The Cloud-Raised Brave Man's Travels

Finally, the "judgment result" was delivered in the evening when the group was having lunch around the coffee table. It was Grayfia who delivered the news again. She was really busy.

"Miss, according to the discussion between the Patriarch and Patriarch Phoenix, the ranking game has been scheduled for tomorrow night. Mr. Koya's participation as an outsider has been approved, but Master Lin Fei has also invited his third brother, Raisa, as an outsider, and has also been approved. Since Master Raisa is also a 'King,' his family will also participate in the ranking game."

"Well, I see."

Rias's grip on her cutlery tightened. The ranking game was based on demon chess pieces, and a maximum of sixteen players, including the King, could participate. But this time, Rias was facing two Kings, a total of thirty-six players. And what about Rias? The number of people present, including Koya, was only five... a sixfold difference.

Furthermore, Rias understood that although she was on the elite route, her growth period was too short. In terms of strength alone, apart from Akeno being stronger than the opposing Queen, Koneko and Asia were not as strong as her opponents. It could be said that their victory now depended entirely on Koya's strength.

"Don't worry, I should be quite strong."

"Indeed, if you hadn't exaggerated your strength, you would be comparable to my brother. There's really nothing to worry about with the top Demon King level."

Rias saw that Koya was secretly glad that she had obtained this so-called system. If it weren't for Koya's help, the existence of Phoenix would be a mountain she could never cross, but now she, a demon king, was afraid of Phoenix.

This time, neither Rias nor Koya avoided Grayfia during the conversation. After all, Koya had already joined the game, so it was necessary to reveal some things to their allies so that they could be prepared.

"So... are we going to kill Lin Fei in this ranking game?"

"nature!"

"No!!! Miss, please consider your brother and the Gremory family!"

Grayfia finally couldn't help but speak. Her tone was still as cold as ever, and her words were without any ups and downs in tone, but it was precisely this way of speaking that gave people an unquestionable feeling.

"You've exploited your age to recruit outside help, which has already made it difficult for the head of the family to handle matters. The rules of this ranking game prohibit endangering the lives of both parties. If you break this rule, Master Lucifer and your family will become the target of public criticism."

"This……"

"It's okay, I have plenty of time, no rush."

Because this is an urgent mission, it is not affected by the synchronous passage of time, so it doesn't matter how long Koya stays here. He has no chance to kill Lin Fei this time, but there will be plenty of opportunities to kill him.

"But since I'm going to be staying here for a while, Rias, could you help me arrange accommodations?"

"Don't bother with that. Just live with me."

"Is this good?"

"Hmm~~Have you forgotten that I am a fallen demon?"

After dinner, Koneko, Akeno and the others went home to rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle. Koya was also taken back to her address in Kouou Town by Rias, and the maid Grayfia also followed.

"Grayfia? Aren't you going back?"

"The head of the family was afraid that you, Miss, would escape, so he arranged for me to come and monitor you."

"Can't you put it more tactfully?"

"Sorry miss, I'm always like this."

Koya was too lazy to pay attention to the master and servant duo who were staring at each other. After asking Rias about the location of the bathroom, he went to take a shower. He had been busy for several days since he and Fels and the others had been staking out the Daedalus family for the past two days, and he had gone shopping with Ais and the others in the afternoon. Now he just wanted to take a nice bath and then go to bed.

Just as Koya was immersed in the hydrotherapy in Rias's jacuzzi, a red light spot in the sky above Rias's house was looking at him carefully.

"Human? How could he be human? He looks more like a dragon than me, so how can he be a human?"

The Red Dragon Emperor was now somewhat skeptical. In his eyes, Koya's concealment was meaningless. After all, dragons were known for their keen senses, especially their own. He was now certain that the man now enjoying himself in the water was a dragon, and his draconic aura was even stronger than his own and the white creature's. However, the artifact's built-in host detection system indicated that the man before him was a genuine human.

This must be a bug in the artifact system. The Red Dragon Emperor felt that only this situation could explain the reason.

