"Because of what you are missing, you have experienced many things that an ordinary person never would. While they may be painful, they will surely help you to clear your own path. So love everything about yourself."— Prince Despa, Ranking of Kings

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  "The Rating Game is scheduled for ten days from now," Rias announced. "Although I'm not sure how much it will help, I'd like to invite everyoo a training camp. It's the least I do."

  Despite her trust in Roy, Rias still felt pelled to tribute somehow, hehe invitation to train together.

  Roy naturally wouldn't refuse her offer.

  "No problem," he agreed.

  "The's depart tomorrow. I'll arrange for everyoo be excused from school," Rias said, pleased with his response.

  Ten days wasn't enough time fnifit improvement, but it would be a nice ge of pace.

  ...

  Early the m, Rias led Roy and the others to her secret training grounds.

  They carried rge bags and luggage, looking more like they were going on vacation than to a training camp.

  "Wow, Koneko- is s!" Alice excimed, running after Koneko.

  "Amazing! Amazing!" The three little girls from the Butterfly Mansion echoed Alice's se.

  The four lolis surrounded Koneko, their eyes filled with admiration.

  Koneko carried a massive pack, several times her size, without a ge in her expression as they climbed the mountain path.

  Saeko, Shinobu, Kanae, and the irls also carried heavy packs.

  This art of Rias weight training regimen. Everyone except the lolis had to carry a load, even Shizuka and Asia, the healers, though their burdens were lighter.

  To Rias surprise, none of them seemed tle. In fact, they carried their loads with ease.

  Akeno noticed something peculiar.

  "Ara ara, how iing... Their breathing seems a bit unusual," she observed.

  "Indeed. Perhaps it's some kind of special magic," Rias specuted.

  "Haha, it's not magic. It's just a breathing teique," Roy expined.

  He didn't io keep Breathing Styles a secret.

  Thanks to their mastery of Breathing Styles, the girls could hahis level of physical training without any strain.

  Even Shizuka and Rika, who had only retly lear, were doing fine.

  "Breathing teique?" Rias and Akeno echoed, unfamiliar with the cept. After all, this was an era of magic.

  "It's just a trainihod. I teach you if you're ied," Roy offered.

  Rias and Akeno readily accepted, intrigued by this eique.

  ...

  They soon arrived at Rias secret training grounds.

  "Wow, it's beautiful!"

  "It really is!"

  Asia and the others were instantly captivated by the sery.

  It was a vast estate with lush greenery, gardens, mountains, a ke... a paradise for rexation.

  "Alright, let's begin our training once we're settled in," Rias announced.

  They ehe estate, unpacked their belongings, and ged into their training attire.

  They gathered at the training grounds, a spacious area rge enough for intense bat.

  "I've already taught you the basiagiipution, so let's jump right into sparring today," Roy decred, then turo Akeno. "Akeno-senpai, would you mind being their oppo?"

  "No problem," Akeno replied with a smile.

  She transformed into her shrine maiden attire and flew to the ter of the training grounds.

  Roy turo Saeko and the others with a grin. "So, who wants to challenge Akeno first? Just a friendly reminder, she's an High-Css Devil."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Saeko stepped forward.

  "I'll go first," she decred, her eyes locked on Akeno, filled with fighting spirit.

  Roy shrugged. He had expected Saeko to be the first one.

  "Alright, Saeko, you're up first."

  "Both of you, give it your all. Don't hold back. We have Asia and Shizuka here for healing, and Rias and I will intervene if necessary," Roy instructed.

  He wahem to fight without reservation. There was no point in holding back during a sparring match.

  Rias frowned but didn't object.

  "Hehe, in that case, I'll go all out," Akeno chuckled from her position in the air.

  "Please do," Saeko replied, drawing her sword.

  The battle was about to begin.

  Saeko made the first move.

  "Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderd Fsh!"

  She transformed into a golden lightning bolt, charging towards Akeno with incredible speed.

  "So fast! Is this the power of Breathing Styles?" Rias gasped, astonished by Saeko's speed.

  Akeno, however, remained calm and posed.

