Morning comes in the blink of an eye. I open my eyes and find Natsuho and Saya sleeping on both my sides.

   Is it me, or have I have experienced this in Sakuya’s villa during the summer holiday, and the only difference is that the girls on my sides are different? At least they aren’t hugging me tightly so I can move freely.

   ‘Shishiaki-senpai. Saya. Wake up. It’s morning.’ I tell them.

   They were in such deep sleep I had to shake them a few times. The two of them eventually wake up.

   ‘Good morning, Akira-kun.’ Saya mumbles while still being half-asleep.

   ‘Morning, Kagenashi.’ Natsuho tells me while rubbing her eyes.

   ‘Why are the two of you at my room?’ I ask them.

   The two of them look at each other like I’m the weird one here.

   ‘Because it’s very cold at night?’

   ‘Cause I needed a hug pillow?’

   They act like the temperature was too much for them, but here they are wearing nothing but their shirt and shorts. Their jacket, skirt, stockings and shoes are placed neatly on the corner of the room just like mine.

   ‘Why are your answers in the form of a question? Oh, whatever. I don’t care anymore.’

   Before I could get up, Saya grabs my head with both her hands and kiss me on the lips. It happened so fast I could barely comprehend what had just happened.

   ‘I just remembered that I haven’t gotten a kiss from you yet.’ she tells me with a blushing face.

   I shrug. ‘Fair enough.’

   ‘Could you at least look embarrassed?’ she demands.

   ‘I hate to say this, but I can’t do that. Not when I got kissed by multiple girls.’

   ‘Oh, right. I’ve forgotten.’

   While we’re having this exchange, Natsuho is looking on with an equally red face.

   ‘Do you want to kiss him too, Shishiaki-senpai?’ Saya asks her.

   ‘Wha-? No, it’s fine! Really!’ Natsuho refuses in a loud voice.

   ‘Come on, Akira-kun. Go and kiss her.’ Saya whispers to me.

   ‘Are you insane? She’ll clobber me if I do that!’

   ‘I highly doubt it. I mean, look at her.’

   The person in question is keep on sneaking glances at me while twirling her fingers.

   ‘Go on. Are you going to keep her waiting?’ Saya urges me while gently pushing my back.

   I walk towards Natsuho and stand right in front of her. She got both her eyes closed and is making a smooching face. I lean forward and kiss her lips.

   She made a tiny squeaking sound, and her face got even redder. She’s also trembling uncontrollably.

   ‘Um, senpai? Are you okay?’ I ask in concern.

   She opens both her eyes slowly. ‘Yup. I’m fine. Don’t worry ’bout me.’

   She takes a few deep breaths.It’s like she’s preparing herself for a speech or something.

   ‘So, what are we naming our kid?’ she asks me all of a sudden.

   ‘I beg your pardon?’

   ‘I’m thinking of Natsuo if it’s a boy, and Akiko if it’s a girl. I just thought of changing our names a bit and use them ta name our kids.’

   Now it’s Saya and I’s turn to look at each other like Natsuho is the crazy one.

   ‘What are you going on about, senpai?’

   ‘Don’t girls get pregnant by getting kissed?’

   I stare at her for a few seconds just in case she was joking, but nope. She expression’s dead serious.

   ‘Saya, should I tell her? Or do you want to do the honors?’

   ‘Um, I think I’ll do it. It’ll be easier since we’re both girls.’

   Saya brings Natsuho over to one side and whispers at her ear. After Saya’s done, Natsuho blushes even more.

   ‘Seriously?’ she asks Saya with a shocked expression.

   Saya nods in conformation. Natsuho looks at the floor in shame.

   ‘My bad fer my ignorance, Kagenashi.’ she tells me in a small voice.

   ‘It’s okay, senpai.’

   ‘Besides, you could always ask Akira-kun to teach you the real way in making babies.’ Saya adds slyly.

   ‘Yeah, How about no? Come on, let’s get dressed. Everyone’s probably waiting for us.’

   We get dressed immediately and go outside the room. As I’ve predicted, we’re the last ones to come out.

   ‘Had a fun night yesterday?’ Sakuya asks with a knowing smile.

