Saito breathed softly as he looked up at the ceiling from the bed he laid in.

For the first time since he had been summoned to Halkeginia, everything was clear.

No. Perhaps that wasn't entirely true. Rather, up until now it had been as if he had been lost in a thick fog without knowing it; without even being able to recognize the existence of the fog. But now... Now he at least knew. Now he knew that the fog was there.

He knew now that he had been lost.

Up until this point, all of his thoughts, his actions, his hopes, his desires had been controlled and influenced from the very start. All of them had been total lies. All of them had been artificially manufactured. And the greatest lie of them all had been his love for Louise.

It was so obvious in retrospect. How could anyone possibly fall in love with a girl like Louise Valliere? She was a tormentor that had whipped, abused, humiliated, and literally tortured him in every sense of the word. It was impossible that he could have truly fallen in love with someone like her.

He had been deceived, and very badly so. And he understood just who, or rather, what had been the deceiver: the familiar's runes branded on the back of his left hand.

Saito felt like laughing and crying in joy. It was as if he had finally woken up from a long, terrible nightmare in which his body moved and acted without and oftentimes against his own will. For the same reason, he wanted to shout and howl with anger, and break anything that he could get his hands on in order to vent his fury.

His relationship with Louise was one built from a foundation of falsities, Saito realized. For that, he could never trust Louise again.

At the same time, in some back corner of his mind, Saito thought about how he was perhaps being unfair to Louise. After all, hadn't she at least improved her temperament and behavior since the early days? In point of fact, hadn't it been Louise herself that had arranged for Tiffania to erase the compulsions of the familiar's runes from his mind after learning that the runes held such a power? But then Saito wondered if that thought itself was a direct result of the runes' control on his mind. What if the runes were subtly attempting to reassert control over him even as he simply laid there, thinking? Or what if it was due to some remnants of the runes' control? It had proven once before, after his last stand against the army at Saxe-Gotha, that the runes' compulsions would remain even after its disappearance. That had, after all, been the reason why he had willingly accepted becoming Louise's familiar again.

True, Tiffania's spell seemed to have wiped away its compulsions and control, but who was to say that it had been completely successful? What if Tiffania, who had never had any formal magical training whatsoever, had not actually managed to erase all of the runes' compulsory power? The possibility was too real.

No, Saito decided. Whether or not it was her fault, it did not matter. He could never trust Louise again. Not even his own thoughts about Louise could be trusted.

And if, then, his love for Louise had been a lie, if all of his thoughts and deeds devoted to her had been manufactured by the runes, how far had the runes' control over him truly extended? Was it possible that the runes had made him behave or react differently than how he would have normally?

Saito knew the answer to that question.

It most certainly did.

In regards to the nobles, the runes had very probably made Saito more forgiving of their transgressions. Guiche, for example. Because of his stupidity and arrogance, Saito had very nearly been beaten to death. It was only because Guiche had foolishly decided to mock him by giving him a sword that Saito managed to avoid such a fate. Such things were not easily forgotten or forgiven. However, the belief of the nobility was that whatever harm a noble commits to a commoner was completely justifiable. It was up to the noble in question to determine how far he or she was willing to go. And Louise was a noble. She no doubt had believed in that same notion wholeheartedly.

Thus, because Louise believed it, the runes had likely made Saito believe it as well. He was her familiar, after all, and a familiar who held contrasting beliefs to their master, who disagreed with their master, would make for a poor slave indeed.

Then there were its effects in his relations to commoners. To women, in particular. Siesta, especially.

To them – to Siesta – the runes had done the opposite of what it had facilitated in regards to the nobles: it had distanced him from other women.

Siesta was a very kind and very lovely girl. If she had been born on Earth, her kindness and beauty would have made her one of the most, if not the most, popular girl wherever she went and whatever she chose to do, of this Saito had no doubt. And in this cesspool of torment that these primitive barbarians called Halkeginia, Siesta had been the one oasis of kindness from the very start.

When Saito was being starved as part of his disciplining, she had fed him.

When he lay broken and bleeding from the cruel lashes of the whip, she had cleaned and dressed his wounds.

And when he was forced to be a subhuman thing by Louise and other nobles, when they had very nearly crushed his will and spirit and made him believe that he was, indeed, less than human, she had comforted him. She had treated him like a human when no one else would.

If not for Siesta, Saito knew that he probably would have long since become a broken and miserable man. No. He would have become a broken and miserable animal. A slave.

Had it not been for the runes, Saito would have very probably fallen in love with Siesta long ago. He knew that. The runes knew that. So in order to keep him bound to Louise, the runes had made Saito unable to reciprocate the love Siesta held for him, or to anyone else for that matter, even after she had tried to tempt him several times before.

Saito paused in the midst of his thoughts to chuckle over the strangeness over using the word "temptress" to describe Siesta. Somehow, the thought of the kind, affable Siesta being labeled as a temptress was so strange and alien and almost contradictory that it was actually funny. Though, given that her cousin was that Jessica of the Charming Fairies Inn, Saito supposed it wasn't too much of a stretch.

Slowly, Saito pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Finally. He was finally free. If not completely, at the very least enough so that he once again had free will. And with the runes' power over him gone or weakened, Saito remembered. He remembered his family. He remembered his friends. He remembered his home.

His home.

Tears began flowing as all the sweet memories of his home hit Saito in full force. The sweetness of those memories and the pain of longing, of homesickness, that they elicited was made all the more sweeter, all the more painful, by his experiences in Halkeginia.

It wasn't fair. Though those words were almost childish, it was still the first thing Saito thought. It wasn't fair.

All this time, he should have been searching for a way to return home. Not subjecting himself to the cruel games of a sadistic pint-sized brat or the machinations of kings and queens. He never wanted this. He never wanted any of this. But because of the runes, he had been unable to even consider returning home. They bound his mind and will in servitude. In slavery.

Saito wiped the tears from his eyes; his expression turned resolute.

There was no use complaining about what had already happened. Now was the time to begin planning for the future. His future. He was now, for the first time in a long time, free to truly act according to his own will. He needed to begin searching for clues of how to return home. He also needed to thank Siesta for everything she had done for him, for being a refuge for his soul all this time. Tiffania, too. He owed Tiffania more than he could ever possibly repay her. Not only had she saved his life by literally bringing him back from the dead, he now also owed her for freeing him from the bondage of the runes.

Now he moved by his own will, Saito thought fiercely. And he would never allow himself to be fettered by the shackles of servitude ever again.

-Scene Break-

"Akeno," Rias said as she reclined on her comfy armchair inside of the Occult Research clubroom.

To the normal human students of Kuoh Academy, the Occult Research Club was merely a strange club in which some of the most popular students in the school were a part of. In actuality, however, it was a sort of base of operations for Rias's peerage. To put it crassly, it was a den of devils. Presently, Rias and Akeno were the only ones there, having come to school an hour before classes actually began.

"Yes, Buchou?" the Queen replied, calling her by the Japanese word for "Club President."

"Has Saito's and Asia's transcripts been transferred here yet?" Rias asked.

"Yes, Buchou," Akeno answered. "Everything has been taken care of. They'll be starting school today, in fact."

"Good," Rias said, pleased.

It had been a few days since Saito and Asia had been resurrected as Rias's second and last Pawn and Bishop, respectively. Rias was very pleased with the addition of Asia to her Peerage. Disregarding her tactical advantage – her Twilight Healing would be immensely useful to have on her side – Asia herself was like an adorable, lovable little sister.

As for Saito, though he only took one Pawn Piece to resurrect, Rias still had great hopes for him. Both Issei and Yuuto had been very impressed with Saito's combat abilities, after all. Through their explanation (well, perhaps not Issei's, Rias thought. He hadn't been very objective and made use of hyperbole far too freely), Rias had learned that Saito had exceptional abilities. Despite having been a normal human, his speed had been on par with that of a Knight's and his skill with the blade was such that even Yuuto admitted it likely exceeded that of his own. Such prowess would no doubt be useful once Rias finally began participating in the Rating Games.

To be honest, Rias was skeptical of Yuuto. She could believe that a normal human being could be more skilled with the blade than Yuuto, but being as fast as a Knight, without a Sacred Gear? That sounded ludicrous, even to her. The only time she had actually seen Saito actually fight was when he launched that one surprise attack against Freed Sellzen, which, while fast, had not been something particularly noteworthy for a devil; it had been a speed within the upper limits of human capability. Though to be fair, that one attack had been more about matching Freed's timing rather than simply moving quickly.

She would just have to see what he was fully capable of for herself sometime, in the near future, Rias thought as she sipped a cup of tea that Akeno handed her.

Rias felt a twinge of annoyance pass through her. When it came to her Peerage, she much preferred taking care of matters herself instead of delegating the task to someone else, even if it was her most trusted friend and confidant, Himejima Akeno. Had it not been for her current ongoing argument with her parents about her impending marriage to that sleaze, Riser Phoenix, who only happened to be her fiance due to her family's meddling, she would have taken care of Saito's and Asia's transfer to Kuoh Academy, personally.

The conflict was simple. Rias did not want to marry that perverted creep (perverted in a bad way, not at all like her own cute, perverted Pawn, Issei). Both of her parents wanted her to do just that as soon as possible.

With such a matter, it was impossible to make any sort of real compromise. Rias had been able to buy time back when they first started having these arguments, delaying the marriage until after her graduation from a human university. Though that gave her some time to come up with plans and schemes, it was not a solution in and of itself. More, her parents were now trying to back out of that agreement by insisting that she marry Riser now, not later.

Rias sighed deeply as she rubbed her forehead from the stress.

In the end, she and her parents had temporarily ceased discussion of the matter after parting with several heated words and some shouting.

"Rias?" Akeno said. Despite herself, Rias smiled upon being called by name. Akeno only ever used Rias's given name when the two of them were alone together. It was always a comforting feeling, as if Akeno was saying that no matter what, she would always be there for her. "Is something the matter?"

"Family matters," Rias said, aggrieved. "My parents want me to hurry up and marry Riser Phoenix."

"That scum?" Akeno said, clearly disgusted.

"Yes," Rias nodded solemnly. "But never mind that. I'll take care of it somehow."

Akeno frowned, but nodded compliantly.

"In any case, Saito and Asia are going to be second year students, right?" Rias said, deciding to change topics, if only to keep her own temper from flaring as she brooded over the problem of her marriage. "I hope that they're in either Ise's or Yuuto's class. That would be nice, I think."

"Asia-chan is in Ise-kun's class," Akeno said. "But Saito-kun won't be able to be in either of their classes."

Rias frowned. Akeno sounded like she knew something about her Peerage that Rias didn't. Rias hated it when someone, even if it was her closest friend, knew something about her Peerage that she didn't. "What do you mean?"

Akeno set down her own cup of tea on the coffee table from where she sat on the club room's sofa. "It appears that he was held back a year. He's entering as a first year, in Koneko-chan's class."

"What?" Rias's frown deepened, causing creases to appear on her brow. "Why? What happened? Were his grades too poor?"

"No. His grades were fine. It's just... Hold on a moment." Akeno took her schoolbag, which was also laying on the coffee table before her, and rifled through it for a moment, causing Rias to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Finally, Akeno withdrew a carefully folded piece of paper. She stood up and walked over to Rias, handing her that paper. "I found this while I was taking care of Saito-kun's transfer."

Rias accepted the paper, her frown having increased to dangerous levels at the sudden mystery. She quickly unfolded the paper and looked at it. Printed on it was a colored photograph of Saito's face, though he looked different in this picture. The Saito on the paper looked younger, but not just from age. The Saito Rias had seen in real life always seemed to have a shadowed expression, the kind one had when they carried a heavy burden of the past. She had seen it three times before with Akeno, Koneko, and Yuuto, with Yuuto's having been the worst amongst those three. Furthermore, the current Saito's features were marred by lines of stress and battle-weary exhaustion, to a degree that gave Saito the impression of being many years older than he truly was. In this photo, Saito looked relaxed and carefree – the spitting image of what a boy his age should look like.

But it was the caption beneath the photo that caught Rias's eye.

Hiraga Saito. Disappeared March 14, 2012. Please notify the police with any clues of his whereabouts.

"2012?" Rias murmured. "But that was a year ago." She looked up at Akeno. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it online on the missing child reports after I learned that Saito-kun has been missing for an entire year," Akeno said. "That's why he's been held back a grade. Nobody knows if he ran away or was kidnapped or who knows what else. One day, he simply vanished without a trace. Then, he reappeared just as suddenly amongst Fallen Angel Raynare's faction. But as we both already know from Asia-chan, he had been picked up by them only two days before he and Asia-chan joined your Peerage."

Rias pursed her lips. "People don't just disappear and reappear like that."

"No, they don't," Akeno agreed. "But I have been unable to find anything else. I've even tried poking around and asking some of his old classmates."

"And?"

"I found nothing," Akeno shrugged apologetically. "He contacted none of his friends or acquaintances before he vanished. Apparently, his last known appearance was at a local electronics store where he had his laptop fixed. After that... Nothing."

