James' First Peerage Vs. Team Vali I

Dimensional Gap, Team DxD Base.

After Yotsuba Maya returned to the reception room with Hayama, they were both quickly accepted into Serafall's peerage. Serafall was naturally surprised that Hayama also wanted to join. However, when she thought about it, it was not that surprising.

Hayama had been Maya's personal butler for decades, so he was used to following Maya. So, following her to reincarnate as a devil was not a tough decision for him.

Then, once the reincarnation processes were complete, James teleported the group of seven back to the Team DxD base. When they arrived, they stood in the same place where James and his group originally appeared in the sub-dimension. To their surprise, however, they could feel a large amount of battle intent washing over the area.

"Hmm? Is there a fight going on?" Irene asked after feeling the battle intent.

Before responding, James finished scanning the area with his perception. Then, he opened his eyes and smiled.

"Yeah, Dante and Vergil are fighting." James said. "But since I don't sense any killing intent, they're probably just sparring. Let's go check it out."

James then began walking toward the source of the battle intent, and the rest of the group followed. While Irene and Serafall simply walked alongside James, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Maya, and Hayama, who were visiting this space for the first time, looked around with curiosity.

"This is an impressive piece of work." Tatsuya murmured while looking around with his [Elemental Sight] activated.

"Yes, it is." Miyuki replied while also looking at the surroundings curiously. "But I'm sure you could make something like this too, Onii-Sama."

"No, I doubt that, Miyuki." Tatsuya said while shaking his head gently. "Although I'm knowledgeable about many types of magic, I don't have enough control over any of them to make something like this."

While Tatsuya and Miyuki discussed the possibility of Tatsuya making a space like this, Maya and Hayama simply watched their surroundings with awe. However, before they could comment on what they were seeing, the sound of metal's clashing rang out through the area.

*Clang!*

When they looked toward the sound, Dante and Vergil, both in their [Devil Trigger] states with their wings extended, were exchanging sword strikes at high-speed in mid-air. Over the span of three seconds, several hundred strikes were blocked, parried, or dodged before the twins separated. Dante then drew his silver pistol, Ivory, and began shooting at Vergil, who slashed every incoming bullet in half with little effort.

"*Whistle* They've both gotten a lot faster since I last saw them fight." James said with an impressed look in his eyes. "And it looks like Vergil has also broken through to the minor god-rank. Chiron's training is no joke either."

"How old are those boys?" Maya asked after seeing two young men who seemed to be more talented than her nephew, who she feared as a freak.

"Twenty-two?" James replied unsurely. "When we met, I was sixteen and Dante was nineteen. And I'll be nineteen in less than two months... So, yeah, twenty-two."

Maya could only look on blankly. She was the most talented magician of her generation. At twenty-two, she was on the verge of breaking through to the ultimate-rank. Then, her niece and nephew came along who were even more talented. However, meeting two young men who were already at the minor god-rank at twenty-two was mind blowing for her.

"If it is not too rude, might I ask who those boys are?" Hayama asked respectfully.

"Oh, they are the sons of the Underworld's most infamous traitor, Sparda." Serafall said cheerfully.

"Sparda?" Maya asked with her eyes wide open. "The original Lucifer's most powerful general?"

"Uh huh." Serafall nodded happily.

As the group of seven approached the larger group, Dante ended his bullet storm. Then, he holstered his pistol and charged forward. At the same time, Vergil spun once in place with his sword extended. When he completed his rotation, a wave spread from the sword's trajectory that left a black line in the air.

Quickly, Dante lowered his altitude. A moment later, the wave Vergil fired passed over his head. When Dante looked up, he saw the shifting colors of the Dimensional Gap.

"What the hell, Vergil!" Dante shouted. "This is just a spar. Aren't we passed trying to kill each other."

"Why are you getting so upset Brother?" Vergil replied without changing his facial expression. "I had faith that you, my little brother, would be able to dodge that strike, that could even split space. And if you couldn't, it would just prove that you weren't worthy of being on this team."

"Asshole." Dante muttered as he slid through the air with his sword drawn back to thrust forward.

Vergil readied his defenses as Dante approached. Then, he flicked the tip of Dante's sword once Dante thrusted forward, causing the tip of Dante's sword to fly just to the right of his right shoulder. However, Dante pulled his sword back and thrusted forward rapidly. At the same time, Vergil dodged the thrusts he could dodge and redirected those he could not.

"Vergil's swordplay has increased quite a bit in the last three years." James said, observing and trying to soak up as much as he could from Vergil display of skill.

"Having Arthur as a sparring partner has increased his skill with the sword tremendously." Chiron said as he approached the group of new arrivals.

When James and the group he arrived with heard Chiron's voice, they saw a group of six people walking toward them, Chiron, who had just spoken, Scathach, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Azazel, and Issa walked together while also watching the ongoing sparring match.

"I would expect that." James replied with a smile. "According to Uther Pendragon, Arthur is even more talented with the sword than he was."

"You actually arrived just in time." Scathach said expressionlessly.

"Meaning?" James replied with an eyebrow raised.

"Since Vali wanted to fight you so badly, it was turned into a Team versus team event." Chiron answered in Scathach's stead. "Right now, there are two matches going on."

