Start a Core Pod

 After that, Duanmuhuai returned to the banquet venue with Tacheng Kitty, found Rias, and explained the matter to her. Rias was very frightened when she heard that such a thing had happened. She hurriedly grabbed the Tacheng kitten and looked at it again and again, and then she breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was not injured.

 “Huh…thank you so much, teacher.”

“You’re welcome, the kitten is also my student.”

"Hahaha……"

Hearing Duanmuhuai's answer, Rias couldn't help but smile bitterly. Of course she understood what Duanmuhuai meant. The relationship between the Tribunal and the devil is very subtle, and there must be a reason. There is no formal alliance between the Gremory family and the Tribunal, and the Tribunal must stand on the standpoint of humans, so Duanmuhuai's reason for helping Rias is to focus on the individual and not involve the collective.

Just like when he helped Rias fight against the Phoenix family before, and also helped Kiba Yuuto and Tacheng Koneko, he used this reason.

 Because I am a teacher and you are my students. This is entirely from a personal standpoint, not the diplomatic direction of the Inquisition.

 In fact, this is not bad, but Rias hopes to go further.

It's a pity that she can't join the Tribunal like Naruse Mio. After all, Naruse Mio has clearly abandoned her family, and Rias is still the heir of Gremory, and there is no relationship between her and her family like Naruse Mio. Irreconcilable contradictions. Although Rias was very angry when her father engaged her without permission, she didn't go so far as to say she wanted to leave the family.

Then the remaining solution is...

“Speaking of which, it’s time for the kitten to change.”

Duanmuhuai's voice sounded again, interrupting Rias's thinking.

"She is a warrior who can do nothing but fight head-on. You see, she will fall over if someone else puts poison on her. And I remember that you don't seem to have any treatment. In this case, shouldn't the kitten be strengthened a little?"

"That's what I said, but...there is really no good solution for the time being."

Rias also understood what Duanmuhuai said. Although Tacheng Kitty was indeed very strong in offense and defense as a castle, it was all physical. If others played tricks, she would definitely be the first one to fall.

“Speaking of which, are you okay with just a few of your dependents competing in ranking matches?”

"The Tribunal is here to help us, isn't it? And it's better to be in short supply than in vain. I'm also trying to find a family."

Rias couldn't help it. After all, family members were more important than retainers, so of course she didn't want to just find anyone. In fact, Rias has taken a fancy to Asia, a representative of the fallen angel camp. After all, Asia's ability to heal whether the opponent is a demon or an angel is simply the best auxiliary nanny in Rias's opinion.

Although Asia is currently in the fallen angel camp, she is a devout believer and is unwilling to be reincarnated as a demon...

"Um………"

Hearing Rias's answer, Duanmuhuai thought for a moment.

“Would you like me to give her a set of power armor? This thing should make the kitten stronger, at least it won’t tear her clothes every time she fights.”

Duanmu Huai has long complained about this. Tacheng kitten is a melee fighter, so she often fights hand-to-hand. And she is wearing an ordinary school uniform, which makes her move a lot. If others are more ruthless, they will naturally be in tatters. This was the case when I fought the priest under the fallen angel before.

These clothes are not like those in Dou Shen City. The fewer the clothes, the stronger the defense. What is the difference between wearing this for close combat and being naked? Not to mention that you are still a MT on the front line, and you don’t even add defense to yourself?

“Power armor? Do you mean the kind you wear, teacher?”

“That’s right, a model with her figure needs to be customized. How about it? Even if you don’t use it on a daily basis, you can try it when playing ranked competitions. It’s better than nothing.”

"this………"

Hearing Duanmuhuai's suggestion, Rias looked at Tacheng Kitty in embarrassment, but the latter stared at Duanmuhuai firmly.

 “I would like it if I could.”

 “Kitten? Is it really okay?”

Girls have all seen Duanmu Huai’s power armor. That set of power armor looks quite impressive when worn on Duanmu Huai, but...how should I put it?

 That skull design is really a bit... Anyway, it's not a cute style that girls would like.

"No problem, I want to become stronger. I want to become stronger. I can help Rias-sama, and I won't lose to my sister like before! Even if I don't have that kind of power, I don't want to lose!"

 What is she talking about?

Duanmuhuai didn’t understand what the kitten said, but he didn’t care.

