One-Punch DxD: NEO
Chapter 97: Game of Mayhems

Far in the wilderness away from the two school buildings, on a tree branch with his back against the bole, he looked at the direction where the main battles were taking place while chewing on a twig.

"So… Is there a reason why I am out this far from the center?"

Noud asked Reya, talking to the floating masks near him, knowing that she could hear him.

"I…" Reya, from the old school building, had to come up with some answer quickly so she could return to her duty, "I'm afraid you will have to ask President Sona for an explanation after the game. For now, I suggest you do as you were instructed."

"Uh-huh…" Noud then glanced down, spotting Bennia and Loup who apparently had been tasked to watch over him as well, "And what are those two doing here? Why are they not out there?"

"They are our secret weapon, so to say - Rias and her group have yet to witness Bennia and Loup's capabilities."

"I can see that they're more useful out there, they're not that special. Still, an interesting selection. Where did Sona find a half-breed werewolf and grim reaper?"

Bennia and Loup perked.

They did not remember introducing their origin to this person yet he discerned their roots at first glance.

"I'm sorry. I do not have that answer."

"Did Sona ever consider how the commoners can find an interesting Peerage like this?" Noud asked.

Reya sighed - surprised that her own patience could last longer than she thought, "...Yes, yes, those things will be taught later in the senior school year."

"How dreadfully inefficient." Noud rolled his eyes. "Especially if The Chief is making you spend more of your focus on me than the battle. Are you even trying to win?"

This time, Reya simply shushed him so she could focus on her surveillance - I'm not paid enough for this job.

Even though she signed to be Sona's servant for Devil powers, managing this troublemaker was not in her contract.

"How's Lelez?" Noud asked.

Reya switched to the Mask overseeing Tsubasa's group. She saw Lelez.

As Sona predicted, Lelez demonstrated skills that a beginner should not have.

OxO

Ravel gritted her teeth through the pain as she chopped her lassoed leg to free to herself from the Absorption Line, but when she looked up, a baton smashed her into a tree as Ravel bounced off the bark before Lelez pinned her throat back to the tree with the tip of her baton while her hand grabbed her nose and pinched it close.

Lelez's judgment was too swift. If she could not damage Ravel, she went to choke her out.

Ravel tried to move her arms, but her strength left her like water leaving a broken pipe, the strength to lift her arms falling.

Eyelids were heavy, like iron suddenly glued to them, muscles slack as if ready to sleep, throat unable to utter a sound as her eyes slowly closed.

Koneko - who was facing Tsubasa, could sense Ravel's Ki flow slowing down.

"Nya!" The Nekoshou punched the ground, erupting dust to Tsubasa's surprise.

Koneko broke away from Tsubasa and pounced at Lelez, emerging from the dust to see a baton flying at her face.

It caught her off guard as it bounced off her nose, before it went to the air again and caught back by the owner.

Then Koneko's face landed into Lelez's roundhouse kick as she kicked her back to her previous position.

The dust blew away, Tsubasa seeing Koneko down on her sides.

Koneko coughed and rubbed her cheek as she picked herself to her feet. She glanced around to see Ravel was hacking and gasping for air - good, the flaming chicken made it.

"...Where'd you learn how to fight?" Koneko asked the girl.

"Mom taught me." Lelez answered.

"You have a good mom."

"She's terrible at teaching me how to hold back, though." Lelez twirled the baton around her fingers seamlessly, the rod gravitating between her fingers every second. "Dad's magic is too… unique. You want to see?"

Koneko could see the negative Ki inside the girl building, the color darkening to a pitch black she had never seen before.

Koneko went silent for a moment before replying, "I… don't think I want to find out - gut feeling speaking."

"Not bad for a Kiqira." Lelez nodded in approval.

Koneko quirked a brow.

"Excuse-?!"

Koneko stopped when Lelez's eyes flashed, sigils on each eye - prompting her to react.

"...Too late."

Lelez was already standing close to Koneko before her baton smacked into Koneko's jaw.

Koneko responded with a right hook, ten bruises appeared over her body before Lelez hit her knee and struck her jaw.

Koneko flipped in the air from the impact, coughing before she landed, her balance faltering into a stumble.

"W-What did you do to me?" Koneko demanded.

"I slowed your brain."

Koneko blinked, "…What?"

"I won't explain further." Her eyes flashed with the same sigils again.

Tsubasa and Saji stopped to see Lelez beating up Koneko.

Sona was seeing it through the masks. By wearing one of Reya's masks, she could see through the eyes of another mask, a versatile camera.

Koneko attempted the water stream, but bruises painfully colored her body, blue turning purple, swellings brutally blooming from her skin as blood trickled out her pores.

"W- -r- - -ing?!"

She couldn't hear the words reaching her ears, unable to parse some of it.

Koneko suddenly felt a bottle smashed into her body, covering her in a red glistening liquid. However, before she could have questioned anything, the liquid covering her suddenly caught fire.

"Nyah-!?"

Koneko cried out while Lelez stared at the chaos.

"...Huh?" Lelez watched Koneko flail around, then the flaming cat ran around before she crashed into a tree and fell on the floor.

"What the hell!?"

"Holy shit!"

Saji and Tsubasa turned to Ravel, the culprit nervously watching Koneko rolling left and right to put the fires out.

Even Lelez was left speechless as Koneko rolled around on the ground to put the flames out.

Noud's laughter echoed throughout the trees, holding his stomach from the sight. Another echo of laughter erupted in the gym, surprising the students watching the chaos.

Once the fire was gone, Koneko's clothes were ruined, but her wounds were gone, replaced by soot when she was flailing around earlier.

"...It worked!" Ravel cheered.

Koneko on the other hand, was not amused as she glared at Ravel while covering her exposed skin with her arms, "You crazy bitch! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"That was the mark eleven! Phew. I was afraid that I might've concentrated too much of the Phenex essence, but the fires healed you up!"

Lelez stared at the cheerful girl, "...Are you testing experimental potions in the middle of a practice match?" She summarized everything in a single question.

"Uh… yes?" Ravel smiled awkwardly.

Tsubasa and Saji stepped back from Ravel, out of a newfound fear for the girl - for her to use untested magic potions on her teammate in the middle of a match.

However, Ravel's body was slowly engulfed with a bright light.

"Hey, what's hap-?!"

Ravel's body disappeared, followed by Baraqiel's voice echoing - he sounded irritated for some reason.

[...Due to a violation of rules for bringing unregistered concoctions, Ravel Phenex - Bishop of Rias Gremory, is disqualified.]

"...What?" From different locations - Sona and Rias shared the same dumbfounded face of disbelief. Out of everything, Ravel being ejected from the game due to her own alchemical concoctions was not one of them.

"W-Wait wait, since when was that a rule?!" Rias shouted with panic that their only healer was out.

They might have some of her healing items, but they might not be able to use them anymore.

[The rule states that items brought into Rating Games have to be registered - Phoenix Tears and Sacred Gears or Enchanted Artifacts if participants happen to possess them. However, Lady Phenex's prototype concoctions that have been used so far are not registered into the system yet. Thus she is removed from the match by default.]

"Urk…" Rias could not argue against that rule. "So… we can't use the healing items anymore?"

[You cannot, although Phoenix Tears are still allowed. However, I recommend that you use them wisely for the sake of your relationship with the students.]

OxO

Back in the auditorium, some of the students were jeering and whispering among each other.

"So they are allowed to use those expensive Phoenix Tears? Talk about cheating."

"But I heard you are only allowed to take around one or two for each team, so they can't use them carelessly, right?"

"But that Rias Gremory got someone from the Phenex clan - doesn't this mean that she can have her producing those tears on the fly?"

"How expensive are Phoenix Tears again?" Omeri asked.

"I heard one vial can eat away five years of the average man's salary. Twenty for minimum wage."

"That's bullshit!"

"How do we win against that?!"

[Students.]

Baraqiel's voice then echoed across the hall, his commanding and dignified tone ceased the noises as everyone gave him undivided attention.

[I suggest you consider this small incident as a lesson for your future Rating Games. Your ability to allocate and manage the resources given to you, will be one of the important factors that can determine whether you will come out on top or not. On a related note, while pureblood devils of Phenex Household are capable of producing Phoenix Tears; make no mistake - those are not easy to manufacture. Producing a single vial of Phoenix Tears requires an elaborate ritual and care where even the slightest exposure of impurity will render the tears powerless.]

Everyone who was jeering and criticizing earlier, became silent as they held their face down in embarrassment.

[Take heart, children. Instead of lamenting what other people have over you, focus on what you plan to do in future. This mock Rating Game serves more than just a mere entertainment, this is a demonstration meant for you to know what you are going to involve yourselves in. Have a very careful look and learn of everything that occurs in this match; every mistake, every feat and every decision done by participants; that experience will serve you well, depending on how you take it in your eyes.]

The students muttered amongst each other as they debated Baraqiel's lecture.

OxO

Listening to Baraqiel who masterfully turned the whole show into a lesson, Rias and Sona started to understand that they might be too out of touch with the commoners, to resort to their higher standing, their access to resources no commoner could achieve, too easily on instinct.