"I see," Rias murmured thoughtfully. Carefully, Rias folded the paper and placed it inside one of her desk's drawers. "Thank you, Akeno. I'll look into this matter personally. We should get going for now, though. Class will begin soon."

"Of course, Buchou."

-Scene Break-

Saito sat in the back corner of the classroom, where the only empty seat in the classroom had been left. The uniform of Kuoh Academy felt strange and unfamiliar to him after having gone so long without wearing school uniforms, but it felt comfortable nevertheless. The high quality of the set of clothes was actually very impressive for mere school uniforms. Fortunately, the collar of the shirt was high enough to adequately cover Saito's neck. Before he had received his uniform, Saito had been considering buying a simple scarf in order to hide his scar.

Leaning on the side of his desk was Derflinger, who was hidden away inside of a simple cotton case, the kind which many kendo and kenjutsu practitioners used for carrying their shinai or bokken – bamboo practice swords and wooden swords, respectively.

With a sigh, Saito felt his attention drifting away from the lecture the teacher was currently giving. After having missed a year of schooling and having been so far removed from academia, being much more concerned with simply surviving with sword in hand instead, Saito realized that he was so far behind the rest of his peers that he had no idea what the teacher was currently teaching.

He would have to find a tutor, Saito supposed. His parents would probably be all right with that.

Saito smiled slightly as he thought about his parents fondly.

After being resurrected by Rias Gremory as a devil, Saito had returned home. The reunion between him and his parents was one of many tears and celebration. His parents had cried, for their lost son had finally returned home. He had cried because he was finally back.

When his parents had finally been able to regain enough of their composure, they had asked him where he had been and what had happened to him. It stung Saito that he had had to... well, not lie, per se, but he hid much of the truth from his parents. It wasn't as if he could simply tell them that he had been taken to another world where magic and monsters existed. They would think he was insane. They did not need that. Not after all the emotional suffering they had already gone through due to his disappearance. But not telling them anything would be equally as bad. After so long, they needed at least some closure. They were his parents and deserved to know what happened to their son, if only in part. So Saito told them a portion of the truth. He told them that he had been kidnapped from the middle of the streets and taken away to a foreign country, only recently managing to return to Japan. Then he told them that he would rather not speak of the matter again. His parents graciously allowed the issue to be dropped. They were happy just from the fact that Saito had returned.

Of course, that hadn't stopped them from going out and buying an expensive cell phone for him that had a GPS tracking device installed into it, specifically telling him to call them at least once a day to let them know where he was, who he was with, and when he would be returning home. It was enough to make Saito feel like a little kid all over again. It didn't bother him, though. Saito was grateful for his parents' concern.

Saito rested his chin against the palm of his left hand, which he wore a fingerless, tan-colored glove over in order to conceal the runes of the Gandalfr.

This was nice, he thought. Even if he had no idea what the teacher was talking about at this point (something about "cosines" and triangles or something), he could still enjoy the tranquil peace of everyday school life. He basked in it. In fact, for the first time in his life, Saito was actually looking forward to doing his homework, something that would have made him shudder in the past.

Just like that, time flew, and soon the last class of the day was over. A chorus of sliding chairs and the outbreak of chattering filled the classroom air in a pleasant buzz. From the many conversations that immediately sprouted up once the teacher had left, Saito could hear questions between friends of what they wanted to do now that class was over and if they wanted to go hang out somewhere. Answers came as either yes or no – mostly the latter due to club activities. Saito packed away his own books into his bag and prepared to leave.

As a new transfer student, Saito did not have any friends yet in the class to be able to have such conversations. And since Saito was not an overly exceptional looking guy – in fact, Saito himself would admit that he looked fairly plain, all things considered – the other students had only really afforded him a few curious glances, but not much else. The only unique thing about Saito was that he was carrying what the other students assumed to be a wooden sword in the cotton bag. In Japan, such a thing was hardly unique at all. There were many kendo and kenjutsu practitioners, so such a sight was ordinary, even mundane. On his way to school, Saito had seen at least a dozen other students carrying similar cotton cases. Though, since what Saito was carrying was a real sword, his bag was a little larger than theirs.

Saito shrugged casually as he stood up, slinging his bag around his shoulder and picking up Derflinger. He would probably be able to make some friends in time, Saito thought with a smile, once he acclimated to a peaceful and modern lifestyle again.

Before Saito could leave, a short white-haired girl walked over to him, garnering the attention of nearly everyone in the classroom.

"... Buchou wants us to meet in the clubroom," Koneko stated.

"Oh. I see," Saito said, his smile finally dropping; his expression turning serious. "All right. Let's go."

Without a word, Koneko turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom. The other students watched as she left, the look on their faces like that of someone who had seen a cute little kitten, necessitating them to say, "Awww..."

From what Saito had seen thus far, he was fairly certain that Koneko did not have any friends outside of the collection of devils to whom she belonged to. Yet, it seemed that she had many admirers nevertheless. As Saito followed Koneko to the Occult Research club room, Saito noticed that many of the other first year students in the hallways, particularly the males, were staring at Koneko conspicuously, with a hungry look on their faces, and they shot Saito a few jealous glares for walking beside her.

When they finally reached the Occult Research club room, Saito stepped forward and opened the door for Koneko, bowing slightly as he stood aside deferentially to let her pass. Koneko frowned as she stared quizzically at Saito.

Ah, damn, Saito thought as he realized a moment later that one of his old habits from having to serve Louise had popped up without him even noticing it. Saito blamed it partially on the fact that Koneko and Louise both had very similar body types. When Koneko continued to stare at Saito, he shrugged at her. She tilted her head ever so slightly before she walked past him and into the room. Saito went in afterward and closed the door behind him.

Inside, the others were already gathered. Issei was lounging on a couch. Asia was sitting next to him. Kiba was there too, and Akeno was brewing some tea.

And sitting on her oaken office desk, Rias was there as well.

She beamed at him. "Hello, Saito."

Saito forced himself to smile back in response.

-Scene Break-

"How was your first day of school?" Rias asked her newest Pawn. "Have you gotten used to it yet?"

"It's going well, I guess. I'm thinking about getting myself a tutor," Saito answered casually as he set his schoolbag against the wall and took a seat on a couch, his sword in hand. "I'm a little too far behind everyone else, it seems."

"That won't be necessary," Rias said cheerfully. "I'll be more than happy to tutor you myself."

Saito paused momentarily. "Thank you, but that's okay," Saito said carefully. "I wouldn't want to bother you about something like that."

"Nonsense. It's no bother at all," Rias said, waving her hand in casual dismissal over Saito's worry. "Since you are now a part of my Peerage, it's only proper that I help take care of whatever problems you might have."

"Thank you," Saito said again. "But really, it's fine. For something like this, I'd rather take care of it on my own."

Rias frowned. She approved of independence amongst those of her Peerage, but she also wanted to show Saito that his King was someone he could rely on, even if it was for something relatively trivial.

Of all the members of her Peerage, Rias felt that her relationship with Saito was the most distant. Rias partly attributed this to the fact that prior to Saito's reincarnation, they had spoken only a few words to each other. However, since Asia, whom she hadn't spoken to at all when she was still human, was now fairly close to her, Rias also attributed the slowness of the development of trust between her and Saito as him being the type who took a longer time to bond with someone.

There was no need to rush, Rias supposed. It would be better to build a foundation of trust slowly and solidly in the long run, anyway.

"All right. If that's what you want," Rias said. "In any case, since you are now a devil, I think it's time I tell you and Asia-chan about a devil's job."

"Do I have to go steal the souls of the innocents?" Saito asked drily.

Rias giggled. "No. Devils stopped doing that a very long time ago. Long before we were born. Do you remember how I told you of the current state of we devils?"

Saito nodded. "You guys-" Saito paused, frowning. "We," he corrected himself, "are an endangered species, so you use the Evil Pieces system to resurrect other species as devils. As slaves."

"Servants," Rias corrected him. "And yes, that is correct. Additionally, only high-class devils are allowed to have a Peerage, so only they can use Evil Pieces to reincarnate others. However, in order to help ensure the survival of our species, it's possible for even reincarnated devils to become a high-class devil as well." Rias smiled slyly. "In other words, you could become a King yourself one day."

"Oh. That's cool, I guess," Saito said, not looking remotely interested at what was considered by most reincarnated devils as a tantalizing offer – the highest possible reward. Saito's plain disinterest caused Rias to frown briefly. She shrugged it off, though, since it wasn't unheard for some reincarnated devils to not desire advancement at all, preferring instead to remain with their King. Akeno, Koneko, and Yuuto were amongst those kind of devils.

"In order to advance in rank, however," Rias continued, "you must accomplish deeds that make you worthy of it. Typically, this is done through one of three ways: successfully completing many contracts with humans, accomplishing some great military deed, or doing well in the Rating Games."

"The Rating Games?" Saito cocked his head.

"I'll explain that another time," Rias said. "Since I am not yet old enough to participate in the Rating Games, it's not very pertinent to us, yet."

Saito nodded as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "And since you told me before that there's currently an armistice between the three forces of devils, angels, and fallen angels, performing a military feat seems unlikely to happen. Then, that leaves only contracting, right?"

"Precisely," Rias said. "And that's what your main job as a devil will be. When a human who possesses one of these," Rias pulled out from her desk drawer a leaflet with a magic circle printed on it, "has a strong wish or desire, they will be able to call us forth through this. Your duty, then, is to listen to what the client wants, and then fulfill their wish and obtain their reward, thereby completing the contract."

"A deal with the devil, in other words," Saito mused. "Question, Gremory-senpai."

"Just call me Buchou," Rias said kindly.

"Buchou, then," Saito said, nodding once. "I'm not interested in becoming a high-class devil or in becoming a King. Is it still necessary for me to form those contracts?"

"Well, yes," Rias said slowly. "If not for your own sake, then at least for the sake of all those here. The more contracts you complete, the greater the prestige of my Peerage, which in turn benefits us all."

Saito nodded. "Fine. I understand."

"Why don't you want to become a King, though, Hiraga-san?" Issei piped up curiously. "Getting your own Peerage would be amazing!"

Saito turned to stare at Issei quizzically. "In what way?"

"You could make it into your very own harem!" Issei declared proudly. "That's my dream, you know. I'm gonna become a high-class devil and get myself my own harem!"

Akeno giggled with amusement at Issei's words. Yuuto sighed, but smiled slightly. Koneko was nibbling on a chocolate cookie, but paused long enough to say "... Ise-senpai is the worst," before continuing to work at her snack. Asia pouted with jealousy. Rias was nearly about to chuckle softly herself, but stopped upon noticing the look on Saito's face.

Saito glowered at his fellow Pawn with eyes so cold and harsh that Rias saw that Issei actually flinched underneath Saito's gaze. The rest of Rias's Peerage stopped what they were doing as well and frowned as they looked at Saito.

"I'm sorry," Saito said tersely. "I'm not sure I heard you properly, Hyoudou-san. Could you say that again?"

"Um... I, uh, want my own harem, and that's why I'm working to become a high-class devil...?" Issei said hesitantly. "Hiraga-san. Is something wrong?"

"Buchou," Saito said, ignoring Issei as he looked away from him. "Those of a Peerage are slaves to the King piece, right?"

"Servants," Rias corrected him again, now frowning openly at Saito's choice of words.

"What happens, then, if a member of a Peerage disobeys the King?" Saito asked. "Or what if they ran away?"

Rias cocked her head. "Well, for disobedience, they would be punished, though the type of punishment would depend on the King. If they ran away, they would be considered stray devils and would be hunted down and eliminated in order to prevent them from becoming a threat."

"Thank you." Saito looked back at Issei. In a cold, blunt voice, he spoke. "So in other words, what you're saying is that you want a bunch of sex slaves."

"What?" Issei said, looking aghast. "No! I want a harem! That's different!"

"How is it different?" Saito said icily. "You have a group of women who, as your slaves-"

"Servants," Rias corrected, rapidly becoming very concerned about her newest Pawn. "Saito-"

"-must obey your every word, your every command," Saito continued, brushing aside Rias's attempt to intrude in his rapidly escalating tirade. "Whatever you want to do to them, they cannot voice their complaints. Even if they dislike it, they must put up with it, lest you take offense and decide to punish them for it. And if they decide that they have had enough and try to escape, they'll be branded as criminals and killed. That is what you're saying you want, isn't it, Hyoudou Issei!?"

"Saito!" Rias said sharply, as Issei shrank beneath Saito's harsh words.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!?" he bellowed as he whirled around to Rias, catching her by surprise at his vitriol.

The room went dead silent as everyone stared at Saito. His eyes flicked around at the others as he licked his lips. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," Saito said quietly, opening his eyes after a few seconds. "I let my temper get the best of me. I said too much."

Silently, Saito walked over to his schoolbag and picked it up before opening the door. He paused there.

