"Alright, it's cooked. Some of this thing's innards are a delicacy, you know. Makes for a great snack with a drink."
"Mr. Azazel, I know it's a bit late to ask, but is it really okay for us to eat things from the Underworld?"
"Just stab it with your spear."
"Right, of course."
My Sacred Gear is incredibly convenient. After checking with my partner, I plunged the spear into the cooked meat to erase anything harmful. Just in case, Mr. Azazel also checked it with a machine he'd made, and once we got the all-clear, Lavinia and I put our hands together in thanks. Apparently, she was copying my gesture. When I cautiously took a bite, the meat was quite chewy, making it tough to bite through. It had a slightly strange texture, but I honestly found it delicious.
"It's delicious, Kana. The lizard you defeated."
"Yeah, it is. The meat from the lizard whose face Kanata blew off with his spear."
"Please stop, you're making me lose my appetite."
One of Mr. Azazel's problematic traits is how he loves to tease people like this. He used to tease Rias Gremory a lot, saying things like, "You need more training!" The lizards we'd knocked out were left as they were. Lavinia flash-froze the one I'd defeated and created an ice princess about Mr. Azazel's height to carry our luggage. When I expressed my surprise that it could be used that way, she said she learned it after seeing how convenient the shrinking ability of my Sacred Gear was. She's amazing.
Since the unconscious lizards were about to wake up, we moved to a different spot. Lavinia put up a barrier with her magic, and the three of us began preparing lunch. At first, I felt uneasy about eating that lizard, but I changed my mind, thinking it was better to treat it as sustenance rather than just leaving it dead.
From there, the cooking process became a chaotic mix of magic, Sacred Gears, and light-based powers, but it turned out edible in the end, so I'll call it a success. Thanks to the seasonings Lavinia had prepared and my purifying salt, we were able to have a delicious meal. Slicing up the garlic gave it a nice garlic flavor. It really pays to bring all sorts of things with you.
"Still, even though I'm the one who taught you, your fighting style is really like an assassin's," Mr. Azazel remarked.
"Um, Mr. Azazel, was there anything I should improve on from that last fight?"
"Let's see. First, don't let your opponent pinpoint your location. They found you last time because they narrowed down your position from where you threw the spear. Instead of hiding in the same spot, you need to be more deceptive, moving around so they can't get a fix on you. Also, you're too focused on the enemy right in front of you. You were letting your guard down to your surroundings."
"It was fine this time because we were with you, but there's always a risk of others jumping in," Lavinia added. "Especially in a place teeming with nature like this, there are many who would try to take advantage of a fight, like in the Japanese proverb about the fisherman's profit."
"In fact, a monstrous bird was flying nearby while you were fighting. It flew off because we were here, but if you'd been alone, you might have been ambushed."
Whoa, there was something like that nearby? The sky was a complete blind spot for me. I thought I was being reasonably cautious about my flanks, but I'd neglected to watch above. Real combat is tough. There's just too much to think about.
"But the speed at which you switch between your abilities has reached a level where it's usable in a real fight. You'll need to keep training to improve your charging and switching speed, as well as your throwing technique, or it won't work against faster opponents, but that's just a matter of practice."
"Yes, I understand."
"So, with that said, I'm leaving the rest of the way to you two. Go get some good combat experience."
"What!?"
I was planning on participating in the fights, but you're not going to join in at all, Mr. Azazel?! You just said we'd be running into a ton of those things. Even if you can't use your beams, you could probably handle the monsters around here with just your fists. You're basically a final boss, after all.
"If I get involved, this whole area will be cleared in a few lines of text. That'd be boring, wouldn't it?"
That's a line I feel like I've heard somewhere before.
"Understood. Let's do our best, Kana!"
"R-Right. Well, it's not like he told me to do it all by myself."
"That's right. If you're going to fight, learn to coordinate with each other. It seems Mephisto plans on having you two operate as a set, for the most part."
"Coordinate?"