While everyone was focused on the lecture, Akeno sneakily waded through the cover of nature, trees and leaves hiding her from the distracted flying masks surveilling the battlefield. Honestly, Ravel's exile took everyone by surprise, especially seeing one of Ravel's prototypes setting Koneko on fire.

Her swift wit screamed at her to take the chance to destroy Sona's eyes and ears. She shot from the foliage like an arrow and burst through the windows, seeing the surprised miens of Momo and Reya, the reflection of Akeno's holy lightning seen from their eyes.

"Reya, get behind me!" Momo shouted as she activated her own Sacred Gear, "Applause Wall!"

Blinding flash followed by the roar of thunder alerted everyone's attention back to the Old School building.

"Reya!" Sona cursed under her breath, wasting her Knight and Rook to keep Noud in check.

Ruruko ran as fast as she could towards Reya and Momo's location, however…

[Reya Kusaka - Bishop of Sona Sitri, retired.]

Baraqiel's voice echoed throughout the field, causing Sona to click her tongue and Ruruko's face to pale in worry. However, at the same time - Momo's retirement was not announced.

Back at ground zero, Momo was on her knees, clutching at her burns caused by Akeno's holy lightning.

Akeno stood before Momo and smiled.

"...I will apologize in advance for what I'm going to do next."

"Eh?"

Momo blinked as the Queen clenched her fist. Copying video game's most iconic move, the one that took out Diodora in the video, Akeno uppercutted Momo's chin with lightning in her knuckles, jumping for extra force as she twirled in full revolution.

Momo's body crashed into the ceiling, then slowly vanished in motes of light before gravity could pull her down.

[...Momo Hanakai - Bishop of Sona Sitri, retired.]

"Sorry, but I've been training my close-combat skills to impress Ise, ufufu~!"

Back in the auditorium, the majority of male audiences had blushes on their faces as they swallowed a small lump at the live footage of Akeno's sheepish yet bewitching smile. The female audiences, on the other hand, were mixed between jealousy and admiration.

Back to the game - Akeno looked around as she talked to her comms, "Rias, I've taken care of Sona's eyes and ears, now I'm heading to-!"

The window glass shattered, broken shards scattering in her direction followed by the flying foot of a familiar face.

Akeno moved, her hair was barely scraped as Ruruko landed on the wall, breaking it down before she wall-jumped and flipped to the floor, striking a fighting stance.

"My, my, took you long enough, Ruruko-chan." Akeno greeted as electricity crackled between her fingers.

"Yeah, looks like you've taken care of my friends, Akeno-senpai." Ruruko smirked.

"I had to. Your Noud is becoming a menace and I have to save my King's face." Akeno returned with her own smirk.

Ruruko's cybernetic legs hummed to life, fibers tensing as energy whirred in those limbs, and exploded with strength beyond what a Pawn should possess.

Confined in a small space, Akeno could not use her spells at this distance.

Ruruko struck with the intent to end a squishy mage as Issei liked to say, trying to smash her face with her flying kneecap.

But she failed to feel the sensation of Akeno's skull, looking down to see Akeno's crossed palms blocking her attack. However, the force behind her charge was still able to push Akeno to skidding back a distance, as the Queen's feet dug into the wooden floor.

A split second later, Ruruko followed with a swing of her other leg.

But to the viewers' suspense, the beauty ducked at the last second as Ruruko's momentum swung her out of balance, rolling across the floor in her failed landing before she rolled back to her feet.

"Since when were you this tough?! You're a mage!" Ruruko cried out.

Akeno kept smirking, "Have you forgotten what position I have in Rias' peerage?"

"Yeah, but you've never fought with your hands! I refuse to lose to you in a close fight, even if you're a Queen!" Ruruko hopped up and down, left and right as she raised her hands.

"Fufufufu. Don't forget that I have close access to the best mentors. And let me dare to assume… Kickboxing? Or Tae Kwon Do?" Akeno replied as her mind recalled the days she was under Black's tor- tutelage.

Yes, tutelage.

She asked for this, even though she sensed evil in that thing's smile.

There was no way an army of alien black teletubbies would abuse their multiplying numbers and gang upon her, all magic and powers sealed, for pure entertainment. Black would not relish her screams for breaks and mercy and kick her while she was down just for fun.

"My original recipe!" Ruruko jabbed and kicked the air, finishing with a high reverse roundhouse kick, gusts blown and tersely lifted Akeno's hair. "My goal is to become a one-kick girl! Same as Issei-senpai and Saitama!" Ruruko declared.

Akeno snorted, "My, what a bold declaration! Let's see if you are worthy of such a title!"

"En garde!" Ruruko goofily responded as she and Akeno clashed, lightning-infused fists fending off her heavy metal legs.

[Woooooooooo!]

Back in the auditorium - The students were cheering at the intense fight as the old school building cracked piece by piece from every strike Ruruko threw at Akeno.

Holy lightning danced across the breaking floor, dispersed by fists and legs.

Akeno's Holy Lightning was difficult to fend against, but anti-angel techniques refined during the Great War were hammered into Ruruko and her friends to deal with Akeno.

Ruruko's legs were fast and struck with the force of a missile; each impact could force Akeno's legs to skid against the floor, and the Queen could feel the vibration throughout her arms when she had to block the Pawn's attacks.

Everytime her foot graced the ground, it cracked, every step leaving imprints on the hard floor, splints scattering everywhere.

Akeno could feel her bones cracking from blocking each attack.

"This is my first time facing off against you… Those legs are more powerful than what I saw during your sparring match with Ise." Akeno remarked as she managed to gain some distance.

Keeping up her pressure on Akeno, Ruruko replied, "Thanks! After all, these legs have been implanted with Azazel-sensei's artificial Sacred Gear - Procellarum Phantom!"

With a leap, Ruruko slammed her heel down on Akeno's raised forearms.

The floor beneath shattered with crumbling stone as Akeno punched through the floors below like a nail struck by a giant's hammer.

Her spine landed first on the ground floor, her arms slack as Ruruko's broke through her guard and slammed her heel into her ribs.

Her ribs nearly caved in from the landing and the impact on her center, yet she saved enough strength to retaliate as she aimed her hands at Ruruko.

But Ruruko jumped back, backflipped once and landed in a crouch, fingers touching the ground as the toes of her shoes scraped the plaster. She looked like a cat ready to pounce again.

"Kuhuhuhu… My my, did Koneko or Kuroka tutor you behind my back?" Akeno asked regarding Ruruko's feline grace.

Ruruko paused as her expression shifted a tad awkwardly, "Err…. Your father, actually."

Akeno blinked, "I beg your pardon?"

"Ummmmmmm… Yeah. Azazel left me under his guidance, so… while you were busy with your training? I think?" Ruruko explained sheepishly.

"I see…" Akeno nodded before she pouted at the space above her.

Meanwhile, under his usual stoic expression, Baraqiel inwardly prayed to whatever deities out there that his daughter was not too upset with him.

But Ruruko charged in with a flying kick spearing her stomach in her momentary distraction.

The Queen coughed drops of blood and spittles before she was sent crashing through a couple of walls until she landed on the dented wall of the next room.

Coughing spittles of blood, spittle, and gasps, an ache in her gut, she barely jumped back to lessen the damage, but it was still enough to put her in a critical condition.

Supporting herself against the wall with her other hand on her gut, Akeno managed to get back on her feet with one hand caressing her throbbing gut, barely with enough wind within when Ruruko suddenly flew from the hole on the wall which Akeno crashed through.

Ruruko's devil wings were spread as she flew, running on the ceiling until she was above Akeno, then catapulted down perfectly vertical as she flipped, ready to crush the goomba under her.

Ruruko missed as she struck the ground.

Akeno barely leapt away in time to see the ground beneath them cratering, replicated furniture and splinters of expensive wooden floors scattered. Ruruko turned to Akeno, ready to move with accelerating momentum and claim her first victory against an enemy Queen.

But Akeno tackled her when she should have jumped away.

The two thrashed and wrestled on the ground, with Akeno quickly mounted on top of Ruruko's smaller frame.

Ruruko thrashed, but Akeno grabbed her wrists and smiled fiercely.

"See ya~"

Akeno channeled her divine lightning directly into her palm, a critical shocking grasp electrocuting the girl with holy lightning.

"A-BA-BA-BA-BA-AARGH!" Ruruko screamed as the electric shock coursed through her body - normal lightning would have been fatal, but holy lightning?

Ruruko could feel her bones boiling within her blood while her blood vaporized out of her skin, her skeleton shown in intermittent flashes in her spasmic final throes.

Akeno smirked, knowing that no Devil had the power to resist this finisher technique, but her smile faltered when two thick thighs clamped her head.

It felt like she was pressed under a blunt guillotine as Ruruko countered by shifting her legs and followed with a triangle leg chokehold and rolled to the side, trying to throw Akeno off her while her legs tightened around her neck.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The male students cheered at the sight of Ruruko burying Akeno's head into her crotch, their devil instincts appealed by the catfight bordering on yuri. Akeno struggled to fight back, refusing to let go of Ruruko's wrists as she gagged, feeling blue, her face turning blue as Ruruko tightened her legs even more against Akeno, a war to see which one would fall first to the other….

And Ruruko gave in first.

If she held on for a few seconds longer, Akeno would have been the one leaving in defeat.

[Ruruko Nimura - Pawn of Sona Sitri, retired.]

