Gaming Badly in DxD

-Ayuka Beelzebub-

As the coldness of the air buffeted against my body, I side-glanced the match of Cryomancy currently happening a block away.

Serafall and the robed ‘Servant’ could conjure an assortment of icy constructs, though the latter was more volatile, and switched up in between ice, light, and lightning, as if he was undecided which way was the best to push through the hurdle that was the woman in a magical girl costume.

From my understanding, it all came down to a matter of technique. Whoever this man was, he was certainly skilled, but he was lost in his own mind.

One time, he raged, his ice turning a darker coloration as jaded spikes erupted from the floor in an attempt to impale Serafall, who swiftly dodged into the air with a flap of her wings, and the next second, he abandoned all sort of aggressiveness, mouthing a prayer while refining his power into that of better structured pillars, weapons, even covering his heavy armor in light to resist Serafall’s insistent barrage of perpetual-zero demonic ice.

‘’You’re suuuper strong! Could do without the maddened prayer, that’s not kind, you know?’’ The woman teased and batted her ‘magical staff’ at the incoming house-sized glacier that the warrior had shot from his own, actually magic staff. ‘’Rude~!’’

Serafall’s magic girl staff wasn’t actually enchanted. That was merely her reinforcing the object with enough demonic power to turn it into an actual weapon capable of clearing a row of houses in a single strike. Or, in this case, breaking the glacier into huge chunks of ice that fell down to earth, making small craters and raising mist everywhere.

‘’It’s a good thing we do not have to work with collateral.’’ I adjusted my glasses, turning a blind eye to the recklessness. ‘’Serafall needs the break anyway.’’

Turning away from the fight of the two ice-wielders, which certainly sent me back down memory lane, considering Serafall’s clash with Sirzechs' wife in the past, I focused on the red dot in the far distance.

The Archer had not shot another projectile my way. Considering how ineffective his last two were, that didn’t come as a surprise.

‘’I see…’’

They packed quite a punch, but unless he had many different, interesting, and magically constructed variants, then it would be useless.

Putting it into understandable terms, it was like preparing a potato dish.

No matter how much you fried, boiled, smashed, or even burned the potatoes. The final product would still have a majority of potatoes in it. And, unless you turned the potato down to such a minimal amount that it wasn’t a potato anymore, then it was still, well, a potato.

My deciphering was similar. As long as the ‘arrows’ shot from the red-robed man don’t change drastically in shape, magical signature, or purpose, I could now easily disassemble them before they reached me without fail.

Honestly, I was hoping for… more. This was an odd time to let loose, and facing an inadequate opponent would be quite the disappointment.

‘’…Again?’’ I raised an eyebrow, curious. A singular projectile, yellow in color instead of red. With a huff, I spoke over the icy storm that was brewing in the ruined city. ‘’Serafall, this one, I’ll leave to you.’’

‘’Okie-dokie!’’ The magical girl turned and gave her biggest, most contagious smile. Her lowered guard? Nothing but a feint as a shield made of ice covered her arm and blocked the pulse of dark magic that tried to hit her squarely in the chest. ‘’Time for the magic girl special, direct inspiration from the copyright infringer: Za-kun!’’

I paused and chuckled in amusement. One singular glance at the direction the incoming projectile came from, and I was already halfway through the jump.

‘’Three kilometers… clocktower altitude, approximately ninety-four—No, ninety-six meters… Done.’’ In an instant, a magic circle appeared below my feet, and I was whisked away.

Turning to look at the spot I was previously on. The city looked much smaller from this distance, yet the projectile shot by the Archer had just landed, and with it, the displacement of hot air mixing with the cold tundra made the streets rumble.

A giant dome of ice, easily covering the city block and then some, was erected from almost nothing. The yellow projectile detonated against it, and, credit where it's due, it managed to heavily crack the construct Serafall had hastily created.

‘Ah… that’s what she meant by ‘copying’.’ While it was obviously not the same, it nonetheless reminded me of my student’s technique.

‘’Even with a charged shot, huh?’’ Much as I’d like to go on and on about possible variants to imitate my student’s work, I was not alone in this clock tower. After all, I had just teleported right into the Archer’s sniping zone. ‘’I do not know how you fiends got here, but this is not my first rodeo in vanquishing demons back to hell.’’

