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[NSFW] - Rising Star [DxD Riser SI]

Monty Python voice: I'm not dead yet! I think I'll go for a walk!
Hopefully the alternating perspectives in this chapter aren't too confusing. You guys finally get to see Alisa's sacred gear!
Chapter 7
Alisa was bored.
She was never one to sit idle and talk. All the annoying, pointless chin wagging without getting to the point of things… it was almost enough to bring her to tears. After becoming a devil, it only got worse. Together with how much better she felt without having to deal with it, no wonder Riser had such a low opinion of her choice in major as a human. She agreed; really, what was she actually thinking back then? Oh, that was right. She was thinking about how many scholarships she could get and what her highest grades were back in high school.
Dumb as shit, but what teenager wasn't? Except for Riser. Or especially Riser. Riser was a lazy fuck who somehow still broke her reality over his knee every so often just because he felt like it. In a good way.
She let her eyes and attention wander. She could get away with not listening to the talks for a bit, right? Everyone was just taking turns saying nothing, and if that changed and she missed something it wasn't like falling asleep would be better.
Almost immediately, she found a kindred spirit off in a corner. Guy with fox ears like their host, but only two tails. He also had a sword, which mostly only the bird spirit people things had, so that made him stand out a bit. Tengu, she thought they were called. They mostly had really long noses like Riser told her, which was how she could tell. The fox guy looked about ready to keel over, himself. His head kept dropping slowly but surely, followed by an upward jerk every couple seconds as he fought to stay awake. He probably would have gotten in trouble for it already, but his corner was pretty obscure.
After a minute or so, he seemed to notice she was watching him. They traded expressions for a bit, until he eventually looked around to make sure nobody was watching him and slipped out a side door with a gesture. It was probably a bad idea, but… Alisa kind of didn't care anymore. It seemed like the formal conversation wasn't actually going to get interesting any time soon; even if a few of the major points had been hit, they were surrounded by so much unneeded window dressing that it was going to take ages to finish at this rate. She wasn't really needed here except for Riser to show off that he had an underling anyways.
Alisa followed.
~~Riser POV~~
"I am sure you understand, while your offer so far is intriguing, you are quite unknown. I cannot, will not bring your request before Amaterasu-Sama without some assurance that you will not immediately use this opportunity against her, or against my people." Yasaka, who had turned out to have every bit as much booba on display as media had ever portrayed a kitsune with and then some, gestured with the fan in her hand. Well, I supposed the stereotype had to come from somewhere. "What motivates you, your ambitions, and such. I have come to see that you are… somewhat more open about yourself than some would think."
Ah, so she was finally going to stop beating around the bush so much. Just after Alisa snuck out with that younger tengu, too. In fact, if I were to bet, I would say that was what got her to do it; she definitely noticed them leave. Not that I thought she wanted them gone for this, so much as she was using them as a measuring stick for when it was dragging on too long.
I thought about her question for a few seconds. I could tell a lie of course. She was expecting that I might, and wouldn't mind too much so long as it didn't look like I was hiding something too bad. But really, I didn't think it was worth the bother. Really, if the youkai leader was willing to drop some formalities, I was about ready to drop the whole set. "Ambitions, huh? ...Yeah, I don't really have those."
Yasaka raised her eyebrows slightly, but allowed me to continue: "I just want to do what I feel like without stepping on too many toes. Marry my fiancee and a few other women. Live a long life with them in a world where there aren't too many atrocities happening all the time. I guess I wouldn't mind giving it up if I got to die making a difference for something I cared about enough, but I would rather not have to. I figure, being strong can help with all that, so I might as well."
For our entire conversation up to this moment, Yasaka had worn a polite smile. It had changed a few times, but this was probably the first time she was genuinely amused and approving at the same time. "Some would say that makes you more ambitious and greedy than anyone, don't you think?"
"Probably." I shrugged, letting the stiff formality drain out of me even more. I learned that kind of thing as a child of one of the richest devils, but I didn't really care for it. Bluntness always got me farther, faster anyways. Maybe more so than in my previous life, but that may just have been a matter of my lacking the boldness to actually do it when I was that person. "I don't really care, to be honest. I don't think it should be so much to ask, so that's their problem."
As if to hammer my preference for directness home even more, Yasaka actually laughed at that. Very quietly, more of a shoulder-shaking chuckle than anything else, but she made no real effort to hide it. "An honest devil, who wants peace. Many of my people would say such a thing was impossible."