Akeno allowed herself to lay on the ground, heaving and breathing heavily to soothe her aching body. Ruruko had done more damage to her than she anticipated. It was going to be some time later until Akeno could rejoin the fight, then again she would not be at tip top shape anymore.

OxO

"Ruruko!" Sona grit her teeth - she was currently stationed somewhere near the gym building.

She had lost three crucial members of her Peerage. She had been trying to teach the students a lesson, but her spirit as King, her pride, beckoned her to do whatever it takes to win against her rival.

"Um…"

Sona then remembered that she was not alone. The student who volunteered voiced her concern, as well as Tsubaki.

"Lady Sitri? Are we going to be alright like this? What do we do now?" Tahari asked with a worried expression.

Sona quickly took a deep breath to recollect herself. The last thing she could do was to look pathetic in front of a student.

"Yes… Yes, we can still do this, Ms. Tahari." Sona then turned to her Queen, "Tsubaki, go back to the old building. Whoever fought Ruruko might still be around and recovering, we can't afford to waste Ruruko's effort."

"Understood." Tsubaki nodded, she sent one last glance at Tahari before taking off with her training halberd.

Sona considered her options. Her eyes twitched when she recalled the problem student.

Her pride was also stabbing her in the heart. She did not want to let that thing get the spotlight. There were many things about him that screamed abnormal, he was too skilled to be here as far as she knew.

And his magic was inherently alien…

Sona closed her eyes, considering the rest of her options, until she opened them.

"...Tsk. Alright… I am probably going to regret this." Sona bit down her pride… well, the pride she wanted to reclaim from Noud as a teacher.

She would handle whatever comes next. She summoned the comm magic circle on her palm and placed it on her ear.

[Noud… It's your turn now.]

Hearing Sona's voice from his comm - Noud perked from the tree, along with Bennia and Loup.

"...Really? Right now?" Noud asked.

[Yes, now. Loup, go check on Tomoe. Bennia, you will go with Noud to take out Rias' Knights.]

Noud grinned, then he pointed his finger at the distance.

"So I can finally do whatever it takes to give our team victory?" Noud asked as magic gathered in his finger, his smile widening.

[...Yes.]

Sona sounded hesitant on that end.

Loup's ears twitched as he looked up, seeing a thin magical beam drawing a line across his vision.

Meanwhile, Rias was inwardly cheering Akeno on while Tosca was in the background, Rias talking with Akeno with the same communication magic circle.

"Great job, Akeno! Keep going like this! Yuuto is escorting Millicas to Sona's base. While Lint is busy searching for Sona's position, I need you to go find that damn sniper before-"

A sharp shrilling pitch sliced through her ear and cheek.

Rias froze. She slowly reached for her wound, feeling the blood slightly trickle down her cheek.

"Ah. Missed." Noud frowned in disappointment. "Maybe if I adjust my angle…"

Noud fired again while Rias was stunned from the sudden pain. Maybe he could hit her head this time.

"...Hm?" Noud tilted his head.

His second shot was blocked by something. He fired five more rapid beams at the King in the distance.

The barrier cracked and shattered, but the redhead forelocks had enough time to flee screaming with her hands holding her head.

Noud smiled and snorted. So the soul accompanying Rias decided to act this time and defend her Chief.

Time to have some fun as he continued firing.

OxO

Meanwhile...

"AKENO! YUUTO! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Rias shrieked as another projectile just missed her head by a hair's breadth. Despite the onslaught on herself, Rias still made sure that Tosca was not in the line of fire.

Sona - or at least the apparent wild cards in her team was intending to end the game as soon as possible.

Her feet stomped on the ground as she barreled through the thickets, weaving between the cluster of trees to hide from the sniper.

She panted as she pressed her back against the brown bark of a large tree - with Tosca next to her; her chest expanding and contracting for heavy intakes of air to calm her nerves as anxiety chewed her from the inside out.

She needed help. She could try to block the attacks with magic, but that would be temporary.

Yuuto might be the best for this, but he'll have to abandon Millicas to take out the sniper.

Either way, she could not deal with this. She hadn't seen any videos of ANY Peerage having this level of accuracy and firepower over such long distances without resorting to explosive magical attacks that covered much of the terrain.

She needed to sense the magic power instead of relying on her sight. She closed her eyes and focused on the direction the sniper fired from, but the distance was too far-

Three more beams flew, none aimed at her.

She opened her eyes to see the beams hitting the trees around her… And ricocheting from the barks until the three beams flew at her from three different directions, all aimed for her head.

Rias' eyes widened before closing, her arms raised up for a desperate defense against the inevitable impact.

…..Only for the said impact to never land. When Rias opened her eyes, she watched the light projectiles to be suspended in mid-air a meter away from her.

"Hah…. hah… R-Rias… D-Did I make it?"

She turned to Tosca, the girl was panting with exertion but she had her hands aimed at her.

Around Rias, a thin film of golden light surrounded her, holding back the projectiles at bay.

"T-Tosca?" Rias was not sure how to react, but her heart leapt for joy that there was someone to stop the sniper's rampage.

"Interesting…" Noud rubbed his chin. He aimed his hand at Rias direction, this time using four of his five fingers, all charged with magic as each finger fired as he experimented with the trajectories and angles of the ricochets.

His fingers moved as if puppeteering a marionette, firing more beams while Loup and Benniia stared at Noud, confused by his actions. They heard Rias' screams from the forest…

Bennia was not sure but…

"Um… President Sona." Bennia decided to call Sona for assistance using the magic circle. "Are snipers common in the Rating Games or something?"

Bennia did not know how to word her question currently, especially with the fading echoes of Rias' screams crying in the distance every time Noud fired in that direction.

[Not as uncommon as people tend to expect. What is going on? I can hear a little of Rias screaming - are you engaging her?]

"….Not really." Bennie glanced at Noud again, "The newbie seems to be handling everything from what I can tell."

[Whatever he's doing seems to put a pressure on her. Keep it up for now, and keep the look out. As long as Rias' retirement is not announced, we need to assume that she is going to come up with something else sooner or later.]

"Roger that, prez."

Meanwhile, projectiles were bouncing from tree to tree, chasing after the panting redhead as one beam burned off more of her red hair.

It was like the number of snipers multiplied by four and they were all shooting at Rias, and they all had some sort of aimbot cheat, always aiming for her head.

"Tosca! How long can you maintain the barrier?!" Rias shrieked as the barrier was cracking.

The bastard's aim was too good, beams hitting behind the beams suspended in midair and pushing them further into the barrier.

Cracks were already forming, the barrier ready to shatter.

"I… I don't know! N-not for long!" Tosca replied between her labored breathing, sweat was pouring down her head.

Rias decided to make a break for it.

"Tosca, I'm going to run. At the count of three, drop the barrier. The sniper won't likely aim for you. If he wanted to, he would've taken you out already."

Tosca only replied with a shaky nod as she was already having a hard time staying on her feet.

"One…"

Rias straightened her back, her knees bent as she turned towards the direction of the new school building.

"Two…"

She could leave Tosca. If she brought Tosca with her, the sniper would get both of them, and her head was the linchpin keeping her team in the game.

If her head was lost, they would lose automatically.

But…

"Three!" Rias bolted, pulling Tosca by her hand as she bolted out from her hiding spot.

Despite being unable to run at her maximum speed due to weakened Tosca holding her back, Rias would curse herself forever should she left her charge behind.

Tosca meeped when Rias decided to even stop on her track so she could carry her piggyback style.

"U-Um…"

"I know!" Rias shouted.

"But…"

"I won't leave my Peerage behind! Even if I have to risk my head!"

"Hoh?" From his spot - Noud lowered his hand. "She refuses to leave her companion? Foolish choice. She is still naive when it comes to leading her army to a victory. Though…."

If Noud wanted to, he could end it there, finish off her companion in cold blood and then the leader.

"That naivete… I don't hate it." Noud decided to let her go.

"But it would be boring if I discontinue from this." So he decided to choose another target, "Let's see…. Someone more interesting… how about them?"

Noud moved his right arm to the right, at the direction of the two souls running towards their base - or to be precise, they were currently moving through the gym building.

Time to see if he could adjust the output to punch through the materials with just enough force to not blast their heads off their shoulders.

Koneko leapt out from another bush as she was trying to shake off her pursuers. Thanks to the earlier blunder, Koneko was left alone to deal with three enemies.

Where do I go?

That question came to mind as she took cover behind a sizable tree - big enough to cover her frame, as she concealed her presence.

Should she go back to the old school building? She was already quite far away from the said building now.

She perked - Something slithered through the grass and lashed at her like a viper, forcing Koneko to jump.

She held onto a branch and swung herself forward, devil wings spread as she took flight. She glanced back, grimacing at her pursuers along with a hydra of slippery white tentacles wreathed in desiccating purple bloomed from Saji's gecko gauntlet.

"I hate tentacle-porn." Koneko passed on her thoughts.

"Thanks for coming out into the open!"

Koneko's eyes widened as she sensed someone hovering above her, just in time for Tsubasa to glomp over her frame, bringing both of the Rooks to the unforgiving ground.

Koneko grimaced as the bluenette grabbed her wrists as they both wrestled each other, the tomboy grinning in seeing the once-stoic catgirl grunting in her struggle as the tentacles wrapped around her arms and legs.

