The battle of the devil youths finally begins! Team Gremory vs. Team Sitri! Part 1

It was finally the day of the decisive battle.

Prepared for the match, everyone gathered in the Gremory Castle's Underground teleportation center to use one of their many Magical Circles to transport them to the game area. After getting briefed once more about the strategy, everyone prepared to use the magic circle.

For the sake of presentation, Venelana took it upon herself to create and arrange a uniform for each member in Rias' peerage. Since it was mildly frowned upon by the higher-ups watching to see both sides wearing their school uniforms. The uniforms that she made for them was suited for each member's tastes, so it would not hinder them in battle.

Their most defining feature was the black uniform's red streaks and the Gremory Family's sigil on the back of it.

"Rias, you've proven yourself capable by earning your first victory against Riser. Do your best and win."

"Fight a battle with no regrets as the next head of the family. Everyone else as well, give it everything you've got."

"Do your best, Rias-neesama!"

"I can say for certain that I informed you as much as I could. All that's left is to secure victory and go all out by sticking to your course of strategy. In other words, don't fuck up."

Seeing them off, Zeoticus, Venelana and Azazel gave everyone their words of encouragement. Sirzechs and Grayfia couldn't be there to see them off due to already being at the spectator's lounge for the exclusive use of VIPs, the leaders of the great powers and the other invited mythologies. Raynare, Kalawarner and Mittelt couldn't really see them off because of Raynare's "recovery" still not being done.

Nodding upon receiving such uplifting words, the merciless light of the magic circle began to engulf them and send them straight to their designated battlefield.

It was time.

XXX

It was definitely the same feeling that he experienced during their last Rating Game against Riser, except, this time, Michael noticed a pattern going on since environment was somewhere a bit more familiar than what he had expected.

"Are we…in Kuoh town's Mall?" He questioned as he stepped out to look over at all of the vast department stores that filled their floor and the two extra floors above. They were currently on the first floor of the mall, in the Food Court.

"How odd, I never expected that the town's mall would be the stage for our battle." Rias said as walked up to Michael's side to examine the upper floors.

[Everyone, I, the "Queen" of the Lucifer group, Grayfia, will be acting the role of arbiter in the "Rating Game" between the Rias Gremory's group and the Sona Sitri's group on this occasion.]

And just like last time, Grayfia was the announcer.

[In the name of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I will watch over the battle between these two families. It's a pleasure to be here. To get right into things, the battlefield for today is the exact copy of the Kuoh town Mall. For the participants, you may know this, but for those who don't and are worried, the current space you're in is separate from the real mall. The space that you're in is specifically for the purposes of the game.]

"So, we once again have a home field advantage." Akeno said.

"The same could be said for our opponents." Rias narrowed her eyes, both she and Sona regularly visited the mall so they're both familiar with the building's layout. The mall itself was quite long and tall across its three floors and atrium. Beside the building was a multi-story parking garage.

[Both groups have been transported to their respective "bases". Rias-sama's "base" is on the first floor, while Sona-sama's "base" is on the third floor.]

The location given weren't very specific save for the floors, meaning it was up to both sides to figure out where their enemy was hiding.

[In order for "Pawns" to promote, they must go to their opponent's "base".]

'If we're going to be searching for Sona's base, then it would be best to have Michael try to use promotion to confirm whether it's the base or not.' Rias thought, they needed to be precise and make sure not to fall for any of Sona's potential traps.

[For this game, there will be special conditions which must be kept by both sides. Documents pertaining to these rules were already sent to their sides along with a single Phoenix Tear. Both teams are given thirty minutes to strategize before the battle. Either side is forbidden from making physical contact with their opponent during this period. Any servants caught doing so will immediately be forced to retire from the game.]

"Rats…" Michael clicked his tongue in annoyance.

[Now, let the strategy formation commence.] With the announcement over, everyone quickly gathered together near the table holding the document, an overall layout of the mall's interior except the parking garage.

"By the way things are set up, this is most definitely an indoor battle." Rias said as she examined the interior of the mall starting with their floor, the first floor. Around their base was a pet shop, an arcade center, a dining floor, a bookshop and a drugstore.

On the opponent's floor, the third floor, they had a grocery shop, an electrical appliance store, a junk food shop, sports-supplies shop, and a general goods store.

As for the unoccupied second floor was a heavy line up of retail clothing stores, but that wasn't all since Rias focused her sights on a single room on that floor.

Looking over the document, Rias closed her eyes in thought and a bit of annoyance, "The condition that we must keep states [Do not destroy the battlefield]; in other words, we cannot destroy the interior of the mall using showy techniques."

"Double rats…" Michael clicked his tongue again, now all of the super cool techniques that he created over the past month have all been considerably limited from use in the confines of this game.

"…I see, so to me, the fuku-buchou, and Michael, this is quite a limiting battlefield for us. Meaning, we can't do wipe out our opponents with wide area attacks." Xenovia rubbed her chin.

"This may seem troublesome, but this just means that we have to simply fight smarter rather than harder, no?" Akeno smiled, she saw no issue against the limitation, it would just mean that she needed to be more creative.

However, she soon looked troubled, "But I'm afraid that Gasper-kun will have the most trouble out of all of us. His eyes won't work against opponents in such a crowded space like this. His vision would be obstructed by the many products and goods that the enemy could simply hide behind."

"I'm afraid that we won't have to worry about that. They placed a restriction on him that states [Gasper Vladi's Sacred Gear is forbidden to be used]. This is only placed on him because he still can't perfectly control it yet. To avoid his eyes probably going out of control, they even prohibited the use of feeding him Michael's blood." Pulling out a case from another space, Rias hands it to Gasper, "Which is why Azazel instructed him to use these."

"Glasses?" Michael asked once Gasper placed them on.

"These were made for Gasper exclusively, it's to act as perfect seal for his eyes should he leave them on. I'm just thankful that he gave them to me when he did, but I do wonder when he had the time to make these."

"When it comes to making weird stuff on the fly, we can always count on the Ero-Ossan. He even has a cloning machine that I've been dying t-." Michael covered his own mouth when he saw Rias curiously raise an eyebrow, "Nothing, it was nothing…for now…"

"So Gasper, I want you to rely on your magic and vampire abilities, okay?" Rias looked to dhampir first year.

"H-Hai, Buchou!" Gasper nodded.

"Good." Rias breathed out, in actuality, the restriction was a blessing for them. It would have been a hassle should the other side seal his time-stopping powers mid-battle. Sona's side was composed of counter-types such as Saji, who possesses a Sacred Gear that absorbs the ability of others. This Rating Game isn't like the one before, they couldn't really go all out and use their power willy-nilly. Now the determined outcome relied on anyone's skill and tactics, meaning anyone can win.

"Everyone, please take this limitation as practice for true battlefields. There will be situations to where we won't be able to use our full power in such a crowded environment. Should it be indoors or surrounded by civilians, we still have to make an effort to make as less damage as possible." Rias' words hit home to everyone.

