-]|[-

They stepped out at Nijo Castle, where Rias immediately frowned. “Wait, where are they? I don’t sense anyone.”

“Hmm.” Izuku hummed, closing his eyes. He stretched out his senses and pursed his lips. “I don’t either.”

“Do you think it was just a lie to throw us off?” Lavinia asked.

Deila rolled her eyes, “And we waltzed right into it.”

“No, Cao Cao wasn’t lying.” Izuku stated, “Which only tells me that-”

“You’re a little early.” A man stepped out of nowhere. It was like he had opened reality’s curtain and stepped out from behind it. He had short brown hair and glasses. “We’re not quite ready for you, so…”

All of them were engulfed in purple mist in seconds.

When it cleared, Izuku was completely alone and standing at Kinkaku-ji. He reached up and scratched the back of his head. “I’m curious.” He said to no one in particular, “What was that supposed to do?”

“Stall you.” The words came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “Cao Cao saw that Dimension Lost-like ability you have and decided to station me here. How do you like my Dimension Lock?” The voice said, chuckling ominously. “As long as my ability is active, no one may leave the area. Dimensional portals won’t function and neither will teleportation. Even trying to walk out won’t work. I’ll keep you here until the end of time if I have to, for Cao Cao!”

So, Cao Cao had some zealots in his faction, huh? Izuku continued scratching the back of his head, “So, what you’re saying is, all I have to do to escape is to knock you out?”

“Arrogant brat!” The voice, which was noticeably wizened now that Izuku paid attention, belted out. “This space is under my control! With my balance breaker active, I can be everywhere and nowhere at the same time! You’ll never fin-”

Izuku’s fist crashed into the open air, shattering it like a glass. As it broke and crinkled to the ground, a man in his late fifties at the youngest was revealed, folded in half and almost coughing up blood. “I guess villain monologues transcend dimensions.” Izuku said dryly as the man crashed to the floor, dead to the world. “Now, let’s see.” His eyes started to glow as he kneeled and pressed a hand to the man’s back.

His vision darkened as he explored the man’s soul, reaching specifically for the Sacred Gear. He was better prepared this time, his neurons already slightly rewired as he glimpsed into God’s System. Only this time, his peek was longer, and more importantly, he saw a parasite . A black serpent that exuded more power than the entire Sacred Gear itself. It turned to look at him and Izuku almost felt like he had looked upon the abyss and the abyss stared back.

With a yelp, he pulled himself from his soul dive just in time to watch the man’s body explode with a black aura. Even unconscious, he screamed as the power shattered his Sacred Gear. Izuku watched as the man instantly died. With a growl of fury, Izuku punched the ground. “Damn it!” He snarled, even as the ground beneath his feet shattered. Standing, he gave the man one last look, mentally apologizing to him for being unable to save him from such an agonizing death.

He turned and stepped through a portal, appearing at Nijo Castle’s eastern gate once more. This time, he sensed the presences within and rushed forward. As he did so, he saw Rias fly her way in as a dragon. She landed beside him. “Honestly, what was the point of buying two minutes?” She deadpanned as Deila caught up.

Lavinia was floating on her broomstick as she descended from the heavens. They continued to run (or fly) and watched Aika land in front of them at Honmaru Palace. The gate opened up and they stepped within.

“I must say, I’m impressed.” Cao Cao stated, clapping his hands idly. He stood at the center of his minions once more, with Augusta and the Dimension Lost wielder standing to either side, along with Siegfried rounding out the team. That meant that the others were likely dealing with Jeanne, Heracles, and Leonardo. “That took you barely any time at all. Those assailants we sent to you may have only had low and mid-ranked Sacred Gears, but Balance Breakers are Balance Breakers.”

Deila rolled her eyes, “Lucifer’s throbbing cock, you’re insufferable.” She said, “You and your squad of Longinus ran away from us last time, and now you’re making pretend that you’re surprised we beat your weaklings?”

“Please do not talk about my brother’s cock.” Rias deadpanned as Cao Cao’s eyes narrowed, “And especially not about how throbbing it is.”

“I meant the original, little Gremory.” Deila chuckled as Aika burst into giggles.

“Cut the chatter.” Izuku ordered, his eyes off to the side. They all followed his gaze and saw Yasaka standing there. Her eyes were vacant, and her face was completely expressionless. The two weaklings next to her certainly weren’t capable of being her escorts, and yet she was being led around effortlessly. “What have you done?” He growled, tearing his eyes back towards Cao Cao.

“I told you, didn’t I? We need her for a brief experiment we’re conducting.” Cao Cao replied, tapping the ground with the end of his spear.

The moment he had done so, Yasaka began to hold her head and scream . Her cries echoed the night as she began to glow. And then her body exploded in size, growing to about twenty meters tall as her elegant features morphed. A huge golden beast now stood before them, howling at the empty sky. This was the true Kyūbi, and none there could say that she wasn’t majestic.

But it was clear that she was still under their total control. They had no idea how the Hero Faction was doing this, but clearly a snatch and grab to get Yasaka to safety wasn’t going to be in the cards. The beautiful woman would fight them. “Just what are you trying to accomplish?” Rias snarled at Cao Cao, utterly disgusted by seeing the powerful woman under their thrall. “What is this experiment of yours? No more games!”

The man rested his spear on his shoulder. “Why, it’s simple, Heiress Gremory.” He smiled at her, “Kyoto itself can be likened to a gigantic magical circle. Powerful leylines run beneath the city and the famous locales are rich in spiritual energy, magic, and even demonic power. The ancient masters who designed Kyoto were trying to tap into that latent strength, and it is why so many supernatural beings have found themselves drawn here. This pseudo-space where we now stand is located in the dimensional void and is simultaneously both incredibly close and extremely removed from the real-life Kyoto. That is why our experiment must be completed here.”

“Wait.” Deila said, her face paling. “You’re not saying-”

Cao Cao turned his gaze upon her and smiled . “You’re pretty on the ball, aren’t you, mystery Leviathan?” He tapped his spear on his shoulder one more time, “The Kyūbi is the strongest Yōkai and this city is teeming with power just waiting to be used. Let us see if that power is enough to glimpse it. ”

“You’re mad!” Rias lost all the color in her face, “You want to bring the Great Red HERE?!”

“What good would that do?!” Lavinia finally ended her glare with Augusta to gape at him, “That dragon floats harmlessly in the void! What will summoning the Dragon of Dragons get you?!”

“Ah, but there’s just so much we know not about it!” Cao Cao exclaimed, “How powerful it truly is; what powers it possesses, or perhaps even what effect it will have on the Apocalypse Dragon.”

‘ It? ’ Izuku frowned, ‘ He’s been forthcoming about everything else. Why not say what this ‘it’ is? It can’t be his Sacred Gear. ’

“I don’t know what this Great Red thing is,” Aika swallowed nervously, “But summoning anything with ‘apocalypse’ in the title seems like an awful idea.”

“ Beyond awful. ” Ddraig spoke from her staff, “ This Hero Faction must be made of jesters. True Longinus? Dimension Lost? Annihilation Maker? They think the Dragon of Dragons would care one whit about any of their skills? ”

Cao Cao chuckled, “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

“Absolutely n ot . ” Rias roared as she exploded in size. Her energy unleashed itself as the sky, which was already dark, blackened further. Storm clouds rolled in instantly as she opened her maw. “ Extinguished Star! ” She roared, blasting out her black and red draconic breath.

“Fool.” Cao Cao said with an easygoing smile as she started charging it. “She avoided doing it earlier and now she-”

“N-no, something’s wrong!” Cao Cao’s eyes snapped to the wielder of Dimension Lost, Georg as the brown-haired bespectacled man gained a look of mild panic.

Augusta, Cao Cao, and Georg snapped their gazes to the dragon in the sky and sprang into action. As Rias fired her attack, Cao Cao grasped his spear with both hands and slammed it into dirt. Georg and Augusta both formed hundreds of magical circles in front of them, creating a powerful barrier just in time to catch Rias’s attack.

BOOM

Calamity erupted around them as the explosion blew everything in the pseudo-dimension away, even Yasaka herself was flung into the distance. The ground beneath Honmaru Palace cratered and shattered under the force of the blast. The recreation of the historical site evaporated under the strain. Everything within a circular kilometer of the epicenter turned to ash.

Izuku had seen what Rias was planning and so had portaled himself and the other three girls on top of Rias’s head, where they would be protected from the blast. And then he had put his hard instruction under Serafall to good use, using Indra to manipulate the fabric of spacetime to disrupt the Dimension Lost wielder’s ability to use his own portals.

“Geez, that was overkill, Rias-buchou!” Aika tapped the dragon’s head with her heel.

“Idiot.” Deila sighed, “ Learn to focus your senses better,” A huge smirk crossed her face, “ Chinporyūtei. ”

“ Any chance that knocked Yasaka-sama back to her senses? ”

“Not a chance.” Lavinia sighed, eyeing the rising Kyūbi.

They eyed the clearing smoke as both Aika and Ddraig complained about the nickname. A huge crater sat where Honmaru Palace had once stood. The Hero Faction appeared to have been annihilated.

Appearances, unfortunately, were deceiving. CRACK. An arm popped out of the dirt before flinging a rock away. Cao Cao stood, looking dirty. Minor burns covered him, but he had a wide smile on his face. “Hoh, that was seriously impressive! Not bad at all!” He laughed gaily. The rest of his squad was also in varying states of disarray. Siegfried was the best off, his multiple demonic blades and anti-dragon aura from Gram especially keeping him safe. Georg looked annoyed as he used magic to fix his shattered spectacles, and a now-hatless Augusta was tutting as she looked over her dress, which was shredded and now reached her knees instead of her feet.

It was not a pretty sight.

Cao Cao continued, “With power like that, I’ve little doubt you would have earned a top-one-hundred ranking in your Rating Games, Rias Gremory! Maybe even the top ten in a decade or so!” His smile turned nasty, “How unfortunate for you that you’re in our way.” He said before tapping his spear’s butt on the ground. “It’s time for the experiment to begin.” Yasaka immediately began to glow. “Georg, go.” Cao Cao commanded, and Georg did as he was told.

