On the gray-white plains of the alternate dimension, the battle had already lasted nearly ten minutes.
But for Akeno, those ten minutes had been nothing short of a nightmare.
Originally, she had intended to teach this little kōhai-kun, who didn't know how to treat a lady, a lesson and make him understand what it meant to respect his senpai.
But now?
She was the one being taught a lesson.
And it was a one-sided, merciless, brutal lesson.
"Apparition!"
Genichi's voice rang out again, and his figure vanished instantly from where he stood.
Akeno's lightning struck empty air, blasting a huge crater into the ground.
The next second, Genichi appeared behind her. Demonic power gathered in his hand and slammed viciously toward her back.
Akeno reacted extremely quickly and twisted aside, but she was still clipped by the blast of demonic power.
"Flame Volt!"
Scorching flames attacked from another direction, sealing off her escape route.
Akeno had no choice but to take the blow head-on.
Golden lightning and crimson flames collided, erupting with a violent roar.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Akeno stood in place, her breathing slightly ragged.
Her clothes were even more disheveled than before. Her hair had grown messier, and there was dust smeared across her face.
She had not suffered any real injury, but looking this battered was already enough to make her feel both embarrassed and furious.
Genichi, meanwhile, stood not far away, his expression calm, as if he had only done something utterly trivial.
Beside him, several shadows stood silently, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Even worse, his Apparition spell made his movements ghostly and unpredictable. There was no way to anticipate where he would appear.
Akeno's lightning was immensely powerful, but if it couldn't hit him, it had no meaning.
"Damn it…"
Akeno gritted her teeth, feeling so stifled she nearly went mad.
She was the lightning shrine maiden, a powerful fighter only one step away from becoming a high-class Devil, and the strongest combatant in Rias's peerage.
Yet now, she was actually being suppressed like this by a little kōhai-kun who had only reincarnated as a Devil a few months ago.
How was she supposed to accept that?
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She couldn't rush.
The more impatient she became, the easier it would be to make a mistake.
She carefully observed Genichi's movements, searching for an opening.
Genichi stood there, seemingly casual, but in truth, he remained on guard.
His gaze swept over Akeno, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Akeno-senpai, do you still want to continue?"
His voice was calm, but there was a faint, almost imperceptible provocation in it.
Akeno's eyebrow twitched.
Was this boy mocking her?
She took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in her heart.
"Of course we'll continue."
Her voice remained gentle, but within that gentleness lay anger on the verge of eruption.
"Onee-san hasn't had enough yet."
The moment she finished speaking, she attacked again.
This time, she did not use wide-range lightning. Instead, she gathered lightning in both hands, forming two short blades made of electricity.
Close combat.
If she couldn't hit him from range, then she would fight up close.
Her speed was extremely fast. In an instant, she charged in front of Genichi, the lightning blade in her hand stabbing toward his chest.
Genichi remained calm. He shifted aside to dodge while throwing a punch toward her abdomen.
Akeno raised her leg to block it, then swept out with her other lightning blade.
Genichi took a step back, and the shadow behind him immediately rushed forward, taking the strike in his place.
The shadow was pierced through by the lightning blade and dissolved into black smoke.
But Genichi had already vanished again.
"Apparition!"
He appeared behind Akeno, demonic power in his hand slamming hard toward her back.
Akeno had been prepared for it. She spun around and thrust out with her blade.
Blade and fist collided. Lightning and demonic power intertwined.
Both of them were forced back several steps, and two more shadows moved forward.
Fists and feet clashed. Lightning flashed. Demonic power surged.
Akeno's lightning blades were astonishingly powerful. Every strike left a deep scorch mark in the ground.
But Genichi's reactions were faster, and his movements were stranger. Every time, he narrowly avoided her attacks and counterattacked in return.
When Akeno finally caught an opening and stabbed him with a blade, "he" turned into black smoke in the very next second. The real Genichi appeared from another direction and slammed a punch into her body.
That feeling was enough to drive anyone insane.
Bang!
After another collision, the two separated.
Akeno stood in place, breathing heavily.
Several places on her body already showed traces of Genichi's hits.
