The next day.
Arthur stood alone in the middle of a vast, barren wasteland, cracked earth stretching endlessly beneath a dull, colorless sky.
This was not the real world, but a pocket dimension carefully constructed by Georg's Balance Breaker.
Arthur rolled his shoulders once and smiled faintly.
"Ready when you are, Leo."
He said calmly.
Across from him stood an eight-year-old boy with dark skin contrasted sharply with his ash-grey hair and a simple tracksuit.
Leonardo simply nodded as his purple eyes were unnervingly calm.
He lowered his palms toward the ground, fingers spread, and his shadow began to writhe unnaturally.
"Anti-Monsters..."
Leonardo muttered, his voice steady despite the surge of power.
"Bandersnatch and Jabberwocky."
A violent purple shockwave erupted outward from his body, tearing through the wasteland.
The ground cracked and buckled as shadows burst free, expanding, condensing, and solidifying into grotesque forms.
From Leonardo's shadow emerged massive humanoid shapes.
Headless golems formed from dark, obsidian-like material, each with a glowing red core embedded in its chest.
Their movements were slow but deliberate, each step shaking the land beneath them.
Then the ground split apart entirely.
A colossal 200-meter-tall Anti-Monster rose from below, towering above the rest, with Leonardo standing atop its shoulder, arms folded, gaze locked onto Arthur far below.
Jabberwocky.
Around it, twelve 150-meter-tall Anti-Monsters fully manifested, forming a silent ring around Jabberwocky like sentinels.
Bandersnatch.
From a distant ridge, several figures watched.
Georg stood at the center, his expression focused as he kept his Dimension Create active.
Heracles stared with wide eyes, grinning ear to ear.
"Ohoho, yeah! This is gonna be so awesome!"
He laughed loudly, clenching his fists and leaning forward.
"Hey, Regulus, you seeing this?"
Inside his mind, the golden lion stirred.
(I am.)
Regulus' voice carried a rare note of interest.
(The boy's creations are impressive. I'm curious how it'll fare against Arthur.)
Heracles barked a laugh.
"Haha! You hear that, Leo? You've got the Lion King watching!"
He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"You got this, Leo! And after this, I've got first dibs on fighting him next!"
Georg's brow twitched as he glanced sideways at Heracles with visible disappointment.
"…You are an idiot."
Georg muttered.
Valerie stood with her arms crossed, eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"I wonder who would win in the end?"
She said quietly.
Lavinia nodded beside her, her sapphire eyes reflecting the monstrous silhouettes.
"Leo's still young, but his power already feels overwhelming. Arthur trained him well."
Lavinia murmured.
Georg adjusted his glasses, eyes never leaving the Anti-Monsters.
"And the most interesting part? Arthur explained it to us before about Leonardo's Anti-Monsters, which possess extremely high resistance to magic and are programmed to analyze their opponents and identify their weaknesses."
He paused, then continued more gravely.
"But these particular monsters... Bandersnatch, who replicates itself when damaged, and Jabberwocky, who grows stronger with every injury it takes... They are on another level entirely."
Valerie frowned slightly.
"Then how is Arthur supposed to handle this?"
Lavinia chuckled, making everyone look at her.
"Val. I think the real question you should be asking is... how is Arthur supposed to handle this without hurting Leo?"
Back on the battlefield, Arthur let out a low whistle as he looked up at the towering figures standing in front of him... menacingly.
"…Impressive."
He admitted.
Inside his mind, his thoughts were different.
(So this is Annihilation Maker's forcefully activated Balance Breaker by that Beelzebub guy.)
He glanced up at Leonardo standing calmly atop Jabberwocky.
(And Leo turned it into a standard summon.)
Arthur's smile widened just a little.
(That means he already surpasses the original Leo in the DxD timeline.)
Just then, Ddraig's voice echoed within him, deep and amused.
(You've trained that boy well. I didn't expect him to reach this point so soon.)
Arthur nodded slightly.
(Yeah, I know. After all, I trained the kid.)
Arthur replied mentally.
The thirteen Anti-Monsters shifted simultaneously, their red cores pulsing as they locked onto Arthur.
High above, Leonardo leaned forward slightly and raised his voice.
"I'm ready, Arthur!"
He shouted.
The twelve Bandersnatches marched forward in perfect unison, the ground trembling beneath their massive strides as the red cores embedded in their chests began to glow brighter and brighter.
Without warning, all twelve fired concentrated beams of crimson energy erupted forth from their cores, converging toward Arthur in a blinding light.
Arthur's lips curved into an excited grin.
In a flash of red light, his Boosted Gear gauntlets materialized around his arms, the familiar weight settling comfortably as he raised his right hand and planted his feet.
The continuous laser barrage slammed into his open palm, the force of it carving trenches into the wasteland as his boots skidded backward far across the land.