He vanished and appeared next to Yasaka in an instant. Dozens of magical circles appeared around him, and the glyphs began to spin at incredible speeds.

“Son of a bitch.” Deila cursed, “Norse Magic, Demonic Magic, Fallen Magic, Black Magic, White Magic, Spirit Magic, how many styles does that cunt know?! ”

A massive magical array appeared beneath Yasaka’s massive form and magical energy from Kyoto’s leylines began to pour into her. She let out a truly horrific scream as the power surged through her. Her eyes were opened wide and emanating a range of colors. Every hair follicle on her body was standing on end.

“The magical circle and the sacrifice for summoning Great Red are in place.” Georg commented as if talking about the weather. “Now to see if Great Red will be drawn by the power of this city.” He smiled, “Luckily, we have the Sekiryūtei and Rias Gremory here. She may not be a Dragon King, but she’s plenty powerful as it is. Hopefully it will catch his attention.” His smirk widened, “It’s a good thing we faced them earlier. If we didn’t have Leonardo create some Monsters to take some of this load from afar, I’d be quite helpless right now.”

Cao Cao chuckled, “Victory against evil by any means. That’s how Heroes work, after all.” Izuku’s jaw ground as Cao Cao pointed his spear at him. “It’s time for round two, wouldn’t you say, Midoriya Izuku?”

Izuku leapt off of Rias’s head and landed in a crash. He didn’t take his eyes of Cao Cao for an instant, a furious glare on his face. “You better hope you get a chance to rue this day, Cao Cao.” Izuku unleashed his power, Indra rising to his left, Pele to his right… and then with a loud, musical screech, a giant eagle made of snow and ice formed behind him, screeching and flapping its wings in a show of intimidation.

Cao Cao’s eyes widened, “I recognize that  one from the Rating Game.” He nodded at Pele, “But what are the other two?”

“Meet Indra, Pele, and Hræsvelgr.” Izuku said as he pointed Takeru at the mad human.

“Tch.” Cao Cao clicked his teeth, eying the new opponents warily. He had felt confident dealing with the fire creature, but adding two new ones with powers that likely matched it was going to be… annoying . ‘ No matter. No one can contend with my Balance Breaker, and even if he somehow can pull ahead of even that, Truth Idea will end it. ’ He readied himself.

“I suppose I’ll play with the Sekiryūtei.” Seigfried grinned up at Aika. She jumped and landed in front of him, already transformed into her Buddha form. “Though you’re a little weird for a Sekiryūtei, aren’t you? What’s this weird transformation of yours?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Aika grinned at him, her golden eyes glimmering. “Also, my condolences.”

Siegfried looked confused. “…For… what exactly?”

“You’re not packing much between the legs, huh? You poor thing.” She sneered at him, holding her thumb and forefinger four inches apart.

“IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP CALLING YOU THE CHINPORYŪTEI, STOP SAYING SHIT LIKE THAT!” Deila howled in laughter as Siegfried’s jaw dropped. Ddraig began to sob, his many voices from the many repeating petals melding together.

Rias sighed, “ She is never going to beat the allegations. ” The giant sweatdropping dragon looked utterly hilarious as she shook her head. “ Whatever. ” She turned her gaze to Yasaka. “ Time to try and calm down a Kyūbi. ” She surged towards the nine-tailed fox Yōkai.

Lavinia got onto her broom and flew down, before jerking her head to the side while looking at Augusta.

“Yes, let’s let the kids have their fun.” Augusta chuckled as she and Lavinia raced over a mile away in a moment.

“And I suppose that leaves you and me.” Deila clenched her fist to crack her knuckles as she stared at Georg.

The bespectacled man chuckled, “You will regret that, of course. Now it’s for real.” Dozens of magical circles rose behind him. “And you’ll find your power insufficient, Leviathan.”

“That’s a whole lot of shit you’re talking for someone about to get his ass beat.” Deila laughed as even more magical circles rose behind her. Georg’s smile dropped as he realized he couldn’t even recognize some of them. “I learned at Leviathan’s hip, and you think you can just look past me? Know your place, trash .” Fire, lightning, shadow, and water surged forwards.

Georg grunted as the attacks smashed into his barriers.

-]|[-

On the other side of the city, Koneko snickered. “Could you lot be any more predictable?” She asked as she stared at the rest of the Hero Faction.

“Ara, it appears your face has healed up nicely.” Akeno told Heracles, whose eye twitched.

Jeanne pouted, “Oh, come on! You couldn’t possibly have-” She started to exclaim before being cut off.

Akeno giggled, “Ufufufu, what, predicted that you’d attack our home base? Come on now. We’re being underestimated here.”

“Tch.” Heracles, looking like he was in an incredibly bad mood, grunted.

“So, what are you here for? Hostages?” Koneko asked. “Pretty lame if you are.”

“Hahaha!” Jeanne laughed, “Looks like we were read like a book.” She shrugged, “So, where is the little Kyūbi?”

Kiba chuckled, “Looks like Izuku was right.” He had a much more easygoing smile on his face than the first time they faced off. “Not here.” The Hero Faction’s eyes narrowed, “Really, your leader attacked her the first time we faced off so he could get away from Izuku, and you thought we’d just leave her here and in danger?”

“Mooorons!” Koneko called out, a very Kuroka-like grin crossing her face.

A vein bulged on Heracles’s head. “What are you? Pawn? Knight? Rook?”

Koneko titled her head in confusion. “Rook.” She said.

“ Good. ” He cracked his knuckles, “That means I can take my time beating you half to death, runt.” He surged forward, aiming to break Koneko’s nose with his first shot. His fist plowed into her face… and then through it. “What?!” He backed away with wide eyes. He hadn’t meant to pop her like a grape!

But it was strange. There was no blood. Instead, silver motes of light floated around her, before coalescing back onto her neck stump and forming a shining face.

“What the fuck?!” Jeanne gasped.

Koneko smiled, “Hey, quick question, dumbass.” Heracles visibly got even madder. “Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?” She asked. The Hero Faction only had a half second to process that question before she was in Heracles's face. Her foot flashed, cracking into his jaw and blasting him away with a tremendous shockwave. He plowed through the building on the other side of the street from the Kyoto Sirzechs Hotel, a flash of silver following after him. An explosion they couldn’t see but definitely felt followed, with a huge plume of smoke rising behind the building.

“Hera-kun!” Jeanne gasped out, her head snapping to follow his path on a very big delay. She ground her teeth. “LEO-CHAN, MAKE THEM PAY!” Hundreds of Anti-Monsters started coming out of the woodwork. They had all been hidden inside this false Kyoto, inactive until Leonardo commanded them. She glared at them, “Connla, we don’t need the little Kyūbi. We’ll just capture them instead!”

“Yes ma’am!” Connla, not quite a leader in the faction, readied himself. The shadows beneath his feet seemed to become almost fluid.

“Ufufu, that’ll take quite the effort, won’t it?” Akeno giggled as an ominous aura engulfed her and lightning began to crackle around her. “Asia-chan, you know what to do, right?” She asked a nervous Asia.

“Y-Yes!” She said, taking a deep breath and preparing herself.

“I’ll take all of you in one go!” Connla yelled, his shadows surging forward like a tidal wave.

“No way!” Asia yelled back as blue flames engulfed her. Her arms completely turned into that flame, looking much like a majestic pair of wings. She thrust them forward, the fire surging and smashing into the tsunami of shadows. The two canceled each other out, sputtering and flashing.

“What?!” Connla gasped, his eyes wide behind his sunglasses (which he was wearing at night. In a shadow Kyoto.), “What the hell is that fire?!” His shadows were weak to light, of course, but not that weak! He couldn’t even feel any heat coming from them!

Ingvild scratched her chin, before turning to Kiba and whispering in his ear. “I don’t get it.” She hid her mouth behind her hand, “What was so funny that had Rias dying of laughter?”

Kiba smirked and murmured back to her, “Rias was engaged to Riser Phenex before you woke up. Asia chose the Phoenix fruit.”  Ingvild began to sputter, hiding her lips behind her hand.

“Damn it, who are you guys?” Jeanne frowned, “Anti-Beasts, attack!” She thrust her hand forward, before summoning a Holy Blade and blocking one of Kiba’s Demonic Blades. She smiled slightly, “Huh, you seem like you’re in a better mood, cutie.”

“Yeah, sorry about last time.” Kiba laughed slightly as he summoned a second blade. She matched him and the two vanished in intense bursts of speed, racing away from the hotel. “I suppose I just had some sense knocked into me.”

“Oh, that sounds like a story.” Jeanne said playfully as she dodged beneath a lightning-fast slash from a sword engulfed in demonic flames. She countered with one glowing with holy flames herself, before backflipping away and summoning two holy daggers. She threw both at Kiba as she slid back, watching as he weaved between them. She grinned as they reversed course and aimed for his back. His eyes widened and he turned, his demonic blades countering them. “Too bad, cutie! Looks like it’s my win again!” She dashed forward with perfect timing, swinging her blade for the tendons in his left ankle.

CLANG!

“What!?” Jeanne gasped as a metallic-sounding noise hit her ears rather than the sound of flesh parting. She jumped back and leaned her head back as Kiba spun around with a quick kick. To Jeanne’s disbelief, his leg was a demonic blade. “What the hell!?” She yelped as she watched some of her blonde hairs flutter in the wind.

Kiba put his leg down, and she watched in utter confusion as metal reverted to flesh. He chuckled, “Nice dodge.”

“Wh-what the hell?! You weren’t doing that in the last fight!” Jeanne pointed at him, “Were you holding back?! Or is that your Balance Breaker?!”

“Nah, nah,” Kiba waved noncommittally, “Just something I’m not very used to.” He certainly wasn’t about to tell her that Izuku gave him a mythical fruit that gave him strange powers.

“Hmph!” Jeanne sniffed, glaring at him. “Now I’m kinda mad!” She kicked it up a notch, going even faster than she had been.

Kiba smirked as he kicked it up a gear as well. He would have been utterly overwhelmed by this girl before Izuku showed up in their lives.