  She raised her right hand and shouted, "Lightning Strike!"

  Rumble!

  tless bolts of lightning desded from the sky, targeting Saeko.

  Even with her speed, Saeko couldn't evade the barrage.

  She had to ge tactics.

  "Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderd Fsh - Eightfold!"

  Saeko's body crackled with golden lightning, and she varansf into a streak of lightning, weaving through the ining attacks.

  This was a teique developed by Zenitsu Agatsuma. With Roy's help, Saeko had mastered it.

  And her version was even more potent thasu's.

  In the inal story, Zenitsu could only unleash up to eight secutive attacks. But with her Devil physique, Saeko could execute even more.

  She became a golden blur, cirg Akelessly.

  Akenled to keep up with Saeko's speed.

  Her pyful smile vanished, repced by a serious expression.

  She had initially assumed Saeko was just an ordinary Middle-Css Devil, easily defeated. But Saeko proved to be a formidable oppo.

  Alid the other lolis cheered for Saeko.

  "Saeko-nee-san is amazing!"

  "Go, Saeko-nee-san!"

  "Saeko-nee-san will win!"

  ...

  Saeko tio evade the lightning strikes while closing in on Akeno.

  She noticed that as she got closer to Akeno, the number of lightning strikes decreased.

  Is she afraid of hitting herself? Saeko wondered.

  This was her ce.

  "Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!"

  Saeko's body erupted with lightning, and she shot upwards like a golden projectile.

  She reached Akeno in an instant.

  Their eyes met, and Saeko noticed that Akeno wasn't panig. Instead, she had a sly smile, as if she had anticipated this.

  "Lightning Fsh!" Akeno shouted.

  A torrent of lightnied from her body, engulfing Saeko.

  Not good!

  Saeko realized she had fallen for Akeno's trap. The decrease in lightning strikes as she approached had been deliberate.

  Akeno had lured her closer to unleash a powerful attack.

  Despite the overwhelming lightning, Saeko remained calm.

  She spread her Devil wings, h in mid-air. She sheathed her sword, assuming a Iaido stance.

  The lightning around her vanished, seemingly verging into her sword.

  "Thunder Breathing: Thunder Cutter!"

  This was a teique Saeko had developed by enhang her Iaido Ssh.

  It was far more powerful than a regur Iaido Ssh.

  Her sword crackled with lightning, as if she were wielding pure electricity.

  With a fsh of golden light, she sshed forward, cleaving through Akeno's lightning attack. The torrent of electricity vanished instantly.

  Akeno was stunned. She hadn't held back at all. That was her full power.

  Yet, Saeko had effortlessly tered it.

  Rias, watg from below, was equally astonished. She couldn't believe Saeko, a Middle-Css Devil, could hold her own against Akeno, an High-Css Devil.

  Only Roy khat although Saeko owerful, she was still slightly weaker than Akeno, the Priestess of Thunder.

  Against a on High-Css Devil, Saeko could undoubtedly win.

  But Akeno wielded the devastating power of lightning.

  As expected, after unleashihunder Cutter, Saeko anting heavily.

  Having used Thunderd Fsh multiple times and theroeique, she was exhausted.

  Roy appeared beside Saeko, supp her as she nded.

  "Well done, Saeko," he praised with a smile.

  Saeko smiled back, though a hint ret lingered in her eyes. "But I still lost."

  "Don't worry about it. You were amazing," Roy reassured her, giving her a thumbs up.

  "Indeed, Saeko-san was truly impressive. If we were at the same level, I would have lost," Akeno admitted.

  If they had been equal in strength, Akeno might have beeed in an instant.

  Saeko looked at Akeno with renewed fighting spirit.

  The two women, both wielders of lightning, seemed to share a mutual respect.

  "Alright, Akeno and Saeko, take a break. ..." Roy turo Koneko. "Koneko-, would you like to spar? You choose your oppo."

  Koneko looked around and ultimately chose Nezuko.

  She noticed that Nezuko was the only ohout a sword.

  As a Rook, Koneko primarily relied on her fists in bat, so she chose Nezuko, who didn't seem to use ons.

