…Those miniature dragons were an incredible ability. I could only imagine the possibilities combining it with my True Queen state…
Incidentally, I had decided to call those tiny dragons my Dividing Wyvern Fairies. Well, technically, it was Rias who had named them.
“You’re gaining lots of new abilities recently. This one is like playing fairy chess,” she had said after witnessing it.
Fairy chess—a term that referred to chess played with non-standard rules. Rias thought my growth seemed to be driven by irregular rules, so she decided to adopt the name for my new ability.
Just then, a blinding light entered my field of vision. Glancing around, I spotted an angel overhead, complete with ten pure white wings, brandishing a plume of flame in his right hand and a gigantic ice spear in his left. Thunderclouds hovered behind him, the kind that promised lightning.
Heaven’s Joker, Dulio.
…Artificial thunderclouds in an underground cavern? It must have been one of Dulio’s abilities.
His Sacred Gear had the power to control the weather and command the elements—fire, wind, water, earth, and so on. He could whip up a storm in the clearest of skies. That dazzling light a second ago must have been a burst of lightning.
Below him was a figure in a black sports tracksuit—Saji, encased in a shroud of black flame, facing off against him.
Saji was a regular participant in our training sessions lately, and a frequent sparring partner to Dulio and me.
Why? Because Saji wanted to unlock his Balance Breaker.
Chairwoman Sona had suggested training with our Familia might give him the push he needed to awaken it, so we all agreed to help.
Now that we were a team, it was only natural to want to help each other improve—especially Saji, so eager to finally activate his Dragon King Balance Breaker.
Kiba and I watched on as Saji and Dulio engaged in hand-to-hand combat. It wasn’t long before Saji’s black flames succumbed to the pressure of Dulio’s relentless elemental attacks, and he crumpled to the ground.
Dulio had won. Though Saji had been on the defensive from the very beginning.
…Saji’s abilities were extremely varied. He could channel powers through his lines, inflict direct attacks with his black flames, and trap foes behind walls of fire. Yet Dulio managed to dodge them all.
While neither was using a Balance Breaker, there was an obvious skill gap between the two.
…I had sparred with Dulio my fair share… He evaded all my attacks, freezing my hand- and footholds and stopping me from launching direct attacks with barriers of wind.
“The Joker doesn’t like to attack first,” Irina explained once. “He could if he wanted to, but attacking isn’t really his style…”
Right. I had learned that firsthand, and I was sure the others had, too.
Here in this training space, Dulio preferred to dodge his opponent’s attacks and exploit their weaknesses.
“Maybe this is just the Joker’s way of training?” Kiba asked next to me. “He’s placing limits on his abilities to test himself. I’ve heard he’s good at long-range attacks but struggles up close, so I think he’s trying to improve on that front.”
Dulio’s Sacred Gear and its ability to control the weather gave him an edge when it came to wide-area attacks, though he liked to joke he would be finished if he engaged Xenovia or me in close combat.
…So he was working to improve himself in that regard?
Saji stretched his body before walking over to join the rest of us. “Ah, I lost again. I still can’t give that Brave Saint a run for his money, can I?!”
Frustrated though he was, he didn’t seem as pessimistic as he had back in Romania.
He had seemed troubled before we left for the vampire territory, frustrated by his inability to unlock his Balance Breaker.
Something must have happened to him while we were busy thwarting the vampire coup…
“Thanks for letting me use this place,” he said, turning to address us. “All right then, I’d better head off to the school!”
By the school, he was referring to the academy Chairwoman Sona had finally managed to set up in the underworld, the first-ever facility dedicated entirely to teaching the Rating Game. They hadn’t started enrolling students yet, but they were running an open house event of sorts, and parents from all over the underworld were dropping in to take a look.
From what I gathered, between their student council activities and the number of visitors dropping by each day, the Sitri Familia was being kept incredibly busy.
“Rias said she wants to help out when we get some time off, so we might drop by as well,” I said to Saji.
Indeed, Rias had suggested we lend Chairwoman Sona and her Familia a hand, and the entire Gremory Familia, along with Irina and Ravel, was eager to help.
“That’s a lifesaver,” Saji answered, breaking out into a grin. “Honestly, we’re all still new at this, and we can’t handle everything on our own. Actually, we invited Sairaorg to join us today, and we even called in some special guest lecturers.”
I was glad to hear things were going well. It just went to show how many underworld kids couldn’t get into regular schools, and how many wanted to make it big playing the Rating Game.
Demons didn’t tend to have a great many options when it came to deciding their futures…
Well, that was just the reality of life in the underworld—only those with ranks of a certain level or who were lucky enough to receive the backing of a high-ranking demon got to live life on easy mode.
“All right. Catch you later!” Saji said with a wave as he vanished into the teleportation square.
At that moment, Dulio dropped down from the sky and pulled a donut from his pocket to munch on. Speaking of which, wasn’t he into food tours? He was practically a globe-trotting foodie!
“I can’t survive without my sweet fix.”
He was carefree, that was for sure…
And somehow, he was the leader of Team DxD…