Golden Kitsune vs Golden Acolyte
"Buchou!"
Rias' eyes fluttered open, all she felt was a genuine pain in every single bone in her body. Thankfully, she was a devil and her regenerating factor kicked in to alleviate her fatigue. The first thing she was total darkness that was then replaced by the faces of her peerage members, one by one.
"You're up, Rias..." Sona then spoke and they helped her up.
"E-Eh? Sona, Akeno... w-where are we?" The redhead tried to recollect what her last memory was, but everything was fussy. Her head moved all over the area to notice they were all standing on what looked like a golden platform. All around there was nothing but void as if they were in some parallel dimension with the hazy form of a golden barrier all around them.
"We are... a-actually, I don't know Rias... we were taken here to witness a fight" Her Queen didn't have a definite answer. Rias turned around to see someone coming towards her from the 'adult' side.
"Rias..."
"Okaa-sama? you're here too? I remember now... I failed the test"
"You didn't, you passed~ see?" Venelana pointed in a certain direction where there was a man sitting on a golden throne that was created from the same platform they were all standing at. Beside him were an assortment of ladies... some of them she knew, some of them she didn't... but one thing didn't change... regardless of where this dragon was, he was always surrounded by beauties.
"Richter-sama... what do you mean I passed, Okaa-sama? I wasn't able to stand up..."
"He had been testing you, the pressure he placed on you was way stronger than everyone else's... you wouldn't have stood up regardless of what you did".
"Eh?! Why?!" Rias resisted the urge to pout towards the golden-haired man who was whispering things to the ladies that were beside him not too far away.
"As I said, to test you... I could have never thought, Rias... he does know how the destruction principle works, perhaps even than us the Bael and your brother... you created such an immense power of destruction with just a slight trigger... I guess that display of yours captivated him~"
"... t-then what are we doing here?"
"We're going to witness what true power looks like... a pity. You missed one of the matches... those two ladies there seem to be from outside the dimensional gap, just like Richter-sama. They're quite strong" Sona interjected and pointed towards the golden-haired beauty and the silver-haired dark-skinned demoness beside Richter who she didn't recognise.
Rias didn't know what to think, she clenched her hands, recalling the power of destruction she used. All she knew was that her peerage members were in danger... and it just... kicked in.
She wanted to go and ask him why he did that, but it wasn't the right time to do so.
"Let's watch for now... this is a training camp of hell, don't expect things to be easy from now on~" Sairaorg approached with his peerage, Rias greeted her cousin and placed her whole attention in the individuals who were in the middle of the dome.
The Nephilim Annette Andrealphus and Yasaka from the West Yokai Faction in Kyoto, Priestess of Amaterasu. Whatever questions she had, she'd ask them later. In any case, he had promised she'd train them, so they would be seeing each other often. Biting her lips she recalled that fateful night in which she caught that dragon and her sister-in-law doing that... wondering if she'd be able to question him about that as well.
**
**
"As per the rules, both of you shall fight inside this dome since Yasaka is currently unable to sustain the Z-AXIS' void. Any questions?" Morrighan was audacious enough to make a contract on the spot. After being told by Benneth what was at a stake; she'd allow no one to back off from this agreement.
Yasaka took a glimpse in Amaterasu's direction and both of them nodded as if agreeing on something.
"If possible, we'd like this battle to take place in Kyoto at the Takamagahara".
"So, you want the territory advantage of the Leylines?" Benneth uttered right away with a hint of superiority that didn't go past Yasaka and Amaterasu. The pair of deities had their eyebrows twitching at the fact they couldn't deny that accusation.
"Yasaka's existence is connected to the Leylines in Kyoto... it wouldn't only give her an advantage, but being outside of Kyoko Yasaka is already at a disadvantage. I'm sure you'd not desire the outcome of a fight against a weakened opponent, right acolyte of gold?~"
"What are the leylines, Grayfia?"
"Master, there are several places in the earth that are shrouded with an immense spiritual aura. The Kunlun Mountains, Tir na nog, Mount Kailash and Kyoko are such examples, spots where a great number of divine deities concentrate... in order to handle all of that energy a medium is needed. This medium is directly connected to those leylines and works as a catalyst of balance. An advantage the individual would have is a nigh-infinite amount of energy at their disposal. A disadvantage... they're unable to ever move from this location. I hope my explanation was satisfactory".
A kiss from her master was all Grayfia needed to know she did a good job.
"If that's the case then we can't allow Yasaka to be away from this spot. We're going to be moving this event to the earth, Jie Yuan... hold back a little in your fight against Amaterasu".
