Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD.
Chapter 13: A Phenex Falls
'Thinking'
"Talking"
"Talking"
- Observation Room -
BOOOOM!
The sound of a massive explosion echoes through the speakers of the Rating Game Observation Room, silencing all conversations and drawing everyone's gaze to the massive television screens covering an entire wall. On the main screen, a large plume of smoke covers the area.
As the screen changes to show the overhead view, a lone purple-haired woman can be seen floating in the air on a pair of Devil's wings. In her hand, she holds a long staff that has a trail of smoke coming from the tip, revealing her to the have been to cause of the explosion.
Moments later, she waves her staff again, causing the staff to light up again with flames before a serious of explosions rocks the area.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
When she finally ends her attack, a still silence covers the area. Everyone watching in the room wondering what became of Sora and his summons.
"Do you think she got him?" Tsubaki asks her King.
"Possibly," Sona replies. The amount of power Riser's Queen used to make those explosions wasn't insignificant. With the power of the Queen Piece at her disposal, Yubelluna cast several powerful explosive spells back-to-back, likely attempting to end things in a single move. "It depends on whether or not Sakai has any defense abilities. If he doesn't, then that's likely it for him…"
As if answering her, the smoke blanketing the area behinds to clear, revealing the aftermath of Yubelluna's destruction.
"See!" Rias grins, "I told you he can do this."
-Yubelluna -
Floating above the enemies' location, she feels almost disappointed at how easily they were defeated. All it took from her were a few powerful bomb spells, and that was it.
"This was a waste of our time." She mutters, shaking her head in disappointment and causing her long purple hair to sway from side to side. Preparing to turn around and fly back to her King's side, Yubelluna pauses as she sees something within the smoke.
"W-What?"
She expected to see several craters on the ground, in which her enemies should be lying on the ground wounded, battered and bloodied…beaten.
Instead, a large domed shield of golden energy covers the area.
"Impossible."
-Sora Sakai -
Leveled Up - Skill:
[Shinshoku: Barrier] (Active) - Lvl. 18 (Novice)
Panting slightly, I feel my arm shake from the strain of having to hold back several powerful explosions.
Normally this wouldn't be such a problem, except my new ability is still fairly weak, and it takes more energy to use in the lower levels. Especially when I have to protect a larger area than I'm used to.
[Shinshoku: Barrier] (Active) - Lvl. 18 (Novice)
Creates a defensive barrier around yourself.
The higher the level, the larger and stronger the barrier is.
Thankfully, my Shinshoku is right beside me, combining its own strength with mine to keep it from being destroyed after the first explosion almost shattered the barrier entirely. Yubelluna's strength in explosions, even with her being lower in level than myself, are still no joke.
I have to say though, it's a nifty little power that I gained during one of my run-throughs in the Dungeon. And a much-needed defensive ability to make up for my lack of any others. Besides my [Oni: Touki], which is more of an enhancer to my body, this is really all I have in terms of protection.
'Then again, that's what I get for choosing Summoner.' Thankfully, I'm only a few levels off on getting my Summoner Class to Level 75 and being able to pick my next one. 'I'm thinking I should probably go with Warrior next time. I can't image Thief being very useful right now, and getting a second Mage class would be somewhat redundant. What do you think, Gaia?'
Did you see those explosions?!
They were so pretty!
'…o-kay. Note to self, Gaia's a pyromaniac.'
Teehee! :D
I'm not even sure I want to think about what that means for my future.
Luckily, I've got more important things to focus on right now. Like dealing with Miss Bomb Queen over there.
You should ask her to make more of those pretty explosions!
'I doubt I'll get the time to ask her, but it seems like she's already going to anyway.' Sure enough, I can see the tip of her staff lighting up with flames again as she prepares to bombard my location with more explosions.
Yaaaay~!
Whose side is she on?
Enough goofing around. "Juuichi!" I call out, getting her attention as she turns away from looking up at Yubelluna with a glare. "Go help Growl deal with the others, I'll handle her myself!"
Nodding towards the right, Juuichi and I can see the rest of Riser's Peerage doing a much better job of fighting the Komainu. Already, several of the lion-dogs have been killed, their bodies dispersing as flaming swords and balls of Fire Magic crash into them. The Peerage's experience from fighting in previous Rating Games together allowing them to make up for the slight difference in Levels.
