Chương 265: When in Doubt, Shout it out

After spending nearly half an hour recovering, Anne and Rias decided that it was probably time for them to keep moving and reluctantly woke Grayfia. Though she was enjoying her rest and was annoyed at being woken up, Grayfia instead stated the opposite and criticized the two girls for not waking her earlier and wasting time. Smiling slightly from how her sister was back to normal, Rias led the way while Anne stayed right next to Grayfia to help her if needed, much to the maid's annoyance. The trio slowly made their way through the pristine corridors and ruined chambers that were empty of their combatants, all while the occasional tremors seemed to be becoming more common and intense before suddenly ceasing right before they came upon the very group of people they were looking for.

"What have we missed?" Rias asked while eagerly looking for news. She saw everyone except Alex looking fairly well and somewhat upbeat, meaning they all should have passed their trials, except Yue who seemed to be concerned about something else. Though several of them gave casual replies regarding their own experience, others like Hajime and Ryutarou were silently pointing into the camber they looking into, prompting Rias, Anne, and Grayfia to look in cautiously before their faces suddenly started twitching in incredulity. Inside was Alex as they expected, except he was moving at speeds none of them could follow and the few glimpses they caught showed both he and his double were covered with various obvious wounds, a sight that would have been horrifying if not for the insane grin plastered across his face.

"They've been going at it ever since I got here, and I got here before everyone else..." Hajime slowly said to the stupefied trio, before Rias demanded,

"Why haven't you gone to help or something?!" Hajime snorted at such a question, and replied,

"Because I'd get killed if I did. Even I can't truly follow their movements except for when they stop to trade blows, and besides with a smile like that he'd probably kill me for interfering. Saiyans are such huge battle maniacs that they'd gladly walk to their own death if they'd get a good fight out it." Rias was dumbfounded when she heard Hajime's explanation, something Alex had told her before but she never truly believed until now. Her attention was then drawn back to the fight when an intense golden glow shined throughout the area, and she could see that Alex had activated his super Saiyan ability while his double did its own black haired/aura version. She suddenly realized something asked,

"Why can't we hear them or feel it when they clash, weren't we earlier?" Kuroka suddenly jumped up and raised her hand while saying,

"That was me~Nyan, Alex put up a barrier to isolate the space around them so it wouldn't effect us, but didn't do it properly so I had to step in and fix it~Nya!" The trio nodded in understanding, and decided to set up to rest since it looked like Alex was going to be fighting for a while, and they hadn't properly relaxed since before they entered the labyrinth to begin with and the mental fatigue was swiftly catching up to them. They melted and sculpted the surrounding ice so that it could comfortably fit two tents as well as a heater with several chairs around it so they still keep an eye on Alex. Even while they had dinner everyone kept watching what little bits of the fight they follow, but as the hours slowly ticked on it became apparent that he wasn't going to finish anytime soon. Even then, it wasn't until Shia released a tired yawn that Grayfia said,

"Let's get some sleep, I know that everyone wants to watch over Alex, but there's nothing we can do here and I'm sure he would rather we get some rest than worry for him." Though several of the girls wanted to protest, the fact that they hadn't properly rested since entering the labyrinth, along with the mental fatigue from the whispering voices and fighting their doubles, no one was able to argue and the girls including Kaori filed into one of the tents. After Kaori gave him a kiss goodnight, Hajime turned towards Ryutarou who was the only one left, and said,

"I don't know about you, but I'm watching this until the end." Ryutarou smiled before agreeing, and the two boys get comfortable in their chairs with the heater nearby, and watched a fight they would normally only be able to see in their favorite childhood cartoon. Meanwhile inside the tent a very different conversation was taking place, as with a perverted grin on her face Suzu was passionately saying to the gathered women,

"But just think about it, we are all freezing cold and what better way to warm up than the piling of several warm bodies under the blankets!? That's why we should definitely have our pure yuri scene right now!" The surrounding girls sighed while a couple like Tio and Kuroka giggled while looking interested in the petite girls proposition. However it was Shizuku who said,

"Listen Suzu, despite whatever happens while we're all in bed with Alex, we are not yuri!" Though she tried to squash Suzu's idea, the perverted girls smile just grew as she suddenly pushed Kaori into Shizuku's lap and then declared,

"But think about it, we have a chance that we don't usually get, even an exclusive Shizu Shizu X Kaorin yuri scene that everyone in the class expects, yet I'll be the only one to witness! Hehehehehe" Ending her declaration with a perverted laugh, Shizuku sighed once again and was about to reject Suzu's idea while pulling Kaori off of her lap, but then someone gently grabbed her wrists and when Shizuku turned to see who it was, her lips were suddenly sealed by the mischievous nekomata. After nearly a minute of passionate kissing that Kuroka wouldn't let her get away from, Shizuku was finally released as she started panting from lack of air while the culprit was deductively licking her lips, seemingly savoring the flavor of her own.

"Nya~ why don't we follow the little perverts idea, huh? After all I wouldn't mind warming up a little you know." Though Shizuku was dumbfounded by Kuroka's actions, before she could refuse them her lips were once again sealed, except this time by her own best friend. Surprising everyone by the relatively awkward kiss, after they separated Kaori embarrassedly said,

"I've always wondered what so many women would do in the same mans bed, and since I'll make sure that Hajime and I never get into that situation, maybe I can find out here?" Surrounded by shocked silence Kaori was beginning to think she said something wrong, when she was suddenly tackled by Suzu who eagerly sealed her lips immediately. With Tio and Kuroka also swiftly pouncing onto her, Shizuku was also quickly dragged into the play despite her protests.

