章 264: Seeing Double

As the two Alex's stared at each other, the original suddenly flashed backwards several meters so they weren't directly face to face. This caused the white Alex to laugh slightly, before saying,

"So where exactly am I supposed to start, hmm? Your disregard for the lives you've ended? How about your tendencies to "collect" women? Or even how you've separated them from the "fates" that were arranged for them?" While his double was speaking Alex didn't even flinch as he instead mentally asked Lauren,

'Can you keep my mind isolated from the labyrinth from here on? I don't want to decrease his strength during our fight.' Lauren sighed before replying,

'Of course, though this method would've been preferable to prevent it from increasing instead...' Though she didn't say it, Lauren also wished Alex would've done this to begin with in Haltina's ideal world instead of experiencing that ridiculous dream, but kept this opinion silent and did as he asked. His preparations finally complete, Alex now said to his copy,

"How about we cut the chit chat and get to the fight?" His double was silent for a second before sneering,

"What? Are you that against hearing about your faults, the disgusting aspects of your life that you don't want to face?" Alex sneered back in response and replied,

"I've already accepted that I'm scum, why do you think I refuse to be acknowledged as a hero?" Ever since reincarnating Alex had never once tried to be a hero, even in Tortus he only ever went by "champion" whenever he saved people. Seeming surprised by Alex's answer, the double was confused for a second. It was made so that it was equally as strong as its original and, depending on if they accepted their ugly side or tried to ignore it, their strength would grow or increase accordingly. Seeing Alex "accept" his ugly side so easily while its strength remained the same, the double could only conclude that he was bluffing and showing false bravado since it didn't know about the existence of Lauren. It was pulled from its thoughts when Alex lifted something for it to see, a simple coin.

"When this hits the ground, we'll begin our fight." Alex said with eagerness in his voice and battle lust in his eyes. The doubles eyes sharpened as it decided to try to catch its opponent off guard during their fight, and got into a battle stance. As Alex lightly flicked the coin into the space between them, he too quickly got into a stance for battle. The watched as the coin flew through the air, seeming slower than it should have been as the tension continued building and they each heightened their awareness far beyond what a person should have been.

Tin- BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

As the small noise of the coin hitting the floor sounded throughout the ice chamber, it was interrupted and followed by a series of conclusive blasts as both Alex and his double moved instantly to repeatedly clash, filling the room with several after images of them both while the resulting shockwaves spread to their surroundings even through Alex's barriers.

***

Meanwhile when Alex's fight was just starting, Rias's had just ended as she stood in the middle of her trials room, or what was left of it. It had been subject to the powers of destruction from Rias and her copy, resulting in it looking nothing like it's smooth mirror self when she started her fight. As for the person herself, Rias was standing in the middle of the room breathing hard as her skin color turn back to normal, and the dress of destruction she made also dispelled. For a brief second the Crimson haired girl was standing naked in the room of ice as the cold crept into areas it was never supposed to, but before she could re-summon her clothes and artifacts from before her transformation, the ground suddenly shook and she fell back on her rear.

"EEEK!" Rias cried out as she jumped up and hurriedly summoned her clothes before trying to warm herself and her now frozen butt.

"What was that?" She complained to herself while shivering, and swearing that she had to figure out a better way to handle the transformation into a super devil. Though the door to next area appeared, Rias spent a few more moments trying to warm herself before making her way down it cautiously. As she was once more surrounded by the reflections of herself, she snorted while recalling her battle and wondered about the others. Now she understood why Alex had been acting the way he had right before they were separated, as facing themselves as opponents was a daunting thought. Her thoughts were then interrupted when she reached another room, only to find Anne fighting herself while a series of whirlwinds flowed around them from both of them using sky dragon slayer magic.

"He should only be with you!" The double suddenly declared, making Anne flinch and catching Rias's attention, after all it was fairly easy to determine who the double was referring to.

"You waited twenty years and he couldn't even be bothered! Instead he surrounded himself with worthless sluts who do nothing but shake their asses for him!" Anne was silent as her copy verbally abused her, trying to convince herself that it wasn't saying the truth. However she didn't expect what it was about to say next,

"Ah, here she is now, the lead slut." Anne looked over to the side and saw that Rias had arrived and was watching her fight with interest. Feeling shame she tried to say something like these weren't her true feelings, but before she could the copy spoke once more,

"She stole his first time after arriving in his original world, and she's helped build up the army of bitches around him! He would be all yours if it wasn't for her, kill her for it! Make her suffer!" Anne was speechless as her double stopped fighting and pointed directly at the stunned Rias. Though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't the slightest bit tempted to become Alex's one and only, another part of her screamed that it was impossible. Anne then used her telekinesis and grabbed her double while it was off guard, and practically shouted,

"Yeah I want to be his one and only, I feel frustrated that he didn't wait for me like I did him and that I have to share him with so many women. However there's one thing you don't know, if he belonged only to me, if everyone else simply disappeared, THEN HOW THE HELL IS MY BODY SUPPOSED TO LAST TRYING TO SATISFY HIM BY MYSELF!!!???" The double was stunned silent for a moment, before Anne decided to use the most vicious method she could think of to defeat it, and used her telekinesis to tear the double to pieces while Rias watched dumbfoundedly. After destroying her double Anne collapsed silently to the floor as she tried to think on what the double told her, while Rias slowly and silently approached.