  Roy and Rias exged amused gnces.

  It seemed Koneko had been pying games with Alice when Roy introduezuko and Mitsuri, so she was unaware that Nezuko possessed the strength of an High-Css Devil.

  "Alright, Nezuko versus Koneko it is," Roy annouhen whispered to Nezuko, "Remember, no demonization."

  "Okay," Nezuko nodded obediently.

  ...

  The two girls stepped into the arena and began their hand-to-hand bat.

  The sight of two petite girls exging powerful blows was somewhat surreal.

  In the end, Koneko lost.

  Nezuko's strength was simply overwhelming, even without res to her demonization.

  "Roy's servants are truly remarkable. But a Rating Game isn't won solely by the strength of one's peerage," Rias ented, a hint of envy in her voice.

  She couldn't help but admire Roy's powerful servants.

  "Oh? Rias, are you implying that I, The Master, am g in strength?" Roy chuckled, reizing the underlying message in her words.

  "Perhaps we should test that."

  Rias grinned, accepting the challenge.

  They both ehe arena.

  "Rias, attack me with all you've got," Roy said, gesturing for her to make the first move.

  "Then I won't hold back!"

  Rias unleashed her crimson demonic power, her hair swirling around her.

  "Haa!" she shouted, ung a crest-shaped bst of bd red energy towards Roy.

  Rias Power of Destru was renowned for its ability to annihite anything, a truly formidable power.

  However, Roy simply sidestepped the attack with ease.

  "Too slow," he ented casually.

  Rias, provoked, unleashed a barrage of destruagic.

  "Rias, your attacks are a bit tohtforward, don't you think?" Roy taunted.

  Indeed, both Rias and Akeno had somewhat limited attack patterns.

  Akeno's lightning attacks were dired cked variety.

  There were tless individuals who used lightning as a on, such as Enel from One Piece, who wielded the Goro no Mi, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

  Enel had developed a wide array of powerful teiques, such as 30,000,000 Volt Hino, 30,000,000 Volt El Thor, 200,000,000 Volt Amaru, Max 200,000,000 Volt Vari, and Raigo.

  pared to Enel's diverse aating lightning attacks, Akeno's teiques seemed rather ckluster.

  The same could be said for Rias.

  "Rias, let me show you how to use yic properly," Roy decred, no longer dodging.

  He reached out with his hand.

  "Secret Art: Ice Mirror Refle!"

  He jured a mirror of ice, and Rias destruagic was instantly reflected back at her.

  "What?!" Rias excimed, surprised.

  She frantically dodged her own reflected attack.

  But that wasn't all.

  "Secret Art: Ice Fang!"

  Roy jured several ice spikes that erupted from the ground around Rias, eng her in ice.

  The girls were amazed by his dispy of power and teique.

  "Amazing..." Akeno gasped, her eyes wide with awe.

  His elegant moves and overwhelming power were far beyond her simple lightning attacks.

  "But is Rias-senpai alright?" Despite her astonishment, Akeno was still ed about Rias.

  "Haha, she's fine," Roy reassured her.

  He hadn't used his full power. Rias should be able to break free from this level of ice with ease.

  As if to prove his point...

  Crack... Crack...

  The massive ice sculpture began to crack, and Rias emerged, her body radiating bd red demoniergy.

  "Achoo!" Rias shivered, her arms ed around herself. She was clearly freezing.

  Akeno gred at Roy and quickly ed a coat around Rias.

  "Rias, are you alright?"

  "I'm fine," Rias replied, her voice trembling.

  "Uh... sorry, Rias," Roy apologized, realizing he had gone a bit overboard.

  He had developed maeiques retly and couldn't resist showing them off.

  "Roy-senpai, that was mean!" Koneko chided.

  "It's okay. I was just too weak," Rias said, a hint of deje in her voice.

  She was disappointed by her easy defeat but also impressed by Roy's strength and the elegance of his teiques.

  ...

  With the sparring session over, Rias suggested they go to the bathhouse.

  Roy was alone in the men's bath, as he was the only male student.

  The women's bath was nearby, and he could hear their cheerful chatter and ughter.

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