Chapter 240

"I mean...Ultimate Class? That's a massive power jump, aunty."

"Thank you for your praise, Dimori-kun. I will willingly tell you everything…"

Shiiing!

"...when you defeat me."

Uncaring for the confusion her words caused, she charged forward.

Su!

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|DxD|

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A few moments prior…

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When Serafall teleported them to Kuoh, Aurelia immediately noticed the sudden change in Shuri. Only a day had passed and the woman before her suddenly went from High Class to Ultimate Class. Even worse, it appeared as if Shuri was hiding her strength, a terrible thing to do in front of sensors like them.

"Mama-"

Fuuuush

She didn't blame Igor for unintentionally releasing his killing intent. If this person was an impostor, then they truly picked the worst person to emulate. And dear lord have mercy if they did ANYTHING to Shuri.

Su!

"..."

Aurelia could only hold back the children when Igor charged forward. She was ready to teleport them away should the situation turn dangerous. Neither Akeno or Asia were ready to see the gruesome end this person would face if they were indeed an impostor.

The children trembled silently in her grasp when Igor began sniffing Shuri. It was as if they could instinctively feel that something was about to go terribly wrong.

This was the first time either of them saw Igor so serious, so full of killing intent.

"..."

Aurelia didn't teleport them away, atleast not yet. It was best that they see small glimpses of their brother's alternative nature.

Thankfully, the worst didn't come to be.

"Woah!"

The oppressive atmosphere vanished like it was never there in the first place.

"When did you get so strong, aunty? I mean...Ultimate Class? That's a massive power jump."

A dangerous situation was averted and no blood would need to be shed. She trusted Igor's senses more than her own. If he said that was Shuri, then she would believe it.

Yet before Aurelia could let the children go greet Shuri, she raised an eyebrow when Shuri slowly unsheathed her katana.

"Thank you for your praise, Dimori-kun. I will willingly tell you everything…"

Shiiing!

"...when you defeat me."

It was surprising for everyone when Shuri charged forward with intent to slash open Igor's chest. However…

Clang!

…it wasn't surprising when he caught the sword with his hand.

"Oh?"

The blonde calmly remarked when he saw a small area where the blade had split his skin.

"Either I've been slacking off on my training or this sword is a divine artifact."

His change of mood from casual to serious was caused by the blade. He could vaguely sense divine energy contained in it.

"This blade was gifted to me by Amaterasu-sama, Dimori-kun. I would sincerely appreciate it if you take this seriously."

"..."

Both sides locked eyes. Igor was curious why Shuri would demand a fight from him. She should know that Ultimate Class is nothing in front of God Class, right? Still, he would acknowledge her request out of their familiarity.

Su!

In an instant, he appeared behind her and held her by the waist.

"Take care of my sisters."

Su!

He disappeared along with Shuri, leaving the two women to puzzle out how to explain the situation to the children.

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|DxD|

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Far from the coasts of Japan, the light of the sun was still bright. There were no signs of human life or any islands as far as the eye could see.

Su!

In this vast expanse of empty waters, Igor appeared with Shuri firmly in his grasp. The waters around them were calm and would make a good place to fight.

"Hey, aunty. Can you fly?"

If she couldn't, he was willing to find some remote location inland.

"Yes, Dimori-kun. I can fly."

"Alright."

He let her go but instead of hovering, Shuri fell to the waters. Instead of falling right into the water, she landed on it like it was solid ground.

"Wow. I didn't think you could walk on water, aunty."

"It is a skill I learnt in my past life. Fortunately it has carried on to my current one."

"...I see."

Igor felt a bit uncomfortable when he mentioned such a matter. Her death was still a very sore point for him for it highlighted his failure.

"Good for you, aunty. So why did you want to fight?"

He slowly lowered his altitude until he was just above the water.

"For many reasons, Dimori-kun. But the most important one is for you to acknowledge that…"

Her eyes gained a golden hue.

"...I am no longer the Shuri you once knew."

"..."

He had no words to say to that, not that he had the time to in the first place.

Su!

She appeared in front of him in less than a blink of an eye.

"?"

Igor didn't block this time. He instead dodged her swings with a small look of surprise on his face. Her power was clearly around low-Ultimate Class but this speed could make even high-Ultimate Class entities sweat a bit.

[She's leagues above her previous self. Is this what she meant by change?]

Still, this speed wasn't much to him. In his relaxed state, his power was already at the peak of God Class. The gap between Ultimate Class and God Class was just too wide. He could be blind, deaf, and paraplegic and Shuri still wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

The only advantage she had was that sword. It could cut him, but she was far too slow.

Su! …Su!

To Igor, Shuri was slow. To the world, they were whizzing faster than the eye could see. Waves were constantly kicked up with each burst of speed. Shuri's sword strikes cleaved the waters open. She was giving it her all but she couldn't put a scratch on him.