…

“Gasper. Go harass them, will you?” Akeno patted the Bishop on the head. A raised hand and a magical circle blocked a holy bullet from the Anti-Beasts. Asia was doing a surprisingly good job with blocking the attacks with her flames, but there were some that were still slipping through. Not that anyone blamed the girl. She’d had those powers for less than half a day, and it was only the instruction manual that was the source material that had her capable of even this. She certainly wasn’t going to be majestically soaring through the sky any time soon.

“B-But!” Gasper was shaking in his skirt.

“No buts.” Akeno poked him on the forehead. “Now get going. We don’t want to have you develop a dependency on Aika’s blood, but I’ll certainly grab the vial if I have to.” She patted her left boob with a smirk.

Gasper cringed, “Yuck.” And then he dissolved into a cloud of bats. He immediately started harassing Connla, who was doing everything in his power to get by Asia’s phoenix flames. The user of Night Reflection cursed as he was forced to dive into his shadows and move away to avoid the hunting bats. The animals all began to cautiously use their powers to freeze individual monsters in time. Others flew in synchronous patterns, forming magical circles which belted out magic that the Anti-Monsters weren’t resistant to.

Fiery explosions rang out again and again as the Gremory Bishop began to go on the offensive, first with hesitation, and then with much more confidence. “Good boy.” Akeno chuckled as she covered her hand with holy power and smacked away another errant shot that got by Asia.

“These Anti-Monsters seem tougher than the last round.” Ingvild said, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead as she concentrated. She really wished she had more time to train in actually using her Ultimate-Class pool of magical power. She had gotten quite the boost from Izuku’s Bishop piece, but with her inexperience, she was going to drain herself much faster than another Devil with the same amount of power would have. She had summoned dozens of water snakes, which were whipping around the battlefield and tearing into any of the monsters that weren’t resistant to her attacks.

But Leonardo had learned from the last round. Most of the monsters had some sort of dual-resistances. She was burning through magical energy at a rapid rate to take them out.

“Hmm, do you trust me, Ingvild-chan?” Akeno smiled at her.

“O-Of course!” Ingvild said, looking at her in confusion.

“Then follow me.” Akeno said as one Devil wing and one Fallen wing grew from her back. The black-haired Yamato Nadeshiko quickly blazed into the air.

Ingvild unfurled her eight Devil wings and quickly followed Akeno, though with noticeably less grace. “What are we doing? We’re exposed here!” She yelped as the Anti-Monsters started to fire at them now that Asia’s flames couldn’t follow them. She whipped her hand and summoned a dragon of water to block some of the fire.

“Take my hand!” Akeno said, smiling at her as they ducked and weaved through the enemy attacks. “And synchronize your magic with mine!” Akeno’s own magic invaded Ingvild’s body, forcing the newly-turned Bishop to gasp.

“O-Oh!” Ingvild squirmed at the incredibly intimate feeling. She started to send her own power through her hand into Akeno as well.

Akeno hissed a little, “Oooh, that’s intense!” Her eyes started to glow. For most, that would have been painful. For Akeno… well, she loved it. Her chest began to heave as she began to sweat. “Just like that, darling!” She mewled, rubbing her thighs together. A blush engulfed Ingvild, who almost pulled back in embarrassment. “And now… let me take the wheel!”

Ingvild gasped as Akeno started to control her magical power. Now she completely understood why Akeno asked if Ingvild trusted her. For equals, this would have been an equal process. For a novice like Ingvild, she was completely at Akeno’s mercy. And Akeno had no mercy for their enemies. Already well versed in water element magic, she was able to manipulate Ingvild’s magic expertly. Black storm clouds formed in mere moments and started practically pissing rain on the faux Kyoto beneath them. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as the rain began to fall even harder, hitting like sheets rather than individual droplets. And down below, their magic entirely avoided their friends. Not a drop hit any of them.

Their enemies weren’t so fortunate. “Are you ready, darling?” Akeno asked, pulling Ingvild forward. The girl yelped as their breasts squished together and Akeno’s hand found the small of Ingvild’s back.

Akeno grinned evilly as Ingvild blushed profusely and nodded hesitantly.

And then, with both of their eyes glowing brightly, they yelled with one voice. “ UNISON RAID: HOLY LEVIATHAN! ”

The skies discharged all at once, a titanic dragon bigger even than Rias came down from the clouds. Made of churning waters and crackling with golden lightning, the shining beast smashed  into the largest concentration of Anti-Monsters. The beasts that Leonardo had made resistant to Holy and Lightning were crushed by the sheer weight and bulk of that massive amount of rain. And the ones resistant to water and lightning were obliterated by the holy power. Electrified water began to flood the faux city, knocking buildings off their foundations and wiping the slate clean.

And then the lightning began to arc , jumping throughout the city proper in crackling bursts as magic-infused water carried the charge. Connla, who had been hiding from Gasper inside his shadows, screamed as he was fried by the holy lightning. His shadowy lake collapsed as he lay on the ground, twitching.

When everything was done, there was a clear foot of water in their half of the city. And then there wasn’t, with it all evaporating near instantly once the magic ran its course. The enemy forces had been annihilated . Akeno and Ingvild were both gasping for breath as they floated in the sky.

Jeanne was gaping at the sight, slightly blue in the face, and was a bit slow to react to Kiba’s newest attack, losing even more hair in the process. “Sh-Shoot!” She had a vague look of panic on her face now. “Balance Breaker!” She yelled, immediately protecting herself with her Stake Victim Dragoon.

“YOU GODDAMN BITCHES!” Heracles was heard roaring. He erupted into the air, revealing that he was bruised and burned in equal measure. And he couldn’t understand it. He really couldn’t. He was strong. He knew he was strong! His magical resistance was extremely high, as was his ability to take a punch and keep on trucking. So how the FUCK had this pint-sized girl been working him over like this?!

The fight had certainly started on the wrong foot. Heracles’s jaw was aching from her kick. It wasn’t as strong of a blow as Izuku’s Raimei Hakke had been. The two weren’t even close, being incomparable! But it had still been harder than most physical attacks he had ever personally taken.

And she wasn’t done. The cat appeared above him, her fist pulled back, her eyes gleaming with an ominous light. And then another blow smashed into his stomach, folding him in half and sending him rocketing to the pavement.

He hit the ground so hard a shockwave roared out. The ground cratered beneath his bulk, throwing up grit and debris. When the cloud settled, Heracles was on his feet and he was pissed . “I’m getting really sick of you people!” An orange aura engulfed him, “You think you can just treat me like a joke, you pint-sized little bitch?!”

Koneko nodded apologetically. “Well, bitch is as bitch does.”

“RARGHHHH!” Heracles roared, his orange aura surging, “ BALANCE BREAKER! ” Spikes grew out of his forearms, calves, and shoulders like armor. Some massive, missile-looking things appeared on his fists. Each one was bigger than his torso, and not by a small amount. “Detonation Mighty Comet!”

Koneko smirked, “Nice overcompensation.”

“Let’s see you run your mouth when you’re in pieces!” Heracles yelled, launching his right missile at Koneko.

It was faster than she had expected, if she was honest. She crossed her arms to defend herself and not a moment too soon, as the missile smashed right into her.

BOOM

An incredible explosion that blew windows out five-hundred feet in every direction engulfed the silver-haired kitten. Fire filled the sky as Heracles smirked, “How was that, you tiny brat?”

“You’re not too smart, are you?” Koneko’s voice said from his left ear. Heracles’s eyes widened and he exploded himself, blasting her back, before whirling around and blasting towards her.

He grabbed her neck as she flew back, squeezing her throat before ramming his second missile squarely into her face. The buildings around them groaned as the explosion rocked their foundations. “Whoops. Went a little overboard.” He said as the fire and smoke cleared. He grimaced as he looked down and saw Koneko in pieces. Her right arm was a dozen feet away, her legs were laying on a car, and her torso was in a crater. Her head had even popped off and rolled up against a set of street lights that miraculously hadn’t fallen yet. He was about to dismiss his Balance Breaker when her legs twitched. “No.” His face went slack with shock.

Koneko’s legs hopped off the car before her other scattered pieces began to glow silver. Motes of light exploded towards her freely-standing legs, coalescing into his pint-sized opponent.

“I-it’s not possible!” His expression was utterly hysterical.

Koneko smirked up at him. “Skill issue.”

BAM!

Heracles didn’t have a moment to react before he started getting beat throughout the city  just like he had beaten Izuku . He didn’t have a moment of peace to even reorientate himself before her tiny fist or ferocious foot crashed into him one more time. The impacts were blurring together so much he was wondering if he was fighting one tiny cat or several .

And then, he had a blessed moment of peace as the Queen and Bishop of two different Peerages performed an attack usually associated more with Longinus Sacred Gears .

“Holy shit, Akeno, Ingvild!” Even Koneko was staring at the site with wide eyes, her opponent totally forgotten.

It allowed Heracles to find his second wind and form over a dozen missiles from his explosive aura. They all fired at the exhausted set of girls at the same time.

A silver missile passed them and Koneko appeared in front of Akeno and Ingvild. She turned, her expression cold as she clenched her fist. She swung, a shockwave erupting from her. Heracles was buffeted with wind, crossing his arms as he was forced back. And more importantly, the missiles in the sky wobbled, buffeted by the huge forces Koneko had created with her punch. Their flight paths wobbled, before they started wavering and crashed into one another. Explosions lit up the night sky, forcing Akeno and Ingvild to shield their eyes.

Koneko sped through the explosions as nothing more than a beam of light. “You won’t touch them.” She said coldly as she chambered a punch, “You won’t touch any of them. ” She jabbed at him, her fist crashing into his crossed arms.

He screamed as he felt his bones crack . The spikey armor he wore shattered under her blow and his teeth rattled as he was sent crashing into the pavement once again. She landed and started walking over to him. “How?!” He spat, glaring at her through bloodshot eyes. “You’re not that strong! You’re definitely not the strongest person I’ve ever faced! Why are your punches hitting so much harder, you tiny bitch?!”