"Oh, Ayame and Souei are fighting too, huh?" James said, remembering that they were both in stealth when he scanned the area earlier.

"That's right." Chiron nodded with a calm smile. "The match is between the Vali Team and your first peerage. You already know that Dante and Vergil, and Ayame and Souei are paired up. The other fights will be between Kuroka and Shuna, Bikou and Mizore, Arthur and Cu Chulainn, and finally, Vali and you."

"I see." James replied with a nod. "I don't mean to belittle your skills as a trainer of heroes, Chiron, but I hope your team is ready to get spanked."

Naturally, Scathach nodded in agreement with James' words while Chiron maintained his calm smile.

"We shall see." Chiron replied, neither agreeing nor denying James' claim.

"Even still, I cannot wait to train that boy even further." Scathach said, gazing at Vergil. "Chiron is better known for his archery, barehanded fighting, and mounted combat training. But when it comes to training melee weapon skills, I am far superior. I could make that boy quite the force to be reckoned with if given the opportunity."

At the same time, Vergil parried a slash from Dante, who followed up with a roundhouse kick. However, for some inexplicable reason, Vergil shuddered, causing him to be a split second too late to defend himself from Dante's kick. The next instant, Vergil was sent plummeting toward the ground.

*Boom!*

Vergil slammed into the ground with great force. Due to the stability of the space, a crater was not created. However, that meant that the damage Vergil received was that much worse. So, Asia quickly sprinted toward Vergil and began healing him.

A moment later, Dante landed next to Vergil and Asia with his [Devil Trigger] state dispelled. While Vergil was being healed, Dante looked down at him with a complicated expression on his face.

"What happened?" Dante asked. "You should have been able to defend yourself from that attack."

"I... Don't know." Vergil said with a frown on his face. "I felt as if... my life was in grave danger for a moment. Then, I stopped to find the source of that feeling. And... You know how things went after that."

"It seems your concentration is lacking." Scathach said as she approached with Chiron. "Do not worry, though. During our training, that will be corrected."

Dante immediately knew why Vergil felt that his life was in danger.

'Master Scathach must have thought of training him while watching us fight.' Dante thought to himself. 'In that case, Vergil's instincts are sharp, when Master Scathach's training begins, his life will be in danger, a lot.'

Without saying a word, Dante looked at Vergil with agaze filled with pity. Then, as he walked toward the rest of James' first peerage, while passing by Vergil, he patted him on the shoulder and continued walking.

Vergil was confused by the pat on the shoulder and the pity filled gaze he received from Dante. However, he did not think about it for too long. Instead, after Asia's healing was complete, he thanked her and walked toward the Vali Team.

When Dante arrived where James' first peeragewas watching his fight with Vergil, he noticed that James had returned. James was talking animatedly with Mizore, who was just about to step forward to start her battle with Bikou. Then, before she left for her fight, she gave James a quick kiss.

Meanwhile, Irene took Tatsuya and Miyuki with her while she got an update about what happened while she was gone from the rest of James' second peerage. At the same time, Serafall excitedly introduced Maya and Hayama to everyone she came across. She then told them about the parts they would play in her show, whether they wanted to hear about it or not.

"So, how long as the game of hide and seek been going on between Ayame and Souei?" James asked curiously.

"About forty-five minutes or so." Moka said while snuggling up to James

"I see." James replied while stroking his chin. "Well, if she could win the fight in the next five minutes, I wouldn't mind rewarding her."

Off in the distance, while Ayame was planning her attack, she suddenly shuddered. Then, she looked toward the rest of James' first peerage. When she did, she made eye contact with James, who was grinning in her direction. Then, she read his lips.

'If you take longer than five minutes, you'll be punished later.'

Ayame shuddered at the thought of being punished. At the same time, a blush covered her cheeks. However, after reading James lips again, she was conflicted.

'But if you finish this in less than five minutes you'll be rewarded.'

After staying conflicted for a few seconds, Ayame's eyes lit up like a spotlight.

'If I end this in five minutes or less, couldn't I be rewarded with a punishment?' Ayame thought to herself as her expression turned into one filled with determination while her eyes radiated with greed and desire. 'Sorry Souei, but it's time to end this.'

At the same time, Mizore and Bikou were standing 30 feet (approx. 9.1 m) away from each other, waiting for the signal to start their match. As soon as Chiron gave the start signal, they both charged toward each other, Mizore with her hands clad in her ice claws while Bikou wielded his staff. However, just before they clashed, they came to a screeching halt.

"Wow, that was faster than I expected." James said with a smile.

Between Mizore and Bikou, who were shocked and confused, Ayame stood over the unconscious body of Souei, whose expression showed that he was completely unaware of Ayame's proximity. On top of that, he fell in a way that made it clear that he intended to simply run past Mizore and Bikou without alerting them to his presence in the slightest.

"Please excuse me." Ayame said curtly.

Then, Ayame lifted Souei onto her shoulder and carried him over to Asia for treatment. After dropping off Souei, Ayame wasted no time returning to the rest of James' first peerage. Although her expression did not change, Ayame was smiling and jumping around in excitement inside her head.

'Punishment as a reward, get!' Ayame thought to herself as she made eye contact with James, who was smiling at her sadistically.