   ‘Hardly. The hug pillow wasn’t really comfortable.’ Saya complains.

   ‘My apologies for being a lousy hug pillow.’ I apologize sarcastically.

   ‘What about you, Natsuho-chan?’ Sakuya asks Natsuho next.

   ‘It was so nerve-wrecking I could barely get any sleep.’ she confesses.

   She’s being so bashful everyone probably knows what happened, and they just can’t stop smiling at me.

   ‘Can we just go have our breakfast?’

   ‘Of course, of course.’

   When we reach the main hall, Zaimoto and his subordinates are already waiting for us.

   ‘Good morning, everyone. Did you have a good night?’ he asks us.

   I was planning to keep quiet until I realized that everyone on my team is relying on me to answer him on their behalf, so I did.

   ‘The accommodation was comfortable enough, thank you.’ I answer him.

   ‘Well, it’s not like I was the one who’s in charge of maintaining the rooms. Anyway, do sit down. Breakfast will be served shortly.’

   We do as he’s told and sits down. As we’re going to fight each other after breakfast is over, the atmosphere is quite tense. Zaimoto chose to reads the atmosphere and kept quiet, and I don’t have any self-righteous speech usually said by shounen protagonists, so I didn’t say anything either. The saving grace finally arrived in the form of breakfasts.

   Once again, Tomita-senpai takes out his phone and scans the food with his app.

   ‘Really, there is no need for that.’ Zaimoto assures him. ‘I’m not the type of person to play dirty right before a fight.’

   ‘I’m sorry but I don’t really trust you.’ Tomita-senpai tells him bluntly.

   Zaimoto shrugs. ‘Suit yourself.’

   We only start eating once Tomita-senpai gave the green light. By then Zaimoto’s side is already halfway done with theirs. Not that it matters. Our safety is much more important.

   ‘Now then, let’s head to the courtyard, shall we?’ Zaimoto says once all of us are done eating. ‘Or do you want to wait for a bit until the food you ate has been digested a little?’

   ‘We’ll begin right away, thank you.’ I tell him.

   ‘As you wish.’

   The courtyard he brings us to is huge. It’s much bigger than your average football field. I wonder what they use this place for on normal occasions.

   ‘Now then, I believe Yui-kun has already briefed you on the rules.’ Zaimoto begins. ‘We’re supposed to fight each other with the same amount of people Unfortunately, your side has twelve people who doesn’t include Lord Dragon God, and my side only has six. As such, I took the liberty of calling in reinforcements.’

   Six? After his mention of the number, I realize that Hiraoka-san and Hamada-san, who supposedly has zero spiritual and/or combat power and thus can’t contribute on fights under normal circumstances, is still around.

   After he said that, a ball of lightning suddenly appears from the sky and lands on the ground right next to him. When it disperses, the six reinforcements that Zaimoto spoke of appears from it. Thankfully, the Information Squad of both Tokyo and Osaka Branch had been working hard to gather intel on the enemy team beforehand, so we know exactly who we’re fighting against.

   Obviously, Jordan is in it. He still looks pretty much the same when we left him at Ryuuouji’s underground lab: huge, mostly expressionless and full of frightening aura that can intimidate his enemies with ease.

   The executive who uses six guns, whom Madoka informed us as Tyler Harrison, is also here. The sadistic gunner has a gleeful look on his face. He’s probably excited to see so many girls that he could potentially torture. He made contracts with six animals spirits of Cherokee origin, hence the bullets that can transform themselves into different animals. I don’t know why on earth would there be a gremlin in Cherokee mythology, but whatever.

   Next, there’s the female executive with the chakram and the veil. Sofia White, who Madoka revealed to be part Indian and part European. She looks at us and smiles, but it’s a cold smile that promises pain and suffering.

   As I had suspected, her chakram belongs to Vishnu, the Hindu God of preservation. The veil she has, on the other hand, is a Pseudo-Regalia based on Orihime’s veil.