Dust and debris were thrown into the air, the sound of destruction filling the pocket dimension.
Yet Arthur didn't flinch, and his arm didn't waver.
"Not bad, Leo."
Arthur remarked casually, his voice carrying easily through the chaos.
With his free hand, he reached out and summoned Excalibur Mimic, the Holy Sword shifting shape mid-air as its surface flattened and expanded, transforming into a massive, gleaming mirror.
The reflected light rippled across its surface for a split second before Arthur twisted his wrist and shouted.
"Pendragon Return!"
The beams rebounded instantly.
Twelve beams of energy screamed back toward their origin, slamming into the Bandersnatches' chests and shoulders.
Several of the Anti-Monsters staggered, their massive frames lurching backward as scorch marks spread across their bodies.
One of them dropped to a knee, the ground cracking beneath its weight.
For a moment, it was silent.
Leonardo's eyes widened slightly as he stared down from Jabberwocky's shoulder, clearly not expecting such a clean reversal.
Even Lavinia and Valerie stood frozen, their breath caught in their throats.
Then Heracles burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Did you see that?! That was sick!"
He yelled, pumping his fist.
"Shut up, Heracles."
(Shut up, Heracles.)
Georg and Regulus said simultaneously.
Arthur lowered the mirror. Excalibur Mimic already reshaping itself as he rolled his shoulders.
"Alright, Leo."
He said lightly, looking up at the ring of towering Anti-Monsters in front of him.
"My turn."
He charged forward.
The Holy Sword twisted and expanded again, this time forming into a comically oversized mallet, its head wider than Arthur's body.
One of the Bandersnatch regained its balance and roared soundlessly as it hurled its massive fist straight at him, air exploding from the sheer speed of the strike.
[BOOST!]
Arthur met it head-on.
The mallet swung upward, colliding with the incoming fist in a deafening impact that sent a shockwave rippling outward.
*BOOM!*
The surrounding earth shattered, dust erupting in a circular blast as the Bandersnatch's arm was forced aside.
High above, Jabberwocky reacted instantly, raising its enormous palm to shield Leonardo from the violent winds.
Leonardo clenched his fists, eyes locked on Arthur as he silently commanded the remaining Bandersnatches to surround their target.
They rushed him all at once.
Arthur remained calm, almost amused, as the Anti-Monsters closed in.
One lifted its foot, attempting to crush him beneath its weight, but Arthur merely stepped into the motion and threw a sharp uppercut with his free hand.
[BOOST!]
The punch connected with the sole of the giant's foot, the amplified force detonating upward.
The Bandersnatch was thrown off balance and crashed onto its back, its leg tearing free at the joint as fragments scattered across the battlefield.
Two more opened fire with their laser beams, but Arthur spun the mallet, its form flattening and reshaping into a massive shield just in time to absorb the blasts.
The energy dispersed harmlessly across its surface.
Another Bandersnatch lunged forward and grabbed Arthur, its fingers tightening as it attempted to crush him in its grip.
The Anti-Monster strained, its arm trembling, yet Arthur remained completely still.
Slowly, almost unwillingly, the creature's hand began to open forcefully by Arthur, who looked up at it, unimpressed.
The shield twisted again, its edge sharpening as it transformed into a gigantic axe.
With a swift downward swing, Arthur cleaved through the Bandersnatch's wrist, severing the limb cleanly.
The Anti-Monster recoiled as Arthur kicked off its falling hand and launched himself upward.
Then from his back emerged a single pair of demonic wings that unfurled, and Arthur rose to their level, hovering effortlessly as the remaining Bandersnatches regrouped.
Some charged forward with massive fists, others fired their lasers in overlapping patterns, attempting to box him in, and the rest tried to grab him in their palms.
Arthur weaved through the chaos, wings beating as he maneuvered between attacks, parrying strikes with his shifting weapon and striking back with precise, boosted blows.
[BOOST!]
Each activation sent ripples of crimson energy through his body, his movements fluid, controlled, and devastatingly efficient.
From atop Jabberwocky, Leonardo watched everything unfold in stunned silence.
This was nothing like the glimpses of power he had seen during training under Arthur.
He wasn't struggling; he wasn't even rushing.
He was having fun battling one of his greatest creations.
Leonardo's jaw tightened as the awe in his eyes slowly gave way to fierce determination.
If this was the gap between them, then he would close it himself.
He straightened, purple eyes burning as he stared down at Arthur, silently vowing that he would push his mentor far enough to make him take this seriously.
Back to Arthur.
His facial expression shows that he was genuinely enjoying himself.
He drifted through the air amid the towering Anti-Monsters, weaving between massive fists and beams of light, his Excalibur Mimic shifting shapes with each motion as if it shared his mood.