‘’Is that so?’’ I smiled politely, a dozen or so magic circles appearing in the air and around the top of the building.

‘’Very much so.’’ The man nodded seriously, a hint of steel in his grey eyes, tainted by the black-sclera that must be a product of this ‘mud’ my student talked about ‘’And I will do it again, as long as I draw breath.’’

The bow was dismissed, and a pair of curved short-blades appeared in his hands. I raised a curious eyebrow. ‘Hum. So, Servants can use different archetypes than their class reflects, interesting…’

One of the swords was a pale white, while the other was the darkest of blacks, and as the man got into position, I started gathering information on the swords.

A long minute of silence passed. The man’s hands were still, calm. He was an experienced warrior, and even before the exuberant Demonic Power I was intentionally leaking out, he didn’t falter in the slightest.

Those blades of his… they had a sort of divine power imbued in them, and one additional effect related to magic.

However, it was shallow. Like I was staring at a perfect imitation of the real thing.

Without warning, the green magic circles flared to life as their matrix was finely tuned. Long, vine-like strings shot like hungry chains at the place where the man was standing.

The roof was partially destroyed as a result, but indeed, he had escaped the grasp of the chains.

‘’Trace: On.’’ The man muttered, now air-bound and falling down on the circles like a whirlwind of death. A second later, my destroyed circles were replaced by blue ones of similar design. ‘’Nifty.’’

Ah, blades imbued with anti-magical properties, only for him to replace them with his own…

‘’Interesting.’’ I hummed, though quickly lost that spark of interest in the copies. Just like any swift copy I had previously seen, they were much weaker than the full thing. ‘’I will be raising the intensity of this experiment now. Please make sure to dodge.’’

With the man’s widened eyes and a wave of my hand, a hundred circles exactly like the dozen or so I had made before appeared. Unlike the last ones, however, these had a detonation input into them.

So, as the silver-haired Servant’s swords whirled through the air at high speeds, intending to quickly shatter all the circles in a minute, tops, he got a nasty surprise from a single change in the equation.

‘Once destroyed, the remaining motes of magic that were not dissolved under the anti-magic blades will ignite a chain reaction on the remaining circles, or in short… They’llblow up.’ I nodded.

Crack.

And with the sound of shattering glass, ten circles were destroyed in quick succession, like a match thrown into gasoline.

The Archer had noticed, but due to his haste in negating my initial attack, he was too late.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

‘I may have overdone it…’ I mused behind a protective barrier I lifted at the last second.

The entire clock tower was blown apart. A heavy smell of smoke filled the air as the tower’s structure screeched. Concrete, metal, and wood creaked one last time before incinerating and imploding against the prowess of a hundred magic circles capable of annihilating an Ultimate Class Devil by themselves.

‘’You’re still alive. I’m glad.’’

Among the scorched crater that was previously the clock tower. The silver-haired man stood with a horrified gaze. His red coat was burnt at the edges. The anti-magic blades on his hands shattered and disappeared, along with the unexpected red glow that had covered his form just a second after the initial explosion.

‘’Who—No.’’ He turned, eyes glaring with murderous rage. ‘’What are you?’’

I paused, adjusting my glasses. Truly, I must be getting too forgetful lately.

‘’I apologize for my rudeness. Though I’ll say, your introduction was just as lacking.’’ I reminded him before another dozen circles appeared around the ruined crater. Some on the ground, or in the air, each with a different effect. ‘’I am AyukaBeelzebub, former Heir of Astaroth, and current Satan of Investigation and Research.’’

‘’And you, Archer, along with this interesting magic of yours…’’ The light of the moon shone just perfectly as I felt the relief that came with letting loose of so much power at once. ‘’…Are my newest test subject.’’

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

‘’So… that’s a boss’ lair if I’ve ever seen one.’’ I chuckled, feeling the cold wind buffeting against my face.

High in the air, it was easier to guess where the ‘grail’ may be. After all, besides the two Satans currently wreaking havoc on the already destroyed city below, there wasn’t any other magic powerful enough to compare.

