"Who knew that she was so tenacious? Is it really so bad that I saw her erotic reading material?" Cebrail couldn't help but wonder, the redhead had actually chased her all the way to the abandoned factory. Luckily Rias lost her in the woods between the plaza and the factory.
Standing in front of the factory Cebrail stared at it for a few moments before deciding that she felt like entering and went in.
The building was dark, dark enough to force Cebrail to attempt to light it up using a bit of her Light Power. Unfortunately, however, her Light Power was far closer to moonlight than it was to the sun and thus it didn't shine nearly brightly enough to pierce through the darkness.
"How annoying…" Cebrail sighed, she really disliked tedious things like defective products and man did she feel defective sometimes.
Gabriel's daughter not only had low Light Power but Light Power that resembled that of a Fallen Angels!
Bunch of Magic Power that she just couldn't use for much besides basic spells and keeping her body from falling apart.
Truthfully if anyone really thought about it seriously and wasn't looking at who she was related to or what she SHOULD be like, they might find that she was perhaps the ABSOLUTE WORST of both her Human and her Angel sides. Like oil and water, her blood just hadn't mixed very well at all.
She had her Sacred Gear and her skills from her past life but both could only get her so far since her Sacred Gear wasn't a Longinus Class and her fighting skills while good wasn't exactly something someone couldn't theoretically learn themselves.
Her Sacred Gear was of course still amazing in her eyes, its versatility made it come across as quite powerful and gave her a variety of options that made it difficult for others to pin down its true effects. Unfortunately, this too could only get her so far, after seeing Issei earlier she simply couldn't help feeling incredibly insecure.
He was capable of "taming" so many girls in the hentai not just because of his nice guy persona but also because of his might. The Boosted Gear was in Cebrail's eyes, "a weapon which overcomes logic" making it one of the most dangerous.
Its ability was immensely simple but far too dangerous to disregard. Dangerous enough to basically hard carry Rias' entire peerage while still being new to the supernatural world.
It was rather pathetic on Rias' part but still, it was a show of just how overpowered he was. Truthfully Cebrail was even certain that she didn't actually know all of its effects and powers.
"Cheep?"
"Muu… no I'm not that worried… I'll figure something out when we get there." Cebrail said easing Epis lightly. Indeed it wasn't something she had to be worried about just yet instead it would be better to focus on things that really mattered.
Like it wasn't as though she'd have to fight Issei in the future anyways.
Stepping further into the factory the door suddenly closed behind Cebrail surprising her.
She shouldn't be afraid of ghosts but since they probably existed in the Dxd verse she felt a bit uneasy. A being that is already dead and therefore cannot be killed but can still very much kill you. Rationally speaking It was basically cheating, they even have noclip.
However, this incident was caused by no ghost and Cebrail was made to realize this as she very narrowly dodged a claw strike aimed straight for her head.
A cut formed on Cebrail's face and blood trickled down onto the hand which was next to her.
"OW!" A familiar voice cried out as the hand began sizzling due to an adverse reaction to Cebrail's holy blood.
(Elmenhilde? I see I should have known…)
Cebrail's foot shot up as if in an attempt to kick the Vampire directly in the groin but missed as Elmenhilde melted into the darkness.
Indeed Cebrail should have known. For the Abandoned Factory to be pitch black in broad daylight, it was in essence completely impossible, impossible without supernatural intervention that is.
It was her hubris and relaxed nature which caused this. She didn't feel as though she could be snuck up on, however, Elmenhilde had just gotten so close she had been capable of drawing blood proving Cebrail's thoughts wrong.
"That wasn't half bad but still not good enough. Surprise attacks like that-"
The lights flickered on and the sunlight filtered through once more lighting up the large room.
"Surprise attacks like that only work once, unfortunately." Reginleif finished Cebrail's words as she and Tosca stood in the center of the room boldly.
"Yes, that is why with a wolf in our hearts! As a warrior! We will stand up to you face to face Ms. Cebrail!"
"I see. I'll be in your care then."
"You shouldn't be so nonchalant Cebrail, this time Big Senior Leif has a plan to defeat you~" Elmenhilde said, her voice coming from all sides of the Seraphim Princess.
"Do you not know what they say about plans, 'Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth' which means you're going to lose."
(It's just as I thought… I completely understand why Cebrail gave me the authority to lead her group when she isn't around.) Reginleif thought as she readied herself for combat.
Cebrail took a step forward to attack when she suddenly heard a click.
"..." Looking down Cebrail found a rune and frowned just before the ground exploded.
"Tosca be on guard."