"Michael, I know this may be much after you fully controlled your Balance Breaker, but please rely on hand to hand combat. Your power is too enormous and could potentially destroy the building." Rias frowned.

"Don't worry about it, Buchou! Getting up close and personal is my favorite thing to do!" Michael grinned.

"…Phrasing…" Koneko warned.

Moving on to discuss the strategy, Rias continued, "Both us and Sona's team are quite spread out in the mall. Thanks to the announcement, both of our specific locations haven't been leaked yet so its up to us to find their base. Our base will be in one of the nearby department stores on the first floor. The atrium is a troublesome place to begin our attack since they're on the third floor and can easily grasp our movements."

"I've considered an attack from the parking garage as well, but they would also be looking out for that too." Akeno said.

"Yes, it's the same for moving from the rooftop. Whether it be breaking through the center, from the rooftop, or from the parking garage, we have to advance along these routes. Leaving the mall itself is strictly forbidden." Rias explained.

"If this is a direct copy then there should be cars in the parking garage as well. They could be making use of that."

"I don't believe Sona would have much use for them. She could turn them into bombs and plunge them down to the first floor but that's too reckless and could potentially destroy the mall." Rias shook her head before pointing at a specific room on the blueprints, "No, my guess for what Sona is truly after is this room in the mall. This place would give her the ultimate advantage in this battle."

"You mean the Security Guard's office?"

"The Security Gua-how do you know that?" Rias asked Michael.

"I've had my fair share of run-ins with some security guards whenever I felt like messing with some store owners. Snrk! I got sent to their office after making a huge mess in the Grocery store by mixing all of their mentos and soda bottles to create soda geysers! Ah, that was one of my finest works."

"I see…Michael, I want you to tell me about this room. Its already a given that the surveillance tech would give away our location to the enemy, but what else is there to worry about?"

"Well, the room has a lot of cameras linked to every department store and…oh, yeah…the security guards have their own set of stairs different from the main mall's." Michael smiled.

"Different set of stairs?" Kiba questioned.

"You know, the stairs that only they could use to easily travel from floor to floor for the Mall or the Parking Garage. They mentioned something about not getting hindered by the crowds in the store the last time I was taken in for causing trouble." Michael chuckled and scratched his head.

"That settles it then, we have to claim that area. It's the deciding factor to determine the victor. If we can't secure it, then we simply have to destroy the room." Rias crossed out and circled the room on the blueprints.

"Buchou, wouldn't it be better to secure the room now during the thirty minute strategy break?" Kiba raised his hand.

"That would be the smart thing to do, but it would be too risky. The surveillance room is on the second floor, if I were to send anyone of you to go find it then you'd most likely run into one of Sona's servants. By this point, she too must know the importance of that room better than anyone. To make contact with the enemy even without throwing a single punch still counts as an automatic retire for both servants during this 30 minute time frame." Rias explained, "I won't sacrifice any of you, you're all my adorable servants and each of you play an important role, and the same could be said about Sona not wishing to sacrifice her own servants, they're all a vital part of her plan so she's not willing to take any early risks."

'Wow, Buchou's really killing it with this strategy talk. She must have really been working hard this past month. But still…who the heck trained her?' Michael looked puzzled.

"Gasper, as soon as the battle begins, change into bats and fly to every location that you can within the department store. You'll inform us of where Sona's base is once you find it."

"Roger!" Gasper saluted, his fighting spirit grew, he was determined to make up for his absence during the Phoenix Rating Game.

"Wouldn't it be better for Gasper-kun to quickly secure the surveillance room?" Akeno questioned.

"I thought about the same thing too, but it's best to have a contingency plan if we fail to get there first. Should I send Gasper by himself, he may encounter an enemy that may overpower him since his sacred gear is sealed. We need someone powerful to secure the room or else we'll lose a player and our advantage at the same time."

Soon enough, the strategy planning continued until everyone was all set to go.

"The game will be starting in fifteen minutes." Rias looked at her wrist watch. We'll gather here again in ten minutes. Until then please remain on standby on the first floor and do whatever will calm you down before the match."

At Rias' words, everyone broke up do their own thing.

"Michael, wait." Rias called as she approached him.

"What's up, Buchou?" Michael asked.

"Michael, I may sound like a nag for telling you this again, but I really want you to restrain yourself during this match." Rias said.

"Don't worry, Buchou. I won't destroy the mall." Michael bitterly smiled.

"No, I didn't mean it that way, I want you to "restrain" yourself…" Rias looked worried.

'…She must be talking about laying off the sacrifice thing I did with Ddraig like last time.' Michael thought.

"Should things escalate, I want you to relax and just rely on me and my plan. We'll make sure that you won't have to sacrifice a part of yourself ever again, understood?"

"Yeah, I read you loud and clear, Buchou." Michael thankfully smiled.

"Good, and to make sure that you won't do it. I'll give you permission to do something that will take your mind off of possibly sacrificing your body parts." Rias crossed her arms.

"Like what?"

"I know I might regret this and it might cause some collateral damage, but…Michael, I hereby order you to…ugh…style all over the…balls…of the enemy with your pranks?" Rias struggled to give the order, this would virtually mean getting some bad ratings since indulging Michael's mischievous attitude only brought trouble.

"…" Looking serious, Michael looked up as a soft breeze blew through his hair, "…My time has come…"

After giving Rias a bear hug as thanks, Michael ran as fast as he could to find an old friend of his. If the mall was a complete copy of the real one, then "it" certainly must have been there too. While searching for the spot, he spotted that everyone was off to do their own thing. With Asia and Xenovia talking away all of their anxiety in front of a hamburger shop. Kiba rummaging through the drugstore for medicine and Rias and Gasper sitting on the dining floor with Rias enjoying a cup of tea and Gasper eating some donuts.

"There you are…" Michael giddily laughed, he approached one of the potted plants and messily dug through the dirty to find a small brown backpack and utility belt with the world written in black permanent maker, "Old Reliable".

"Ah, yeah, the ranchid smell of stink bombs and outdated fireworks always cheer me up." One day at the mall, he had gotten fed up with the Security Guards in the mall confiscating his stuff, so he made sure to pick appropriate places to hide his gear.

"Okay, it looks like I have everything ready. Hehehehehe! I can't wait to pull a fast one on all of them, especially, Saji!" Michael maniacally laughed like a cartoonish villain.

"Michael-kun~, you're making a lot of noise. What are you doing? Ara ara, you've got a very scary look on your face. Are you perhaps planning something devious for the battle?"

*Munyuuuu!*

"A-Akeno-senpai!?" Michael gasped as he remembered that wonderful softness and tenderness on his back from anywhere. She was tightly clinging to his back while checking out all of his gear, but her expression soon turned into a pout.

"Mou…Michael-kun…"

'So cute…' Michael thought before he coughed.