"I used to be kinda like you at first, I hated the idea of sharing Alex." She said slowly, as Anne looked up at her.

"And how did you get over it?" She asked, making Rias start laughing a moment later. Though Anne's questioning look started turning into a glare, Rias calmed down and said,

"The same way as you actually, Xenovia, Akeno and I challenged him to go as long as he wanted, and it wasn't until the sun got in his eyes the next morning that he realized that he literally screwed us all night long. The three of us couldn't walk normally for a few days after that." After hearing Rias's story Anne was silent for a moment, before she too started laughing wildly. The two continued talking for a while as they recovered from their fights, before finally moving down the passage that opened after Anne won her fight.

"So who do you think we'll see next?" Anne asked cautiously while Rias started thinking about that same thing. After a moment she finally answered,

"It'll probably be someone the labyrinth might try turn against us like you to me, though I can't think of anyone that'll fit that description." Anne nodded in contemplation while another shake ran through the caverns, causing the two women to grab onto each other for support.

"What was that?" Anne asked in confusion, while Rias stayed silent. She thought it might be Alex fighting his double, and was worried at the thought of him facing someone at the same level as himself. As for everyone else, she felt she didn't need to worry; Shia and Tio were both practically indestructible, Kuroka wasn't a top ranking criminal for several years for nothing, if it was Shizuku when they first met instead then it'd probably be cause for concern, while Rias doubted the midget would struggle too much, and of course her sister would naturally be ok. Suzu was the only one she could imagine struggling as she silently cheered her cute/perverted servant on, and didn't even bother worrying about the others.

"Oh, I can see the next room!" Anne cried out as she and Rias started rushing forward to see who was there, only to be greeted by the sight of Grayfia face down in a growing pool of her own blood, a pure black version of her stepping on the back of her head while getting ready to drive a sword made of ice into her heart.

***

*a few minutes earlier*

"HA!" Grayfia shouted as she once more crossed blades with the pure black version of herself that the labyrinth created, before creating a mass of demonic power and firing it at the copy. After taking some distance the copy similarly started forming several complex magic circles before firing them at Grayfia as well. The silver haired maid responded by using her 'Magic Domain' to forcibly hijack her opponents magic attack, and send it back to her. Though her domain didn't have the same range or power as when she used her super devil form, it was still enough to ensure opponents up until the same level of strength couldn't use magic against her. Within the hail of magic attacks however,

"Promotion, knight!" The copy muttered quietly before making its way through the hailstorm of magic faster than Grayfia could see, and landed a punch directly into her face. As she was sent back several feet from the hit, Grayfia wiped the small trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth before similarly promoting to knight as well. Another benefit of becoming a super devil was that for some reason she was now able to promote without Alex's permission, a great boon in situations like this. As she and the copy rushed towards each other once more, they both prepared to to hit the other but Grayfia never would've imagine what was about to happen.

"Promotion, rook!" The copy shouted, resulting in it coming to nearly a standstill while Grayfia still rushed forward into its powered up fist, before being sent flying back after being overpowered. With the distance between them increased, the copy suddenly spoke while Grayfia was preparing for the next round.

"Not bad for a whore, someone who betrays those they call precious and spreads their legs for whoever offers a better deal." As she stood back up Grayfia glared at her copy before saying,

"I am not a whore!" The copy sneered before responding,

"Really? A slut then? A loose woman? Or perhaps a gold digger? You swore oaths to stand by your husband no matter what, and yet here you are only a couple years after he disappears shaking your ass for another man just because it'd benefit you more than staying faithful would have. But that's not the real reason for your guilt is it?" As the copy spoke Grayfia briefly recalled her ideal world in the Haltina labyrinth, a world where surprisingly everything was nearly the same as it was now in Asora with three exceptions, the inclusion of Rias's parents Venelana and Zeoticus Gremory, and a little silver haired girl. Though Grayfia always wanted more children, she had always believed Sirzechs would be their father like with Millicas; however what she believed was the final nail in the coffin of her betrayal against him, was that in her dream world her daughter had the tail of a monkey, just like her father. A sudden pain interrupted her thoughts, as Grayfia looked down and saw a sword made of ice stabbed into her stomach. With a sadistic sneer on its face, the copy gleefully stated,

"To think, the one known as the 'Queen of Annihilation' would get sentimental over daydreams of having a daughter, just like a naive little girl!" As the copy gloated over her weakness, Grayfia gripped the blade of the ice sword weakly as if to try and pull it out, but only succeeded in cutting her own hands open as the cold from the blade seemed to sap more of her strength. If she was thinking more clearly then she would've been able to use some of her skills or age of gods magic to help herself, but her mind was in complete disarray from the copy's taunting and the immense feelings of guilt growing inside her. The copy then seized her throat and started choking her while slowly pulling the sword out of her stomach, making Grayfia feel directly the cold blade slicing through more of her organs. The copy then threw her across the room where she landed face down as blood started pooling beneath her from the wound in her stomach. As Grayfia weakly tried to use her hands to lift herself, she suddenly felt a foot on the back of her head before she was brutally forced to plant her face down hard enough that her nose snapped on impact. With blood now pooling under her face as well, the silver haired woman laid there limply as her double pressed the tip of its ice sword against her back, right above her heart.

