"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!~"
In midair.
With every kick, Tannin's body was sent skidding upward through the sky.
Each time he went flying, Sai Akuto would surge after him on Vāmona's power and add another kick.
One kick. Then another. And another!
As if it would never end, Akuto literally booted Tannin all the way up to the Underworld's highest strata!
...
Down below, the gathered dragons stared, stunned by their own Dragon King's plight—among them, not a few beings strong enough to be called of Dragon King class.
Dragon King class is not the same as those famed enough to bear a personal epithet as a "Titled Dragon King."
Dragon King class is on par with Maou-class. But dragons who carry a true title have all stepped into Super Maou-class!
Just like the current Four Maou of the Underworld.
Maou-class experts are a dime a dozen in the Underworld. If you're "one of the original Four Maou's lines, a member of the Three Major Houses, or blessed with a mutated bloodline," it's not that hard to reach Maou-class with serious cultivation.
For example, direct scions of the Old Maou Faction, successive heads of House Gremory, the former Great King House's next heir whom Sairaorg defeated, the current Archduke House's next heir Seekvaira, and so on. As long as they train earnestly, most can attain Maou-class strength.
But to bear limited titles like "one of the Four Maou" or "the Emperor," you generally need Super Maou-class power.
These Dragon King–class giants were the "one-two-three" candidates Tannin had personally selected as his successors. They hadn't yet reached the level of a titled Dragon King, but their caliber was nothing to sneeze at.
And now, these Dragon King–class dragons could only watch Tannin get pummeled, utterly unwilling to move a muscle.
On one hand, without Tannin's order, group piling-on would be disgraceful—not just for them, but for Tannin's face as well.
On the other hand, under the pressure of a Heavenly Dragon–level aura, a bunch of fresh Maou-class Dragon Kings didn't dare act at all.
...
They weren't the only ones astonished. Even Akeno's red lips parted in surprise.
Of course she knew Akuto had swatted down Kokabiel, a Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel, with ease. But she hadn't realized Akuto hadn't gone all out even then.
And now, for her sake, Akuto was willing to bare his full strength!
Realizing that, Akeno's gaze toward Akuto rippled like water.
"Rias, is this why you fell for Akuto-kun? Truly, this feeling of safety—of being protected—it's hard not to be moved."
Akeno wasn't the type to cling to her man, but even so, waves rose in her heart.
"As I thought... people really do have a 'treasure-seeking' nature."
"Rias, Akuto-kun is the most precious treasure you spent your life's luck to find."
"Sorry, though—your treasure... might have to be shared with me now~"
Akeno felt a tiny pang of apology toward Rias. Tiny—and only tiny.
After all, Akuto was already "shared." He'd married two wives at once—proof enough.
Not to mention, Akeno had already seen the hints that Rias herself was willing to... help find women for Akuto.
Just thinking how the ever-proud Rias would go that far, Akeno could imagine the pressure Rias was under.
As she thought of it, Akeno recalled the scene she and Koneko had witnessed that day—the sight of Rias, Akuto, Ravel, and Ravel's peerage all lying on the same giant bed.
And if that giant bed one day included herself—Akeno's violet eyes grew moist, and heat slowly flushed through her body.
"Hm?"
As she was musing, Akeno noticed a familiar silhouette.
"That lady... she came as well?"
"I didn't expect her to care this much about Akuto-kun."
...
The one Akeno had seen was Seekvaira.
When Seekvaira learned Akuto planned to "talk" with Tannin, she had a persistent sense of foreboding.
So she'd intended to meet with the former Dragon King on behalf of the Archduke House first, hoping to clinch an unprecedented deal before Akuto arrived.
Who knew Akuto, all the way over in the Human World, would get here even earlier than she did!
Not far away, the dignified, bespectacled girl with long ash-blue hair had just arrived—and her lips parted in shock at the tableau before her.
"Uh... that dragon getting kicked over and over—the one with his wings snapped—that's Lord Tannin?"
Seekvaira had considered the possibility that Tannin might lose. She hadn't expected him to lose this miserably.
Most devils don't understand how big the gap above Maou-class really is. To them, anyone above that realm is simply someone you must never offend.
But Seekvaira was different. As the Archduke House's next head, she realized at a glance just what kind of power Akuto possessed.
"Mother once said that the current Four Maou are extraordinary—at least on par with the original Four. Among them, the current Lucifer has fully surpassed the first Lucifer and reached a terrifying state."
"Looking at this... Akuto-kun is no less."
"If I didn't have the duty of the next family head—if the next family head weren't forbidden to marry out—perhaps I would be like other pureblood devil women and [want to marry Akuto-kun, too?]"
"It's a pity... I still bear the responsibility of succeeding the Archduke House."