 “But, doesn’t that suit of armor look scary? It looks like?”

 “Wouldn’t it be nice to paint it pink?”

"Well…………"

 Hearing Duanmuhuai's suggestion, both Rias and Kitty showed subtle expressions on their faces.

"………forget it."

 “It’s just as it is.”

"Yeah?"

Duanmuhuai thought that girls all like pink.

“After the banquet is over, you come to the church and prepare for the ceremony.”

 “Ritual?”

 For the Tribunal, the release of any set of power armor is a serious and sacred matter, and this time is naturally no exception. After the banquet ended, everyone followed Duanmu Huai to the room deep in the church.

 “I always feel… a little nervous…”

 Tacheng Kitty stood in the middle with a tense expression. At this moment, she had taken off the dress she wore to the banquet and replaced it with a tights like a diving suit, except that there was something like a plug outside the tights.

“Although you are not a member of the Tribunal and do not need to recite the oath, there are still several regulations that need to be followed.”

Duanmu Huai looked at Tacheng Kitty and said.

"First of all, you are not allowed to attack any human, no matter whether they are good or bad. As long as you attack a human while wearing this armor, this armor will completely lock you and imprison you. Do you understand?"

"………I see."

Tacheng Mao nodded vigorously. "Also, since you have put on the armor of the Tribunal, you must do things for the Tribunal, which means that if I have a task for you to complete, you must not disobey my orders. Of course, I will not let you deal with Li Yas, but if I need you to do something, you must complete it. This armor is not borrowed from you for free, do you understand?"

"yes."

 “Very good, let’s go up.”

 Duanmu Huai nodded to Tacheng Kitty, who hesitated for a moment, then walked onto the platform in front of him.

At this moment, Rias and her family, as well as Naruse Mio, Maria, Mari and others were all watching outside. Rias is still a little worried about her family. As for Naruse Mio - well, she thinks she might go through a similar process in the future, so there is no harm in taking a look first.

Looking at the platform in front of her, Tacheng Mao was also beating her heart. At this moment, she was the only one in the entire hall. In front of the steel altar, a huge skull and a double-headed sky eagle with spread wings could be seen. Some kind of strange, cold, heavy mechanical device was erected on the periphery of the circular platform.

But recalling his wish, Tacheng Kitty gritted his teeth and walked up.

On the way Tacheng Kitten walked onto the platform, she saw several cherubim flapping their small wings and falling from the dome. These artificial creatures transformed from babies held an incense burner transformed from a skull in their hands, surrounding them. The Tacheng kitten couldn't help but spin, babbling and reciting an unknown eulogy.

　　…………The Tribunal is really a just organization, right?

 Seeing this scene, Rias's eyes twitched. Just the scene in front of her, how could this be more evil than a devil?

Tacheng Maomao walked onto the platform. In front of her was a pair of metal combat boots. She raised her feet and stepped in without hesitation. Then, just as the cat's feet fell into it, the metal combat boots quickly locked. Death, and then, mechanical tentacles appeared from all directions grabbing the armor. They attached the armor in their hands to the outside of the black tights worn by Tacheng Kitten, locked it, fixed it, made neural connections, and then welding.

　　　…………”

how to say.

 Seeing this scene, both Rias and Naruse Mio had mixed emotions. This scene looked both sci-fi and religious, as if two completely unrelated things were fused together. It obviously looks like a scene from a science fiction movie, but this dim hall, with burning candles and baby angels holding skull incense burners, gives it all a cold, weird flavor...

Of course, the Tower City kittens are not wearing Space Marine armor, and women cannot be transformed into Astartes. In fact, not to mention the Tacheng kittens, even Duanmuhuai is not wearing Space Marine armor. After all, Space Marine armor can only be worn by those who have been transformed into Astartes. Start is almost the same, but he has not been transformed, and naturally there is no way to wear that armor.

 In fact, Duanmuhuai's power armor is for human use only. Directly connected to the power armor through external nerves, and then manipulated. The armor of Tacheng Kitty comes from Battle Sister. It is not as wide as Duanmuhuai's power armor, but more close-fitting. It only adds a half-body armor and shoulder armor to the upper body, and then a jetpack. The lower body is the original combination of tights and steel boots.