"But who cares! If I had chosen this person as the host, that white guy would have been scared to death! Hehehe, I'm so lucky!"

The Red Dragon Emperor no longer hesitated and rushed towards Koya's location with all his strength. Two seconds later, he was held in Koya's right palm, and the divine domain wrapped around him layer by layer.

"So, what are you?"

'You actually caught me?!'

"Uh, I saw an unknown object running towards me and subconsciously grabbed it. So, who are you?"

Koya looked at the red ball of light in his hand with some curiosity. In the center of the ball of light was a little red dragon. Koya could even clearly see the shocked expression on its face.

"This is incredible! I'm really lucky this time! Hello, young man, are you interested in receiving a God-killing Tool?"

"Artifact? I didn't expect that after I said it depended on fate in the afternoon, I would encounter an artifact delivered to my doorstep in the evening—"

"It's not really a gift, really. This is a reward from this world's consciousness. Because it's an urgent mission, I can't access the mission system here. Since this world consciousness is a very particular person, they've taken the initiative to offer the reward. Don't worry, accept it; it'll be quite useful to you."

"Young man, please don't be silent. Give me some real information."

"Then I wish us a happy future together."

After getting the system's approval, Koya did not hesitate. Following the Red Dragon Emperor's instructions, he slapped the red ball of light onto his right forearm. In a flash, the red light disappeared.

[Ding, the Red Dragon Emperor Armguard and the Black Dragon Template are detected to be highly compatible. Fusion has begun—Fusion complete.]

"What the hell are you, buddy?"

"How do you talk?!"

"No, I mean, are you human, buddy?"

"It's getting more and more outrageous."

Besides that sometimes-ineffective system, Koya now had another person he could chat with directly within his consciousness. Oh… so a chat group could be considered a consciousness chat? That was fine. Koya was quite happy to receive the Sekiryuutei's arm armor. It was a gift from the world consciousness, so it had to be good!

"By the way, what's your name, Red Dragon Emperor?"

"I shouldn't have said this, but it doesn't make any difference. You're such a pervert."

"Hey! You've cursed me three times in three sentences. That's enough."

'Er. Dreig Goch, my name is Er. Dreig Goch.'

When Koya emerged from the bathroom, he happily showed off his Divine Artifact to Rias, like a child showing off a newly acquired toy. Ddraig's appearance was too coincidental, after all. He'd only just asked about the Divine Artifact in the afternoon, rejected Rias's offer, and then obtained it that evening. This could only be explained by fate.

"I say, partner, you didn't even ask me about the function of the artifact, so you don't care?"

"Rias, do you think my arm armor looks cool?"

"A divine weapon? Koya, how did you get one? But the Dragon Hand? It's not a very useful divine weapon. It can only double your strength once, and with your strength, the amplification effect of an ordinary Dragon Hand might not even be one-tenth of it."

Rias knew Koya wasn't from this world, so she knew for sure there was no Divine Artifact within him. Did this mean the artifact had come to Koya after its owner's death? She was happy for Koya, but the ordinary Dragon Hand was certainly a bit underwhelming... The Dragon Hand couldn't even enter Rias's collection vault, instead being given as a reward to her servants.

"My lady, this is no ordinary dragon hand. It should be the Divine Slayer, the Red Dragon Emperor's Armguard..."

"what?"

"So, Ddraig, what is your role?"

Seeing the shocked expression on Grayfia's icy face, Koya realized that the artifact he had accidentally obtained might be more useful than he imagined.

'Infinite amplification. As long as your body can handle it, your strength will double in less than ten seconds, and this strength can be temporarily 'transferred' to others.'

Chapter 209: High School DXD: Fleeting

Around 11:40 PM -

Rias's family and Koya had already gathered in the activity room of the old school building, each waiting in the most relaxed manner possible. With the exception of Asia, everyone else was wearing their normal school uniforms.

Koneko, sitting on a chair reading a book, was wearing fingerless gloves. To be honest, Koya was shocked when he learned that this seemingly smaller girl was the front row member of Rias's team. Seeing her wearing those gloves, Koya felt an inexplicable sense of oppression. Could this be the legendary violent loli?

