On the other side, Leo was also praising Utaha.
"Not bad at all, senpai. Your control over the barrier is getting smoother."
Leo was very satisfied with Utaha's performance.
Even if the end result was a one-shot, the technique she displayed wasn't simple. First she compressed the barrier into a single plane, blocking her opponent's attack while tripping her up. Then she unfolded the barrier from all directions. The whole sequence was seamless. Koneko didn't even have time to react before she was trapped.
If Utaha had hesitated even for a moment while shaping her barrier, Koneko might have gotten a chance to counter, and the almost-cooked duck would've flown away.
Being able to one-shot her opponent was entirely thanks to Utaha's mastery of her Sacred Gear. Even a little less precision and she might not have achieved that outcome.
"Not bad," Utaha said, clearly pleased with herself as she flicked her hair. "Though the main reason was that my opponent wasn't that strong. Otherwise, this might've been a pain."
That was true.
Among Rias's servants, Koneko was currently the weakest.
Her talent for demonic power was only average, and she didn't have a Sacred Gear. Although she wasn't human before her reincarnation and carried a powerful force inside her, she refused to use that power at all. Because of that, she could only develop the trait of the Rook piece, and even then she could only build toward close-combat ability. Her options were extremely limited.
Her hand-to-hand ability wasn't bad, but against barriers created by Create World, she had no answer. Utaha could simply deploy a barrier around herself, sealing herself inside and protecting every angle. Koneko, unable to break the barrier, could only stare helplessly from outside.
With her current strength, Koneko could bully Low-Class Devils just fine, but she would struggle against a stronger Mid-Class Devil.
Utaha, on the other hand, relied on the overwhelming offense and defense of Create World. As long as she didn't run into a High-Class Devil, almost no one could do anything to her—including Yukino, if she didn't use her Sacred Gear.
It was simply a bad matchup for Koneko. Utaha winning effortlessly wasn't surprising at all.
"That makes us one win and one loss," Utaha said, turning to Yukino. "It's up to you now, Yukino."
Yukino nodded and looked to Leo.
"Go," Leo said—not to her, but toward Akeno Himejima, who had already stepped into the arena. His eyes narrowed. "Be careful. Rias's Queen is very strong."
After all, she had grown up alongside Rias, receiving the same education and training from the Gremory House. Her strength couldn't possibly be low.
Compared to Rias herself, Akeno probably wasn't far behind.
"I know."
Yukino understood well enough.
Aside from that, the fact that Akeno held the position of Queen piece already said everything. That piece carried the traits of all other pieces—
The defense and offense of the Rook piece,
The magical power of the Bishop piece,
The speed of the Knight piece…
The Queen piece possessed all of those traits. It wasn't merely versatile—it was powerful to the point of being unfair.
There was only one Queen piece in a set, worth the value of nine Pawn pieces. It was proof that any devil reincarnated with the Queen piece would be unnervingly strong.
Even in a society as status-oriented as the devil world, a Queen piece servant wasn't treated as a mere subordinate. They were the King's trusted confidants, aides, or personal assistants. Pureblood devils who looked down on Low-Class Devils still wouldn't dare treat a Queen piece lightly.
Most devils reserved the Queen piece for someone they trusted most—sometimes a family member. It was also why devils typically brought their Queen piece with them to formal occasions; the position alone was enough to warrant respect.
It was only because Leo didn't have a Queen that this situation existed. Otherwise, sending a Bishop worth only three Pawns to fight a Queen worth nine—regardless of whether you could win—would normally get you laughed at.
A Bishop daring to challenge a Queen?
Do you even know your place?
Thankfully, Yukino wasn't an ordinary Bishop. She was one of only thirteen Longinus possessors in the world.
"Please teach me, Himejima-senpai."
Yukino stepped forward from behind Utaha, her expression calm and composed.
"I should be the one saying that," Akeno replied with a bright smile. "My opponent is one of only thirteen Longinus users. Please go easy on me, Yukinoshita-san."
"...I won't go easy on you," Yukino said after a pause, her tone flat. "I'll be fighting at full strength."
Excluding Leo and Musashi, Akeno was likely the most dangerous opponent Yukino had faced so far.
Leo and Musashi had only sparred with her before, never going all out.
Which meant that, up to this moment, Akeno might be the strongest threat she had encountered.
Naturally, she had to give everything she had.
"Boom!"
With a sharp rumble, a distorted ice princess over three meters tall appeared before Yukino.
A terrifying wave of cold spread out from around the princess, freezing the air of the gymnasium in an instant, turning it thin and biting.
The temperature plummeted.
Snow flurries filled the air.
Just as she'd said—Yukino went all out the moment the fight began. White mist billowed through the entire gymnasium.
Seeing this, many people's expressions changed.
"Is that the legendary Absolute Demise?"
Including Rias and Sona, everyone looked toward the icy princess, feeling the temperature drop rapidly, their faces tense.
Even Akeno, whose eyes were usually half-closed in a gentle smile, opened them fully. The warmth in her expression faded, replaced by a dangerous sharpness.
"Ahh, how scary," Akeno said with a soft laugh. "Since Yukinoshita-san insists, I'll also fight with everything I have."
As she spoke, Akeno's demonic power surged. Her Kuoh Academy uniform vanished, replaced by a shrine maiden outfit.
Pitch-black devil wings unfurled behind her—an odd contrast to the sacred miko attire, yet somehow harmonious on her.
She flew upward, lightning crackling around her.
Yukino also spread her devil wings and rose into the air, the ice princess beside her exhaling waves of frigid wind. The pressure was overwhelming.
The two devils hung suspended midair—one wreathed in cold, the other blazing with lightning. Their presence grew more terrifying with every second.
Everyone watching held their breath.
One was the famed "Priestess of Thunder," Rias's Queen.
The other was a Longinus wielder.
This matchup promised far more than the previous two fights—it commanded everyone's full attention.
Then, at a certain moment, both of them moved at once.
"Fwooo—"
The ice princess blew out a surge of freezing wind, twisting it into a blizzard that rushed toward Akeno.
"Lightning!"
Akeno extended a single finger. Lightning gathered at her fingertip before lancing forward like a brilliant spear, meeting the blizzard head-on.
"BOOM!!!"
Blizzard and lightning collided in midair, erupting with a deafening explosion like a meteor strike.
Neither Yukino nor Akeno paused. The moment they unleashed one attack, a second followed. Blizzard and lightning clashed again, again, and again—shockwaves tearing through the gymnasium.
Ice formed across the floor only to be shattered immediately by stray lightning. Explosions rippled through the battlefield.
"Not good!"
Seeing the escalating destruction, Sona paled and shouted:
"Tsubaki! Strengthen the barrier!"
Tsubaki and the other Sitri servants responded instantly, pouring more demonic power into the gym's barrier, reinforcing it dramatically.
"Retreat!"
"Move back!"
Leo and Rias quickly pulled their servants away from the center of the battlefield to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
In the midst of all this, Yukino and Akeno were already clashing at full power.
Yukino controlled the ice princess, whipping up blizzards and forming towering ice mountains inside them, hurling them at Akeno with overwhelming force.
Akeno beat her devil wings, dodging the falling ice while releasing bolts of lightning, tearing apart the storm and slipping out of Yukino's attack range.
"Thunderfall!"
Seeing Yukino form several massive ice mountains at once, Akeno narrowed her eyes and raised one hand. A huge lightning magic circle opened above her.
From within, a colossal pillar of lightning burst forth—first shooting upward, then crashing down like divine judgment, roaring straight toward Yukino…
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200 p.s for extra
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