"Ahem, sorry about that. I mean, Akeno, what are you doing here?" Michael bitterly chuckled, he had almost forgotten about how much she wanted him to say her name without honorifics when it was just the two of them.

"…" Akeno kept silent as she buried her head into Michael's broad back.

"Is something wrong?" He felt her embrace around him tighten.

"…I'm getting courage from Michael-kun." Akeno's voice filled with confliction and pain, "I need the courage to fight…this power that flows through my blood, I hate it…I-I'm scared…I might have to use it, but I…don't know what to do…I still haven't made my choice yet. So please, Michael-kun, give me courage."

"I don't know how hugging me will give you courage." Michael sighed as he turned around and embraced Akeno back, "But if you're getting courage from someone like me, then I'll give you as much as I can, Akeno."

"M-Michael-kun, if I bring out my power of light, would you watch me?" Akeno quietly asked.

"I'd still watch you regardless if you choose not to use it." Michael smiled as he gently rubbed her back, "Like how you always watch over me, I'll be there to watch your back whenever you're in trouble and whether you use your power or not doesn't make a difference. Because in the end-!"

Michael cheerfully grinned, "We're still Michael and Akeno, who's team attack will blow everyone away! That's why I'll do my best to protect you until then end until that happens!"

"…I'm happy. To be together with Michael…surely…but Rias has already taken her place as your first, but even so I will always…try my best…by your side…" Akeno muttered in a low voice as she raised her head to look him in the eyes. Some tears cascaded down her cheeks as she passionately gazed into Michael's worried eyes.

"Akeno, are you crying? What's wro-?"

*CHU!*

Without a word of warning, Akeno immediately claimed his lips with her own in one swift kiss.

Michael was literally speechless that his eyes were so wide that they nearly popped out of his skull. Breaking the kiss, Akeno blushed and looked away,

"That was my first kiss…"

"Your first kiss?" Michael had to remind himself how many times he heard and repeated that line.

Unbearably breaking from his embrace, Akeno did her best to wear her usual smile through her teary eyes and red cheeks, "Thanks for supplying me with the courage I need, Michael-kun. I'll leave you to your preparations."

And just like that Akeno took off, it was evident that she was a extremely happy and embarrassed to stay any longer unless she would get fully distracted from the current Rating Game at hand. Michael was still speechless as he continued to watch Akeno leave, he had so many questions, but the first one that popped into his had was, "Is someone watching me?"

Michael's senses were acutely trained during his time training under Tannin so feeling a pair of watch him was child's play.

*Staaaaaaaare*

"Oh, hello, Koneko-chan…" Michael sheepishly smiled and waved the girl over, she was intently staring at him from behind a nearby support beam.

'I guess she was around to watch the whole thing with Akeno happen.' Michael touched his lips as he remembered the kiss.

"…Baka-senpai, it's almost time to gather." Koneko approached him with an unreadable expression.

"R-Right thanks." Michael suited up as he equipped his utility belt and backpack, "Alright! Lets do this!"

Suddenly, Koneko grasped Michael's hand.

"Koneko-chan?" Suddenly feeling her putting something on it, Michael gasped, "What's this?"

Blushing red, Koneko said, "A gift…"

In his hands, Michael found that he was given black fighter's gloves similar to hers except on the upper palm there was a Red Dragon's head.

"Whoa, this is so cool! So, this is really a gift?"

"Mmm…" Koneko nodded.

"Thanks, but what brought this on, Koneko-chan?" Michael asked.

From holding his hand to hugging his waist, Koneko said, "As thanks for giving me courage up to now."

"…" Michael smiled, he didn't expect to get so much gratitude just before a battle, patting her head, he grinned, "No need to thank me for doing my job, its supposed to be the seniors duty to always watch over his kouhai. Usually I expect you to knock some sense into me, but like Gasper, if you were to run out of control, I'll protect you too."

"…Thank you…" Koneko smiled.

"No problem, Hell Cat-chan!" Michael grinned.

"…What?" Koneko looked up at Michael, deadpanned.

"Isn't it a cool and gutsy name? Hell Cat, the cat of the underworld! Like it? I mean, it is a glorious nickname that, I, the Gutsy Hanamura came up for you, Koneko-chan." Michael gloated.

"…Lame…that's lame and you should feel lame for saying that, baka-senpai." Koneko broke the hug and shook her head.

"*SNIFF!* *SNIFF!* Why do you have to do that, Koneko-chan! I thought we were having a moment before you shot me down like that? You know what? I don't care anymore lets just go back to Rias and the others…myeergh!" Michael sniffled and tried to pathetically hold back his tears.

"…Thank you, Michael-senpai." Koneko muttered to herself as she happily followed her senior, who was still pouting and whining like a little kid.

XXX

Back together, Michael and everyone patiently waited in the dining floor, which was made their base, for the announcement to commence the beginning of the match.

[It is now time to begin. Furthermore, the time limit for this game have been confirmed. This will be a three hour Lightning Fast Game meaning both teams must defeat the enemy king or maintain having the most pieces on the field before the game is over. Then without further ado...] Grayfia announced.

[GAME START!]

"Alright, now then, my adorable servants, lets go! We won't lose. Again, we will claim victory together!"

[Yes, Buchou!]

Everyone shouted, uproariously.

XXX

Michael and Koneko advanced through the store's anterior as quietly as they can. Walking too slow would waste time while running would easily alert their enemy in the long, horizontal store interior. The plan that Rias made for them was simple, they needed reach the surveillance room on the second floor before advancing to the third floor.

Being the main target, Michael was essentially bait for Sona to take and mainly sick most of her servants on him. This tactic would hinder their progress for getting to the security room, but it would mean that the servants protecting Sona would be understaffed meaning an opening would be made for both Xenovia and Kiba, who were going around through the parking garage.

"Are we good?" Michael asked as they finally reached the atrium of the mall.

Koneko's cat ears twitched as she pointed upward, "They're moving."

"How many of them?" Michael asked.

"Just one person…"

"One person?" Michael looked shocked, he had expected more to come their way. He couldn't really doubt Koneko's senjutsu since her ability to read the flow of spirits was way more efficient than his basic sensing of power signatures, "That's odd. Something smells fishy and its not you, Koneko-chan…"

"…"

"H-Hold up, I apologize for my poor taste in puns, sorry!" Michael defensively raised his hands after feeling Koneko's sharp killing intent.

Shaking her head, the girl said, "At this rate, we'll meet up with them in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes, huh? Well, we better hurry." Michael took the lead as he finished putting on his new fighter's gloves. Koneko couldn't tell whether they were on the second floor yet due to the elevation and how her powers can't really sense too much detail about the enemy.

Getting on the elevator, the two looked tense as they were halfway closer to reaching the second floor. Things were a little bit too easy for them, they were only facing one opponent in a straightforward fashion and they were closer than one to reach the security room so why did they have such a bad feeling about this?

