Chereads / Harem Hero / Chapter 40 - Fated Rivals

Chapter 40 - Fated Rivals

Vali is furious, "They told me that you only summon women, you cheating bastard!"

You shrug it off and laugh, "I never said anything like that. I think it's perfectly fair to summon someone who's much stronger than you. Looks like your divine dividing isn't going to be so useful after all."

Issei points to himself, "Leave him to me. That power is something that only the red dragon can defeat..."

Vali shakes his head, "I'm not going to lose to you again, Issei."

"Well that's too bad. Because I'm gonna' beat the hell out of you!"

Before you can get started, enemy mooks pour into the parking lot from every angle and surround you. Damn it – they must have been waiting for you to appear. You grab Issei's shoulder, "You take care of Vali. I'll handle these small fries."

"Got it!"

Issei disappears in a flash of red light, moving so quickly that your human eyes can't even perceive him properly. He rematerializes a second later with Vali clutched between his clawed hands. Both dragons tumble and fly through the air, crashing through the side of the nearest building and out of sight. A bolt of red lightning cuts its way through the herd of mooks as Rias runs over to you.

"Where did these fools come from?" she scoffs. Asia is shaking like a leaf behind her.

"We've gotta' take care of them. This shouldn't be too tough!"

You leap into the fray and punch a robot's head clean from its body, sending it tumbling across the tarmac like a morbid football. Rias claims some skulls of her own as she unleashes a blast of red lightning at the approaching mooks, frying several of them into piles of scrap and wiring. Asia doesn't seem too enthused to fight back herself, hiding behind a magical barrier being emitted from the palms of her hands.

You use some fancy gunmanship and blast more of them with rapid trigger pulls. There's nothing the robots can do to protect themselves from such powerful blasts. They just charge forward and try to overwhelm you with sheer numbers. Vali and Issei soon reappear, tussling and wrestling for control over the other. Their heavily armoured bodies crash down and plough through dozens of the enemy soldiers, destroying them instantly and leaving a huge crater in their wake.

The fight is so intense and destructive that Vali is quickly doing even more damage to the enemy troops than you are. He has little regard for the safety of his so-called allies, presumably as his loyalty lies with the mysterious person who Sundar has recruited to be your rival. They send bolts of energy at each other, delivering kicks and punches that are powerful enough to pulverise a mortal man like yourself.

"Why are you doing this man's dirty work? You're an insult to the lineage of the Red Dragon!"

"Because he's a real man, the one I look up to! And I'll always take the chance to beat some humility into you!" Issei punctuates his declaration with a haymaker of a punch, that sends Vali flying into the brick wall behind him. Vali retaliates by firing blue energy from both of his wings.

"DIVIDE!"

Issei just barely avoids the attack, but Vali is even faster. He dashes onto him and wrestles him back down to the ground.

"DIVIDE!"

There's nowhere for Issei to run now, the power of his sacred gear is drained before your eyes, weakening his abilities and giving Vali the upper hand. You quickly charge your Sledgehammer and take a pot-shot at him. The blast hits his helmet, smashing it into pieces and revealing his face once more. He glances up at you with murderous intent.

"Stay out of the way, you damned nuisance!"

Vali dismounts Issei and marches towards you with intent. This time you manage to put your arms up and block some of the punch that comes your way. You fly off of your feet and into the air, only to land between Rias' breasts as she flies up and catches you. You both fall back down onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"Gah! Are you okay, Rias?"

"I'm fine. Worry about yourself!"

Vali smirks, "She's right, you know. That weak mortal body of yours can't stand up to much punishment, can it? Maybe you should know your betters and quit while you still have the chance."

Issei's body stirs from behind him. He's taken a lot of hits, but the power of the Red Dragon is going to withstand being divided once or twice without issue. Vali is so engrossed in his war of words that he doesn't even notice as Issei begins to wind up for another attack. Vali eventually follows your gaze to behind him, but by then it is too late to stop Issei.

"BOOST!"

Issei gives out a manly cry as he punches the air and sends a ball of green energy flying towards Vali. He deftly moves to the left and avoids the attack, turning to gloat at him in the aftermath. "That was the best thing you could do? You missed!"

"No, I didn't."

Vali realises too late the mistake he has made. The red energy that flies from his gauntlet was never intended to strike Vali himself, you just so happen to be standing in a perfect position behind him. The power boosting orb hits your body and energises you, but there's only one thing on your mind at this moment – pulling the trigger and blowing Vali away.

You fire, and a huge beam of energy is emitted from the front of the gun. Vali is out of position and was unprepared for you being the one to deliver the fateful attack. His armour shatters into pieces as the beam slams against him and sends him flying into the side of the nearest building. You release the trigger to try and prevent any more collateral damage. A charred and bruised Vali only just manages to use his wings to stop himself from falling and hitting the pavement below.

"Guh! You piece of shit..."

Before he falls to the floor, he summons a magic circle underneath his feet and disappears out of sight – three bags of groceries lighter for the effort. Asia and Rias hurry over to you and Issei as you take a moment to catch your breath after such an intense battle. The damage is severe to the surrounding area, but you managed to teach Vali a lesson at least. If this copycat decides to summon him again, it's going to be a tough battle.

You take a moment to catch your breath as Rias and Asia fuss over you. Bruised and battered again, one punch from that guy was almost enough to put you down for the count...

"Dude, this is so cool," Issei gushes. His armour disappears and he reaches out to shake your hand eagerly, "I never thought I'd get to see the real thing in action, not to mention being summoned by you! I'm a huge fan."

"The feeling's mutual, Issei."

"It's nice to see you getting along so well," Rias giggles.

Issei quickly turns to regard them, "Ah! Pres, Asia!"

"I'm so glad that you're both okay," Asia says.

You chuckle, "No need to worry. Issei's got it covered. You really saved my butt there."

Issei scratches the back of his head with that characteristic goofy smile, "Geeze. But why is Vali even here?"

You sigh, "They cloned the Sledgehammer, so that means-"

"There's an evil version of you, who's like... a girl."

"You already know?"

Rias smiles and crosses her arms, "Of course. That's one of the most popular arcs from the tenth volume. Though some take umbrage with the addition of anime original content that extends it to a full season. I think the importance of a rival character deserves a long, well-told story."

"Uh, what she said," Issei nods, "She didn't summon Vali Lucifer in our world, anyway."

What a messy end to your double date. There are seemingly hundreds of dead robot carcasses all over the place – and several of the surrounding buildings have had holes blown clean through them. Issei pats you on the shoulder, "Hey. I gotta' get back pretty fast. Sumire-chan is going to wonder where I've been."

"Sumire?"

Rias shrugs, "His girlfriend. She's rather possessive. Perhaps a fear of having his manhood separated from his body is why he has put his plans for a harem on ice."

Issei objects to the theory, "Hey, come on Pres! She's just that great that I don't need another girl."

"That's what most people do normally..."

"Sumire is cute, funny, and she hasn't tried to murder me yet like my ex. So what if she gets a little jealous when I go to club meetings with you? She's a joker for sure. Says that if she sees me with Asia or Rias again she's gonna' lock me in a cage." Issei laughs off the ever-present threat to his freedom like it's no big deal.

Why does this guy have such strange luck with women?