Chapter 273: An Actor's Self-Cultivation
Fortunately, Haruto originally possessed strength close to SSS+, and with the enhancements from berserker mode, Mirror Alice, and many bloodline talents, he could hold on for the time being.
He had originally planned to stall Vali until Serafall dealt with Katerea and came to assist.
But when he took a moment to observe the battlefield, he nearly choked on his fury.
Even at this critical juncture, Serafall still refused to deliver a fatal blow to the dark beauty. Coupled with her previous severe injuries, the two were actually trading blows evenly for the moment.
Haruto scanned the entire battlefield and realized it seemed he was the only one being suppressed.
"Red Dragon Emperor, is this all you're capable of? Haven't you even mastered Balance Breaker?"
Vali never ceased his attacks. Each time he absorbed power, he would strike hard while Haruto was weakened, all while relentlessly taunting him.
"Perhaps if I kill everyone you care about, you'll fully master Balance Breaker like I have."
Vali actually stopped attacking and fixed his gaze on the area where Rias and Sona were positioned.
This genuinely angered Haruto, but before he could react, the two Satans suddenly shifted their aura. Their opponents, Zolgear and Katerea, felt it most acutely.
The previously balanced struggle instantly turned into a one-sided beating. Even when they changed tactics to focus on defense, the shadow of death clung to them like maggots to bone, as if destruction and the end could come at any moment.
This shift seemed to affect Michael and Shemhazai as well, who also began suppressing their opponents unilaterally.
Haruto took in all these changes on the battlefield, feeling as if everyone had been acting the whole time.
Truly a group of old schemers who survived the Great War of Three Factions and became leaders of their races. Even in such dire circumstances, they were still holding back against each other, probably using at most seventy percent of their full strength.
Especially the pure and innocent-looking Serafall, who had even deceived her own little sister Sona.
No wonder our dear council president had always been completely dominated by her elder sister. The innocent glasses-wearing girl was like a little white rabbit, no match for the old fox whose acting skills were ingrained in her bones.
While Haruto was mentally criticizing the Three Factions' leaders, Vali was also feeling somewhat cornered.
He had intended to provoke the Red Dragon Emperor to make the fight more interesting, but it seemed he had provoked everyone else instead.
As Vali's teammates, Zolgear and the others, being the primary victims, were also immensely frustrated. Even while being suppressed, they couldn't help shooting resentful glances at him.
Their eyes seemed to say: "Just fight properly, why did you have to run your mouth..."
Although Vali was a battle maniac, his intelligence was still online. If he dared to attack Rias and the others now, he'd probably be beaten to a pulp by Sirzechs and Serafall working together the next moment.
What he craved was an evenly matched battle, not a one-sided beating.
It wasn't that he was scared—he was just young and had trained for much less time than the two Satans. Once he trained a bit longer, he would definitely challenge them properly.
Ahem. So Vali took the opportunity provided by Albion and refocused his attention on his nemesis before him.
"I admit I underestimated you before. I never thought you could reach this level after just over a year of training."
The handsome, magnificent White Dragon Armor hovered before Haruto as Vali's battle-thirsty voice rang out again.
"But I'm going to get serious now. If you truly haven't mastered Balance Breaker, then this battle ends here."
Though it was said to be serious, unless Vali forcibly activated Juggernaut Drive to elevate his power to god-class, the battle situation remained largely unchanged from before.
Apart from differences in realm—or rather, absolute power and speed—whether in close combat skills, mastery of magic, or seizing fleeting opportunities, he was no match for Haruto.
Vali was hailed as the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history, not only in talent but also in practical combat prowess.
But comparisons are odious, and before Haruto, he appeared so inexperienced that as the fight continued, Haruto seemed increasingly at ease.
A natural-born fighter, coupled with numerous combat talents gained from the girls, even if he hadn't engaged in many real battles, no one could easily challenge him.
If not for Vali relying on Balance Breaker to boost his strength directly to Satan-Class, and if neither used their Sacred Gears, Haruto could have defeated him with one hand tied behind his back.
The battle between the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor captured everyone's attention. Several Satan-Class powerhouses couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore; even Rias and the others noticed their half-hearted fighting.
