Chapter 160: Not a Single One Is Easy to Handle

"Wha…?!"

"So heavy…!"

"What are you doing?!"

"…!"

The sudden gravitational pressure forced Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko to either fall to one knee or collapse outright—some were even sprawled flat on the ground, completely unable to rise. Their faces were full of anguish.

Kaiser stood tall within the same gravitational field, utterly unaffected. He rested the glowing, purple Gravisheath on his shoulder with a calm expression.

"This level of gravity isn't unbearable, is it?"

Smiling as he looked down at the Gremory peerage, Kaiser spoke casually.

"Didn't you say you wanted to train? Then do it under this gravity!"

"Whether you're training your physical body or magical power, you can do it all under gravity."

"The results are excellent. If you can overcome this level of pressure, your combat power will at least double."

Training under gravity was a proven method.

Unlike weighted training, gravity applied uniform pressure to every part of the body—both inside and out.

Exercising under such conditions yielded far better results than simple weight training or regular workouts—by a wide margin.

Kaiser knew this from personal experience.

Back in the Asterisk world, after absorbing massive amounts of Urm-Manadyte, his physical and Prana capabilities skyrocketed uncontrollably. Thanks to Gravisheath, he managed to quickly stabilize and master that immense power.

Even if Rias and the others were focusing on magical training, doing so under gravity would still bring twice the result with half the effort.

"As for technique, I can't teach you that—and I wouldn't even try."

Kaiser himself had never studied any formal technique. His fighting was purely based on the instinct granted by his Authority, so he wasn't about to pretend to be a master instructor.

His purpose in coming here was to assist their training—not to lecture them.

"When you can move freely under this gravity, we'll move to the next stage."

With that, Kaiser planted Gravisheath into the ground.

"I'm leaving it to you. You're fine with that, right?"

He spoke to Gravisheath, which responded with a resonant hum.

"You really know how to seize an opportunity."

Kaiser understood the scythe's meaning. Clicking his tongue, he ran his fingertip along the blade, drawing a thin trickle of blood.

BZZZZZZZ—

The scythe immediately began humming excitedly, eagerly absorbing the drop of blood. The purple crystal glowed brighter, and the crimson blade deepened in hue.

"Have fun."

Waving indifferently, Kaiser turned and strolled back into the villa, intending to continue his afternoon tea.

"Wait! You bastard…!"

Rias struggled to lift her head, glaring at Kaiser swaggering back inside. She looked ready to explode.

"President!"

"What do we do now?!"

The others were barely able to move under the gravity, their words strained with effort.

Seeing them, Rias recalled how effortlessly Kaiser had stood under the same pressure. Her frustration shifted to stubborn defiance.

"We continue our original training!"

She gritted her teeth.

"I want to see if this method is really that effective…!"

She pushed herself up, slowly raising her hands, attempting to gather her Destruction magic.

But her magic, which usually flowed freely, now felt impossibly heavy. The moment she conjured it, it dropped like a boulder.

BOOM!

The red aura exploded beneath her, obliterating the ground—and launching Rias into the air.

"Rias!"

"President!"

Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko all cried out in alarm.

"I'm fine!"

Rias climbed to her feet again with difficulty. She wasn't injured, but her flawless face was now smeared with dirt.

"Continue!"

She ground her teeth and raised her hands once more, slowly gathering her Destruction power.

Seeing this, the others exchanged glances—and inspired by her determination, began struggling to their feet as well.

"Lightning, come forth!"

Akeno pointed a finger, gathering electricity at its tip. But like Rias, the moment it formed, the magic was crushed by gravity and exploded beneath her feet, blasting her into the air.

To stop the lightning from falling, she had to maintain greater control. But if she lacked precision, it would go haywire. Too little power, and it would drop; too much, and it became unmanageable. Finding the balance was the challenge—and failure meant getting blown up.

Over time, Rias and Akeno began to understand.