   Shimazaki, our former comrade, is also joining the battle as part of our enemies’ team. His right arm that was chomped away by my skeleton fish had been replaced with a bionic one. Its color is the mixture of steel, black and red. The red comes from a line that starts form the shoulder all the way to all the five fingers. He also has a brand new rapier strapped to his right hip, which is the exact same one he dropped at Okumiya Shrine.

   According to Madoka’s intel, Shimazaki can heat up the arm up to 1,000 Degrees Celsius without being harmed by the heat. As for the rapier, its name is Ombre. As you already know, its user can use it to create a portal and travel to a distance of twenty kilometers at a time.

   Our eyes met for a second, but we look away in an instant. He’s probably still feeling guilty about kidnapping Yui, and I actually feel kind of bad for taking away his right arm. Saya and Yui didn’t attempt conversation with him either, and vice-versa.

   Finally, there are two more people whom I’ve never met before. They’re a male and a female, and they look similar in appearances. Madoka told us that they’re the Maximovich twins, a pair of Russian siblings who worked as former soldiers in their motherland. After soldiers are made redundant due to Royal Blade Academy students replacing them, the twins had been undergoing multiple experiments and body modifications just to get back at us.

   Most of their bodies are composed of metallic parts. The male twin, Anton, has a bionic left eye, right arm and right leg. His entire left arm is a Gatling gun. His female younger sister Viktoria’s right eye is a mechanical one, so are her left arm and left leg. Instead of a right arm, she has a chainsaw on her right shoulder. Multiple tubes are connected to their body parts to body parts. They don’t need body armors of any sort since they chests and other vulnerable areas are covered with metallic plates. Both of them have blue eyes devoid of every other emotions except hate. Anton shaved his head bald, and Viktoria’s hair had been cropped short.

   Out of thousands of Ryuuouji’s test subjects, these two were some of the most successful ones. As such, they were equipped with the best equipments they have to offer. The Gatling gun on Anton’s arm are modified to fire magical wind bullets, so it’ll never run out of bullets. The chainsaw that Viktoria used to replace her right arm can cut through magic like a hot knife cutting through butter.

   As I’m still busy accessing the enemy, Jordan brings out six injection needles filled with some sort of red liquid. I got shaken the moment I saw those. I pray on all my heart they’re not what I think they are, but my prayers will probably go unheard.

   ‘Here are the items you requested.’ Jordan is telling Zaimoto.

   Zaimoto takes one of the needles almost gleefully, the rest of his subordinates take their share in less enthusiastic manner.

   ‘Are those what I think they are?’ I ask no one in particular in a small voice.

   ‘Yes. Yes they are.’ Madoka confirms.

   ‘But, that’s impossible!’ Tomita-senpai whispers furiously. ‘I made sure the delete all the related data!’

   ‘I’m not trying to sound mean or degrading, but you probably failed to do a thorough job, senpai.’ I tell him. ‘It’s either that or they’ve already completed the serum before you did your job.’

   Yui steps forward in alarm. Tatsuya also has a look of someone about to wreak havoc. Saya stops the both of them

   ‘Don’t bother, the two of you. It’s too late for that.’ she whispers to her childhood friend and the Dragon God.

   ‘But-’

   ‘She’s right.’ I add. ‘I mean, just look at their expression.’

   All of them have a determined look on their face. Hiraoka-san and Hamada-san also look extremely scared, but still they pulled out the plastic cover on the needle and pierced their arm with it. They and the priests then inject the liquid directly into their body.

   The now-empty needles fall to the ground as their purpose were served. All of them are standing still like statues and nothing happened for a few quiet seconds. And then, all their eyes glow green simultaneously just like Tatsuya’s. The whole thing’s suddenly like a horror movie.

   ‘So this is the power of the Dragon God.’ Zaimoto is whispering. ‘I feel more powerful than ever.’

   ‘Amazing. So this is what it feels like to have spiritual power.’ Hiraoka-san is saying.

   ‘What are you saying, Chieko?’ Hamada-san asks her. ‘This is not normal spiritual power. It’s the power of a God. Literally.’

   ‘Do you feel nauseous or unwell?’ Jordan asks them.

   Zaimoto shakes his head. So do his subordinates.

   ‘Excellent. The serums were made sure to be free of minor side effects before being made and distributed.’

