101. The Azure Dragon.

Omniscient POV

In a dimly lit street within the Nakiri territory, Kouske, Tarte, and Bertrand made their way to the Nakiri clan's main house.

They had teleported just outside the territory, mindful of the potential consequences of devils being seen teleporting freely within the clan's borders.

Though Kouske was generally unconcerned about such matters, he respected Nakagami and his father enough to avoid causing unnecessary problems for them.

Unlike other clans, Kouske held a favorable impression of the Nakiris, particularly the clan leader and his children.

There was also the fact that in another world, he was also good family friends with another Nakiri clan members. This naturally gave him favorable impressions of them in a way.

The timing also provided an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the setting sun, casting a serene glow over their walk.

Despite the delay due to his many responsibilities in Akatsuki and his Sabnock territory, Kouske savored the moment, walking hand in hand with Tarte and Bertrand.

The two women appeared equally pleased by the peaceful stroll, their cheerful chatter adding to the ambiance. However, their tranquil walk was soon interrupted.

Suddenly, a strange figure appeared in Kouske's field of vision. Directing his gaze forward, he noticed an unusual-looking boy.

The boy had a graceful face and seemed to be about the same age as Kouske. Maybe a bit older. He wore glasses and was dressed in a blazer that was primarily blue in color. He had gray hair and yellow eyes.

He had that smartass face that would make anyone irritated, the kind that suggested he thought he was smarter than everyone else.

His personality seemed to radiate a sense of superiority, which only added to the annoyance.

"You... you two are devils. What are you doing in this territory? We don't welcome devils here," said the boy, glaring intensely at Kouske and Bertrand.

"Don't worry, I'm not a bad devil," Kouske replied frivolously with a fake smile, annoyed that his alone time with the girls was being interrupted and that he was being questioned by a stranger.

"Heh. That's what all devils say," retorted the boy with glasses.

"But you don't have the right to make us go away. Are you someone from the Nakiri clan? This is their territory, after all, and we have business with them," replied Kouske.

"I am not from the Nakiri clan. But the Five Principal Clans still do not accept anything foreign. Are the Nakiris colluding with devils now?" asked the boy.

"They are not. We just have some business, and even our interactions have something to do with our own agendas. But who are you to question all this?" Kouske asked, a bit mad.

He didn't want to make trouble for the Nakiris, but he wouldn't accept being condemned by just about anyone for no reason, especially by the racist Five Principal Clans.

"I am Kushihashi... Seiryuu Kushihashi. You?" asked Seiryuu, looking directly at Kouske.

"I am Kouske Miyamura, the Sabnock's heir," replied Kouske.

"Oh. So, you are that guy. No wonder you looked familiar. Your name has been around for a while," said Seiryuu, thinking for a moment.

"If you've got what you wanted, we will leave now. We are getting late," Kouske said as he tried to walk away, but Seiryuu blocked his path.

"And what is this business that a devil has here?" asked Seiryuu, making Kouske angry.

"You don't have to know. Akatsuki sent messages to all your clans, but none of you even replied. So I don't have any business with you guys. Now move," said Kouske in a bit of a threatening tone as he kept walking forward.

"Oh, it's about that."

"Hey, wait," said Seiryuu as he tried to block Kouske by putting his hand on Kouske's shoulder.

But before he could do it, he was blown away by a kick from the tanned blonde walking beside Kouske.

Both Tarte and Bertrand had been quite angry since earlier as he had been very rude to Kouske and even disturbed their outing.

But they remained quiet as Kouske was speaking. But even after Kouske's warning, this guy...

"Enough of your rudeness!" Tarte snapped, her eyes blazing with anger. "You've crossed the line."

"If you take any other action, I'll act," warned Bertrand, glaring at Seiryuu.

"Heh, that's interesting. So you guys want a fight, huh?"

An indescribable pressure was released from Kushihashi Seiryuu's entire body. It was looking like an explosive situation.

Kouske was already mad at the guy, and judging by the power emanating from Seiryuu's body, he should be a good sparring partner for Bertrand, though he would probably lose if he fought Tarte.

Tarte had reached the intermediate Ultimate Class, wielding formidable abilities within her grasp.

Kouske had already advanced to the beginner Satan Class, having unlocked the final powers of Vritra, including Delete Field and Shadow Prison.

However, Bertrand had achieved only the peak of the High Class. It will be a good training for her.

After getting Kouske's silent agreement, Bertrand leaped forward in front of Seiryuu, her long, beautifully crafted white blade unsheathed from her scabbard.

Kouske had made her that sword by mixing Mythril and slime from Cid's world.

It was extremely sharp, mana-conductive, and durable, giving it a rank of C+. It would even slowly get stronger and higher in rank with the wielder.

"I am Kouske-sama's knight, Bertrand Beleth," declared Bertrand, her sword pointed unwaveringly at Seiryuu.

As a knight, she felt compelled to announce her name in this situation, having already received Kouske's permission to identify herself as his knight.

Seiryuu merely smiled in response. Suddenly, a powerful wind began to swirl around Seiryuu's body.

This aura of wind manifested into a spectral form behind him—a creature resembling an oriental dragon with a long, slender body.

This was the Azure Dragon, the Sacred Beast of the Kushihashi Clan, passed down through generations to the clan's strongest mystic, who was chosen by the Sacred Beast itself and given its name.

Endowed with the powers of the Wood Element, the Azure Dragon enabled Seiryuu to manipulate plants, control wind, and lightning, and enhance his magical and spiritual abilities with its aura.

