How you want to change the future still depends on you.
Takumi:
[Why are we getting philosophical?]
[I feel like I'm growing another brain.]
[What are you thinking? If it's too hard, just switch IDs.]
[As I said, report to Miss Goose, or go to Elysium and borrow a new account.]
[Or maybe just shout out loudAnswer me, Elysia!]
[See if a pink fairy lady falls from the sky to help you~~!]
[Maybe World Serpent will drop by too.]
What kind of conversation is this?
Seriously, what's the point of overthinking?
The future? As long as you have absolute power, no matter what happens, you can shape it into what you want.
Ultimately, it all depends on your strength.
As the saying goes, "Cash in hand, no panic."
Power is like money. With power, you gain peace of mind.
Mei:
[You're right... in that case, I'll follow your advice.]
[But contacting Durandal might be tricky.]
[Maybe the moment I send a message, Otto will know.]
She raised an eyebrow at the thought.
Now that she understood everything, nowhere felt safe.
As the Herrscher of Thunder, there were undoubtedly many eyes watching her in the dark.
Anyone she tried to contact might get exposed. Even Theresa would be risky.
Unsafe. Extremely unsafe.
Mei felt completely exposed.
Seeing Mei's messages, Takumi let out a sigh.
Well, no surprise she's anxious.
If she contacted Goose, she'd probably get discovered right after.
Shaking his head, Takumi figured it was better if he went instead.
Takumi:
[Make sure to check in daily.]
[When the time comes, post a mission. Bronya and I will head over.]
[Big Duck wants to see Little Duck.]
[It'll be fine. Don't panic~!]
Helping beautiful girls is always worth it.
Also a great way to earn points.
Points are essential for Takumi to visit more worlds and grow stronger.
Seeing Takumi's response, Mei nodded.
That was probably her best option.
Reporting to Goose? No way.
Letting Goose come over and beat Kiana up?
Even if she said, "That might be your clone or little sister," Goose would still smack her.
After watching the story unfold, she had no doubt Goose could beat the Herrscher of the Void.
The illiterate Herrscher would be no match.
Mei felt firm in her resolve now.
No more ignorance!
Mei:
[Thanks in advance.]
[Next, I'll study electromagnetism properly.]
[That way, I can boost my strength too.]
As for the Herrscher persona that should be fine.
Takumi:
[Gotcha~!]
[But you're going to study?]
[My suggestion: just cram the knowledge directly.]
[Mei's personal red packet]
[Here, take it. It contains summaries of basic electromagnetism.]
[Electrostatics, steady currents, magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction, resonance, waves, etc.]
[Master all these and you'll be the strongest Herrscher yet~!]
[Remember, the Herrscher of Thunder controls one of the four fundamental forces!]
[Super strong.]
All of the Herrschers from "Three Idiots" are illiterate.
That's undeniable.
Since Miss Mei wants to get stronger, Takumi will help her.
Mei froze for a moment after seeing what Takumi sent...
She'd originally planned to study hard.
Now it's just handed to her?
Emm...
But she didn't refuse it.
As for the bomb inside hershe'd need to deal with that.
To suppress the Herrscher persona, Himeko and Theresa had planted a bomb in her.
It was meant to prevent power rampage.
She didn't need it anymore.
Mei had already decided to accept that power.
So she accepted Takumi's red packet.
Raiden Mei:
[Thank you!]
[I'll repay you one day.]
Sincerely grateful, she etched this favor in her heart.
Takumi:
[No worries. Just treat me to some instant noodles flavored like beautiful girls someday.]
Takumi grinned at her thanks.
Mei, on the other hand, was flustered.
Raiden Mei:
[Stop spouting nonsense! That kind of thing doesn't exist!!]
As if it could!
Takumi:
[But it could if it's from you.]
...
Now Mei was completely speechless.
Bronya:
[That's just weird...]
Chika Fujiwara:
[Strange fetish detected?]
The chat group got lively again.
Everyone started goofing off.
Once it hit midnight, everyone did their daily check-in.
Then they all went to sleep.
Takumi:
[Check-in complete. Another 80 points earned. Time for bed~!]
Bronya:
[38 points... Today's luck isn't so great. Frustrating!!]
[Group member "Chika Fujiwara" has checked in successfully.]
[Congratulations to "Chika Fujiwara" for obtaining: Balenciaga.]
Chika Fujiwara:
[What the heck?]