"Wind?" Suddenly a strong breeze hit the both of them.

"!" Sensing more than just that, Koneko shouted, "Above!"

"The first attack is mine~!"

*CRAAAAAAASH!*

Pushing herself and Michael off the elevator just in nick of time, Koneko was able to avoid a surprise attack from above as figure enshrouded in a thick gale of winds cam crashing down and smashed the pair of elevators leading to the second floor.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan." Michael chuckled as he and Koneko stood up to face their assailant, who was floating in the air using the wind to keep them afloat.

"Hello there, Hanamura-senpai and Koneko-san, it's a pleasure to face the two of you." Ruruka Nimura waved, she like them was wearing a different uniform for the match, but instead of it being black and red it was black blue.

"Ruruka-chan?" Michael gasped as he closely looked at the enemy pawn's feet to see her wearing a pair of green boots with some glowing white fairy-like designs on them as there appeared to be a pair of green glowing wings on the heels of both boots.

"A Sacred Gear?" Michael gasped.

"You got it, these are called Sylphinion! A tricky fairy called Sylph is sealed into and because of that it allows me to control wind and the air pressure around me like so!" Nimura didn't waste time to attack, she immediately launched herself down at Michael and Koneko. The pair separated, but she still went after Michael with her incredible speed, Michael tried to retaliate by throwing a touki-cladded fist her way, but she simply backed away and kicked a sharp blast of wind at him.

*SHIIING!*

Managing to dodge it, Michael looked back to see a nearby cart and plant get cut in two by the attack.

"That was close…" Michael whistled before turning his attention back to Nimura, "But…" Enshrouding himself in touki, Michael charged back at Ruruka and started throwing a barrage of punches her way. "Here I come!"

The girl was fast! Even Michael had to give her that, but his attacks were still backing her to a corner. It isn't until he finally switches from his barrage of punches to a powerful kick. The blow would have landed had it not gone through Ruruka's torso.

An afterimage!

"Too slow, Hanamura-senpai~!"

Before he could react, Ruruka popped up behind him and readied her own wind-infused kick as the air pressure surrounding her leg only increased.

"Michael-senpai!" Providing support, Koneko fired two blasts of chi at Ruruka to back her off into the air.

"Hmhmhm~!" Ruruka giggled to herself, if she could pull of more of those afterimages then she would be able to keep the upperhand in the battle.

"Freaking sweet, you do afterimages too?"

"Huh?" Ruruka looked above herself to spot Michael further in the air above her.

"Wow, you're super fast! I couldn't even do any of that without being in my balance breaker, well, before getting whipped into further shape by Gramps!" Michael grinned.

"But how did you…?" Ruruka looked back down to notice that the surprised Michael on the ground faded away. Another afterimage.

"Misdirection times 2! Now-!" Michael pulled out 8 sticks of explosive fireworks from his bag and breathed fire on their laces, "Welcome to the Gutsy Hanamura's Fireshow! Kids watching at home, do not attempt this indoors!"

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Altogether the fireworks rained down and exploded into a messy colorful explosion that took Ruruka by surprise as she crashed to the floor.

She tried to recover from some of the burns and the ringing in her ears, but she soon found herself being assaulted by Koneko, who wasted no time to take her chance and assault their assailant. Koneko was pushed back as she tried her best to throw a punch but Ruruka's kicks kept her at bay. Ruruka even got a strong kick to Koneko's chest. The added wind pressure even doubled the damage, but Koneko was still standing as she simply took the hit with her [Rook] defense and spat out the blood in her mouth.

"Forget about me?"

Ruruka panted, but gasped upon Michael crashing down with his heel upraised and brought down. This created a small crater, but he wasn't done as he soon joined in on the combat and met Ruruka's kicks with his own. Michael's style of combat was quite free as he either used his fists of legs to dish out the damage, so his particular skill with kicks were about as skilled as they needed to be for a mixed martial artist like him.

"Hyaah!" Ruruka prepared to swing another powerful wind compressed kick at him.

"Nope!"

"…!"

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOSH!* *BAAAANG!*

Michael redirected Ruruka's kick by simply kicking her leg a little higher into wall just behind him.

"You're really got some moves, Nimura-chan!" Michael chuckled as he quickly grabbed her leg and kept her in place. Ruruka's eyes widened upon feeling the encroaching pressure of Koneko's ki laced fist approaching her from behind.

"Gurgh!" Ruruka clicked her tongue and bent backwards to avoid the punch, but also to rip her leg from Michael's tight grip. Placing her hands on the ground, Ruruka poured more energy into the winds of her boots before she spun around like a top and created a powerful gale of wind that pushed both Michael and Koneko away in the opposite direction.

Catching her breath, Ruruka narrowed her eyes at the Gremory Pawn and Rook, they were obviously too much for her to handle. It surprised her how efficient these two worked together as a team, whenever she saw them together, they would usually bicker. There's also the fact that she knew that Michael wasn't even remotely using his full power yet.

Already up, both Michael and Koneko approached her from both her left and right side.

"Nimura-chan, what's your plan here?" Michael asked.

"…" Ruruka kept silent.

"…It's odd that you're the only one, who came to face us." Koneko added, Rias had predicted more to come after them and yet this lack of enemies really made Koneko suspicious of their situation, "If you were sent alone to go to the security office, you would have rushed the moment that the game began, but instead you confronted us."

"…" Ruruka still kept to herself as she narrowed her eyes at both of her opponents, she needed to stay focus in case either of the two pulled a fast one.

"…Kaichou sent you here to front lines alone without sending a single servant to assist you? That's too strange to ignore. Its either the rest are protecting Kaichou or being sent on another route."

"There's also the fact that you've been constantly on the defensive and avoiding most of our heavy hits meaning your stalling. So that means…" Michael blinked upon realization.

"You're a distraction." Koneko prepared herself to pounce as she coated her fists with more chi.

"Meaning the rest are taking another route after Buchou!" Michael clenched his fists and readied himself in his stance.

Wearing a challenging smile, Nimura laughed, "You two really are clever together, you even noticed that amidst the fight. You guys are definitely right about me being a distraction, the Kaichou anticipated Rias-senpai's strategy by setting up a countermeasure."

Now was probably the time to use it, Nimura thought, she was literally backed into a corner with the both of them on her flanks. She just needed the right opening to do so, "However, I don't plan to just waste your time before you yourselves decide to force me to retire, no, I actually intend to beat you both with everything just like Saji-senpai!"

"Saji, wait, that's right. Where is h-?" Memories of the dodgeball game flooded back as Michael remembered another crucial detail about the game that neglected to acknowledge.

[One of Rias Gremory-sama's [Bishops] retires.]

"What the-!?" From an epiphany to being shocked by the announcement, Michael was temporarily distracted from the current battle at hand, which was just perfect for Ruruka.