"Hah! Come on, Koneko-chan! Are you gonna show me your Super Saiyan form and break out of this!?" Tsubasa taunted as she dismounted Koneko, letting Saji hoist the catgirl up by the arms and legs.

Completely immobilized in mid-air, Koneko tugged at her restraints some more before she finally gave a harsh exhale. Saji also came out from the trees with his Absorption Line began to sap Koneko's demonic power.

"...You have climbed the pecking order well to evolve into a hentai monster." Koneko threw a verbal strike at Saji.

Mostly because she knew that it was an absolute pain to rip out the tentacles, and Noud made sure that none of them had weapons sharp enough to cut the tentacles down.

Thinking about it, while his suggestion to remove actual weapons was fair, it did put Rias' team more at a disadvantage.

"If those are your last words, I'll say that it hurts to call me a degenerate." Saji retorted.

"Tentacle bitch." Koneko threw a second jab.

"That's the next best thing you can come up with?" Tsubasa returned with a raised eyebrow.

"I hope you know the students are watching. I hope that they know about your hidden tentacle fetish. They're probably waiting for you to molest a girl you just caught. Bet you can feel good with these things." Koneko replied.

Tsubasa glanced at Saji, who blushed a little but knew better than showing too much reaction. The Rook then returned her attention to the Nekomata, "I know you got a mouth despite how you look, but did you really have to make things weird? Anyway, it's game over to you."

"...Like hell it is."

However, their moment of victory was interrupted by a metal sphere landing between Tsubasa and Koneko, before the area was enveloped in a blinding light. Saji shielded his closed eyes before something suddenly slammed onto his back.

The light stung, scalding. The blinding sensation was burning his eyes through their eyelids a little.

Saji felt a blunt impact struck to his nape as Lint dropped from a tree, slamming her practice weapon atop of the tentacle boy.

Saji coughed as his vision grew blurry - his disorientation caused his losing his hold on Koneko, while Lint Sellzen ran to the Rook in question and caught her.

"We're bouncing out!" Lint shouted as she spread her Devil wings and flew away from the two most dangerous combatants of Sona's arsenal.

"Ugh, dammit! Saji, after them!" Tsubasa recovered from her momentary blindness first as she gave chase with the Pawn following behind her.

"W-Wait, wait, I just got sneak attacked!" Saji stumbled as his vision was disoriented, his sense of balance unstable in his clumsy steps.

Lelez did not join them as she quoted 'three is excessive' and went to support the others since Ravel took herself out, which was surprising to everyone. Might as well go to check on her tactless 'brother'.

OxO

Meanwhile, Millicas and Yuuto were fleeing from their destination.

Chased by ricocheting lasers bouncing from the trees and stones, panic sweat trickling from their skin as they sprinted with all of their might.

"Akeno! President! Anyone?! We need help! The sniper is aiming for us!"

Yuuto swung his practice sword and deflected a beam from hitting Millicas into a tree.

"I think this is fun!" Millicas was a little excited, however.

To his credit - Yuuto was still able to give a wry smile at his junior, "Glad that you are enjoying this, young master! But let's do our best to survive for now!"

Yuuto ran between Millicas and the sniper's direction and raised his sword as a rapid succession of beams hammered against his weapon. After blocking and deflecting more projectiles, the Knight noticed something - it seemed as if the sniper was aiming specifically for his weapon instead of his body.

Yuuto's eyes then widened when he heard the crack of his weapon - the sniper planned to deal with his weapon first. Another beam pierced through the tree and shattered Yuuto's sword, the length of his cover practically vestigial at this point, the sniper pouring more penetrating power in his shots now.

[Yuuto!]

Rias shouted from the other side of the comms as Yuuto could only wish that he had Muramasa by his side at this point. However, a crimson black sphere of energy flew past the corner of his vision and through the tree that was pierced, the pinpoint now a gaping wide hole as Noud quirked a brow.

"Now they're returning fire?" Noud scoffed as he watched the sphere of Destruction veer off course, far from his position.

Yuuto turned to see Millicas with both his hands at front.

"Young master?"

"I'm shooting back!" Millicas cheerfully explained.

In return, a beam flew over Millicas' head and burned off a portion of his crimson hair. The scent of burned follicles smoked from the boy's scalp while Yuuto stared at the near bald spot.

It was like the sniper missed on purpose to dare Millicas to challenge him.

Millicas reached for the burned spot and rubbed it.

"...How do I look?" Millicas asked Yuuto, feeling the missing portion of his hair.

"You…. Look just fine, young master." Yuuto replied while avoiding eye contact.

Another beam flew over Millicas' head.

And another.

And another.

Yuuto stared at the clean hole burned through Millicas' hair, rich crimson reduced to sizzling black.

Now the audience knew that the sniper was taunting Millicas, brazenly mocking him to try.

Taking the answer in stride, Millicas then extended his arm into a finger-gun pose, a condensed Power of Destruction sphere hovering before his finger tips.

"Challenge accepted! I will hit you for Big Sis!"

Noud grinned as he decided to wait to see if the boy could hit him.

Bennia was explaining the situation to Sona, Loup already following the beam Noud fired.

[How far is the distance between Noud and his target?]

Sona asked.

Everyone noticed Millicas' power flaring, the crimson sphere shooting across the distance announcing the location of Rias' only pawn.

Sona was trying to digest the fact that Noud was in fact sniping at Rias and her team since the beginning of the match, and a part of her was trying to deny that there was someone in this school with a level of pinpoint accuracy that could put all of the long range fighters she knew to shame.

Not even Sona or Sirzechs could do this, mostly because she had never heard of anyone that could do that without resorting to AOE attacks.

"Pretty far from where I'm looking." Bennia answered as she took flight, levitating beside Noud to gauge the distance using Millicas' faint presence as the marker.

[That's absolutely absurd! How is he able to find anyone from that distance?! Not even our kind's enhanced vision could give us the edge like this!]

Sona shrieked while Tahari watched the founder of Auros Academy break down.

"Let me ask. Hey, Noud. The boss wants to know if you are actually sniping the other team from all the way here," Bennia asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Noud looked at her.

"...How do you know where the others are all this time?" Bennia asked, realizing that Noud was bullying Rias when she heard the screams from the distance.

"Not telling. I decided to challenge the boy with the red hair to see if he can hit me from this distance." Noud then continued with his small showdown with Millicas.

"...You're challenging Rias' little brother to a shootout?" Bennia asked.

The reaper forgot that Millicas was Rias' nephew when she asked, but… honestly, she looked and acted more like his big sister.

"Mhm. Tell the werewolf to not interfere. He can have the blonde swordsman, though. Oh, the boy's preparing something."

Noud leaned forward as a crimson sheen shone from the distance.

He could see that the boy was trying something flashy, and his control over his energy was below his standards.

A sphere of Power of Destruction flew, zipped across the distance, past him - about half a meter away to his left. More flashes, followed by more spheres zipping even closer around his frame. Bennia yelped as she ducked, landing back on the ground to avoid being a casualty of this sniper duel.

Noud's lips then grew into a grin.

"To think I'll meet someone that can rival my genius!" Noud laughed at Millicas as he aimed his finger at him. "Time to show him his place as the older one."

He fired several beams, several ricocheting across the terrain before he fired a piercing shot.

Millicas felt another beam flying across the hole in his hair, perfectly hitting the same spot. He frowned, but his frown turned to panic when he saw several more beams bouncing across the trees…

All aiming for that same hole in his hair from different unpredictable angles. This time, his opponent was showing off his superiority with his accuracy. Yuuto wanted to remind Millicas about their mission to get him promoted to Queen, but decided not to as Millicas was keeping the sniper busy.

Millicas scowled, but his eyes did not show any sign of surrendering - if his opponent wanted to play that way….

Millicas then focused on regulating his Power of Destruction - dark red energy then began to occur and coating his frame. It was a technique that he had been developing based on the stories he heard about his father's true form.

The incoming projectiles were immediately dispersed as soon as they made contact with the Power of Destruction coating, bringing a smile to Millicas' face - his technique could not be compared to his father, but it would do for the time being as his defensive measure.

Noud narrowed his eyes. He could see the werewolf was approaching the two… and a few others from his team were getting curious. The other team were flocking towards their shootout like moths to a bright lamp.

He waited as a crimson sphere shot out at him - a large, obvious, blunt and brute force, the kind that a mage would use to fall a giant or dragon.

It was slow, However, the large crimson black sphere was flying towards him…

Noud jumped from the tree… it angled downward as it was aimed at him - chasing him.

"I see, not bad. Using my magical signature to follow." Noud was impressed.

His smirk widened as he threw a bright flare of his magical energy.

Millicas blinked when he saw the bright light of magic heading lobbed towards his direction, hurled over the trees and angled towards him. What he and Yuuto did not expect was the crimson sphere of destruction following that bright light towards their position.

"E-EH?!" Millicas made loud noises of shock, bafflement. "H-How!? I made sure that it'll hit him!?"

Thankfully, before Millicas' Power of Destruction could have reached them, a sphere of Ki and Nature Energy collided and destroyed the incoming projectile mid air.

"Koneko!" Yuuto was relieved to see Koneko join them.

