Chapter 325: Intense Training for the Girls...
A flash of light suddenly plunged into a cluster of mountains.
The next instant, accompanied by a terrifying rumble, the mountains were blown away, revealing a crater.
"Huff~~~~!"
A panting sound came from soft lips, with traces of blood at the corners.
Her curvaceous body was now covered in wounds, the once smooth and delicate skin marred by gruesome injuries.
Suddenly sensing something, Rias instantly dodged from her original position.
"Huh?"
She was startled to find a part of her body—half of her devil wing—left behind, severed and trapped in place by a sudden spatial tear.
So, when she came to her senses, the excruciating pain nearly made her let out a cry of agony.
There was no time to dwell on the pain, because a truly fatal crisis was upon her.
Countless magic circles appeared from all directions, and from within these magic circles, the tips of Spears of Light emerged.
Then, the Spears of Light retracted slightly into the magic circles, as if arrows being drawn on a bowstring, ready to be fired.
Thus, Rias immediately exerted all her strength to deploy a defensive barrier.
Almost the moment it formed, the Spears of Light erupted in a dense barrage.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...!
Rias had no idea how long she held on, nor whether it was her power running out or the barrier being shattered that caused her consciousness to fade into darkness.
When her consciousness returned, it felt as if she had jolted awake from a nightmare.
"Are you alright, Rias-senpai?"
"How are you feeling, Rias-san?"
The two who expressed concern in turn were Asia and Valerie.
Both were in charge of healing.
Especially the latter, Valerie, who possessed the Longinus Holy Grail of the Secluded World, which also had the ability to resurrect.
Thus, the current hellish training was truly merciless.
"I'm fine."
Though she said that, Rias did feel a trace of fear from having her consciousness completely swallowed by darkness—was that death?
It really was merciless.
But only through this could they accelerate the growth of their power, ensuring they could survive better when facing real enemies in the future.
"Valerie, are you sure you're okay?"
Rias turned the concern back on her. While the Holy Grail of the Secluded World could resurrect others, the user surely paid a price.
"Ah, I-I'm fine."
Though she said that, Valerie certainly bore the cost.
Resurrection was an act that defied the natural cycle of life and death, and it placed a heavy burden on her.
Moreover, while her Holy Grail could heal wounds and such, it differed from Asia's healing abilities.
First, it was slower than Asia's, and its effectiveness against conditions like poisoning was even weaker.
Her Holy Grail primarily manipulated life force, allowing her to resurrect others, but it couldn't necessarily maintain the body in a normal state. This required Asia's cooperation to achieve perfect healing and resurrection.
Suddenly, a magic circle lit up nearby, and a body wrapped in tattered kimono appeared.
"K-Kuroka-san!"
Asia immediately let out a frightened cry. The one who had been transported over was pierced by several ice spears and seemed to still be alive, which only made it more agonizing.
"Master is r-really too cruel, he even hit th-there, nya!"
While uttering this resentful remark, Kuroka was also coughing up blood.
So, what did she mean by that?
Rias was the first to understand, as she saw an ice spear lodged right in the center of Kuroka's buttocks.
Recalling something, Rias couldn't help but feel a bit resentful herself.
Even now, she should still be considered a maiden, right.
Before Kuroka could even be fully treated, two more were immediately transported over, leaving Asia and Valerie overwhelmed and genuinely afraid that they might not heal them in time, resulting in actual deaths.
In the blink of an eye—
"Haa, finally, no one for now."
Saying this, Asia plopped down on the ground, completely exhausted.
Those who were healed were immediately sent back to the various dueling arenas separated within this alternate dimension to continue fighting.
"Miss Asia, please have this."
Such a voice suddenly came from the side—it was Miss Elmenhilde, bringing her food to replenish her energy.
She wasn't wearing her maid outfit anymore, as it had apparently gotten dirty from some unknown activity earlier. Now, she was dressed in an adorable red dress with a small cloak featuring a hood that looked like either a puppy or a kitten.
Through their interactions over the past few days, Asia had discovered that this Vampire young lady wasn't actually that bad; deep down, she was kind-hearted.
According to Valerie, the reason Elmenhilde often gave off an unpleasant impression was due to her Pureblood Vampire pride acting up. In reality, Valerie also considered her to be one of the more tolerable among Vampires.
"Here, yours."
Elmenhilde also handed a portion to Valerie, though her attitude wasn't particularly friendly—it was as if she were dealing with a stranger.
"Thank you."
Valerie didn't mind her attitude and responded with her usual gentle demeanor.
Then, following Elmenhilde's gaze, she looked up at the images in the sky—footage of the duels taking place in various areas.
What was bizarre was that in every scene, there was that Renji-sensei. It seemed as though he had created numerous clones to duel others, but in reality, each one was his true self, not a doppelgänger.
This seemed to involve some kind of time manipulation or something similar, which she didn't understand.
"Ophis-sama, p-please have this~"
This was Elmenhilde snapping back to reality, having nearly forgotten there was one more person to attend to—the existence serving as the main power source sustaining this entire space: the Infinite Dragon God.
Who would have thought that this legendary being would also be here, and in the form of such a young girl?
No matter how cute she appeared, every time Elmenhilde approached her, she couldn't help but feel an instinctual fear.
In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed. Everyone had temporarily stopped dueling him and instead began challenging each other.
"Come here, Elmenhilde."
"Y-yes."
Thus, with her face flushed, Elmenhilde nervously followed the person who held her fate in his hands.
Every time he took a break, he required her assistance in handling a certain situation, and this was now the fifth break.
The reason given was that ever since she scalded him that day, the condition had been prone to recurring flare-ups, requiring her to perform that specific action to help alleviate it.
"How much have you prepared?"
"Huh?"
"The liquid for reducing inflammation that I mentioned."
"T-this, this... n-no, I don't know how to produce it."
Elmenhilde stammered in response, her face turning so red it seemed about to emit steam.
If a Vampire's finger suffered a burn or minor injury, they would often apply a bit of saliva, which had some pain-relieving and healing effects.
In his current condition, he claimed that the secretions from that particular location also had anti-inflammatory properties, with even better effects.
However, Elmenhilde didn't know how to produce it herself—it seemed to only appear during that kind of massage.
"You don't know how?"
"Mhm."
"Then I'll teach you."
Renji looked playfully at the fidgeting Vampire young lady before him.