"Training under this kind of gravity really does improve magical control."

"And raw power too. If I can maintain my output consistently, I'll get stronger fast."

Realizing this, the two older girls threw themselves even harder into their magic training.

Meanwhile, Kiba and Koneko weren't working on magic but focused on their sacred gear and physical conditioning.

"Magic Sword Creation!"

Kiba forged a blade in his hand—but it felt heavier than a thousand-pound warhammer. His summoning speed slowed drastically, and each swing became a monumental task.

To improve, he repeatedly created magic swords, trying to adapt to the gravity while also exercising his body.

CRACK!

Sometimes the blades shattered under the pressure, revealing just how fragile his creations were.

So Kiba began strengthening the swords he made—improving their durability and endurance.

"Ha! Yaa!"

Compared to the others, Koneko's training seemed plain and unremarkable. She was simply doing physical workouts.

Sometimes she forced herself to take steps. Other times, she did push-ups, sit-ups, or shadow-boxed with gloves on. Her sheer effort looked oddly out of place.

After all, the others had flares of Destruction magic, flashes of lightning, or sinister swords appearing around them—yet this petite girl, who looked the most delicate, was doing the grittiest physical drills. It felt completely mismatched.

Naturally, Kaiser saw all of this from inside the villa.

"…If someone else saw this, they'd probably think she was just an ordinary, hard-working girl."

Sitting by the window with a cup of red tea, Kaiser muttered as he watched the intense training outside.

And it was true. To the uninformed, Koneko might appear to be the most mundane of the Gremory peerage.

Rias had her Destruction magic. Akeno specialized in lightning. Kiba had his sacred gear for sword creation. On the surface, Koneko seemed weak in magic, lacked a sacred gear, and had no choice but to focus on raw physical strength.

But who would've guessed—this girl was far from ordinary. Though lacking in devil talent, she was part of a rare and powerful combat race by birth: a nekomata, and not just any nekomata—the strongest and rarest of them all, a nekoshou.

"If she awakened her true nature as a nekoshou, she could master both youjutsu and senjutsu. That's what she should really be training."

Physical strength was important—but recognizing your strengths and training them properly was even more so.

If Koneko embraced her full powers, she would be several times stronger than she was now.

"And then there's this one…"

Kaiser turned his gaze toward Akeno.

Watching the dignified Yamato Nadeshiko repeatedly gather lightning and blow herself up, Kaiser shook his head.

"Sure, lightning is powerful. But like I said before—combine it with light and turn it into Thunderlight, and that would be a surprise enemies wouldn't see coming."

Unfortunately, she didn't listen—still stubbornly clinging to her usual magic.

As for Rias and Kiba, while both were seriously training in their strengths, Kaiser still noticed a hint of anxiety in their eyes.

Especially Kiba—his eyes were noticeably darker than before. His entire demeanor had shifted.

"As expected, a bunch of problem children. Not a single one is easy to deal with."

Kaiser stroked his chin, ideas beginning to form.

"Alright. Let's go with that."

Whatever he had thought of, it brought a smirk to his lips.

"…!"

And at that exact moment, as if sensing something ominous, Rias and the others shivered in unison while deep in training.

…

Time passed quickly.

Even in the Underworld, time was adjusted to match the human world. Though there was no sun or moon, it still had day and night.

The training under Gravisheath's gravitational pressure continued until evening.

Though Rias and the others collapsed from exhaustion more than once, the gravity never let up. They could only try to rest while still under its crushing force, struggling to recover.

Physical energy could regenerate—but mental strength couldn't.

Being under constant extreme gravity made true rest impossible. It only grew more suffocating with time.

By nightfall, Rias and the others finally hit their limit—passing out one after another.

"Let's wrap it up for today."

Only then did Kaiser emerge leisurely. He pulled Gravisheath from the ground, controlling the gravity so the unconscious group floated into the air and carried them back into the villa…

(End of Chapter)