Unlike Rias, Seekvaira had no thought of having the current family head hold on a bit longer.
Yes, she was quite satisfied with Akuto—she acknowledged how excellent he'd be as a partner. But give up the Archduke's seat? She simply couldn't.
"This fight is basically decided. I need to hurry back and get Akuto-kun's affairs handled."
After a quick assessment of the battle, and brief greetings to both Akeno and Tannin's dragons, Seekvaira turned on her heel and left the scene.
...
On the other side—
At Akuto and Tannin's battlefield.
After dozens of kicks, Akuto decided pure kicking was getting dull. He drew out a few of the quirkier tools from the "Ten Kings' Judgment."
"Hm?"
Tannin, kicked till his whole dragon body felt wrong, only managed to catch his breath when Akuto paused his assault.
"Raa-aar-RAAAAH!!~"
But the moment he loosed a furious draconic roar, a gigantic iron sphere materialized before him.
[Dragon Emperor: Shinkō Sphere!]
Seryu's Shinkō Sphere was merely a blunt, heavy mass. Akuto's Shinkō Sphere, however, housed layered magics: "Shatter," "Attract," "Gravity," and more.
As it bore down, Tannin felt the crushing gravity enchantments on it and instantly scrapped his plan to slip aside and counter.
"In that case!"
"@R^%E^R^E..."
Tannin opened his jaws as strange sigils seethed around him. Chanting in dragon-tongue, he spat forth a blazing meteor the size of the giant Shinkō Sphere.
"Boom!~"
The flame-wreathed meteor, wrapped in draconic breath, slammed into the Shinkō Sphere. The meteor burst apart, and though the Sphere was driven back by the blast, it held.
Using that sliver of time, Tannin tried to widen the gap between them.
However...
He'd barely beaten his wings when hundreds of micro-missiles curled around the meteor fragments and came screaming in!
[Crimson Dragon Soaring Ballistic Missiles!]
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!~"
Countless micro-missiles flew as if they had minds of their own, each aimed at a different part of Tannin's body!
The ones streaking toward his reverse-scale made the old dragon go cold.
A "reverse scale" is so named because it shields a dragon's reproductive organs—an absolutely vital plate.
With dragon evolution, such organs are certainly not exposed; nearly every dragon's are protected behind the reverse scale.
In human terms, Tannin's situation was like someone lighting a huge firecracker right up against your family jewels—with only your pants in between!
Loath as he was, Tannin hastily wrapped himself in layered arts.
[True Dragon Body!]
A line of golden light flashed, his defense surging. His already-tough scales were overlaid with a coat of adamantine sorcery.
Under special care from Tannin, his reverse-scale region gained several extra layers of diamond-hard wards.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!~"
When the missiles finished, Tannin's draconic body was battered and bleeding in many places.
But at least he'd protected his reverse scale!
"Brat! Some things can't be done just because you're strong!!!~"
Having eaten dozens of kicks from Akuto, Tannin's temper had already flared. Now, with missiles targeted at his reverse scale, he was livid.
Yes, dragons submit to the strong.
But... only after you've beaten them into submission!
The God of the Bible was strong enough, wasn't he? And yet the Two Heavenly Dragons still struck at Him when their fight was interrupted!
Challenging the mighty without end, honing oneself without end—that is a dragon's nature!
"%E*^R^E*^R^E..."
[Dragon King's Sigh!]
The Dragon King's Sigh is the ultimate breath that only beings of Dragon King class can use!
Every Dragon King perfects this most fundamental move to suit their own body and gifts—making it the killing strike most attuned to draconic build and instinct.
Watching Dragon King power boiling up inside Tannin, Akuto shook his head.
"Some things can't be done just because you're strong? Of course I know that. And what I'm teaching you now... is precisely the Way of Kings."
[Dragon Emperor: Taizan Cannon!]
A massive gun turret blossomed behind Akuto!
And then—
[Dragon Sovereign: Bishop!]
Akuto didn't have Issei's promotion gimmick with his chess pieces, but he'd developed something similar from his own research.
Abandoning most of the armor-maintenance and booster output, he funneled everything into a single artillery strike!
"KA-THOOM!~"
As the blast lanced out, a silver-gold radiance misted over Akuto's body.
Under his control, that silver sheen spread and fused into the streaming beam itself!
[Upon this I swear—]
[I will not allow anything in this world that I cannot cut...]
[This blade cleaves all things beneath the heavens! The invincible sword!]
The Rending Silver Hand can make anything into a "sword."
In the later arcs of the Godslayer tales, Doni even turned a meteor into his demon blade.
Akuto did the same—he made silver itself his magic sword.
(End of Chapter)
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