The Zone—a state of ultimate focus.
By elevating your personal timeline to a higher level, you can move in a world apart from your opponent. Reach this state, and your combat prowess jumps several tiers.
We were gathered in the familiar underground training space at Gremory Castle. Everyone was working on their own training, but me? I was putting Kiba through the wringer.
"Come on, Kiba! You'll get crushed at that rate!" I taunted.
"Urgh…!" he grunted, straining.
Today, I was drilling Kiba to consciously enter the Zone. He was in his Second Layer—Knight King state, while I faced him in my Heavenly Arms armor. I'd told everyone to train at their level, but I was going at Kiba with killing intent. That's the only way to push him to that edge.
When Kiba unlocked his new Balance Breaker, I went all-out too, but this time, I'm cranking it up even higher. The goal? Make him feel the razor's edge between life and death. That's what unlocks the next level.
Not that I'd actually kill him. That'd be game over—no training, just a mess.
"Haaa!" Kiba lunged, leaving afterimages as he slashed from the side.
His white-and-black aura surged, his full-force strike carrying destructive properties. It was way stronger than before. I blocked with my left gauntlet, but the blade's icy aura froze it solid!
"Not yet!" Kiba pressed, not missing a beat.
His blade now shimmered with water and lightning—aiming to fry me from the inside! The water made it even deadlier.
"Too slow!" I roared.
My right gauntlet's booster flared, unleashing a burst of flame. I grabbed his holy-demonic sword, a Japanese katana, and the flames swallowed the water and lightning, neutralizing them.
Kiba had already ditched the sword, now wielding Gram in its place.
"Good call," I said.
"Had to. I'd be dead otherwise," he replied with a wry smile.
Dropping a weapon deemed too risky and switching to another is standard in battle. For the record, I wouldn't have killed him—just left him with full-body burns Asia could heal in a snap.
Kiba's getting the hang of fighting my Heavenly Arms, so it's time to switch things up. I shifted my armor's form.
"Balance Breaker, Third Layer—Heavenly Wings. Now the real fight starts."
"That wasn't the real fight?!" Kiba asked, incredulous.
"Heavenly Arms is fine, but for you, Heavenly Wings is better."
Heavenly Arms is built for close-quarters brawling, but Heavenly Wings offers all-range attacks and integrated offense-defense. Perfect for pushing Kiba to his limits.
"Don't let your guard down," I warned. "One slip, and you're dead."
Kiba tensed, gripping Gram as my killing intent hit him. I kicked off the ground, zipping behind him in an instant.
"Guh!" He swung Gram as he turned, but it sliced only air.
"Too slow!" I drove a palm strike into his solar plexus.
Kiba leaped back, but not fast enough, taking half the blow. Against Vali or Sairaorg, that'd be nothing, but for Kiba's lighter defenses, it was a heavy hit. He coughed blood, sent flying.
I deployed my Feather Bits for a follow-up. "Kiba! Enemies don't wait!"
"I know!" he shouted, refusing to fold. "I'm not going down that easily!"
He gripped Gram in his left hand, conjuring a katana-shaped holy-demonic sword in his right, assuming a dual-wielding stance. Dodging my Feather Bits' barrage, he charged through the storm. Damn, he's fast.
I grabbed two Feather Bits, channeling aura into them. Red aura blades formed—Sword Mode. Gripping the twin crimson swords, I flew at Kiba.
Our blades clashed. Kiba's swords—Gram, the demonic blade king, and his Knight King state's holy-demonic swords—outclassed mine in quality. Mixing holy and demonic forces, he boosted their output. His attacks, combining water and lightning or wind and fire, were sharp, and he'd even started creating illusions, expanding his arsenal.
Kiba parried my strikes and leaped back, swinging his holy-demonic sword. Suddenly, countless swords erupted from its blade!
"What the—?! You can do that?!" I yelped, dodging while gaping.
The sheer number of swords raining down was insane!
Kiba smirked. "Always save your trump card for last."
"Don't get cocky, pretty boy!" I shot back. "You forgot about Heavenly Wings' specialty!"
I manipulated the Feather Bits, forming a shield that blocked every sword. Dust kicked up around us.
Then—a presence behind me!
"Got you!" Kiba swung Gram, its dragon-slaying strike deadly even to me.
But—
"What?!" Kiba gasped.
My body dissolved into red particles, vanishing into the air. He froze, stunned.
From behind, I pressed Ascalon's blade to his neck. "Game over."
"Haha… I'm done for. Nicely played," Kiba said, laughing.
" Told you not to let your guard down," I said.
"I didn't mean to," Kiba replied. "But that disappearing trick would stop anyone."
"That's why you die if you stop. Gonna say that on the battlefield?"
"Ugh… you're harsh, Issei-kun," he sighed.
He slipped up at the end, but he kept up well. Compared to before, Kiba's progress is unreal. Among our fast-growing Gremory crew, he's a cut above—always has been. At this rate, he'll hit the Zone soon.
I glanced up to see a white flash zigzagging overhead—Vali, his light wings flaring in his armor. He was training too, sparring with the First Generation Sun Wukong.
The pint-sized white monkey geezer rode his Nimbus Cloud, dodging Vali's attacks with minimal effort. He countered Vali's magic and demonic power with his staff, toying with him using every trick in his yokai arsenal. Even holding back, the First's skill was legendary.
