Sieris smirked at me. "Don't die too fast. I like a little resistance."
I grinned back. "What a surprise. Me too—but usually in bed."
My cocky reply made Ravel scoff, and one of the beast-eared twins actually giggled.
Still, inside, I was panicking. I was almost tapped out. My demonic energy was low. Koneko was worn down. Akeno was still fighting Yubelluna up above, lightning clashing against fire over the school building.
If this kept going, we'd get picked apart.
What should I do?
"You talk big," Sieris said, walking toward me casually, sword dragging on the ground, "but from your face, I can tell you're faking it. Are you ready to lose?"
Lose?
That word hit something in me. Something deep. Something... loud.
I took a step forward.
"Lose? Me? I never lose. I win. That's what I do. That's what I keep doing."
Even the enemy girls flinched at the heat in my voice.
Koneko looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "That… wasn't your usual nonsense."
It surprised me too. I didn't even know where it came from. Was it me? Or some weird leftover pride from the original Issei?
But that's when the idea hit me. A plan. A crazy one.
I looked up at the rooftop.
Akeno and Yubelluna were still locked in combat in the sky. Akeno's lightning streaked across the heavens, clashing with Yubelluna's explosions. Two Queens fighting like gods above the school.
Akeno.
She had the firepower. The real firepower. The kind that could knock out multiple enemies at once—if I could just give her my Boost.
But she was in the air.
And I was down here.
I turned to Koneko.
"Hey. Can you throw me?"
Koneko blinked. "…What?"
"Throw me. At Akeno."
She stared at me in silence.
Then, slowly, deliberately, she asked, "Are you actually thinking, or is this one of those suicidal hero moments?"
"Little of both," I admitted. "But this one has a twist."
She narrowed her eyes. "The fall might kill you."
I grinned. "Let's make it a surprise then."
Before any of the enemy girls could react—before Ravel could laugh or Sieris could swing her sword—Koneko stepped toward me, cracked her neck, and grabbed me by the waist.
"This is stupid," she muttered.
And then—
"Don't miss."
She hurled me.
The wind roared in my ears. My body spun like a cannonball launched from the earth. Up, up, up—towards the crackling battle in the sky.
I didn't know if I would hit my target.
But I did.
CRACK!
I crashed into Yubelluna with the force of a meteor. The surprise on her face was priceless. She had no time to react. No time to brace. I hit her mid-flight and sent us both plummeting.
She screamed, flailing as we dropped. I managed to kick off her body mid-fall and right myself—
Just in time.
Akeno flew down like a divine spirit, catching me bridal style before I smashed into the concrete.
"Ufufu, Ise-kun, you certainly know how to make an entrance," she said, amused—but concerned.
I was panting, my head spinning.
"Quick," I rasped, placing my Boosted Gear against her stomach. "Take the Boost. Right now!"
[Transfer!]
A pulse of red light surged from the gauntlet into her body.
Her aura exploded.
Akeno's demonic power surged like a tidal wave, lightning crackling so violently that it lit up the entire battlefield.
"Use it," I gasped. "Over there! That's where the rest of them are."
She looked at me, her eyes glowing with intensity.
And then she turned toward the sports hall.
"Understood," she said, her voice soft but resolute.
She rose into the air, arms spread wide, lightning spearing from her fingertips.
The clouds above the gym turned black.
Ravel and the others must have noticed, because the moment the sky darkened, I could hear faint yelling from below. Confusion. Panic.
Akeno pointed down.
"Lightning of Heaven," she whispered. "Dance."
The blast she unleashed shook the very air.
Lightning rained from the sky in brilliant, searing arcs. The gym was engulfed in divine fury, bright as day, loud as a god's scream. The shockwaves reached even me, though I was being gently lowered by Akeno's magic.
I hit the ground on one knee, breathing hard. Akeno landed beside me, calm as ever.
Smoke billowed from the gym. Screams echoed. The transmission in my ear buzzed.
[Raiser Phoenix Knight, Two Bishop, and two Pawns have been eliminated.]
Yes! Nobody tell me I will lose.
[Rias Gremory's Rook have been eliminated.]
Well...I don't know what to say.
Wait a minute, what happened to Riser's queen?
"Don't think you've won yet!"
Yubelluna burst out of the ruined gym, bloodied but still flying—her elegant outfit torn and her hair singed. Her eyes blazed with fury.
"Akeno-san, look out!"
Yubelluna raised her arm and unleashed a spell, a crackling orb of purple flames. Akeno reacted instantly, summoning a bolt of lightning and firing it straight at her.
The spells collided mid-air.
A massive explosion erupted between them, the force flinging me back as I shielded my face. Dust and light swallowed the world for a moment.
When it cleared, both women were gone.
[Queen Yubelluna of the Phoenix has been eliminated.]
[Queen Akeno of the Gremory has been eliminated.]
The announcement rang in my ear like a gong.
Fuck it.
~~~
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