Chapter 17 - Dog God of Black Blade

"Okay." Yubelluna nodded with a smile. She created an illusion barrier around them, making it so humans would only see them walking normally.

Ryuuga took out a small transparent bead from his pocket, something floating inside it.

"Come out." he said, tossing the bead into the sky. It burst, and the object inside emerged.

A massive structure appeared, resembling a giant fortress floating in the air without support. Ryuuga had created it himself, inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon from Fate/Apocrypha. In that series, the Hanging Gardens were a Noble Phantasm of Semiramis, used as a base by the Red Faction.

As it appeared in the sky, the fortress immediately cloaked itself, invisible to normal humans.

Inside, Iselle had control over everything, thanks to the permissions Ryuuga granted her. He had no fear of intruders.

"This will be our main base in the human world from now on. Only those with Vassal Cards or those brought with them can enter." Ryuuga declared.

"Lavinia, Reni, Akeno, Shirone, Rias, and Kuroka, come with me. The rest of you stay in the Hanging Gardens for now." Ryuuga continued. He didn't want to bring too many maids to this event because he wanted to focus on training these six first.

As for the others, he would leave their training to Cleria, Shuri, and Fujimai.

"Yes." the maids replied. Some of them wanted to go too, but they respected their master's decision.

"Okay, let's set off now." Ryuuga said. With everyone in agreement, Ryuuga and the main party set off. Their target was a boy named Ikuse Tobio.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

On the street, a young teenager named Ikuse Tobio was walking towards home. His life felt empty ever since his childhood friend, Sae, went missing.

People said she had died, but he knew she must be alive somewhere out there.

"What's the use of friends if Sae isn't here…" Tobio muttered. Memories of Sae kept flooding his mind. He had given her a bead from his grandmother. That was the last time they saw each other before she went to Hawaii.

"Eh…? Sasaki?" Suddenly, at the corner of the street, he saw someone familiar. It was one of the students who had gone missing from his school.

"Sasaki!" Tobio shouted, chasing after him. He kept running until he reached a dark alley with a dead end.

At the end of the alley, he saw a young man he recognized as one of his classmates.

"Sasaki, it's really you! Hey, do you know where Sae is?" Tobio said, walking towards Sasaki with a smile. He felt a renewed sense of hope. If Sasaki survived, then there was a good chance Sae was still alive too.

"Found... you..." Sasaki said emotionlessly, his eyes empty as he looked at Tobio.

Suddenly, a large creature emerged from behind him—a huge salamander with a glutinous texture covering its body.

"What the hell?" Tobio was stunned at the sight of the creature. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Tobio's heart raced as the massive salamander lunged toward him, its slimy skin glistening in the dim light of the alley. Instinctively, he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature's snapping jaws.

"What's happening?" Tobio thought, trying to make sense of the surreal scene. Sasaki stood motionless, his eyes devoid of any emotion, a stark contrast to the horrifying beast that seemed intent on devouring Tobio.

The salamander swung its massive tail, aiming to crush Tobio against the brick wall. With a burst of adrenaline, Tobio rolled to the ground, the tail missing him by mere inches. He scrambled to his feet, his mind racing.

"I can't keep this up." He realized, breathless and terrified.

The creature attacked again, its maw opening wide, ready to engulf him. Tobio dodged a third time, barely escaping its gnashing teeth. He stumbled backward, his back pressing against the cold, unforgiving wall of the alley.

Desperation filled Tobio's heart as he watched the salamander coil for another strike. He knew he couldn't evade forever.

"Shit!" Tobio cursed, his breathing becoming more and more labored. He knew he wouldn't survive another attack.

Just as the creature was about to deliver the fatal blow, a blur shot past Tobio, intercepting the salamander with an earth-shaking impact.

Ryuuga stood tall, his fist buried in the salamander's side. With a guttural roar, he drove his punch deeper, sending shockwaves through the creature's body. The salamander screeched, a hideous sound that echoed through the alley, before collapsing in a twitching heap.

Then, as the salamander was defeated, the boy named Sasaki fainted. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground, teleporting Sasaki away.

"T-Thank you!" Tobio sighed in relief as he saw the salamander had been defeated. He expressed his gratitude towards Ryuuga but felt conflicted since his friend went missing again, and he still had no answers about Sae.

"You don't think I came here to save you, do you?" Ryuuga glanced at Tobio with cold eyes. He had no relationship with him. Why should he help him? He was after Tobio's Sacred Gear.

"What?" Tobio was stunned. It seemed like he had escaped one danger only to face another.

Seeing Ryuuga defeat the salamander with a single punch, Tobio realized that Ryuuga was far stronger than he had imagined. Even though Ryuuga was younger, Tobio knew he couldn't underestimate him.

"Who is he, Ryuu?" Lavinia and the others appeared behind Ryuuga, and she asked while looking at Tobio with interest.

It was the first time her master had saved an unknown boy. Usually, it was a girl.

"He is our main target, Ikuse Tobio. Akeno, he's technically one of your cousins, so why don't you fight him and bring his Sacred Gear to me?" Ryuuga said, turning to Akeno.

"Oh? Is he a Himejima?" Akeno's eyes suddenly turned cold. She hated the Himejima Clan for abandoning her and her mother. The only one she didn't want to kill there was her kind cousin, Himejima Suzaku, the current inheritor of the Vermillion Bird.

"Wait! I don't understand at all! First of all, what is a Sacred Gear? Second, my surname is Ikuse! Not Himejima!" Tobio shouted frantically. He thought he was losing his mind after Sae went missing.

