Gaming Badly in DxD

-Zatren Fumigami-

“Partner, what are you trying to do, exactly?” Jinzui asked curiously.

Meanwhile, I was maintaining myself airborne with my wings. Which, surprisingly enough, had changed color from black to a very dark shade of purple. Probably something to do with godhood?

“I’m trying to look… internally. Or something like that. It’s hard to explain.” I frowned.

The Divinity Perk said that, at a base, a Deus should have some degree of soul manipulation, and since my training with Touki was a bitch and a half to go through, I thought that maybe there was something wrong with my soul in general.

I discovered, however, that it’s a lot harder said than done.

“You know, anime and manga make this shit look way easier than it is…” I huffed with closed eyes.

It felt like trying to hold onto water with your bare hands. I could only get a small bit, and I didn’t have enough time to check it out before it slipped past my fingers. However, that didn’t mean I had a harder time with other people’s souls.

Ddraig was sealed inside the Boosted Gear, and through my new divinity, it looked like an angry red orb that flew around like an over-excited toddler on too much sugar. Very hard to even see and even harder to catch.

And this was him actually allowing me to take a look. No resistance. The equivalent of lying down on a stretcher and letting the dentist inspect your teeth.

And Jinzui’s…

“I-I’m still a bit shy about it. Sorry, beloved… Maybe another time, when you come for a visit?” She sputtered nervously, the red gem on the Devil Spear I was currently mastering glowing… blushing? “...”

‘Right then… Now that I remember, we still have that meeting with Azazel today.’ I squeezed the handle of my weapon before—

“FUMIGAMI, YOU EITHER KILL THIS THING OR I AM CUTTING OFF THAT HAIR OF YOURS WITH RUSTED SCISSORS!” A very angry, very tired voice shouted, making me smile and look down. “GET OFF ME, YOU SLIMY PIECE OF SHIT!”

The ocean breeze that felt so nice on my skin wasn’t because of being near a beach, no. It was the water dungeon I finally decided to try out, mostly because that time I went fishing with Azazel felt nice. Like I was right at home, so I wanted to see if I could get the same feeling from a dungeon.

And also to take Mittelt and Chrysalis to train. The former because I knew she was close to breaching past some sort of bottleneck, while the latter was because I wanted to see how well she would do in real combat, considering she was a Larva not long ago.

And holy shit—Huh… that doesn’t hurt anymore?—She was a beast.

On the beautiful beach below, the four-armed form of Chrysalis practically ran past each enemy; every movement tore a hole into one of the ugly Mer-folk’s bodies, barely humanoid, reptile-like creatures with a lust for blood and very aggressive.

She used her four chitin-covered arms like deadly swords or rams. Piercing or cutting through flash as she saw fit. Always a direct kill shot, no hesitation, and no wasted movements.

And then, when a small group of them got a bit too close for her liking, an azure light gathered on the crystals of her chitin armor before exploding outwards in a concentrated field of energy that outright vaporized unrelenting bastards.

So, by that estimate and her stats… I’ll say that Chrysalis is easily as strong as I was before Riser’s Rating Game.

Meanwhile, Mittelt was struggling a bit more because she was against the boss himself.

She dashed through the sand, dodging a massive tentacle that, once it hit the ground, displaced a massive amount of sand and made the beach rumble.

The creature must have been at least twice the size of my own mansion, with intelligent yellow eyes and spikes filled with venom protruding from the tip of its tentacles, which, of course, it could shoot from a range, and each one was the size of a car.

“But if I just take care of it, how would you get any better, little crow?!” I shouted into the air. The giant octopus noticed and tried to shoot one of its spikes at me, which I shattered into pieces with a single thrust of my weapon. “Eyes on the game, Squidward!”

Because as much as she complained, Mittelt had taken the small reprieve to jump into one of the Octopus’s long arms and started running through it, her daggers rendering flesh and muscle as she moved, aiming for the head with wrath-filled eyes.

On her back, four wings black as ink flapped as she took to the air to dodge another devastating strike, making the Octopus actually hurt itself by hitting its own tentacle. And, with a frustrated shout, she blitzed through the air, light dagger in hand, and tore through one of the Octopus’s eyes with an oddly satisfying pop.

