As Rias's first servant and the Queen piece of the Gremory House, Akeno Himejima possessed every trait of the Evil Pieces—but what she excelled at most was fighting with pure demonic power.
Like Leo, Rias, Sona, and Yukino, she was a pureblood-style devil who could manipulate demonic power to create lightning, ice, fire, wind, and illusions, even summoning thick fog. She was a true all-rounder in long-range combat.
But she wasn't called the "Priestess of Thunder" for nothing. Although she could create many supernatural phenomena, lightning attacks were her specialty—she could release them freely, and their power was nothing to scoff at.
Normally, the lightning she fired from her fingertips was the weakest form of her attacks, but also the fastest. Because of that, fingertip lightning was her most commonly used technique—and that alone was enough to crush the majority of devils. Anyone below a High-Class Devil simply couldn't withstand it.
On top of that, Akeno could unfold a magic circle to summon a massive thunderstrike, forming a lightning pillar. Its destructive power was outrageous; even a High-Class Devil's full-force attack might not compare.
She also knew how to use magic circles to amplify her lightning, increasing its speed and strength, allowing her to unleash different grades of lightning in a steady escalation—breaking down her opponent piece by piece. Her combat style contrasted sharply with her elegant yamato nadeshiko appearance; it carried a distinct streak of sadism.
Because of this, Akeno's fellow servants both respected, adored, and feared her. She was gentle and considerate in daily life—a perfect big-sister figure—but once she entered battle, she became a queen who would casually torment her opponent and drive them into despair. The contrast was extreme.
Anyone who let their guard down because of her ladylike demeanor usually ended up like Koneko earlier—reduced to charcoal by lightning.
No, wait—Koneko had only looked like charcoal because Utaha had intentionally held back. Her injuries actually weren't serious. Akeno's opponents, however… they really could be burned black by lightning.
Now, Akeno had unfolded a magic circle and released a giant thunderbolt toward Yukino, sending her instincts screaming.
"Ice Princess!"
Yukino called out to the twisted ice construct behind her—Absolute Demise reacted instantly.
Crack crack crack crack—
With a tooth-achingly sharp sound, the ice princess blasted absolute-zero frost upward, forming a massive ice wall that shielded Yukino.
"BOOM!!!"
The colossal thunderstrike crashed into the thick ice wall, erupting in a monstrous explosion that filled the gymnasium with blinding lightning.
Countless shards of ice burst outward like pieces of a shattered mountain.
A huge portion of the wall was obliterated. It crumbled, collapsed, and scattered under the shockwave, the destruction sweeping through the air like the sky itself had cracked open.
If not for the barrier erected by the Sitri servants, the walls would have fallen, half the floor would have split apart, and even the ceiling might have blown off. That was how terrifying the aftermath was.
Even so, Yukino couldn't fully withstand the attack. After enduring for over ten seconds, the massive lightning pillar finally shattered what remained of the ice. She had no choice but to flap her devil wings desperately and dodge, her escape more than a little disheveled.
"Hah…"
Yukino clicked her tongue in a rare break from her usual composure. But she didn't slow down—she immediately signaled the ice princess, whipping up wind and condensing more frost.
Across from her, Akeno showed no intention of letting up. Seeing the lightning miss Yukino, she unleashed fingertip lightning at high speed, firing bolt after bolt to blanket Yukino's position.
The freezing breath of the ice princess condensed into enormous blocks of ice that rose like barricades, intercepting the lightning. Each block shattered under impact, but they still managed to shield Yukino.
"Hehehe…"
Akeno licked her lips, her smile twisting into something wicked. The graceful yamato nadeshiko aura evaporated instantly, replaced by the thrill of a predator. Laughing softly, wings beating, she surged forward to close the distance.
Yukino, of course, refused to let Akeno close in. The ice princess blew out another wave of frost—this time forming thousands of ice shards that poured toward Akeno like a freezing storm. Lightning met ice in midair, colliding again and again.
The entire gymnasium was filled with the two of them darting and weaving—both displaying exceptional speed and precision. Ice and lightning overlapped and burst in continuous intervals, the spectacle far more intense than the previous two matches.