Today's events made him wonder if he was dreaming. First, his friend appeared with a huge salamander. Then, a young boy killed the salamander with a punch and asked a girl to fight him because of his surname.

He didn't understand anything at all!

"Don't worry, you fake king. How dare you have the Canis Lykaon when I'm the real king of Arcadia? You're courting death." Ryuuga sneered. Tobio's Sacred Gear, Canis Lykaon, was one of the Longinus.

It was an Independent Avatar-type Sacred Gear that sealed two separate sources. First, the first king of Arcadia, Lycaon, who was turned into a werewolf after angering Zeus. Second, the Ame-no-Ohabari, the strongest Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, which was used to kill Kagutsuchi.

Ryuuga's base was called Arcadia, and he couldn't let someone who wielded the Canis Lykaon roam freely. It would damage his reputation in the future.

It was better for him or his maids to wield it.

"I don't understand what you mean!" Tobio shouted in reply.

"Don't worry, you'll understand soon." Ryuuga answered, creating a gun shape with his fingers and aiming it at Tobio's chest.

"Bang." He mimicked shooting at Tobio, who suddenly felt something happening inside him.

"Gahh!" Tobio shouted as his eyes turned red. Dark black fur started to appear on his body, and tails grew from his rear end.

This was his Balance Breaker form. Tobio was a special case. When he was young, his Balance Breaker suddenly appeared, and his grandmother, Ikuse Ageha, used Buddhist Magic to seal the power through rituals.

It was also the reason why she was banished from the Himejima Clan, even though she was the sister of the current head. She used Buddhist Magic instead of Shinto Magic.

What Ryuuga had just done was to unseal the power using the same Buddhist Magic. If Tobio were just a normal human, there would be no way he could fight against Akeno.

Buddhist Magic focuses on the use of chants and mantras to perform various mystical functions. These include sealing malevolent entities, exorcizing evil spirits, executing mind attacks and defenses, and enhancing physical defense.

"GRRRR!" As Tobio finished his transformation, he became a humanoid black dog with six tails. How ugly, Ryuuga thought.

"Beat him half to death." Ryuuga instructed Akeno, glancing at her. He decided not to kill Tobio yet. He was on Ryuuga's list for future torture.

How could he let him die so easily? At least wait until he's in total despair, hehehe.

"Okay. Fufufu." Akeno nodded with a gentle smile. Then, four pairs of black crow-like wings appeared on her back. As an Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel, she had eight wings now.

Tobio's red eyes locked onto Akeno, who stood poised and calm, her eight black wings spreading ominously. The air crackled with tension as they faced each other, ready for battle.

"Ready, Tobio? Let's see what your Balance Breaker form can do." Akeno smirked, raising her hand as arcs of Holy Lightning danced between her fingers.

With a growl, Tobio lunged forward, his claws slashing through the air. Akeno moved gracefully, dodging his attacks with ease. She retaliated with a burst of Holy Lightning, which Tobio barely managed to dodge, the electricity sizzling dangerously close to his fur.

Tobio snarled and thrust his hand forward, summoning a scythe made of pure shadow. He swung it at Akeno, who blocked it with a barrier of holy energy. The impact sent shockwaves through the alley, but Akeno remained unfazed.

"Is that all you've got?" she taunted, sending another bolt of Holy Lightning his way.

Tobio gritted his teeth and formed a shadow blade in his other hand, slashing at Akeno with a flurry of strikes. She countered with swift, precise movements, her wings giving her an aerial advantage. The two clashed repeatedly, shadow weapons meeting holy energy in a dazzling display of power.

Akeno's eyes gleamed with delight as she intensified her attacks, her lightning strikes becoming more ferocious. Tobio struggled to keep up, his shadow weapons barely holding against the onslaught. With a powerful swing, Akeno shattered Tobio's shadow scythe, sending shards of darkness scattering.

Tobio was now in a state of madness, his body controlled by his Sacred Gear. He couldn't unleash his full potential or even access the Ame-no-Ohabari.

He summoned another weapon, a massive shadow blade, and charged at Akeno with a roar. She met him head-on, their powers colliding in a brilliant explosion of light and shadow.

Akeno's Holy Lightning surged through Tobio's defenses, striking him directly. He screamed in pain as the holy energy seared his flesh, the agony overwhelming him. His shadow blade dissipated, and he fell to his knees.

"Enough." Akeno said coldly, delivering one final, devastating blast of Holy Lightning. Tobio's body convulsed, his fur singed and smoking. With a guttural cry, he reverted to his original form, collapsing to the ground unconscious.

"Good work, Akeno." Ryuuga watched the scene unfold with a satisfied grin.

"He's not dead yet, just as I wanted. We'll keep him alive for now. There's still so much fun to be had."

"Ara~ Fufufu." Akeno smiled, happy to be praised by Ryuuga. Her wings folded behind her as she landed gracefully.

"Oh, Tobio... You have no idea what's in store for you. This is just the beginning of the game." Ryuuga knelt beside Tobio, his smile widening.

He then used Wind Magic to lift Tobio's body off the ground, preparing to bring him back to Arcadia to separate the Longinus from him.

"W-Wait!" a voice called out from above. It belonged to a girl.

He looked up and saw a teenage girl, around the same age as Tobio and Lavinia. She had light brown hair tied up in a braided bun that gave her a neat and elegant appearance. Her dark brown eyes were sharp and intelligent, adding a touch of mystery to her demeanor. Her voluptuous figure was modestly hidden behind her school uniform, though it couldn't completely conceal her curves.

Perched on her shoulder was a majestic hawk, its piercing eyes mirroring the girl's keen gaze, creating an aura of confidence and strength around her.