What was worse was that Igor was focused more on her sword than her. He skated the waters all while analysing the sword. He would admit that its craftsmanship intrigued him.

[...]

In what was a superb display of mentality, Shuri did not feel irritated that Igor was treating her like air. It would only give her the chance to surprise him later on.

Su!

She retreated and opened a few dozen metres of space between them. The chaotic waters gradually calmed under the temporary peace between the two of them. Shuri was aware he was strong, but this was truly when she understood how strong.

In particular, this small exchange made her realise the gap between them.

"Thank you for allowing me to make a fool of myself, Dimori-kun."

"..."

Igor didn't reply. There was no point in coaxing her when it was the truth. She did indeed make a fool out of herself. The only thought in his mind was if Parvati also thought the same thing.

Still, he wanted to comfort Shuri.

"Don't worry, aunty. Feel free to test all your skills."

[ 'Test', he says.]

She wasn't fond of his statement nor was she discontent.

"Dimori-kun. Please allow me to make a fool of myself once again. The time we have been apart has been short, but it has been a long time for me."

Gradually, golden-red flames covered her form. The waters beneath her feet simmered at the sudden increase in temperature. Large illusory wings of a bird slowly formed behind her- a prologue to the execution of a powerful technique.

"I am ashamed to say this is not my power, but I have earned the right to use it. Please evaluate me well, Dimori-kun."

She brought her sword to her side…

FUUUUSH

…and the flames increased in intensity.

"[Enjin no Mai]" - (Dance of the Flame Blade)

Tswii!

This was…she teleported?!

"?!?!"

Igor was completely unprepared for her. She instantly vanished from his senses, completely disallowing him the chance to adjust his stance in reaction to her moves.

Tswii!

She was midair when she appeared in front of him. Her katana was poised for a diagonal slash that would split him open from his heart to his liver.

He watched with widened eyes as the blade made contact.

Shiiing!

It was only fortunate that his reaction speed allowed him to twist his body in time. His shirt was slashed, but no blood was drawn-

BOOM!

The sound of a mighty thunderstrike resounded throughout the region. Shuri's flames had increased to such biblical proportions that a giant plume of superheated water exploded in a giant vapour volcanoe.

They were both completely engulfed in the steam, steam that had temperatures so hot they could scald the skin off a person. If one explosion wasn't enough, then several consecutive explosions would frighten any weather forecaster.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several giant explosions of water-vapour dotted the ocean, each burst hundreds of metres apart. True to the name of her technique, Shuri continued the deadly dance with Igor. Each strike of her sword caused massive plumes of instantly-vaporised water to rise.

The intensity of her flames rapidly increased prior to each strike and lowered before rising for the next strike.

The chaos continued until they finally stopped at the nineteenth explosion. There was silence in the region for a while until from the field of mist, Igor jumped out of it and was looking worse for wear.

Surrounding his body was a white aura that must've protected the rest of his clothes from being fried off his body. Still, he suffered quite some damage. His shirt was torn in several places not from Shuri's sword, but the pressure wave caused by her sword.

Her swings were so fast that his clothes split at the seams and his skin was covered in red bruise marks. That and her flames were very, very hot.

"Wow…"

Igor could admit he was genuinely impressed. He was sure that if he was still low-God Class, that first strike would've grievously injured him and might've possibly killed him.*

"Hehehe. An Ultimate Class killing a God Class. I'm almost tempted to take her to the Heavenly Realm."

He had no idea how or what Shuri did to have such power, but the power he felt from her ignited the fire in his blood. If she could train, the possibilities were endless.

As the mist slowly dispersed, he was tempted to face her again when all of a sudden, Shuri appeared to be weak.

Su!

Without hesitation, he appeared in front of her and held her up.

"Rest a bit, aunty. You spent a lot of energy in that last attack."

What he felt from her was a mix between mana and divine energy. He couldn't directly sense it when he was away from her, but he felt her capacity was low when he touched her.

"N-no…"

Shuri didn't want to rely on him like this.

"I can still fight, Dimori-kun."

"Yep. You can fight alright. But not now. Still, you were pretty strong, aunty."

"I…"

She wanted to dispute him again, but froze when she heard him call her 'strong'.

"I see. Thank you…Dimori-kun."

.

AN

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Igor could admit he was genuinely impressed. He was sure that if he was still low-God Class, that first strike would've grievously injured him and might've possibly killed him.*

Explanation: This most likely means he could've died if Shuri struck him under the same circumstances. Igor was completely unguarded and wasn't taking the situation seriously. If he was still low-God Class and Shuri struck him, he wouldn't have been able to react in time and avoid serious damage like he did.