DXD SI : Chapter 56 : Don't insulte me, Crow! & A Thundery Spar! (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.

Oppai Club

–Magdaran Bael–

As it turned out, the Club did have a specific floor reserved for Spars, but it was not used, as the membership tier required for that was really high, probably only for Faction leaders like Azazel or people of equivalent importance. A measly DD membership was not going to get him entry into the sparring ring.

Now, he could have asked Azazel to give him entry, but the problem with that was there was no one else in the Ring. He asked Azazel, and he had a very good explanation for it.

“Well, this area is reserved for the higher tier members of the club, who are usually on the higher tiers of power. Sparring here is really counterproductive, as you would have to be careful of your energy spikes, making sure that the space beyond the sparring ring is not fractured, on top of making sure that your opponent does not die. The kind of magic they can throw around here can lead to this pocket dimension itself reaching instability, and that is a big No-no in Odin’s book. 

So, instead of having to follow all these rules, the members just spar out in their respective areas. I don’t think I have seen this place being used aside from Thor, who uses it because some members challenge him sometimes and he wanted to get it over quickly.”

In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Why would the people who came here explicitly to have a good experience without the threat of violence, try to spar here? Azazel’s comment about their powers cracking this dimension kinda made sense, as he could definitely see someone like Thor breaching it with ease.

“So,” Azazel said, “Wanna come back to my place?”

…..

“.....Ewww!” 

Azazel flinched as he warded the Fallen away from him using his hand, prompting him to say. “Relax. I am not going to disintegrate you. Not worth the effort.

“Not worth the effort? Not worth the effort?! Brat, I am the Governor General of Grigori. I can assure you that many people would love you if you killed me.”

He gave the man a dry look, “And you take it as a compliment?”

Azazel puffed his chest out, “Of course. It is a badge of honor. The more people that want to kill you and can’t, the better you are at this whole thing, kid. Didn’t they teach you this at school?

“I didn’t go to school.”

“Then, it’s the perfect time to show my school. It is world class and I can assure you, you will not be targeted at all. I have plenty of Devils who study with Humans as well as Fallen in my Academy.”

“Why do I feel like your definition of plenty is just 2 Devils?”

“Well, it’s more than 2, I can tell you.”

“...It’s 3, isn’t it?”

“Come on! It’ll be fun.”

“You do know that the more you try to pitch it, the more I find it suspicious?”

“Find what suspicious?” Goosebumps arose all over his body as he whirled around, barely controlling himself from lashing out, as he flinched at seeing Thor behind them, alcohol in one hand, Mjolnir attached to his belt, eyes half closed but even with that slouched and relaxed posture, he could feel the threat the God of Thunder and Strength posed to him, without the man even taking the hammer in his hand.

Well, judging by the way he split his attempt at saving Vali from being put into a coma, he could see how the man could tear him apart with just his physical body, without using his magic or his Divine Weapon whatsoever.

As was his habit, he went silent and began analysing the threat in front of him, despite being fully aware that aside from fleeing if it came down to a fight, he wouldn't be able to do much of anything, aside from being a distraction if he pushed the conceptual part of his power to the limit.

Azazel, on the other hand, had no such compulsion as he swaggered off to stand right next to the absolute Unit of a God, before replying, “He finds my training school suspicious. He thinks I will have him ambushed there.”

Thor looked at him before his gaze went to Azazel, taking one swig of his beer or whatever it was in that bottle, before replying, “It makes sense.”

Thor walked past him as he stepped aside. “He has a unique power that I haven’t seen so far, and even without that, he seems powerful enough for his age. I wasn’t that powerful at his age.”

Someone with that bulk and sheer presence had no business being so silent and sneaky, as Thor not only managed to sneak up on him, but also got inside the ring without making a single sound. It was as if the God had mastered the art of moving silently, which made sense since he was a warrior.

“Ohh, come on!” Azazel whined as he stomped forward to stand right next to the sparring ring, “Not you too! You know some of the kids that train there. Don’t you think I will make sure that he is safe?”

Thor stood, looking at the sparring ring, his back to them, before replying, “Don’t insult me or his intelligence, Crow.”