Inside his head, the battlefield noise faded into the background as he casually spoke to the red dragon residing within him.
(This kid's doing better than expected.)
Arthur thought, parrying a Bandersnatch's punch and countering with a boosted strike that sent it skidding across the wasteland.
Ddraiɡ's deep, amused voice echoed in response.
(Hmph. Better than expected is an understatement. Still, he won't last long if he keeps this pace.)
Arthur smirked as he ducked under another swing.
(Wanna make it interesting?)
(Hmm? What do you propose?)
Ddraig rumbled, clearly intrigued.
(How about the usual wager?)
Arthur proposed as he cut a laser beam in half.
(Hmm... Very well, partner.)
Ddraig continued confidently.
(Five minutes. That is how long Leonardo will last before exhaustion catches up to him.)
Arthur laughed softly as he flipped over a laser beam, wings beating once to stabilize himself.
(I'll give him ten. Maybe even fifteen if he manages to awaken his Balance Breaker mid-fight.)
(A bold claim. You truly have high expectations for the boy.)
Ddraig replied.
(Of course. After all, I-)
Just as Arthur finished the thought, every instinct he had screamed at once.
His smile vanished.
Arthur twisted sharply in mid-air and crossed his arms, Excalibur Mimic snapping back into a solid blade just in time as a massive fist slammed into him from the side.
The impact detonated like a meteor strike, a thunderous boom ripping through the pocket dimension as Arthur was sent flying.
His body tore through the air for kilometers, the ground below cracking and splitting from the shockwaves.
Arthur grunted, wings snapping open wide as he fought to regain control, spinning once before stabilizing himself with a powerful beat.
He hovered there, staring ahead, brow furrowed.
"What the fuck?"
Arthur muttered.
From the drifting dust, a colossal silhouette emerged.
Arthur's eyes widened slightly.
It was Jabberwocky.
The massive Anti-Monster stood tall, its red core blazing brighter than before, its arm still extended from the punch it had thrown.
Unlike the Bandersnatches, its presence felt stronger and heavier, as if the air itself was being crushed under its weight.
Arthur let out a low whistle.
"Oh, so you're joining in now."
But that wasn't what caught his attention next.
Below him, the battlefield began to shift.
Arthur's gaze snapped downward as the twelve Bandersnatches he had already damaged began to move again.
Their limbs regrew themselves, cracked torsos sealed shut, and then something far more shocking happened.
The severed arms and legs he had cut off earlier began to twitch, glow, and reshaped itself, forming new torsos and red cores as entirely new Bandersnatches clawed their way into existence.
In moments, 24 Bandersnatches now stood across the wasteland; they all began turning toward Arthur in perfect synchronization.
Arthur stared for a second.
Then he laughed.
"Hahahahahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Arthur said loudly, his grin returning wider than before.
He looked up toward Jabberwocky's shoulder.
Leonardo stood there, feet planted firmly atop Jabberwocky, purple eyes glowing faintly as he watched everything with intense focus.
Arthur cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
"So are you done playing spectator mode, Leo?"
For a brief moment, Leonardo didn't respond.
Then he nodded.
"Get ready, Arthur. I'm not holding back anymore."
Leonardo yelled back, his voice steady but burning with resolve.
The spectators felt it instantly.
Heracles' grin faded into something more serious as pressure rolled across the battlefield.
Lavinia stiffened, her eyes narrowing as the flow of power spiked sharply.
Valerie swallowed, her fingers gripping her skirt as goosebumps ran up her arms.
Georg adjusted his glasses, eyes sharp behind the lenses.
"So the real battle has begun."
Leonardo raised his arm and pointed forward.
"All units..."
He commanded, voice carrying unnaturally far.
"Annihilate."
Jabberwocky roared silently as it stepped forward, the ground collapsing beneath its weight.
Around it, all twenty-four Bandersnatches surged into motion, charging as one massive tide of towering Anti-Monsters, fists clenched, cores blazing, laser fire already beginning to form.
The battlefield shook violently as they closed in.
Arthur hovered there, wings spread, crimson aura slowly rising around him.
He looked at Leonardo, pride clear in his eyes, his smile softer now but no less fierce.
(That's it, Leonardo. Show me what you've got.)
Arthur thought, readying himself.
Ddraig's voice echoed with low excitement.
(Heh. Looks like this fight just became interesting, partner.)
Arthur tightened his grip on his Holy Sword, power building as 25 Anti-Monsters rushed him from all sides.
"Bring it."
DxD
Hello readers...
I'm back from my personal slice of Hell known as college...
Add this fanfic to your library or whatever...
Throw stones at my face if you wanna...
Thank you, everyone, and see you later...
... Fuck, I need a gallon of coffee... and maybe a girlfriend...