"Shouldn't we break them up?" Shia asked hesitantly, before Rias just sighed and similarly started undressing.

"They'll probably go on regardless of what we have to say, so I guess we can either join in or try to sleep while having to listen to them going at it." After hearing her reasoning the rest of the girls also sighed before beginning to undress, while Grayfia also summoned a large pile of thick blankets and mats to place down for them to use. Soon the already warm tent was heating up considerably while a steamy atmosphere developed, all without either of the two boys outside knowing what was going on due to the soundproofing.

***

While the girls were having fun without him, and the guys were intensely watching his fight, Alex himself had no time to wonder about them and instead could only focus on the opponent right in front of him. While possessing both his strength, his fighting style, and all of his abilities, their fight had initially turned into a competition to out do each other's reaction time with Haki. Observation Haki itself was almost a form of clairvoyance/mind reading, it was like an alarm telling you your opponents intentions right before they put it into action. It was partly because of this that their fight dragged on for so long as with the same exact specs they were able to easily react to the others intentions, until the first blood was finally drawn by Alex himself, and his double responded by spamming random ki attacks.

If one were to try and figure out a saiyan's true power, it wouldn't be anything like strength, or stamina, or resilience; it would instead be their raw potential and adaptability in battle. The longer the fight dragged on the more Alex was improving, faster movements, increased reaction time, battle intuition, and even his strength. All of these were steadily increasing throughout their battle as for the first time since reincarnating, Alex was able truly go all out in a match of martial arts. Every opponent he's faced since being reborn was, in several ways, horrible match ups to draw out his potential; wether it was a broken magic ability like Sirzechs and his power of destruction, or people like Cao Cao who were martially trained but relied on sacred gears to fill in the gap in strength, even divine beasts like Fenrir that were equipped with teeth that penetrated any defense. Until now now the only one who came close to giving Alex a satisfactory battle was Sun Wukong, except the only real advantage Wukong had against him was proper training and experience, other than that Alex had also severely outclassed him in terms of raw strength as well. That was why, even though everyone was starting to think he was crazy, there was a massive grin plastered on his face.

"Starting to get a bit slow there aren't you bastard?" Alex cried out as he sent his double flying with a kick. The double stood back up with an ugly look on its face, as while Alex's grin had only grown throughout their fight, it had only grown increasingly frustrated. No matter what it had said to him, he simply shrugged it off as if it was nothing and continued fighting without even the slightest bit of despair in his eyes. What vexed the double even more was that it's strength still hadn't changed from when the fight began, and if Alex had truly accepted his ugly side then this shouldn't be the case. It had toyed once with the idea attacking the gawking bystanders to get a rise out of him, but as the barrier around them was powered by Alex himself, it didn't have the strength to quickly break through it. In an attempt to get an edge once more, the double then summoned Alex's Ascalon and surged forward as if intending to cut him in two. Alex's expression didn't falter in the slightest, as he pulled out his own Ascalon and started and intense high speed clash of swords. Cuts started appearing all around the space they were in along with the already existing craters that they made, along with the constant shower of sparks as the two swords repeatedly clashed.

"HAHA, thanks for the sword training!" Alex shouted, as even his 'Sword Technique' had ticked up another level after just a few minutes of their exchange.

"Grrr..." The double growled as it quickly moved back and took a distance before dispelling its sword, prompting Alex to do the same before asking while smirking,

"Are you gonna help me level up my 'Staff Technique' now as well?" The double growled once more as it wondered for the hundredth time what the hell was wrong with him, before saying,

"This next exchange will be our last, prepare yourself!" Hearing its words Alex also became serious before the two suddenly disappeared from the spectators view, and reappeared in the middle of the room with a loud boom as they locked hands and tried to force the other back. Though they were still at first, the double was slowly but surely being pushed back by all the improvements Alex had made during this duel. Seeing its defeat inch ever closer, it finally decided to start playing by its own rules and summoned its version of the boosted gear on its left hand.

<BOOST, EXPLOSION!>

The gear shouted before Alex could react to it, causing the black aura surrounding the copy to suddenly double in size while also seeming to suffocate Alex's golden aura, and it started to swiftly start pushing Alex back instead.

"Y-you bastard!" Alex groaned, furious that his double used the sacred gear he was purposely avoiding for this fight, much to Ddraig's annoyance. The double smiled evilly as Alex's heels were suddenly pressed up against the wall behind him, and it said,

"I may be you, but that doesn't mean I have to play by your rules!" Alex glared back at the double, before snarling,

"I play by saiyan rules and rule number one; when in doubt, shout it out!" After saying his piece, Alex took a deep breath and focused on all the energy in his body, before letting out the biggest scream he was capable of.

"Haaa, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"

(A.N. Will Alex surpass his limits and defeat his double? Will he pass the trial and finally acquire all age of gods magics? Or will he destroy it and lose the chance forever? Find out next time on GOD SUCCESSION SYSTEM!)