Chapter 23: Power of Destruction & Water Manipulation

"Begin!"

Serafall's proclamation marked the beginning of the mock battle between Rias and Sona. Two young devil girls who looked mighty pumped after witnessing my awesomeness.

I watched attentively, but not one of them made a move first. I was genuinely surprised the hot-headed Rias didn't throw a ball of destruction. Instead, her eyes seemed to be flickering from the ground beneath Sona and to Sona's hands and then to her eyes. 

What is she planning? 

Both Sona and Rias aren't built for close combat, so it'd be with pure magical skill. Technically it can go either way based on the finesse I believe Sona has or the sheer amount of power Rias is wielding. Can't say I'm not pumped for this. Wonder how much stronger they'll become once they have successfully mastered their powers. Shit. I clamp down on the excitement when I feel a tap on my forehead. 

I peeked and Mamako and she had her cheeks puffed out as she mouthed the word 'No, bad, Ryu-chan'

Feeling a tad bit embarrassed at the way my thoughts began to drift toward violence, I sheepishly smiled and trained my eyes back onto the field. They were at a clear stand-off, but Sona's hand seemed to twitch and almost at the same time magic circles sprang forth between them.

Rias' ball of destruction that was forming was a tad bit slower than the water magic Sona summoned. The beautifully constructed blade of water rocketed toward Rias, but instead of panicking her eyes remained focused on the ball of energy in front of her. When her eyes lit up, she launched it onto the incoming attack, unwavering determination oozing out of her.

A mini explosion manifested consuming the blade and reducing it into a fine mist, and yet she was not finished, while Sona called upon multiple whips of water, a second ball of energy emerged from the mist exploding under Sona's feet causing her to stumble.

She held on with her precise control of the whips, cushioning her fall and lashing out with them toward where she last saw Rias. I turned to Rias awaiting what she planned to do next, but demonic energy emanated from her hands, smacking away the oncoming whips. A crude method of defense but pretty damn impressive control especially since these two are casters. 

Not expecting her to catch them or at least smack them away, she was a bit late when Rias's demonic energy was used to create fireballs though these appeared to have slight wisps of destruction. 

Sensing the danger from them, Sona, abandoned her position and the whips as she conjured a shield of energy and a dampening shield of water in front of it. It was insanely quick thinking and pretty damn awesome how she managed to conjure them both at once. 

They impacted her shields, sending a wave of mist around the area, but they held strong. Meanwhile, she closed her eyes as a massive magic circle lit up her surroundings. Intricate runes and sparkles of blue danced around and with a flash a single dragon-like head with an eel-like body manifested. The haze surrounding it was blue and packed full of Sona's demonic energy. If one looked carefully they could see the water flowing ever so elegantly within its form. Its eyes were iridescent beads of ice as were the teeth lining its maw. Sweat formed on her forehead, dripping down her face as she chewed on her cheek in concentration. Impatience marred her pretty face, and when I took a look at Rias, she also wasn't expecting Sona to be able to block it, especially the minute control she seemed to have with the dragon. 

They were both winded from the constant exchange and the defense but were not out of it. They still had massive demonic energy reserves. More than enough for Sona to keep using her water dragon but also just enough for Rias to defend while Sona runs out of energy. Though I knew Rias wouldn't just sit there and play defensively. 

The monstrous appearance of the water dragon made Rias back away as she conjured some barriers around her. She appeared to be slowly concentrating on an image if her furrowed brows were any indication. Sona not wanting to wait for what her opponent thought of next, sent the dragon off, it seemed to roar to life as it barreled toward Rias. It bashed incessantly against the barriers, they held, but just barely. Whips, blades, and claws rained down on the barriers until cracks began to form, but before they could break a shout of relief came from Rias as the spell locked into place and a magical circle manifested. 