Azazel straightened up at Thor’s tone change, sighing before turning around, looking at him with a far more serious face than before, apparently having realised that his happy go lucky whimsical face was not going to completely convince the paranoid Devil that was Magdaran, “Fine. I did what I could. Here.”

Azazel walked up and handed him a small card, looking oddly familiar. “That is a standing invitation to my Academy. Hope I see you there, and you realise that I genuinely mean you no harm.”

He inspected the card before pocketing it, and looked Azazel in the eye before replying, “I wish I can too. It sounds like an interesting place.”

The subtext being that he could not trust Azazel or his academy right now, and would love to visit once that trust was established. Not something that could be done with just a couple of visits. Odin really was an anomaly in how quickly he’d gained his trust with very few interactions.

He would have suspected magical tampering, but he had seen no concept affecting him despite multiple sweeps, and that was enough for now. Plus, Odin seemed to want something in exchange for the help, which just helped him trust the God more, as someone helping him without expecting anything in exchange would have made him suspect them more. 

Then Azazel went ahead and said something totally unrelated to the topic at hand. “Good Luck?”

“Good Luck?” For what? He turned around to watch as Azazel swiftly left the floor, as if he was fleeing from someth—

Oh. Ohh.

He turned around to see Thor standing in the center of the sparring ring, which was probably more durable than anything in the Oppai Club, looking at him, bottle of alcohol nowhere to be seen.

“Well?” Thor prompted him, as if he was asking him: What are you waiting for?

___xx__

“Um,” he began, saying the first words to the God since he abruptly appeared behind him, “I think there’s been a mistake.”

“Mistake? Why would the Crow bring you here, if not for a spar?” Thor interrupted him, and his voice just rumbled all around them, his posture still relaxed, not treating this seriously at all, which was expected since he was, well, Thor.

He swallowed, trusting Odin’s words about non violence extended to no deaths in the Sparring ring as well, before walking forward, his clothes flashing as he changed into clothing that did not hamper his movement. Also, no armour since he could not see any on the God of Thunder.

“Fine.” He replied before hopping into the Sparring Ring, and immediately, he felt the force fields around them. Very strong as well, and while he had no doubt they could stop even him at full power, it was probably only if they pulled power from somewhere else.

He could tell that on their own, they were not very strong, but they were capable of reacting to force. An optimal system for a place that did not need it at full power all the time. Probably required a skilled Enchanter, but they had Odin, so that was a non issue.

He hopped on the balls of his feet, moving his hands around, as if stretching, which was unnecessary since he was a Devil, before he let his energy flow around him, making his skin and his eyes glow Purple a bit, as his power thrummed just under his skin, ready to be unleashed at will.

He looked at Thor and waited for some sort of–

“Come.”

Okay, that was the signal. 

With a thought, he erased the friction around him as he zoomed forward, his power coming to life around him as he manifested a Rasengan made up of his power and thrust it at the God’s chest.

It was a normal Ball of his power, without any conceptual destruction, but his eyes widened in shock as the ball just hit  Thor, pierced his clothing before it hit his flesh. It could not go further than that.

He retreated immediately, as Thor remained standing in place. Switching his tactics, he manifested more balls, creating a ring all around him, blasting forth with his power once more, with the intention of—

BOOM!

As blood spurted out of his lips, his entire body folded around Thor’s hand; all he could think of was…

When in the fuck did he move?

___xx___

His back hit the forcefield, a grunt escaping his lips as he slid down the forcefield, his gaze on Thor looking down on him, “You think too much.”

What?

Before he could say anything, like something idiotic like telling the God to fuck off or to tell him that he was not here for a lecture, Thor said.

“Again.”

He coughed, deciding that yes, he wanted to spar to gain a better handle over his power, and while this was certainly unconventional and unexpected, it was also a boon, as how many people could say they had the privilege of sparring with the God of Thunder and got tips to better their combat style?

Switching gears, his power did its job and healed him up completely within seconds. That did not fill him with relief. It should have been instant.

Thor grunted in what seemed like approval, “Good. You can last longer, then.”

Why did he feel like he had just committed a mistake here?