For the nth time that night, her eyebrow twitched lightly as he insulted her body again. “It’s simple.” She said, thinking of the Haki that Izuku had taught her. She couldn’t say as much, obviously, but thankfully, she had a ready-made excuse. “Your spirit is weaker than your body, bitch .” Senjutsu wisped around her fist as she struck him in the gut.

“BLERGH!” Heracles vomited from the blow, clenching his gut.

“Time to go night night.” She smirked, grabbing his hair and yanking him up. She swung…

And purple mist started pouring from within his clothes. Before she could react (beyond backing away rapidly with a surprised expression), it engulfed Heracles entirely. And then it was gone, and so was he. “What the hell?! What happened?!”

“Sorry, Koneko-chan. That’s my fault.” Kiba grimaced as he flew down next to her, “I couldn’t stop her.”

Koneko’s eyes widened, “You mean?”

“Yeah.” He grimaced, “She had some sort of device. She must have seen the writing on the wall after Akeno and Ingvild-san’s Unison Raid. The second she used it, that Dimension Lost mist engulfed her. I guess it activated other devices the others were holding.”

“Cowards.” Koneko spat.

“Don’t be like that.” Akeno landed and started to rub the top of Koneko’s head. “We won!” She smiled brilliantly at the tiny kitten, “They had no counter for you.” Koneko blushed, “You picked a jackpot , didn’t you, Koneko-chan? I’m almost jealous.”

Koneko smirked, “Duh.”

Akeno giggled, “Ufufufu, let’s go make sure there aren’t any stragglers.”

“Right!” Kiba and Koneko nodded, before they took off into the air.

-]|[-

“Are we going to do this again and again until the end of time, Lavinia?” Augusta chuckled as Incinerate Anthem’s giant rose behind her.

“No.” Lavinia said, still staring at her coldly but with much more focused calm. “Today is the day I capture you.”

“Kak kak kak!” The old woman had a raspy laughed, “Well, I’m sure you’ll try.” An intense fireball formed in front of the giant, before colliding with a wall of snow and ice. “You’ll try, again and again, but we’re too evenly matched, you and I.” She stared at the steam, frowning when no further attacks came through. And then she jerked back, avoiding a lightning bolt. She saw Lavinia standing there, her fingers still crackling from her lightning spell. “What?” She glanced back at Lavinia’s Absolute Demise in confusion. Her eyes widened when the steam finally cleared completely and revealed an inert shell of ice. “HA! Clever! Very clever!”

“Why thank you.” Lavinia said, voice still icy. “I told you. Things aren’t going to go the way you expect this time.”

“A trick only works once.” Augusta chided her. “And you wasted it on a weak lightning bolt.” Her expression closed up, “Don’t underestimate me, brat.” The giant raised the flaming cross, “Or it’ll be the last thing you ever do!” The cross started spewing thousands of flaming purple needles.

They rained on Lavinia, who waved her hands in a circle, forming a magical seal in front of her. She raised the seal over her head and expanded her hands, widening the magic into a barrier that made the needles slide off it like a hydrophobic windshield in the rain.

Augusta laughed as her giant jabbed the cross into the ground. It started to glow with heat and melt around the cross, which the giant then swung forward, throwing purple magma at Lavinia’s direction. “Such a weak shield won’t save you from this one!” She called out, her voice still amused.

Lavinia summoned Absolute Demise again, forming a magical wall of ice in front of her, which she melted herself with a burst of her will. The wall turned into a tidal wave that crashed on the magma, cooling it instantly and causing it to turn into small boulders that crashed around Lavinia.

The blonde’s body glowed purple, and then she vanished in a burst of speed. She had never been able to pull Soru off until today, and now she didn’t know how she had survived without it! Not only was it useful, but it was fun .

She landed behind Augusta, watching as her tidal wave crashed upon the elderly woman. But she didn’t attack, hiding her presence with magic. She pressed her hand to the ground, her Devil energy worming its way in and scribing runes beneath the pavement. The second she was done, she moved again.

“You are predictable .” Augusta called out, holding one hand behind her and one in front. A green magical circle appeared in front of her right hand, forming into a blade of wind that sliced the wave into halves which splashed harmlessly around her. It splashed into Incinerate Anthem, making the behemoth flicker and steam, but otherwise did not affect it. Its flames didn’t even hiss.

Her left hand, on the other hand, formed a transparent barrier behind her. Only the expected attack didn’t come from behind. It came from her other side. “Still predictable.” Augusta said dryly, swinging around and moving her barrier to intercept a wall of earthen spikes. “A delay in your attack. How amateurish. Did you even practice that maneuver?” She jeered at the blonde. She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing the right side of her face with her right hand. “What a disappointment you are. All these years later, all that anger, and you can’t even give me an enjoyable brawl.”

“You talk too much.” Lavinia said, smirking lightly. Augusta’s eyes narrowed. The fight continued, with the blonde summoning Absolute Demise once more. The doll formed a few copies of itself and sent them screaming towards Augusta.

“What?!” Augusta hurried to have her giant stand in front of her. “Physical attacks? You’re such a waste of talent.” She sighed in annoyance as her giant swung the cross at the puppets, evaporating them with a single swing. “I might as well just leave.”

“Why don’t you, then?” Lavinia asked from behind her. Augusta threw herself to the left as she just barely avoided having her arm cut off from behind by another doll with sword-like fingers. Even then, she hissed in pain as three thin cuts appeared on her arm.

“You…” Augusta hissed angrily as she used magic to heal her cuts, watching as Lavinia faded into existence in a sparkle of rainbow light, like she was throwing off a curtain. “You didn’t fight like this last time!”

“No, and that’s why I lost.” Lavinia replied as her illusion faded entirely. “But luckily, I have friends who helped me plan better. And now I’m ready to fight for real.” She declared, smiling for the first time at her enemy.

“A few tricks won’t save you from me!” Augusta roared, losing her cool for the first time. She raised her hand and Incinerate Anthem obeyed, forming a gigantic, spiked ball of purple flames. Augusta grabbed the chain as if it were cold and weighed nothing, whipping the instrument at Lavinia. Absolute Demise floated forward, a bull of snow and ice forming in front of her and charged forward.

The attacks collided once again and erupted into steam. It filled the streets with it, blinding both of them. “Come out, you little brat!” Augusta yelled, forcing Incinerate Anthem to burn hotter to evaporate the steam. Her eyes widened as something started to become clear. “Wha-”

Lavinia was standing at the foot of a mountain  that definitely had not been there a momen ago . It rose hundreds of kilometers into the air behind her, packed tight with snow and ice. Lavinia smirked and raised her hand, snapping her fingers. The ice shattered and the snow thundered down in a massive avalanche.

Augusta clicked her teeth as Incinerate Anthem’s giant slammed the cross into the pavement again. But this time it didn’t stop there. It kept pushing, driving the cross deeper and pumping unimaginable amounts of fire into it. The ground beneath their feet started to glow before the gates of hell opened up. The earth trembled and shook as volcanic eruptions occurred where none should. Millions of metric tons of hot ash and gases rose up as magma rushed forwards to meet Lavinia’s avalanche.

It was a cataclysm of utterly ridiculous proportions. Half of Kyoto would have been wiped clean in an instant if they hadn’t been in a separate dimension. The avalanche crushed home after home and historical site after historical site with complete impunity, ripping them from their foundations with terrifying ease. The fires and lava flows met them with equal strength, incinerating buildings in seconds and swallowing others completely.

The entire half of the city they were in became a hellscape in seconds. This was but a taste of the power of Longinus-Tier Sacred Gears when under the command of those with the knowledge and power to use them.

“Kak kak kak!” Augusta laughed even as smoke and acrid gas filled the sky. The burning specter of Incinerate Anthem glowed behind her, standing firm against the eternal and unforgiving cold of Absolute Demise. She was sweating heavily and feeling more tired than she would have expected, but it had been a long time since she had used an attack of that magnitude. She really was getting old. “I know they’re fake, but it’s such a shame to wreck such gorgeous buildings.” She said in a mocking tone, still projecting her unshakable confidence. She didn’t really care about some useless historical sites, after all. “You sure you want to keep escalating, little girl? You won’t withstand the consequences if you try me.” She warned, wagging a finger at Lavinia.

“You still don’t realize, do you?” Lavinia smirked at her. “You’re not leaving this place.”

Augusta’s smile fell. “Realize what? ”

“That you’re now trapped in a box of my making.” Lavinia’s smile grew ominous as Augusta twitched and looked around.

“You…” Augusta hissed as she finally saw the writing on the walls. The invisible walls. Runes and letters were now scribed in the very air.

None older than the age of forty may leave this area.

None older than the age of forty may interfere with these rules.

All people older than forty within this area will expend thrice the stamina and magical power they normally would.

“You…” Augusta clenched her jaw in anger, “You think I can’t overcome some shoddy rune work?!”

“They never were your specialty.” Lavinia chuckled, “Mephisto Pheles told me as much.” She started to giggle for the first time, “So can you? Maybe. Can you before your stamina runs out? At your age?”

For the first time in decades, Augusta began to feel uneasy about the outcome of a magical battle. “You should have kept your mouth shut.” She spat. “Because now I’m going to annihilate you , girl!”

Incinerate Anthem’s giant raised the cross into the air behind her. It roared, sending a shockwave through the city as the skies turned red. Fire started building into a massive ball of power behind Augusta.

It was huge . The biggest elemental attack Lavinia had ever seen in person! It was like a sun had been born behind her and it just kept growing bigger as Augusta pumped it full of more and more power. It was a cataclysm-tier spell than was meant to wipe out the entire city and everyone in it, sans Augusta herself. Something that might even have a chance to disrupt Dimension Lost’s barrier and affect the real world. If it landed, it would once again shake all of Japan.

Well, Lavinia couldn’t have that, could she. An eager smile crossed her face as she tapped into the power of her new Devil Fruit for real for the first time. “ Black Hole. ” A dozen sets of concentric purple rings, invisible against the purple sun, formed around the attack. She had used it for little tricks already, such as lightening her weight to make Soru easier, but now was for keeps.

Gravity surged and started to compress the sun down. Augusta, who was already exhausting herself with the rules of the Runic Cage she had been trapped in, completely lost control of her attack with a gasp. The sky brightened as the sun shrunk more and more until it was so bright it was blinding. The color shifted to white… and then the blackness of nothingness as it formed into a black hole.