From what Mr. Azazel explained, the plan is to have me, with my unique support abilities, and Lavinia, a Longinus wielder, stick together so we can protect and support each other. Lavinia is the superior fighter, but I have the upper hand when it comes to information gathering and support. Since her Longinus is an independent avatar type, her own defenses are inevitably left vulnerable. While she has a solid foundation as a magician, if I can cover her weak spots, it could broaden her tactical options.
"In your case, you two have good synergy for teamwork. You should be able to make the most of each other's strengths and effectively cover each other's weaknesses."
"Our strengths and weaknesses?"
"Yeah. For example, if we were to describe it in terms of the devils' Rating Games, Lavinia would be a technique-focused Wizard type, and you'd be a technique-focused Support type."
"Does that mean we lack power?"
"Lavinia can dish out power when she needs to, but it's hard for her to produce overwhelming firepower. That's where your ability comes in to supplement that. Kanata, you simply lack power, so you have few decisive moves against stronger opponents. However, you can drag a stronger opponent down to your level. That's where Lavinia can strike... I think it opens up a lot of tactical possibilities."
I see. So if we lack firepower, we use techniques to outmaneuver the enemy, create openings by lowering their abilities, or set traps to secure a win. I'm more of a technical fighter, so while I can fight, I'm more effective acting in a support role for my allies. Since my abilities are directly linked to my stamina, it's probably better to leave the stamina-draining combat to my allies while I focus as much as possible on my abilities.
It's like the reverse version of the support strategy Issei Hyoudou used in the early days, where he would fight while buffing his allies with 'Transfer.' My support strategy would be to weaken enemies and create openings with 'Delete,' which my allies would then exploit. It's simple, but it would probably be a really annoying type to fight against.
"However, what you two need to watch out for are overwhelming power types and those who excel in speed. Opponents who can just blow through half-baked tricks can turn the tables in an instant. And since you're both human, even a grazing blow from a speedy opponent could be fatal. Focus on evasion as a basic principle, and never be reckless. Skillfully dodge your enemies, and sometimes, retreat. You need to think about escape routes, too."
I get the feeling Mr. Azazel just genuinely enjoys thinking about this kind of strategy. When we play fighting games or simulation games I've lent him, he's amazing with things like matchups, combos, and role theory. When I play games with these two, I'm almost always the one getting schooled. It's weird; I've been playing games for way longer than them. It's much easier on my mental state to just go hunting together.
After finishing our lizard-meat lunch, we started walking toward the fire dragon's nest again. Lavinia and I took the lead, me with my Sacred Gear and her with her staff, both of us constantly extending our senses through our respective items to scout the area. We decided that I would handle clearing out the normal monsters in the area, and she would take care of any I couldn't finish off, in order to conserve both our energies. I can heal injuries, but lost magical energy can't be restored.
My ability can do something about things "inflicted upon me," but it can't activate its erasure effect on things "I have lost." If I recognize something as "inflicted," I can erase the '1' that was added to '0' and return it to '0'. But no matter how many times I try to erase '0', the result is still '0'. I can erase accumulated damage and fatigue, but I can't interfere with lost blood or magical energy.
This is quite a pain. My ability isn't a simple healing technique; it's only a pseudo-healing technique. For example, in the original story, there's a scene where Mr. Azazel loses an arm in a fight with Katerea Leviathan of the Old Satan Faction. The important thing here is the circumstances under which he lost that arm.
If it was a wound "inflicted by an enemy's attack that severed it," I might be able to use a pseudo-regeneration on the arm, though it would be tough for me right now. But if "he severed his own arm," my power probably wouldn't work. That's because it wouldn't be defined as something inflicted, but as something he gave up himself. It's a subtle difference, but it means it's difficult to pseudo-heal self-inflicted damage.
If it's an injury, even from self-destruction, it can be defined as something inflicted, so it's fine. But it can't act on something lost through self-destruction. In the original story, I think Mr. Azazel severed his own arm to prevent Katerea from taking him down with her. In that situation, it might have been unavoidable, but if I ever get the chance, it might be a good idea to warn him.