"Fine," Juuichi grunts out, turning away from Yubelluna entirely as she calls out, "You better not lose this fight, Master!"
Chuckling, I let the barrier recede as she and the other Oni charge towards the Komainu to provide backup. Leaving me and Riser's Queen alone to fight one-on-one.
"Oh?" Yubelluna chimes in with a beautiful voice that has a naturally seductive tone, "You'll handle me yourself? My, my…how daring!" A hand comes up to rest against the top of her chest in mock-scandal, intentionally trying to distract me with how it presses against her enticingly large breasts constrained by her purple corset-like dress.
…Ah, wrong choice of words. 'In my defense, she is really beautiful.'
Oh well. "Well when a lady such as yourself comes all the way over here on her own, I can't exactly turn you down. I mean, look at how well our first meeting's gone! It's been positively explosive!"
Okay, that was actually terrible. But I've never been the best at flirting. The only reason it was so easy with Aika is because that girl goes straight to the lewd jokes every time, and those are so much easier to do.
Unlike the positive responses I get from Aika, Yubelluna actually groans out loud at my reply. "Do you know how many puns I've had to listen to ever since people named me the Bomb Queen? Can't anyone come up with something else for once!"
The frustration and annoyance in her voice causes me to feel the tiniest bit sorry for her.
Alright then, "If that's what you want…then how about, [Balance Breaker: Bladesmith Arsenal]!"
Multiple golden magic circles appear in the air around her at my call, slowly revealing several Holy Swords with their blades pointed directly at her.
"W-What?" She exclaims in stunned surprise, her head twisting back and forth as she stares at the dozen or so blades pointed at her, each one glowing with Holy Light and causing her to instinctively flinch away from them. "You have another Sacred Gear?!"
I do, probably even just as useful and powerful as my [Innovate Clear] in fact.
[Balance Breaker: Bladesmith Arsenal] (Subspecies) - Lvl. 15 (Novice)
Allows you to summon regular Holy Swords at will from any location and use them as projectiles.
Able to summon +1 Holy Sword per Skill level.
The Dungeon grinding bore lots of amazing fruits that I was pleasantly surprised by.
[Sacred Gear: Blade Blacksmith] (Common) - Lvl. MAX
It was around the sixth day of my preparations for this Rating Game that I finally maxed out [Blade Blacksmith] at Level 100, which seemed to be the necessary catalyst to awaken its Balance Breaker. I had expected it to become another ability that summons servants like my other abilities, since that's the standard form for this Sacred Gear.
But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only did it turn out to be a Sub-Species form of the Balance Breaker… it's also a pseudo fucking Gate of Babylon!
"FIRE!"
Yubelluna's terrified pupils shrink to the size of pinpricks as the Holy Swords launch themselves at her, her shaking hand reflexively bringing up her staff as she pours all of her power into creating a massive explosion.
BOOOOOOM!
- Observation Room -
-Ajuka Beelzebub -
Utter silence fills the Observation Room as they watch the battle unfold before them.
"So he does have a second Sacred Gear…" Ajuka mutters, "and he's unlocked a Sub-Species Balance Breaker for it, too."
While Sub-species weren't entirely uncommon to see, adding that into the already astounding fact of wielding two Sacred Gears, makes the situation all the more serious.
Turning to Sirzechs as he casts a magic circle that blocks out their conversation from being heard by others, he asks, "What do you know about this… Sora Sakai?"
Frowning, Sirzechs replies with only a few words, "Not enough."
That told Ajuka more than anything else he could have said. Sirzechs is one of the best in the Underworld at gathering information on people, thanks to the House of Gremory's natural charisma and luck, allowing him to persuade others with terrifying ease.
And if he was struggling to find out information about this Sakai person, then something more was going on here.
"And Serafall?"
"Looking into things." Glancing at his green-haired friend, Sirzechs smiles knowingly. "You know how she gets about keeping her little sister safe."
As if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black. Glancing at Sirzechs from the corner of his eye, Ajuka raises an eyebrow. "And you aren't the same?" The disbelief in his tone obvious, and it gets a laugh out of his friend.
Bringing a hand up to the back of his head, Sirzechs laughs softly. "Hahaha, a fair point my friend."
Moments later, his good recedes as he adds, "Also…I sent Grayfia to take a look at his home earlier…"
"And?"
