"Not yet…"
Issei's voice came from deep inside the forest. Then he burst out from between the broken trunks, his crimson armor covered in scratches and dust. His aura flared around him as he dashed toward Bikou and Kuroka at incredible speed, tearing through the ground with every step.
"Still got some fight left in you, huh?"
He stepped forward and spun his staff with both hands. The Ruyi Jingu Bang rotated so fast it became a golden blur, whipping up powerful winds around him. Dust and leaves were pulled into the spinning force, circling Bikou like a small storm.
Issei lowered his shoulder and kept charging.
Bikou grinned. "Then try this!"
The Ruyi Jingu Bang shot across the battlefield like a lightning bolt, ripping a straight path through the ground as it headed directly for Issei. The force behind it was so heavy that the earth cracked apart beneath it.
Issei twisted his body at the last second, barely avoiding a direct hit.
But instead of letting it pass, he reached out and grabbed the staff with both hands.
The moment his fingers closed around it, his eyes widened. The weight was insane.
His feet dug into the ground, but it didn't matter. The staff dragged him backward like he weighed nothing, carving two long trenches beneath his boots as he fought to stop it.
Issei clenched his teeth and poured strength into his arms, but the staff kept moving, pulling him with it.
"HAHAHAHAHA! You thought you could just grab it?" He raised one hand casually, "That's the Ruyi Jingu Bang! It weighs more nine tons! Only I, a descendant of Sun Wukong, can wield it easily!"
Then it tore itself free from Issei's grip and flew back toward Bikou. Issei's arms were yanked forward from the sudden movement, forcing him to stumble before he regained his balance.
"Not bad, though. Most people would've lost their arms trying that."
At the same time, Kuroka moved toward Koneko.
Koneko was still on her knees, breathing heavily. Her fingers dug into the dirt, but she couldn't force herself to stand properly.
"Come on, Shirone. Big sister is taking you home."
Before she could get any closer, Rias stepped in front of Koneko. Her face was pale, and her legs trembled from the poison that had entered her body previously, but her eyes were still firm. Crimson demonic power gathered in her palm.
"Stay away from her."
A blast of Power of Destruction erupted from her palm, rushing toward Kuroka at point-blank range. The crimson energy tore through the air, burning away the poisonous mist in front of it.
But Kuroka didn't even move back. She simply raised her hand.
Space bent in front of her, folding into a transparent shield. Rias's attack slammed into it and spread across it's surface.
Rias froze. "H-How…"
Her hand shook as the remains of her magic disappeared from her palm.
Kuroka stood on the other side of the shield with a calm smile, her body overflowing with overwhelming power and control.
Suddenly, the sky above them lit up.
For a moment, everyone froze.
The barrier surrounding the battlefield was filled with a burning orange glow. and heat rolled down from above.
Kuroka, Bikou, Rias, Koneko, and Issei all looked up. A gigantic, colossal, gargantuan fire meteorite was falling toward them.
It tore through the sky like a piece of hell itself, wrapped in flames so bright they painted the forest red. The space barrier trembled under the pressure of its descent, and the ground below began to shake before it had even landed.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Even Bikou's grin disappeared for a second. "What the hell is that…?" he muttered.
Rias stared at the falling meteorite, too stunned to speak. Koneko's ears twitched weakly as she looked up, while Kuroka's golden eyes narrowed in confusion.
Then a calm voice spoke from behind Rias.
"Hmm… good work, Issei."
Kuroka immediately turned her head. Standing behind Rias was Adrien.
His blond hair moved slightly from the burning wind above, and his green eyes watched the battlefield with amusement.
"I'll give you a 6.75 out of 10," Adrien said, glancing toward Issei. "You still need some work, but you pass the first grade of Adrien's 'Making Overpowered People' Academy."
Adrien wasn't very skilled at naming apparently.
Issei, still breathing heavily inside his armor, let out a long sigh when he saw him. "Seriously… you were watching the whole time?"
Adrien shrugged. "Obviously, how else can I grade your performance?"
"Huh? How…?" Her eyes narrowed. "My space barrier should have cut this area off completely."
Adrien looked at her and gave a small nod, as if he was honestly impressed.
"Your space barrier is really good, Kuroka. I couldn't sense anything from outside. No sound, no energy, no movement. Very clean work, really. I still haven't played with space magic before but this is urging me to try."
He smiled. "But it doesn't really matter if I was already tailing Issei and Rias before you put it up."
"So you're Adrien Agares, our superiors told us about you..." Kuroka said glaring at him now.
Adrien ignored her for a moment and looked at Rias. His expression became a little flatter when he saw the blood at the corner of her mouth and the way she was struggling to stand.
Kuroka's confidence returned almost immediately.
She looked up at the flaming meteorite falling toward them and smirked.
"That fireball is just going to slam into the space barrier," she said, her tails swaying behind her. "How exactly is it supposed to move through sealed space?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the meteorite vanished.
Kuroka's smirk froze.
A second later, the burning mass reappeared inside the barrier, much closer than before. The entire enclosed battlefield was drowned in orange light as the heat became suffocating. The trees bent under the pressure, and the ground trembled beneath everyone's feet.
"Like this," he said. "You really thought I couldn't do it?"
Kuroka's eyes widened slightly, but Adrien had already turned his attention away from her.
He stepped closer to Rias and gently patted her head. Rias looked up at him, her blue eyes wide with shock and confusion. She looked like she wanted to say something, but both she and Koneko vanished instantly.
Adrien lowered his hand. "Now then…"
Kuroka reacted first. Her instincts screamed at her, and she jumped backward without hesitation. At the same time, Bikou kicked off the ground and rushed toward her, clearly understanding that staying separated was a bad idea.
Issei noticed it too.
Adrien had not moved yet, but Issei understood what he needed to do. The moment Bikou dashed toward Kuroka, Issei shot after him, his crimson armor tearing through the ground as he closed the distance.
Bikou glanced over his shoulder.
"Tch. Persistent little dragon."
Issei didn't answer. He caught up just as Bikou reached Kuroka's side and threw a heavy punch at him.
Bikou twisted his staff up to block.
At the same time, Kuroka's hands moved quickly. A teleportation circle began to form beneath her feet, its symbols glowing as she tried to escape with Bikou before the meteorite could finish descending.
Even if Kuroka managed to create a space barrier around herself and Bikou, it wouldn't fully save them. The meteorite didn't need to hit them directly. The heat alone would scorch them, and the shockwave from the impact would tear through everything around them.
Adrien appeared suddenly between them.
His right hand landed on Kuroka's shoulder, while his left hand landed on Bikou's. Both of them froze.
Adrien smiled faintly. "Going somewhere?"
Adrien had placed a mark on Issei earlier, an anchor that allowed him to jump to Issei's position whenever he wanted. That was why Issei had chased after them.
"I hereby forbid everyone from moving until I say so." Adrien said
Issei immediately tied to flee but Adrien grabbed the back of his hair, "you too."
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Yo when we reach 300 power stones I'll drop another chapter.