"Now!" Pulling out a vial of brown powder from her pocket, Ruruka quickly kicks the vial and smashes the bottle open before blowing its contents in Michael's direction as the powerful winds of her boots fired the substance in Michael's face, and gasping mouth.

"What in the-!?" Michael didn't get to finish that sentence because he soon started to wetly cough. Falling to his knees, Michael's coughing soon grew to escalate to the point to where he even grew dizzy.

"C-Cinnamon?"

(Flashback- 4 years ago)

*WHEEEEEEEWHOOOOWHEEEEEEEEEWHOOOO~!*

Sitting in the back of an Ambulance, Michael laid groggily on the bed before opening his eyes to spot a worried Saji sitting next to him. The last thing he remembered, he and Saji went to the town's bakery to participate in its cinnamon roll eating contest for a free limited edition Son Goku key chain. Saji was dragged along and only participated so Michael would have the chance to win the key chain regardless if he won or not.

As soon as the contest began, he took one single bite of the cinnamon roll and after that he found himself waking up in the ambulance.

"Hey, dude…" Michael's cracking voice sounded really severe as his face was swelling up.

"Mike, you were allergic to cinnamon!?" Saji shouted.

"Yeah…I thought that maybe if I ate them fast enough, I wouldn't even notice it. So did I win?" Michael asked.

Saji shook his head.

"Was I even close?"

"Dude, you went into shock after the first bite…" Saji inhaled sharply.

"Well, did you win?" Michael asked with hope in his eyes.

"Actually, I sort of quit and made sure to call 911 since your condition literally worsened after you passed out in your plate of cinnamon rolls. But the manager did want me to give you this." Saji handed Michael a key chain.

"Booya-aw…Vegeta…" Michael groaned.

"It was either that or Yamcha." Saji shrugged.

"…He made the right choice…" Michael coughed as he looked outside of the ambulance with half-lidded eyes, now he has a reason to feel bad about egging the bakery's establishment when he gets out of the hospital.

(Present)

"Saji-senpai sends his regards." Nimura raised her foot and charged up her wind compressed leg.

"…You!"

*BAAAANG!* *CRACK!* *CRACK!*

"…Aaaugh!" Ruruko cried out in pain upon Koneko stabbing her chi infused elbow into her ribs. A few shattered under the sheer force of the blow as Ruruko clutched them and simply smiled, the plan was perfectly executed just as Sona and Saji planned.

"*COUGH!* *COUGH!* That bastard…he…*COUGH!* *HACCCK!*" Michael's coughing grew worse as his breathing grew heavier with each passing second.

"Michael-senpai! Michael-senpai!" Koneko rushed to his side and worriedly shook the young man, he was slowly losing consciousness and that's not all, he was getting sweatier and some parts of his skin was getting rougher and covered in rashes.

"Like Gasper-kun, we were able to figure out how to deal a massive blow to you, Hanamura-senpai! We had a grocery store on our floor of the mall and made use of the garlic that we found to incapacitate him before making him retire." Ruruko said, and Koneko simply groaned, she had to remind herself to bully Gasper into better tolerating garlic like last time.

"N-Ngh…" Michael gripped his throat and gritted his teeth in pain. No one, not even his own teammates knew of his allergic reaction. There was only one instance in his life where he once tasted cinnamon and the only person to have known about such a weakness was…

"And the same goes for you, Michael-senpai. Kaichou may not have found any data on you personally besides your obvious weaknesses to dragon slayer weapons and holy energy, but thanks to Saji-senpai's history with you, we were able to find a way to defeat without using brute force."

*COUGH!* *COUGH!*

Michael's coughing only grew more violent.

"Your anatomy as a devil may have improved you're resistance to it, but eventually it will force you to lose consciousness." Ruruka explained as she pointed at him and declared, "Hanamura-senpai, I will do everything in my power to defeat you for the sake of Kaichou and Saji-senpai's dreams!"

"…D-Don't worry, Michael-senpai, I'll get you back to Buchou." Koneko was glad that their base was near the drugstore. There had to be medicine for him there, amidst her worries blinding her, she made one mistake in believing her last blow was enough to make Ruruka retire.

Just as Koneko wrapped Michael's arm over her shoulder and dragged him off, Ruruka took a deep breath as revitalizing stream of air entered her lungs.

"Second Wind." Using the sealed fairy, Sylph, in her Sacred Gear, she was able to use wind magic to steadily heal her broken ribs. She wasn't out of the fight just yet and she intended to leave as much of a heavy blow on the enemy on much as she possibly can. As a pawn that's all she could ever hope to accomplish for her master.

XXX

Advancing through the dimly lit multi-story parking lot, Kiba and Xenovia quietly navigated through the darkness. With their guards raised, they were prepared for any sudden ambushes in the dark, Kiba and Xenovia were experienced swordsmen, who've faced their share of enemies in a similar environment, so they fared well with ease as they progressed with each step they took.

They were able to at least make it to the second floor of the parking lot, but that's where they ran into two silhouettes, their opponents.

Standing in front of them were Sona's Rook, Yura Tsubasa, and Sona's Knight, Tomoe Meguri.

"How do you do, Yura-san, Tomoe-san?" Kiba greeted them earnestly.

"Nothing much, just ready for battle!" Tomoe unsheathed her katana.

"Yeah." Tsubasa unfolded her crossed arms only to clench them as a pair of black and gold gauntlets formed around both of her arms. The most defining feature of these gauntlets were the percussion hammer located on her elbows.

'I see, so she's one of the two sacred gear users in Kaichou's team…' Kiba thought as he reached for one of the three katana on his right hip, the white hilted katana.

[One of Rias Gremory-sama's [Bishops] retires.]

"!?" Both Kiba and Xenovia were surprised to hear the announcement but kept their composure. They both deduced that it was unlikely for it to be Asia since she was safely beside Rias and Akeno, so it must have been Gasper.

"Wow, I can't believe how calm you two are after hearing that." Tomoe said that in a taunting fashion.

"In battle, one must clear thy mind of all doubts, fears and worry in order to fight at their best." Kiba recited one of his master's lessons. His expression remained neutral.

"This result was only because he didn't train his body enough, geez..." Xenovia facepalmed.

Kiba looked to Xenovia and at first thought that her expression was neutral just like his own, but found this to be quite the opposite. She was merely holding back her rage if the way her trembling hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword was an indicator.

"But even so, they took out my cute kouhai. I will avenge him." Xenovia released a dreadful pressure that everyone around her felt. She was pissed, and even though this was just a Rating Game, she still obviously kept a soft spot for her defeated friends.

*GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!* *GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!*

Kiba and Meguri crossed blades as Xenovia clashed her sword against Tsubasa's gauntlets. The loud sounds of metal grinding and hitting against metal rang out in the parking lot.

Feeling a burning sensation underneath her gauntlets, Tsubasa noticed a strange combination emanating from Xenovia's sword as she took a step back in surprise.