"I can't be helped..." The Devil Emperor didn't give it any mind... her desire was to further understand how faith and spirituality functioned in this foreign world. In order to do that she didn't need to use her whole potential.
Richter's claw sliced through space and the whole golden dome entered the spatial crack before closing. Takamagahara was a spot filled with palaces on top of clouds, long eastern dragons and bright suns in the skies.
The devils were coming for the first time, the reason was simple. No one except for the Shinto Deities was allowed in this space. Amaterasu resisted the urge to spit blood.
"Your powers are astonishing as always, Richter-sama... you can so easily invade Takamagahara without triggering a single array" In a very subtle manner she allowed Richter to know they were trespassing. Sadly for her, the thick-skinned golden dragon didn't give a fart.
"I aim to please... now, you can all continue".
...
"Have we decided what we get for reward and punishment?" Yasaka started giving off a quite ominous aura the moment Richter's barrier was released. Everyone knew that the priestess of Amaterasu was back and soon enough questioning Shinto Gods and Yokais would appear all around, wondering what was happening.
"Rewards and punishments shall be decided by Richter-sama. Master, any words?" Morrighan questioned.
"Regardless of reward or punishment. You won't be disappointed~".
"There you have it, with that said, battle start!".
Morrighan dashed out of their way. Annette and Yasaka were officially in the match.
"Very well, I'm expecting it, Richter-sama~" Yasaka smiled and didn't specify which one she wanted. Her body got engulfed in a powerful gust of golden flames that fluttered her golden kimono all over.
*RUMBLE!!*
Nine gigantic tails came out from that titanic gust of golden flames, eventually turning into a gorgeous nine-tailed fox, a legendary golden kitsune.
"Going into your full form at once... at least you're not underestimating me, Yasaka" Annette giggled in a thrill, wielding her sword, Transcendence.
"With such a devastating aura... why would I underestimate you?!"
Dozens of magic circles appeared all over Yasaka, it was Youjutsu, an art exclusive to Yokai. In this art, no one topped the priestess.
Golden Characters formed those arrays, but just as Yasaka wasn't playing, neither was Annette.
*SLASH!!!*
All she ever did was slash that sword down with impressive momentum and strength. Creating a dark sword slash that sliced a path across the magic circles created by Yasaka.
*BOOOOMMM!!!*
The slash released by Annette was caught by Yasaka's tails imbued in golden flames. The kitsune resisted with all she got until the energy dissipated.
"My turn!" The Kitsune opened her titanic maw and a gigantic ball of golden flames loaded from it, receiving all the energy from the leylines in Kyoto. Yasaka didn't hold back at all.
"Come at me!" Annette prepared to receive it. It was less than a few minutes into the fight and the Takamagahara had already turned into a spectacle of lights. Hachiman, Fujin, Susanoo... a plethora of Gods rushed into the conflagration of magic with astonishment wondering when these outsiders appeared in their sacred land.
They covered themselves from the shockwaves.
*BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!-----------
Brandishing her sacred sword, Transcendence... Annette tried to slice the incoming golden breath of flames in half. But when she received it, the impact was heavier than she expected it to be.
Yasaka's tiles drew magic circles that posed themselves around her mouth, increasing the strength of the beam several folds. Watching this battle of titans, the younger devils were awed while the older ones wondered if they could face any of those two.
Serafall and Ajuka knew they could face either of them. Venelana and Diehauser however, weren't so sure.
"This strength is equivalent to a Divine Soul Realm expert at best".
Richter didn't know what that was, but Jie Yuan's tone sounded as if she was mocking them.
"Inconsiderate Devil Emperor. This world doesn't have profound energy and even then, the primal source of energy present in this universe is meagre and weak that it is a miracle existence as strong as them can even exist" Li Suo corrected her supple arms resting on her back, "Let alone unlike cultivators, the bodies of these youngsters have inherent comprehension of the laws that is innate to their bodies. Like this girl and her law of destruction or this other girl and her laws of time".
Li Suo pointed at Seekvaira and Rias, the ones she considered had the biggest potential.
"Master, who are you making your disciple?" Li Suo asked Richter, the dragon exhaled a breath of fatigue in response.
"I won't be taking any disciples, Li Suo... a single class I shall impart, the rest I'll leave to you, Layla..."
"I understand, master... you won't be disappointed with the results, I'll make sure to transform all of them into your loyal strong and undying subjects~".
'I didn't ask for that...'
"An interesting notion, Lady Layla... we have the right treasure that shall help them with this endeavour, master... I have been meaning to ask for your assistance. Once this matter is settled, I hope that you will come with me into the concealed space of the Eternal Heaven Pearl" Li Suo bent down to whisper into her master's ears.
"Very well... once these battles finish"