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!” I whooped excitedly even as my voice was drowned by the monster’s scream of agony. “That’s my little crow! Show that oversized calamari who’s boss!”

A quick look with Analysis told me just how much trouble Mittelt was to the still-alive aperitive.

General Octopi Boss

HP: [-----45%- ]

MP: [-----89%---- ]

The fearful king of… this beach. Even if unimpressive by title or presence, General Octopi is still a powerful threat even on land. With a body as heavy as Iron, and a grip that would turn skyscrapers into rubble.

I’m doing my best not to do the joke. I swear I am!

The strength of this thing was nothing to scoff at, no matter how much the System seemed to throw him down. With a fully Reinforced body and my best defensive spear equipped, the bastard still pushed me back and through the sand, and left purple bruises on my arms when I tried to test just how hard it could hit.

Of course, that's when General Octopi… kind of fell off.

Inside the water, he was quite nimble, but since he actually got out, he was way too slow, at least for me and probably Chrysalis.

Not to mention that his only ranged attack was easily predictable, since he had to extend the tentacle from where the venom-filled spike was shooting out.

That is why General Octopi was the perfect stepping stone for my dear little crow~

Strong enough to be a threat, but not overwhelmingly so, to outright blitz through her. Good for a challenge, but not that good, so she doesn’t feel discouraged, you know?

“Haaa!” The petite Fallen screamed her lungs out as she maneuvered in the air, using her twin daggers to carve a line through the General’s head. “Die already! I want to go home!”

Her need to be a lazy little gremlin was also a great motivator.

I raised an eyebrow when the boss hit 30% of his remaining health. Because all of a sudden, its MP bar started to drain.

For a moment, I thought that it might be charging a super special attack just like the Queen Slime did that one time, but I was proved wrong when a blue glow enveloped the monster’s limbs and head. Almost like…

“A shield?” I hummed, but frowned as its Strength and Constitution suddenly shot up to a staggering [C].

And, as I expected, Mittelt’s next strike was not able to cut through the shield, and the Octopi’s HP bar didn’t drop any further. However, its MP bar did drop by two percent.

“That’s just like my Mana Shield.” I realized as Mittelt flew out of the way of another staggering strike. The force of which made even the beach shake and the nearby waves retreat.

An ocean that the General Octopi was very eager to get back to.

“Mittelt~” I called out with a grin.

“WHAT?!” She replied, face red in anger and annoyance. Her hands glowed with pink light as she prepared a long-range attack.

I blinked, surprised at her tone, before speaking. “Was just going to say that it’s trying to get back to the water, and that shield is making him stronger. So, please be careful, ‘kay? Love ya~” I was not going to say it like that, but I felt like it would help her mood a bit.

And sure enough, Mittelt staggered back with a wince and a guilty expression. As if she had just kicked a puppy. Then, she blushed while turning her gaze away.

“Ah… Thanks.” It was adorable just how shy she got. “But… Oh hell no!”

And then she realized that the boss was trying to flee by going underwater, and her hands glowed a brighter shade of pink while an evil smile appeared on her face.

Little by little, a giant arrow made out of pink light magic grew and grew. Mittelt’s MP drained little by little as she groaned at the strain.

And then, another pair of ink black wings protruded from her back. Making it a total of six. And with it, her stats shot up, too.

Her half-manic, half-evil laughter made something go ‘doki doki’ in my chest.

And in a burst of power, the giant arrow got twice as big, up to the size of a small house, before shooting out of her hands like a pink supernova.

Safe to say that General Octopi and his shield did not survive a giant arrow through the head, nor the following explosion, which made twice as many waves as the boss’s hits could ever produce. The heat even made beautiful pink and black glass shards form in the sand.

The Dungeon Boss has been defeated!

Mission Complete!

Reward:

[Aquamarine Crystals]

[Aquamarine Metal]

[Three Gacha Tokens]

“Rest in pieces.” I saluted, only for a small body to suddenly crash against my side. “Hm?”

I looked down at Mittelt, who glared up at me with angry ocean-blue eyes and a blush across her face. The six wings behind her back fluttered and retracted as I held her close.