"Yo! What's with the shootout?! You seem to be having fun." Lint followed.

Koneko and Lint stood with the two, both looking at the direction the sniper was shooting in the distance.

They could barely see the miniscule shape of the sniper hopping back on a tree branch, languidly lazing with his back to the bole.

"This person is dangerous. If only I had Muramasa, I might do something, but real weapons are banned… though I should consider this as a good lesson on my failures." Yuuto regrettably admitted.

"Um…. Can't you conjure a blunt sword from your own Sacred Gear?" Lint commented.

Yuuto recalled the raving rage of his sword instructor screaming bloody murder if he dared to try something that would besmirch the gift he was granted, the dwarf raging threats upon threats to his well-being if he made something… inferior.

Honestly, he never thought that a dwarf would traumatize him with words alone.

The Knight took several deep breaths as he came to a decision.

"...Whatever I'm using in this match, will you promise me that they will stay in this match?" Yuuto asked while meeting his comrades' eyes with his own.

Lint blinked and glanced at the other juniors, whose expressions mirrored hers, then she replied, "Err, yeah, sure. Our lips are sealed."

Yuuto regarded his comrades for a second before nodding, "Thank you."

The Knight then conjured what appeared to be a long sword with a blunt edge, then he received looks from Lint.

"You're, uh… You're not gonna do anything else with that?"

Yuuto blinked this time - his eyes darting between Lint and his new creation before tilting his head, "...What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you tell me! You ask us to keep secrets of whatever you're gonna do, so are you gonna pull off this big move or not?!"

"What do you mean? I meant to keep the fact that I'm using my Sacred Gear a secret! I'm not pulling Muramasa into this fight!" Yuuto shouted back.

Koneko tilted her head, "Why are you making a big deal out of using your own Sacred Gear?"

Yuuto bit his lower lip, grimacing a little, "Let's say that….. My sword-smithing teacher has conveyed his dislike towards the usage of my Sacred Gear, very thoroughly." He ended while shuddering.

Lint and Koneko stared at the Knight before they exchanged glances.

"...Sure, cool. What are we doing now?" Lint decided to move on.

Her response was a laser shooting over her head, burning through her hair over her scalp.

Lint stared at Yuuto as everyone watched Lint feel for her missing hair.

"...I think we should deal with the sniper." Koneko immediately answered.

"Eh?! But I was about to get him back for ruining my hair!" Millicas pointed at his messed up crimson hair.

"Millicas, you can challenge him after the match. He isn't the only enemy here." Koneko reminded.

Noud languidly stared at the group, waiting for them to make their move or else he would start shooting their heads off one by one.

"Hey." Noud called out.

Lelez hopped onto another tree branch and laid her back on the bark.

The two watched their teammates surrounding Rias' group in the distance.

"...It is the first time I saw you hold back on something like this." Lelez commented.

"I don't know. I might be fond of these souls." Noud remarked.

"...You're not going to shoot one of them in the butt?" Lelez smiled.

"...Oh."

Noud pointed his finger at the catgirl and fired.

"Nyah?!" Koneko jolted when she felt something pricking at her rear. She quickly turned around with her hands covering and massaging her throbbing buttocks.

"Take cover!" Lint shouted as everyone quickly moved out of the line of fire.

Lelez and Noud chuckled at their reaction.

"...What do you think of them?" Lelez asked.

Noud's smile fell.

"...Naive, but I don't hate them. It is still too early to judge them. Father will hold their prosperity against them as one of their crimes, benefitting from our kind's loss."

"...And you?"

"I don't want to see them die." Noud answered.

He fired another laser, ricocheting it into the blonde boy's butt next, causing him to smirk in amusement when his cries echoed throughout the arena.

"I can understand the anger from seeing the world turn in the favor of monsters despite their karma. But for now, I see the present not as the past. However, our current 'Chief' is a bit… funnily misguided for her to fall so low as to cast me out as much as she can to impress her students. And yes, I know your Chief's intentions, Bennia."

Bennia yelped when Noud addressed her, knowing that she was listening in. She thought Noud forgot about her in his terrorizing Rias' Peerage.

"I think it's cute." Lelez smiled.

"Well, too bad she cannot understand the limitations of her students. Oh, they're finally acting."

Clouds crackled with holy lightning as a certain nephilim channeled all of her power in his direction.

Noud and Lelez blinked at the light show, as an arc of holy lightning shot towards them. They were about to intercept when a familiar face suddenly appeared between them and the lightning strike.

"Mirror Alice!"

A large, full-body mirror suddenly appeared and took the brunt of the lightning blast. But as the mirror shattered, the lightning strike was reflected twice the size towards the caster.

From her position - Akeno gasped at the sight of her signature attack being redirected back to her. She conjured a defensive spell just in time her own lightning made it to her.

"KYAAAH!" The angelic spark shattered through her spell like glass and struck her like a lance into her skin and bones.

Akeno cried out in pain at the taste of her own holy lightning - she had a certain resistance for her own affinity, but the holy element had become a bane due to her devil reincarnation.

Half of her flesh repelled the damage while the rest conducted against her will. Genos explained that her Evil Piece was grounding the holy element and scattered the damage to her fundamental being, meaning her Evil Piece was absorbing the holy damage and making her suffer for it.

The Queen of Rias Gremory fell to the ground like a pigeon that lost its wings; while in pain, she was still struggling to get back on her feet while clutching at her shoulder, which collided to the ground first when she fell.

Tsubaki herself was not faring much better upon closer inspection - her clothes were singed and slightly torn, exposing some skin with her arms and legs sporting some mild burns and bruises. Her halberd had been broken and discarded, leaving her barehanded.

"Tsubaki-senpai!?" Bennia approached the Sitri Queen with a worried look.

"Apologies for my tardiness. Akeno was already more than troublesome for me to handle alone before she decided to break away to aim for our rookies." Tsubaki replied with a tired sigh, "…But keep your guard up - turns out Akeno is also stronger than my estimations."

Bennia turned to the direction where Tsubaki was staring at, seeing Akeno standing on unsteady legs. Her ponytail had been undone, causing her raven black hair to freely fall to her back. Her skin was covered in soot and first degree burns, and her breathing was labored.

Nonetheless, despite her condition, Akeno smiled fearlessly, "….And here I thought you do not want to involve the 'rookies.' Are you that desperate to want their aid, or is it that you're afraid you'll be outclassed?"

Tsubaki found herself smirking wryly and shrugging, "To be fair, our hands are forced because of you."

"My my, how are your hands? Are they so defective that you fall to your newly acquired 'sniper' this easily?" Akeno returned before she went into a brief coughing fit, spitting out a few drops of blood.

"Huh, they're funny, Lelez. Now I'm wondering if we could use words to beat the other team." Noud snarked from his vantage point.

"You're having too much fun at the expense of everyone's suffering." Lelez dryly remarked.

Noud scoffed as he pointed his finger at Akeno, intending to finish her off to 'end her suffering' or so Lelez implied…. Only for him to lower his hand down.

"What came to your mind now?" Lelez raised an eyebrow.

"While I can end the nephilim, this match is purely for the students' entertainment… I mean education."

"Your tongue slipped." Lelez giggled.

"...And they seem to have something between them. It's like they're hidden lovers with a spat wanting to physically connect but wouldn't because of their pride." Noud ignored Lelez' remark.

Akeno raised on her feet, her purchase on the soil unsteady as her devil aspect still reeled from her reflected attack.

Tsubaki summoned a mirror on her arm, wielding it like a shield, her stance shifting as she slowly angled her left knee down as her other hand laid over her shield, mirror and open palm facing Akeno.

Bennia watched Akeno summon her lightning, yellow electricity dancing between her fingers as she aimed both at Tsubaki, a serious mien donning her once-stoic features.

"...Should we help?" Bennia asked.

"No, let's watch the lovers' spat. It'll be more interesting that way." Noud waved Bennia off.

Bennia was not sure, but Tsubaki had a thing going on that screamed 'do not interfere'. Most likely to prove and test herself against Rias' Queen…

"...Alright." Bennia should at least call Sona just in case to update on the development.

"...I see. If there's someone among us who can fight Akeno one on one, Tsubaki is our best choice." Sona nodded as Bennia relayed the current information to her telepathic link.

[But what should we do? This battle is becoming too… chaotic. Also, I am feeling a bit useless. I haven't done a single thing since we started…]

Bennia said with dejection in her voice.

Sona allowed a small smile on her face, "Trust me, Bennia. Having you to keep an eye on Noud is an immense help for me. Speaking of, what is he doing now?"

[Just watching. Also, shooting at the others in the distance mostly to harass them. Like right now.]

NYAAAAA!

Sona felt a faint pulse of energy in the distance followed by Koneko's cry echoing from another location.

[I think he shot Koneko… he told me he shot her in the butt.]

Sona sighed as she felt another migraine incoming - this was becoming too much. Sona planned to head to the new school building to use her advantage and at least draw Rias into her turf.

But at this point, Noud was making all of her efforts moot, the ability to hit others from an extremely long distance with ridiculous pinpoint accuracy proving to be far superior than any strategy in warfare.

As much as Sona disliked to admit, it would be something she could respect using minimal resources at maximum potential. Still, Sona could not imagine herself sniping at others like that, and she did not want to ask Noud on the specifics of his skills.