Well, mostly. There was one, but I wanted to check this out first.

And that powerful, holy yet evil signature was coming from a giant castle placed on a hill, on the outskirts of Fuyuki. It wasn’t as run-down as it appeared to be, simply designed to ‘look’ evil. With jagged ends, two prominent towers that were taller than the clock tower—

BOOOM!

I blinked, turned around, and nodded. ‘Taller than the previous clock tower.’

‘What’s your plan, partner?’ Jinzui prodded at my brain, though, considering she literally lived in my soul twenty-four-seven, I was sure she had an idea of what I wanted to do. ‘’…I like to see you explain your thoughts. The mental tangents are interesting, and I chuckle each time you get to the right conclusion through the oddest methods. However, hearing you speak aloud is akin to catching notice of your favorite song in the middle of a leisure walk.’’

…

‘’Did I just get fucking out-teased?’’ I frowned, clasping the necklace resting on my chest. ‘’Huh… I don’t know how to feel about that.’’

‘’Fufufu… I’ll say, that’s a most amusing expression you have now. Is this why you go around teasing women left and right? I see the appeal.’’ I huffed at the Spirit’s fake-mockery, ready to shoot. ‘’However… what’s this ‘W Rizz’ thing? It popped into your memories just now…’’

‘’Ignore that!’’ I panickedly warned. Shaking the chain on my neck like a man possessed. I didn’t need the ancient spirit to use the brainrot lingo. Only I did that, and I cringed every time afterwards! ‘’Let’s just focus, focus, focus. You want to hear my plan, right? So here it is.’’

Taking a deep breath and ignoring Jinzui’s chuckling, I turned my gaze away from the giant, totally not evil castle. Instead, my gaze lingered on the southwest of town, completely opposite to the presence that held the Holy Grail.

‘’Going straight for the boss is… boring. To say the least.’’ I explained, flapping my wings, ready to make the distance in a short bout of power. ‘’We are in a new world, and if there’s no urgency, I’d like to take as much as I can to bring back. Maybe I could even see if there’s a book of magic in this place, or I could find… I don’t know, someone alive.’’

Did the Instant Dungeon make a copy of an original world and simply paste it for my benefit? Was it all created from scratch, or was I really just world-jumping, and this was a real world as the one where I currently live?

‘’My… Look at how much you’ve grown. You really are deserving of the title of Hero.’’ Jinzui praised, a hint of pride in her voice.

I sputtered at the teasing jab.

‘’Jinzui, when I get in there, I’m going to touch you.’’ I threatened, seeing the blood-red gem shining in the indication of the spirit’s embarrassment. ‘’No answer? Cat got your tongue, little spirit? You can say no, by the way~’’

A whole minute of silence filled the air, in which my smile stretched into a wry grin. Then, as if whispering, I felt Jinzui prod at my mind again.

‘’Union is normal between partners, I suppose…’’

I raised an eyebrow, putting the gem that was encrusted on the chain to my lips before giving it a kiss. ‘’Good girl.’’

Jinzui mentally blue-screened, to the point my current Weapon Form changed to the Small Spear. The red gem fluttered between blood-red and bright orange as I laughed.

‘’Got you, didn’t I? Never tease if you can’t take the teasing back, beloved.’’

The air rippled as I shot past the city, focusing on seeing if there were any interesting buildings still standing.

-X-x-X-

-???-

I stared at the sky, hand on the pommel of my sword, as I saw the coat-wearing man fly away in a sudden burst of speed. With the direction he was going, he was bound to find him in their way.

Had he lingered any longer, I would have carved the skies themselves with my blade. Hesitation and chivalry were arts that had never brought me anything but disgrace and defeat. The only proper way was to be ruthless and strike down the enemy the moment you lay eyes on them.

‘’…He is a fool.’’ I sighed, hand clenching on the pommel before I glanced away, in the direction of where once stood the proud Clocktower, now nothing but ashes and dirt. ‘’But he’s a strong fool. Accompanied by even stronger Servants. Just who was even capable of summoning them in the first place?’’

The sound of my boots clicking against the ground was the only thing that I could hear besides the fierce winds, the sound of explosions, and the frigid, icy cracks made by Rider and that other fiend.