"She couldn't get in." He shakes his head with a frown, "Some type of barrier protects it from outside intrusion. She said it was unlike anything she's seen before."
They both fall silent as Ajuka absorbs the information, "…would you like me to take a look?" He offers. If this was becoming important enough for two of his fellow Satans to get involved, then he should at least offer his own support.
Sirzechs considers the thought before reluctantly rejecting it. "Not right now. There's too much attention focused on him as it is, and any more will make… others curious."
Ajuka nods at that. There was no need to ask who the 'others' were that his friend was speaking of, for the answer was quite obvious.
The Old Satan Faction.
A faction of Devils who believe in following the old ways of the previous Satans; forcefully taking Humans at their leisure for servants and slaves, and waging war against the Angels and Fallen through restarting the Biblical War.
The power Sakai has would undoubtably interest them, especially once they learn that he hasn't yet been reincarnated as a Devil. Meaning that anyone willing to take him by force, could potentially do so if they wish. A worrying thought, seeing as Sakai's power made him into a walking army with his Summons.
Silently the magic circle that blocks off their conversation from the rest of the room, Ajuka and Sirzechs continue to watch the spectacle unfold.
-Sora Sakai -
Staring into the plume of smoke caused by Yubelluna's explosion, I create several more Holy Swords with my Balance Breaker behind me, all of them aiming in her direction as I wait for the some to clear.
There hasn't been an announcement from Grayfia stating Yubelluna was defeated, so she's still in there somewhere.
"Riser Phenex's Knight has been Eliminated."
'Hmm?' Turning to my right, I see Juuichi and the Oni working together with their Komainu partners to take out the last of Riser's Peerage. The Knight with the massive sword on her back and a massive ponytail was already defeated, thanks to a vicious Touki-enhanced punch by Juuichi that likely shattered her ribcage.
The punch, while getting rid of one Peerage member, also left Juuichi open to an attack from the other Knight -Karlamine, I believe-.
Before I can call out to her, Growl jumps in the way of the blow, taking the attack into his side and causing him to dispel.
The sudden loss of her partner infuriates Juuichi, whose red body tattoos flare an almost blinding crimson as she launches herself at the Knight. The strength behind her punch shattering Karlamine's blade, sending pieces of metal flying everywhere as Juuichi continues her assault.
The Rook -Isabella- and the Bishop -Mihae-, try to help her but are waylaid by the remaining Oni and Komainu
With no help coming, and down to her small backup dagger, Karlamine becomes an easy target for Juuichi. The difference in levels, strength, and sheer ferocity from Juuichi overwhelms the Knight in seconds.
"Riser Phenex's Knight has been Eliminated."
The sudden defeat of her opponent finally snaps Juuichi out of her rage, causing the muscular woman to start panting as her adrenaline begins to wear off.
Recognizing an opening in her guard, Isabella finally forces her way through the last of my Summons to take on Juuichi before she can recover. Her Rook-enhanced strength allowing her to somewhat match Juuichi's own power in hand-to-hand combat.
While I want to help Juuichi out, there isn't much I can do at this distance with her and the Rook engaging in such close-quarters fighting.
But there is one thing I can do, and that's deal with the lone Bishop who Isabella left to fend for herself.
Turning the golden magic circles towards her location, I launch the fifteen Holy Swords I can create at one time at her. The golden glowing blades streaking across the sky like shooting stars as they head towards the exhausted Bishop's location.
The surprise attack isn't noticed by Mihae until the last moments, when her body shivers at the sudden Holy Light coming within close proximity of her.
Seeing her imminent defeat, and too tired to cast any sort of magic to protect herself, Mihae merely closes her eyes in acceptance as my Holy Swords rain down on her. The blades carving through her flesh easily as they skewer her like a pincushion. 'Ouch, that's gotta hurt.'
"Riser Phenex's Bishop has been Eliminated."
That's most of Riser's Peerage gone. Just the Queen, Rook, and the other Bishop left.
Before I can see about helping Juuichi out with her fight against the Rook, a sudden noise from the cloud of smoke where Yubelluna is forces my attention to divert.
'SHIT!' Quickly casting [Flight], I take to the sky moments before the ground I was standing on erupts in a massive explosion. Continuing to flying, I dodge multiple follow-up explosions that actually manage to singe my clothing. 'Dammit, I liked these clothes.'
