Chapter 24: The Weight of Power

While Sona was still pondering when Rias would resolve the roasted chicken incident so she could "retrieve" Shoyo-kun, Rias suddenly spoke up.

“Sona, don’t you think... maybe it was a mistake not to participate?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Sona didn’t immediately grasp her meaning.

“You’ll understand once you look at the battlefield,” Rias replied with a wry smile.

Initially, Rias had thought the match would place pressure on Shoyo. But now, watching him, she felt the pressure herself. If Shoyo's performance ended up surpassing even her own peerage’s capabilities... wouldn’t that be utterly humiliating?

She purposefully ignored the fact that the reincarnation process had technically failed. Even Ajuka had shown some empathy towards her dilemma.

“Look at the field?” Sona turned her gaze toward the ongoing battle.

“Ugh...” Even with her calm demeanor, she found Shoyo’s performance almost absurdly fantastical.

Koneko and Yura Tsubasa were already on the ground. Shoyo hadn’t gone too far, he’d only used a spell that caused powerlessness, something taught just yesterday in Ajuka’s lecture: “How to Seal Maximum Demonic Power with Minimal Output.”

Shoyo was still relaxed. His movements were slow and steady, as if he had all the time in the world. Each time Tsubaki Shinra attempted to form a magic circle, Shoyo would casually wave his hand, dispersing the spell effortlessly. Sometimes he didn’t even bother until the last moment, waiting lazily before undoing her casting altogether.

Seeing the situation deteriorating, even Reya Kusaka, the intelligence and recon expert of the group, joined the attack. A second-year student with a cute appearance and ranked Bishop, she had good magic skills. But even she gave up on analyzing or predicting Shoyo’s movements.

Can’t analyze, can’t calculate, what the hell am I even analyzing!?



Even with all of them combined, it made no difference. Shoyo continued moving forward: 200 meters... 150 meters... He wasn’t rushing, nor did he interrupt Akeno Himejima, who was chanting a large-scale magic spell.

Why?

Because he was waiting.

“Da~~ da~~ da~~” Footsteps echoed. No one dared approach after he’d casually neutralized two waves of close-range fighters.

At 120 meters, Akeno’s chant was complete.

“Tsubaki! Get ready!” she yelled, knowing Shoyo could teleport or avoid the attack, but still resolved to unleash her move.

At the very least, they wanted to force Shoyo to evade. He couldn’t just overpower everything head-on... right?

“Okay!” Tsubaki responded, summoning her Sacred Gear: Mirror of Recollection.

Shinra Tsubaki, vice-president of the student council and Sona Sitri’s first peerage member, came from a prestigious family of exorcists. Her Sacred Gear could summon familiars and reflect attacks back at double their power if the mirror was destroyed.

[Super Lightning Strike!]

A concentrated torrent of lightning, nearly touching the limit of an Ultimate-class devil, burst forth, so powerful it looked like it could sever the heavens.

“Crack!” A sharp sound rang out, the mirror shattered.

And then... a doubled Super Lightning Strike flew straight toward Shoyo!

By now, their strategy had shifted. They weren't trying to defeat Shoyo anymore, just force him to dodge. The Rook and Knight’s melee attacks had failed. The Bishop and Queen’s magic couldn’t even be activated. They had concluded Shoyo let Akeno finish chanting. Otherwise, he could have stopped her like he had with Tsubaki.

So they clung to a simple goal: make Shoyo dodge.

Yet... he didn’t move.

“Shoyo-kun, what are you doing?! Dodge it!” Akeno shouted in panic.

“Shoyo-senpai!” Koneko’s golden pupils narrowed in alarm.

“Shoyo! Dodge quickly!” Sona shouted, rushing toward him. You could dispel an Upper-class devil’s spell, fine. But why aren’t you using teleportation now?! This strike goes beyond High-class!

“Don’t worry,” Shoyo replied with a soft smile.

Of his three avatars, he had only used one so far.

BOOM!

The devastating lightning struck Shoyo directly. He didn’t budge. Sona, being close to him, was also hit by the shockwave and thrown back.

Compared to what Shoyo took head-on, Sona’s injuries were minimal, but not insignificant.


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“Sona!” Rias rushed over, eyes wide in disbelief. The lightning’s light hadn’t yet faded, and dust clouds obscured the field.

“Shoyo... Shoyo-senpai?” Koneko stared blankly into the haze. An attack of that level could threaten even a high-ranking devil like Rias. And Shoyo had once said his body wasn’t particularly strong...

Then,

“Didn’t I say I was fine?”

Through the electric mist, a calm voice echoed.

A young man emerged from the epicenter of the lightning strike.

His skin was lightly scorched, his black eyes glowed with starlit depth, and only a faint, burnt patch on his clothing marked where the lightning had landed. There was a trace of anxiety in his gaze, not for himself, but for Sona.

“Sona... You’ll be okay soon.”

He knelt beside her, surprised she had rushed so close. He shook his head with a sigh.

How can I let this go...?

A soft, milky-white light gathered in his palm and enveloped her.

[Avatar: Kurma, the World Turtle]

Kurma the World Turtle was Shoyo’s second avatar, derived from the mythical tortoise Kachchapa, the god of omniscience in the Hakoniwa worldview. Both avatars, though from different traditions, were known by the name Kurma in English, meaning they shared a divine origin.

Among Shoyo’s ten avatars, Kurma carried divine authority over healing, endurance, and eternal balance. In mythology, when gods and demons churned the Ocean of Milk, Vishnu took the form of a tortoise, Kurma, and bore Mount Mandara on his back, allowing them to extract the nectar of immortality.

This power, eternity and infinite resilience, was now used to heal Sona.


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