Of course, compared to the pure steel creations like Duanmuhuai, the battle sister's clothing is more lightweight. However, there are some parts that the Inquisition must not compromise on. For example, the respirator on the chest is a golden skull, and the shoulder armor is also painted with the symbols of a skull and an eagle.

 “Boom!”

 Finally, the power hammer, which was a head taller than the Tacheng kitten, fell in front of her, and the entire armor was assembled.

 “This is really...how should I put it..."

 Looking at the Tacheng kitten in front of her with a complicated expression, Rias didn't know what to say. The Tacheng kitten wearing battle armor couldn't look like her usual self at all. Most of her originally petite body was now buried in a wide half-body armor with a red background and gold rims.

The entire armor looks ferocious. There are mud seals and holy words attached to both sides of the huge shoulder armor. Under the middle of the neck, there is a golden skull pattern in the middle of the black respirator mouth. With the lower half of Tacheng Kitten's face sealed by a respirator, it feels like a little girl has been transformed into some kind of mechanical monster...

 “Is it really okay, kitten? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”

Mio Naruse also stepped forward trepidatiously, looked at Tacheng Kitten and asked, while Tacheng Kitten shook his head.

 “No, everything is fine.”

 “It looks...it does seem to be very strong.”

Rias also came over at this moment, looking at the Tacheng kitten with a somewhat complicated expression.

 “What to do next?”

“Any equipment is the fastest to be familiar with in actual combat.”

Duanmuhuai is obviously a practical person who teaches people to swim by kicking them into the water.

“Just in time, isn’t the ranking match between you and the Sidi family about to begin? Won’t we know by then?”

That's right, as the sideshow after the banquet, it is also the opening of this year's devil ranking competition. The first game is between Rias's family and Sidi's family. That's why everyone would come to the church to change their clothes after the banquet. Of course, that's why demons, a race that lacks energy during the day and dances for fun at night, would do this.

  If you were a human being, who could bear it if you held a banquet until 12 o'clock in the evening and prevented people from going to bed and then played a game?

Like the previous battle against the Phoenix family, this official ranking battle also went through the demon's teleportation circle, and then teleported to the alien space created by the demon, and then fought in that simulated scene.

 When Duanmuhuai and his party were transported to a different space, the voice in charge of the last ranking sounded again.

　　　【Everyone, I am the referee of this ranking game between Gremory and Siddi, Grayfia of Lucifer's Familiar. In the name of my master Sirzechs Lucifer, I will witness this battle between the two families. This time the battlefield is based on the department store near Kuoh Academy where Rias-sama and Sona-sama are studying. The current location of both camps is the base camp. When soldiers want to upgrade, please go to the other side's base camp]

 The rules are basically the same as the previous competition rules.

　　【Also, this competition has special rules - it is forbidden to completely destroy the department store that is used as the battlefield】

　　　…………”

Hearing this, almost everyone immediately turned their heads and looked at Duanmuhuai.

 Any fool can guess who this rule is for.

 After all, if Duanmuhuai just hits it with a hammer no matter where he enters, then no one else will be able to play.

 “Watch what I do. If that’s the case, then go for it.”

Facing everyone's gaze, Duanmu Huai waved his hands indifferently, then found a sofa next to him and lay down.

 “I’ll just stay here and sleep.”

This time it was an official ranking match. There was no personal vendetta like with Phoenix before, and Duanmu Huai also knew Cang Na - after all, the other party was the student council president, and he often dealt with Duan Muhuai as a teacher, so he felt a little embarrassed if he really wanted to take action. .

Now, with this rule specially issued for Duanmuhuai, Duanmuhuai no longer has to think about fighting and can just find a place to sleep. Anyway, with him guarding the base camp, anyone who comes will die. As long as he doesn't lose, he will definitely win!

 It just so happens that twelve o'clock in the evening is also the time for humans to sleep. Why don't you sleep?

Seeing Duanmu Huai lying on the sofa and closing her eyes, Rias also breathed a sigh of relief silently. Although she did want to use this method to bring her closer to the Tribunal, Rias did not want to do it every time. The battle relies on Duanmu Huai. Now that Duanmu Huai doesn't take action, then...she also has a chance to show off.

Thinking of this, Rias also looked at everyone and cheered up.

 “Then let’s get ready for action.”