I placed one armored gauntlet on the brick that formed the entrance to the disgraced castle, feeling the rough material and sighing in displeasure.

A memory went to the forefront of my mind. Of a foolish mage, with white hair and an afan to be as annoying as possible while also committing feats that no other Magi could ever hope to do. Even if there were some that I would have preferred to permanently forget.

‘…Why did that man’s image come to mind? By what? Looking at that Servant?’ I wondered, feeling the Grail fiddle with memories as if they were strings it could play with. ‘’No matter. If he dares step forward, I will crush him under the might of one’s blade. That is how it always is.’’

And if I lost…

‘’Then it will be what was destined.’’ I vanquished the notion and instead, focused on the city below. My digits twitched, and a red pulsing light bled from under the dark armor. ‘’I see you’re having trouble, Archer, Rider…’’

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

‘’I never in my life had been so excited to enter a library, you know?’’ I chuckled the moment I stepped foot into the building.

Most of the shelves were empty, the reason being that almost all the books inside were sprawled all over the floor. Some were damaged beyond any repair by my Analysis’s diagnosis.

Water damage, time, or even the destruction that made them fall and break their spine in the first place, making all of their pages and stories be all over the floor, or crumpled up somewhere.

‘’I never took you by one of literature, partner,’’ Jinzui questioned. ‘’…Though, there are some interesting pieces of fiction that linger in your head constantly and from time to time.’’

I shrugged, stepping over a pile of books I knew were only stories for children, and going deeper into the dark corners of the building.

‘’What can I say? You know sitting still is… not really my thing. I’ve probably fried my brain beyond repair with so much constant, easy-to-access, uninformative media for that. That’s probably why I keep chasing adrenaline everywhere, to be honest.’’

‘’Hmm…’’

‘’Yeah, you know, like I told you months ago, in the Zombie Dungeon, remember?’’ I chuckled at the memory as I placed my hand in one cover-less book, looking over it with an interested glint in my eye. ‘’The Ghoul was the first ‘serious’ enemy I fought... and I almost died. It's kind of funny, isn’t it? I could shout in the direction of that monster nowadays, and it will die, probably disintegrate, even.’’

‘’And do you not fear a repeat of that time?’’ She hummed, the question making me pause, freeze even. ‘’Facing a threat you cannot beat, with your life on the line, and death close by? I had many wielders who, unlike you, were afraid of direct combat.’’

…

‘’I… cannot say.’’ I sighed. Was I afraid of death? Well, not… really? ‘’Unlike the first time, or maybe even the following times, I had learnt to appreciate a good fight. Even to the death. It makes my blood pump, makes me feel alive! Like, uh, I don’t know, that one sex marathon I had with Aika, you know? Aha-haha…’’

Silence was the answer to the joke I tried to use to lighten up the mood.

‘’…tough crowd.’’ I smacked my lips, leaving the book in its place once more. It wasn’t even that interesting in the first place. Instead, I should be looking for some sort of magical knowledge, maybe a secret passageway that led to a prohibited book section or something.

However, the silence was bothering me plenty. So, I had to at least give my partner this much.

‘’I’m afraid, yes, but not about myself,’’ I explained as I palmed a wall while walking by, knocking on it from time to time, feeling for any sort of hollowness. ‘’I’m afraid for… other people. I get too strong, too fast, and conflict will find me in any place I look. I can keep up, sure, but can they?’’

‘’Koneko is pregnant with my kids, and I don’t even think I used protection while doing it with Mittelt either. If that wasn’t enough, I promised another woman—who is my sister-in-law, by the way—that I will give her kids, too.’’ A tightness I haven’t acknowledged until now constricted around my chest. Only for me to sigh and shake my head. ‘’…I want them safe and sound, always. So, if I have to become the strongest to do that, and live the way I want to, then I’ll do it.’’

‘’…You have to acknowledge their fast progress, however. It’s not like you can carry all the weight on your shoulders alone, partner.’’ I felt a warm embrace holding me from behind. Jinzui had already done something similar before, even if I didn’t know how.

