Siris looked tiredly at the screen before Riser and his Queen Yubelluna. She could see various former comrades moving to different positions across the arena. Her body ached from the beatings her former comrades had given her. Her wrists burned as the chains binding her to the wall chafed the skin. Her battle uniform was tattered, dirty and had splatters of blood on it. She moved slightly, just enough to rattle her chains.
The sound alerted Riser and Yubelluna to Siris, and they both looked down at her, Riser smirking over his shoulder while seated lazily on his chair. "So, the traitor has awakened." he mused. "Riser has seen fit to let you live, only to let you witness the utter futility of Rias and her little entourage." his already condescending grin became cruel.
"I will personally tear Ruto apart for sewing betrayal into Riser's peerage." Siris glared at him. "Now, now Siris, Riser will grant you the time to say good bye, as Riser will destroy him right before your eyes." he taunted, flames sputtering to life in his hands that were quickly put out.
"You don't know him at all Riser. He's told me things. Given the chance, he'd crush you, and there'd be nothing you could do to stop him." Siris informed, a smile tugging at her lips. Suddenly Riser was bent forward, his face right in hers as he grabbed her chin roughly.
"That human can do nothing of the sort. Riser will turn him to ashes and there's nothing he can do." he roughly shoved her head to the side and stood up straight. "Pay close attention when he comes for you, Siris. You'll see why he will crumble before the power of Riser Phenex."
Siris glared hatefully from the shadows. Ruto's right, now that I listen, he really is annoying as all hell. she thought. You don't stand a chance Riser, you damn fool.
Ruto was crouched behind the sports equipment shed with his eyes closed in concentration. He focused on his Sight Wisps, the vision in his mind swimming through the forest where the Wisps were stationed. He heard the sound of snapping twigs, and the Wisps snapped their attention to the direction of the sound. They moved behind a thin line of trees and gazed out as their targets moved through the forest. Two of them were wearing French Maid outfits while the other was wearing… next to nothing.
The fuck is up with Riser and the way he dresses his peerage? The guy revels in this. Douche. Ruto thought dryly.
Kiba, three Pawns headed your way, spring the trap. Ruto ordered. "How did he know they were Pawns?" you might ask. He'd simply done his research on Riser's peerage and was well informed on every one of them.
He saw a crimson magic circle appear in the fog of the forest and shoot out several large spikes of energy. The Pawns dodged the spikes and mocked the trap for its simplicity.
I knew that trap was too simple, but that's not what it's there for. Now we know exactly where you are and where you're going, little Pawns. Ruto grinned, stood and moved onto the track field after disengaging his Sight Wisps.
"Now if I hold position here, Haru and Koneko can regroup with me. But—" he cut himself off when he felt a presence nearby. "Well, well. It seems I have company." two presences in fact. He turned and saw only one of the women behind him.
"So, the silver tongued snake emerges." a woman with short sandy blonde hair said. She wore rough segments of plate armour and a white piece of cloth around her head. She carried a longsword, which was pointed straight at Ruto.
"Karlamine, Knight of Riser. Come to challenge me, have you?" Ruto asked. He'd been expecting her to be in the middle of the arena, as well as the Rook accompanying her.
Huh? There are more heading this way? Alright, not completely what I was expecting but it'll have to do. Ruto thought, not liking that he'd been wrong in his predictions of the battle. Hopefully the others will hurry the hell up and get here so I can fight.
"I guess Riser was right in saying you'd do your research on us. So tell me, why Siris?" Karlamine questioned as she prepared for the first attack. She vanished in a burst of speed and slashed at Ruto, who simply spun on a heel to the side to avoid the strike. All he could do right now was dodge.
"It was simple really." he began as he continually dodged around her attacks. "I'd gotten inside her head on our first meeting. In mere moments I'd sewn the seeds of betrayal. I've gotten a lot of info from her, so I can't have Riser doing anything stupid and hurting her." He kicked he blade to the side and side stepped to create some distance.