Serafall scoffed in her seat next to me, but didn't say anything to elaborate. Instead, she addressed the minor issue we had all been ignoring. "We should probably go see what those two are up to, before they start an incident."
Both Yasaka and I nodded, knowing exactly whom she was talking about. We hadn't forgotten the 'subtle' departure of our people that had occurred a few minutes prior.
~~~~
"That was taking so loooong," the fox spirit groaned. "I'm Bushida Daiki. You?"
As wary as she had ever been told to be of telling her name to a spirit, Alisa had learned much better since becoming a devil. As such, she felt only mild trepidation answering him, especially since he had given his name first. "Alisa Allen. It's good to meet you, I think?"
"I sure hope so. We can have a lot more fun out here. I can't show you anything really important, but…" He wiggled his eyebrows leadingly, glancing up and down her briefly leather-clad form.
Ah, that was what was going on. Unfortunate, she would have to go back to the boring negotiations. "I'm afraid that I must decline. I dress this way by my preference and for my king, but my body is his and his alone." That should be formal enough to get the point across politely, right?
Fortunately, Daiki simply shrugged, seeming not too put out. "Oh well, was worth a shot. Looking's free though, I hope? Sneaking out is one thing, but if I let you wander around on your own I'll get in real trouble, you know."
Yes, if she hated being looked at with lust, Alisa would never choose to dress the way she did. "Just make sure you only look," she told him. "A look is flattery, touching is off limits." 'Without permission,' she mentally added, but at this point permission would have to come from Riser, not just her. And he would never give it to another man, so it was a moot point. He was surprisingly jealous that way, but Alisa liked it. It made her feel more valued.
"Nice." Daiki pumped his fist. "Wasn't really expecting anything more, really. Maybe hoping for a bit of a friendly fight, I guess. Would like to see how I compare to a devil."
That gave Alisa pause. She hadn't actually done much fighting, had she? Given the whole thing with rating games, she probably should. It was all well and good to practice on her own, but she hadn't had much in the way of sparring partners. Just a few of the Phenex servants, who were admittedly supposed to be decently strong and skilled as members of Riser's parents' peerages.
"I was reincarnated pretty recently, and I have a sacred gear," she admitted, "so I may not be the best person for that. I wouldn't mind, though. I could use the experience."
The fox-man grinned. "Great! I know exactly the place."
~~~~
"Give me a second, I'll find where they went." I wasn't worried about anything sexually untoward going on. Alisa was damn loyal, and she knew how I would feel about that. I imagined what I wanted, and a small magic circle popped up over my hand. From it, a thin cable of magical energy appeared with an odd little sensory attachment on the end. After a quick glance at Yasaka to make sure I had her permission, I sent it snaking quickly out the door that Alisa had left through.
It didn't take long for me to find them by tracking down Alisa's power, helped by our connection as I was. "They're in some kind of arena, big dojo thing, looks like they're getting ready to spar. Should we go watch?"
"I know the place you are referring to." Yasaka nodded. "I see no reason to stop this if you don't. It should be a good intermission for our discussion, I believe."
"So long as they keep it friendly," Serafall agreed. "Can you tell them to wait for us?" she asked me.
"Sure." I brought the sensor end of my ethereal spell cable to Alisa's attention; it was a trick I had already used with her for communication before, and she recognized my energy in it, so she didn't hesitate to plug it into the side of her head when it transformed into a pointy cable jack thing. "Hold off on starting your spar," I sent to her. "We're going to come watch."
~~~~
"If you say so," Alisa sent back through Riser's link, before turning to address Daiki: "Hold on, the important people want to watch."
"Eh, so long as they aren't mad." He shrugged. "Anything to say before we start? Need to get a weapon or anything?"
Alisa thought for a moment, before deciding that good manners were probably more important than the element of surprise in a friendly spar. "I hope that sword isn't important, if you plan to use it." That was sufficiently ambiguous, she guessed.
"Not at all," Daiki noted cheerfully. "It's alright, but I won't cry if it breaks. Thanks for asking, though. Just don't tell Sensei I said that. He hates how many of these things I go through."
"Good."
~~~~
"I hope he's not intending to rely on that," I remarked as the kitsune, Daiki, drew his sword.
"Oh?" Yasaka smiled. "I'm sure you know something I don't, but do let me see if I can figure it out first."
