The next morning, Tetsuya woke before dawn. The world was still hushed, the faintest traces of sunlight in the sky as he laced up his shoes. He had made training part of his routine a non-negotiable habit. With all the devil business eating away at his free time after school, the early hours were the only times he could train.
Thanks to Rias, he had access to a secluded training ground, hidden away enough that he didn't have to worry about ambushes or interruptions. It was his own little corner of peace.
He started with the basics. Push-ups until his arms trembled. Sit-ups until his stomach burned. Laps around the field, the cool morning air filling his lungs. Squats, pull-ups, everything to keep his body sharp. After all, he didn't want to reach the point where his body couldn't handle his powers. So he made sure to train it daily.
Once his muscles were warm, he moved on to his ice. Channeling his mana, he realized just how much it had grown. His ice was denser now, stronger, no longer brittle like it once was. With a flick of his hand, he shaped blades of ice that gleamed like steel. Swords, spears, halberds, bows — he tested them all, letting his master of arms trait guide his hands. Every weapon felt natural, as though he had trained with it for a decade. Yet he wanted to still train it, not wanting to be fully reliant on the trait.
He shifted to projectiles next. Shards, arrows, and lances of frozen crystal flew through the air, smashing into training dummies and boulders alike. Before, they could only pierce and impale. Now, they obliterated targets, shattering them with brutal force. The sheer destructive increase made him pause.
"…Hah. Not bad at all," he muttered to himself with a grin.
Satisfied, he turned to his newest gift Shrine.
His palm traced across a nearby training post. "Cleave."
The wooden beam split in two instantly, as if it were made of butter. He turned, raising his hand outward. "Dismantle."
Invisible slashes ripped through the air, cutting gouges into stone walls and shredding practice targets. The sound was faint, a whisper of air followed by destruction. Watching debris crumble around him, Tetsuya couldn't help but whistle low.
"Now I see why everyone made cooking jokes. That's really what it feels like," Tetsuya thought to himself
Yet frustration tugged at him. He had tried multiple times to summon Furnace, to call forth the cursed fire arrow, but nothing happened. No heat, no flame. And Malevolent Shrine? That one was a blank wall. Was his mana too low? Was it locked behind something deeper? Or was he just not ready?
Tetsuya exhaled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. No point whining about what I can't do yet. Just have to keep training to be ready for what comes next."
His thoughts drifted to another blessing Durga's. He had no idea how to test it. It wasn't raw destruction like Shrine or elemental control like his ice. It was something else. Something protective, something divine. But without a truly evil enemy or without being exposed to curses or negative effects, it lay dormant.
"Guess that one'll have to wait until I run into someone strong and malicious enough, maybe Kokabiel?" he muttered, rolling his shoulders.
By the time he finished, the sun was higher, golden light spilling across the training ground. Sweat dripped down his face, but he was smiling. He could feel it the progress. The way his strength and control were stacking up.
"If I had to guess…" Tetsuya said aloud, thinking it through, "…I'm probably sitting at the beginning of mid-class devil level now."
He pictured Kiba. His speed, his natural talent with a sword. Tetsuya smirked faintly. "He didn't take our spar seriously, not really, so I caught him off guard. But the gap's not as wide as it used to be. That's good enough for now."
He was satisfied with how far he'd come, knowing that he could handle the fallen angels without a problem now. But KFC chicken, who's coming up soon after? Yeah, he's not arrogant enough to think he could just one-shot the guy hell facing him as he is now. Riser might as well be asking him if he prayed today before he beat his ass.
But Tetsuya knew he would reach that level soon as long as he didn't slack off.. and if the system didn't kill him before Riser did.
Now hidden in the corner of the area, two figures stood cloaked in the shadows of morning. Rias and Akeno had slipped in quietly, keeping their auras suppressed as they observed.
Rias had her arms crossed under her breast, her eyes locked on the field below. "He's grown this much in such a short time…" she whispered.
Akeno chuckled softly, resting her chin on her hand. "Mhm, he surprises us more by the day. Look, look at him cutting the air itself, manipulating ice like it's nothing, he's full of surprises." Her smile turned sly. "You've got quite the talented, adorable pawn added to our group, Rias."
Rias sighed softly, though her gaze didn't leave Tetsuya. "It's dangerous. He's hiding something, abilities I've never seen before. It would make sense if it were a sacred gear or something, but I don't detect one in him."
"Oh, you like it though," Akeno teased, nudging her with an elbow. "The way you're staring… It's almost like watching your precious pawn become your prince charming."
Rias flushed faintly. "Akeno, don't get ahead of yourself!"
In front of them, Tetsuya had paused mid-swing. His body stilled, his head turning slightly as his sharp gaze flicked toward their direction. An amused smile on his face.
"…You know," he called out, his voice calm, "…if you're going to spy, you might want to work on your subtlety. I could feel your eyes on me a while ago. Plus I can hear you talking." When, really, he just saw the system notification.
{Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima +4 affection for your display of strength}
Both girls blinked, caught.
Akeno broke into laughter first, her voice musical. "Ara ara, so he noticed~. And here I thought we were being careful."
Rias straightened, clearing her throat, though her cheeks betrayed a hint of pink. "We… were only making sure you were training safely."
Tetsuya smirked faintly, lowering his sword. "Safe, huh? More like curious." He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. "Don't worry. If I were doing something I didn't want you to see, you wouldn't see it."