“What have you done?!” Augusta gasped as the suction started to pull her into the sky. Incinerate Anthem had vanished with its wielder too tired to actually manifest it. She actually had to suffer the indignity of grasping a pipe that was near her feet to anchor herself. It was only magic that allowed her to hold on with her elderly and exhausted body.

Lavinia giggled, an elated grin crossing her face. She had won! She evaporated the black hole, watching with vindictive glee as Augusta slammed down and shattered her knees and hip. The elderly woman screamed in pain, rolling around onto her back. And then she rasped as the weight of ten times the earth’s normal gravity crushed her into the pavement.

Lavinia walked forward, hand glowing purple, and then raised her finger. Rings appeared at the tip, and she sent them forward. Cuffs grabbed the broken elder’s wrists and ankles, trapping Augusta spread eagle on the ground. “I told you.” She smirked as she let go of the extra gravity, “That it wasn’t going to go the way you thought this time.”

Augusta huffed in pain but managed a smile. “So you did.”

“And now, you’re going to give me what I want.” Lavinia’s eyes began to glow. “ Tell me what you did with my master. Where is Glenda?! ” Augusta began to laugh, first slowly, and then from her belly. She was bellowing with laughter. “What is so funny?!” Lavinia hissed.

“You! You truly are an utter fool! ” Augusta grinned at her. “You want the truth, Ice Princess? I did nothing to Glenda.”

Lavinia froze, “L-Lies!” She said, increasing gravity again, “Tell me the truth!”

“I have!” Augusta hacked out. “You’re the one who knows nothing!” She began to laugh again, “You’re a child who struggles to comprehend the truth, so I’ll make this as simple as I can!” Augusta explained joyfully, her smile becoming even more detestable. It was time for a devastating confession. “Glenda is on our side! She always has been!” She proclaimed gleefully. “Good witch? Bad witch? Attacking one another? That was nothing but nonsense we purposefully put out to throw off her trail! The magicians of Oz, from the beginning, haven’t been interested in anything beyond the boosting of our own magical power and understanding! Glenda is no different! She has never been any different! That’s why she abandoned you!”

Lavinia was stiff, frozen. And then she finally spoke, her entire body shaking. “A lie… YOU’RE LYING!”

“Really?” Augusta managed to form a small, weak magical circle over her right hand, “Let’s ask her, shall we?” The circle solidified and she cackled, “Can you hear me, Glenda?”

A moment passed, and then an aged, female voice rang out. “It’s been a long time, Augusta. Why are you contacting me?” Lavinia’s expression was completely stricken by that voice. Augusta laughed cheerfully, “Well, I was just fighting your little disciple! She’s grown stronger than you predicted! Let her hear your voice, will you? She’s been searching desperately for you, hasn’t she?”

Lavinia began to shake as the woman on the other end said nothing for a moment. “Speak to her? There is nothing to discuss.” She said in complete dismissal.

Lavinia fell to her knees, her magic losing power as she lost her concentration. Augusta was loving it. “Kak kak kak! How cold! Wasn’t there a time when you loved this girl as a daughter? How heartless!”

Again, the voice on the other end was silent. “Lavinia.” She spoke finally, drawing Lavinia’s hopeful stare. “I’ll say it simply so that you can understand. You were useful research material. Nothing more.” The magical circle disappeared.

Tears began to pour from Lavinia’s eyes as she placed her hands on the ground. A moment passed before she began to scream.  Her heart and mind had been completely upended.

Augusta’s hands were both free and Black Magic circles appeared over them. “Kak kak kak! Right on schedule!” An enormous black magic circle surrounded the defenseless Lavinia. She was soon enveloped by the ominous magic power, dyeing her body black. And Augusta’s body? It began to shine, before turning into an orb of light. With great speed, the sphere smashed into Lavinia’s chest.

The magic circle died out as Lavinia collapsed to the ground.

-]|[-

“Not having much fun here, Sekiryūtei!” Siegfried yelled out as he chased after Aika. “Come on, Boost yourself already!” He vanished in a blur of speed, his two demonic blades carving Aika into quarters, before said pieces vanished.

Aika blurred into existence a distance away, grimacing. He was fast. Faster than Kiba. Not faster than Izuku, but to her, it made no difference. “Mine doesn’t work that way, tiny!”

“Oh, come off it!” Siegfried straightened up, glaring at her, “What kind of Boosted Gear doesn’t Boost?!”

“It does, just not the usual way!” Aika protested, leaping back as he charged after her, “I’m a Mage, dumbass!”

“Ugh, it figures my one chance for some fun would be worthless.” Siegfried sighed, shaking his head in frustration.

A vein popped up on Aika’s blue forehead. “I’ll show you worthless, you prepubescent-” Her chakram popped apart, the many pieces surging in a flurry for Siegfried. His eyes widened and he readied his blades. Hardened metal struck hardened metal. The silver-haired man’s arms were a complete blur of motion, blocking each and every piece of her chakram.

The Anti-Dragon aura surrounding Gram especially was dangerous. It was even cracking her armored weapons, and Aika was forced to pull them back. He grinned, “Well, that was a bit entertaining. What else you got?” He shot towards her, smirking.

She raised a leg and stomped. His eyes bulged as something appeared above him and he threw himself to the right, watching in midair as a gigantic leg stomped down where he had just been standing. The impact completely crushed the grass and dirt beneath it, leaving a giant imprint of Aika’s foot on the castle grounds.

Aika grinned as she raised her hand and swiped it at him like she was going for a slap with the back of her hand. With Siegfried in midair, she was sure to hit him like this! Only a silver arm popped out of the man’s shoulder, slamming a blade into the ground with force and throwing him further up. Her spectral arm passed underneath him as he landed and skidded to a stop. “Oh, come on!” She yelled, incredibly peeved.

“Ahahaha!” Siegfried began to laugh, “So maybe you’re not the kind of Sekiryūtei I was expecting! It appears you’re still plenty fun though!”

“Tch.” She clicked her teeth, “You haven’t seen anything yet.” She said before one of the petals of her chakram yelled, “ BOOST! ” And then two more yelled, “ BOOST! ” and then it started to cycle all the way to the top, Ddraig’s voice almost melding as one. “ Star Blaster! ” She yelled.

A spark near his feet was the only warning Sigfried had. He leapt backwards, three other arms popped out of his shoulders and gripping new blades, including even a Church-affiliated Light Sword. He crossed all of them in front of his body, a look of supreme focus on his face.

But even Aika didn’t expect the sheer scale of the detonation. The blast quite literally made half of the compound crumble. Rock and wood flew through the air as trees were partially uprooted and started bending away from the blast. Glass kilometers away shattered, and the sheer heat put out made many buildings catch fire. Aika’s attack had been an all but literal atomic bomb.

A weak one, sure, but one, nonetheless.

Siegfried came out of the other side of it thanking everything holy and unholy for Gram’s aura being able to blunt the force of Aika’s attack. Even then, his badass longcoat was shredded and burning, and he was forced to shuck it off.

And with a look of anger on his face for the first time, he really picked up the pace. He vanished and appeared in front of Aika, who yelped. Her chakram swung around her and blocked his strikes, before starting to spin like a hula hoop and discharging energy.

No longer amused, Siegfried growled in irritation as he backed away. She raised her hand, and the spinning hoop rose, before she flung it at him. “Idiot.” He chided as he dodged the hoop and charged again, his demonic sword thrusting.

“KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!” Aika screamed as he sliced her left arm clean off. Her retaliation was a simultaneously-traded palm strike with her spectral limb that sent him flying across the compound. She sobbed in agony as she ended her transformation. She needed her clothes, and she hurried to pat herself down. She quickly gathered her limb even as she blubbered from the agony, holding it to her stump and uncorking the vial she had fished out of her panties. (She had no pockets. Sue her!) She dripped the Phoenix Tears on the wound and let out a sigh of relief as her arm reattached itself.

She panted from the residual pain and shock, getting to her feet. She bared her teeth at where she had blasted Siegfried towards, “Alright you son of a bitch, no more miss nice Aika.” She hissed, gathering her staff. Hard training since the first time she had used her Star Blaster had cut the time limit until she could Boost again from five minutes to three, but she still had quite a while until she’d be able to Boost again. “Note to self,” She muttered under her breath as she transformed again, “Weapons as strong as that fucking thing don’t give a fuck about my Mara form.”

Siegfried appeared again, glaring at her. He was heavily bruised and slightly burned from her prior attack but was fine otherwise. “You’re becoming a pest.”

“You cut off my arm.” She hissed back, “I’m going to shove your head so far up your own ass you’ll be able to taste last week’s dinner.”

“Typical of a Devil to be uncouth.” He readied his six blades, determined to cut her head off this time. He surged forward, only for Aika’s chakram to swing in front of her and start spewing blue flames at him. He cursed, backing away since he had no idea what those flames could do.

Aika raised her hands, clawing them upwards and ripping the earth apart and holding it in midair. She flung her improvised weapons at him, watching as he jumped back and side to side to avoid them.

His eyes narrowed as he realized she was just flinging magic at him. He hadn’t heard her Boost a single time. ‘ A time limit? ’ He wondered before shaking it off. It truthfully didn’t matter. It was time to show her that he could use some bullshit too. He raised Balmung, thrusting it forward.

“What the fuck?!” Aika screamed as a drill-like whirlwind sped towards her, cutting the ground like butter as it passed. She used Soru to get away from it, grinding her teeth as he raised a slightly curved demonic blade and stabbed it into the ground.

She immediately flew into the air the second she felt that the ground was starting to shake and yelped as jagged pillars of ice tried to spear through her as they chased her. “Oh great, he got serious! ” She groaned as she whipped fire at the ice, melting through it with ease, to her relief.

“Don’t get too comfy up there!” Siegfried called out with a slasher grin on his face. He stabbed the five other swords into the ground and dismissed his Balance Breaker, gripping just Gram with both hands. “Allow me to show you the true power of the strongest Demonic Blade.” It erupted in a maelstrom of energy that spiraled up into the night sky, piercing the clouds.