“Better not pull this shit again, Faninami.” She scoffed before pressing a kiss to my lips and turning her gaze away. “...Love you, too.”

…

Man, girls are just unfair. What am I supposed to do now besides gush all over her?!

“O-oi! Stop being such a creep!” Mittelt said in embarrassment as I hugged her close and started throwing praise her way. “...Damn sappy idiot.”

And of course, she didn’t pull away, but instead gave her own hug in return.

Damn tsundere.

-X-x-X-

As much as I wanted just to treat Mittelt some more, considering her achievement today, there was… something else going up in this dungeon, I felt.

Usually, once the notification of the Boss being defeated appears, it’s over. I get the rewards of whatever mission is there, loot the place, and then I go back home without looking back, since, to my knowledge, I don’t get a second set of rewards for completing the same dungeon again.

This weird feeling I had… was from the sea itself.

The Merfolk were supposed to come from here, right? Then why was it so tranquil? Almost like nothing even lived here.

I was going to scratch it as something unique about the dungeons, just not spawning wildlife, because it would be pointless. But it was like the ocean was calling out to me somehow.

So, I left Chrysalis and Mittelt to enjoy themselves on the beach for a bit, while I absorbed some parts from the Boss monster and the merfolk to get their respective weapon forms, and then I decided to finally sink into the sea like a proper mermaid.

Meaning, I went in shirtless and started to swim.

‘’Man… this is amazing!’’ It was like the waves and water parted to let me have free access. Like I was flying, but underwater. I don’t even think I could run at this speed if I wanted to. ‘’But… it does feel a bit empty.’’

As I sensed before, there were no fish, no algae, no corals, nothing. Only water and sand everywhere I looked.

Maybe I could have gotten lost if it wasn’t because something inside my head that was telling me exactly where I was going, and what way I should take to get back to the shore.

But that didn’t make it any less unsettling.

‘’Jinzui, you there?’’ I asked, stopping a bit to marvel at the fact that I could speak underwater.

I had stopped a while ago, and the waters had gotten a bit darker from the ones close to the shore. The pressure was also quite high, but it didn’t bother me any. Honestly, this place felt really odd, like no sea creature could live here at all.

‘’Yes, beloved, what is it?’’ My partner’s voice asked curiously.

‘’Don’t you feel like this ocean is wrong, somehow?’’ I wondered, frowning at the feeling of the current suddenly… shifting. ‘’Maybe I’m just imagining things…’’

‘’No.’’ I blinked at the confident response. ‘’I think you’re right, dear. While the spear doesn’t particularly focus on matters of the Ocean, it’s pretty easy to notice the disturbances.’’

So I wasn’t crazy. Then, what could possibly be making me feel this awkward all of a sudden?

Detecting a Leviathan-class lifeform in the region. Are you certain whatever you’re doing is worth it~?

…

‘’What?’’

The ocean itself suddenly came to a standstill. And, from deep within the darker waters, a draconic head with glowing eyes and a mouth full of teeth made itself known with a powerful roar.

Its body was massive and had a hard black carapace, only seen thanks to the bioluminescent parts of its body, not to mention the glowing eyes. Its head was easily the size of the General Octupi, if not bigger, thanks to those hard, strange protuberances that started at the mouth, making it look like a hammer shark.

Oh, and it was absolutely pissed.

[Ghost Leviathan]

HP: [-----100%-----]

MP: [Locked]

A terrifying creature denominated as Leviathan due to its sheer size. It is agile, deadly, and incredibly aggressive. Considered by many to be a death sentence.

Thanks to its unusual biology, it's able to inhabit places where most flora and fauna die or cannot survive.

As a bonus, this specimen is capable of using its ‘Ghost’ archetype quite well. Being able to phase through attacks, objects, and even magic.

Stats:

STR: [C]

DEX: [C+]

CON: [B-]

MAG: [F-]

SPI: [D+]

LCK: [F]

Overall Combat Capabilities: [C+]

I stared at the gargantuan beast. Yet, instead of feeling conflicted or scared… I felt oddly excited about it.

Was it the water? Was it making me more confident since I had a field home advantage? Even if this thing could probably tear the fuck apart a non-aquatic High-Class?