"Hyoudou-san," Saito said. "I made too many assumptions just now and I wasn't very fair to you at all. I'm sure you wouldn't force a woman to join your Peerage against their will and without full understanding of just what they are getting into. You have my apologies for that. I'll see you all tomorrow."

-Scene Break-

Once Saito had left the room, Akeno was the first to recover from the stunned silence.

"Oh my," Akeno said in a jesting tone, trying to alleviate some of the pressure and tension that had taken hold in the room. "That was rather rude."

Rias glanced at Akeno, who nodded once in understanding – the silent message having been received. Though Rias was thankful for the attempt at breaking the ice, now was not the time for it.

"... Buchou," Issei said almost meekly. "Is having a harem really as bad as Hiraga-san said? Am I wrong for wanting one?"

Akeno looked pityingly at Issei. He looked hurt and confused, and more than a little upset. To have his dream so cruelly insulted, to be accused of wanting to be, in simple terms, a rapist by someone who he had thought to be his friend no doubt wounded Issei deeply. Since Issei was her junior in Rias's Peerage, and therefore like her younger brother, it hurt Akeno to see Issei hurt.

"Of course not, Ise," Rias said gently. "It's a fine dream to have as a devil."

"... Perverted, though," Koneko added quietly.

"Koneko," Rias said in a stern and admonishing tone.

"... Sorry."

"Still," Kiba said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I had no idea that Hiraga-kun despised being reincarnated as a devil so much. I know that Ise-kun and I were the ones to recommend it, but now I wonder if perhaps it would have been best if you hadn't, Buchou."

"I wonder. Is that what it sounded like to you, Yuuto-kun?" Akeno said softly.

Kiba turned to face Akeno, cocking his head. "What do you mean, Akeno-san?"

"I mean that everything Saito-kun said was focused on Peerages and the Evil Pieces system, not devils or reincarnation in particular," Akeno said. "And remember, when Asia-chan was being reincarnated, he did not attempt to stop it. In fact, he supported it."

"But that doesn't make any sense, then," Kiba said, frowning. "Reincarnation is part of the Evil Pieces system, as are the Peerages. So why would he support reincarnating Asia-san if he hated it so much?"

Rias's eyes widened as she came to a realization. "He didn't know. At the time, all he heard was that we could save Asia-chan's life. He didn't know what being reincarnated as a devil would necessarily entail. He didn't know about the Peerage."

Akeno nodded. "Yes. What he despises is not reincarnating as a devil. He hates being forced into a Peerage. 'Slavery' as he described it."

"Even so," Rias said, frowning. "I think that his anger is a little abnormal. The alternative was death, a much worse option in my mind, and it's not as though any of us have treated him badly."

"There are people who would prefer death," Akeno said. "But I agree with you, Buchou. I think he did overreact a tad. Or rather, it sounded as though he had a biased opinion."

"Indeed." Rias pursed her lips. Her eyes flicked down to her desk drawer. She narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips, as she stared back at Akeno "You think that this might have to do with something from last year?"

Though the others looked between Rias and Akeno with confusion, Akeno simply nodded.

"I do," Akeno said. "Buchou. Saito-kun probably has not gone too far yet. I would like to go speak with him. "

Rias nodded. "I understand. Go, then."

"Thank you, Buchou," Akeno said. "I will return soon."

-Scene Break-

Akeno let out a breath of relief as she found Saito. She had been lucky that Saito had not been walking at a particularly quick pace, for by the time she had caught up with him, he was already nearing his home. Noticing the sound of Akeno's footsteps, Saito turned around with a look of blank surprise on his face.

"Himejima-senpai?" Saito said. His expression immediately turned in a small scowl. "Did Buchou send you?"

"No. I came on my own." Akeno smiled. "Do you mind if we talk for a bit, Hiraga-kun?"

"Talk?" Saito glanced towards the direction of Kuoh Academy. "If it's about before, back there, then I apologize for that. I didn't mean to blow up like I did. If you'd like, I can make a more formal apology to the others tomorrow."

Akeno shook her head. "It's not about that. Listen, there's a park near here. Do you mind if we go there for a little while?"

"I don't mind."

"Thank you," Akeno smiled gratefully. "This way."

With Akeno in the lead, the two took a detour off the main street. In five minutes, they arrived at a small, unremarkable park. It was empty of human life and mostly so of decorations, with there being only a few vacant benches aligning the gravel path that ran through the park's center. It's mostly unspoiled nature gave the park a calm and relaxing atmosphere. Akeno sat down on one of the benches and motioned for Saito to do the same.

"So?" Saito said as he sat down and set his concealed sword across his lap, maintaining a polite amount of distance between him and Akeno on the bench. "If it's not about before, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"My, my," Akeno said teasingly. "Aren't you in a rush to get to the point? Do you not enjoy simply chatting, Hiraga-kun? No, do you mind if I call you Saito-kun?"

"That's fine," Saito shrugged. "And it's not like I don't enjoy talking. But it sounded like you had something specific to talk with me about, Himejima-senpai."

"I suppose I do," Akeno said. "Though it's nothing concrete or specific. And please, call me Akeno-san." Akeno smiled mischievously. "Or you could call me Akeno-neesama. After all, as a devil, I am something like your older sister."

"If you say so, Akeno-neesama," Saito said drily.

Akeno's eyes lit up with amusement. "Oh my," Akeno tittered. "You'll actually call me that?"

"I could also call you Akeno-chan instead, if you'd like," Saito said wryly.

"Hm... No. No, I think '-neesama' will be fine," Akeno said, smiling a little more broadly.

"All right, then, Akeno-neesama," Saito said, nodding once.

Akeno tilted her head back slightly, letting lose a silvery peal of laughter.

"You know," Saito frowned. "If you're going to laugh every time I call you Akeno-neesama, I think I might just stick with Akeno-san instead."

"No, please don't," Akeno grinned as she managed to suppress her laughter. "It's just that I didn't think you would actually call me that. I like it." Akeno let out a drawn breath, letting her laughter die down as she took on a more serious tone and expression. "But you are a strange boy, Saito-kun."

Saito cocked his head. "In what way?"

"You are rather contradictory," Akeno said. "Very much so, in fact."

"Contradictory?" Saito pursed his lips. "Do you mean that I'm hypocritical?"

Akeno shook her head. "That's not quite right. Contradiction and hypocrisy – there is a slight but important difference between the two," Akeno said. "To be hypocritical means to espouse something one does not truly believe in or uphold. To be contradictory means to do one thing, then do its opposite."

"Is that so?" Saito mused understandingly. "In what ways have I been contradictory, then?"

"For one, when you defended Fallen Angel Raynare in order to allow her to go free," Akeno said. "Were you not moments before doing your best to kill her? I don't understand why you were trying to kill her one moment and then protect her in the next."

"Ah. That?" Saito said, smiling bitterly. "I suppose to others it would seem contradictory, but I do have my own reason for it."

"What is it?" Akeno asked curiously.

"You see, Akeno-neesama," Saito sighed, resigning himself to explaining. "The most valuable and important thing I possess is my own life. If someone were to save this life of mine, there is very little I would not do for them, short of harming an innocent person, but including risking or even sacrificing my life to save them. And Raynare did save me. If she hadn't found me, I would have died alone in an alley."

"Died?" Akeno interjected. "From what?"

"Gunshot wounds," Saito said.

"Gunshot wounds?" Akeno echoed. "Who shot you, Saito-kun?"

"That's not important," Saito said dismissively.

"Saito-kun," Akeno said sternly. "Of course it's important."

"It isn't," Saito asserted strongly.

"All right, then," Akeno frowned. "If that's how you feel, I understand. So if you owed Raynare a debt, why did you try to kill her?"

"Because although I owed Raynare my life," Saito said, "she wasn't the only one I have a life debt towards. And to that other person, Raynare did something truly evil."

"She killed Asia in order to steal Twilight Healing," Akeno said as she slowly started to piece Saito's logic together.

"Yeah," Saito nodded. "Raynare saved me by finding me and bringing me to Asia. Asia saved me by actually healing me. Because of that, I owed a life debt to both of them. But by murdering Asia, Raynare made it so that there was only one possible way for me to repay my life debt to Asia."

"By avenging her," Akeno murmured.

"Yes," Saito said quietly. "But then you and Buchou appeared and presented a second option for me. By resurrecting Asia as a devil, avenging her was no longer the only way. She could come back to life and I would be able to repay her for saving me in some other way, someday. This in turn gave me the opportunity to repay my debt to Raynare in full, clearing my conscious so that the next time I meet her, I can kill her without remorse. That is why I protected that bitch."

"You place a great deal of importance on these life debts," Akeno commented.

"Like I said, my life is my most important thing," Saito said, shrugging. "Therefore, I value my life debts appropriately. There is very little I hold in higher regard than them."

"But if that's the case, Saito-kun," Akeno said. "If life debts are so important to you, why are you so angry at Buchou? She saved your life, just like Asia-chan, and she hasn't done anything like Raynare to deserve your anger."

Saito shook his head. "You're mistaken about something. Buchou and Asia are different," Saito said. "True, they both saved my life, but in Buchou's case, she did so at a price: my servitude."

"Is that why you're angry at Buchou?" Akeno asked. "Because she made you her Pawn?"

Saito shook his head again. "Don't get me wrong, Akeno-neesama," he said. "I'm very grateful to Buchou. Becoming her Pawn is a cheap price to pay in return for my life."

"Then what exactly are you upset about?" Akeno said, bemused.

Saito didn't speak for a moment, looking instead toward the horizon, as if contemplating how to best articulate his next words. Patiently, Akeno waited for him.

"What I'm upset about is the whole Peerage and Evil Pieces system," Saito finally said.

"You think it's wrong," Akeno stated.

"I think that I'm fortunate that it exists, because otherwise I'd probably be dead right now," Saito replied. "But just because it did one good thing for me – a really good thing, I'll admit – it still doesn't change the fact that whatever you call it, however you dress it up, it is still essentially just a system of slavery."

"If that's what you think, then you misunderstand Rias," Akeno said. "She doesn't see you as a slave. To those of the Gremory clan, their Peerage is a part of their family."

"I'm sure she does," Saito said drily. "But this isn't just about her specifically. It's about this whole 'Evil Pieces' system as a whole."

"Why do you think of it as slavery, then?" Akeno asked calmly.

"Besides the fact that we have to obey the King, lest bad things happen to us, it's because to a King, potential members of their Peerages aren't people; they're objects," Saito said bitterly. "They select for reincarnation only those that would be most useful to them, as if they were out shopping for a new car or computer. Take Buchou and I for an example. I don't know what the circumstances were that led her to decide to reincarnate me, but I can guess: I bet that she thought that my fighting abilities would be useful to her, which is why she made me her Pawn."

"That is true," Akeno admitted reluctantly. "But you must understand that a King only has a very limited number of Evil Pieces, which are irreplaceable. They cannot go around resurrecting just anyone."

"I understand that," Saito said, sighing wearily. "The Evil Pieces are priceless things to a King. Amongst humans, there aren't many that would donate even a few coins in order to help a fellow human in need. And if humans won't help their fellow humans, there's no way I can blame a devil for withholding their Evil Pieces from someone that would be useless to them. In my head, I understand that. Believe me when I say that I understand that."

Akeno cocked her head as she looked at Saito. "Then why?"

"Because even if I understand it here" - Saito tapped one finger to the side of his skull, indicating his brain - "I can't accept it here" - Saito moved his hand downward, placing his palm over his heart. "No matter what, I can't accept a system that treats human lives as objects. I can't. I just can't. It makes me mad, Akeno-neesama, and that is something I don't think I'll ever be able to get over. It's something I don't want to get over."

Slowly, Akeno reached out with one hand and placed it gently on Saito's shoulder. He flinched and tensed for a moment upon being touched, but relaxed shortly thereafter.

"I understand what you're saying, Saito-kun," Akeno said. "I really do. I won't lie, either – there do exist Kings that are cruel and vicious. They care nothing for others and force strong individuals into their Peerage without consent. But please believe me when I tell you that Rias isn't like that. She cares for us all. To her, we are her family. She is the type of King that others should be like."

"I know, Akeno-neesama. I know." Saito sighed wearily as he stood up to leave. He stood there in silence for a few seconds, sword and schoolbag in hand. Then he said, "I am grateful to Buchou for saving my life. That is why I'll pay her cost without complaint. I will work loyally as her Pawn. But that is all." Saito glanced over his shoulder at Akeno, giving her a small, emotionless smile. "Well, let's get along from now on, Akeno-neesama – from one slave to another."

-Scene Break-

Saito stood in front of the door of the Occult Research club room. He sighed. It felt like the first time he had to go in front of the class and make a presentation, way back in primary school. The sense of dread and anxiety was unwelcome, to say the least.

Still, he had made his bed of nails. It was time to lie on it.

Reaching to the doorknob, Saito twisted and pushed the door wide open. Walking in, schoolbag and Derflinger in hand, Saito immediately noticed the tense atmosphere, and that besides Rias and her Peerage, there was one additional guest.