"Kana, if you please."
"Analyze."
Thanks to a simple presence-concealment effect from Lavinia's magic, I can now use a stock of three Ruin Javelins. My opponents are three bull-like monsters with large horns. Since there are exactly three of them, I threw two spears in quick succession, followed by a third.
"Delete air resistance."
The high-speed spears struck two of the bull-monsters dead-on, but the third one noticed and knocked one away with its horn. Having spotted us, it lowered its horns and prepared to charge.
"Leave it to me."
Lavinia pointed her staff at the monster and froze the ground beneath its feet, stopping it in its tracks. In that time, I robbed the two speared monsters of their consciousness, recalled the broken-down spears, moved to the side to avoid the bull's horns, and broke them down again to ready another throw. Thanks to Lavinia's support, the spear easily pierced the bull, and I was able to quickly erase its consciousness.
I glanced at the bracelet Mr. Azazel gave me to check the gauge. Since I'm keeping the erasure effect to a minimum, I still have plenty of power left, but if a big one shows up, the consumption will increase accordingly. I should proceed without letting my guard down.
"Thanks for the support, Lavinia."
"Of course. I'll take the next one."
Lavinia's attention was already on the next opponent. From behind the bulls we had just defeated, a giant, amoeba-like creature emerged from the forest. What is that thing? It's just plain gross. As I recoiled slightly, the amoeba-like monster extended a tentacle-like appendage and stabbed it into one of the fallen bulls. The tentacle pulsed as it sucked the nutrients from the bull. I couldn't help but cover my mouth, my expression twitching, as the bull was gradually reduced to skin and bones.
This is fantasy for you. I knew about slime-like gel enemies from games, but seeing one in real life is disgusting... Anyway, does this thing even have a consciousness? And more importantly, can my spear even pierce it? My Sacred Gear's effect won't activate unless the spear itself pierces the target. Am I at a complete disadvantage against opponents that are immune to physical attacks?
"There's a way for even you to defeat it, Kanata, but it's risky. Your Sacred Gear has a bad matchup against opponents immune to physical attacks."
"What should I do then?"
"In that case, just leave it to your allies. If you don't have any allies, avoid combat. If you want to prepare a countermeasure, the quickest way is to learn an ability other than your Sacred Gear. It all comes down to matchups."
I see, so I don't have to force myself to defeat it. Even Issei Hyoudou, with his overwhelming power, struggled against technical opponents who could counter him. There will be unavoidable fights, but otherwise, I should run. Nodding at Mr. Azazel's words, Lavinia stepped forward beside me and thrust her staff out.
In response to her action, the monster sprouted several tentacles from its body and launched them at Lavinia. She dodged them gracefully, created a magic circle at the tip of her staff, and formed a fireball. She burned away all the extended tentacles, and I could see the opponent flinch.
"Ruin."
Even if I can't attack the enemy directly, I can still provide support. I used my javelin to erase the ground beneath the amoeba-like monster's feet, causing it to fall into the resulting crater. The tentacles it tried to extend again flew off in the wrong direction, and with its movements hindered, the monster was burned to a crisp by the fire magic she unleashed. As expected of a magician.
When I looked at Lavinia, she was holding up two fingers in a V-sign, looking pleased. In moments like these, she seems her age. I let out a small chuckle and returned the peace sign.
***
"Alright, we're here. This is the valley where the fire dragons live."
"Wow, it's so big!"
"We finally... made it."
There was Mr. Azazel, grinning and pointing at our destination, Lavinia, exclaiming cheerfully, and me, utterly exhausted. The fighting was tough, but more than anything, the journey was long. Looking up at the sky, the same purple expanse spread out before me, but I think it's gotten darker than it was at noon. I can even see a faint moon. For now, I should probably be glad we reached our destination before nightfall.
