As Rias Gremory's first servant and the "Queen" of her peerage, Akeno Himejima possessed the traits of all the devil pieces, yet she excelled most in combat using magic.
Like Leon, Rias, Sona Sitri, and Yukino Yukinoshita, she was a traditional devil capable of manifesting phenomena such as lightning, ice, fire, and wind through demonic power. She was also adept at using illusions and summoning thick mist, making her a versatile long-range combat specialist.
However, she was not hailed as the "Priestess of Thunder" without reason. While she could trigger various supernatural phenomena, Akeno specialized in lightning-attribute attacks, capable of releasing electrical strikes with formidable power at will.
Generally, the lightning bolts she released from her fingertips were the weakest in terms of raw power but possessed the fastest execution speed. Consequently, fingertip lightning was her most common method of attack—a move that alone could overwhelm most devils. Anyone below the rank of High-class Devil would find it impossible to withstand.
Beyond this, Akeno could deploy magic circles to unleash high-output lightning strikes in the form of massive pillars of thunder. These strikes were devastatingly powerful; even the full-force attacks of most High-class Devils might pale in comparison.
Akeno even knew how to use magic circles to amplify the potency and speed of her thunder, allowing her to release lightning of varying magnitudes to systematically dismantle her opponents. Her combat style stood in stark contrast to her refined Yamato Nadeshiko appearance and temperament; in battle, she was thoroughly sadistic.
Because of this, she was respected, loved, and feared by the peerage. Normally a gentle and considerate older sister figure, she transformed into a "Queen" who ruthlessly toyed with her opponents and drove them to despair once combat began. The duality was extreme.
If anyone were to let their guard down due to Akeno's elegant aura, the result was usually singular: they would end up like Koneko Toujou had moments ago—charred to a crisp by lightning.
Actually, Koneko had only appeared to be charred because Utaha Kasumigaoka had deliberately held back; her injuries weren't actually severe. Akeno's opponents were different; they were truly liable to be incinerated by her bolts.
At this moment, Akeno deployed a magic circle and released a massive thunderbolt toward Yukino Yukinoshita, causing alarm bells to scream in Yukino's mind.
"Ice Princess!"
Yukino called out to the grotesque princess behind her, who reacted instantly.
Crackle, crackle, crackle—
Amidst the teeth-gritting sound of rapid freezing, the Ice Princess exhaled absolute-zero frost toward the sky, condensing a massive wall of ice to shield Yukino.
BOOM!!!
The staggering thunderbolt struck the thick ice wall head-on, triggering a roar that was neither purely thunder nor explosion. The light of the lightning once again illuminated the gymnasium.
Countless ice shards flew from the wall like fragments of a shattered mountain peak, leaving marks everywhere. The massive ice wall was pulverized by the thunderbolt, collapsing and disintegrating as it sent shockwaves rippling through the surroundings. It was a terrifying sight, appearing as if the heavens themselves were falling.
Had it not been for the barriers erected by the Sitri peerage, the gymnasium walls would have collapsed, the floor would have shattered, and the ceiling might have been blown off from this single exchange. The scale of the collateral damage was staggering.
Ultimately, Yukino did not completely tank the blow. The thick ice wall held for a dozen seconds before shattering entirely, forcing her to flap her devil wings at the last second and retreat in a somewhat disheveled manner.
"Tch—"
Yukino let out a clicking sound that slightly marred her composed image, but her movements did not slow. She quickly commanded the Ice Princess to swirl frost and condense more ice.
Opposite her, Akeno was in a completely relentless state. Seeing that the thunderbolt had missed, she began a continuous barrage of fingertip lightning, firing bolts of electricity that blanketed Yukino's position.
The frost exhaled by the Ice Princess had already condensed into large blocks of ice. These acted like roadblocks, intercepting the bolts. They were shattered by the electricity but succeeded in blocking them, preventing the strikes from reaching Yukino.
"Fufufu—"
Akeno licked her lips, the smile on her face growing increasingly dangerous. Her refined aura had vanished, replaced by the look of a sadist. Laughing with a hint of excitement, she flapped her wings, intent on closing the distance with Yukino.
Yukino, naturally, would not let Akeno have her way. The Ice Princess behind her exhaled frost once more, manifesting thousands of ice shards that swept toward Akeno like a tidal wave, clashing violently with the incoming lightning.
For a time, the gymnasium was filled with the silhouettes of Yukino and Akeno chasing and dodging one another. Both displayed impressive aerial maneuvers and offensive techniques. Various formations of ice and lightning appeared and intersected in mid-air constantly. The spectacle was far more brilliant than the previous two duels.