"Is that a holy sword!? No, it's not just that… A Holy-Demonic Sword!?"

"Yes, I requested Kiba to create one for me. Being the wielder of Durandal, it's only natural for me to wield such a blade as this." Xenovia brandished her uniquely designed black and white zweihander emanating a fusion of holy and demonic energy.

"I needed a replacement since I couldn't risk using Durandal despite gaining some control over it, it would have still caused some collateral damage in the mall." Xenovia wore a satisfied smile, "I was a little reluctant to use one of Kiba's Holy-Demonic swords, but I have to say that this blade is quite remarkable." Xenovia trusted the other Knight's skills as a swordsman, but always found his weapons to be…disposable when compared to real legendary holy swords.

Thankfully, that opinion of hers has now changed, the blade that Kiba crafted for her felt legitimate in her hands like she was holding a newly forged blade that was much durable.

Kiba tried his best not to pat himself on the back as he continued his fierce battle with Tomoe, the blade still wasn't his best work despite crafting the blade to suit Xenovia's need for a much broader weapon. The instructions that Zethyr gave to him on how to properly craft such a high quality blade. In the end, he could accomplish about three or four of the steps before relying on Sword Birth to do the meager basis for the rest.

*GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!*

Like a dance between the two knights, they swung and clashed their blades like a true swordsman and swordswoman. Kiba was surprised to see Tomoe keep up with him, he had to admit that he underestimated her by simply using one hand to use his white hilted demonic sword.

"Impressive." Kiba complimented

"Hehe, thanks, you're not the only one with a history with swordsmanship!" Tomoe grinned.

Jumping back, Kiba snapped his fingers and created 5 magic circles using his balance breaker, Sword of Betrayer, to fire an array of Holy-Demonic swords at Tomoe. If he could just get a single hit in, he would be able to dispatch of her using all of the swords' holy element.

"Hmhmhm~!" Tomoe hummed as she weaved through the thrown swords before sheathing her blade.

*SHAAAAAATER!*

All of the fired Holy-Demonic Swords were cut to pieces. Even Kiba was a bit speechless, she used her demonic energy to strengthen the blade of her katana, it was no wonder how she was able to destroy the projectile swords that he created so quickly.

"Wow, I have to say that you're actually a powerful and formidable foe, Tomoe-san."

"You flatter me, Yuuto-kun, but don't think that will earn you any of my mercy." Tomoe smirked, "I've been through Kaichou's hellish training and the results are finally paying off."

"I see, I see…" Kiba smiled as he clenched his hand over the demonic bladed katana that he wielded, "I guess its about time for me to start showing off the results of my training too." Kiba rolled his wrist which created a few audible cracks.

Looking back up to face, Tomoe, Kiba chuckled, "As a show of good faith, allow me to show you the results of my own hellish training, but I warn you, I could get a little rough."

"Won't be a real battle if you can't get a little rough, you know."

"That's also true, now…" Kiba's voice grew softer and a bit low. His biceps tensed up as he took one quick step after Tomoe, who kept her guard up. When Kiba swung his blade, Tomoe reactively raised her blade to guard the attack.

*CLAAAAAAAAANG!*

"E-Eh?" As soon as her blade made contact with his, Tomoe found herself skidding back with her body trembling from the sheer force that came from clashing her blade with Kiba's. Stopping herself from reeling back, Tomoe steadied herself and kept on the look out for another one of Kiba's attacks, but he was nowhere in sight.

*SHING!*

Suddenly the edge of a blade was close to reaching one of widened eyes.

"…!" Tomoe gasped and quickly backed away as Kiba's reappeared right in front of her. She was speechless, his speed was on a whole other level than her own. What took out of the loop even more was the thought of Kiba savagely claiming her eyes with that attack, but she soon comes to realize that it was simply a faint as she falls into his series of devastating attacks.

*GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!* *CRACK!*

'Is this a weapon breaking technique!?' Tomoe thought.

Tomoe gasped as she felt her katana violently vibrate with each merciless thrust from Kiba's sword. His attention was on just her but her weapon as cracks began to form through the blade. Tomoe couldn't believe that her coating of demonic energy was getting penetrated from Kiba's simple demonic sword with brute force. She wondered just want torture he had to put his arms through to get that strong.

Either way being defenseless against such an opponent like him would truly spell her end.

'I have to get some breathing room!' Tomoe took a big leap back.

"…There!" This soon became her biggest mistake as Kiba charged at her and disappeared using what Tomoe would exaggeratedly call at that moment, godspeed, because once he appeared in front of her eyes again, she wouldn't have seen the attack coming her as his blade thrusted past her head. Frankly this would seem rather unimpressive since he only grazed her cheek, but the thrust did more than that.

*STAAAB!* *CHNK!* *BOOOOOOOOM!*

The sheer pressure of the thrust reach back to a car behind her as it stabbed through the engine and caused an explosion. Tomoe didn't even feel him use the weapon's demonic energy, it was just pure arm strength that destroyed the car.

"I warned you that things would be a little rough." Kiba stepped back and examined Tomoe's expression. He expected her to be a bit frightened by his display of technique and power, but instead found her excitedly smiling.

"Amazing…" Tomoe resumed her stance, "Even if I were to lose, such a chance to fight such an opponent like you, Yuuto-kun is really a worthwhile experience."

"Thanks, it means a lot hearing that from you." Kiba smiled, he had to admit that even he was surprised by his improved arm strength after his endless one month battle against the Sword Dancer came to an end. Still, he still found his strength lacking in compared to Drayfus, that devil had REAL arm strength compared to his own.

Hoping to sate Tomoe's wishes, Kiba decided to take things to the next level by reaching his free hand to grip the black hilted katana on his waist, "It might not be the secret weapon that I wanted to use, but I still wanted to keep it a secret, but as a show of good sportsmanship against you, I'll unleash upon you the power that I discovered amidst my hard work."

"W-What?" Tomoe gasped as Kiba began to unsheathe the katana. A bright white light shined in Tomoe's face causing her to wince and stagger back, "Is that-!?"

*BAAAAAAAM!*

Slamming her much larger blade down upon Tsubasa again, Xenovia exchanged blows with the Rook for quite some time. She may have been a knight, but since she was classified as a Power-type, it would be hard to make that distinction since she's trading blows an actual Rook. Tsubasa's gauntlets were powerful enough to withstand each swing of Xenovia's blade while Xenovia's Holy-Demonic Sword was able to perfectly guard against one of Tsubasa's heavy blows.

*CLAAAAAAANG!*

Using the forearm of her gauntlets to block the blade, Tsubasa smirked and raised her free hand and aimed it at Xenovia as the Gauntlet's percussion hammer in her elbow began to slam down and build up her demonic energy into a highly compressed sphere of power.

"Blow away!"

"Gch!"