From the clearing smoke, Yubelluna's disheveled appearance is revealed. Her long dress now tattered and burnt in multiple places, her staff cracked and chipped, and her once beautifully smooth purple hair is now wild mess that's all over the place.
The most noticeable change in her appearance though, is her other eye now being uncovered and glaring along with the other one in my direction.
Uh-oh, she looks mad!
'I got that impression too,' While the explosion she created obviously saved her from my Holy Swords, it hadn't allowed her to get away unscathed.
As Yubelluna reaches into her cleavage, undoubtably to pull out her small bottle of Phoenix Tears, I create several more Holy Swords with my Balance Breaker and immediately launch them in her direction. "Fire!"
Seeing the imminent attack, she's forced to abandon the Tears in favor of escaping the blades. Her staff, cracked and chipped in multiple places, flares to life as she creates multiple explosions, destroyed most -but not all- of the Holy Swords. "AAAH!"
Three of my Holy Swords manage to scratch her as they fly past, the Holy Light slicing through her skin with ease and feeling worse than acid to her as it poisons her Devil body. Benefits of having Holy Swords against Devils is the fact that even the smallest of wounds can become life-threatening.
And against someone like me, who can create over a dozen of them every time I want and use them as projectiles, it's practically a Devil's worst nightmare.
Sending more Holy Swords after her, I keep one back and have it follow a few moments after the others, trailing behind as I have it change from targeting Yubelluna to targeting the staff in her hand. It's beaten and cracked appearance giving me an idea.
-Yubelluna -
"Gah!" She gasps, dodging another holy blade and sending more explosions to destroy the rest. Her staff waving and twisting in the air as she uses it far more than she's ever had to in the past.
This wasn't how the fight was supposed to go. This should have been an easy victory for them against a weak magician, with maybe a few Pawns or at most a Rook being defeated before they won. Then nothing would stand in her King's way from finally getting his bride.
Instead, things quickly became a disaster when their opponent revealed himself not only to be a Sacred Gear user, but also having a second one -and a Longinus at that- which seemed to cause no end to their troubles.
Her King's little sister did the best that she could to try and secure a win, but the young Bishop was just too inexperienced to handle this.
Now, it's left up to her to secure their victory; and every moment seems to drag her further and further away from it.
Spotting another wave of Holy Swords flying at her, Yubelluna raises her staff, igniting it with flames and creating a powerful explosion to destroy them and creating a small plume of smoke that blocks her sight.
Feeling her power beginning to dwindle, she pauses in the air to take a breath as she slightly lowers her staff. A mistake she realizes immediately, as she barely catches a lone Holy Sword flying through the cloud of smoke. With barely a moment's chance to react, she lifts her staff up and ignites it again, preparing another explosion.
But her exhaustion made the movement too slow, and before the spell could go off, the blade was already upon her.
As easily as it cut through her skin, the blade cut through the shaft of her prized weapon, causing the spell within it to overload. "SHIT!" Wide-eyed, Yubelluna can do nothing but watch on as the two halves of her staff glow ominously before detonating.
BOOM!
-Sora Sakai -
"Riser Phenex's Queen has been Eliminated."
Breathing a sigh of relief, I mentally congratulate Yubelluna on putting up a decent fight. Even at the level disadvantage, she was able to last several minutes against me and my pseudo-Gate of Babylon.
'Now, where is the other on-' Before I can get the thought out, another announcement answers the question for me.
"Riser Phenex's Rook has been Eliminated."
Turning to where I last saw Juuichi fighting, I see only her kneeling form amidst the destruction all around her, the other Oni and Komainu having obviously been defeated by the Rook.
The scorched and cratered ground around Juuichi and myself shimmers for a moment before it fixes itself back into its original state. Returning things back to as they were before, like the fighting never even happened. 'That's pretty cool.'
I thought you might like it :)
Flying over to Juuichi, I frown at the myriad of cuts, scratches, dirt, and blood covering her muscular frame. "Juuichi?"
Hearing her name called, she raises her head slowly, panting as her wild black and gold highlighted hair parts to reveal her exhausted face. "Y-Yeah, Master?"
"Thank you." I smile warmly at her, getting a similar smile back that lets me know she's okay. "I'll take it from here."