“Oh great. ” Aika groaned, “He has Excalibur. ”

And then he swung. The calamitous energy fell down on Aika, who hurried to get the hell out of the way. The beam attack struck the ground and if Aika thought her Star Blaster had been impressive, she had been nowhere near prepared for this . A new canyon had appeared in the fake Kyoto once the smoke and debris fell out of suspension. It was so deep Aika couldn’t even see the bottom of it!

“I’m not done yet!” Siegfried grinned madly as he swung sideways at her.

She flew up as high as she could, as fast as she could to get away from it. “You can run out of magical energy any time now.” She grunted, glaring at the very dangerous ant in her vision.

And then, finally, blessedly she felt the Boosted Gear ready itself to fight again. She raced down, Boosting her flight speed to allow her to avoid another swipe. “ Double! Double! Double! Double! Double! ”

Sixteen Aikas fell on Siegfried like an angry goddess, and the silver-haired man’s eyes bulged. He dismissed the incredibly destructive aura around Gram and summoned his Balance Breaker once more to grab his other blades, but it was too late.

Aika rained down sixteen different attacks on him. Fire, lightning, gravitic surges, palm strikes and kicks from her ethereal limbs…

Siegfried got utterly battered around. He managed to block a few of the attacks, but he only had six arms. And, it turned out, he couldn’t actually touch her spectral limbs, even if they could touch him . And Aika had a lot of aggression to work through for that cut-off limb.

When he finally rolled to a stop, he grunted, coughing up a bit of blood. His real left arm was broken, as was his right ankle. Burns covered half his body, and he had Lichtenberg figures crawling on his fake arms before they vanished.

But despite that, Aika wasn’t ready for a single second to think he was done and stood ready to cast more spells. Hell, she had just gotten an idea for something really neat she wanted to try. And then her face went completely slack. “What the fuck?” She breathed, complete and utter terror crossing her face.

Siegfried furrowed his brows, and rather than taking advantage of her distraction, turned as well. “…Oh dear.”

A wall of water had appeared. They quite literally could not see the sky. And it was coming towards them, fast .

-]|[-

Rias and Deila, by contrast to Aika, had been having a much simpler time with their own opponents. For Rias, things were simple. She used her massive body to ensnare Yasaka like she was a boa constrictor. She wasn’t squeezing the life out of the nine-tailed fox, but it had enabled her to lock down her opponent’s movements.

And luckily for her, Yasaka was not in her right mind, otherwise the Kyūbi would have been flinging magic left and right from each of those tails, tangled up in Rias’s coils or otherwise. As it was, she was just firing balls of kitsune-bi at Rias, who was countering with some weak fire blasts of her own.

Weak for a dragon, that was.

She hadn’t actually known until today that she still had regular flames as a dragon, which was a relief because she really didn’t want to explain to Serafall that she had accidentally crippled Yasaka with her Extinguished Stars .

She was also very thankful that Yasaka was under mind control, because holy shit , she was strong even without being able to fight properly! Simpler was unfortunately not easy and she was most certainly going to be feeling it in the morning.

Deila, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. “Come on, is that all you’ve got!” She yelled gleefully, countering a bullet of compressed water with one of her own.

“Tch.” Georg grunted as he summoned Norse Magical Circles around himself. They coalesced in a circle around him before glimmering. The magic bled out into the center before a new rune appeared in front of him.

“Oooh, Bifröst, huh?” Deila grinned, “This takes me way back, you know?” Magical circles with writing that Georg couldn’t recognize appeared in front of her as well. She then summoned a knife and sliced her palm, her grin widening.

He thrust a palm forward into the Rune, which exploded towards her in a beam of rainbow energy.

Deila made some signals with her hands, and what appeared to be a gate of the damned appeared in front of her, opening wide to showcase a void. The Bifröst beam entered the gate and vanished, consumed entirely, before howling spirits began to shoot out of it. They were nothing more than amorphous blobs with glowing, screaming faces.

“You-!” Georg grunted as Fallen Angel magical circles appeared, spears of holy light shooting out of them and piercing the countless spirits, which evaporated in the night light.

The gate vanished, with a cocky and smirking Deila standing there with her hip cocked. “Come on, junior! You were talking all that good shit a few minutes ago!”

“Who the hell are you?!” Georg grunted, knowing full well how good he was with magic. He knew dozens of styles of magic which he had learned at the Magician Association. And yet for every trick he had, this woman seemed to have two more! He began to spew out mist with Dimension Lost, looking to teleport her directly into the Dimensional Gap to be destroyed.

Her face fell, “ Boooring! ” She countered with White Magic, spewing out a golden mist that seemed to hold back the Dimension Lost mist. “You might be a talented magician, but you’re nothing but a novice whelp with Dimension Lost when compared to Merlin.” She said in disappointment.

“MERLIN?!” Georg gasped, unable to believe that she could not only hold back his Longinus but claimed to have faced the most legendary of its prior wielders.

She laughed, “Now he was something to worry about. And not only because he liked to stick his cock in everything with big, jiggly tits.”

Georg snarled at her reminiscing during a fight. And it worried him greatly. He didn’t have Cao Cao’s sheer power and will, only his magic. And his magic was something he was no longer quite sure on, with this clearly ancient opponent on the field. He created dozens of magical circles to fling attacks at her, all so he could use a communication spell to contact his leader. “Cao Cao, this Leviathan… I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold her off for much longer. I’m not even sure if she’s taking me seriously.”

There was a lag as the spell was designed to not distract Cao Cao in any dangerous situations. It took over twenty seconds for his leader to respond, and it was only a single word. “Understood.”

-]|[-

The fight had started innocuously, with both Izuku and Cao Cao vanishing and appearing where the other had been standing a moment ago. Only those with the absolute sharpest eyes would have seen the hundred slashes that they traded in that blink.

The staccato of blows of metal on metal had such a short frame of time between them that it sounded like one extremely long blow. “I’m impressed!” Cao Cao laughed as he turned around, “Unlike our first skirmish, I was actually trying that time. There aren’t a whole lot of weapons that can withstand a real blow from True Longinus. And yet you have two, neither of which I recognize.”

Izuku sighed as he turned around too, “You and your people are plotting to destroy an entire city … And you’re bantering? ”

Cao Cao’s smile didn’t slip, “Like I said, we merely wish to-”

“Summon a beast that has the official title of ‘apocalypse.’” Izuku cut him off, “Do you think your friend’s barrier can survive that? ” He started to walk forward, “Did you not even consider the more likely thing happening? Did you not consider the possibility of this whole world shattering like glass before Great Red’s might and killing millions of innocent people?”

He blitzed forward, raising his kanabo and bringing it down with much greater power on Cao Cao’s head.

The other man raised True Longinus, blocking the blow but being forced to bend his knees to absorb it. Even then, the ground beneath cracked and shattered as his feet sank in. A look of strain appeared on his face as he pushed back before rapidly swinging and jabbing with the Holy Spear.

Izuku’s arm blurred even faster than Cao Cao’s as he parried the terrifyingly dangerous blade, taking a few steps back to get out of range. Or so he thought, as True Longinus extended forward and barely missed his cheek as he moved his head. He slammed Takeru into it from below, knocking it away as it shrank back to its regular size.

Cao Cao’s smile was a little more plastic, “Georg’s barrier will hold. You underestimate Dimension Lost.”

“And you over estimate it.” Izuku growled out. The ten strongest beings in the world was something he had indirectly asked Rias about. He knew how strong Sirzechs was. How the man had taken the strongest blow Izuku had been capable of delivering with nothing more than some slight discomfort that had lasted no more than a minute. He had asked Rias where her brother ranked and had almost shit himself when she told him that he didn’t even make the cut. (She had clarified that he had a super mode which might make it into the top ten but was so dangerous to use that he practically never did.)

Izuku was absolutely certain Sirzechs would have been able to shatter Dimension Lost’s barrier.

And then Cao Cao shrugged, “If it shatters, it shatters.” Izuku stopped and stared, his jaw lowering slightly. “A small price to pay for advancement.”

Izuku snapped . His aura surged and the ground beneath his feet began to rend itself apart. Cao Cao’s eyes widened in legitimate alarm now, but he had no time to react as Indra unleashed a lightning bolt that hit the ground like a punch from God . The ground shook and Cao Cao was forced to shield his eyes from the bright light even as a crater formed and the earth heaved.  

Hræsvelgr screeched as he  flew down, a blizzard forming in his  wings. With each flap, more and more of the area became covered in snow and ice. He  swooped at Cao Cao, shards of ice ripping towards the man with the Holy Spear. He swiped at each and every dagger with blinding speed, knocking all of them away.

But Izuku wasn’t idle. His kanabo had grown in size, coated completely in lava and black lightning. “ Kōsanze Ragunaraku! ” The massive weapon swung for Cao Cao who allowed the holy aura of True Longinus to bloom.

Cao Cao felt his teeth rattle from the blow. The strange black lightning seemed able to pierce right through his spear’s aura. He grit his teeth and used the first of the spear’s special abilities. “ Maniratana! ” He yelled, and the attack instantly reversed course.

Izuku saw it with his future sight and teleported away to safety, watching as his attack cut clean across the entirety of Kyoto. He growled, turning a glare on Cao Cao. ‘ That spear is going to be troublesome. ’ He thought to himself. ‘ What other tricks does it have, and how often can he use Maniratana? ’

“You’re so tense , Midoriya!” Cao Cao chuckled, holding his spear in a firm but seemingly lazy stance.

Izuku’s eyebrow twitched, ‘ This son of a bitch. ’ He thought, before trying something new. He allowed his Haōshoku to surge this time, pressing upon Cao Cao with his will.

Cao Cao grunted and sagged, his eyes reddening for a moment before Izuku thundered into him. Izuku’s fist buried into Cao Cao’s stomach before the man could react, bending him in half and then shooting him across the city through building after building. Izuku followed rapidly, catching up as he saw Cao Cao cough up blood. He hefted Takeru behind him, shooting down and swinging for his opponent.