"Right Senior!"
From the dust caused by the explosion three kitchen knives flew out in an instant and whizzed through the air only to be blocked by Tosca spinning her spear, sending the knives haphazardly spinning in the air.
A barrier forms enveloping the area and Cebrail changes places with one of the knives to appear in front of Tosca.
Sending a punch towards Tosca the girl adeptly twisted her spear and blocked the strike but was still sent back quite a bit.
"Earth Spike." Reginleif stepped forward on the ground and a small spike made out of the earth attempted to impale Cebrail only for the Seraphim Princess to dodge to the side without any trouble at all.
The moment her foot touched the ground she was forced to spin out of the way of a second strike from her shadow by Elmenhilde. Tosca with a quick recovery charged at Cebrail with her spear ready and forward, stabbing towards Cebrail the Angel parried it skillfully by coating the back of her hand in Magic Power.
Clenching her second fist Cebrail planted it firmly in the young girl's abdomen. Spit flew from her mouth as pain was sent coursing through her body as she was forced back.
Reginleif taking the opportunity seemed to appear next to Cebrail and surprised her slightly that the young Valkyrie was capable of slipping past her senses. Sending a kick without much effort at all Cebrail was suddenly shocked as her attack completely passed through and a punch came from behind sending Cebrail flying into the wall.
"This reminds me of when we first met." Reginleif said as a bunch of rubble fell on top of Cebrail. "I understand now why you made me second in command. It isn't just because I was the first. It's because I can see the truth."
"Hmm?" Cebrail curious pushed aside the rubble and hummed. "What 'truth' do you see?"
Reginleif rather than answering snapped her fingers and runes appeared all over the floor.
"How exactly did you know that I would come here for you to set up so many traps?" Cebrail asks with genuine curiosity.
"Truth is I didn't actually know. I set up traps in a lot of different locations in case my plan didn't work. You can be pretty unpredictable sometimes."
"I see. I hope this plan isn't just about blowing me up because if that's the case, I'm sorry to inform you but it won't be enough." Cebrail stated matter of factly before forming another barrier using her Sacred Gear.
"Cebrail, I was like the others when I first met you. You seemed so incredible and strong that it was intoxicating." Reginleif began. "But I quickly started seeing past that light. Realistically no one can be perfect and you barely even try hiding your flaws."
"Or perhaps you've unconsciously even deluded yourself into thinking you're stronger than you really are."
Cebrail's eyes widened as she felt a blade poking her neck and as though it was a light switch the runes on the ground and the person in front of her flickered. The runes on the ground flickered off, vanishing as though they had never existed and the person poking her neck with, Tosca, suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Oh, I see…" Turning her attention above herself she found a spear of blood resting above her head and past Tosca was Reginleif pointing her finger with a rune ready just in case Tosca was batted away.
(Not bad, but not something absolute. If I wanted to, I could still win but…) Cebrail looked at the three girls and their determined expressions, with a bit of softness in her eyes. She really couldn't do anything when she saw them trying so hard.
"The second in command is supposed to recognize and make up for the flaws of their leader, so I'll analyze you even more Cebrail, and be a proper senior to my juniors!"
In truth, she was right, while Cebrail was capable of recognizing her weaknesses even she couldn't tell that she was so weak to illusions. Due to her actions being so snappy and steadfast that she didn't think twice when attacking and defending. She didn't even bother considering the possibility of being fooled so completely and utterly.
The way Reginleif had personally figured this out was by using minor illusions in their last battle at Anna's store. An illusion to disguise Elmenhilde and Tosca somewhat, and an illusion of how many spears of blood were being used against her. The young Valkyrie had bet on the fact that Cebrail hadn't reacted in any way to indicate that she was being manipulated so if she was put under a slightly stronger spell it should do the trick.
"Haaa~ alright, it's your win." Cebrail raised her hands in surrender and though it sounded like she considered the whole thing to be nothing but a bother she was quite proud and the other three girls could see this as well.
"Alright!"
"We did it!"
"Excellent work you two."
The three girls regrouped and high-fived, but Cebrail wasn't done with them yet.
"Don't Celebrate too much you three. Reginleif most of the time you won't get five days to attack over and over. If I had been a real enemy you'd have died on the first day."
"Tosca. You hesitate in your steps too much and your moves are far too easy to read. And Emmy…"
"Yes, Cebrail~?"
"You need to hide your… lust better…"
"Don't you mean blood lust?"
"I know what I said."
Cebrail seems to be actually finally starting to think about the future that is to come, though perhaps it's already too late...
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