DxD: System of the Harem King-Chapter 343: Sparring

In the Toujou household living room, Ethan and Basara Toujou were playing video games and chatting.

"Basara, Zolgia was dealt with yesterday. You can go back to training in peace now..." Ethan mentioned the resolution of the Zolgia matter, followed by news about Zest and Lars, and finally, the fact that he had officially become Basara’s "brother-in-law" by taking his cousins.

Ethan spoke casually, but Basara’s mouth twitched. By the end, he stopped pressing buttons on the controller entirely. On the screen, Ethan’s character easily defeated Basara’s.

Having slept with both of the man’s cousins, Ethan felt a bit guilty. Seeing Basara’s strange expression, he put down the controller, planning to slip away.

"Ethan, where do you think you’re going?" Basara’s hollow voice echoed behind him as a scarred, sturdy arm draped over his shoulder. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Uh... I just remembered I left the stove on at home. I should check," Ethan made up a lie that even he didn’t believe.

"Spar with me," Basara said seriously, staring at Ethan. "I’ll leave Mio and Maria to you, but I still want to get stronger."

Basara had known for a while that Mio and Maria had chosen Ethan. As for telling Ethan to "treat his sisters well," Basara looked at Ethan’s chaotic mess of relationships and realized it was a waste of breath, so he wisely stayed silent.

Ethan got serious. "The history of the previous generation in the Demon Realm is complicated. Strength alone isn’t enough."

Basara took a deep breath. "Strength alone isn’t enough, but without strength, you definitely won’t make it."

Ethan smiled. "Well said. Follow me. I just got a new spell I want to practice."

"First off, you have to cap your power level to match mine," Basara stipulated.

"And you," Ethan replied, "aren’t allowed to use that cheating ’Banishing Shift’ ability."

Banishing Shift was a conceptual rule-based power. If Ethan suppressed his strength and got caught by it, he’d be in trouble. Ethan had no desire to be a masochist.

The sparring began. Under Ethan’s guidance, Basara improved quickly. He had great combat instincts, they had just been rusty for years. Two hours later, Basara was exhausted, pinned to the grass by an invisible hand of telekinetic force.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. Telekinesis was great for catching people off guard, but once the weakness was found, it was less effective at the same power level.

"Basara, you still alive?"

"I’m fine... just let me lie here for a bit."

"Alright. I’m heading back. We’ll continue tomorrow."

After being beaten for two hours, Basara wasn’t discouraged. His progress was visible. Meanwhile, Ethan gained a deeper understanding of telekinetic magic and a new idea began to form in his mind.

Three days later, in the courtyard, Basara was once again sent flying by Ethan’s punch. He skidded across the grass, holding his stance as his sword, Brynhildr, glowed with an eerie light. His right eye ignited with pale green flames.

"A breakthrough? That was fast." Ethan was surprised, then adjusted his own power to SSS-rank to match.

Basara didn’t even have time to be happy before Ethan attacked with a new set of moves. He felt like he was back to day one—just when he thought he could hold his own, Ethan would turn up the heat.

"Let’s stop for a few days," Ethan said after they finished. "Wait until you stabilize your new rank."

Basara wiped sweat from his forehead. "I heard Yuki and Kurumi are planning to leave the village. Is it because of you?"

"Yeah," Ethan said casually while thinking about his magic. "I’m going to reincarnate them as demons to be my subordinates."

Demons naturally lived longer than humans. The Nonaka sisters had great talent, and since Ethan liked them, giving them spots in his peerage was only natural. Besides, they couldn’t stay in the Hero Clan anymore. Leaving the village was their own choice. Yuki, who had "yandere" potential, already saw Ethan as her entire world.

"They left yesterday," Ethan looked at the blue sky. "They should be at the village by now to settle things."

Ethan was slightly worried about the sisters going back to the Hero headquarters alone. He remembered the "village" tropes from certain adult stories—the "NTR" or "corrupt village" vibes. Even though he had suppressed his worries, the thought of some random "blonde hero" or "village elder" trying something on his girls gave him a lingering sense of unease.