‘’I have you, don’t I? You, and that lazy snake that sleeps all day.’’ I joked, rolling my eyes, but stopped and ‘nuzzled’ the warm feeling enveloping me. ‘’It will be fine, partner, I’m made of tougher stuff. Built differently, if you will. I’ll just break past any hurdle. Sure, I’ll want to rely on my friends a lot more, but the key to their fast growth is also tied to my own.’’

‘’So, until they can stand on their own two feet, and prove me wrong…?’’ I kept walking until I felt it, a hollowness in the wall, which made me smile. ‘’Then, guess I’ll be the tree that refugees the little birds and squirrels from the big bad storm… Or something like that, I’m bad with analogies.’’

…

‘’Just make sure that you don’t get struck by lightning by being the tallest tree in the forest, partner.’’ I paused, drawing a sharp breath. ‘’Or everyone else you’re guarding will follow suit.’’

‘’Sure thing, beloved.’’ I acknowledged the advice for what it was.

I knocked on the wall. Behind it, I knew there was some sort of switch. The magic was unusual to me, but the purpose was clear. When I pumped a bit of mana into it, the floor rumbled.

Then, a shelf started to move on its own. The old gears screeched together as the books toppled over. The sound of the wood scraping against the floor was a bit annoying, but the result was satisfactory.

A set of stairs leading to a basement.

‘’Secret entrance found…~’’ I cheered before making my way down the barely lit steps.

-X-x-X-

-Serafall Leviathan-

‘’Special Magical Girl…’’ The magic circle I was holding with both hands erupted with power. The frost-covered street went even colder. The air cracked like a whip as the beam of freezing death fired with the sound of a missile. ‘’Cannon!’’

The sound of a pointed object hitting the ground and breaking the ice cut through the cacophony of sounds as the heavily-armored man raised a massive hand. The beam could fit entirely in his palm. Yet, even the giant grunted in exertion as the demonic ice started to seep into his covered arm and the biting cold bled past the cracks.

‘’You’re one… most strong… for a filthy wretch…!’’ With a roar, a barrier of light covered the man before exploding outwards. ‘’God guide this corrupted lamb! Punishment, punishment!’’

I easily stepped back as the light evaporated any and all ice that had been conjured in this battle in a twenty-meter radius around the man. He panted with exertion, but I could easily see that he had strength much greater than he had shown up until now.

That won’t do, I wanted to wind up and defeat these big bad evil guys, and if they were holding back until they dropped dead… that would be such a lame ending!

‘’Who are you calling filthy, you big meanie?!’’ I gasped in mock offense while bursts of buzzing ice sparkled from my hands. ‘’Magic girl Levi-tan will end this all with a flash-freeze!’’

‘’Ah… ah… Yes, to insult a maiden, even if a fiend, such a disgrace for the Tsar!’’ The man howled with extended arms as his body overcharged with magic. His armor started sparkling all over, especially the tusks that rested on his shoulder pads, which shone with a pale blue. ‘’I SHALL SEND YOU TO GOD MYSELF FOR SUCH ATROCITY! HE SHALL JUDGE YOU, AS HE JUDGES ME! GOD, GOD, GOD, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!’’

‘’It’s been a while since I dealt with a crazy one…’’ I chuckled, not intimidated at all by how cold the ambient was getting, how thick, misty fog filled the streets with such coldness that I even felt a shiver down my spine.

‘’Ivan… I see. Well then.’’

I paused for a moment as a powerful, yet melancholic voice echoed amidst the frozen wasteland. ‘’Oh? Wait, wait, you’re doing the master thingy…!?‘’

‘’By the power of my Command Seal—‘’

‘’You’re doing it!’’ I almost squealed in excitement. This was such a cool thing! And by how the man—Ivan, right? Was glowing with so much power… ‘This is definitely a transformation scene! So cool, so cool!’

‘’…I command you, release your full strength, and lay waste to those who dare not obey your command!’’

‘’Ahhh! A blessing from God! Truly, truly, I have always prevailed on the right path!’’ The man screamed his lungs out, his deep voice almost hoarse, while his hands were widely splayed into the obscured sky. ‘’Heed my call, Noble Phantasm!’’

‘’I’m not getting left behind now!’’ I chuckled, relishing the feeling. ‘’Because what’s better than one transformation sequence… TWO transformation sequences! At once!’’