‘’You think you’re big and scary…?’’ I laughed, my weapons transforming from the Devil Spear to the Octopi Trident I had unlocked just a few minutes before. ‘’Just because you’re a big fucking target? Your buddy up there got absolutely shredded, my guy! You just don’t get it…!’’

I cackled like a madman, immediately shooting past the Leviathan that tried to take my life with a single bite of its massive maw. And, in exchange, I cast Gate of Babylon directly on its massive head, tearing apart the carapace protecting it as if it were stone with golden tridents of light.

‘’I AM YOUR FATHER, BOY!’’

Yep, it was definitely the water.

-X-x-X-

-Mittelt-

‘’What do you think he’s doing down there?’’ I asked, sitting on the sand while hugging my knees and looking at the ocean. ‘’Maybe some treasure hunting?’’

‘’It’s probable. Master is quite the greedy male.’’ Chrys nodded, having discarded almost all of her armor and replaced it with a G-string and a bikini top made out of chitin and crystals. ‘’Especially when it comes to minerals and women.’’

I was not surprised about that; what I was surprised at was Chrysalis knowing what a bikini even was. Maybe the giantess bug had been reading some proper culture?

That was until she grabbed her breasts, practically displaying her body right on my face.

‘’Do you think this human custom of showing less skin, but incentivizing more by barely hiding what’s below, would make Master more interested in mating?’’ Yeah, no. I’m taking my comment back.

I deadpanned at the bug lady. Yes, she was beautiful, but socially speaking, the four-armed moth-girl was as sharp as a hammer.

‘’I think—‘’

‘’COME HERE, BOY! I AIN’T DONE WITH YOU YET!’’ A scream tore through the tranquility of the beach… with an oddly southern accent?

Looking back at the ocean, a massive, even gargantuan, nightmarish creature was rising from the waters. ‘’AH’M ‘BOUT TO MAKE YOU A DOUBLE GHOST LEVIATHAN! CALL IT ‘TO THE POWER OF DEAD!’’

I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and then kept staring as the man I claimed to love not an hour ago had an injuries-riddled, gigantic monster in a chokehold. And, if the creature’s roars and surprisingly panicked eyes were anything to go by, it was losing badly.

‘’Ah, Master is asserting dominance on the local wildlife…’’ Chrys spoke before her deep blue tongue escaped from her slitted mouth and licked her freakish lips. She was even blushing all the while, antennae twitching and everything. ‘’Truly, Master is simply the greatest male specimen… I need him to inseminate my—‘’

‘’Don’t finish that sentence.’’ I raised a hand while focusing on the absolute beatdown the giant eel was getting. ‘’I’m trying to watch my man suplex a sea serpent.’’

‘’What would it taste like?’’ Chrysalis suddenly asked, and I raised an eyebrow while side-glancing pointedly. ‘’The meat of that creature, I mean.’’

‘’AH’M USING THEM SCALES TO MAKE ME A FINE PIECE OF ARMOR!’’

‘’Probably like an eel…’’ I shrugged. ‘’Not like I know what that tastes like.’’

-X-x-X-

-Azazel-

Looking at the map I had just spread across the table, I went over the locations I had marked with a cautious eye. In total, we found four Rogue bases. Three of the ones we had caught thanks to Zatren’s information, while the other one we found in passing.

A knock came from the door. ‘’Come on in.’’

And from the other side walked just the people I wanted to see: Zatren, with that strange bug lady of his, and Mittelt.

‘I still have to make time for an outing with her… Probably when all of this crap is over.’ I reminded myself before raising an eyebrow at the oddly happy face on Zatren’s face. ‘’Something good happened?’’

And then I was left confused. Because his smile just got wider. My daughter deadpanned, while the bug lady—Chrysalis, I believe—licked her lips.

…Strangely enough. The kid had a chestplate that I hadn’t seen on him before. Only covered by his usual black coat. ‘Were those scales…? You know what, it’s not my business.’

‘’Right, so, here’s what we know up until now; These four bases are located… inconveniently. Close to conflict points with the Church, but hidden well enough that they have gone ignored or undiscovered by the men and women in the skin-tight suits.’’ I started, raising an amused eyebrow at the chuckle Zatren tried to contain. ‘’All of these bases have a leader watching over them. And we only know that thanks to the ranks mentioned in the bits and pieces of information we managed to scrape from deleted files in our own database.’’