*DOOOOOOOON!* *BOOOOOM!*

Ducking out just in time, Xenovia avoided getting engulfed in the attack as it destroyed a row of cars behind.

"That's a powerful Sacred Gear that you have there." Xenovia panted.

"Heaven' Shatter, it's a pretty basic Sacred Gear that works for me. Each time these percussion hammers in my elbow slam down, they build up the energy that I need to flatten my opponents." Tsubasa continued used the percussion hammers as her gauntlets shined with a bright golden aura.

Up to this point, Xenovia's been on par with Tsubasa throughout her fight. She was too close to succumbing to Tsubasa's attacks as the rook was quite adept at hand to hand combat to give Xenovia a run for her money. As Xenovia switched between offense and defense, she created a small gap in the space near her head which failed to garner Tsubasa's attention as she was too occupied by the heat of battle.

*SHIIIIIIIIIINE~!*

Pouring out of the gap was a potent holy aura that shrouded her Holy-Demonic sword giving it a much powerful edge in strength, in fact, the holy aura was very reminiscent to Durandal's.

"No way!" Tsubasa gasped, "You've been taking holy energy from Durandal this entire time?"

"Yeah, thanks to my training, I was able to somewhat control Durandal enough to freely imbue its aura into any blade I choose to wield." Xenovia rushed Tsubasa and started to overwhelm her with the increased power output of her Holy-Demonic sword, her speed was also making it difficult for Tsubasa to even keep up.

All the while, Tsubasa kept charging the energy in her percussion hammered gauntlets.

*RIP~!* *GIIIIIN!* *GIIIIIIN!* *RIIIIII~!*

Tsubasa held back her screams of pain as a few cuts were ripped through her clothes and skin. She was able to block the heavier hits by using her gauntlets that were growing thicker and larger each time the percussion hammers slammed in and out.

*CLAAANG!*

Heaving an upward slash, Xenovia knocked Tsubasa back to notice how large her gauntlets grew to be. They were literally half her size, and the golden aura that it stored up lightened the dark parking lot.

"It might not be the real thing, but if that sword of yours is using Durandal Holy energy, I'd like to put it to the test and see whether my Sacred Gear's power can hope to overcome your power head on."

*THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!* *THUNK!*

Thrusting both palms out, Tsubasa worked the giant hammers in her elbow like pistons as the built up energy began to form into a massive ball of condensed demonic energy.

"Power? Heh, back then, I would have went along with such a challenge, but the new me has found a new power that surpasses any sheer strength, technique!" Grasping her blade with two hands, Xenovia exhaled and allowed the Durandal's holy energy flow through the Holy-Demonic sword as the bright aura looked brazen and controlled at same time as it powerfully hummed.

Xenovia assumed a basic kendo stance with one foot forward and one foot back.

"1,000 Heavenly Palms of Pain!" Tsubasa fired a massive beam of energy in Xenovia's direction, but the [Knight] simply remained calm as she took a single deep breath and raised her blade.

"Ryōdan." Xenovia exhaled.

*SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING~!* *SPLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!*

Moments before the blast could hit her, Xenovia firmly brought her sword down to severe the blast in two along with its source, Tsubasa. The [Rook] couldn't believe her eyes, all of the power that she amassed was split in half and that was all, the ground leading up to her was perfectly getting split in two as well as a sharp rush of holy-demonic energy (mostly holy energy) hit her.

"R-Reverse!" Tsubasa shouted, the ability couldn't eliminate the overall Holy element since it was both a Holy-Demonic sword, but she could switch the dominant holy element with demonic energy to lessen the effectiveness of the attack.

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAN!*

"Aauuuuuuugh!" Tsubasa cried as a huge gashed wound was slashed down upon her chest after tanking an attack that was meant to bisect an opponent in half. She gripped her shoulder in pain, she did still suffer some holy energy filled damage, but majority of it was switched with demonic energy now being the more dominant, she can at least say that she was still able to avoid getting retired.

"Did you see that? That was the true power of technique! A better handling of power that can overcome any amount of sheer power!" Xenovia proclaimed, but sweatdropped upon seeing the blade to her Holy-Demon sword shatter.

"Looks like I poured too much of Durandal's aura into it…"

Panting in pain, Tsubasa forced herself to stand, but caught of guard by a sudden cry in pain. She looked over to where Kiba and Tomoe fought and found her teammate lying in a pool of her own blood as Kiba stood over her with his black hilted katana now sheathed.

"It was an honor to fight you, Yuuto-kun…" Tomoe's body began to glow.

Bowing his head, Kiba smiled, "Yes, thank you for being my opponent."

[Sona Sitri-sama's [Knight] has retired.] Upon Tomoe's body disappearing soon came the merciless announcement.

"Hey, Kiba, were you able to witness my technique?"

"Y-Yes, Xenovia-san, it was quite a powerful kendo stance."

"Hm! Of course it was, I've been practicing that stance the whole month."

'W-What?' Kiba looked absolutely shocked.

"X-Xenovia-san, did you say that you only worked on just that stance?" Kiba said.

"Of course, I did it so many times and it helped me control Durandal a bit, so I decided to try and master the technique since it was so difficult." Xenovia proudly smiled.

'B-B-But that was just the basic first stance you learn when starting kendo…' Kiba facepalmed, by following that logic it was safe to assume that, that was the only technique that she learned over the course of the month. Kiba had to give Okita-sensei some props, he was able to at least beat one technique in her while he and Michael couldn't even convince her to fight more with skill.

"Now all that's left is to deal with you, Yura-san." Kiba noticed Xenovia's broken sword and sighed as he created another one and tossed it to her.

Catching the thrown blade, Xenovia raised it up, "Nothing personal…"

"Ngh…" Tsubasa grunted in pain but gave the pair a cheeky smirk, "Yeah, nothing personal…"

*Zwooooooom!* *PULL!*

"What?" Kiba gasped as a large encroaching shadow reached his own and restrained him.

"Shadow Prison." A voice whispered in the dark shadows of the parking lot.

"Kiba, what's wrong?"

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Due to Xenovia's concern, she was unable to notice the incoming torrent of black flames resembling an eastern dragon coming her way.

"…!" She gasped.

"Infernal Flame Dragon's Roar!"

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!* *THUD!*

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Xenovia screamed in agony as the dark flames slammed her into one of the cars and mercilessly engulfed her before she disappeared in veil of light.

[One of Rias Gremory-sama's [Knights] have retired.]

"Xenovia! You!" Kiba gritted his teeth as he struggled through the shadows to move his arm. He had already noticed the presence hiding in the shadows, so by using brute force, he was able to swing his blade in the direction of one the cars and split it in half with a sharp demonic blast.

Dodge rolling from out behind the car, a knelt down Saji appeared. The young man intently kept his eyes on Kiba as continued to remain focus and use his shadows to restrain the [Knight]. He was a bit surprised with Kiba's improved physical prowess earlier so now he really had to remain calm. One little slip up and the Gremory Knight would break free from his hold.