Rias and Akeno were wearing their school uniforms normally, sitting calmly on the sofa drinking tea.

The most unique person in the group is probably Asia. As a reincarnated demon, she is wearing a nun's uniform at the moment. But I have to say that this girl is really suitable for it. She is obviously a demon but gives people a feeling of holiness. This world is really magical.

Ten minutes before the ranking game began, the magic circle in the activity room glowed, and Grayfia emerged from it. Seriously, the Gremory family is completely deserted... Why does this head maid have to do everything herself? This maid had arrived at the activity room with Koya and the others at eleven o'clock, then immediately left through the magic circle to prepare for the competition. Now everything was ready, and she was even the one delivering the messages. Did the Gremory family have a grudge against her?

"Are you all ready? It's going to start in ten minutes."

But now is not the time to talk about this. Let's ask Rias after this ranking game is over. To be honest, the Hestia family is also in need of a head maid who is in charge of the overall situation. Then we can try to lure this white-haired big sister home. Yes, Koya has a crush on Grayfia. Her appearance accounts for 50%, and the other 50% is because when he was at Rias's house today, he saw Grayfia managing the entire house in order by herself. He thought it would be great if the Hestia family also had a maid like this.

"When the start time arrives, everyone will be transported to the battle area via the magic circle here. This is a battle world created in another dimension. You can fight as hard as you want there. This is a disposable space, so please fight to your heart's content."

Indeed, fighting anywhere in the human or demonic worlds inevitably causes destruction and brings about various impacts, hence the need for a world where no negative impacts are inflicted. This certainly made things easier for Koya; it looked like he could have some fun without restraint later on.

"Regarding this 'Ranking Game,' both families will also be watching the battle in their realms via live broadcasts from elsewhere. Furthermore, the Demon Lord Lucifer will also be watching this battle. Please don't forget this."

"Is your Demon King so idle that he would actually pay attention to the fight between two juniors?"

"Because Demon King Lucifer is Rias's brother."

"Hmm? Oh... I remember now, she seemed to have said that."

Koya remembered that when he said he was very strong yesterday, Rias compared him with his brother, and she followed up with the words "top demon king".

"To put it simply, during the last war between the three clans, all our Demon Kings died. Rias's brother was appointed to take the position of Demon King and became the new Lucifer. Now, [Lucifer] and [Beelzebub] are more like job titles than names."

In the little time left before the match, Akeno began to introduce Rias's family situation to Koya, such as her brother and parents. Rias was no longer in the activity room. As a representative of the participating team, she had gone to the competition venue with Grayfia to check on the situation. Koya was more interested in Grayfia than in Rias's family affairs.

"What about Grayfia? She's supposed to be one of the stronger ones in Hell, right? Why is she working as a maid in the Gremory household?"

"So you're interested in Grayfia."

Akeno showed an ambiguous smile on her face, and then excitedly began to tell Koya about Grayfia.

"Grayfia is the eldest daughter of a close minister of the previous Demon King. Before the new Demon King came to power, she and her family defected to our side. Although she saved her family, she was still a confidant of the old Demon King. So, despite her powerful strength, her status was still low. Later, after the invention of the Devil Pawn, the Demon King Lucifer took Grayfia as his queen. She and her family were accepted into the new Demon King's faction. To repay Lucifer's kindness, Grayfia became the head maid of the Gremory family."

"By the way, here's a little gossip. Demon Lord Lucifer once pursued Grayfia, but was thwarted by everyone. After all, Grayfia's status was so prominent, even the Demon Lord couldn't do anything despite the joint protests of many families. In the end, Demon Lord Lucifer married a pure-blooded demon from the new Demon Lord faction, which finally put an end to the situation. Among those protesting, the Phoenix Family was quite enthusiastic, so the Demon Lord must have played a big role in Rias's participation in the ranking game with the Phoenix Family this time."

