Chapter 242: Transfer Student +1
From a spectator's perspective, evenly matched battles are often the most thrilling to watch.
If both sides in such a battle are brawlers, it becomes even more exhilarating.
To use a MOBA game analogy, team fights are always more satisfying than farming.
Haruto and Riser's fight was the former, making the observing devil nobles cheer with excitement, feeling their trip was well worth it.
But in an instant, the battle's dynamics shifted drastically.
There were no visible changes on Haruto, yet Riser, who had been dominating, was suddenly sent flying backward.
At that moment, the slightly delayed dialogue, affected by the Magical Power, finally reached them.
"Five minutes seems unlikely."
"Indeed, Riser's mental energy is significantly depleted, but it definitely can't be exhausted in just five minutes."
Ravel couldn't help but speak to Rias again, "Lady Rias, I admit your servant is strong, but breaking the Phoenix family's immortality in five minutes is pure fantasy."
Rias remained gentle yet confident toward Ravel, who was soon to become her servant. "Ravel, Haruto never lies."
Whether charming girls as a playboy or in combat, Haruto never resorted to deception. Though deception could sometimes achieve twice the result with half the effort, his nature made him unwilling to do so.
On the screen, Haruto became a blur of afterimages, with only SS-class devils barely able to track his movements. Each time an afterimage vanished and reappeared, Riser would bleed and emit sparks of fire.
Battered and bruised, Riser took a direct hit from Haruto to create distance, attempting to avoid direct confrontation. He recognized Haruto was using a temporary power-boosting secret technique. Though he couldn't discern the side effects or time limit yet, such methods never lasted long.
The Phoenix family had similar secret techniques, but the cost was great. Riser didn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary.
"Heh, starting to run now?" Haruto didn't waste energy chasing. He could catch up, but there was a simpler method.
"Since you want to hide, I'll just use my Sacred Gear then~"
The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet required time to accumulate amplification. If Riser wanted to stall, they'd see who would have the last laugh.
Sure enough, when Haruto mentioned using the Sacred Gear, Riser's face turned extremely grim. He already couldn't match Haruto now - after the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet's amplification, he might as well surrender outright.
Riser couldn't understand why Haruto was so powerful. Despite being a whole major realm apart, instead of crushing his opponent, he was being crushed instead. The frustration in his heart grew unbearable until, watching Haruto maintain his fearsome devil form mid-air, his last thread of sanity snapped.
Emerging from cover, the phoenix flames surrounding Riser unusually collapsed inward. "So you still have a trump card after all. But I said I wouldn't use the Sacred Gear, so I won't."
Sensing the sun-like concentration of magic power within Riser, Haruto raised an eyebrow. Since Riser had stopped hiding, Haruto resumed his attacks. Against enemies with extreme regeneration, one either wore them down slowly or killed them in one strike.
Without using the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, Haruto currently lacked the power for a one-hit kill, leaving only the slow grinding approach.
Facing Haruto's fast, fierce, and unpredictably angled attacks, Riser simply gave up defense, focusing entirely on burning his life force to concentrate a magic cannon. After using his family's secret technique, he could match Haruto's speed, but their skill gap remained vast, leaving him still getting beaten one-sidedly.
Thus, he decided to go all out, though this ultimate move required charging time. Fortunately, after burning his life force, his regeneration and durability had greatly improved.
More than half of the five minutes had passed. Haruto had attacked Riser at least ten thousand times, and even the absurd immortality finally reached its limit. More precisely, Riser's spirit had reached its breaking point.
But the magic cannon containing terrifying temperatures was finally complete, the compressed extreme-yellow flames now appearing orange-red. Coughing up blood, Riser forcefully unleashed the concentrated magic power from within his body.
"Go die!"
Haruto tried to dodge, but Riser had already anticipated this. This time it was a full-screen attack - unless he surrendered and left the arena, there was simply no way to avoid it.
The ancient Roman-style colosseum shattered into fragments of broken bricks and tiles, then completely vaporized in flames exceeding ten thousand degrees.
The powerful magical energy destroyed all broadcasting equipment, and visual observation was blocked by the blinding white light filling the arena.
"Has Riser gone mad?"
Rias showed unease for the first time. "This is just a duel, yet he actually used this move."
"I think he's probably insane."
Remembering what Riser had done to his servants, Ravel raised her fan to cover half her face and murmured softly.
"Grayfia, prepare for rescue."
The red-haired Satan Sirzechs also wore a serious expression. He could sense two life signatures within the magical explosion, but both were rapidly fading and could die at any moment.
Just as he prepared to intervene and terminate the duel, a battered figure flew out from the explosion's epicenter, carrying another person whose life force was almost completely extinguished.
Everyone's attention was drawn to them. Against an attack of this magnitude, even Satan-Class beings would suffer severe injuries. No one expected both combatants to survive.
While looking up toward the outside of the arena, Haruto shook the nearly lifeless Riser in his hand.
"Your Majesty, this should count as my victory, right?"
Sirzechs nodded, his authoritative voice echoing across the land through amplification magic.
"The winner of this duel is Haruto Seishu."
The moment he heard the result, Haruto could no longer hold on, his body plummeting straight downward.
"Haruto!"
Rias immediately flew over, catching Haruto in her arms. Not far away, Riser was barely caught by Phenex family servants upon landing.
Seeing Haruto's body covered in wounds with no intact flesh visible, Rias quickly asked Asia to use Twilight Healing.
The golden-haired little nun asked worriedly, "Mr. Haruto, are you okay?"
"Do I look okay to you?"
Haruto smiled bitterly. Who would have thought that bastard Riser would directly resort to self-destruction?
Relying on his immortal body to self-destruct whenever he couldn't win a fight—what a cheap tactic...
Seeing that Haruto could still joke around, the girls breathed sighs of relief. Asia held back her tears and focused on healing him.
Life-infused magical energy repaired the damage to his body, making Haruto moan in comfort.
After a while of treatment, once he regained mobility, he asked Asia to stop.
Haruto walked toward the Devil King Sirzechs—he hadn't forgotten about the two prizes yet.
...
...
Human World, Kuoh Academy, High School Division, Class 2-A.
"Let me introduce everyone to two new students transferring to our class starting today."
A blue-haired beauty wearing glasses and a uniform with black stockings stood at the lectern. Beside her were two transfer students, one boy and one girl.
"Please introduce yourselves."
The spiky-haired boy, a veteran at transferring schools, skillfully picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the blackboard.
"Hello everyone, I'm Toujou Basara. I look forward to getting along with you all."
Scattered applause echoed in the classroom as a form of acknowledgment.
The golden-haired devil young lady had never attended school in the human world, let alone transferred. Fortunately, Toujou Basara had set an example, and she could follow suit.
Next to Toujou Basara's name, a long string of characters appeared. Ravel lifted her chin proudly and declared, "Ravel Phenex. I permit you to address me as Miss Ravel."
Her haughty tone didn't provoke dislike; instead, it piqued the interest of the female students in the classroom.
The much warmer applause was the best proof.
Indeed, no matter which world, appearances matter.
A cute, golden-haired loli speaking arrogantly comes off as endearing, but if she were plain-looking, it would just be annoying.
Sitting in the second-to-last row by the window, Haruto withdrew his gaze and looked boredly at his reflection in the glass.
Hmm, even with a band-aid on, it didn't detract from his handsomeness—instead, it gave him a wild, untamed vibe.
Under Kalawarna's arrangements, the two transfer students officially joined Class 2-A and began their new high school lives.