She was a teacher and an experienced Rating Gamer. And he was… he was… just some random upstart that came out of nowhere!

"Um, Ms. Sona, you're making that face again…" Tahari pointed out that Sona was making undignified faces from time to time, whenever she thought of Noud.

"Excuse me…" Sona exhaled. "Right… right. Let us keep moving…"

Sona wondered if she should change her plan and meet with the others. They were halfway to the new school building already.

After running through more foliage, Sona blinked when she registered a familiar-looking crimson locks coming out from the bushes from her one o'clock.

"...Eh?"

"Eh?

Rias had appeared - On her back was Tosca, clinging on her frame.

Sona did not expect to meet her friend and rival in an unexpected encounter, the possibility so low that it was dismissible… yet the chaos shifted the odds so unpredictably that the unexpected came to be.

"A-A-Ahhhh?! R-Rias Gremory!?" Tahari, however, panicked and reacted instead of stiffening like Sona, as she aimed both of her palms at Rias and fired a sphere of condensed magical power at her.

In response, Rias went low on the ground, evading the incoming attack, and quickly fired a bullet of her Power of Destruction at the rookie. The said rookie was too panicked that Sona had to tackle her to the ground, allowing the Power of Destruction to miss its mark by a hair's breadth.

"Calm down!" Sona barked at Tahari, "Stay behind me!"

Soon Sona and Rias faced off with their respective charge standing behind them.

Tahari was trembling with the spear in her hand. Her hyperventilating was all that filled the tense silence as the two Kings stood face to face.

"...Rias. Shouldn't you be elsewhere at this moment?" Sona asked to decrease the tension.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." Rias replied with a smirk.

The two kings then fell into a tense silence, both parties were gauging and daring each other to make the first move.

"It seems we are at an unfortunate impasse." Sona broke the silence as Tahari trembled in her shoes, knees pressed together while her feet spread apart.

"Indeed. And neither of us can afford to break away from this encounter. The students are watching." Rias responded as the two Kings whirred their energies within.

It was like watching a surprise western showdown between two gunslingers, mages ready to end each in a second.

Rias nearly twitched when she saw Sona slowly brushed a lock behind her ear with her fingers, but ultimately did not think much of it. Never did she know that Sona was sending a telepathic message to the interim pawn behind her.

Tahari, keep quiet - on my signal, run as fast as you can towards the new school building. Once we are inside, I need you to engage Tosca.

Tahari slightly jumped at the sudden voice in her head, but she managed to regain her composure as she stared at the back of Sona's head with a small nod…

The slight gesture did not escape Rias' eyes as the Gremory heiress suspected that Sona was preparing something.

Sona calculated Rias' choice of response and a solution to…

"...Your new hairstyle looks superb. Where did you find your barber?" Sona smiled when she finally registered Rias' new 'haircut.'

Trimmed down to match Tsubasa's tomboy hairstyle, only far messier and with black singe marks staining the crimson.

Rias' smirk became tighter with her eyes twitched, "...My, if you'd like, I can personally show you how to get this haircut."

"I'll have to decline. My hair is too short for that kind of haircut," Sona replied with a snort and a flick of her combed, black unburned hair. "But I think yours needs improvement."

Sona raised her hand in the air.

"...You wouldn't dare." Rias hissed at Sona as the Sitri exposed her wry smile to her friend.

Tosca meeped as she summoned the barrier immediately to block incoming sniper fire.

"Perhaps I should let Tsubasa show you to her barber. But maybe I should give yours another chance to redeem himself," Sona continued as she felt her inner evil bloom from bullying Rias. She couldn't recall the last time she had fun at her expense.

Rias pouted, but her eyes then caught Sona slowly raising her arm, as if giving cue to someone. When Sona swung her arm down, Rias immediately grabbed Tosca by her wrist and pulled her along.

"Quick, to the building!" Rias sprinted towards the new school building.

Sona smirked as Rias took her bluff.

Rias ran towards the new school building, panting hard while constantly looking back at the direction of the sniper. Akeno's holy lightning flashed in the distance, Rias worried that she might not be enough to keep the sniper occupied as she threw a sphere of erasure at the building wall and punched a clean hole for her to jump into a classroom.

She needed to get as far in the back of the school as possible, as much cover between her and that damn sniper, oh how she wished to unleash all of her fury upon that bastard when the chance presented itself.

Rias continued shooting down the walls in front of her, running through wall by wall as a surge of demonic power swelled behind her.

"R-Rias!" Tosca saw a flood of water chasing after them through the holes Rias left behind.

"Take cover!"

The torrent of water hit Rias as she was washed away until she was out of the classroom, leaving Tosca to hide behind a teacher's desk.

Rias was slammed against the wall in the hallway, coughing out bits of water and air as she was drenched in water. She got up while keeping herself low and away from windows, as she took refuge to the nearby room - Home & Co Ed class.

The redhead crouched next to a kitchen top when something crashed in through the window - revealed to be Sona Sitri herself with a torrent of water floating around her frame.

"There you are, Rias. It's kind of unlike you to sneak around like this." Sona taunted with a confident smirk.

"I will let myself say this once: Fuck you and your sniper." Rias cursed at Sona.

"What makes you think I would use Noud for this? It is honestly a pleasant sight to see you squirm under me like this, however." Sona remarked.

"Gee, glad that you are having a good time." Rias snarked in return.

"Well, I suppose it's enough for the pleasantries." Sona closed her eyes and her expression became more determined, "Our official Rating Game might have been canceled due to the recent terrorist attack, but I believe both of us agree that this is the perfect time to settle our scores, don't you think?"

Crimson power crackled between Rias' fingertips as she smiled with determination. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"I suppose… I'll win if I manage to 'ring you out'. I wonder what kind of face Noud would make if he lost because of a default?"

"It seems that you finally fell to my level to want something this petty." Sona quipped, "...However, I'm afraid that's not the only thing that you've fallen into."

Rias blinked, and before she could have asked her own question, her surroundings - tables, pipes and sinks began to shake and rattle, as if something was struggling to burst out.

Then, more water burst out from the appliances, hoses and pipes - dousing the entire room in a miniature rain with the water appearing to be following Sona's whims.

"...You are in my domain, Rias."

Rias could only curse her luck and conjured as many Power of Destruction spheres she could conjure as torrents of water shot towards her.

OxO

Meanwhile, Koneko, Yuuto, Lint and Millicas finally made their way inside the gymnasium building.

However, they stopped on their tracks at the sight of a familiar enemy Knight standing in the middle of the large room.

"Ah, there you are." Tomoe Meguri greeted as she brandished her bamboo sword. "I think we should just cut to the chase, don't you think?"

"...Sorry, but who are you?" Lint asked, pointing at Tomoe.

Tomoe blanched. The girl with shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair tied into twintails and brown eyes quivered as she brushed aside her bangs.

"I am Tomoe Meguri! Knight of Sona Sitri!" Tomoe introduced herself with her cheeks puffed.

"Oh… kay. So, what can you do? Wait, isn't your weapon confiscated like ours?" Lint asked Tomoe.

"...Yes… I wanted to look good. But that stupid rookie took it away…" Tomoe pouted before she pointed her practice sword at them, "...But worry not! This might not be my usual katana, but this baby still packs a wallop! You're still gonna be in for a world of pain if you underestimate me!"

"I don't even know what you can do, but alright!" Lint presented her 'katana' and aimed it at Tomoe. "You and me then! New girl versus backdrop girl!"

"You… I'm not a backdrop! You are on!"

Faster than either side expected, the two knights already moved in and engaged while the others simply watched their banter. Lint and Tomoe exchanged blows with equal fervor, twangs of their mock weapons reverberating the air piecemeal.

"...You know, I think we should help her, Yuuto-senpai." Koneko remarked.

"Maybe, yes." Yuuto found himself smiling as Lint and Tomoe clashed and locked blades, "But do you really expect me to interfere in a duel between knights?"

Koneko only replied with a small snort of understanding.

However, they then heard the doors of the gym open, revealing Tsubasa, Saji and Loup entering the building.

"Aha, there you are!" Saji exclaimed, then he caught the sight of Tomoe fighting Lint, "Shit, they're already at it! Let's get 'em, guys!"

"So much for watching an honorable duel in peace…" Koneko commented as she prepared her combat stance.

"Took the words out of my mouth, Koneko-chan." Yuuto followed suit.

The match grew more chaotic by the second at this point. Everyone felt like they were playing more than training, but that was enough for the students watching the show.

To be Continued….

Christmas Special

A street snack stall was operating in the late winter night, serving walk-in customers light meals and hard drinks to warm themselves - where the next customers arrived and took seats at the counter.

One customer was a bald man wearing a hoodie and jersey trousers; and the other customer was a rotund elderly man with a thick and bushy white beard and mustache that covered the lower half of his face, clad in a red thick jacket, matching pants, black boots and his white hair was covered with red hat.

The middle-aged barkeep noticed that there was also a sleigh with several reindeers being parked next to his shop, but he decided to ignore the peculiar spectacle for some reason.

Back to the customers - the elderly man in red took a long exhale, reveling in the warmth provided by the heater set up in the stall; while the bald man gave their orders.

"A bottle for two, pops… And some Oden and skewers if you still have 'em."