What was felt first was the heat that rolled off of it in waves, but fascinatingly, what she conjured was a huge dragon head that seemed to be aflame. Swirls of destruction made up its black eyes, while the red haze surrounding it was the thick demonic energy Rias poured into it. Just like Sona was able to fling water spells, Rias opted for the destructive fire to synergize with her power of destruction. So with sheer will, she was able to manifest it as fire, crimson fire. Its maw was half-open as if it was about to shoot off a blast of fire, and going off of the face of the jubilant Rias, I think that's what it was about to do. Sweat cascaded down her face, but satisfaction was clearly painted onto her face as she made the dragon bash into the water dragon. Steam hissed marking a successful blow and allowing some breathing room as it glided away. The fire dragon stayed aloft in front of Rias while the water dragon took its position back in front of Sona. 

They were both grinning, their eyes held clear provocation of a challenge, as if daring the other to make the first move. A glint passed through their eyes as they both shouted, 'Fire!'

Immediately Sona's water dragon gathered an immense amount of energy from its maw, the swirling water within it flowing rapidly toward its mouth as a beam of pure concentrated water shot out to Rias. At the same time, the fire dragon pumps the hazy energy around it into its maw as Rias grits her teeth to push the power of destruction inside the mouth as well. The heat ray touched by the destruction shot out and collided with the water beam.

Both fought for supremacy, but the destructive effects of Rias' power gave her the edge to erase the energy being pumped into the water beam. It diminished significantly until nothing was left and it collided with the water dragon, finishing it off. That was the expected outcome, but perhaps out of desperation or sheer fucken will, the torrent of Sona's final demonic power was poured into it just enough to tank the lessening fire beam and blast its way toward the fire dragon colliding and exploding on impact.

Because of the exhilaration of the battle, both Rias and Sona were way too close to the explosion, so the blast blew them away, though Serafall waved some barriers into place, protecting them from further harm.

Holy shit.

My blood is pumping dammit.

Their control is astounding, they have extreme potential, I knew that, but I underestimated them too much. That was fucken awesome. Perhaps it can also be attributed to their almost fanatical teachers, to be honest. But well, let's leave it at that. 

I got up, sprinting my way to them. Grayfia and Serafall carried them a bit away from the destruction and were now lying down over an area where the grass had not been uprooted, using the two female adults as lap pillows.

"Rias! Sona-san! That was awesome!! You guys masterfully used your demonic energy!" I shouted in glee as I fussed over their ragged breaths. 

"But of course, it's to be expected of the wife to be as powerful as the husband... but uhm, thank you, Ryu..." She always gets so meek after a burst of energy.

"Awe, no need to be bashful, that fire dragon required massive amounts of control, right? Were you working on that with Grayfia?" I asked curiously.

"Uhm yes and no, Grayfia-nee-sama and I were talking about the details and how to maintain proper control over both fire and destruction and she suggested I think of an image to hold them both steady... Your fight today solidified that appearance...ehe..." She said with a bashful smile as her shiny blue eyes looked up at me. 

What the fuck, do you understand how cute that is?! It solidified thanks to her watching me fight?! 

My inner turmoil threatened to spill over so with Grayfia's permission I took a knee and embraced Rias in response. 

"That's the sweetest thing I've heard... glad I could be of help haha..." 

She didn't respond, only tightened her hold on me. She then let go suddenly, and with a furious blush on her face retreated behind Grayfia. Perhaps it was too much for her haha.

"Now now Rias, there is no need to feel embarrassed, look at Ryu-sama's cheeks. Do you not see the faint blush? You must always be aware of such things lest misunderstandings spring up," she said in a teasing manner. Dammit, I thought I hid it pretty well. 

Rias took a look herself and her eyes widened, I could only look away as I endured Serafall's prodding. "Ne Ne, Ryu-tan, what's with that adorable face you're making? Usually, you're so dashing and in control, but did Rias' gesture make you that happy!? Kyaa! Kyaa! Oh to be young again!"