Too tired to argue, Juuichi nods as I unsummon her. Her large body disappearing in a flurry of golden motes of light as I sigh. Sure, I could summon her and the others back. But the only ones left are Riser and Ravel, and their powers make it pointless to have any of the Oni or Komainu fight.
With what I have planned to deal with the two Phenex's, the only ones left that I need are my Shinshoku and Miko.
As if summoned by my thoughts, the two black-robbed Summons fly over to me. Similarly to my Guardian Spirits, these two also gained the ability to fly after using [Promotion] on them.
-10 Affection Obedience with Riser Phenex… Affection: -10 | Obedience: 10
In the distance, I can feel a large burst of power and heat originating from Riser's location, letting me know that he's on the move.
Staring at their expressionless, silver kitsune-masked faces, I ask, "Are you both ready?"
They nod.
"Good. Let's get to work, they'll be here shortly."
- Moments Earlier -
-Ravel Phenex -
"T-They lost?" Ravel sputters incredulously, unable to comprehend how even Yubelluna could lose to their enemy. That was impossible! Nothing made sense anymore!
First their opponent reveals he has multiple Sacred Gears, including one that's a Longinus, and another that can create Holy Swords. Then they find out that he can also create his own army of 'Summons' that have the power to go toe-to-toe with even the Rooks in hand-to-hand combat. And finally, the bastard magician reveals he also has a Balance Breaker!
"This isn't fair!" She shouts, stomping her feet into the fake ground of the pocket dimension their trapped in. "This was supposed to be an easy victory! Nothing more than a chance for Gremory to put up a fight before being utterly crushed beneath our might. How did everything go so wrong?!"
Her young age shows itself as she childishly pouts, stomping her feet and crossing her arms over her pink dress in a huff.
At her side, Riser glares across the open field towards his opponent, a deep frown on his face as he watches his Queen taken away by the Recovery System. "Enough of this farce, Ravel. I'm ending this fool's pathetic attempts here, and claiming my bride once and for all."
Out of his back, magnificent wings of burning orange flames burst forth. At the same time, a sudden burst of power explodes off his frame as he takes to the skies and heads directly towards Sora.
"W-Wait! Older brother!" Ravel calls out, creating her own -smaller- flaming wings as she tries to catch up with Riser's aggressive flying.
Why did her older brother have to be so hot-headed! Didn't he see that their opponent is stronger than they realized, and that an actual plan is needed to take him on? "Stupid older brother…"
-Riser Phenex -
It took mere moments for him to fly across the artificial dimensional space to where his opponent waits, ignoring his sister's frantic calls the entire way as lets the fire build inside of him.
If this magician wants to have a real fight, then he'll get one.
"I tire of this, Magician!" He yells out, getting the attention of the white-haired teen and his two summons, their silver and gold masks staring at him without a sound. "Let's see how you handle the power of a real Devil!"
Calling forth his House's infamous hell fire, Riser launches a massive ball of flames towards them. There would be no taking things slowly from now on, this would be a vicious, brutal end to Rias's hopes of getting out of their marriage. And the beginning of his rise from a third son, to the head of a Pillar House.
In response to his attack, one of the silver masked summons creates a shining barrier around them, causing the fire to splash against the shield and flicker out.
"Tsk!" Making an annoyed sound with his teeth, he continues raining down more fireballs on their location. If a single attack doesn't break through, then perhaps multiple ones will. It isn't like he needs to worry about his reserves after all, having been sitting back and watching everything from a safe distance.
After a few moments of raining down fire on his opponents, he eventually has to dodge out of the way as a Holy Sword comes flying through the barrier as it falls.
The barrier's falling acting like a signal for his opponents as they move in different directions. Immediately, the silver-masked female flies back to a safe distance; undoubtably some type of support or healing role that isn't his concern right now, whereas the male that created the barrier flies off towards his sister.
Good, this will give her the chance to gain some easy experience at fighting in Rating Games. His parents and older brothers tend to coddle Ravel too much at times for Riser's liking, and this will hopefully help her to mature.
More importantly, Riser focuses on the magician as he directly towards him. 'Good, let him taste my flames up close.'
Creating more fire, he has it surround his body in preparation while creating another two fireballs in his hands, quickly pointing them towards his opponent and releasing them.