‘’Power bestowed by magic and whimsy…!’’

‘’The punishment for your irreverence…!’’

‘’For the sake of union and friendship—!’’

‘’Shall be carved into your flesh—!’’

The feeling of liberating everything at once was truly exhilarating. The frost covering my dress turned it into armor made of ice. The small tiara on my head, and the way my reliable staff changed from a heart to a snowflake!

Equally, the man had started to grow, his deep, maniacal voice going an octave lower as his body went past the buildings and shattered the dome of ice I had previously created to block the Archer’s pot-shots.

‘’Magical Girl Liberation: Frozen-Frame~!’’

‘’Zveri Krestnyi Khod!’’

…

The sky parted, clouds coalescing into one big spiral as a deafening crack echoed through the entire city. A massive, woolly beast in the image of a mammoth, bigger than houses—No, bigger than an entire city block, and more than strong enough to turn Fuyuki into a smoldering crater.

Its tusks were overcharged with lightning, and its trunk rose high into the air. A black, spiky protrusion pointing downwards was building up cackles of powerful purple lightning that made any and all electrical devices collapse by their mere charging.

On the other hand, an icy flower had bloomed. Even if one were to stand at the outskirts of Fuyuki, the terrible cold released by Serafall Leviathan’s full release made any and all buildings hold a thick layer of frost that was harder and more resilient than the strongest of magically infused metals.

A perfect zero would be an underestimation, as deep inside the center, a literal flower made of thin, pure ice held the culmination of the Satan’s ice powers. This was the power that could freeze a portion of the massive Underworld—which was considered to be bigger than Earth itself—several times over.

A singular moment of pause, the fighters stared down at each other.

The massive beast took a steep, shaking the entirety of Fuyuki and turning glaciers into ice chunks under its foot. Its eyes held each bit of the madness of the man who had abandoned his humanity and indulged in the flesh of a foul beast.

The magical girl, with beautiful clothing now covered in ice as if it were protective armor, held a pleased, almost blissful smile as a tear fell down her face, freezing completely before it could even leave her cheek. She held up a hand, and the blizzard answered her command as if it were natural. As if she were ice itself.

Thunder and Blizzard roared with the same intensity.

A light so bright that it would blind the entire Fuyuki fell from the sky, intending to destroy the Satan, and the entire city below in the process.

And a storm so cold that any lesser creature that entered its range would simply die of frostbite, body turned into an ice sculpture, and shattered under the raging winds.

Lightning fell, and Ice rose.

The following explosion turned entire buildings to nothing but dust. The lightning scorched and vaporized structure and magic alike, while the blizzard froze it over and tore it down with howling winds.

…However, only one of these two beings could come out on top.

The earth rumbled once more, only that the cause wasn’t lightning, or a beast trampling over the city with earthquake-creating steps, no.

It was because that same beast had fallen to earth.

Its entire body was caked in frost. The biting cold mercilessly consumed its limbs, and just like the buildings, those too were blown apart by the icy winds.

The crown of the beast fell to the ground, clattering uselessly under the might of the frozen wasteland.

On the other hand, a petite woman trembled as sparks of purple lightning rocked her body with spasms. The pain wasn’t anything like she had felt before. Yet, her lips pressed into a determined snarl, and her body remained standing, even through the pain.

Her hair practically spiked thanks to the static, and her body was smoking with the residue of the attack. A purple scar had made its way onto the left side of her body, and she twitched in pain with every movement. Her beautiful blue dress was long scorched, and she’ll surely need a change of clothing.

Yet, the clouds parted, and the light vanished. The ice storm reigned supreme in the clash.

Boisterous, relieved laughter was drowned out by the howling winds, which started to slowly subside with each passing second.

Serafall Leviathan breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at her quickly disintegrating opponent. The massive beast didn’t even groan or whimper as its body dissolved into motes of golden light. Instead, it just stared back before closing its eyes, conceding defeat where it was due.

…

‘’You were pretty strong… ha…haha…’’ She touched her left arm, cold, pale fingers passing over scarred flesh, before she shot the remains of the man a bright, happy smile. ‘’Thank you for this opportunity. Goodbye.’’