I let the three digest the information for a moment. Zatren was the first to raise his hand. ‘’Yes, lad?’’

‘’Do we know how strong these ‘leaders’ are? Any of their general abilities or weaknesses?’’ He asked in an oddly serious tone.

‘’A good question.’’ I nodded. At least, I now knew that the lad who wooed my daughter could get serious when the situation arose. ‘’Sadly, we don’t know their battle strategy. The last records we had of these Fallen are from around a century ago, during their military training days. With them being around Middle-Class in sheer power and reserves.’’

‘’Do we know any of their names…?’’ Mittelt was next, asking nervously.

I couldn’t help but notice that her magic felt… stronger than our last meeting a few days ago. And now I was left wondering if the kid can also make his allies grow as fast as he can, or if it’s all talent in my daughter’s part.

Still, at her question, I pointed at the four, red-marked locations on the map. And then, I placed a picture beside each of them. ‘’Helel, Markus, Seveth, and Calyx.’’ I pointed at each respective picture while saying their names.

Helel was a red-haired woman with a prominent claw-like scar on her left eye, a very unfriendly face, and a sharp glare that just made her look the tiniest bit like a villain.

Markus, short brown hair, unassuming, plain, easy to blend in a crowd, but he was actually a scientist before all of this. And quite skilled with light projectiles, specifically.

Seveth, a towering wall of a man with muscles for days. A completely flat expression on his face, but practically nothing about him on the records.

Lastly, Calyx. A pretty, cutesy white-haired Fallen with bright red eyes who was smiling unnervingly at the camera from when this picture was taken. If I remembered correctly, she tended to creep people out because of how much like a doll she looked.

‘’These guys here may go from bottom High-Class all the while to the upper layer. And, while unlikely, there may be some advantage they have to push them all the way to Ultimate class.’’

My words seemed to make Zatren frown, and then his eyes widened in surprise, which I caught immediately, even if I would have preferred not to.

‘’What is it, Zatren?’’ I asked with a frown.

‘’…The Sacred Gear extractor machines.’’ He whispered before looking me in the eye. ‘’The old church where they were used… that is where I took the documents, but I didn’t find a trace of any of the three broken down machines.’’

I cursed internally. Already mentally scratching the possibility of these ‘leaders’ being anything but Upper High-Class.

That was, if they managed to repair those machines after the incident with the Boosted Gear. And considering they had at least one scientist by their side…

It’s now very probable that all of the leaders have a stolen Sacred Gear of their own.

‘’Haa… Always the bearer of good news, ain’t you, kid?’’ Scratching my chin, I frowned at the map and started formulating a few plans. ‘’Well… it does make things a bit easier and harder.’’

‘’How so?’’ Mittelt asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

‘’Well, if they are stealing Sacred Gears left and right…’’ Zatren started with a slight smile. ‘’Then I don’t think they’ll remain unbothered by the church for much longer.’’

It was actually a wonder how they had managed to remain hidden for so long. If they really were stealing Sacred Gears, and if my informants were right, the church had also suddenly gone into a bit of a panic recently, being twice as cautious in their patrols.

My suspicion lies in that Kokabiel may have his hands on one of the Excalibur Fragments already. Again, one positive and one negative.

Which, considering our little rag-tag group, may as well be a double negative. Because if church activity is on the rise doesn’t particularly benefit our own patrols in search for more information.

‘’For now, just remain sharp,’’ I informed with a sigh. The plan of attack would have to wait slightly longer, considering the new variables. ‘’I’ll also recommend getting acquainted with your fellow group. They may or may not end up working alongside you in this mission.’’

‘’Fellow group?’’ Zatren asked curiously, before his eyes shot directly into the door inside the office. ‘’Ah…’’

And as if on cue. Vali opened the door, along with that Nekoshou friend of his. The boy had a bored expression on his face, while the exhibitionist catgirl had her usual lazy smirk.

That was, until their eyes landed on Zatren himself. Who looked at Kuroka in slight shock.