"I'd say this is the part where you fail." The double said, but just before it could stab the sword down into Grayfia's heart,

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY SISTER!!!" A shrill yell echoed throughout the chamber, right before a massive blast of destruction hurdled right towards the double. Barely moving out of the way in time, it turned to see an extremely pissed Rias surrounded by yet more destruction before she started lobbing it at the double. While Rias kept it distracted, Anne quickly ran to Grayfia's side and started treating her wounds. Though she wasn't able to use Devils magic like the others, she was thankfully able to add Regeneration magic in her healing to speed up the process as well as help Grayfia recover her lost blood. After fixing her nose and healing the hole in her stomach, Anne rushed to Rias's side and said,

"I helped heal her but I don't know what the double said to her, go to her and I'll keep it busy." Rias nodded in acknowledgment and rushed to her elder sisters side while Anne used her telekinesis to forcefully hold the double in place, though it was really fighting back. As she approached Grayfia's side Rias knelt down and took her sisters hand in her own while she tried to figure out what was happening. Before she could say anything though, Grayfia muttered,

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't talk and don't say you're sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for big sis." Rias stated firmly as she truly felt her sister had never done anything wrong. Grayfia however frowned in response and replied,

"I betrayed your family who completely accepted me, I betrayed Sirzechs whom I married and swore faithfulness to, and I betrayed you who I cherished as my beloved little sister. I don't deserve your love or respect-"

SLAP

There was a stunned silence as once again Rias interrupted her big sister, except this time with an open hand instead of with her words. She then shouted to her stunned older sister,

"THE ONLY PERSON YOU HAVE BETRAYED, IS YOUR SON WHEN YOU GAVE UP HERE!!! How will Millicas react if I had to tell him his mom is never coming home?" With a discernible sadness creeping into her voice during the second half of her declaration, Grayfia paused and realized how stupid she had been acting when she pictured her son. Initially everything she'd done since Sirzechs left them was for his sake and protection, and so what if she secretly started to enjoy her current lifestyle? As if to confirm her new thoughts Rias then added,

"And as far as big brother is concerned, he betrayed you first when he left you to suffer from those old bastards alone!" Though she didn't like to swear or speak ill of her big brother, Rias still couldn't accept that he just left Grayfia and Millicas in the situation they were in, and was also grateful that Grayfia turned to Alex instead of suffering whatever intentions they might have had. With renewed determination, Grayfia struggled shakily to her feet and turned towards her opponent, who Anne released with deep sigh of relief as blood had started running from her nose from how much she was struggling to contain it. With the copy turning towards her as well with its usual sneer on its face, it opened its mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"I am Grayfia Lucifuge, former queen of Hell and servant to the Dragon Emperor, but most importantly I AM a mother!" At the end of her declaration an intense surge of power started emanating from her as she closed her eyes, only to open them a moment later to reveal that they had turn pitch black, except for the silver glowing iris's. As the power around her continued growing, her skin started gaining a silver metallic sheen while a single foot-long horn started growing from her forehead, and five sets of pitch black wings radiating demonic power formed behind her. After her transformation was complete something like a thin membrane seemed to spread out from Grayfia until it enveloped the entire chamber, including the double. The double smirked after seeing what Grayfia did, and started amassing magic power itself to undergo the super devil transformation as well. However, it was now Grayfia's turn to sneer as she pulled the gathering demonic power from the double's body and used it to form several magic attacks around it while it looked around at shock from suddenly losing the energy it was gathering.

"Did you forget? My domain gives me complete control over magic power, meaning any magic you try to use is now mine." The double growled from annoyance and flashed forward while slashing at her head with its ice sword, only for Grayfia to effortlessly catch it with two of her fingers before shattering the blade. Before the double could comprehend what happened, it then received a fist to its face before being flung back into the wall at the other end of the chamber. As it hit the wall and created a large crater from the impact, Grayfia blasted the double with a mass of demonic power more potent and powerful than anything else she had summoned in her life. As the dark demonic power started fading, the pure black form that was the double was also gone as a new passage way also opened up, signaling Grayfia passing the trial. She then released the form while letting out a bitter sigh.

"As powerful as this form is, my reliance on it is nothing but a sign of my incompetence." She muttered to herself. As far as Grayfia was concerned, the super devil form was a last resort to use whenever there was no other chance of victory, and the fact she had to use it to get an advantage over herself showed just how weak she was. Her self critique was interrupted however, when she nearly collapsed but was caught by Rias and Anne who suddenly appeared at her sides.

"Let's rest for a moment, you need it." Though Grayfia was about to argue, seeing the healer Anne also glaring at her kept her silent as the duo slowly let her down onto a small cot Rias summoned. As Grayfia laid down the two then used Regeneration magic to further heal her and help restore lost blood, while also ignoring the occasional tremor that ran through the area.