She was dressed in a maid's outfit, reminding Saito of Siesta, and had silver hair. She carried about her the presence and aura of a dignified and stern older woman, though judging purely from her youthful and beautiful appearance, she seemed to be in her early twenties, at most.

Saito licked his lips nervously. His instincts, long since sharpened through life-and-death battles, were warning him that this woman was dangerous. He could practically taste the power that rolled off this woman in waves. Whoever this woman was, her power was like that of a vast ocean, one whose still surface belied its turbulent nature – a nature which could easily allow that ocean to turn into an unstoppable tsunami that would crush and wash away all that lay in its path.

In that regard, this person reminded Saito of Karin the Heavy Wind, Louise's mother and another extraordinarily powerful and frightening woman. Though in terms of ominousness, Karin did not come anywhere close to that of this woman.

"Ah, Saito," Rias said from her desk. She looked very displeased at something. Saito wondered if it was about what he had said yesterday, though it didn't seem like it. "Good, you're here. Take a seat. I have an important announcement to make."

Saito flicked his eyes at Rias, before cautiously fixing his gaze back on the silver-haired woman. In the presence of such an obviously powerful and dangerous being, there was no way in hell that he was going to do something as vulnerable as sitting down. Saito carefully walked to the wall opposite of where the silver-haired woman stood beside and slightly behind Rias. There, he set his schoolbag down and leaned against the wall, carefully keeping his hand on his unbound nylon case, ready to withdraw Derflinger in an instant.

No. Instead of sitting down, Saito thought, he would remain standing and ready to react to whatever this woman did. Violently, if necessary.

"Lady Rias," the silver-haired woman said politely. "Would you like me to explain?"

"No," Rias said. "I will. Everyone, the truth is that-"

Suddenly, a magic circle formed inside the room. It shined with a vermillion color and bore a central seal different than the one Saito had seen before, when Rias and her Peerage made one. From that circle, a tall blond man appeared. He wore red pants and a red blazer with a white dress shirt underneath. The top few buttons were unbuttoned in order to show off a part of his chest in a way that screamed arrogance. His hands were stuck casually in his pockets, and he stood with a haughty expression. Rias groaned upon seeing the man.

"My lovely Rias," he said. "I came to see you."

Saito noticed that Rias was glaring at the man through half-lidded eyes and with unhidden annoyance and disgust.

"Riser," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Like I just said, I came here to see you," Riser replied. He sniffed distastefully. "Though, the human world sits ill with me. The air here is disgusting. Come, Rias. Let us return to the Underworld. We still need to look around at the ceremony hall, since the ceremony's date is already set."

When Riser grabbed Rias's arm, she shook him off brusquely.

"Don't touch me," she said angrily.

Instead of looking offended, Riser simply smirked, looking amused by Rias's reaction. "Touchy, aren't you, Rias?"

"Hey!" Issei said hotly. "You're being rude to Buchou! Who the hell are you?"

The question seemed to take Riser by surprise. He looked at Issei, then back at Rias. "You haven't told your servants about me? About us?"

"There was no need to," Rias said stiffly. "And there is no us."

"Hyoudou Issei," the silver-haired maid said politely.

"Y-Yes?" Issei answered, looking as nervous as Saito felt by the woman.

"This man is Riser Phenex," she said. "A pure-blooded high-class devil; third son of the Phenex family; and future husband of the next heir of the Gremory family, Rias Gremory."

Issei stared blankly at the silver-haired woman. He blinked. Nearly ten seconds passed before he seemed to finally finish processing the woman's words. Then:

"What!?" Issei blurted in complete shock.

"Ise," Rias said sternly. "Calm down."

"But, Buchou," Ise began.

"Ise," Rias said, and he quailed underneath her gaze. She turned her attention back to the man in red. "Riser. I'm certain I've made it clear on numerous occasions that I will not marry you."

"You most certainly did," Riser said easily. "But it's already decided. Your parents and brother are on board with our marriage."

"They have nothing to do with this!" Rias snapped. "As the heiress to the House of Gremory, I alone possess the right to choose who my husband will be! Not only that, but it was also promised that I would be free to do as I pleased until I graduate from a human university."

"Yeah, there was a promise like that, wasn't there?" Riser said nonchalantly, tapping his chin as if in deep thought. He shrugged. "Though I don't understand at all what you find so pleasant about the human world or their schools. Try to understand the family's worries, Rias. They're concerned that House Gremory will go extinct, just like so many others that disappeared after the last Great War. Even if there is an armistice, it doesn't mean that all conflict has ended. Didn't you just very recently have a fight with a group of fallen angels?"

"We destroyed them, if that's what you mean," Rias retorted.

"I heard one got away," Riser smirked.

"That was due to other circumstances," Rias said. "And she didn't get away. We allowed her to leave."

"Be that as it may," Riser shrugged, "the fear is that you'll end up fighting with another group of angels or fallen angels and die without leaving behind an heir. You understand, don't you?"

"I understand perfectly," Rias said stiffly. "I will not allow my house to go extinct and I am willing to take a husband."

"Excellent. You understand, as I knew you would," Riser said, a broad smile spread over his lips. "Then, let's-"

"However," Rias cut him off. "As I said before, I will choose who my husband will be, and it will not be you."

Riser's smile died in an instant and he stared at Rias with a cold expression.

"You know, Rias," Riser said in a dangerously calm voice. "I am the third son of the Phenex family. I can't let mine nor my family's name be tarnished like that." Flames began gathering around Riser, forming into large, birdlike wings behind his back. "So I will burn your servants to ashes and drag you back to the Underworld, if I must."

"Why don't you try it?" Rias shot back, blood-red energy emanating from her body.

Saito felt the unbearable heat and the oppressive energy from Riser and Rias fill the room, and he, along with the rest of Rias's Peerage, tensed as they prepared for a fight to break out. Slowly and quietly, Saito pulled Derflinger out of the nylon case just enough to allow its hilt to stick out. Saito gripped the handle in preparation for the fight, feeling the slight warmth from the runes of the Gandalfr pulsate against his flesh as they shined, its light hidden from others by the glove he wore over his left hand.

"Lady Rias. Lord Riser. Please calm down, the both of you," the silver-haired maid said in a calm manner. "If you two seek to continue in this manner, then for the sake of the honor of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I will not hold back and stop both of you."

More than her words, it was the dangerous aura that began actively emanating from the silver-haired maid that caused Saito to become even more nervous than he had been over Riser's and Rias's impending fight. The ocean of power had stirred. Any more than this and it would become something truly dreadful.

Like Saito, both Riser and Rias recognized the danger in the silver-haired woman's words. They swallowed nervously as the flames and the red energy faded away.

"Well," Riser said in tone remarkably meek for the arrogant man. "If the strongest Queen in all of the Underworld were to say that, then even I would have to back down."

"I agree," Rias said, swallowing her saliva nervously.

"You have my gratitude," the silver-haired woman said. "Now, since we are at an impasse, I will relay to Lady Rias and Lord Riser the suggestion my master and those of the Phenex clan have come up with."

"A suggestion?" Rias said. "What is it, Grayfia?"

"Lady Rias," Grayfia. "If you truly do not wish to marry Lord Riser, then you must defeat him in an unofficial Rating Game."

Rias breathed in sharply. Riser laughed.

"Hahaha! Lucifer-sama and my family sure have come up with an amusing method to settle this," Riser chuckled. "So? What will it be, Rias? Will you decline and flee or accept and lose?"

"Neither," Rias said hotly. "I accept the conditions, Grayfia. But Riser, I'll tell you this: I will win."

"Understood, Lady Rias," Grayfia said as she opened a miniature magic circle in front of her. "Then I will inform Master Lucifer and the Houses of Gremory and Phenex of your decision and begin the preparations for its arrangement."

As Grayfia began talking quietly into the magic circle, Riser sneered at Rias.

"I'll applaud your courage, Rias," Riser said. "Even though you know it's hopeless, you still have the guts to try. That's commendable."

"Don't make arbitrary decisions like that," Rias nearly snarled. "I will blow you away in this Rating Game. After that, our engagement will be off – permanently."

"Fine," Riser said, holding up both hands, palms open. "But when I win, we'll be getting married immediately."

"Keep dreaming," Rias said. "Because you won't."

"Rias, Rias, Rias," Riser said, shaking his head as if he were admonishing a silly child. "You're a smart woman. Think. You don't have a chance. I've already been through many Rating Games. I've won most of them, too. But for you, this will be your first time. Our experiences simply do not compare." He glanced around the room and sneered. "Not to mention your Peerage, as well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rias said, narrowing her eyes.

"Just that aside from your Queen, they're all too weak," Riser said offhandedly. "Like our experience, your Peerage doesn't even begin to compare to mine."

Riser snapped his finger, and several vermillion-colored circles, similar to the one that Riser had appeared from, formed around him. A moment later, there were fifteen girls of all shapes and sizes, beautiful or cute without exception, in the room with them.

Though Saito couldn't be certain of these girls' level of strength and skill, based purely on the basis of numbers, they were already sorely outmatched. Including Rias and Riser, it was seven against sixteen. Saito frowned. They more than doubled Rias's forces. Such odds was not insurmountable, but it certainly was daunting.

"H-How can this be?" Issei said, his voice thick with disbelief, his eyes shining with tears as he stared at Riser.

Saito glanced at Issei, wondering what it was that the boy had noticed to elicit such a strong reaction.

"Uh... Rias?" Riser said as he cautiously stared at Issei. "Why is your servant crying while watching me? It's kind of creepy."

Rias looked at Issei for a moment. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry about that. His dream is to have a harem, so I think he was moved to tears after seeing that you are living his dream."

Saito groaned. Seriously? That was why he was reacting like this?

"Wow, that's kind of gross," a short, green-haired girl in a gym uniform consisting of a white t-shirt and black shorts said.

"He really is pretty nasty," a girl with cat ears sticking out of her head said.

Issei trembled with impotent rage as the members of Riser's Peerage continued raining down insults on him as if he wasn't even there.

"Now, now, girls," Riser said, grinning wickedly. "It's only normal for a lowly guy like him to look up to and be jealous of someone like me. So how about we put on a little show for him? Yubelluna."

"Yes," a busty woman with long, wavy purple hair said as she stepped towards Riser.

Then, right in front of everyone, Riser pulled her in close to him, one hand on her waistline while the other caressed and fondled her large breasts, and began kissing her. It was a long, wet kiss, made purposefully loud, their bodies angled in such a way that Issei had full vision of how Riser's and Yubelluna's tongues swirled about inside each other's mouth.

Issei shook visibly with a jealous fury while Saito and the rest of Rias's Peerage simply watched with disgust. After nearly a minute, Riser finally separated from Yubelluna, a thin strand of saliva trailing from their lips as they did, only to then grab and begin doing the same exact thing to another of his girls. After another minute deep, passionate kissing, Riser pulled away from the girl and looked at Issei.

"You will never be able to do something like that," Riser declared.

Issei snapped.

"Damn you, you fried chicken bastard!" Issei shouted furiously. "You don't deserve Buchou! I'm going to beat you up right now! Sacred Gear, activate!"

A red light flashed around Issei's left arm. When the light faded, it left a red gauntlet in its place.

"Boost!" the gauntlet announced.

"Oooh!" Issei roared as he charged towards Riser.

"Boosted Gear, eh?" Riser snorted. "Mira. Do it."

A blue-haired girl wielding a long wooden pole nodded, then charged forward swiftly. Saito's eyes narrowed as he began moving at the same time as the girl. In one motion, he drew Derflinger from his sheath within the cotton case and shot forward like a bullet. The world around Saito seemed to slow down as he moved, his senses having sharpened to an unnatural degree now that he was in combat mode. Because of that, Saito clearly saw Mira thrust her staff forward, aiming to use the blunt but unforgiving end of the pole to strike at Issei's solar plexus. By the time Issei was able to react, it was already too late for him to even try to dodge. His balance, posture, and momentum simply would not allow any such action.

But faster than Mira could attack, Saito had already closed the distance and reached out with one hand, firmly grasping the pole near its end. He allowed the force of the thrust to pull his arm in its direction, spinning his body along with it such that his back was then against the pole. There was a brief tug on his straightened arm and shoulder as the pole stopped mere centimeters away from Issei's chest. At the same time as when he spun, Saito extended his sword arm, allowing the momentum to cause a fast and natural swing. Derflinger cleaved through the air in a flash of steel, stopping just short of Mira's neck – a thin, scarlet line appearing just beneath Derflinger's edge as proof of how close the blade had been to the flesh.

Cold sweat beaded on Mira's brow as she glanced down fearfully at Saito's blade with widened eyes. Riser seemed stunned. Similarly, Rias looked surprised as well, but there was a calculating gleam in her eyes as she carefully observed Saito.