The chat ended here. The magic circle in the activity room began to flicker. The three hands of the clock overlapped again after twelve hours, and the first bell rang out.

When the twelve bells rang, Koya and the others had arrived in another dimension. However, this was still the activity room of the old school building, the only difference being that Rias had appeared before them.

"Everyone, I'm Grayfia, a servant of the Gremory family. I'll be the referee for this "Ranking Game" between the Gremory family and the Phoenix family."

Grayfia's voice came over the school PA.

"In the name of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I will witness this battle between the two families. I ask for your guidance. Let's get straight to the point. This time, the battle area will be a replica of Rias-sama and Lin Fei-sama's school in the human world, 'Juou Academy,' prepared in an alternate dimension."

As Grayfia explained, Koya had already walked to the window and looked out. He noticed the sky was white. It was supposed to be late at night, but it wasn't dark at all. From this distance, he could even see the school building where Rias and the others were attending classes.

"The location where each faction has moved is their respective headquarters. Rias-sama's headquarters is the Occult Research Club office in the old school building. Lin Fei-sama's headquarters is the Student Council office in the new school building. Soldiers who wish to be promoted should proceed to the vicinity of the other side's headquarters."

The so-called "transformation" is similar to the rules of chess. When a "soldier" advances to the deepest point of the enemy's position, a special ability can be activated. It can transform into a piece other than the "king." This is a limitation in ranked battles; in real life, it's naturally not so troublesome. Soldiers can consume a large amount of magic power to temporarily transform into any type of piece, gaining bonuses to the piece's power: the castle's strength, the knight's speed, the queen's all-around enhancement, and the bishop's magic power.

In ranking games, protecting soldiers and rushing into the opponent's base camp is a very high-winning approach. After all, the number of soldiers is large enough, and their strength is quite good after upgrading. In ranking games, in order to prevent this uncertainty, the two sides of the battle will generally tacitly send out soldiers to fight to the death.

This time, Lin Fei's side had a total of sixteen soldiers, while Rias's side, embarrassingly, had none. If one were to think of this ranking game as chess... he had a castle, a queen, a bishop, and a king facing two sets of pieces. Even if an international champion showed up, he wouldn't know how to play in this situation.

But... Rias wasn't playing a normal version of chess. She was playing the Manning's ultimate version—

"Koya—I'm counting on you this time!"

"It's time to start. Also, the time limit for this game is until the dawn of the human world. So, let the game begin."

Grayfia's voice fell—

Ding Dong Dang Dong——

The school bell rang.

So the [Ranking Game] begins!

"Don't worry, Rias. I will bring them the most desperate defeat."

Koya jumped out of the window and walked towards the new teaching building at a leisurely pace.

The old school building is surrounded by a vast forest, which adds a layer of natural shelter here. Of course, this shelter is as non-existent in the eyes of Lin Fei and his friends. This time, they are not planning to arrange any tactics at all. Thirty-six people are going to fight five people. Arranging tactics is not an exaggeration, but a complete cowardice.

So the moment Lefiya announced the start of the game, all thirty-six of them stepped out of the new teaching building, ready to take the shortest route across the playground and head straight to Rias's base.

Oh, what a coincidence! Keya happened to have the same idea as them, and they set out at about the same speed. When Keya stepped onto the playground and saw the huge crowd across from him, he smiled, and the thirty-six people smiled when they saw Keya.

But the next second, the group of people could no longer laugh, because a black dragon appeared in front of them. The black dragon was covered with scales that grew up to the sky, and red lines decorated its body. Wings that seemed to be able to cover the sky spread out behind it. Thunder constructed by the power of destruction exploded around it, and the ground it stepped on instantly turned into molten flames. The breath it exhaled seemed to be able to ignite the air, and its vertical pupils with a hint of mockery looked at them.

Magic dragon...

This was the first word that popped into the minds of these demons. They were demons, the most terrifying existences in mythology, but in front of this kind of dragon, these demons lost the will to fight.

【Boost! ！】

two

【Boost! ！】

four

【Boost! ！】