[My first item drop and it's this??]
She was baffled.
What kind of nonsense was this?
They gave her stockings?
Seriously? Like she didn't already have plenty?
She wanted points, not this nonsense!
Everyone else got points.
And her first item drop was this?
Compare her with Takumi's first drop?
She couldn't help but feel resentful.
Takumi:
[@Chika Fujiwara, next time, wear it for me!!]
[Group Chat items should be top tier!!]
Who wants to see it? +1!
Chapter 67: What Is There to Discuss? Do We Even Need to Discuss?
Fujiwara Chika: [Keep dreaming~!] [As if I'd wear that for you!!]
Seeing that LSP's comment, Fujiwara Chika felt indignantand a little shy too. Who would wear Balenciaga stockings just to show you? Seriously!!
Takumi: [Stingy!] [Fine, not arguing anymore, time to sleep!]
No high-socks to see? Whatever. Time for bed.
He had to help beat up Huo Kun tomorrow anyway.
Closing the chat group, Takumi turned in for the night. The rest of the group didn't stay up late either. Once check-ins were done, they all logged off to sleep.
The only one pulling an all-nighter was Kaguya.
She was still going strong in her gaming streak. Even after Koneko left, she kept on playing.
When Takumi woke up the next morning, Kaguya was still gaming.
Seeing this, Takumi was baffled.
"You came to another world just to pull an all-nighter?"
Did she seriously not plan to sleep at all?
Hearing him, Kaguya finally noticed the time and glanced outside.
"It's already morning?"
"Give me a moment!"
Right in front of Takumi and the others who had come to wake themlike Akenoshe straight up committed suicide.
Moments later, she revived at full health.
"OJ8K." "All set!" "Has it started?" "Let's get going!"
Energetic as ever, Kaguya was ready to go.
"6, huh!" "You really are OP when you don't fear death."
"Say, your Hourai Elixir freezes you at a certain moment, right?" "No matter how you die, you just restore to your original state?"
Kaguya nodded. "Yep! That's exactly it." "Any problem with that?"
She looked at Takumi a bit confused. Was there something wrong with that?
"Then, does that... barrier... also restore?"
Takumi suddenly dropped that question.
Kaguya froze.
Akeno and the others also fell silent.
Please stop asking weird things this early in the morning.
Returning to her senses, Kaguya looked at Takumi, speechless.
"How would I know?" "I haven't tested it!!"
She genuinely couldn't answer. She really didn't know.
"That so?" "What a shame."
Takumi looked disappointed. Another mystery for the books. Too bad.
Kaguya stared at him oddly. Why is your brain always wired so bizarrely?
But Takumi ignored her and turned to Akeno.
"When does it start?"
"Roughly 8 AM," Akeno replied quickly. "It's already 7:30 now." "We have half an hour for breakfast."
Takumi nodded. "Alright then! Let's eat first." "Then we'll finish things quickly."
He still had a lot to take care of after this.
Akeno nodded, then led Takumi and Kaguya to the cafeteria.
Once breakfast was done, Takumi and Kaguya were taken to a waiting room.
Rias was already preparing.
Grayfia had arrived and was currently speaking with her.
At this time, Rias submitted her participant list.
When Grayfia saw the two unfamiliar names,
Penglai-san Kaguya and Takumi?
She was a bit confused. Where had these two come from?
The registration had only marked them as external allies, friends. Not official retainers of Rias.
Though puzzled, she didn't press the matter.
If Rias had recruited support, then so be it.
When the match began, she could observe them firsthand.
Once Rias submitted the roster, Grayfia left.
After breakfast, a massive magic array suddenly lit up across the old school building.
The enormous formation enveloped Kuoh Academy.
Takumi could feel the space shift clearly.
Everyone was transported to an alternate dimension.
"It's starting?"
Seeing the change outside, Kaguya clicked her tongue in curiosity. She got up to inspect the surroundings.
The sky had turned gray.
The buildings were unchanged, but the air felt slightly unreal.
This kind of barrier was quite impressive.
If she learned how to use it, she wouldn't need to worry about damaging the Bamboo Forest of the Lost when fighting that guy.
Yeah. Definitely a win.
She should ask Rias later.
As the barrier solidified, their opponents arrived.
Riser showed up, bringing a crowd of girls.
Upon arrival, he activated a magic broadcast:
"Rias, my dear fiance, stop resisting."