"Riser, was it?" Saito said as he slowly took Derflinger away from Mira's neck and released her wooden staff. Dazed, she stumbled backwards into the safety of the rest of Riser's Peerage, one hand covering the shallow cut she had received. "It is as you say. We are weak compared to you and your Peerage," Saito said, the sarcasm obvious for all to hear. "So for the sake of fairness, will you not give us a handicap?"

Riser recovered, growling, "And what makes you think I need to do that, worm?"

"Come now, Riser," Rias said shrewdly. "Surely for someone of your strength, allowing us at least a few weeks of training wouldn't hurt your chances of winning." Rias smirked mockingly. "Or perhaps you're afraid that you'll actually lose against me? After all, it would be pretty embarrassing if you lost against someone with less than half the number of your Peerage and has never even participated in a Rating Game before."

"You dare call me, Riser Phenex, third son of the ancient and noble House of Phenex, a coward?" Riser demanded, outraged.

Rias shrugged. "If the shoe fits..."

Riser snarled. "Tell me how much time you want, then."

"Three weeks," Rias said immediately.

"Too long," Riser said. "One week."

"Two."

"Ten days," Riser said with a note of finality. "If that is not enough for you, then forfeit here and now."

"Fine," Rias said. "In ten days, Riser Phenex, I will blow you away."

-Scene Break-

Rias let out a long, drawn out breath as she leaned back in her armchair, her eyes half closed. With Grayfia and Riser and his Peerage gone, the room was unusually quiet and tense.

Ten days.

In just ten days, the fight to determine her fate would begin. Rias sighed. Ten days. It was a small mercy, but a mercy nonetheless. Rias was grateful for it. Now, everything depended on how they spent this time of preparation that she and Saito had managed to win. Strategies would need to be made and training would need to be done, especially for Issei. His Sacred Gear would be the critical factor that would allow Rias to defeat Riser Phenex.

However, despite whatever brave words she had said, Rias in actuality had very little confidence in being able to win. It was as Riser said: She was simply outclassed. Her Peerage was not substantially stronger than his, so the numbers advantage Riser had would be a decisive difference. Comparing his experience with the Rating Games to hers was as different as night and day. And most troubling of all was Riser himself. His special ability as a Phenex would be incredibly troublesome to deal with. Ten days was not nearly enough time to adequately prepare for a battle against him.

"Buchou," Saito said briskly, breaking the silence. "I have a few questions."

"What is it?" Rias said, opening her eyes fully and facing her Pawn.

"What is a Rating Game? From what I heard, it sounds like a battle between Kings and their Peerages. If so, are there any rules we should be aware of? What are the characteristics and abilities of the different Pieces? What information do you have about Riser Phenex and his Peerage? Is there anything in particular that we should be aware of about them?"

Rias blinked at Saito's almost professional tone as he listed off his inquiries, his almost cavalier way of ignoring the tense atmosphere.

"Yes, a Rating Game is essentially as you described: a battle between two Kings and their Peerages," Rias slowly said. "To be more precise, it is a controlled way for Kings to compete with each other and prove whose Peerage is the stronger, thereby earning prestige, without incurring any serious injuries or deaths. In order to win, the opposing King must be defeated."

"Just like in chess," Saito noted.

"Indeed," Rias nodded. "The rules depend on the type of Rating Game played, but for this one, there is none that we need to be especially aware of. It will be a simple, straightforward battle. As for the different pieces, the Knight has greatly increased speed and reflexes. The Rook is its opposite – they have greatly increased strength and durability. The Bishop has improved magical abilities. And the Queen has the abilities of those three Pieces combined."

"What about the Pawn?" Saito prompted.

"As a Pawn, you only have the natural all-around increase in physical abilities that being a devil affords you," Rias said. "That, and one other special ability: Promotion. Once a Pawn reaches the enemy's base, like in Chess, they can promote into any of the other four Pieces."

"Interesting," Saito mused, narrowing his eyes. "All right. What of Riser Phenex and his Peerage?"

"I don't have sufficient information on his Peerage at the moment," Rias said. "But those of the Phenex clan have all the same abilities as the great mythological bird, the phoenix. In other words, they have mastery over fire and wind and possess the trait of immortality."

"Immortality?" Saito grimaced. "That complicates things, doesn't it?"

"Very much so," Rias agreed. "There are only two ways to circumvent that: either completely obliterate him with a godly powerful attack, or kill him repeatedly, over and over, until his mind breaks down." Rias sighed as she leaned the side of her head against her fingers. "However, his numerical advantage makes it difficult for us to maintain our strength and stamina in order to attempt either method."

"In other words, we need a strategy that allow us to maximize our efficiency and effectiveness while minimizing costs," Saito said. "We need a low risk, high gain plan."

"Yes. That's exactly it," Rias agreed. She frowned as she stared at Saito. "It sounds like you are no stranger to combat. What experience do you have, Saito?"

"Live practice," Saito grunted.

"What do you mean?" Rias pressed.

"Nothing," Saito answered, his lips remaining tightly sealed.

Rias frowned, opening her mouth to insist that Saito answer her question, when Issei suddenly spoke up.

"Um... Hiraga-san," Issei said. "Aren't you scared at all?"

"Of course I am. I'm always afraid fighting. It's painful and scary," Saito said easily, looking evenly at Issei. "But we don't have time to indulge in fear, nor can we allow it to govern our thoughts and actions. That makes us weak and ineffective. We just need to win this 'Rating Game' for the sake of our King. And that is all we need to think about."

Rias smiled at Saito's impromptu speech. The rest of her Peerage gave their nods of approval as well. With his calm, steady words, the tension in the air vanished, replaced instead by a determined atmosphere. Saito was right, Rias thought. They, her Peerage, would be fighting for her sake. That was their duty to her. In turn, it was her duty to them, as their King, to come up with a winning strategy, no matter the odds.

"Yeah, you're right, Hiraga-san!" Issei grinned. "Besides, there's no way in hell that I'm gonna let that fried chicken bastard marry Buchou! I mean, who does he think he is? He already has a harem, for crying out loud! That lucky freaking asshole!" he said hotly. "How can he have a harem before I do!?"

Rias sighed, though it was an amused sigh and her smile became a little wider. It figures that Issei would have such a reason for fighting. At least he was consistent, Rias thought fondly. She couldn't fault him for that.

"Uh... Right. Sure. Whatever you say," Saito said, shaking his head with incredulity. He sighed. "But trust me when I say that harems aren't as great as you think they are," he muttered as an aside.

Rias was certain that Saito hadn't meant for that last part to be heard by anyone, but he had neglected the fact that devils have senses superior to that of humans. Thus, everyone in the room heard him.

"Wait... Those words... That means... You have a harem!?" Issei accused as he gawked at Saito.

Saito flushed as he realized that he had been heard. "Um... Well, sort of, but not really. I mean I did, but not anymore. Technically it wasn't really a harem. That is... Uh..." Saito hedged. He took a deep breath. "You know what? Can you just pretend that you never heard that?"

"Hiraga-san! You have to teach me the secrets of how to get a harem!" Issei pleaded as he grabbed Saito's hand, clasping it between his own. "Please, Hiraga-san! I'm begging you!"

"Like I said," Saito grunted as he tried to pull his hand free from Issei's vicelike grip. "Please pretend you didn't hear that."

"Actually, I'm curious about this too," Rias said, grinning openly at the spectacle that Issei and Saito were putting on.

"Oh my," Akeno said with amusement. "If Buchou says that, then I have to admit I'm curious as well."

"Sorry," Kiba smiled apologetically. "But I am, too."

"... Perverts," was all Koneko said, though she seemed to be listening intently.

"Me as well," Asia admitted.

Saito looked around the room with a look of betrayal on his face. Seeing that he had no allies anywhere, he sighed and caved in. "Well, like I said, it wasn't really a harem," Saito said. "It was more like they were competing for my affections, I guess. Most of them, anyway. Some of them just wanted to use me. One of them was just looking for a fun little fling, as well as to piss off another girl. I mean, it turned out to have worked to my advantage, but the whole thing was still pretty annoying. Also, could you let go of my hand, Hyoudou-san? I'm not really feeling comfortable with this."

"How could a harem be annoying?" Issei demanded incredulously, though he complied and released Saito's hand. "A harem is the dream of men all over the world!"

"Oh my," Akeno smiled. "Don't tell me you were playing with the hearts of maidens, Saito-kun."

"No. No, nothing like that," Saito said defensively. "And just picture this, Hyoudou-san: Imagine that you're deeply in love with one girl. You want to marry her one day and spend the rest of your life with her. Now, imagine that a bunch of other girls are in love with you. Despite them knowing that you love only that first girl, they still try to tempt you away. In doing so, they make that first girl really mad at you, becoming the source of many fights. Not so fun, right?"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Issei said skeptically.

"It sounds like you've had some very interesting experiences," Rias said.

"It's... Well, it's a long story."

"I think we'd all love to hear it," Rias said, smiling, but listening with keen interest. Whatever he said, it may have clues of Saito's past.

Saito shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't want to talk about it."

Rias frowned. "Saito, if there's anything troubling you, you can always speak to us about it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Saito said curtly. "But there are more important things to be concerned about, aren't there? Such as how to prepare for the upcoming battle?"

Rias sighed ruefully. She had been hoping to figure out a clue to Saito's past, no matter how silly or trivial it might seem. It appeared that would not be happening.

"Of course," Rias agreed reluctantly. "And I do have a plan for that."

"What is it?" Saito questioned.

Rias smiled. "Training camp."

-Scene Break-

Saito let out a relaxed breath as he set down his luggage on the ground, the bags dropping with a soft thump on the grass. He breathed in deeply, letting the cool, clean mountain air fill his lungs. Nearby, Akeno, Asia, and Rias were chatting away cheerfully.

In order to prepare for the upcoming Rating Game, Rias had decided that they would all go to one of her family's mountain villas in order to focus completely on training. When Saito brought up the topic with his parents over dinner, he having disappeared for a year, they were understandably loathe to allow him to leave them for more than a day. It had taken much convincing on Saito's part in order to be allowed to go. It helped, Saito supposed, that his parents thought that he was on a club field trip. It technically was. Only, when Saito was convincing his parents, he had changed the purpose of the field trip from "training to defeat an immortal devil-phoenix-bird-thing" to a "research trip."

It was close enough.

Casually, Saito planted the tip of the sheathed Derflinger on the ground and leaned against it. Soon, Kiba appeared on the top of the slope that Saito and the others were waiting on. His delay seemed to be in part due to the number of wild herbs and plants he had picked and held in his hands. He smiled at Saito as he too set down his bags. A moment after, Koneko appeared, carrying luggage easily twice as large as what Saito and Kiba had been carrying. Considering that Koneko was half the size of either of them and that the bags they were carrying totaled almost a hundred pounds (made far easier to carry thanks to their devil-enhanced strength), Saito found himself with renewed respect for the superhuman power of a Rook.

It took several minutes before the last of Rias's Peerage appeared. Wheezing and sweating heavily, Issei practically crawled his way to the top of slope. With shaky legs, he approached the others. Tired and exhausted, he carelessly dropped his luggage on the ground and followed it down a moment after, collapsing onto the grass.

"Jeez, Ise," Rias said in an admonishing tone. "If you can't do this much, you won't become stronger, you know."

"R... Right, Buchou," Issei gasped for breath.

"Well, in any case, let's put the bags away and begin training immediately!" Rias declared blithely.

"C-Couldn't we take a little break first, Buchou?" Issei asked pleadingly.

"Nope!" Rias said, crushing that hope mercilessly. "We don't have time to take breaks. Besides, if you have enough energy to talk, then you have enough left to train."

Issei groaned. Saito felt some pity for the young devil, but he knew that Rias was right. They did not have the luxury of being able to take breaks. The truth was that in only ten days, there was little that a person could do to improve his physicality. Increasing stamina and strength was possible, to a degree, but there was not enough time to make any large, substantial improvements. Most of the improvement from this training would be mental and technical.

"No complaining, Ise," Rias said sharply. "Besides, this training is mostly for you in the first place."

"For me?" Issei said as he finally managed to catch his breath. "What do you mean, Buchou?"

"Your Sacred Gear," Rias said. "You understand what it does, right?"

"I think so," Issei frowned. "It increases my power every time it says 'Boost,' right?"

"Yes," Rias said. "To be more accurate, your Sacred Gear is one of the thirteen strongest Sacred Gears in existence. One of the thirteen Longinus: Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor, Boosted Gear. Its ability is that it doubles your power every ten seconds, possessing the potential to grant you enough strength to be able to slay even gods."

Damn, Saito thought as he recalled that one almighty punch Issei had delivered to Raynare. That's an incredible power.

"Seriously?" Issei said, staring at his left arm in awe. "That's so amazing!"

"However," Rias continued. "That is precisely why we need to increase your base strength, skill, and battle sense."

"What do you mean, Buchou?" Issei asked curiously.

"The major weakness of your Boosted Gear is that it takes time for you to double your strength," Rias explained. "You need to be able to evade the opponent until enough time has passed such that your power has been boosted enough to defeat your opponent. Furthermore, the stronger you are in your normal state, both the greater the boosted power becomes and the more you can increase it."