Instead of scoring a direct hit, the magician barely dodges out of the way. Propelling his body to the side, his opponent responds by having multiple golden magic circles appear around Riser, forcing him to make his own escape as the Holy Swords launch themselves at his body, cutting through the air and giving off a terrifying Holy Light aura that makes a subconscious part of himself flinch away in fear.
Even with his regenerative capabilities, the power of Holy Light is one of the few things capable of getting past it…somewhat.
In truth, Holy Light affects his family differently than they do with other Devils.
For instance, a normal Devil who receives a cut from a Holy Sword will feel like their skin was melted away and acid is burning into their veins, greatly affecting their mental capacities and weakening their bodies. Whereas a Phenex who gets cut by a Holy Sword will still be able to heal from the injuries, but the pain will linger on long afterwards.
And that is the real weakness of their House. Pain.
Riser's family, the entire House of Phenex blessed with their regenerative flame, just isn't used to pain. Their ability to heal all but removes the sensation entirely from them, even starting from the moment that they are born. So for the sensation of pain to continue, and at increasing intensities with the more injuries they accumulate; wreaks havoc on their psyche.
'And now I'm up against someone who can create dozens of them…' If marrying Rias didn't come with so many benefits, Riser would have had his parents call off their contract immediately with how much of a hassle it's becoming.
Dodging another batch of Holy Swords flying at him, Riser frowns as the Magician continues to stay relatively close to him, but never getting too close. 'Is he afraid?'
That can't be right. Until now, the Magician has been almost completely calm and confident -even cocky- this entire time. So why, then, is he only focusing on using his Sacred Gear?
'Could it be that's all he knows?'
It certainly seems likely. With how varied his opponent's powers were, yet still seemingly focused around his Sacred Gears, it stands to reason that the Magician didn't have anything else to fall back on.
Deciding to see for himself, Riser calls out as he dodges another blade, returning the favor with multiple fireballs. "What's wrong Magician? Run out of moves now that your Summons are gone?" Getting no response, he smirks. "Oh? What's this…where did that arrogance you had earlier go?"
The Magician still doesn't respond, instead flying just out of the way as Riser sends a stream of fire blasting through the air. "Hah! That's it isn't it? You're all out of moves, and now you're too scared to respond."
If that's the case, then this fight just became a simple matter.
Gathering more power to his wings and causing them to grow larger, practically double the size of his body now, Riser grins evilly as he waits for the Magician to pause and create more Holy Swords. When the magic circles appear around him, he takes the chance to fly towards his opponent instead of away.
"This is the end for you, Magician!" Riser shouts, coating his hand in orange flames as he propels himself towards the Magician who is trying to hastily get away. But thanks to the addition power in his wings, Riser crosses the distance in seconds, plunging his hand straight through the Magician's chest.
As the fire coating his hand burns through his chest and cauterizes the wound, Riser stares triumphantly into the Magician's golden mask, wishing he could see his undoubtably shocked expression. "Game over, Magician!"
Before he could celebrate his victory, his thoughts come crashing to a screeching halt as the body his hand is currently shoved through flickers and shimmers. "W-Wha-?" Pulling back his hand, Riser watches in horror as the Magician's body cracks, a blur covering his body for a second before the sound of glass shattering echoes across the silent field.
Like glass, the outer layer of hexagonal pixels covering his opponent's body shatters, raining down like a glittering shower and revealing it to actually be the female Summon he had been fighting all along. The Summon's body dispersing into motes of golden light moments later thanks to his fatal attack.
Freezing in midair, Riser's mind races to make sense of what he's just seen before everything comes to a complete halt as a single feeling overwhelms him.
Pain.
Ungodly. Agonizing. EXCRUCIATING PAIN!
Originating from his back and piercing straight through his body, a golden spear bursts out his chest, sending blood flying as Holy Light burns through his heart. 'What? H-How?!'
His regenerative flames try desperately to fix the damage, but the spear's Holy Light is even stronger than the Holy Swords, and manages to ward them off. Forcing the wound to stay open and adding to Riser's mounting pain. Eventually becoming too much for him to take.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
- END -
Author Notes:
And that's Chapter 13!
This is the last cliffhanger, I swear!
The next chapter is the end of the Rating Game, and then Sora will be able to move onto other things after this, thus pushing the story forward. Which means there'll be more timeskips and further growth ahead, including new powers…and even a new Class!
Hope you all are still liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story.