my aura up still shook me. Repeated hits to the same spot would definitely leave a bruise.
A greave-type weapon that vents aura… reminds me of a certain fastest older brother.
You know, on the sliding side of things.
As soon as her first attack was blocked, she boosted her opposite foot, twisted mid-air, and went for a second strike. I ducked low to evade it.
Landing with hands on the ground, she flipped back into a standing pose, then darted back to her original position in an instant.
"Ruru-chan's so fast! Pawns with 'Knight' leanings adapt well to irregular rule sets in the games. I bet she'll do great in upcoming matches~"
Let's see how they handle wide-range magic attacks, then. I sent out a wave of blue-white foxfire from my palm.
A hemispherical barrier formed around the three of them, blocking the flames.
"Leave defense to me."
That was Momo, now wearing an armlet that wasn't there before.
"Her Sacred Gear is called 'Applause Wall.' It allows her to instantly erect barriers within a defined range. Reya's Sacred Gear is a scouting-type tool called 'Scouting Persona.' She controls multiple eerie-looking masks that can fly out and monitor distant areas. Although it's hard to make full use of it in this mock battle…"
As Sona finished explaining, Reya launched a group of weird masks toward me. They had no offensive power—just harmlessly tapped against me with light "smack" and "pat" sounds.
It looked ridiculous—just me standing there, masks booping me all over.
"I'm not good at combat," Reya admitted, "so this is pretty much all I can do directly. When Momo or Tsubasa are around, I don't even need to set up barriers. So this is my way of contributing."
Well… I guess it would be annoying to have creepy masks buzzing around mid-fight.
"Hmm. But Reya-san, isn't that use of your Sacred Gear kind of underwhelming? Even if you're weak in combat magic, you could attach dimensional storage to each mask and release traps or poison clouds. That way you'd have an indirect offense."
"Hmm?"
"Momo, your barrier—can it trap enemies inside too?"
"Yes, it can."
"Then picture this: Reya sends a mask toward the enemy, you both trap it in a barrier, and then release poison smoke from the mask. Friendly fire risk is minimal. Pretty solid combo, don't you think?"
You could buy trap items, or Reya could learn alchemy and make them herself. There's potential here.
"Incredible… So this is Arima-kun," Sona said, glasses glinting. "Even when encountering new powers for the first time, he immediately develops ways to neutralize them. Truly fitting of a character from 'All Evil.'"
[Boss, you were born to be the bad guy.]
Did… I just get praised by Tsubaki-senpai and Bennia?
"I hadn't considered that use for Reya's power… but you're right. No need for explosives—just sealing techniques or traps hidden in the masks would give us area control and strategic dominance."
Sona began murmuring tactical calculations to herself, eyes glowing with strategy.
...Even if the Sitri household gets stronger from this, I don't mind.
"How's the mock battle going?" Rugal asked.
"Ah!"
Everyone had completely forgotten we were mid-match.
"Sorry! The ability analysis got kind of fun…"
"No worries. Arima-kun's input was quite insightful. Let's resume."
Since Reya's tactic required setup, the battle effectively continued two-on-one. I shattered Momo's barrier with a focused aura punch, disrupted Ruruko's rhythm, and forced their surrender.
"…I had confidence in my barriers, but they broke so easily…"
"One-point aura pierce is my specialty."
"Hey hey, Arima-senpai! You haven't commented on me yet. Am I perfect or what?!"
Where did Ruruko's confidence come from?
"You're over-relying on leg strength. Your kicks lose form when you boost. Work on your core—you'll improve speed, precision, and power."
She immediately got a light smack from Momo.
"Ow! Sorry, I got carried away… Oh, and Arima-senpai, just call me Ruruko. When you say '-san' it makes me nervous, like with Bennia."
"Got it."
Afterward, President Sona spoke with the newcomers, and Serafall clung to Bennia excitedly.
"Ben-chan, are you a fan of the Boob Dragon too?! You don't watch Miracle☆Levia-tan?"
[I'm a diehard fan of the Boob Dragon. Levia-tan's fine, but I prefer the original Milky series.]
"Ben-chan, you watch Milky too? I love all the series~"
[I'm loyal to the first season, but the third had its charm too.]
…Yup. That's a hundred percent hobby talk.
"Well then," Sona said, "I believe today's mock battle with Arima-kun gave you all much to think about. Let's move on to the reflection meeting."
"Yes, ma'am!"
As expected, I didn't have to join the reflection. President Sona thanked me as their representative—and so ended my interaction with the Sitri household.