I stamped down the growl that threatened to spill over from my mouth as I got myself together, stared straight into Serafall's eyes, and replied. "Yes, I'm insanely giddy at the fact that Rias got the inspiration for her spell from me, her fiance," my voice firm.

Serafall covered her mouth and only said, "Oh my," in response but her eyes glanced over to Rias. I did too and she was holding her cheeks as she squirmed in apparent happiness. Oh man, I gotta control myself, or else ima start patting her head. 

I then turned my attention to the other young girl lying on Serafall's lap, but I was a bit surprised at her expression. Sona watched it all with an envious gaze on her face, though she tried to mask it with her glasses and by lifting up her sister's outfit in front of her. That's cute. Serafall is practically glowing though. 

Not wanting to hold back anymore I spoke. "Sona-san, your minute control, and quick thinking managed to hold off Rias' power of destruction, that's an insane feat! Reckless sure because you used up the rest of your demonic power, but ingenuity because you knew the beam was going to end!" I said fervently, though I did try to dial it back so I wouldn't scare her.

"Wha-?!" In the end, I did startle her though, but she composed herself, got up from the lap pillow, and faced me. "I- uhm- thank you, Ryu-san. The dragon she conjured was out of my expectations, but with the way we were using up our demonic energy, I did some calculations on the right timing of when I should make a last-ditch effort. I'm glad it paid off as well as it did. There was no winner though haha..." She finished with an awkward laugh as she sighed in disappointment. 

"That won't do! You both fought incredibly, you guys both gave it all you had and there is still lots of training to be done. Perfecting each other's spells is also something you guys can do so you can have a rematch, no? Paying minute attention to everything is incredible, be proud of that Sona-san," I said firmly as I held her gaze.

She grew embarrassed but determination blazed within her bright violet eyes. "I won't lose next time, so watch me closely, Ryu-san."

I nodded with a grin at that. And out of the corner of my eye, Rias peeked out from behind Grayfia and pumped her fists in a show of motivation as well. 

We all got up and made our way over to where Mamako and Miyu were waiting. 

During this time, some questions popped up, something I should've learned about at the start. In fact, I should be beating myself over it because it directly impacts people I care about. Directing a bit of my attention to my system, I got my thoughts in order and spoke out to Eve.

Eve, about the Soul-Bonds. What can you tell me about the functions of it?

[ Though some information is being withheld because you do not hold sufficient power nor the appropriate Soul Tier, what I do know is this: Your skills are far easier for those bonded to you to learn, for example the way you used your Sharing is Caring skill and Arc of Embodiment to create a ring for Jibril. Normally, it wouldn't be possible for her to actually learn the skills you imbued them with, but because of the bond, she can pick up nuances and uses of the power, like taking your knowledge of it. ]

I see, I mean, it does make sense now that I think about it. She got the hang of those skills because she was able to apply my own knowledge of them together with her experience. 

[ Right. The other effect would be your telepathy, though that comes at the start once you do the ritual to bond with them. The final would be an increase in 'level,' I say this in gaming terms because their power increases in proportion to who they defeat, how much effort was exhibited as well as the bond they have with you. The stronger the bond the easier it will be to increase their power. ]

That's insane. Is that the reason why the growth speed of Rias increased so much? What about Sona though, hmm perhaps that's attributed to her devoted Sister and a butterfly effect of Serafall finding out about me through my moms and Grayfia. Food for thought. 

I thank Eve mentally. Snapping out of the trance, I slowly lower myself into the comfy lap pillow of Miyu. She strokes my head as the others also begin to relax around us. Shuri and the other two girls bounce their way over crowding around in a circle. 

Grayfia and Shuri are reluctant to take part, but Mamako shuts that down and makes them sit together with us. Ahhh pure bliss. After some insane fighting, lying down like this and relaxing just hits the spot.

As my eyes droop, they snap open when I hear an oncoming transmission from Jibril and some alarming but happy news.

(WAIT, WHAT!? SHE AWAKENED?!)