After a few minutes, Vali disengaged his armor and landed, with the First following. Vali shrugged. "Frustrating, but I can't land a hit."
"Don't sell yourself short, White Dragon Emperor," the First said, puffing his pipe. "If I took your or the Red Dragon Emperor's attacks head-on, I'd be dust. Your raw power surpasses mine."
"Still can't hit you, though," Vali said.
I chuckled bitterly. I've sparred with the First too, and like Vali, I couldn't land a blow. His mastery of yokai and sage arts is unreal, and the experience gap is massive. We'd win if we connected, but getting there's the problem.
The First grinned. "The Red Dragon Emperor's no slouch either. Surviving battlefields in another world's given him an edge. Right now, Red's slightly ahead of White. Speed and power are even, but Red's got more versatile techniques—those Chain-Ring Energy Skills, I bet."
Makes sense. That's how the First sees us. He's probably talking about my multi-form arsenal.
Still…
I sighed. "If Vali goes into his Silver State, I'd get crushed. No matter how slick my techniques are, overwhelming power wins."
Take Cao Cao—a technique master like no other. But against Ophis at full strength? No chance. Her attacks would obliterate him with just the shockwaves. Vali's Extreme Tyrant Dragon is similar—its raw power outclasses my three forms.
Not that I'm out of options.
Vali smirked self-deprecatingly. "Extreme Tyrant Dragon's too unwieldy. Your three forms have better balance."
"It burns stamina like crazy," I said. "My shot at winning's after you burn out."
"If you get me there, I'm done," Vali admitted.
Sure, but knowing him, he'd pull some insane new move, like in our last mock battle.
The First puffed his pipe. "Extreme Tyrant Dragon's better than Tyrant Dragon, but it's still a full-power burst. The strain's insane—can't spam or sustain it. Your challenge, White Dragon Emperor, is controlling that excess power output."
He continued, "Red Dragon Emperor doubles and transfers power; White Dragon Emperor halves and absorbs it. Past hosts used these abilities in creative ways, but none powered up as absurdly as you two. Never seen anything like it."
Absurd power-ups, huh? Vali's pushing his White Dragon Emperor talents to the limit, while I've evolved my Balance Breaker to new dimensions through all sorts of factors. Kiba's heading there too. We're definitely taking our sacred gears to higher planes.
And…
The First added, "It's not just the power-ups. The Heavenly Dragons' true power seems to be awakening. Ddraig and Albion are diving deep into their sacred gears, right?"
Exactly. During my fight with Euclid, I felt a surge of power from Ddraig—his true Heavenly Dragon essence. It might've been triggered by Ddraig and Albion's consciousness syncing, or something else. It's unclear, but new potential's definitely emerging, for both Ddraig and Albion.
So, they've gone deep into their sacred gears to explore those possibilities.
Vali said, "Albion's struggling. Apparently, the past White Dragon Emperors hate the Red Dragon Emperor—not just old grudges, but specific beef with you, Issei."
"Ugh, sorry about that," I mumbled, sheepish.
The past White Dragon Emperors formed a "Red Dragon Emperor Victims' Club" inside the sacred gear, still salty even after Ddraig and Albion reconciled. They're really not fans of me—the Oppai Dragon.
In my defense, Odin's the one who named Vali the Butt Dragon Emperor! Ddraig's been negotiating with their lingering spirits, with Albion mediating, but it's rough going.
What a mess…
"Let me handle it!" Ignis's voice boomed. "I'll talk them down!"
"No way!" I shouted. "You'll just make it worse, you troublemaking goddess!"
"Don't worry, I'll just tie them up and have a little whip-and-chat session."
"A little?!" I snapped. "No SM persuasion, you hear me?!"
She pouted. "Boo!"
Seriously, pouting?! She's that into SM play?
Then Ignis materialized in front of us, kicking a stone. "Fine, stingy Issei."
She turned to Vali. "Wanna play with me, Vali-kun~?"
"Nooo!" I yelled. "Leave Vali alone! Run, Vali! Don't get sucked into her nonsense! You don't need to join the chaos squad!"
"But," Vali said, "I heard her power helped you unlock new strength. Maybe I should—"
"Don't think about it!" I pleaded. "Stay serious, man!"
"Oh, Vali-kun gets it," Ignis cooed. "I'll open a new door for you!"
"No doors!" I tackled her in a chokehold.
I'm not letting her turn my rival into another chaos magnet! I need Vali to stay the cool, serious guy!
As I wrestled her down, my hands accidentally grabbed something soft. I looked—yup, I was gripping Ignis's chest.
What a sensation! Goddess boobs! That softness, that bounce—top-tier!
"Eek~! Naughty Issei~!" she giggled. "Jealous of Vali-kun, huh? So that's how it is."
"W-what are you talking about?!" I stammered, my face twitching.
She smirked, clearly enjoying this. "Doing this in front of everyone? Such a beast☆"
"You're the last one to call me that!" I shot back.
"Not enough yet," she said. "Watch my power! Vali-kun, this is how I trained Issei!"
"Intriguing," Vali said. "Show me this otherworldly goddess's strength."
"Don't get curious!" I screamed. "Gaaah! I'm being assaulted! Save meeee!"
And so, Ignis pounced.
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