"I don't know about this either," Serafall mentioned as the two finished making ready. Daiki with his sword, but Alisa was unarmed. True enough, we hadn't actually told Serafall about Alisa's sacred gear. It hadn't come up.
~~~~
"You ready?"
Daiki grinned, drawing his sword and settling into a stance. "As I'll ever be."
"Then hit me!"
Daiki didn't need to be told twice. He charged, and Alisa met him in the middle. She felt the adrenaline pump through her as his sword descended. It was a beautiful strike, fully controlled and aimed such that it wouldn't do serious damage; this was only a spar, after all. Even with live steel, but that was to be expected in a fight between supernatural beings. Alisa brushed it aside almost casually by the flat of the blade, the edge not even coming into contact with her skin. She was no knight piece, but Daiki wasn't moving that much faster than an unaugmented human.
Daiki skipped to the side of her retaliatory punch with just as much ease, swinging in again from her side. Still cautious, but a bit faster and more aggressive. He was feeling her out, trying to see what she could safely take. Again, she deflected it, and then with the third. Alisa grinned. Her blood was up. This was way more fun than she had expected.
On the fourth, she couldn't quite avoid the edge of his sword. Not that it actually mattered; metal screeched on metal as it failed to penetrate the back of her wrist, and Daiki fell back. She let him, not that she could actually do all that much about it just yet. He was faster than her, by a fair margin.
~~~~
They charged. Daiki's blade described a perfect arc, only to be pushed aside by Alisa's bare forearms.
"Some kind of hardening spell," Serafall guessed. "She didn't actually touch the edge there, but she's way too comfortable with it."
"Not exactly. Though not entirely wrong, either," I admitted. Three more exchanges passed in the time we were talking, each one like the first, before Daiki retreated to consider his options when the sound of metal against metal rang out on the last one. "Pretty obvious both of them are just messing around right now, if you know what she's got going on."
~~~~
She didn't have to wait long before he came back in, this time only briefly. Two strikes, aimed at far more vital spots than before. She blocked one with her knee, but the other hit home on her stomach… in both cases, they were deflected harmlessly.
"I see why you asked about my sword," Daiki commented ruefully as he fell back once more. "It wasn't made to take this kind of punishment. That's a nice technique you have there." Power gathered around him, tinged with a more tangible battle lust than what Alisa felt in herself. His own grin widened, sharing in the sentiment. "Sorry, but you're going to need some of those phoenix tears from your boss."
~~~~
Daiki went back in with another pair of probing strikes, this time being deflected by Alisa's knee and skimming off her abdomen harmlessly. "I do hope she's not intending to rely on durability," Yasaka remarked. "Daiki is unusual for one of my kin, in that he has preferred to learn from the tengu, quite ignoring his natural abilities ever since he was small. They have ways to cut through such defenses, some of which I know for a fact that he has learned. He even spent some time in Europe, learning western styles."
"It's not that, it's just…" I paused, waiting for the right moment as Daiki sunk into a stance. Power built around him and his blade, and he moved. His blade came down, faster than ever. Its edge was focused, sharper than sharp. There was no chance for Alisa to avoid it. To stop it would take a devil with far more power than she had. Perhaps if she were a knight she could deflect it, but as a rook she held no chance. It bit deep into her forearm.
~~~~
The blade came down. Too fast to dodge. Too fast to deflect. She could only block. It bit deep into her arm, severing muscle, skin and bone. A clean cut, that would go straight through and cut off her hand.
It halted suddenly, halfway through. Not one drop of Alisa's blood was spilled.
Alisa was hungry.
~~~~
I grinned. "...No kind of metal is ever going to harm Alisa." The woman in question twisted her arm, and the blade was wrenched from Daiki's grip. Bringing it to her lips, she bit down on the blade's tip, and the loud report of shearing metal rang out across the arena. He backed away warily as the rest of his sword seemed to melt, the hilt falling to the ground. The liquid metal gathered in a blob on her arm, rapidly shrinking, then vanishing entirely. Oh yeah, she was definitely showing off.
"...I'm afraid I'm lost," our fluffy host admitted.
Serafall on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on. "Iron Eater. That's Iron Eater." She turned to look at me. "How in the Hells did you find and recruit the holder of Iron Eater?!"
"Sheer, dumb luck," I said smugly, as if I wasn't admitting that any skill of mine had absolutely nothing to do with it. "I seduced her because she was hot. She didn't awaken her sacred gear until after I pieced her and mentioned she had one. Really, it was more of an afterthought than anything."