‘’Ah, if it isn’t my brother-in-law, nya~!’’ The Nekoshou said with strange joy in her tone, as if she were already expecting him. ‘’And I see that— Nyah?! Vali-chan!’’

I blinked as the silver-haired young man walked right to Zatren with a suddenly determined and focused face. Then, his Sacred Gear: Divine Dividing manifested behind his back as two futuristic-looking wings made out of white scales and triangular, brilliant projections of blue light.

‘’Zatren Fumigami…’’ He started with that intense look in his eyes that I knew very well at this point. ‘’Fight me.’’

The room fell into silence, and a sudden, tense air filled the room. That was, until Zatren gained a knowing look in his eye and replied to Vali’s intense stare with an eager grin.

‘’Oh, you’re so on.’’ With a singular movement, his necklace changed into a crimson-scaled spear with a glowing red gem and emerald decorations on the side.

Both battle-hungry teenagers stared at each other, so much so that sparks seemed to fly between them.

‘Hm… Maybe putting the two adrenaline chasers in the same room together wasn’t my best idea.’ I mused while looking around, making the map and pictures disappear so as not to get destroyed in the following confrontation.

And just to be sure.

‘’Penemue, I need a barrier around the perimeter, please,’’ I muttered while touching a small magic circle to my ear.

And before she could question why. ‘’Vali is about to fight again~’’

‘’I swear, that child…’’ I heard my second in command’s voice from the other side, before all of a sudden, the entire building and surrounding area were eclipsed in a powerful magic barrier. ‘’I just knew this would happen, I had it ready just in case.’’

HA! Of course, she had. Practically everywhere Vali went, he started a fight. Doubly so since his eternal rival died before he got to meet him.

The entire building suddenly rumbled, and I pulled Mittelt—who didn’t yelp, absolutely not—along with the bug-lady to the side in a single moment just as Vali put Zatren through a wall by tackling him with a burst of demonic power.

‘Ah… Missed you too, kiddo.’ I nodded happily. ‘It’s a good thing this place is not that populated.’

-X-x-X-

-Minutes Before-

-Vali Lucifer-

The old man had interrupted my training earlier today. Something about a really important mission that, if it went wrong, could re-ignite the Great War altogether.

‘Annoying…’ With my greatest rival, the one who was supposed to match my power at every turn and make for the thrill I held for battle long gone, I was… slightly slumped. ‘The sooner this ends, the faster I can get back to training. The old man should have just let me at them all. What is a Cadre and a few high-ranking Fallen but a warm-up?’

‘Brooding as always, Vali?’ The tentative voice echoed in my head.

‘Shut it, Albion.’ I huffed.

“Nyahahaha~ Why the long face, leader~?” I rolled my eyes as Kuroka grinned at me as we walked inside the building.

You would think that if a Devil walked so casually in Rome. At least one God would be out to fight. No such luck. Disappointing, really.

“C’mooon~ Cat got your tongue~?” I tried to resist the urge to smile. Damn her and those stupid jokes. They weren’t funny. “You smiled! I saw it, nyan~!”

“Don’t you have someone to drool over right now?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “The Infinite Dragon wanted you to find someone, didn’t she?”

That was another part that bothered me greatly. I joined this so-called “Khaos Brigade” since I heard the leader was a powerful Dragon that overshadowed even Albion and was compared to Great Red himself. Yet, the only thing I found was a petite girl complaining over some rift in space, who wouldn’t even accept a spar to begin with.

What purpose is there to follow someone around with such meager conviction as getting “silence?”

At this point, I may just make my own group…

“Oh, but you see… They are right here, meow~” I side-glanced the grinning girl curiously as we passed some of the old man’s office workers.

She had that particularly annoying grin. As if she knew something that I didn’t.

Then, once we finally got to Azazel’s office, I opened the door, a complaint already past my lips.

Until I saw him.

I ignored whatever Kuroka was spouting and focused on the man in front of me.

Slightly taller than me, with cascading black hair tied into a ponytail. Confused hazel eyes, and dressed in an elegant coat with some strange scaled armor beneath.

But most important of all, he was the guy I saw on Kuroka’s sister Rating Game. The only person who seemed to be in that battle for the thrill of it, and not just what it entailed afterwards.

And he felt dangerous.