"Comin' right up." The barkeep took the drinks out and began working on the other treats.

The customers then began to talk while waiting.

"...Thanks again for the help, Saitama." The elderly man said with a warm smile as his companion. "Work has become more demanding of these old bones as the time goes on."

"What work, though? I mean, I've never seen someone at your age carrying a big bag like yours," Saitama asked as the barkeep placed two bottles of sake for them. He took the bottle and uncorked it with his thumb, pouring a cup for the other man.

Saitama was referring to the large pile of sacks lying in the old man's sleigh. Saitama helped the poor man back to his feet and carried them to his sleigh, then brought the man here to relax.

Still, Saitama hoped to lead him to a hospital, but the old man insisted on working himself to the bone to finish his deadline.

"Well, you see…" the old man glanced at the bag, "The children are waiting for the goods I'm carrying."

Saitama blinked as he took a sip of his drink, "...What children?"

"All children." the man replied without missing a beat as he also took a sip of his sake, "All of them have been very good lads this year. Such good behavior deserves a reward, don't you think?"

Saitama blinked some more, "Are you…. A preschool teacher or something?"

"What? No, no. I'm… well… I mean," the white-bearded men gestured to the sleigh and the reindeers.

"...Where'd you get the deers from, anyway?" Saitama asked as the reindeers stared at the bald man, each bearing faces of scrutiny and judgmental criticism if Saitama wasn't wrong, like the teachers back in his school years giving him the annual report card.

Or Haruka giving him the lecturing gaze when he did something stupid.

"...I mean… um… well, I guess it'll come to you soon, but first hear an old man out on his woes. Honestly, I wish my workers were half as physically fit as you are."

"Wait, you're an employer? I thought you're a delivery man or something?" Saitama gestured to the massive bag on the sleigh.

"Oh, you can say that I 'hand out the paychecks' as the young ones like to say, but due to the misfit antics of one particular child with deer horns and fairy wings, who looks like a child but isn't, who is definitely averse to acting his actual age, all of my employees are women. Very young and sometimes hot blooded women." the old man sighed.

"Right…" Saitama digested the information he heard so far, "So you basically have to do the heavy-lifting since all of your employees are girls?"

"Well, not that I have to do all of the heavy-lifting myself - the lasses are actually very helpful. It's just…" The old man fidgeted bashfully, "...Bringing them to deliver these goods to children can…. inspire the wrong message."

"Oookay…?" Saitama tilted his head, "So…. Who are you, again? Sorry, I guess I should've asked you this question the first time."

The old man turned to Saitama.

"...Do you really not recognize who I am?"

"No?"

"The beard, the red outfit, the…The most important person at every end of the year?"

Saitama stared at the old man. He could not think of anyone that important at the end of every year, or anyone that important annually….

Well, there was Haruka, Genos and the folks at home - but Saitama thought the old man before him was talking about some actual big shot who he never heard of.

"...Uhhhhh…"

"...His popular name among the masses starts with 'Sa' if you need assistance." the old man probed on.

"...Sa… Sa… Sa…" Saitama's mind went a mile until he ended up saying the first thing he arrived with, "...Satan?"

The deers gawked at the bald man's ridiculous answer.

The old man nearly face-vaulted, "Urk, okay, close, but so far off at the same time."

Saitama did not get it.

"But alas, you are a good person deep down. I will make sure to send you something that can help with your poor memory next year."

"Okay… so, what seems to be troubling you?" Saitama asked as the stranger sipped the sake.

"Oh, my, the taste of rice wine will take some getting used to." He shuddered as he smacked his lips at the astringent taste of the sake, "Well, where to start… there is this particular house of a promising boy I've been trying to deliver presents to. But for some blasted reason, there's this hellish dog that kept trying to sink his teeth into my rear whenever I try to get in through the chimney."

Saitama blinked, "…Why'd you even get in through the chimney in the first place?"

The old man blinked in return, "That is… my gimmick of sorts. Walking through the front door would be too conspicuous, no?"

Saitama started to feel confused, "…You're not a burglar, are you?"

The old man blanched, "Dear me, no. Though…. Perhaps my answers have been messing with your head, aye?"

"What kind of crazy person goes into houses through chimneys?"

"Someone with tradition! And want to surprise the kids! But these days, we have apartments, so I have to go through the roof entrance! I even have to learn how to pick locks just to get inside… my goodness."

Saitama was now looking incredulous, "Right, right…. And nobody ever caught ya in the act, ever?"

The old man shrugged, "Eh, sometimes some youngsters or drunkards caught my shadows but they got no real proof about who I am, so it's all good."

"Right…" Saitama nodded slowly.

"I'm not sure if I can keep going like this for another few decades. I might have to either pass on my job or start hiring… But this job of mine isn't meant for many people. Someone has to bring the children the joy and the spirit of giving, after all." He grabbed the bottle and downed a few gulps of rice wine.

Seeing the old man's melancholic look, Saitama pondered for a moment until he spoke up, "…Do you want me to help tonight?"

The old man stopped his drinking, "…What say now?"

"This gimmick of yours tonight, I can help you if you want." Saitama offered.

"...This job of mine ain't for regular good folks. Even if you are fit, Saitama… well…" the old man looked contemplative, "I can't just hire anyone for this duty."

"I'm offering, really. I've been doing my fair share of errands too. You can count on me." Saitama insisted with a confident smirk.

OxO

"…How many houses does this make now? I feel like we've spent hours hopping from house to house already." Saitama whined.

"It's the last house for tonight, lad! Keep at it a bit longer!" Santa Claus retorted without much care, "Besides, you said you want to help."

Saitama rolled his eyes in resignation as they stepped into the front yard of another house in the neighborhood. Both he and Santa were carrying piles of wrapped boxes in each hand.

"Please hold my share for a moment," Santa handed his pile on top of Saitama's own before he proceeded to walk to the front door and procured a small bell from his pocket. Chiming the bell for a couple of times, the door unlocked itself with a small, audible click - allowing both men to step inside the domicile.

"Seriously, man. Who are you? You an Esper or something?" Saitama asked as he followed Santa towards the living room where there was a miniature Christmas Tree and decorations around.

Most of Saitama's view was obstructed by a pile of towering gifts and boxes in his hands, but at the first glance from the corner of his eyes, the place looked familiar for some reason.

….Eh, probably the Shidous - Saitama chose not to think too much; he just wanted for the night to be over and done with.

"Oh ho ho ho, that would spoil the surprise. Come, we don't have all night." Santa's simple reply snapped Saitama out of his musing.

Saitama then proceeded to drop the gift boxes and lightly kicked them around until the boxes were scattered across the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing, lad?" Santa admonished, "Put the smaller ones on front and the bigger ones on the back!"

He corrected as he rearranged Saitama's handiwork.

"…And show some care for goodness's sake. These aren't some socks or underwear donated by the fire department to a battered women's shelter or back-alley orphanage - these are Christmas gifts!"

Once Santa finished rearranging the presents, he turned and saw Saitama had just finished eating a cookie while holding a glass of milk.

"…Did you just finish the cookie meant for me?"

Saitama chugged down the milk before asking, "What do you mean the cookie is for you? I just found them on the table over there. Besides, you've taken a bite or two of all the cookies from the previous houses, which I gotta say was irresponsible of you. You don't just eat people's food and leave left-overs - that's just rude."

"It's a part of my gimmick! I take a bite of the cookie and a sip of milk! That's how people know that I was here!" Santa retorted.

"That sounds half-assed. How is it different from just finishing all of them?"

"It's out of courtesy and restraint, Saitama! Tradition!" The bearded man shouted at the clueless baldy.

"Ehh… Alright… So you said that this is the last one? You mind dropping me back home, then?"

"Indeed this is the last one, also-!"

However, his companion was suddenly interrupted by immense pain and shock coursing through his body.

"ABABABABABABABABAAAGH~!"

Santa's body spasmed before falling to the floor, much to Saitama's surprise. Smoke rose from his body and he was not moving.

"...Dear?"

Saitama heard a familiar voice. Haruka was staring at him. She had a taser in hand.

"...Why did you have to do that to Satan?" Saitama asked, sighing.

"Satan?" Haruka blinked and took a look at the prone elderly man on the floor.

"Actually, wait a sec - is this my house?" Saitama looked around to have a better look at the dimly lit room.

On cue, Haruka turned the lights on, giving Saitama the confirmation that he was indeed back at home.

"Dear, why are you dressed like Santa Claus?"

Saitama blinked and looked at his outfit, "Santa…? Oh, this thing? Nah, I just ran into this Satan guy…." His mind then reeled back when the so-called 'Satan' was giving him clues of his identity, "Satan… Santa…. Oooooooh…"

He suddenly felt so bad and awkward at the twitching Santa Claus on the floor.

Haruka stared at him as her eyes darted between the unconscious stranger and his husband.

"...Dear. Who is this person really? Is he not a burglar by any chance?" Haruka asked, both sounding surprised yet not surprised, knowing how her husband functioned as an individual and his incredulous luck meeting special people.

"...I don't think so?" Saitama rubbed his head. "Met him when he was struggling to lift that big bag of presents to his ride…"

Haruka sighed, "...Honey, I know helping people is your thing and all, but aren't you a bit too old to be conned by some old man pretending to be Santa?"

