"Yuuto!" Rias and the others called out in worry.
But instead of worrying about himself, horror emerged from Yuuto's face as he saw a shadow creep under Rias, "Rias-senpai!!! Watch out!!!"
Kisuke, with his right arm covered in a bloody aura, mercilessly aimed at Rias' stomach and intended to punch straight through it. Rias was momentarily stunned due to the massive killing intent that had just hit her and could only watch as the fist came closer in slow motion. The match would have already been decided right then, if not for a tree trunk-like arm that pushed her and Gasper to the side.
In the place of Rias, a man with a colossal body covered with rock-hard muscles appeared and caught Kisuke's fist with a similarly gigantic hand. However, the owner of the overly muscular body underestimated the force behind Kisuke's punch and could only stay his ground for barely a second before being sent flying towards the residential area, just like Yuuto.
Kisuke, meanwhile, couldn't follow up with any more attacks because of a Dragon Claw that was coming from behind him that he had to dodge away from. The owner of the claw didn't want to let him go and immediately pursued Kisuke. In any case, he didn't have to defend Rias now because the moment Vasco pushed her away, Gasper had also already melted into her shadow and transformed her into a humanoid dark beast with ten giant wings and a third eye with a deep red pupil.
At this time, Tiamat came from the skies directly above the group before opening her mouth and releasing a flaming breath.
Rias didn't want any more initiative taken from them and immediately released a ball of pure Destruction to meet Tiamat's flames. Unfortunately, Tiamat was waiting for this and the flames she released suddenly sped up, meeting the ball of Destruction far earlier than Rias had anticipated and caused an enormous explosion near the ground.
The explosion pushed Rias away, but aside from that, there was no other damage to her and her Forbidden Invade Balor the Princess form. However, when she surveyed the status of the battlefield once again, she was shocked to see a dome barrier with the power of Darkness and Time covering the rest of her team that hadn't engaged anyone.
Not only that, but those who had protected her strangely hadn't returned to their positions yet, only to see that each one of them was facing someone. Rias returned her sight back to Tiamat who was flying above her, "So this is what you wanted."
Tiamat shrugged her shoulders and said, "Working as a team is actually the worst thing we could do."
Rias sighed and replied in defeat, "We could have discussed this you know? It was truly terrifying to imagine my own death in a Rating Game."
"That would be boring, wouldn't it?"
[It's here!!! The curtain of the match has just been raised yet there were already numerous breathtaking actions!!! As expected, Team Urahara Shop couldn't do what it usually does with Team Rias Gremory, one of the highly evaluated teams and one of those who could potentially get the grand prize of the tournament!]
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"...Is it always like this?" Riveria asked while sitting straight up with her back drenched in a cold sweat.
"Hmm? Like what?" Sakura tilted her head and asked.
"...I mean, is it always this intense?"
Cleria and Sakura looked at each other before the former replied, "There's nothing particularly intense yet, though? It's just the opening act."
Riveria immediately shut her mouth.
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Vasco wanted to return to Rias' side, but he was blocked by a cloaked Goddess, "I would really like it if I could have a bout against Kisuke Urahara."
"I apologize, but you have to deal with me today." It was the first time that Athena's true voice was revealed and those paying close attention immediately perked their ears up.
"If you're still going to hold back, then that wouldn't be enough to stop me."
Before Athena could reply, however, she suddenly heard Kisuke's voice from behind her, "Be careful. That old man is the real deal. I tried breaking his hand but he almost broke mine with a squeeze."
Kisuke's warning came to Athena as a surprise because she knew that he isn't someone who would warn of something trivial.
But instead of being worried, a big smile crept onto Athena's face. Except for that one instance where Kisuke instantly suppressed her without being able to pull out her full power, she hadn't fought seriously in a long time, "Holding back would only be an insult to a warrior of your caliber."
Putting both of her hands forward, Athena summoned her Divine Weapon, a golden longsword. The resulting Divine Aura from it ripped apart the cloak she was wearing and revealed her long golden hair that fluttered in the wind, golden eyes that shone brightly like the stars, golden armor that emphasized regality and gracefulness, and the fearless smile that was etched on her beautiful face, "Let's dance, Hero who has reached Humanity's peak!"
Instantly guessing who she is, a similar smile of excitement appeared on Vasco as he took out his Holy Weapon, Durandal II, "It'll be my honor, Goddess of Olympus!"
In an instant, both of them were wreathed in power and disappeared from their spots, before instantly appearing in the middle with their swords crossed, generating a shockwave that reduced everything standing on the ground rubble, except for the barrier that Nyx and Seekvaira had erected.
When the second clash struck, another shockwave flew out but 50 meters away from its original position. The same shift happened on the third clash and their exchanges kept going on until they reached the commercial district full of buildings, destroying everything in their path.
[...] Even the current announcer was left speechless at the sudden revelation, [One of the Goddesses' mysterious identities has finally been revealed!!! My viewers, I'm sorry for the long and awkward pause I had at the beginning but please understand that I'm too shocked at this new information! For those who don't know, the Goddess who's clashing with Vasco Strada right now is Lady Athena from Olympus who is said to have disappeared out of nowhere! For her to appear now, and within Kisuke Urahara's team, the mysteries only keep piling up!]
But only a few seconds later, he received a note and became wordless again for a moment before apologizing again, [This is just in! Apparently, after the investigation of the dark barrier, experts have found out that it was made from Seekvaira Agares's unique Clan Trait and the Divine Power of a Goddess who was pronounced dead not too long ago, the Primordial Goddess of Darkness, Lady Nyx! Just what's going on!?]
As soon as those words left his mouth, the number of viewers surged up and various theories came upon online boards that were discussing the current match.
And the most popular theory was that the playboy Kisuke Urahara had eloped and ran away with the Goddesses.
Of course, Olympus itself didn't have any business with the current fun theory-making and gossiping and was currently scrambling to gather as much information as they could so that they could plan ahead and release a statement if things went south for their public image.