Kouske looked at it interestingly as it was something very close to something like an Artificial Sacred Gear. So naturally he was interested.

Kouske's research was also going well. He even found some unique monsters in the center of the Underworld as he was clearing the pits.

They could even be compared to the Fiend of Deviousness which was the strongest among the Four Fiends that could possibly even devour Longinuses to gain their powers.

Kouske was naturally interested in that too. So getting Shigune this time around was one of his main reasons for getting involved in this. He also had those Evil Gods trapped in Akatsuki's prison.

Soon, after this incident, he planned to head to old man Ross and make the spear he wanted to make for a while to surprise Shishou. Then work on making the artificial sacred gears after that, independent type if possible.

While Kouske was lost in his thoughts, Bertrand and Seiryuu had already engaged in combat.

Fortunately, Tarte had quickly erected a barrier to conceal their fight from onlookers, something that Kouske had overlooked in his distraction.

"Thanks," Kouske acknowledged, glancing at Tarte.

"It's alright. Let's just hope she doesn't get hurt," Tarte replied, her gaze returning to the unfolding battle.

"Hmmm," Kouske murmured, refocusing his attention on the fight at hand.

Bertrand and Seiryuu were both enveloped in Touki as they leaped toward each other. Bertrand used her footwork to quickly close the distance and attack with her sword, but Seiryuu, despite being bare-handed, deftly deflected her strikes.

He targeted Bertrand's wrists without touching the sword itself, as the dark aura enveloping it triggered his instincts to avoid contact.

Seiryuu's mastery of hand-to-hand combat and superior martial arts skills allowed him to narrowly evade Bertrand's every attack by mere inches.

The azure dragon behind Seiryuu also joined the fray, making it even harder for Bertrand. She found herself on the defensive, unable to launch any effective counterattacks.

In a desperate move to gain some distance, Bertrand tried to retreat, but Seiryuu stomped on her foot, halting her escape.

He then struck with a Touki-condensed palm strike, enhanced with his wind and lightning elements.

Realizing her mistake, Bertrand quickly adopted a defensive posture, raising her sword and erecting a barrier. Despite her efforts, she was blasted away into the distance.

"Is that all you have?" Seiryuu taunted, trying to rile her up as he saw her standing back up.

This time, Bertrand didn't approach but started bombarding him with fire magic. Seiryuu used his talismans and chanted Shinto spells.

Soon, a barrier formed in front of him, with the talismans floating in the air to create the structure of a shield, effectively blocking her attacks.

Then he condensed a ball made of Touki, enhancing it with wind and lightning. He conjured multiple of them, spamming them toward Bertrand from a distance.

"Kouske-sama! We should help her," said Tarte trying to intervene as she was worried about Bertrand's safety.

"No need to. She can handle this on her own," but Kouske stopped her saying this.

Then, Bertrand's sword was once again enveloped in that same black aura. It was her bloodline ability, Abyssal Slash, which gave her the power to cut through anything.

She used her sword to cut through every single one of the Touki balls and even launched a black sword slash that cut through anything in its path as it headed toward Seiryuu.

Instinctively sensing the danger, Seiryuu dodged before it even got close. His barrier was cleanly cut through without any resistance, making him sweat a bit at the thought of what would have happened if he had stayed there.

Bertrand continued to spam the same slash attack from a distance. Seiryuu couldn't do much besides dodging the attacks for now.

The entire area was being sliced up by Bertrand's relentless attacks. However, Bertrand was visibly getting tired, and Seiryuu knew she would soon deplete her mana.

He just had to dodge and wait for now. But he didn't like the idea of winning like that.

Bertrand also noticed that her long-range attacks weren't effective and were only tiring her out. So she stopped and tried closing the gap again.

Seeing this, Seiryuu made a huge flower sprout from the ground. As it opened its petals, it began attacking her with numerous seeds, each one like a magical bullet.

Bertrand couldn't slice through all the seeds even if she wanted to, so she opted to conjure a powerful barrier. It barely held up, with many seeds grazing her skin and drawing blood.

Seiryuu then sprouted another flower, which started condensing the sun's rays. However, as the sun was almost setting, the power wasn't much, so he stopped it, realizing it wasn't going to help.

His whole body crackled with lightning, and he struck her with lightning and wind attacks.

After a while, Bertrand's barrier broke, but she suddenly leaped right at him at that time, gritting her teeth in pain from her injuries.

Even amidst the onslaught, Bertrand dived right into the barrage, and attacked from a blind spot overhead, aiming her sword at his neck.

Seiryuu, too absorbed in his attacks, was taken aback by her sudden desperate attack and couldn't dodge it in time.

If the attack connected, Seiryuu might actually die. Kouske didn't really want to kill him, so he dashed in just in time to stop both of their attacks, halting the fight.

Both of them looked at each other, stupefied for a moment, as they both seemed tired, huffing and puffing in exhaustion.

"What are you guys even doing? Why are you fighting here?" they heard a voice say.

They all turned towards the voice, but Kouske had already noticed that person entering through the barrier a bit earlier.

[A/N: How is the chapter? I thought the girls should also get to show off once in a while. I will also make a chapter only for Tarte, Tosca Irina, and Xenovia. Those four will meet each other by chance. If Kouske fights, it will end very quickly as he is a legitimate Satan Class right now. This also happened after Tobio and Hanezu Himejima's fight which took place yesterday, the same day Kouske and Sakuya had their first time. Tobio's side will be shown in another chapter. So, while Tobio was fighting for his life, Kouske was having the best time of his life with Sakuya yesterday. 🤣😂😈]

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