"Akeno-senpai…"
Kiba Yuuto and Koneko Toujou both watched with expressions full of worry.
Rias said nothing, but her eyes were locked on the battle above. Her arms—crossed over her chest—tightened unconsciously.
Leo watched calmly beside the others. Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru, and the rest kept their eyes fixed upward, completely unable to look away.
As for the Sitri servants—they were utterly stunned.
"Th-that's really a fight between Low-Class Devils?"
Nimura Ruruko stammered.
Indeed—whether it was Yukino or Akeno, their power had far surpassed the Low-Class tier. But officially, they were still Low-Class Devils who hadn't been promoted yet.
Even so—
"There's no way these are Low-Class Devils."
"In pure power alone, these two are completely at High-Class Devil level!"
Kusaka Reya and Hanakai Momo gulped heavily, their faces pale.
"Akeno-senpai is one thing—she's always been strong. Even before Rias-senpai debuted, Akeno already had the title 'Priestess of Thunder' and a huge reputation in the devil world."
"But what about Yukinoshita-san? Hasn't she only been a reincarnated devil for, what, a few months?"
Yura Tsubasa and Meguri Tomoe were sweating nervously, questioning their own eyes.
And it wasn't just them—Sona and Tsubaki were both shocked.
"She can fight Akeno evenly…"
"Is this the power of a Longinus?"
Even they hadn't expected Yukino to be this strong.
Finally—even Akeno herself couldn't help but praise Yukino mid-battle.
"It's incredible to think you were just a normal human only a few months ago, Yukinoshita-san."
As Akeno darted through the air, dodging twin ice glaciers and blasting apart oncoming ice rocks, she spoke sincerely.
"…I've seen far more outrageous things than that."
Yukino replied calmly, casting a discreet glance toward Leo.
To her, he was the true walking cheat.
She had been reincarnated with enough natural demonic power to stand among the strongest Mid-Class Devils. Achieving matching combat power after learning proper techniques was only natural.
During these months, all she had really done was learn to use her demonic power efficiently and bring out her latent potential. Reaching High-Class Devil combat ability was largely thanks to her Longinus.
But Leo?
He had hidden a Longinus ranked second in the world…
Grown from High-Class to Ultimate-Class power in months…
Gained four pairs of wings…
That was truly ridiculous.
"Maybe so," Akeno said, following Yukino's gaze toward Leo before smiling. "But your whole group is strange. Every one of you gained power in just a few months that even most High-Class Devils can't dream of. You're like newly reincarnated High-Class Devils."
"Well, our master is extremely ambitious," Yukino replied lightly. "Not just anyone could catch his eye."
"Thankfully our club president isn't the jealous type," Akeno said with a teasing smile. "Otherwise she'd be furious that someone managed to gather such outstanding servants."
Then her expression sharpened. "But… we should probably end this soon."
"Agreed," Yukino said. "We can't keep everyone waiting."
Her demonic power had already been heavily consumed—she couldn't keep using it so recklessly.
Akeno faced the same issue.
Yukino's Longinus burned through power quickly. Akeno's lightning—especially the amplified kind—wasn't cheap either.
The stronger the attack, the greater the cost. Neither of them could maintain this level much longer.
"So we settle it in one strike?"
"Just what I wanted."
Their gazes met—sparking like flint.
In the next instant, both unleashed a surge of demonic power that rolled through the gymnasium, shaking the air.
Yukino poured everything she had into the ice princess, its freezing aura flaring violently.
Akeno expanded a massive magic circle behind her, pointing one finger toward it as lightning gathered thickly.
A heartbeat later, both launched their final, all-out attacks.
The ice princess unleashed a freezing storm so intense it crystallized the very air.
Akeno's lightning shot from her fingertip, striking the magic circle—and after being amplified—erupted into a colossal beam that incinerated everything in its path.
"RUMBLE!!!"
The freezing storm and the giant lightning pillar collided in a deafening explosion—the loudest yet—shaking the entire gymnasium to its foundations.
====
Extra chap!