Issei furrowed his brow and cocked his head. "I don't get it."

"Imagine that you are a truck, Ise," Rias said. "Every time you boost your strength, a package is added to that truck. However, you can't keep adding more packages – that is, you can't keep boosting your strength – infinitely. At a certain point, the truck will not move. By increasing your strength, however, it's like you get a stronger and better truck. This not only allows you to carry more packages, but bigger and heavier ones as well. Do you understand now, Ise?"

"Yeah, I think so," Issei nodded.

"Ise," Rias said in a very calm, serious tone. "Do not forget this: You are the only one here who has the ability to defeat Riser Phenex. Your Boosted Gear is key. So train hard, Ise."

"I will, Buchou!" Issei said enthusiastically.

"Good," Rias smiled. "Then go put the luggage away. Afterward, get changed and meet us back out here."

"Yes, Buchou," Issei said as he grunted and heaved the bags he had been carrying back onto his back and began trudging his way to the elaborate villa.

"Come on, Hiraga-kun," Kiba said. "We should hurry up, too."

Saito nodded, picking up his bags and following after Kiba. Thus, the first day of training began.

-Scene Break-

"Uwoooh!" Issei shouted as he swung his wooden sword downward.

Saito watched as Kiba dodged Issei's wild slash with ease by simply stepping to the side. Unbalanced as he was, Issei was then left wide open to a light rap against his head by Kiba's wooden blade. Wincing at the blow, Issei shouted wordlessly as he brought his sword up at a diagonal angle, aiming for Kiba's flank.

Kiba moved diagonally forward, to the opposite side from which Issei's sword was coming from, causing it to hit nothing but air. Once more, Kiba rapped Issei across the head.

Saito had known from the fight with Raynare and her exorcists that Issei was not a skilled fighter at all. At that time, however, he had had the advantage of being able to promote to a Queen, so his lack of skill did not matter as much. He had been able to simply bull through everything with brute force. Against Kiba, such a tactic was neither available nor viable. With light steps, Kiba was dancing absolute circles around Issei. The frustration born from being unable to strike his opponent quickly consumed Issei, making his attacks become more and more wild; less and less accurate.

"Ise-kun," Kiba said. "You can't just watch the opponent's sword in a fight. You have to widen your field of vision and pay attention to their entire body, and the surroundings as well."

"I got it!" Issei said as he made a surprisingly accurate thrust for Kiba's chest. "Die, damn handsome!"

Kiba twisted his body casually, avoiding Issei's thrust by a hairsbreadth, and then brought his sword swinging into Issei's flank. Issei grunted in pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his side, sword dropped on the grass.

"That's enough," Rias called out from the sidelines, where she watched with Saito and the others. "Good try, Ise."

"Thanks..." Issei groaned as he rose to his feet and moved to the sidelines.

"Now then. Saito," Rias said, looking at him. "It's your turn."

Saito nodded. He slung Derflinger off of his back and set it on the ground. Walking over to where Issei had left his wooden sword on the ground, Saito picked it up, ignoring the expectant look that was on both Rias's and Kiba's face. It was unfortunate. They seemed eager to see what he was capable of – Kiba more so than Rias – but even though he held the wooden sword in his hands, Saito could not feel the familiar warmth of the Gandalfr's runes being activated.

Saito frowned as he held his sword with both hands and faced Kiba. In this spar, he would have to rely only on his normal strength and the muscle memory that had been imprinted into his body by the experience of fighting as the Gandalfr.

Frankly, Saito wasn't sure if that would be enough against Kiba.

"Begin!" Rias said.

Saito didn't rush forward. Instead, he slowly began to close the distance, keeping his sword in front of him in a basic but solid fighting stance. Kiba began circling Saito, sword up and held ready.

Five... No, four more steps, Saito thought as he measured the amount of distance left before he would be within striking range. Three... Two... One!

Saito lunged forward, closing the remaining gap between him and Kiba, and swung his blade down towards Kiba's collarbone. Kiba raised his sword and blocked. Clenching his teeth, Saito bulled forward, aiming to tackle Kiba. It was a rough and sloppy technique, but Kiba was fairly lean, so Saito was confident that if it came to a contest of simple strength, he could win.

Instead of tackling into him, however, Saito felt himself stumbling forward as Kiba easily circled to his side, dodging the attack. By sticking out one foot, Kiba then tripped Saito, causing him to fall face first into the grass and dirt.

"Ouch," Saito muttered as he picked himself back up.

"Hiraga-san," Kiba said, frowning. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?"

Saito held back a twinge of annoyance at Kiba's words. "That was my best," Saito replied, carefully keeping his bitterness from leaking through his words.

Kiba looked perplexed. "But those movements you showed back at the church and when you defended Ise-kun... I know you can do better than this, Hiraga-san."

Saito shook his head. He looked down at the wooden sword in his hands. "Without a real weapon, this is the best I can do."

"How is it different?" Kiba said, confused. "Certainly, the weight of a real weapon and a wooden replica may differ somewhat, but the techniques and skills are still easily transferable."

"It is different for me," Saito insisted. "If you'll allow, let me fight with my sword while keeping it in its sheath and I'll show you what I mean."

Kiba frowned, but nodded. "All right. If you really think it'll make a difference."

Walking over to where Derflinger lay, Saito bent over and picked it up, dropping his wooden sword in its place. Upon placing his hand on the hilt, Saito felt the Gandalfr's runes activate beneath his glove, its warmth pulsating against his skin. Returning to face Kiba, Saito held Derflinger with his right hand in front of him.

"Ready when you are," Saito said.

Kiba nodded. "Begin."

Saito smiled. Then he dashed forward. It was a very simple, straightforward movement, but even so, Saito nearly vanished from the eyes of all those watching. He moved so fast that he became a blur. One moment, he had been standing nearly twelve feet away from Kiba. In the very next instant, Saito had reappeared in front of the Knight. Kiba's eyes went wide as he realized Saito had seemingly teleported in front of him. He quickly swiped his wooden sword in a defensive, warding blow, but Saito easily circled around behind Kiba, dodging the attack with sheer speed. Once he had taken Kiba's back, Saito used the blunt side of the sheathed blade to make a sweeping stroke aimed at the side of the Knight's legs. The force of the blow was enough to lift Kiba into the air, spinning him once, before he fell to the ground on his back. The tip of Derflinger's sheath hovered inches away from Kiba's throat, thus ending the fight.

All this happened in less than three seconds.

Kiba, as well as Rias and the rest of her Peerage, gawked at Saito. Saito gawked at Saito. This wasn't like his usual Gandalfr self. He was faster than before. Stronger, too. His senses and reflexes felt sharper than usual as well. In every respect, he could feel that he was vastly better than he was just a few days ago.

What was going on? What had happened that made his Gandalfr abilities so much stronger?

The light bulb in Saito's head clicked almost immediately in a sudden epiphany.

It wasn't that the abilities of the Gandalfr that had changed. It was that he himself had changed. He was no longer a human. He was a devil, a species that was physically superior to normal humans in nearly every regard. Therefore, when the Gandalfr's runes increased his power, it was starting from a greater base amount than before.

Convenient.

"Holy shit," Issei mouthed, similarly shocked by Saito's improvement.

"Akeno," Rias said, still gawking. "I did reincarnate Saito as a Pawn and not a Knight, right?"

"Indeed you did, Buchou," Akeno confirmed, looking just as mystified.

"... Wow," was all Koneko said.

Saito held out one hand to Kiba. He grinned and took it. With a strong tug, Saito pulled Kiba back onto his feet. When he stumbled with shaky legs, Saito quickly grabbed Kiba and supported his body. Asia rushed over to Kiba's side and knelt down beside his legs. A soft green glow emitted from her hands. Seconds later, Kiba was supporting himself with his own two feet once more. He thanked her gratefully before turning to Saito.

"That was incredible, Hiraga-kun!" Kiba enthused honestly. "I thought I knew your speed from having seen you fight before, but this was completely different. You caught me totally off guard with your speed."

"Thanks," Saito said a little sheepishly. "Honestly, I surprised myself. I think it's because I became a devil that made me stronger and faster than before."

"Well, whatever the case, that power is definitely reassuring to have around on our side," Kiba complimented. He grinned. "Though, I have to say, as a Knight, it was a blow to my pride that a human was as fast as me. If you're now even faster, I think I might get jealous."

"Sorry," Saito chuckled. "But I don't think I can help you there."

"Anyway, how about we go for another round?" Kiba asked. "That one was too short for us to properly gauge what you're fully capable of, I think."

"If Buchou permits it," Saito shrugged.

Kiba looked towards Rias, who nodded. "I agree with Kiba, Saito," Rias said. "Please, continue."

Saito nodded. Then, the swordsmen took twenty paces away from each other – a distance which would be unreasonably large for a normal sword duel, but quite frankly too small for Saito and Kiba, whose inhuman speeds made such a distance almost worthless. Wordlessly, they nodded to each other as the signal to begin.

This time, Kiba moved first. With all the speed of a Knight, he zigzagged towards Saito, aiming to use his speed to disorient him. But the Gandalfr was able to easily perceive Kiba's movements with perfect clarity. Saito carefully watched Kiba as he moved, his eyes tracking Kiba's path. Keeping Derflinger loosely at his side, Saito waited for Kiba's attack.

The Knight came from the front, feinted an attack, then quickly circled around behind Saito, only to find that there was no one standing in front of him. Kiba's eyes widened as he immediately whirled around, bringing his wooden sword up in a guarding position in the same motion. Kiba only narrowly managed to block a diagonal slash across his back from Saito's sword.

As soon as the two blades parted, Kiba leaped back in order to put some distance between the two. But Saito pursued, maintaining an arm's reach distance between the two, even as he relentlessly let loose a flurry of attacks onto Kiba. With a strained expression, Kiba managed to block and parry each and every one of Saito's attacks, if only barely. But as the barrage continued, the difference in speed quickly began to show. Unable to match the speed of the Gandalfr, both escaping and attacking were impossible for the Knight, forcing him to remain constantly on the defensive instead. Even then, Kiba was not able to block every attack. Here and there, Derflinger slipped past Kiba's defenses and struck him sharply. And with only a wooden sword, he could not defend against the Gandalfr's superior strength for long. With each passing second, the wooden sword chipped, cracked, and splintered more and more. Each new assault brought the wooden blade closer to its breaking point. Until finally:

"Ha!" Saito shouted as he brought down a final stroke of the blade.

Kiba desperately brought up his wooden blade to block, but it was no use. At this point, it was simply too damaged and structurally unsound to be of use. The wood shattered and the splinters sprayed out in every direction. Kiba grunted in pain as Derflinger smashed down on his right shoulder, its momentum hardly even having slowed, causing him to drop to one knee.

"Ugh," Kiba grimaced as right arm dangled uselessly, his left gingerly holding onto his damaged shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Saito asked with concern. Despite the strenuous fight, Saito looked completely fresh, save for the sweat that covered his face in a thin sheen.

"I'm fine," Kiba said. He too was sweating, but unlike Saito, he looked more tired. He smiled weakly. "Good fight, Hiraga-kun. You win."

"Thanks," Saito said. He added apologetically a moment after, "Sorry about your shoulder."

"It's fine, it's fine," Kiba said, dismissing his concerns with a casual wave of his good arm. "Asia-san. Could you please?"

"Yes," Asia said as she hurried over to Kiba's side for a second time. She placed her hands over Kiba's shoulder as green light once more began emitting from Asia's hands. Moments later, Kiba rotated and flexed his newly healed shoulder, then nodded satisfactorily.

"Thank you, Asia-san," Kiba said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Asia beamed.

Rias approached Saito.

"I don't understand," Rias said slowly. "I don't sense a Sacred Gear in you, Saito. So how are you, a Pawn, faster than Kiba, a Knight?"

Saito glanced at Rias. "Ah. I should have informed you of my abilities earlier. My mistake." He nodded once. "It's because I am the Gandalfr."

"The Gandalfr?" Rias cocked her head, frowning with confusion.

Saito tucked Derflinger underneath his armpit, pinning it against his body with his arm. Then, he took off the glove from his left hand and showed Rias the runes on the back of it. Without a weapon in hand, they remained dim in their unactivated state.

"These are the runes of the Gandalfr," Saito explained. "It grants me the ability to use any weapon, giving me an instinctive understanding of how they work. Whether it be a knife, a gun, a fighter jet, a battleship, or whatever else, it doesn't matter. I can use it. All weapons are mine to use. And to allow me to better use those weapons, these runes also strengthen and improve my body, multiplying all of my physical abilities and senses several fold, though to differing degrees depending on which aspect. My speed and senses are the most greatly improved and my durability the least.

"Furthermore, it can only be activated while I'm holding or touching a weapon. A real weapon." Saito grabbed the hilt of the sword with his right hand, allowing Rias and the others to see as the runes began to shine on his left hand. "Hence why I couldn't use its power with the wooden sword."

