Chapter 40 - Rias's Plan
Seeing Kiba's hesitation, Rias chuckled, turning to Roy.
"Roy, you said you wouldn't hold back, but you barely showed your real strength, did you?"
"Eighty percent? Fifty? Or… just one or two?"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, probing for his limits.
"Not that dramatic," Roy said, nodding.
"But yeah, I didn't go all out."
With his current strength and Kiba's Kendo talent fully absorbed, few could push him to peak.
"He outclassed Yuuto in pure skill without breaking a sweat," Akeno said, awestruck.
"That's great swordsman caliber."
"Really strong," Koneko said, her concise words and serious expression underscoring her respect for Roy.
"I'd wager Roy's overall strength is nearing, maybe even hitting, Low-Class," Rias mused.
Such kendo mastery demanded exceptional reflexes and speed, even if human physique limited raw power.
History had seen humans reach such heights, so Rias pegged Roy as comparable to a Low-Class—potentially deadly with the right weapon.
"Low-Class?" Akeno's gaze shifted, swapping playful teasing for scrutiny, assessing Roy with new weight.
"Low-Class? What's that?"
"Just our way of ranking strength," Rias said, smiling.
"Like karate belts."
"Low-Class doesn't sound too impressive," Roy said, playing along.
"What about Kiba?"
Rias considered. "Yuuto's at Middle-Class."
As a Middle-Class and Sacred Gear wielder, Yuuto's strength was formidable, even without his Sacred Gear.
With it, he'd be stronger.
"Middle-Class, huh? A step above me," Roy said, faking astonishment as he glanced at Kiba.
"Couldn't tell at all."
"Exactly," Rias chuckled.
"Strength isn't just skill. Yuuto held back his full speed and power earlier."
"If he goes all out and you don't, you'll get crushed."
"Looking forward to it," Roy said, adjusting his stance.
Rias thought him Low-Class, so he'd match that—LVL30 in system's terms.
Having lingered at that level before, Roy knew exactly how much force to dial in.
"Yuuto, no holding back. Show your real strength," Rias ordered, using communication magic to keep the spar's nature intact.
"Roy, heads-up," Kiba said, nodding.
"My speed and strength will spike. Be ready."
Kiba gripped his shinai, his aura sharpening like an unsheathed blade, radiating intensity.
"Got it," Roy said, feeling the pressure but nodding.
Whoosh!
Kiba widened the gap, then charged like a beast, his speed a blur that dazzled the eye.
He reused his opening move, unchanged.
"Easing me in?" Roy thought.
Kiba was too honorable for his own good.
Roy countered with the same parry, but at the critical moment, as his shinai neared Kiba's chest, Kiba pivoted.
Retracting his strike, he slashed diagonally, deflecting Roy's blade.
This time, Kiba evaded, avoiding the chest hit.
"Feel that, Roy? I'm getting serious now," Kiba said, eyes razor-sharp.
He trusted Roy's skill to catch the shift from that single exchange.
"Tougher, yeah," Roy said, rubbing his wrist.
Kiba's parry nearly knocked the shinai loose.
If Roy wasn't careful, he could actually lose.
"But it's manageable," Roy said, his gaze sharpening as he tightened his grip.
"His aura's shifted," Koneko said, her Nekomata senses picking up Roy's intensity.
"Roy's ceiling is high," Rias said, eyes gleaming.
"Even facing Yuuto's strength, he's this confident."
She didn't expect Roy to win—the gap was too wide—but his potential thrilled her.
Kiba attacked again, his shinai a whirlwind crashing toward Roy.
Against such speed, Roy didn't counterattack, opting for passive defense.
Chasing a Middle-Class's speed with Low-Class strength was a losing game.
Steady defense, waiting for an opening, was smarter.
Bang bang bang!
Shinai afterimages danced in the air as Kiba unleashed a relentless barrage.
Yet Roy's defense was ironclad, parrying every strike with precision, neutralizing Kiba's onslaught.
'He's sapping my strength with every hit,' Kiba thought, frustrated.
Each swing met not brute resistance but a soft deflection, like striking cotton, draining his momentum.
Roy's steps and swings seemed calculated to the millimeter, as if Kiba's attacks were pre-read, leaving no cracks to exploit.
"No choice—your strength's too much," Roy said, grinning.
"Head-on, I'd collapse."
"Smart move."
"He's negating senpai's strength with every block," Koneko looked stunned.
"That skill's unreal."
Occasional deflections were normal, but countering every varied strike—different angles, shifting force—was unprecedented for her.
"Any idea what style Roy's using, Akeno? Is there a school for this kind of deflection?" Rias asked.
"No clue," Akeno said, shaking her head.
"His moves are eclectic, like he never studied formally. None of the styles I know match."
"Maybe he trained under some hidden UK master?" Akeno ventured.
Roy's lack of ties to the Church or Japanese exorcists narrowed the possibilities.
"Could be," Rias said, uncertain.
"His student database file is clean but bare—no hint of when or how he honed this skill."
That afternoon, Rias had checked Roy's records.
His background was spotless but lacked depth, silent on his kendo origins.
For a human to reach this level without extraordinary means defied normalcy.
"Still, it's thrilling," Rias said, brushing off identity concerns.
Whatever Roy's past, she, Rias Gremory, could handle it.
"Despite lagging in speed and strength, he's holding Yuuto off," Akeno said, smiling as Kiba was repelled again.
"You're struggling, Yuuto-kun."
"It's tough," Rias said, chuckling. "But Roy's losing ground."
As the spar dragged on, Kiba's assault began to pierce Roy's defenses.
Roy's blocks grew less fluid, some barely in time, teetering on defeat.
"It's over!" Koneko said, eye's narrowing as the clash peaked.
Akeno stared, speechless.
Roy's shinai rested on Kiba's neck; Kiba's hovered at Roy's abdomen.
Both froze, halting the mutual strike.
Roy grinned, retracting his shinai. "Keep going, you're dead, I'm just hurt."
"Lost again," Kiba said, lowering his shinai with a wry smile, conceding the outcome.
Even with Middle-Class strength, he fell to Roy's trap.
"That last move—was it bait?" Kiba asked, replaying the spar.
He'd thought he'd found a winning opening, only to be ensnared.
"From the moment you broke my rhythm, it was a trap," Roy said, smiling.
"So I was played from then on?" Kiba's bitterness deepened.
He'd believed he'd gained the upper hand, only to chase a deliberate flaw Roy dangled, falling into a fatal setup.
"Too reckless, ending it like that," Akeno said, chiding.
"No choice," Roy said, panting for effect.
"Kiba's speed and strength outclassed me. Skill held me early, but stamina would've failed me. Had to end it quick."
Surprise was the only way to topple a stronger foe—prolonged fights favored the superior.
"But risking injury? Too dangerous," Akeno said, shaking her head.
"Rias, say something."
"I… uh," Rias stammered, flustered.
She'd just predicted Roy's defeat with smug analysis, only for him to flip the script, luring Kiba into a trap for a stunning victory.
Her face burned—her commentary was a public faceplant.
"Rias-senpai, I passed your test, right?" Roy asked, grinning.
"Beyond expectations," Rias said, her cheeks warm, hoping he hadn't caught her overconfident spiel.
She'd planned for Kiba to dominate, humbling Roy to set up her devil reveal.
Instead, Roy's triumph derailed her script entirely.
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