He was getting tired and fast. The limits put on him were severely dampening his power, and had left him barely above an average human in terms of reflexes, strength and endurance. He wouldn't last much longer without sustaining injury. He could take on a Pawn easily, but a Knight or Rook was a serious problem.
Karlamine turned counter-clockwise and swung her sword in a luckily sloppy fashion, with the flat of the blade catching Ruto in the ribs. Though it didn't cut him, his weakened state with her Devil strength made for a painful hit much like one from a baseball bat. He slid to the side and clutched his ribs. His breath was short as the blow had winded him.
Dammit. Didn't see that coming. he needed to be able to fight back, but it was just him. As much as he liked breaking rules, some couldn't be broken.
A roaring explosion sounded behind him. He turned and saw that nothing remained of the gym save for flames, ash and a crater.
"Three of Riser's Pawns and One Rook have been eliminated." came the calm voice of Grayfia.
"To be honest, they done goofed. Riser should try looking for Pieces that are actually good, rather than just eye-candy." Tiamat commented.
Ruto saw Haru and Koneko not far from the blast site, with Akeno above them with a pleased look on her face. He heard Karlamine clear her throat.
"As much as I'd like to cut you down in your distraction, it would be dishonourable of me. Now come, face me!" she began her onslaught again, this time having Ruto at a total disadvantage. She gave a jumping knee strike to his chin which made him stumble dazedly. He shook his head to clear his swimming vision only to find Karlamine's sword mere inches away from his head.
There was a loud clang and a shower of sparks before him. Like Lady Luck herself had smiled on him, he'd been saved by Rossweisse, who looked like what he'd describe as an Angel, if he hadn't already seen them.
"Attacking someone weaker than yourself, knowing full well they can't fight back? How low." Rossweisse said to Karlamine with scorn. Rossweisse forced Karlamine back by simply applying more force against the Knight's blade. Rossweisse sat down in front of Ruto in a protective stance.
"Are you alright?" she asked in concern. Ruto grinned while rubbing his chin.
"I am now. Thanks for the save." Ruto replied gratefully. He was actually thrilled that Rossweisse had saved his ass, as he could actually fight now.
I'm gonna have to be careful now and conserve my mana, so no Scale Mail. But… his grin became wicked as he held an arm aloft and chanted a mantra in his mind.
Oh great and hallowed weapon of Brhama, heed my call. I, Uzumaki Ruto, White Dragon Emperor, call you down from Nirvana to smite my foes in the name of your master. Descend and scorch the Earth! Tear the sky and rend my enemies! Brahmastra!
An agonisingly loud shrieking sound caused all on the field to look skyward as a bright orange trail of light blazed through the murky green swirling sky above them. It blinded those who looked at it before it crashed into the track field with a mighty boom. Divine gold lightning arced from the weapon as it stood with its blade lodged in the ground.
It was in the form of a spear, around six feet in length, though its true form and power would be impossible for Ruto to use, as Brahma had informed him. What he perceived as a spear was actually the arrow fired from the true Brahmastra, and even then there were two other weapons stronger than the Brahmastra, the Brahmashirsha Astra and the Brahmanda Astra.
From what Brahma had told him, if he were to try to wield the true Brahmastra, it would destroy him instantly. Merely being in its vicinity would be enough to reduce him to ashes. So when they struck the deal, Brahma had weakened one of the Brahmastra's arrows and altered its shape slightly to be smaller and more like a spear. At best, the Pseudo-Brahmastra was a small fractal of the true Brahmastra's power.
Ruto strode over to the spear, itching to use it for the second time. He grasped it and held it in the air.
"I have the power!" he shouted, a strange echo following his voice. However, it was short lived. With a small poof, it was gone. Ruto stared at his hand for a moment, still trying to process what happened.
"... The fuck?"
Your body doesn't have enough mana stored to use something like that. Weren't you supposed to get something to make sure this exact thing didn't happen? Albion chimed in. She had a point actually.