"Akeno-senpai—"
Yuuto Kiba and Koneko Toujou showed expressions of concern.
Though Rias said nothing, her eyes were locked onto the fierce battle in the air. She was unconsciously gripping her own crossed arms so tightly her knuckles were white.
Leon watched the battle with unexpected calm. Beside him, Asuna Yuuki, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Mahiru Shiina watched with rapt attention, not daring to look away for even a second.
As for the members of the Sitri peerage, they were utterly dumbfounded.
"Is... is this really a battle between two Low-class Devils?"
Ruruko Nimura spoke with a slight stammer.
It was true that while both Yukino and Akeno had strength far exceeding the level of a Low-class Devil, they were still ranked as such within the devil hierarchy, having not yet officially promoted to a higher status.
However—
"How could that be a Low-class Devil?"
"In terms of raw power, those two are already at the level of High-class Devils, aren't they?"
Reya Kusaka and Momo Hanakai swallowed hard, frightened by the intensity of the fight.
"Akeno-senpai is one thing; she was already strong. Even before President Rias made her official debut, Akeno already had the title 'Priestess of Thunder' and a significant reputation in the devil world—"
"But what about Yukino? Didn't she just become a Reincarnated Devil recently?"
Cold sweat dripped from the foreheads of Tsubasa Yura and Tomoe Meguri. They could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Even Sona Sitri and Tsubaki Shinra hadn't expected Yukino Yukinoshita to be this powerful.
"To be able to fight Akeno on equal terms—"
"Is this the power of a Longinus?"
Sona and Tsubaki were stunned by Yukino's performance.
Finally, even Akeno, who was in the heat of battle, couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
"It's really hard to imagine that you were just an ordinary human a few months ago, Yukino."
Akeno retreated sharply in the air, evading two glaciers crashing in from the sides while releasing lightning to destroy incoming ice rocks.
"—That's because you haven't seen anything more ridiculous than this," Yukino responded coldly, stealing a subtle glance at Leon in the spectator area.
In her eyes, that person was the true "cheater."
She had been reincarnated with demonic power that placed her among the elite even within the Middle-class rank. Once she learned how to properly utilize that magic, achieving a combat level equivalent to her mana pool was simply a natural progression.
Over these few months, the only thing she had refined was her application of magic, turning her considerable potential into reality. As for reaching High-class combat power, that was entirely thanks to the potency of her Longinus.
Unlike that man. Not only had he been hiding a Longinus ranked second in the world, but he had also grown from a High-class Devil into an Ultimate-class Devil, his wings increasing to four pairs. That growth speed was the truly absurd part.
"Perhaps so." Akeno seemed to understand something as she glanced toward Leon, then smiled. "But in my view, all of you in Eligos's peerage are ridiculous. In just a few months, you've all attained power that Low-class Devils could only dream of. You don't seem like newly reincarnated Low-class Devils at all."
"Our master is very ambitious, after all," Yukino said flatly. "Common individuals would never catch his eye."
"Fortunately, my President isn't the jealous type, otherwise she would certainly envy him for having such excellent servants." Akeno's smile remained, but her tone shifted. "However, it's about time we settled this."
"Indeed," Yukino agreed. "We can't keep everyone waiting too long."
Yukino's demonic power had been heavily depleted; she couldn't continue to squander it as she had just now. She believed the same applied to Akeno.
Yukino's Longinus was a heavy consumer of mana, but were Akeno's devastating lightning strikes any different? The more powerful the attack, the greater the toll on the user. Yukino did not believe Akeno could fire those massive bolts indefinitely.
"Then, one strike to settle the winner?"
"Suits me perfectly."
The gazes of Akeno and Yukino met, almost sparking with friction.
In the next second, both erupted with a staggering aura of demonic power, whipping up a violent gale that made the very atmosphere surge.
Yukino poured all her remaining magic into the Ice Princess behind her, causing the frost to swell immensely.
Akeno deployed a massive magic circle in front of her, aiming a single finger at it as lightning flickered violently.
Moments later, both sides released their full-force final blows simultaneously.
The Ice Princess behind Yukino exhaled a freezing blizzard, turning the very air into solid ice.
The bolt fired from Akeno's fingertip struck the magic circle, which amplified it into a gargantuan pillar of lightning that incinerated everything in its path.
BOOM!!!
The freezing storm and the massive pillar of thunder collided head-on, triggering the loudest roar yet. The entire gymnasium shook violently under the impact.