"How's it going, Kiba?" Saji smiled, but felt the knight's killing intent, he had just taken out his teammate right in front of his eyes, so it was to be expected.

"A knight for a knight, it seems fair after you retired Tomoe like that." Saji said as he gritted his teeth, his battle with Kiba came to one of willpower, the knight was forcing himself to break free from his shadows.

"But now we're going to take a piece that's far greater than a [Knight], a [King]. Tell me, how safely secured is your base in the food court on the first floor?"

"How did you know abou-!?" Kiba paused, "Were you able to reach the surveillance room before the game began?"

"Nope." Saji shook his head, "And we were able to know about that the same way we figured about Rias-senpai's plan to send you and Xenovia through the parking lot while using Mike and Koneko as the bait. The Kaichou made a plan to counter your plan by taking you two out before going after Rias-senpai, but that plan sort of went awry." Saji turned his head to look at the approaching silhouette coming from behind him

"The four of us were sent together to take you two out. With Tomoe-san and Tsubasa-san attacking first before the both of joined them. Your skills proved to be better and certainly didn't expect for Xenovia to use a technique attack, there's also your extreme growth in strength and skill. So, to avoid losing the short amount of time we had, this was the only way to properly put you guys down." Saji chuckled.

"How do you do, Kiba Yuuto-kun?" Tsubaki revealed herself.

"Fuka-kaichou…" Kiba lowly growled.

"Good work, Tsubasa and Saji, we can now safely resume our advance into the enemy's base." At Tsubaki's words of thanks both Saji and Tsubasa nodded in gratitude. Walking past Kiba with her Naginata at the ready, Tsubaki coldly looked back at the knight and explained something shocking to him.

"We were always aware of your movements since in the beginning, we were watching you all. For an example, during the 30 minute break, you were in the drugstore acquiring these medicines and bandages." Tsubaki reached into Kiba's pocket and kept said products.

'They've been watching us for that long?' Kiba thought.

"To elaborate upon Saji's answer, we never went to the security room to watch your movements. Simply because we didn't need to, we were able to simply use one of the laptops in the electrical appliance shop on the third floor to hack into the cameras around the mall. We have Saji to thank for that since he's already familiar with the procedure." Tsubaki continued.

"I mean, I was surprised that you guys didn't catch on. I did this sort of stuff for Mike all the time in the past whenever he wanted to prank some store owners. What…did he forget to tell you guys or something…?"

At Saji's query, Kiba mentally facepalmed since his arms were currently restrained. They really should have asked Michael if there was more to his experience in the mall than what he told them.

"Either way, we still had the advantage and we successfully executed it." Saji began to stand as he felt something off, he didn't feel the Knight struggle anymore, he was completely motionless.

"Now all that's left to do is leave Tsubasa and Saji to retire you in that state."

"HNGH!" Kiba roared as he tore himself free from Saji's shadows with one massive push with his legs.

*GIIIIIIN!*

Tsubaki gasped as she turned around and blocked the angered knight's sword. The force of the sword's attack nearly chopped the naginata's blade off of its shaft.

Noticing something off about the blade that Kiba drew, Tsubaki said, "I knew it, that other blade that you used with the demonic sword to quickly dispatch of Tomoe wasn't any Holy-Demonic sword. No, you created a Holy Sword!"

Revealed in Kiba's right hand was the black hilted katana with a pure white blade emanating a holy aura. Instinctively pulling out the white hilted demonic katana with his left hand, Kiba prepared to lunge the unoccupied sword into the [Queen].

"Fuka-kaichou!"

Seeing the severity of the situation, Tsubasa quickly rushed Kiba from behind and prepared to slam her gauntlets into his back. Unbeknownst to her, Kiba quickly dropped the demonic katana that he created in order to create something else.

"Tsubasa-san, wait!"

*STAB!*

"Hurck!" Tsubasa coughed up a mouthful of blood as Kiba ran a western holy sword that he created into her torso.

"Blade Blacksmith."

"That Sacred Gear that can create Holy Swords? But how? You've only been able to create demon swords with only Sword Birth and Holy-Demon Swords with the Sword of Betrayer!" Saji shouted.

"…" Kiba gave them no answer as he still kept his holy blade clashing with Tsubaki's naginata while still having the other penetrated in Tsubasa's hemorrhaging middle.

It was true that his recorded sacred gear was just Sword Birth, but after his training against the Sword Dancer, he was able to conceive the truth. The truth as to why he was able to use his Irregular Balance Breaker, Sword of Betrayer. It was because he was finally able to discover the "gift" that one of his fallen comrades gave to him after figuring out the meaning between Zethyr's lesson.

The man had taught him how to perfectly find a balance between the demonic element and the holy element of his holy-demonic swords. First, before arriving to the underworld, he had trained just enough to properly distinguish his true demonic energy by itself. Leaving only one obstacle left, and that was to discover the origin of the added holy element in his Irregular Balance Breaker.

It was arduous fighting that monster while trying to seek the truth, but after reaching the 25th day of the month, he was finally able to figure out and comprehend the true nature of the holy element and discover his "gifted" sacred gear, Blade Blacksmith, the ability to create holy swords!

"Tsubasa-san! Just hold on!" Saji prepared a line to pull her out.

"Don't!" Tsubasa pushed herself in further through the blade and screamed from the agonizing burning before head locking Kiba with one arm.

"Grgh!" Kiba grunted as he was getting pulled back by the [Rook].

"Fuka-kaichou! Saji-kun!" Tsubasa raised her one hand to the ceiling and charged up enough energy into its palm, "Keep…moving…"

*DOOOOON!* *CRUMBLE~!* *DOGANDOGANDOGANDOGANDOGAN!*

"Guwaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Kiba shouted in pain as the ceiling above them caved in on the both of them with a few cars following suit as well and caused the ground that Xenovia's attack sliced to cave in as well and crash into the ground floor of the parking lot.

[Sona Sitri-sama's [Rook] has retired.]

Managing to get far enough from the gaping hole in the middle of second floor's parking lot, Saji and Tsubaki sadly but gratefully looked down upon their fallen friend. Looking back up at each other, the pair decided to make haste and continue on with the plan. The announcement didn't speak of Kiba retiring so it would spell bad news should they wait around for him to unearth himself from the rubble.

Tsubaki would continue onto the enemy's base.

While Saji would return to provide back-up for Nimura, he only hoped that she was hanging in there against Michael and Koneko. It would even be a bonus if the tip that he gave to her was successful. Well, there has yet to be an announcement on her retiring, so he'd have to hope for the best.

'Just you wait, Mike…' Saji rolled back one of his sleeves to reveal the black circling markings of an eastern dragon on his arm.

(Ddraig…) A cold and deep voice echoed from Saji's sacred gear.

"We're coming for you."/(We're coming for you.)