'Yeah... wasn't Azazel supposed to give me something like that? Like, forever ago?'
Yeah, Codex Machina. Must have forgotten.
That mother fucker.
You might wanna avoid trying to use most of your magic types as well. Right now your body is so limited that your magic would destroy you. And even then, you don't have enough mana to maintain passive spells or use things like the Brahmastra. You sure you shouldn't have sat this one out?
Ruto scowled as Albion told him that he couldn't use most of his arsenal. The limits imposed on him were beginning to annoy him.
So what can I use?
Bodily Reinforcement, Kinetic Acceleration, Trap Seals and basic offensive spells. I'm sure you'll find a way of making it work.
Another explosion rocked the field which shook Ruto from his thoughts. He turned to see Haru rushing towards the smoking crater it made. Then a head of white hair.
Shit, that isn't Koneko is it? Ruto thought in shock.
"One of Lady Rias' Rooks, retired." Grayfia announced. Ruto growled in frustration. His plan so far was falling to pieces.
"Rossweisse, wipe out Karlamine for me would ya? I've got a bit of infiltration to do." Ruto called to the Valkyrie. She nodded quickly as she met Karlamine's blows with ease. Ruto took off, heading straight towards the Riser's base.
Back on the track field, Rossweisse was giving Karlamine a really hard time. The Valkyrie parried and blocked every blow the Phenex Knight threw at her.
"You know you won't win. No matter what you do, I won't be stopped by a Phenex Knight." Rossweisse said as she batted Karlamine to the side with her sword. The Knight gave a grunt of pain and rolled into a crouch. She quickly sprang up and swung down at the Rook, who in turn side stepped and kneed the Knight in he stomach and then kicked her legs out.
Rossweisse aimed her sword down and stabbed downwards, expecting to finish Karlamine off. She rolled away from the Valkyrie, only avoiding her blade by mere inches.
Suddenly Rossweisse was violently sent hurtling across the field, stopping herself from colliding with the side of Riser's base by stabbing her sword into the ground to slow herself down. She looked at her new opponent and narrowed her eyes dangerously.
Stood next to Karlamine was Riser's remaining Rook, Isabella. She was a rather tall woman, with spiky brown hair that had red highlights in the fringe. She wore a dark leather jacket that left her cleavage and midriff exposed, with dark trousers with one of the legs missing. She had combat boots, leather fingerless gloves and a porcelain mask covering half of her face.
"Sorry, but I can't have you dispatching Karlamine right now. But if you'd like to try us both, then feel free." Isabella taunted, raising her fists. Rossweisse pulled her blade from the ground and held it up at her two enemies.
"You've made a mistake in making your presence known. You could have done a joint attack but now I know you're here, I can deal with you." Rossweisse said.
"Three of Riser's Pawns, retired." Grayfia called.
Karlamine and Isabella rushed at Rossweisse, both launching heavy attacks at her. Rossweisse parried Karlamine's blade and seized Isabella's fist simultaneously, shocking them both.
'What the hell!?' Isabella thought. Her wrist was contorted painfully and she was flipped roughly onto her back, while Karlamine came in for another strike, only to have her blade deflected and the pommel of Rossweisse's sword smashed into her chest. She slid on her back against the rough surface of the track field and came to a stop clutching her chest.
"You're both sloppy." Rossweisse commented. Just then Haru and Kiba arrived, quite surprised at how easily Rossweisse was dealing with the other Knight and Rook.
"Whoa. Seriously Rossweisse, I can see why you're a Rook. I don't think these two know what hit them." Kiba said in awe.
"Crap you're awesome." Haru added as he looked on at her and her downed opponents with wide eyes.
Rossweisse wasn't overly concerned about their praise. She felt Isabella grab her leg, and with a strong pull, the Rook pulled Rossweisse's leg from under her.
"Karlamine, now!" Isabella called as she pinned Rossweisse down.