Apparently, the sky and the flow of time in the Underworld are recreated to be the same as in the Human World. The Underworld originally has no morning or night, and no moon. This is a pseudo-sky created by the devils' magic. The flow of time is also maintained by a special spell cast by the Satans. The reason for this is for the sake of the reincarnated devils and the devils living in the Human World. Whatever the reason, as someone who lives in the Human World, it's easy to understand and very helpful.
Still, thanks to Mr. Azazel's training and regimen, I've built up a decent amount of stamina, but tough is tough. Lavinia got through it all using only her magic, without relying on her Sacred Gear. In my case, even using my abilities consumes stamina, so my fatigue is still significant. I really do need a fighting method other than my Sacred Gear. If I were alone, I might be able to get by with my pseudo-stealth, but if I'm going to be working with Lavinia from now on, I need to think about that too.
"Mr. Azazeeel, we made it to our destination before nightfall, but where are we headed next?"
"Hm."
He coolly pointed his thumb towards the far end of the valley. Excuse me, all I can see are mountains and cliffs. You don't mean we have to climb up or down this valley now, do you? I was prepared to camp out, but I was hoping we could sleep somewhere a little more decent. I let my shoulders slump in defeat and stared off into the distance of the valley with a weary gaze.
"...Huh?"
Is something coming? I saw a black dot in the direction Mr. Azazel was pointing. I thought I was seeing things because of the dim sky, but the black dot was getting bigger and bigger. Could that be a living creature? My eyes widened at the shadow approaching us at incredible speed, and I hurriedly readied my Sacred Gear. Lavinia also readied her staff警戒するように, but Mr. Azazel stopped us with one hand, crossing his arms and grinning smugly.
"Yo, Tannin. You're here pretty early."
"What...?"
"I heard from Mephisto, but I never thought the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels would come to devil territory, and as a chaperone for some kids, no less."
The dim sky was suddenly plunged into darkness. As if in response to Mr. Azazel's casual greeting, a heavy, dignified voice spread through the area. My body trembled instinctively, and I felt a pressure as if my heart was being squeezed. I cautiously looked up at the sky and was hit by a strong gust of wind along with the sound of flapping wings. I hurriedly planted my feet to keep from being lifted off the ground.
Immediately after, the ground rumbled, and a cloud of dust swirled around us. The ground shook so violently that I finally lost my footing and fell on my butt. Wincing in pain, I carefully kept the sand out of my eyes and stared straight at the source of the commotion.
It was more than just huge. It was a colossal figure, definitely over ten meters tall. A powerful, muscular body covered in purple scales. The two horns on its head were probably bigger than me. It stood on two legs, its joints protected by armor-like plating, and the wings on its back were kicking up sand. The creature revealed itself before us, baring its ferocious fangs and crossing its thick arms.
This was the form of the race that had become synonymous with 'High School DxD.' A legendary monster described in the Bible. A being of immense power, considered dangerous even by God and the Satans. The race that could make even souls tremble, known to humans as—dragons.
"It has been a while, Tannin. We have come to accept your request."
"Ah, Lavinia. Sorry to make you come all the way to the Underworld... So, is that kid over there the boy Mephisto mentioned?"
A pair of eyes, shining with the intense brilliance of amethyst, turned towards me. My body shuddered for a moment, but I swallowed hard, suppressed my awe, and shot up from my sitting position. I took a deep breath and met his gaze directly. Burning his image into my mind, I opened my mouth to speak.
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kanata Kuramoto. I'm here as Lavinia's work assistant. I look forward to working with you."
"Hmph, I see. You probably already know, but I'll introduce myself as well. I am the 'Blaze Meteor Dragon,' Mephisto's 'Queen.' A reincarnated devil, Tannin. You've come a long way to the Underworld. Welcome."
Utterly fearless. Just standing there, he had an incredible presence. I responded to Tannin's words, careful not to let my voice crack. Still, I thought I might be able to meet him, but I never imagined it would be this soon. His presence is truly overwhelming.
And so, I met Tannin, the former Dragon King once hailed as one of the Six Great Dragon Kings, and the highest-class devil acclaimed as the "King of Dragons."
***
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