   ‘Minor side effects? Does that mean that they have some major side effects?’ Hamada-san asks him.

   ‘Indeed. You did inject yourself with blood containing the power of a God, after all. The effect may vary from losing some life span to being crippled.’ Jordan answers her honestly.

   Hiraoka-san and Hamada-san gasps in horror after hearing that, but their expressions turn brave immediately.

   ‘Like they say, no pain no gain.’ Hamada-san says.

   Hiraoka-san nods in agreement. ‘Right. We’ve already prepared ourselves for the worst ever since we decided to serve Zaimoto-sama.’

   ‘Thank you for you brave resolve, ladies.’ Zaimoto tells them. ‘And all of you as well, gentlemen. Whatever the outcome of this match, know that I am proud of all of all of you.’

   This scene would have been genuinely touching and raise morale were it not for the fact that all of them were practically brainwashed by a priest who’s hungry for revenge.

   After they got used to their Godly powers, we move on to the prequel of the duel. According to Yui, we’re supposed to agree on the wager(s) of the match. Once written and signed, none of us are allowed to go back on our words. We’re also consenting to the rule which stops the match immediately and forbids us from causing further harm to anyone from the opposing team if the leader of one of the teams surrender or knocked unconscious and thus unfit for combat. Should we break one of these, the contract would turn itself into a demon and hunt us down until we’re dead.

   ‘Now then, my terms are simple should our team wins.’ Zaimoto begins. ‘One, hand over the Dragon God and also Yui-kun so that the wonderful researchers could continue with their research. Two, allow us to execute Tanabe Noburu, the former Head priest. Three, all of us will be exempted from our traitorous behaviour and allowed to be continued with our daily activities.’

   ‘Four, release Professor Ryuuouji and Joseph Brennan from your custody.’ Jordan adds.

   Last night, I asked Yui what if the enemies asked for some outrageous terms like getting locked-up prisoners out when it’ll never be approved by those responsible for them. She answered that the convenience of the loser is irrelevant and the wish of the winner must be granted at all costs, illegal or no. Yup. This is one match we cannot afford to lose.

   ‘Agreed.’ Yui nods. ‘And if our side wins, all of you have to turn yourselves in and face justice. The people of Okumiya Shrine also have to agree to have the power of the Dragon God drained from their body.’

   Their side agree with our terms as well.

   ‘Next, the appointment of the leader of both teams. I shall be the leader of my side. How about yours?’ Zaimoto asks us.

   Yui steps forward. ‘I will.’

   Zaimoto nods. ‘So be it.’

   Finally, Zaimoto got out a piece of paper and a brush to write down the terms we agreed on. After we’re done, all of us signed our name on the bottom of the paper. On an unrelated note, the Lost Children executives and the Russian twins had trouble signing their names with the brush since they’ve never used a brush before, and the ink got all over the paper. Zaimoto had to write the terms on a new piece of paper with a pen, and we redid the signing of our names with that pen as well.

   Just as we’re about to begin, I thought of a rather important question.

   ‘Say, who’s going to be the referee?’

   Zaimoto looks at me with a troubled expression. He clearly did not gave any thoughts about it.

   ‘Oh dear.’ he mumbles. ‘I was so busy in other things I have forgotten about that. I guess we should delay the match to look for someone neutral.’

   ‘There is no need for that. I will take on that role.’ someone says form behind me.

   I turn around to find Tanabe walking towards us.

   ‘Tanabe-san, you actually came out!’ Yui exclaims.

   ‘Yes, young Kiryuu. I was told that your match did not have a referee to oversee it, so I decide to volunteer. Any objections?’

   I turn around once more to look at Zaimoto. His face darkened after seeing his mortal enemy, but he did not raise any objections. Neither did anyone from both sides. I guess we solved our referee problem.

   ‘Both sides, to your positions.’ Tanabe orders.

   We do as he’s told and stayed some distance away form each other. After making sure that there’s no chance of foul play before the match even begins, Tanabe raises his left hand.

   ‘BEGIN!’ he shouts at the top of his lung while swiftly putting down his left hand.