Akeno's eyes gleamed at that, her tone laced with teasing interest. "My, my… so mysterious. Now I really want to know what else you're hiding, Tetsuya."
Rias shot her a look but couldn't help glancing back at Tetsuya, her mind turning with questions she wasn't ready to voice. His strength was growing rapidly, a part of her was concerned about it, while the other had admiration for his strength.
"Since your here why don't you come join me? We can make it a fun group activity." Tetsuya said casually as he stretched and wiped his sweat off.
That made Rias raise a brow as she crossed her arms. "What makes you think we need training?"
Tetsuya shrugged, his tone casual but his words pointed. "You two are strong, no doubt. But from what you've told me about the devil hierarchy, you're still pretty far from the top. You can't rely on the power of friendship to save you from the real dangers out there."
The remark stung a little more than Rias expected. She opened her mouth to retort but stopped, biting back the first defensive words. His statement lingered. Compared to her brother… compared to the true Maou… she really was practically fodder. They both wielded the same power of destruction, yet she couldn't hold a candle to him. Not like this.
Her expression softened into something more thoughtful, and she looked away for a moment.
Akeno, however, just grinned, the spark of mischief flashing in her violet eyes. "I'm down. It could be a great stress reliever if you can handle my lightning."
Tetsuya leveled a deadpan look at her, unimpressed. "I said training, not trying to kill each other, you sadist."
Akeno's smirk widened, her voice dripping with honey. "What's the difference?"
Rias exhaled through her nose, shaking her head at Akeno's antics. Still, she turned back to Tetsuya and gave a small nod. "You may be right, Tetsuya. Perhaps I've let myself grow complacent. Plus, considering what's coming up soon…"
Her voice trailed off, almost distant, her thoughts clearly on the looming challenges ahead. Tetsuya caught the shift but decided not to push he had a good idea what she was thinking about.
"Then let's get started," he said, clapping his hands together. His tone was light, but his eyes were serious.
The three of them moved into the training field. Tetsuya set up some ice constructs, humanoid figures, and armored dummies lining them across the field. "We'll keep it simple. Target drills first. Aim for precision, not destruction."
Rias raised her hand, a small orb of crimson energy blooming in her palm before she sent it forward, neatly obliterating one of the dummies. The raw power was there, but her aim was slightly off-center.
Tetsuya whistled. "Not bad. But your control's a little shaky, you're compensating with too much force. You have the power, but you've never really learned to fully control it and make it yours, have you?"
Rias frowned, but she didn't deny it.
Akeno stretched her arms, her lips curling in amusement. "My turn." Crackling arcs of lightning danced across her fingers before she snapped them outward. A blinding bolt lanced across the field, obliterating three targets while also obliterating the area around them.
"Precise enough?" she asked sweetly.
Tetsuya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I said precision, not overkill. You're both hopeless."
That earned a laugh from Akeno and even a faint smile from Rias. Still, the moment wasn't wasted; both women found themselves slipping into the rhythm of training, teasing each other as they worked to improve and control their strength.
{Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima +5 affection for training with them}
Watching them, Tetsuya's grin softened. He hadn't planned on this, but maybe training together like this was exactly what they all needed. Maybe when what happens in the future comes, they'd be more prepared if they start early.
"We should bring Koneko and Kiba out for morning training like this, too. Everyone needs it, not just us." Tetsuya said as they finished their training for the day.
"Yeah, you're right, they would benefit from this too." Rias agreed, feeling a bit tired from exhausting her mana, but she couldn't deny the satisfaction in learning to control her power even a bit more.
Tetsuya and Rias both ended up glancing at Akeno, who looked euphoric as she regained her stamina, and so they deadpanned and didn't even comment on her.
"Anyway, I need to go shower." I'll borrow the one at ORC, Tetsuya said, since he brought his school clothes with him anyway.
"Actually, I planned to use it myself. I feel sweaty now." Rias said, raising her brow
"Ara? But I also need a shower; however, how will we decide this? Unless you all want to share it~ we don't have that much time before school starts." Akeno said she had finally caught her breath and was already being playful.
"I don't mind," Tetsuya shrugged, he couldn't care less, he already saw Rias naked anyway, and she saw him naked, although Akeno was a new factor. But his willpower was strong enough by this point that he knew how to control himself.
"I suppose it would be more practical," Rias said, a bit flushed, but quickly shook it off. It's just a shower, nothing else.
So the three ended up sharing the shower covering their more private parts with towels, and despite the not-so-subtle glances Tetsuya felt on his body, although he was guilty of taking a few glances at theirs as well, he wasn't gay after all, nothing too steamy happened unless you count Akeno trying to tease Tetsuya with her body and him throwing soap at her, which made her laugh out.
After they were finished, they changed into a clean set of the school uniform and stood in the room where Tetsuya had decided to tell them ahead of time
"I won't be available after school today, I'm meeting a friend."
That made Rias curious, "What friend?"
"Not telling," Tetsuya said playfully as he walked out of the room, making Rias pout.
"Oh? Looks like your beloved pawn might be getting taken by another woman," Akeno said teasingly, making Rias Glare at her.
"That's enough out of you."
Akeno giggled as Rias pressed her hand against her forehead in thought. Who was Tetsuya going to see after school? That's the thought that lingered on her mind.