"So in the end, I can't win?" Issei sighed, disappointed with his own strength as he helplessly stared at the gauntlet on his left arm.
"Come on, Issei, don't give up!" Akeno shouted from a distance. "Don't you want to touch my... don't you want the mysterious special reward?"
"T-Touch? Touch her..." Issei murmured in disbelief. Of course, he realized what Akeno was doing, teasing him as always without committing to anything, but even so, the slight hope that she was being serious ignited a spark within him.
"No! I can't give up! For my dream, for Akeno's breasts, I have to win! If one Boost isn't enough, then I'll use another!"
Beside him, realizing what was about to happen, Kaito could not help but sigh internally. 'As expected of the Oppai Dragon.'
"Boost!" Issei shouted, hoping to multiply his power again.
"Issei, that's not..."
Kiba, nearby, listening to everything, wanted to explain to Issei that it did not work that way, that there was a reason it was called 'Twice' Critical, but when he saw Issei's Sacred Gear actually activate, his eyes widened.
Even an ignorant person like him knew about the most powerful Sacred Gears, and there was only one that could multiply your strength more than once.
"Get off me!" Issei said, using all his new strength to get Kaito off him.
"I did it, I multiplied my strength by two again. I'm a genius!" Issei proudly declared, but when he saw Kaito and Koneko looking at him more seriously while Akeno and Kiba stared at him in disbelief, he realized that something was wrong. "W-what happened? Did I do something wrong? I didn't break it, did I?!"
At the possibility that he had broken his Sacred Gear, Issei suddenly panicked.
"Don't be stupid, Issei, there's no way to break your Sacred Gear. And there isn't a way for you to make it do something that it isn't capable of doing either"
"Eh? Then how did I do it?" He asked, looking at his gauntlet.
"It's simple, your Sacred Gear was never a Twice Critical" Kaito replied.
"Incredible! I knew it, the protagonist couldn't have something so simple" Issei said excitedly. "With my new super powerful and mysterious Sacred Gear, I'll conquer them all. And besides... I'll defeat you."
Issei pointed at Kaito with a smile as he declared his future victory.
Kaito smiled. "Heh, but Issei..."
Kaito moved, appearing in front of Issei again. "I'm still stronger than four humans"
"Boost!"
Kaito's fist was caught by Issei's gauntlet, lowering his fist before responding, "What about eight?"
Kaito tried to pull his arm back, making Issei strain himself to keep him from doing so. Kaito took advantage of the situation to kick his legs, destabilizing him for an instant before Kaito struck him in the stomach with the same leg, making him stagger backward.
"Damn it, Kaito, this is a fist fight, can you stop kicking?" Issei complained.
"Sorry, my teacher was a cat" Kaito apologized as he moved again.
With Issei's current strength, he was able to clearly see the movements that had overwhelmed him before, dodging the blow by ducking down before delivering an upward right punch to Kaito's jaw.
Kaito struck him with an elbow, which Issei caught with his gauntlet before receiving a kick to his side in return.
"A-again with the kicks" Issei said irritably.
"With equal strength, technique wins, Issei"
"Then..." Issei raised his left hand again with a smile. "Boost! What happens if my strength is twice yours?"
"Tsk" Kaito clicked his tongue. Issei's strength already surpassed his.
"Hahaha, Kaito, and don't think that's my limit. In ten seconds, I'll be able to double my strength again!" Issei declared confidently when he saw Kaito's defeated expression, defeated for the first time.
But when he saw Kaito's next actions, his expression changed.
"W-wait, why do you have..."
Bang!
Kaito did not let him finish and immediately fired the weapon.
"Damn it, why do you have a gun? That's cheating!" Issei complained while rolling to his right to dodge the bullet.
"Self-defense, Issei. You have a gauntlet that doubles your strength every ten seconds, and I have a gun. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"
"Bast..."
Bang!
"Ah, that hurts, you really shot me!"
Bang! Bang!
"You thought it was just for show?" Kaito mocked.
Both of Issei's legs had already been hit by bullets, so he could not move properly. Of course, with his speed, he should have been able to dodge them, not really the bullets themselves, but he should have been able to react before the gun was fired. But as Kaito said before, Issei had no technique at all, so it was quite easy to predict him and shoot him.
"Oww, oww, this hurts, was it really necessary to go this far?"
"Don't be such a crybaby, Issei. Your healing and resistance are multiplied as well, so it barely counts as an injury. Besides, don't you want to be healed by Rias?"
"H-Healed by Rias?!" Issei murmured, blushing as he remembered his last healing, being unconscious meant that he did not remember anything beyond waking up afterward.