“ Assaratana! ” Cao Cao coughed out, and he completely vanished. Izuku’s weapon hit the ground and a massive shockwave ripped through the city, bringing down building after building around him. His Kenbunshoku found Cao Cao the instant the city stopped shaking. He used Soru and appeared in front of the man, who was patting his stomach in pain. “ Assaratana! ” he said again, but this time, Izuku stretched his Future Sight to several seconds.

The second Cao Cao appeared a kilometer away, Izuku met him with a roundhouse kick that broke his nose and sent him twirling away. “ Gungnir Tenshō ! ” He yelled, a black bolt of lightning surging in his hand from Indra as he flung it after his enemy.

Cao Cao grunted as he righted his nose, glaring at Izuku now. “ Maniratana! ” He said, swinging his spear at the bolt. It immediately reversed course towards Izuku, who smirked. “What?!” He gasped as the bolt turned ninety degrees to the right and then to the right again. It shot towards him once more. His eyes bulged as he dodged it, watching as it bounced again and again to chase him. “ Assaratana! ” He traded places with Izuku and watched with frustration as the attack bounced around Izuku’s face and then continued to chase him.

“So that’s how it works.” Izuku smirked, keeping a careful eye on Cao Cao, watching as the man grew increasingly flustered as even putting obstacles in Gungnir’s path did nothing. His attack never missed. Ever . And it would pierce through everything in its path to hit its target. He flew forwards, “ Room. ” He said, his smirk widening as he intercepted his attack’s path. “ Shambles. ”

Cao Cao replaced him and didn’t have a moment to do a thing before the attack pierced him. “GYAHHHHH!!!!!!!!” He screamed as his body flashed over and over, his nervous system appearing multiple times. When it ended, he crashed to the floor, huffing and trembling as the electrical load surged residually through him.

“It’s over, Cao Cao!” Izuku yelled, landing in front of the man and swinging for the fences.

“ Cakkaratana! ” Cao Cao yelled, holding up True Longinus. The second Takeru touched the Holy Spear, the kanabo didn’t just shatter. It disintegrated .  

Izuku immediately aborted, using Shambles to replace Takeru with a broken block of concrete on a stop-sign pole. “ Cakkaratana! ” It smashed into True Longinus and did nothing more than throw pebbles extremely fast at Cao Cao’s face.

Cao Cao took advantage, swinging and jabbing with his spear with lightning speed, managing to score a single slice on Izuku’s leg before he teleported away. Cao Cao grunted, standing tall and spitting some blood on the floor. “You can see the future.” He hissed at his opponent.

Izuku smirked slightly, “And you can break weapons. Even my weapons.” That was… worrying . An ability that could completely override a Soul Forged weapon (which was essentially what they were, even if that wasn’t a hundred percent accurate.) to shatter them was something he’d have to keep a careful eye on. Hell, even coating them in Busōshoku had done nothing. ‘ That spear of his is such a pain. ’ He thought as he unleashed Indra and Pele once more, “But that’s fine.”

“You’re the strongest opponent I’ve ever faced.” Cao Cao said, his own smirk crossing his face. “Thank you. It’s been so long since I’ve met the requirements for this .” True Longinus erupted with holy aura. “ Parinayakaratana .”

Izuku replaced himself with some rubble behind Cao Cao, and that was the only reason he had such a good view to watch Mount Atago get erased . A solid sixty-five percent of it looked like it had just been bitten off, with the edges molten. The amount of destructive power True Longinus had just unleashed was utterly astounding. And while the Holy Spear seemed to be crackling with lightning, Cao Cao was still steady.

Izuku readied himself to fight once more, before they were interrupted by a magical circle. “ Cao Cao, this Leviathan… I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold her off for much longer. I’m not even sure if she’s taking me seriously. ” Georg’s voice came through, and Izuku watched as Cao Cao’s expression closed off.

“Understood.” He said before the spell vanished. “It appears as though I can no longer play around, Midoriya Izuku.” He said before he started to rise into the sky while pointing True Longinus straight up. “ Balance Breaker. ” He said and it was like night had turned into day. A star seemed to have been born as ludicrous amounts of holy aura erupted. When the light cleared, Izuku was confused to find that True Longinus didn’t truly look any different. And yet the power was far beyond what it had displayed previously. “Calamities of the Old Testament.”

He seemed to poke the sky with his spear, and the darkest storm clouds Izuku had ever seen formed instantly, covering every single bit of sky in every single direction he looked at. And then they all seemed to gather above Cao Cao’s head, leaving utterly clear night in every direction except directly above him. “For humanity’s corruption, God scoured the surface clean. I will now deliver onto you the rain of forty days and forty nights.” He swung his spear down and the clouds moved with it, smashing into the ground and absolutely erupting into a wall of water taller than mountains .

Cao Cao hadn’t been being hyperbolic when he claimed God has scoured the land. Any who gazed upon this world-ending wave would have felt nothing but terror.

All except for Izuku, whose face widened with a mad grin. He reached up to his chest and tore out a large chunk of his soul. “Be born.” He said as he raised his hand and floated it up, “OKEANOS!” The chunk of his soul entered the encroaching wave and made the entire thing begin to glow.

It then crashed into Izuku as Cao Cao stared in complete confusion. “WHAT?!” He gasped as the water pulsed and then completely vanished into a single point, which began to float around Izuku. It then shuddered and elongated, forming into a massive… lobster -like creature with a green carapace and glowing, brighter-green runes all over its body.

Izuku began to laugh, “Thanks for the power up, Cao Cao.” He jeered at the man.

Cao Cao’s fist clenched the shaft of True Longinus so hard that it began to tremble. “Midoriya Izuku!” He yelled furiously. “I am glad to have met you! I see it now! You’re the wall I must overcome to match my ancestor’s heroic deeds! I WILL DEFEAT YOU! ”

“YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT A HERO IS!” Izuku roared, “AND YOU NEVER WILL!” Izuku and all four of his Homies began to pulse, magical power and the strength of his will melding together. And then the four Homies surged towards him, melding with him at once. A black flash erupted around him, the power of Haōshoku shattering what little of the city that wasn’t already broken near them. And when it cleared, a new Izuku was revealed.

He was massive . About a quarter of the size of Yasaka. His legs had become like that of a horse except with massive, dragon-like claws. The face of some sort of crab formed right at the juncture of his centaur-like body. His skin looked like molten lava, but he wasn’t glowing yellow like lava normally did. He was glowing blue from the lightning crackling around him. His torso had become bodybuilder-level ripped and he had monstrous features. Wings grew out of his back, massive and looking almost like weapons themselves. Four ghostly, crab-like claws floated around him, as did dozens of weapons crackling with fire, lightning, ice, and water. He let out a roar that shook the city and then swung his right arm. A massive slash made of blue fire lit up the night sky.

Cao Cao teleported away from it, grimacing as he realized that Izuku would be able to do that attack far more often than he would be able to do his own bigger moves. Well, thankfully, his Balance Breaker wasn’t a one trick pony. He raised his spear to the sky and the monstrous Izuku below glowered as the skies brightened.

As in, the individual dots. And then they started getting brighter and even started to streak across the sky. ‘ They’re getting bigger. ’ Izuku thought to himself as he realized what Cao Cao had done. He started preparing himself to counter a meteor shower, and lo and behold, he was completely right.

Meteors of every size between a small child and a school bus started to pepper the city, aiming specifically at him. He let out a roar as four tornadoes appeared around him, each swirling with a different element. They began to circle around him like a whirlpool, growing larger and larger and discharging fire, lightning, water, and ice as they went. The meteors hit his barrier with tremendous force, but were all forced away from the intense winds.

The city was even more battered, with the meteors taking down what few buildings remained in the vicinity and the elemental raging turning them into husks. Cao Cao growled as he saw another of his strongest attacks get parried .

And then the behemoth vanished, and Cao Cao’s eyes bulged as Izuku appeared in front of him, already swinging for the fences. “Guh!” He grunted as he was smacked right out of the air and through a building that still stood about a kilometer away. “He can’t possibly be that fast in that form!”

Izuku proved otherwise, appearing in front of him as he was getting up. But to Cao Cao’s surprise, he didn’t try to hit him. Instead, he raised one of those tree trunks he called arms and pointed forwards. The weapons floating around him, more solidified elements than metal, all pointed at Cao Cao and shot at him like bullets.

Cao Cao immediately started to swing True Longinus around like a man possessed, knocking blade after blade away from him. Even then, the sheer speed of Izuku’s weapons couldn’t be understated, and Cao Cao started suffering some knicks and cuts here and there, all of which burned from the elements that infused them. And then things got worse. The ghostly claws floating around Izuku’s monstrous body started attacking as well as Cao Cao ran. He couldn’t even block them because they were so large, there was a real risk of True Longinus getting caught and snatched away. Izuku wouldn’t be able to use it but he could deprive Cao Cao of it for a precious second!

And then the crab maw at what was essentially Izuku’s crotch opened up and fired a jet of compressed water at him. “ Assaratana! ” He teleported behind Izuku, watching as the beam hit the pavement and exploded into a huge wave that knocked a shattered building off its foundations. He thrust his spear into the ground.

Instantly, the ground ruptured. One half went up and the other down. An instant rupture of a fault line he had just created , and Izuku screamed as he was hit by the full force of the natural disaster. He felt like his body was shattering from it. Now he knew what Admiral Akainu felt when he pissed off Whitebeard.

And just like that bastard, Izuku was made of much tougher stuff than his opponent was expecting. He shot from the cloud not in his full chimera form, but as a lava demon himself. He was about twice as big as normal and covered in a black carapace of obsidian glowing from within with internal heat. A massive molten kanabo trailed fire behind him. “CAO CAO!” He roared, slamming his kanabo into True Longinus.

“ Cakkaratana! ” Cao Cao yelled gleefully and watched as Izuku’s weapon shattered into a million pieces.

Izuku reared back and, to Cao Cao’s shock, more molten lava erupted from his hands and instantly solidified into a new weapon. His fanged grin told Cao Cao everything he needed to know. Izuku roared and slammed the weapon with thunderous force into the Holy Spear again, and again, and again, and no matter what Cao Cao did, he couldn’t make him stop . And that weird black lightning was almost stripping him raw, making his hands start to bleed from the sheer force he needed hold onto his weapon.