The Rider and Satan Leviathan clashed, and from the conflict, only the latter remained, while the former turned to nothing, going back to the ThroneofHeroes, and leaving behind rare crystals and materials that will no doubt find their use in aiding a particular black-haired man’s journey.

‘’Mhm… Za-kun did say we would find loot here…’’ Serafall mused while picking up the red crystals with a horse symbol in them. ‘’Pretty~ Think I’ll keep one, even.’’

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

‘’Think Ayuka could decipher these?’’ I asked the two beings inside my soul while holding up a book.

The library, indeed, had a prohibited section. Sadly, let's just say that if the damn earth is rumbling every ten minutes or so, books tend to—You guessed it—fall to the fucking ground. So, now I had to pick them up and try to understand the language these magic books were written in.

‘’That devil? Yes. Even if she doesn’t know the language, I feel she’ll be able to decipher it easily.’’ Jinzui reassured.

‘’I give it an hour tops… That green one, and the crimson one.’’ Ddraig huffed tiredly. To be fair, I didn’t even expect him to answer. ‘’Devils are not supposed to get that strong in the first place…’’

I hummed, scratching the back of my head before huffing in frustration.

‘’And right after I made big talk, too. I’m a Devil, and a God. And neither of those things lets me understand this language. Are these runes? This one looks like a magic circle, at least.’’ I complained, not because I didn’t want to learn these, but because I had to carry all of them back since my inventory was a no-go for the moment. ‘’Fuck it, I was beaten by literature. Let’s just try to find another bag, and—

My entire body froze over. A thick, overlapping, and sickening feeling of dread and cold threatened to choke me. The temperature went drastically down as the earth rumbled like a crack would open on the earth and swallow the city whole.

I took a breath, noticing the mist left behind by the action, and even my coat felt like it wouldn’t be enough to warm me up.

[Ivan the Terrible (Rider)] has been defeated!

Rewards:

[One Gacha Token].

[Demon Beast Hide].

[Tusk of the Storm].

I blinked.

‘’What?’’ I rubbed my eyes, ignoring the shiver of coldness that went down my spine, and checked the screen again. ‘’They… already?! Holy fuck—!’’

Suddenly, I pulled out my weapon, just as thick clouds of fog started to fill the room. Bookshelves I haven’t checked out yet were obscured from view, and in mere seconds, I could not see more than a meter in front of me.

‘’Double fuck.’’ Two red dots stared at me from the direction I remembered the staircase was. The fog may take away my eyesight, but I could still hear steel being unsheathed. A dagger. ‘…And the murder-kid is back.’

‘’Mother… Your warmth… Mother…’’ Several voices overlaying with each other echoed around the small room as the red eyes suddenly vanished.

‘’Alright then,’’ I cracked my neck and knuckles, offering the mostly unseen opponent a big smile. ‘’Guess it’s time for some gentleparenting.’’

-X-x-X-

.

.

.

Author's Note:

Here's the massacre I was talking about, lol.

Fun fact, last I remember, Satan level is somewhere above Ultimate, and Kokabiel (Bottom-feed Ultimate) was capable of leveling the entirety of Kuoh.

Of course, this means that Serafall, in her lonesome, is capable of erasing Fuyuki in its entirety.

As for WHY that didn't happen, think of it as Ivan's lightning from his Noble Phantasm and Serafall's full release somewhat canceling each other out. Still, the clash sent ripples through the entire Dungeon.

As for the 'Frozen Frame'. No, Serafall does not have an additional form. Like Ayuka referenced earlier in the chapter, she merely cosplays as a magical girl, and her 'chant' was mostly to hype the moment up before releasing a shit-load of ice. That's why her ''chant'' is not in bold. She's just speaking, lol.

Also, yes, the third person on the latter part of the scene is on purpose. It just didn't feel right to make the last clash a first person pov. Sorry if that bothered you, but I blame my brain.

Zuzu has a small reflection acknowledging his fast-paced growth. Now it's time to see if his friends can really try and keep up.

I have 13 more chapters of this fic on my if you wish to support me!

Discord Link: .gg/92Yt5wxeWN