"Um, wait, wait, what's this about people pretending to be Santa…. Him?" Saitama pointed at the old man who was still out cold on the floor. "...Also, I don't think he's a burglar? We left random wrapped boxes under trees. Never saw him steal anything other than the cookies and milk laid out for him. Kind of picky on how he eats it though… Do all burglars have flying deers?"

Haruka stared at her bald husband.

"...You said this guy has flying deers?" Haruka asked skeptically.

"Yeah, they're just outside, look." Saitama guided Haruka to the window and showed a sleigh with a pack of deers tied to it.

Before Haruka could have retorted, a couple of the deers seemed to be restless and much to her shock - started to float around before they landed back.

"Oh…. Oh my god." Haruka staggered back a few steps as her hand released her taser. "I just tased Santa… oh shit. What have I done? My presents… Santa exist? I know I wasn't a good girl back then, but… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggg."

Saitama patted Haruka to calm her mental breakdown.

"There, there." Saitama soothed, "...Look, you were alone with our son in the house in the middle of the night, and you panicked. By the way, I reckon Rover is probably in Ise's room right now, but where's Genos and Black?"

"They're leaving for some jobs… They should be returning this morning." Haruka replied, "...Anyway, aren't we still leaving Santa on the floor? We gotta do something!"

"Should we call the hospital?"

"This is Santa!" Haruka shrieked. "We can't just call the hospital! Everyone will know I'm a bad person!"

Saitama hadn't seen this side of Haruka for a while.

"Alright, let's bring him to our room. I forgot where we put the med kit though…"

However, when they returned to the living room, Santa's body was gone - in his place was a letter.

Thank you very much for your assistance, Saitama. Here is a little appreciation for what you've done for me; hope you will like it.

As for the woman who I assume to be your wife….. Bad girl, no presents for you and the next one.

Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sincerely, St. Nicholas of Myra.

Saitama and Haruka stared at the letter for a second when the sound of familiar laughter echoed.

[Ho, ho, ho, ho~!]

They went to the window quickly to see the shadow of reindeers carrying a sleigh through the skies, the shadow of Santa holding the reins as they sailed into the starry night.

"...Huh…" Saitama smiled at the sight. This wasn't something he would see every day, and he saw weird things over his years.

"...But I've been a good girl this year…" Haruka was dejected that she wouldn't receive presents this year and the next.

"...Eh, don't worry. I can cover it." Saitama patted Haruka's back as they turned around from the window.

At the corner of his eye, Saitama caught a glittering card on the table.

"Huh." He walked and picked it up, looking at the card…

"...Huh?" Saitama stared at the card.

Haruka peeked at the card with squinted eyes.

"...What?" Haruka was stupefied.

It was a card of invitation from Santa to visit him in the North Pole. But what took them by surprise was Santa's workers.

They were elves like Santa said, and they were all female.

And they were attractive.

There were no words, he was surrounded by sexy hot women with pointy ears with somewhat skimpy holiday attire, red and green, pointy caps on their heads, some of their underwear showing through their green skirts, stockings, thigh high boots of red, many hairstyles from tomboy to hime-cut to ponytails, all of them around a jolly white-bearded smiling man dressed in red.

Saitama ended up staring at the card - mostly to make the heads and tails of what he was looking at.

However, Haruka took it as another sign entirely.

"...Sure sounds fun to go there, hun?"

Saitama shuddered when he heard Haruka's chilling voice.

"...But… Should we bring Issei?" Saitama asked just in case.

"What for?" Haruka narrowed her eyes as she smiled dangerously, "So you can get me busy looking after our son while you're having 'fun' with Santa Claus?"

"But he said he wanted to see Santa…"

Despite Saitama's retort, Haruka closed the distance between them until their bodies were practically pressed against one another. Grabbing the lapel of Saitama's Santa outfit, Haruka pulled her husband's face to hers.

"...Looks like I have to remind a naughty boy about his place."

Saitama smiled wryly, knowing there was no escaping this one, "...Can we bring this to the bedroom? We've promised Genos and Ise not to do it in the living room or the kitchen."

"I guess I'll be a bit merciful for this one." Haruka replied and she finally closed the distance between her lips and her husband's.

Meanwhile, five year-old Issei was woken up by the commotion he had been hearing for the past few minutes downstairs. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and saw that Rover was blinking at him from his make-shift bed.

Since Rover did not react much, it was probably not a burglar - his dad or Genos or Black, for example. Though, now that he was awake, Issei could not help but be curious of what was happening on the floor below.

With Rover following dutifully behind him, Issei carefully made his way through the staircases until he got a good view of the living room, then he muffled his gasp down.

It was his mother, in the middle of kissing and making out - much to his adolescent's disgust, with someone wearing an outfit that only Santa Claus wore.

Issei quickly retreated back upstairs while making sure that neither he nor Rover made any noise. However, his mind then came to a halt as a morbid realization dawned upon him.

Iri is so not going to believe this.

OxO

"...I don't believe you."

"I'm telling you, it's true! I saw my mom kissing Santa Claus last night!"

Issei whispered urgently to Iri as the Hyoudous and Shidous were spending the Christmas morning together - the adults were sitting together on the dining table while the kids were playing near the Christmas tree in the living room.

"Why would Santa kiss your mom? Your mum has your daddy, like my mum has my daddy!" Iri argued.

"Look, I don't know, okay?" Issei replied, "Anyway, I came up with something."

"What is it?" Iri asked with curiosity.

"Next Christmas, we'll capture Santa together and have him spilling the beans!"

Issei declared his outrageous plan with eyes full of sparkling wonder.

"EHhhh!? But it's Santa!" Irina reminded.

"Yes, Santa who kissed my mom!" Issei pressed on, "Come on, Iri! If you're to see Santa Claus kissing your mom, don't you want to find out what happened?"

Iri looked hesitant before replying, "Well…. I guess?"

"There - we're doing it." Issei spoke with a tone of finality.

It was many years later where Santa Claus would find himself in a conundrum where a couple of lovebirds were hunting him down, but there was a story for another time.

Quick explanation, this chapter was originally posted in my (P) atreon during last christmas, hence the Christmas Special. Now, considering this is meant to come out in end of February, but considering the recent occasion... Here you go!

Valentine's Day Special

It was the day which people have mixed opinions on. Some of them are filled with joy, some of them are filled with hope, some with envy, even there are some with resentment.

For one Xenovia Quarta, however - it was the day for both joy and hope. For most people, Valentine's Day was the day where they found out whether they would die alone or not; but in the case of Xenovia, that day was also a celebration for her arrival in this strange yet fascinating world.

"I…. I don't know what to say." Xenovia said as she stood before an open case in which the content seemed to be glowing.

"I got it since I know how much you like Christianity. And it is inspired from a bit of Western Fantasy tropes so…" Issei smiled proudly at his gift. "Happy birthday, Xenovia."

The boy was standing with the content of his birthday present hidden under the lid, opened like a gator's mouth widening, all while smiling proudly of his handiwork.

"Well… I'm not sure if this even has anything to do with Christianity in the first place, but I…. Guess I've been looking forward to this as well." Xenovia replied with a bashful smile, running her finger through her blue locks somewhat awkwardly.

"Really?" Issei was not expecting that she wanted to use his gift so soon.

"...I mean… maybe we can do it without the protection. I don't mind if… we go raw… Us angels don't get pregnant so easily, after all." Xenovia bashfully turned away, her cheeks rosy red.

"...What?" Issei's mind went blank at her suggestion. "What are you…"

Issei opened the box completely. He did not see a holy mace he commissioned from Genos. He saw a phallus-shaped chocolate bar and a set of condoms.

His mind fried at the sight of this, trying to understand why he was holding a sex-toy set instead of the weapon.

His ears caught giggling behind him, in the doorway. His eyes caught the sight of the girls and Black peeking from the door, all of them were stifling their laughter.

"...Ise?" Xenovia began to feel confused when she realized the others were peeping from the door.

"...Okay, be honest with me - whose idea is this?" Issei asked with a mixture of amused and unamused expression as he showed the contents of the box.

"I came up with the condoms." Akeno quipped while struggling to keep her laughter down, "And for your information, those condoms are flavored."

"The phallic chocolate was my idea. I had it custom-made based on your size." Irina raised her hand up, she was also biting her lip to keep herself from bursting out with laughter, "Also, just saying, the idea itself was Black's - we just came up with the 'what'."

The evil bastard was laughing at him with his face alone. Veins bulged under Issei's skin as his hand trembled with indignant rage.

"Oh, don't look at us like that. We're just a bit miffed that you gave all of your attention to Xenovia, since her birthday is also on Valentine's Day." Tsubasa spoke this time.

Issei blinked, "...It is, isn't it? Still, couldn't you guys come up with better ideas even for a prank? Sex toys sound too on the nose, don't ya think?"

"...So we're not doing it?" Xenovia asked Issei, as clueless as ever.

Issei was about to refuse, but when he saw the look on Xenovia's face, he found himself hesitating. His face grew warm at the idea of having sex with Xenovia. He turned to see the girls were looking at him expectantly, while Black was smirking tauntingly at him.

"...I… uh… Oh, fuck it."

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday to Xenovia Quarta! XD

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