~~~~
"Okay, what the fuck?!" Daiki looked on in disbelief as Alisa's arm drank the steel of his sword. "That is just bull!"
"What's the Japanese again… Itadakimasu?" Alisa licked her lips. "Bit late, but thanks for the food anyways. I hope you weren't depending on that."
"Hoo yeah, I really don't know what to do about this," Daiki admitted. Even so, he sank into a new, unarmed stance. "Guess I'll have to get creative. Don't think I can actually do anything to you without a blade, but I'll damn well try!"
~~~~
The fight was kicking into high gear, with both combatants moving and striking with their full capacity, but now it was obvious that Daiki was at a severe disadvantage. Not only did he not have his sword, but Alisa's skin had taken on a noticeable metallic tinge. Even though his unarmed skills were still fairly impressive, and his blows hit with force that would have turned a normal human into a smear on the ground now that he wasn't holding back, he simply couldn't do anything to hurt Alisa.
Alisa in turn, simply wasn't fast enough to hit the kitsune.
"Explain, if you would?" Yasaka requested. "I'm afraid that I am not terribly familiar with the more obscure sacred gears. There are a lot of them to know, you understand."
"Iron Eater is one of the unique sacred gears that don't reach Longinus-class," I filled her in. "The user can absorb anything made of metal and take on its properties at will. It doesn't show up very often, and it's not not all that powerful offensively, so it's not very well known. Pretty highly regarded by those who do know about it, though. There's not much a user can't tank. Er, not many hits they can't take, I mean."
"'Not very often' he says," Serfall pouted. "You're getting a real kick out of this aren't you, mister? There have only been two recorded users, ever. Both of them died of old age, because once they absorbed enough metal there wasn't anything that could actually hurt them."
"Only mostly true, according to my resear- Hold on, that's new."
~~~~
They were getting nowhere. It was a decent workout, trying to hit Daiki, but trying was all she was doing. Daiki in turn, was delivering powerful blows that hit her and did absolutely nothing. Given she was overlaying the toughness of over a dozen separate high-strength alloys at once, it would have been damn impressive if they had. Still, the fighting spirit of it was starting to fade.
"So? Are you prepared to receive my assistance?" The familiar voice of Talos entered her thoughts.
"You can talk to me like this?" The distraction caused her to take an extra hit or two, but it wasn't like it mattered. She got over it quickly enough anyways. "I don't recall ever saying I didn't want your help," She answered. "You just decided to throw me into the distance before I could ask for details."
"A fair enough response." The bronze giant sounded amused. "I shall simply allow you to use a bit more of my power. How it manifests… well, that is up to you." The presence of his voice faded. Within her, metal began to move.
Daiki's next punch came in, but this time, metal flowered from the point of impact. Dozens of curved blades, each one razor sharp on the inside, closed around his fist in an instant like the jaws of a bear trap. He was forced to stay still instead of withdrawing, lest his hand be shredded. From them, more blades, bars, and cables sprouted, and in moments his arm was thoroughly caged up to the shoulder. Neither one of them moved.
"I win," Alisa pronounced.
Daiki stood there, clearly trying to figure out a way of escape from his current position for a few seconds, but he quickly came to the same conclusion. "That you do," he agreed.
As quickly as they grew, the metal bits retreated and were reabsorbed into Alisa's skin. A moment later, even the metallic sheen of that faded. "Good fight?"
Daiki nodded. "Good fight. I don't think I've ever run into someone who countered me so thoroughly. It was educational."
Alisa extended her hand to shake. "Glad to know you don't hold a grudge." She felt silly a second later, remembering that they were in Japan, but Daiki only chuckled and accepted the handshake before also offering her a bow, which she did her best to return.
"I spent some time in England, I get the concept of a handshake," he informed her. "It's only fair. Anyways, we're done playing entertainment for the living weapons of mass destruction over there." He nodded towards the three primary members of their audience, though they had certainly gathered plenty of extra spectators during the course of the spar. "I'll have to see if I can come up with something to deal with your ability… sacred gear?"
Alisa nodded. "Iron Eater. Though, Talos is actually bronze, so…"
"Nice, never heard of it, but it's pretty amazing. I'll have to try and come up with something. Maybe we can spar again in a few years."
Another fight like this one, against a stronger enemy who might actually have a chance to hurt her? It went against much of what she had thought she knew about herself, yet… "I'll look forward to it." …She did not lie.View This ThreadUnread Watched Threads
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