“GAH!” And then Cao Cao let out a shriek of agony as Hræsvelgr side-swiped him, digging his  talons into the wannabe-Hero’s back. Cao Cao was lifted right out the air and straight into an arc of lightning from Indra, electrocuting him once more. He slipped from the massive eagle’s grasp and smashed multiple times into the ground. He grunted as he tried to rise, finding that his entire body was straining. “ B-Bhaisajyaguru. ” He ground out and was engulfed with a brilliant white light.

When it ended, he stood with the greatest of ease, despite the rage on his face. ‘ That technique can only be used once per day! ’ He thought to himself furiously before swinging True Longinus at the eagle and Izuku. “ Parinayakaratana! ”

Again, the utter destruction that he unleashed was awe inspiring, but he just couldn’t hit Izuku even at this close range. Not when Izuku had a teleportation technique equal to Assaratana ! Both he and that damned Hræsvelgr were replaced with trees, both of which were reduced to atoms along with the distant tops of several buildings. And then Izuku was on him again, looking much smaller than when he had fused with Pele but no less demonic. He had massive claws made of lightning and his speed had increased nearly five-fold.

Cao Cao quite literally could not keep up. Within moments, Izuku had gotten past True Longinus like he was a bolt of lightning himself, leaving shocking slashes in Cao Cao’s shoulder. He landed and Cao Cao, fighting the pain and electrical impulses surging through him, slammed True Longinus into the ground again and again. Waves upon waves of power surged through the ground, making them undulate like they were waves. Earthquakes of moment magnitude eight-point-oh rocked the city again and again.

But Izuku simply leapt over them and fused with Hræsvelgr, giving him gleaming wings of electrified ice. He raised a hand and a hundred spears of ice formed before they were engulfed with lightning. He waved his hand down and the spears all started surging towards Cao Cao, burying themselves into the ground and sending electrical currents everywhere as he dodged. Izuku made another wave and then another, sending them spiraling towards Cao Cao and trying to pin him down. The man was just too fast, at least for such an obvious attack. And so, in a moment that shocked his opponent, Izuku switched with one of the icy spears right before it hit the ground and swung his taloned foot.

Once again, he witnessed the glorious sight of Cao Cao’s nose breaking as he was flung away. And Izuku had planned it perfectly, because one of Okeanos’s water bullets hit him dead on and exploded . Cao Cao crashed through building after building as he flew out of the city, before he started smashing into trees and taking those down too. Finally, he hit the ground and rolled a few times, before jumping to his feet and roaring at Izuku, who had followed him extremely quickly. “WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?!” He yelled, looking like he was unraveling just slightly. “ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN?! HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE GETTING ANGRY AT A REAL HERO WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE THAT, MONSTER!”

Izuku, now fused with all four of his Homies once more, stopped and stood still for a moment. And then a smirk crossed his fanged face and his gleaming eye sockets burned even brighter, “Monster? Who is the real monster, Cao Cao? The one using every bit of his strength to protect others and trying to help a young girl get her mom back ?  Or is the real monster the one who doesn’t care if an entire city  dies while wearing a human face?” Cao Cao’s eyes went bloodshot from fury. “I can take this transformation off at any time. Can you take that face off?”

Cao Cao snapped . “ O Spear. ” He chanted, raising True Longinus to the sky. “ The true Holy Spear which pierces through God. Suck the ambition of the King of Domination sleeping within me and pierce through the gulf between blessing and destruction! ” Izuku looked into the future to see what was happening with this chant… and then stood stock still. “ Speak thy will and shine radiantly! ” The tip of the spear began to physically open, an enormous amount of holy light bursting to life from within it.

And then the light fizzled out and died . Cao Cao beheld this new development with shock.  “I-It’s not working…? I-Idea Truth? Why is it not working?!” He yelled, glaring at True Longinus.

Izuku’s smirk widened, “Performance issues aren’t uncommon, you know?” He jeered, “One in ten men and all that.”

But Cao Cao didn’t react at all, now staring at True Longinus in betrayal. “T-Truth Idea is deeply connected to the God of the Bible’s Will.” He seemed to be talking to himself, “It’s supposed to absorb the ambitions of the Spear’s wielder to produce miracles tailor-made for their opponents! It produces overwhelming advantages or blessings to demoralize its foes! Healing that goes beyond the physical! Incredible boosts to strength and speed! Crippling injuries that spontaneously manifest to cripple the opponent! So why?! WHY ARE YOU SILENT, TRUE LONGINUS?!”

Izuku’s Homies melted off of him and surrounded Cao Cao. “It’s simple.” He said, Cao Cao’s breakdown having given him the context he needed to figure it out. “My will is greater than yours . Take that spear away and you’re nothing but a fool wielding a gift you don’t deserve.” Cao Cao locked eyes with him, despair filling his eyes, “Hero? You think you’re a Hero? ” Izuku asked, leaning in, “A Hero isn’t something you can just proclaim yourself as. Your blood doesn’t matter, only your deeds! AND A CRIMINAL WHO MAKES LITTLE GIRLS CRY CAN NEVER BE A HERO!” He hit Cao Cao, already mentally destabilized, with the full force of his Haōshoku.

Cao Cao’s soul began to vomit out of his mouth as True Longinus turned into motes of light and vanished. The man began to panic as he clutched at his throat, screaming as terror infused him. Izuku reached out with a hand and tore Cao Cao’s soul away. His eyes went lifeless as he slumped to the ground.

Izuku stared at the soul, which was glowing gold with zero hint of that parasite izuku had found in tge guy from earlier, and closed his eyes for a moment. And then he consumed it, grunting and clenching his fists as his body strained. After a moment, he relaxed, letting a puff of steam escape from his mouth. He looked down at Cao Cao’s body and closed his eyes again, before looking down at his right hand. He stared at his palm for a moment, before clenching it. In a flash of Holy Light, True Longinus appeared.

Izuku stared at it for a few long moments, feeling conflicted about what he had done. He hadn’t looked at any of Cao Cao’s backstory while absorbing his soul. He had been a bit afraid that if he took too long, True Longinus would react negatively to it. And he was probably right to worry. About ninety-five percent of the soul had been True Longinus. Izuku had hit far closer to home with his jab about Cao Cao being nothing without the spear than he had known. But still, even with everything Cao Cao had done and would probably go on to do, Izuku had still acted as Judge, Juror, and Executioner. Something he knew he wouldn’t have been capable of back before his dimensional trip.

Releasing a sigh, he looked over at Okeanos. Pushing past the moment, he smiled at the Homie. He was definitely the largest of his Special Homies and not by a small amount. He was actually about the size of a city bus. “Sorry we didn’t really get to meet and greet earlier, Okeanos.”

Okeanos didn’t really have a proper face but still managed to smile. “ Stopping that villain was more important. ”

“ Yes, it was! ” Pele lazily backflipped through the air on a bed of flame. “ Don’t worry, Izuku. His plan, if anything had gone wrong, would have killed millions. We did the right thing taking that away from his hands… or any hands like it. ” She reassured him with a glowing, molten smile.

Izuku hung his head, smiling wryly. “I know… even if it feels a bit self-indulgent to be hearing that from myself .” He turned to Okeanos and Hræsvelgr with a grin. “Soooo… who wants it?” He hefted the Holy Spear in front of him.

“ No way! I wanna fly free! ” Hræsvelgr shrieked in her feminine voice  and started to rapidly fly around him.

“ Then it’s mine! ” Okeanos yelled gleefully, diving towards the spear and shrinking into it.

The Holy Spear pulsed a few times as it absorbed the Homie, before it shuddered in his grip. The color changed, turning into the same green as Okeanos and accompanied with those same glowing runic markings. The spear even changed into a trident.  Izuku stared at it in surprise, before he started expertly spinning it around. Waves and currents were generated from it and when he slammed it down, a huge wave appeared and knocked down a dozen trees.

“Nice!” He grinned before the spear turned back into its regular form and vanished. He looked down at Cao Cao’s body and sighed. He held his hand out and magical circles appeared around Cao Cao, lifting him up and putting him in a burial pose. It went into stasis and then vanished. “Let’s go guys.” He said quietly after a moment, “The job’s not done yet.”

“ Right! ” All four of his Homies voices were heard as he launched himself into the air and sped towards the tiny Yasaka and Rias in the far distance.

-]|[-

And done!

To all who have been asking whether or not eating a soul would take the Sacred Gear… WELL THERE’S YOUR ANSWER! :EvilLaughter:

No joke, the Hero Faction was full of some of the most cuntish Karma Houdinis I’ve ever seen. This was one of the TWO scenes that I had planned from the very start of this fanfic: the first was Rias revealing her new true form against Riser. And the second was this. Izuku taking True Longinus away from that cocky son of a bitch.

Now, you’ll note that I changed True Longinus quite a bit. It still had a good number of the abilities from canon, but unlike canon, they weren’t part of the Balance Breaker nor linked to the Orbs. (I also added one new one: A free heal even if only useable once a day. I was shocked it didn’t have one already and that they were relying on Pheonix Tears instead in canon.) Instead, they were part of the base spear because it was, quite honestly, a bit lackluster for “the strongest Longinus.” That then left me the room to make the Balance Breaker something different, and I went with the theme of full on, Old Testament calamities, starting with the whole ass biblical flood.

And when I thought of that, my immediate next reaction was “I gotta fuck with him? Right?”

So as displayed thus far, True Longinus’s Balance Breaker can call the biblical flood, full on Starscourge Radahn to bring the fire and brimstone, and create Gura Gura-tier earthquakes. So yeah, Izuku won’t be using it very often at all. LOL

I also thought about the Ten Plagues but stopped when I realized Izuku could probably just burn most of them away. LOL

Totally willing to take ideas on it though, if you guys have any!

Next chapter will be the wrap up, cool down, and end of the vacation. What will become of the Hero Faction? Well, I might have cut off the head of the snake, but who knows. Maybe that bitch was a hydra?

Hope you enjoyed and catch you later.

PS: *Cackles maniacally RE Lavinia’s cliffhanger*