Sirzechs and Serafall had no intention of ending the bloodlines of Leviathan and Lucifer here—after all, they were valuable assets to the devil race.
Michael seemed to have many questions for Ornis and intended to capture him alive from the start.
He was indeed strong, but capturing a Satan-Class powerhouse alive was no easy task.
Shemhazai was in a similar situation; Kokabiel was, after all, a key figure among the fallen angels. After losing Azazel, he didn't want to lose another Satan-Class powerhouse.
As for Zolgear and the others, their thoughts were simpler. After the earlier beating, they knew they stood no chance. With their opponents holding back, their only thought was to escape—no one was foolish enough to fight to the death.
There was no deep-seated hatred; it was all for profit.
As Haruto displayed his strength and resilience, he became the centerpiece of the battlefield.
The Satan-Class powerhouses tacitly ceased their half-hearted skirmishes.
"With the appearance of the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history, it seems the Red Dragon Emperor, as his rival, isn't weak either," Serafall remarked, magical light flashing over her as her previous injuries vanished, restoring the cute, busty magical girl. Watching Haruto block the White Dragon Emperor's attacks with his crimson steel dragon claws, she cheered, "The Red Dragon Emperor has only been training for a little over a year, right? I was already amazed to hear he reached SS-Class, and now it seems he's broken through again."
Sirzechs nodded. "Yes, it must have been a recent breakthrough."
Haruto's enlightenment and breakthrough had only occurred a few days prior; even Rias hadn't had time to test its effects, so the news hadn't spread yet.
Now, the other Satan-Class powerhouses also noticed Haruto's true strength.
Aside from his astonishing rate of advancement, what surprised them most was his ability to fight the White Dragon Emperor evenly despite being a full major realm below.
Realm was one thing; combat prowess was another.
Just as there were high-scoring underachievers among ordinary people, the supernatural world had those with high realms but weak combat abilities, though such cases were rare.
Haruto was the complete opposite, displaying combat prowess far exceeding his realm.
Even with the two Satans' vast experience, they had never seen anyone at SSS-Class rival a Satan-Class powerhouse.
As a prodigy, Vali, with the special abilities of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings, ranks among the strong within the Satan-Class.
However, it now appears that once Haruto breaks through to the Satan-Class, he would likely overwhelm Vali.
It's worth noting that without using his Balance Breaker, Vali only possesses SS+ level strength, roughly on par with Rias currently.
Katerea, too, only managed to barely reach the threshold of the Satan-Class after merging with the ominous power of the Abyss, and she is significantly older than both Haruto and Vali.
It can be said that among the younger generation, Haruto's personal strength firmly places him as the top contender.
If Vali is a prodigy, then Haruto is nothing short of a monster.
Clang—
The crimson steel dragon claws and the white dragon armor clashed once more before separating instantly. The power within Haruto's body was abruptly halved, coinciding with the end of his berserk state's duration. The intense discomfort created an opening in his stance.
Beneath the white dragon-shaped helmet, Vali accurately seized the opportunity, a glint of azure light flashing in his diamond-shaped dragon eyes.
"Heh—!"
The razor-sharp White Dragon Claw pierced through Haruto's defenses, deflected the Red Dragon Claw, and delivered a heavy blow to his solar plexus.
An intense wave of weakness left Haruto in poor condition. Now struck by this powerful force, his heart even skipped a beat, causing him to plummet from mid-air like a kite with its string cut.
However, what caught him wasn't the hard, cold ground but the warm, soft embrace of Rias and Akeno.
The girls had been anxiously watching Haruto's battle with the White Dragon Emperor, though Rias and Akeno were the quickest to react.
Yuuma and the others, arriving slightly later, could only stand by and watch Haruto with concern.
"Haruto, are you okay?"
"Mmm... I'm fine." Haruto wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up. "But I might need everyone's help from here on out."
Trying to defeat Vali with SSS-class strength was still too much of a stretch. Before reaching god-class, the abilities of the White Dragon Emperor and Red Dragon Emperor were truly too overpowered.
No wonder the three factions placed such importance on those who inherited these two Sacred Gears.
An ancient, ornate chain pattern emerged on Haruto's neck, with an ethereal blue light radiating from him and connecting to Rias, Akeno, and Yuuma.