"Even with the Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor, you can't change the fact that you'll be marrying me."
"Surrender early, and you'll avoid suffering."
Arrogant didn't even begin to describe him.
To Riser, Rias was just flailing in futility.
Even if she brought in two unknowns, it wouldn't help.
Might as well give up now.
Kaguya raised an eyebrow.
"What an arrogant guy!!"
"Takumi, shouldn't we just destroy him?"
She turned to Takumi with a cold glint.
People that arrogant deserved a beating.
Takumi fully agreed.
Definitely.
Someone more arrogant than him? Let's just erase them.
"Let me handle his little sister later."
"I'll show them what it means to be a pro at smashing immortals."
Kaguya said this confidently.
She meant business.
"Shall we strategize?"
Rias also spoke up.
She looked at Takumi.
Should they discuss how to handle the battle?
Hearing that, Takumi tilted his head.
"Strategize what?"
"Just bulldoze through them."
"No strategy needed."
He stood up.
Everyone froze.
"No plan at all?"
Rias was confused.
"You're underestimating me."
"If we really needed a plan to deal with this weak-sauce group, then you're insulting me."
"Kaguya, you might not get your one-on-one with Ravel."
"I say we just steamroll them."
Kaguya blinked.
"You're planning to end it instantly?"
His tone made it clearTakumi wasn't here to play games.
"Of course I am."
"I'm not here to be a monkey on display."
Since this Rating Game was being broadcast to the Underworld,
He didn't want to become entertainment.
This whole thing was just a glorified game.
Better to finish it quick, then get on with his own stuff.
If he could end it early, why drag it out?
So Takumi's plan was simple:
End the fight in an instant.
Let those backwater devils experience the might of technology.
Chapter 68: What Did You Say? Say It Louder
Since Takumi had already made up his mind, Kaguya didn't have anything to add.
"Alright then."
She figured the points were basically free. She'd just treat this as a game.
Rias, on the other hand, was slightly stunned. But seeing Takumi's serious expression, she couldn't say much either.
Perhaps for Takumi, this really was a simple matter. So she stopped overthinking it.
As for Riser's provocations, Rias didn't bother to respond.
Seeing Rias remain silent, Riser clicked his tongue and gave up speaking further.
He was very confident about this Rating Game.
He didn't think there was any chance of losing.
In terms of servant numbers, his side clearly outnumbered Rias'.
And in terms of overall strength, he had the edge too.
Though Rias had gained the Boosted Gear, he knew her control over it was still limited.
As for the two new humans Rias brought? Just some mere humans!
In Riser's eyes, those two were just filler. Probably tricked into participating by Rias.
To be fair, many others were also curious about Rias' new team members.
Even Riser's older brother was intrigued. After learning the names from Grayfia, he grew suspicious.
Who were Kaguya Houraisan and Takumi? They appeared out of nowhere. There was no information on them.
Still, now wasn't the time to dig deeper. He'd ask questions once this match was over.
Back in the mirror dimension, Grayfia had officially announced the start of the match.
Both sides could now begin attacking freely. The rules were simple and brutal:
Whichever side lost all combat power would be considered defeated.
"Got it." "Then let's send them to heaven."
Hearing the rules, Takumi clapped his hands.
In the next moment, the power of the Herrscher of the Void activated.
Space portals opened one after another in midair.
This scene was also broadcast to countless spectators in the Underworld.
Seeing the power, many were visibly shocked.
Spatial abilities?
But a moment later, their expressions drastically changed.
"Please stand behind me." "Don't want to hit you by mistake."
As Takumi began moving, he still took time to remind Rias and the others.
They all obediently stepped behind him Kaguya included.
Though it only showed the barrel, they knew this weapon.
The last time it was used, the entire world it hit had to be relocated.
Now Takumi was pointing the sub-cannons of a star-destroyer at an immortal phoenix?
"666!!"
Kaguya even shouted in excitement.
Behind Takumi, barrels upon barrels of cannons emerged from the void.
Riser began sensing something was wrong. He immediately noticed the weapons materializing.
Seeing them, his face went pale.
"What... what is that??"
He was utterly stunned.
What was Rias even planning?
"Fire!!" "Hurry, shoot him~!!"
Kaguya was pumped. "Hurry! Fire already!"
Takumi rolled his eyes. But he didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, the star-destroyer opened fire.
Beams of energy flooded the area, covering every inch in front of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