Bang!
"Arghhh! My arm!"
"Are you going to surrender or should I keep going?" Kaito asked kindly.
"I surrender! I surrender! Stop shooting me!" Issei finally said.
As soon as he did, finally mentally at peace, his body, overloaded from using so many Boosts for the first time, collapsed unconscious to the ground while his gauntlet disappeared.
"...The winner is Kaito!" Kiba said after processing the situation.
Immediately, both he and Akeno ran over to check Issei's body.
"Uff. He's fine, he just overexerted himself" Akeno said with a relieved sigh.
"Akeno, that was..."
"Yes" Akeno interrupted Kiba. "One of the Thirteen Longinus, the most powerful Sacred Gears capable of killing gods, the Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, the Boosted Gear"
"That's an exaggerated amount of titles" Koneko joked.
"Pffft, they really are" Akeno laughed. "But he deserves all of them.
We have to inform Rias about this, and the true identity of Issei's Sacred Gear must remain secret for now"
"Understood" everyone nodded.
"By the way, Kaito, did you really pull out a gun during a duel?" Akeno changed the subject, looking at Kaito with an incredulous smile.
"He pulled out a Longinus, so I think it's fair" Kaito shrugged.
"Haha, it could be. If Issei were stronger, even if you used a tank, it would still be unfair to you" Akeno agreed. "Kiba, can you take Issei to the clubroom and explain the situation to Rias?"
"Of course, but... what about you?"
"Me?" Akeno smiled, licking her lips. "I'll be there in a moment, I'm just going to fulfill a promise quickly"
...
"...Where am I?" After a few hours, Issei finally woke up.
"Issei, you're awake!" As soon as he woke up, Issei was greeted by Rias's cheerful voice.
This immediately brought Issei back to his senses, and he looked around. To his disappointment, he was in the clubroom, lying on the sofa.
"Eh? Why am I here?"
"Your body overloaded after using so many Boosts for the first time, which left you unconscious as soon as you relaxed" Rias explained. "You were unconscious for a few hours"
"N-no, I remember that. I mean... how was I healed?"
"Unfortunately, with your resistance and healing multiplied several times, the bullets barely did any damage to you. Most of your injuries were simply fatigue caused by overexertion" Akeno explained his situation, knowing what Issei meant. "This time you didn't need healing as intense as the last time. Basic superficial healing and a little rest were enough"
"That means..." Issei looked Rias up and down, thinking that although her clothes fit her well, she would look much better without them. "No way! Kaito, why didn't you shoot me more?!"
"Ah" Rias finally realized what Issei was thinking and smiled before sitting beside him on the sofa and giving him a mischievous smile. "You don't have to be so sad, Issei. You'll have plenty of opportunities to prove your worth in the future, and perhaps... you'll receive rewards in return"
"R-Rewards!" Issei repeated, breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, Akeno whispered into Kaito's ear.
"Now she's actually using lust to control him"
"Ah!" Seeing the interaction between the two, Issei also remembered the previous promise. "The reward, what happened with that?"
"Well, about the reward, let's just say it's already been taken care of" Akeno replied nervously before turning her blushing face away.
"W-what's with that reaction? How could Akeno, who is used to seducing people, act like that? What happened?" Issei asked in shock.
"Well... I didn't expect it to be that intense" Akeno murmured in a whisper.
"...Y-you're joking"
"She is, Issei, she's just teasing you back" Kaito intervened.
"Seriously?!"
"Hehe" Akeno instantly regained her normal expression and laughed childishly.
"What a relief" Issei sighed.
"Issei, let's talk about your Sacred Gear" Rias said, waiting for them to finish their conversation.
"It's amazing, right? Even someone with grades like mine knows the level of doubling your power every ten seconds"
"It is powerful, yes, but above all, it is dangerous. Especially for you"
"For me?" Issei asked doubtfully.
"That's right. Your Sacred Gear is the Boosted Gear, one of the thirteen Longinus capable of killing gods. Its power is as simple as it is lethal, it doubles your power every ten seconds.
However, the fact that your power doubles does not mean that your body can withstand that power. You have to train so that you can withstand more power inside your body without your body exploding.
Besides, as I said, the Boosted Gear is a legendary Sacred Gear. That means everyone in the supernatural world knows about it, and many would be willing to do anything to obtain it" Rias explained worriedly.
"I-Is it really that dangerous?"
______________________________________
I have a new fic about Syndrome in Marvel. Go check it out if you're interested.
Name: Marvel: Creating a World Where Everyone Is Super.
(Don't worry, this message will only be here for one month and then disappear)
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)