I could barely hold back my excitement. And even then, I could feel my blood pumping and my face stretched into a grin.

This is what I was looking for! Someone who would see a fight for what it was!

‘Partner…’ Albion suddenly echoed in my head in a confused tone. ‘For some reason… I can feel the Red One in him. And also… the scent of the Chaos Karma Dragon?”

That just sweetened the deal.

“Zatren Fumigami…” I addressed the man directly, summoning Divine Dividing without a second doubt. “Fight me.”

There was a moment of pause in the entire room, except for Kuroka, who I could hear trying to hold back her chuckles.

“Oh, you’re so on.” Then, the confused expression on the hazel-eyed man changed into one of excitement. A spear manifested on his hand, crimson and emerald in color.

I could only respond in kind. By immediately tackling him through the wall with a grin.

Maybe I won’t have my eternal rival, but this sure did for a great replacement!

-X-x-X-

Bonus Scene: The Lewd Craftsman.

-Aika Kiryuu-

“Good day again, Kyryuu-san.” The student council vice-president said with a smile, bowing her head slightly. “Your help with this year’s baseball tournament is much appreciated, considering our President is currently on break.”

I nodded to the composed woman with a big, impish grin in response.

I already knew about Souna’s— Well, Sona’s little vacation. After all, that hunk of a man already told me he was planning to visit her in Italy, since he was worried about her health.

‘Such a love-sap. Haa… I miss him already~’ If anything, he could pay me back by taking out that stick the president had far up her ass, and replacing it with his di—

“Have you… Considered our offer?” The bespectacled beauty interrupted my daydream with a smile. “I may not be able to speak for the president, but I know she will appreciate one of your aptitudes in her group!”

Apparently, in the eyes of the Devils inside Kuoh, I had some magical aptitude. Cool, if you asked me~

However…

“Hm… Won’t Zatren be able to form his own in time?” I wondered with a little grin.

And, at the reluctant nod from Tsubaki, I shrugged. “Sorry then, I’d prefer to join my man once the option is available. I’m sure you understand~”

And before she could nod in understanding, I got closer. Giving a feral grin, much to the girl’s sudden embarrassment.

“Speaking of…” I raised an eyebrow, seeing the girl blush. Yet, relentlessly, I grabbed her shoulder and whispered in her ear. “Have you gone through the ‘material’ I gave you~?”

“T-that’s…!” And now it was she who put a hand on my shoulder. Looking equally outraged and embarrassed. “That’s way too lewd, you know that!” She whisper-shouted.

“Hey’s it’s your kink, not mine~” I chuckled evilly.

My sudden “goody-two-shoes” attitude was mostly a front. Instead, I was just focusing my intents… elsewhere.

Unknown to the stud that is my boyfriend, there are a fair number of girls who want to get to know him personally. One of them was the vice-president of the Student Council herself.

As she told me a few days back. She has had this crush on Zatren ever since a spar they had a month or so ago. Where, for lack of a better word, he dominated the fight while also ‘honoring’ their duel to a T.

So, Tsubaki-chan has a defeatist kink. Wishing to be beaten and then wooed by some sort of honorable knight. And even with his less-than-honorable fighting style, Zatren found himself as a focus of those desires~

But apparently, the informative material I provided—raunchy doujinshis I liked quite a bit—proved too much for the girl.

I’ll have to use a lighter approach, but corruption eventually reaches everyone~

“Alright, alright.” I relented with a smile, already thinking of one or two more vanilla series I could recommend. “Then, how about this…”

And as I explained, Tsubaki blushed harder, but still listened with rapt attention to my every word like I was some sort of sage of the lewd arts.

‘No one escapes the hands of the Lewd Craftsman~’ I chuckled internally.

-X-x-X-

.

.

.

Author's Note: Zuzu is the type that would 100% go to the ecological dead zone in Subnautica just for the sake of it (A complete psychopath, in short)

Vali says fight. Zuzu says fuck yeah. Type shit.

Some shit I always forget but should do more often is thank my Beta Reader. So, thank you, AnonTheWEEB!

If you want to read Eight chapters ahead of this fic, I have a down below where I upload a few times a week~

Discord Link: .gg/92Yt5wxeWN