"I don't think I've ever heard of a Sacred Gear that lets you do all of that," Kiba mused.

"That's because it's not a Sacred Gear," Saito said. "It's magic."

"Runic magic doesn't have the power to grant that kind of ability, either," Rias said as she carefully studied the runes. "And it's certainly not one of the other branches of magic."

"From what I understand, the magic used was supposedly long since lost, and very unique," Saito said as he withdrew his hand, putting his glove back over it.

"When did you get this?" Rias asked, looking evenly at Saito.

Saito shrugged. "Last year."

Rias narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Saito said, arching an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rias shook her head. "No. Never mind, for now," Rias said. "Let's get back to training."

-Scene Break-

Rias quietly sipped at her soup and nodded satisfactorily at its taste. Training had ended for the day, and they had all gathered in the modestly extravagant dining hall for a satisfying dinner made by Akeno and Asia.

Rias had already known that Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba – half of her Peerage – were at a level in which these ten days of training would do nearly nothing for them. The focus, then, had been on the three newest additions to her Peerage: Asia, Issei, and Saito. And while the first day of training had gone well, it had shown some weaknesses and shortcomings in her newest Pieces.

Asia had done excellently in her demonic power training, having been able to use magic at a sufficient level to be of use in combat. However, this was entirely offset by her crippling weakness: a complete and total lack of battle sense. If it came down to it, Asia would be incapable of defeating even a particularly aggressive human, let alone another devil. Not that Rias would have done anything as foolish as sending Asia into combat, of course. Twilight Healing made it far more beneficial to keep Asia in the back lines until absolutely necessary, making sure that she stayed safe and healthy enough to be able to heal the rest of her Peerage. Outnumbered as they were, she was their lifeline. Still, this meant that there were only really five people left to fight Riser and his Peerage. Unlike Riser, who had the benefit of being immortal, Rias could not risk putting herself in the front lines without a good reason, since if she was defeated it would spell an instant loss for her Peerage.

Issei had been disappointing all around. His demonic power was incredibly weak, his physicality was below average, at best, and his battle sense was less than a normal person's. However – and this was something Rias found herself very much approving of – he had an unrelenting determination. Though he complained occasionally, Issei would always, without fail, stand back up when he fell. He endured everything. It was thanks to that attitude that Issei was able to make large improvements after only a single day of training. Why, he had gone from being unable to dodge even a single one of Kiba's sword strikes to being able to dodge two!

… Rias decided, then, that she would take whatever improvement she could get out of Issei.

As for Saito, Rias found herself pondering about matters beside just his performance in training. Of the three, he had done the best, though his strengths remained extremely specialized and conditional. His demonic power, like Issei, was atrocious, with Saito only being marginally better than his fellow Pawn. While Issei had managed to only gather rice grain's worth of demonic power, Saito had managed to collect one the size of an undersized grape. However, what Saito lacked in demonic power and magic, he more than made up for with his combat skills and physical prowess. So long as he held a weapon, neither Kiba nor Koneko had been a match for him in any of their spars. Kiba especially had been thoroughly outclassed. Saito was faster than him, stronger than him, and more skilled than him.

Of course, Rias knew that that pertained only insofar as they kept their matches to a spar. Kiba had been holding back by not using his Sacred Gear, Sword Birth. If they had truly battled, Rias wasn't entirely certain who would win.

Either way, the power of the Gandalfr would be most useful to have on her side.

And there it was. That was what Rias found herself ruminating mostly about. The Gandalfr. She had never heard of such a term before, nor had she heard of magic that artificially granted a person the ability to instantly use any weapon and boosted their physical ability to be at the very least on par with a Knight's. It was curious. It was very curious.

And it was a clue.

Something had happened to Saito last year that involved the supernatural. Though whatever it was, Rias could not begin to guess.

Just as she could not begin to guess why Saito had propped up his sword on a chair adjacent to him as if it was a person and placed a bowl of soup before it.

"Um... Hiraga-san?" Asia said, giving him a curious look. "Why do you have your sword on a chair? And why did you give it soup?"

"It likes the smell," Saito said offhandedly, as if it were an obvious thing. He grabbed a piece of bread and bit into it, chewing it carefully. He swallowed, then frowned as he noticed that everyone was staring at him as if he had gone crazy. "What?"

"Your sword... likes the smell?" Kiba coughed politely. "Hiraga-san. This is a little hard for me to ask, but you didn't hit your head while sparring with Koneko-chan today, did you?"

Koneko lightly hit Kiba's arm from beside him, causing him to wince, though he never let his gaze leave Saito.

"Oh right," Saito smacked his forehead with his palm. "I forgot. I never introduced you guys." Saito nodded once. "Everyone, this is my sword, partner, and best friend, Derflinger. Derf, say hi."

Rias and everyone else had only a second to consider the notion that Saito had gone completely insane before the quillon of the sword moved as if it were a mouth, and a metallic voice said, "Yo!"

Everyone remained stunned for nearly a minute as they gawked at the sword. Being the first to recover from the shock, Issei said in a most eloquent fashion, "Holy shit! Your sword just talked!" Though, the way he was coughing and choking on some food had detracted from the delivery of his succinct statement.

"Thank you, thank you. And for my next trick, I will perform the dance of my people," Derflinger said sarcastically.

"But... You're a sword," Issei said, perplexed, as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and took a drink of water. "You can't dance, can you?"

"... He's not very bright, is he, Partner?" Derflinger asked Saito.

"Hey!" Issei protested.

Saito rolled his eyes and futilely tried to repress a grin.

"I don't believe it," Kiba murmured in awe. "Your sword is sentient. I mean, truly sentient. I've heard of swords with wills of their own that can choose its wielder, but this is the first time I've ever seen an actual thinking, speaking, sentient sword."

Derflinger snorted; a harsh, grating sound. "Please. Those other swords having nothing on me, the Great Derflinger."

"... Arrogant sword," Koneko said, pausing only briefly from her meal to make a comment. Of all those there, only Koneko had not stopped to eat after Derflinger's introduction, remaining the most unperturbed from the disturbance.

"Nyeh," Derflinger said, making a sound as if he had just stuck its nonexistent tongue out at the petite white-haired girl.

Koneko frowned, her face taking on an angry and annoyed but cute expression, then responded by sticking her tongue out at Derflinger before returning to her meal. Rias shook her head with amusement at the immaturity of it all.

"Out of curiosity," Kiba said, looking at Saito. "Where did you find a sentient sword, Hiraga-kun?"

"Well, interesting story, that," Derflinger said. "You see, it involved an immovable stone, a prophecy of kings and heroes, and-"

"I found him rusting in the corner of a run down weapons shop," Saito interrupted flatly. "He was the cheapest sword ever sold out of that store. The owner practically begged me to take him away because of how much Derf was driving away customers."

"Partner!" Derflinger cried out in a betrayed tone. "How could you say that? That takes away from the mystique and value of being the first sentient sword that these guys have ever met!"

"Nothing comes from hiding the truth, Derf," Saito said jokingly, grinning widely from ear to ear. "Besides, I'm sure you would have done a great job of taking away from the mystique on your own if I let you speak for long enough, anyway."

"Traitor," Derflinger grunted bitterly.

Rias smiled at the banter, even as she began turning her mind to more serious matters. Rias set down her spoon on the table and cleared her throat with a serious expression. "I'm glad you said that, Saito, because there is something I've been meaning to speak to you about."

Saito's grin slowly faded away into an unamused line as he turned his head to look at Rias. "Oh? And what would that be, Buchou?"

Rias leaned in, planting her elbows on the table and interlacing her fingers together, forming a cradle for her chin to rest on.

"To keep it simple," Rias said, "what happened to you this past year? Where have you been?"

Saito glanced aside, briefly, unwilling to meet Rias's gaze. "... What do you mean?"

"Hiraga Saito," Rias said sternly. "Were you not the one who just said that nothing comes from hiding the truth? Why, then, are you hiding the truth now? Where and what happened to you this past year that caused you, a formerly completely normal boy with no prior connection to the supernatural, to suddenly reappear in the company of fallen angels and with runes of unknown magical nature which grant exceptional abilities imprinted on the back of your hand?"

"You researched me," Saito stated, his eyes cold, hard agates. "Why?"

"It naturally came up when your transfer to Kuoh Academy was being dealt with," Rias said indifferently. "After all, a missing child report isn't very easy to hide from your records. Now, as far as I can tell, it appears that you come from a happy family, so I think being a runaway is unlikely. Judging from those magic runes, what I assume, then, is that you were kidnapped by a magician who experimented on you."

Everyone turned to stare at Saito in surprise, except for Akeno who merely watched Saito intently.

"Is that true, Hiraga-san?" Issei asked. "Were you really kidnapped by a magician?"

"Close enough," Saito grunted as he began to stand up. "Thanks for the meal. I think I'm done now."

"Saito, wait," Rias ordered sternly, causing Saito's mouth to compress into a thin, silently angry line, as he stared at her and sat back down.

"What is it, Buchou?" Saito said with ill-hidden testiness.

"If you'd like, I can have everyone else leave so it's just the two of us. So please answer the question," Rias said. "What happened to you?"

"I don't see how it's relevant to you," Saito said, not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice. "It won't impact any plans you might make in any way. It's not necessary for you to know."

Though Saito was becoming increasingly irritable over the matter, Rias still pressed on. Saito was a part of her Peerage now. That meant he was family. And since she was the head of that family, she needed to know about those of her Peerage – their past and their pains.

"Saito," Rias said. "Whatever happened to you, it is clear that it was not a pleasant experience. But it is precisely because of that that keeping such a thing bottled up within you will only eat you from the inside out. So talk to me, Saito. You can trust me. You can trust all of us."

"Ah, shit..." Derflinger muttered.

Saito clenched his jaw tightly as he glared at Rias through half-lidded eyes, angry lines appearing on his brow. "Trust... you, was it? You?"

"Saito?" Rias frowned at her Pawn's tone. "What's wrong?"

"Partner," Derflinger said sharply. "Calm down."

Saito glanced briefly at the sentient sword before he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then he slowly exhaled. "Right. Right. I'm calm. Picture of serenity. Thanks, Derf," Saito said as he opened his eyes. With an expressionless gaze, Saito looked at Rias. Then he tsked and frowned. Looking back at Derflinger, Saito said, "Never mind. I don't think I can do this. Derf, you take care of this for me. I'm going to bed."

"Sure thing, Partner," Derflinger said understandingly as Saito stood up and walked away.

"Ah, hold on, Saito!" Rias called out, half rising from her own chair and reaching out to him in a futile gesture.

But instead of waiting, Saito left the room without another word. Rias sat back down and sighed exasperatedly. Planting one elbow on the table, Rias braced her forehead with the pocket in between her thumb and forefinger, covering her eyes with the bottom of her palm. She shook her head, aggrieved.

"Derflinger, right?" Rias finally said, looking at the sentient sword. "Can you tell me why Saito is so angry at me?" Rias grimaced bitterly. "Akeno told me his reasons why he doesn't like Peerages. Is that why? Because I made him into my Pawn?"

"Eh. Sort of, but not entirely," Derflinger said. He sighed, a sound that came out like air passing through rusty old pipes. "A part of it is because he's afraid."

"Afraid?" Rias furrowed her brow. "Afraid of what?"

"Of the Evil Piece inside of him," Derflinger said. "He's afraid that since he is your slave-"

"Servant," Rias automatically corrected.

"Whatever," Derflinger snorted. "Since he's your servant, he's afraid that the Evil Piece will eventually take control of his mind in order to make him more subservient and devoted to you, if it hasn't already. He's afraid that he'll cease to be himself by having his free will taken away, without him ever even realizing it. He's been worried about this since day one of his life as a devil. That's why he doesn't trust you or even his own thoughts about you. None of the good thoughts, anyway." The sword chuckled softly. "To tell the truth, after he learned that he had become your Pawn, he seriously contemplated murdering you in your sleep in an effort to maintain his free will."

"He what!?" Issei yelped while Rias and the others felt their eyes widen with shock and horror at the casual confession of planned murder.

"Settle down, kid," Derflinger said. "He's long since decided that he won't do that, since that big boobed redhead did save his life."

"Big boobed redhead?" Rias murmured incredulously, shaking her head slowly.

"Because he highly values his life debts, correct?" Akeno said to the sword.

"Yeah," Derflinger said. "Though, what he didn't tell you at that time, big boobed black-haired girl, is that he's not entirely sure if it's really him who said that he'll pay big boobed redhead's cost by serving her, or if it was the Evil Piece inside of him making him say it. He isn't certain that if he was still human and free, he would still decide to pay a cost that potentially involved giving up his free will, even if only in part."

"That is not how the Evil Pieces work," Rias said indignantly.

"So you say," Derflinger said nonchalantly. "And you know what? That might be true, just as you say. But how can partner or I be sure of that? After all, as a King, you have every incentive to make sure that none of your slaves – excuse me, servants – are aware of any hidden brainwashing effects that the Evil Pieces might have."