They were not serious, but that suffocating sense of frustration made her nearly lose control.
Genichi, on the other hand, remained calm. His breathing was only slightly uneven.
"Akeno-senpai, your rhythm is off."
He spoke lightly.
Akeno gritted her teeth.
She knew.
Of course she knew her rhythm was off.
But what was the use of knowing?
Against an opponent who moved like a ghost, who could remain calm?
In the distance, Rias watched this scene, and even the corner of her mouth couldn't help twitching slightly.
Her Queen was by no means weak.
Akeno ranked among the top twenty among the new generation of Devils.
That was a widely accepted fact.
Yet such a powerful Queen was being one-sidedly beaten by Genichi, a boy who had only reincarnated as a Devil a few months ago.
Although Akeno had not suffered any serious injuries, the frustration of being suppressed like this was far worse than getting hurt.
However, not only was Rias not angry, she instead showed a satisfied smile.
The stronger Genichi became, the greater the benefits for her.
The stronger he was, the greater her advantage would be in future Rating Games.
She wished Genichi's strength would soar as quickly as possible.
But looking at Akeno's frustrated state, Rias still felt a little sorry for her.
After all, Akeno was her first servant. How could she allow her own servant to keep suffering a loss?
"All right, that's enough!"
Rias finally spoke to stop them.
Her voice echoed through the alternate dimension and clearly reached both of them.
When Genichi heard her, he immediately stopped.
After all, he still had to give Rias face.
Besides, he could tell that if this continued, Akeno might really go berserk…
Failing to teach him a lesson and instead getting beaten up herself, the frustration in Akeno's heart was easy to imagine.
If he kept provoking her, something might genuinely happen.
Akeno stood in place, gasping for breath.
Golden lightning still danced over her body, but it was no longer as violent as before.
She looked at Genichi, her eyes flashing with complicated emotions.
There was anger, frustration, unwillingness, and also a trace of something strange that was difficult to describe.
Kiba and Koneko stood in the distance, watching the scene with surprise in their eyes.
Clearly, neither of them had expected Genichi to be able to fight to this level.
Kiba pushed up his glasses and murmured, "Genichi-kun's strength is truly surprising."
Koneko nodded and, rarely, spoke up.
"Very strong."
Those two simple evaluations were already enough to explain everything.
But unlike everyone else's surprise, Akeno's expression was somewhat subtle.
She looked at Genichi as if she wanted to eat him alive.
That look made even Genichi feel a chill in his heart.
He secretly wondered whether Akeno-senpai was planning to throw a sack over his head later.
Should he be more careful from now on?
Akeno looked at him, took a deep breath, and slowly spoke.
The signature gentle smile appeared on her face again.
But in Genichi's eyes, no matter how he looked at it, that smile seemed dangerous.
"Genichi-kun."
Her voice was still gentle, but it carried a meaningful undertone.
"I lost today's spar."
Genichi's eye twitched slightly.
Why did that sound like a threat?
"Next time, let's find another opportunity to have a proper 'spar.'"
She deliberately emphasized the word "spar."
Genichi was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine."
What else could he say?
He could only agree.
Rias watched this and couldn't help laughing.
Of course she could see what Akeno was thinking.
After suffering such a huge loss, her Queen was definitely planning to win back her pride.
Still, that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Competition was what drove progress.
"All right, let's go back."
She raised her hand, and crimson demonic power surged.
The alternate dimension began to distort, teleporting them back one by one.
With a flash of light, everyone reappeared in the Occult Research Club.
Genichi stood in place, feeling the familiar environment around him, and secretly let out a breath of relief.
They were finally back.
But in the next second, he felt a piercing gaze fall on him.
He turned and saw Akeno smiling sweetly at him.
That smile was gentle enough to make someone lose themselves.
But the look in her eyes was dangerous enough to make one's heart tremble.
Genichi silently looked away and made up his mind.
For the next while, he absolutely had to keep his distance from Akeno-senpai.
If he could avoid her, he would. If he couldn't, then he had to remain vigilant at all times.
After all, this lightning shrine maiden was no easy opponent.
(End of Chapter)
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