"That's why Saito is angry at me?" Rias said incredulously.

"Well..." Derflinger hedged. "It's not that he's really angry at you. It's more like he absolutely hates your guts."

Derflinger's words hit Rias like a truck, causing her to reel back in shock as if struck by a physical blow. All of the Gremory family were known throughout the Underworld for their great love of their Peerage. To them, a Peerage was an addition to their family; each member was to be cherished and shown tender care. And it was precisely for that reason that Derflinger's words hurt Rias so badly.

"He... He hates me?" Rias choked out. "All because of that misunderstanding?"

"No, not just because of that," Derflinger said. "Like I said, that is only a part of it."

"Then why?" Rias found herself demanding the sword.

Derflinger sighed. "Look. I apologize on my partner's behalf. It's really not your fault. It's because of everything that's happened to him this past year. He's just transferring his thoughts and feelings from those experiences onto you." Derflinger didn't shrug, because it was a sword, so it couldn't. But his tone when he spoke again made it clear that if he could shrug, he would have. "Not much you can do about that, I'm afraid."

Rias found herself grinding her teeth in frustration. There it was again. Saito's mysterious past year. Rias clenched her teeth together so hard, that she felt as though her teeth were about to break. This was aggravating beyond belief. Finally she had learned something about Saito's past, but only insofar that it was the root cause of Saito's distrust and hatred of her.

Rias was angry. In fact, she was downright furious. There was something or someone out there that was the reason why there existed a rift between her and Saito. Because of the actions of some other people or some other things, their relationship as family had been damaged to the point of nonexistence before it even had a chance to start.

"Derflinger," Rias said, practically growling. "Please tell me what exactly happened to Saito."

"I will not," Derflinger said flatly. "I am just a sword. My partner's sword, at that. It's not proper for me to be the one to explain partner's past to others, especially not when he himself doesn't want it to be shared."

"Derflinger, please," Rias said, a pleading note tinging her voice. "I need to know. Otherwise, I can never figure out how to truly fix the hate and distrust Saito has for me. If I don't figure out what happened to him, it's the same as relegating Saito as a mere tool because he won't ever let us become a true family."

For a moment, Derflinger remained as silent as a normal sword. Though the sentient blade had no eyes to see out of, Rias could somehow feel that the sword was observing her anyway – a creeping sensation that felt not unlike insects crawling on her skin.

"And what's wrong with that?" Derflinger said slowly. "Why should it bother you? My partner is strong. It should be fine if you just use him as a tool, right? You own his life, after all. Master and slave. Hell, if you really want him to act like your son or brother or something, just order him to. He'll have to obey."

"No!" Rias slapped one hand down on the table, causing it to briefly shake – some of the soup and water spilling out of their bowls and cups. "That is not it! A Peerage is not just a relationship of servitude. A Peerage is a family; a group of comrades who are bound together by bonds stronger than mere blood. That is what a Peerage should be. That is the kind of Peerage I want. But so long as Saito keeps his distance, that can never truly be made a reality for us. Therefore, I ask you once again: please tell me what happened to Saito."

Once more, the sword fell silent. "You really mean that, don't you?" Derflinger said quietly. "You really think of him as your family."

"Yes," Rias said just as quietly.

The sound of escaping air came from Derflinger's hilt. "I won't tell you what happened to him in the past," Derflinger said.

"But-" Rias began.

"However," Derflinger cut her off. "I will tell you two things. The first is how to get him to talk. The second is a clue."

Rias leaned in excitedly. Finally they were getting closer to the truth. "What are they?"

"All you need to do is just have the nun girl over there be the one to ask him the questions," Derflinger said.

Asia blinked for a moment, before realizing that Derflinger was apparently talking about her. She pointed at herself in surprise, and said, "You mean me, Sword-san?"

"Yeah, you," Derflinger said. "You saved my partner's life. That means that there's pretty much nothing that he won't do for you, even if he doesn't want to. All you guys have to do is have nun girl here be the one to ask the questions. He'll answer for sure."

"In other words, call in his life debt," Akeno mused thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Derflinger agreed. "He always does his best to pay those back. Be careful, though. If you use this method, he'll hate you all forever."

"Which defeats the entire point of having him open up to us," Rias sighed. "What's the second thing? The clue?"

"Take a look at his bare back without him noticing, if you can," Derflinger said indifferently.

"His back?" Rias frowned. "How would we do that?"

Akeno giggled. "Isn't it obvious, Buchou? We'll just have to peek at him while he's taking a bath in the open air onsen!"

"Wait, big boobed black-haired girl," Derflinger said. "What's an onsen?"

"You know," Akeno narrowed her eyes at Derflinger. "Buchou and I do have names, and they're not 'big boobed girl.'"

"Bah," Derflinger grunted. "You organic beings all look the same to me – except for partner. How am I supposed to remember individual names when there's so many of you running around? Just answer the question. What's an onsen?"

"Onsen – hot springs – are a large bathing facility meant to be used by multiple people at once," Akeno said, pursing her lips disapprovingly at the sentient sword. "Open air onsen is an onsen set outside."

"If that's the case," Derflinger said, "then there's one more thing I can tell you guys."

"What is it?" Rias said.

"If you go to this 'onsen' right now, you'll be able to find my partner there," Derflinger said.

"But didn't he say that he was going to bed?" Rias pointed out.

Derflinger snorted. "He lied so that he could take a bath alone while you guys were busy talking with me."

"I see," Rias said. "Thank you, Derflinger. But I have one more question for you."

"What is it?" Derflinger said. "Best make it quick, otherwise partner is going to finish and go to sleep for real."

"Why are you helping us?" Rias asked. "Isn't this like betraying Saito?"

Derflinger sighed. "Look. I love my partner, plain and simple. Weird for a sword to say that, I know, but it's true. All I want is what's best for him. But right now, he's still suffering from what happened in the past. And I'm just a sword. I can't really do much to help him get over that. What he needs is a person to help him, not a weapon. And you seem like a good person, Rias Gremory. All of you do. Himejima Akeno. Toujou Koneko. Kiba Yuuto. Asia Argento. Hyoudou Issei. You all seem like good people. That's why I am trusting all of you to help my partner out. I want you guys to help him get over the past. Please."

Rias smiled fiercely. "We will."

-Scene Break-

Akeno had to stifle a laugh that threatened to bubble out uncontrollably. Hidden within the cover of trees and bushes beside her, Rias shot Akeno a dirty look.

"Shh," Rias whispered seriously.

Akeno grinned widely with amusement, though she successfully managed to repress the laughter.

Despite the seriousness of their mission, Akeno couldn't help but find the entire thing rather funny. While everyone else were busy cleaning up after dinner, Akeno and Rias had sneaked into the forest that partially encircled the men's onsen. Hidden within the cover of nature, the two were quietly watching Saito, who was currently soaking inside the onsen's water, leaving Akeno and Rias unable to see his back.

"You know," Akeno whispered. "I expected this kind of behavior from Ise-kun. Not from ourselves."

"Akeno," Rias muttered sternly. "We are not peeking. We are following up on a clue provided to us by Derflinger – one that will hopefully allow us to figure out something from Saito's past."

"True," Akeno agreed. "But we're doing so by peeking."

Rias made an exasperated, strangled sound, but said nothing as she kept her focus trained on Saito. Unable to help herself, Akeno pressed further, teasing Rias.

"I wonder what Lucifer-sama and Grayfia-sama would think if they knew that their beloved younger sister was in fact a voyeur," Akeno said melodramatically. "Ah... the shame it would bring."

"A. Ke. No." Rias uttered warningly through a clenched jaw.

"Yes, yes, Buchou," Akeno tittered softly.

Yet, contrary to her words and actions, Akeno quickly settled down and stared intently at Saito. Rias wasn't the only one who wanted to help Saito. Akeno did as well. For all that she might jest or tease, Akeno truly thought of herself as Saito's elder sister. Therefore, she would do all she could as Saito's sister to help him.

Slowly, Saito began to stir in the water. Akeno felt Rias tense beside her and they both stared without blinking. Then he stood up.

"Oh my!" Akeno whispered, her eyes twinkling with amusement, crinkling along the corners from the wide smile that spread on her face as she saw the entire front of Saito's body.

Beside her, Rias did not react at all. Instead, she continued watching clinically, her expression set and unmoving. Then Saito turned around, unwittingly showing them his back.

Akeno's eyes widened with horror and she swallowed down a lump that had formed in her throat. "Oh my," she murmured very, very softly.

When Derflinger had first told them to look at Saito's back, Akeno had not been entirely certain of what to expect. She had considered many possibilities, such as a remnant of some old wound, or a deformity, or something. She had considered many things. But this... This was not something Akeno had thought that she would find on Saito's back: Thick, ugly scars in such numbers and prevalence that they spread and covered nearly all of Saito's back, crisscrossing a countless number of times like a hideous web. Each scar held some story of a past torment. And for a fighter like Saito, they were completely out of place.

Akeno looked at the scars and she understood. Those were not things won on the battlefield. They were scars from the lashes of whips. Many, many lashes. So many lashes that Akeno couldn't even begin to count them all. But there was enough so that the myriad of scars intersected and layered on top of each other a countless number of times. Enough so that Akeno could hardly even find a square inch of unblemished skin on Saito's back. And far more than enough for Akeno to tremble violently with rage.

Someone, somewhere, had done this to Saito. They had tortured him. Him. Her little brother. Akeno ground her teeth together in anger. It was at that moment that Akeno promised herself one thing: if she ever found out who had done this to Saito, she would track them down and kill them for it.

Once Saito left the onsen, Akeno glanced aside at Rias. She too was trembling with rage, and Akeno understood that Rias had come to a very similar conclusion as Akeno. Quietly, she reached out to the King and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rias looked at Akeno, staring at her for a moment. Then she nodded, and the two of them quietly left their hiding place.

-Scene Break-

The sight of Saito's back, whipped and scarred, weighed heavily on Rias's mind as she sat alone on the couch in the living room, the soft, silver glow of the midnight moon shining down on her from the large windows that dominated the wall behind her.

Rias sighed as she leaned back against the couch. In her hands and on the table before her were a large amount of papers. On them were a variety of maps, notes, battle formations, and dozens of different strategies that she had formulated.

She couldn't put her mind into actually working on this. Right now, the single, enraging, all-consuming thought in Rias's head was finding out who did that to Saito's back and then killing them for it. It was unfortunate, however, that she had no leads to work off of in order to track down the culprit or culprits.

Perhaps, Rias mused, she could discuss it with Derflinger sometime soon. Maybe it would be willing to help again.

"Buchou?"

Rias looked to the side, seeing Issei standing there with a glass of water in hand.

"Ise?" Rias said. "Why are you still up?"

"I had some things I was thinking about," Issei said. "I didn't realize you had poor vision."

Rias chuckled as she fingered the reading glasses on her face. "No, these are just for appearances. I like wearing them because I feel like I concentrate better with them on."

"Oh, is that how it is?" Issei said understandingly. His eyes flicked to the papers before Rias. "Are you coming up with a strategy for the Rating Game, Buchou?"

"Sort of," Rias said. "I've already come up with a plan, but I still can't help but be anxious about it. So I'm just reviewing everything to give me a bit of peace of mind." Rias sighed. "Well, that's the only thing I can really do at this point."

"What do you mean?" Issei asked.

"If it was any other devil, there are a variety of strategies that I could have prepared," Rias said. "But Riser is a Phenex. He is immortal. Given our circumstances, there aren't many plans we can make against him."

Rias bit her lips. Saying that there wasn't much room to make many plans was an understatement. In truth, against Riser Phenex and his Peerage, there was only one plan that could be used. Any other plan would be a simple variation of that same strategy.

All they could do was get Issei promoted, have him Boost his strength to a sufficient level, and then wipe out Riser in a single attack.

It was simple. If it worked, it would be effective. And it was also incredibly predictable.

Though there was truth in the adage that there was beauty in simplicity, that was only the case when there were also options available. In this case, with only one effective course of action, it would take a complete idiot to not understand just what Rias's goal was. And for all of Riser's faults, he was not an idiot. He definitely understood that Rias's strategy would be centered around Issei. Therefore, he would direct most of his Pieces into retiring Issei early on. If that happened, all chances of Rias winning would disappear. Even if Riser lost the vast majority of his Pieces in defeating Issei, it would still be his win. Rias and the rest of her Peerage simply did not have the power necessary to defeat the immortal Riser.

In the Rating Games, immortality was truly an unfair advantage, Rias thought bitterly.

"Buchou," Issei said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Rias replied. "What is it?"

"How come you don't want to marry Riser?"

Rias blinked at the frank question, staring at Issei. He squirmed slightly underneath her gaze and blushed. Rias smiled bitterly as she answered. "It's because he sees me only as a 'Gremory.'"

"Huh?" Issei cocked his head, confused. "Well, yeah. I mean, your name is Rias Gremory, right, Buchou?"

"That's not what I mean." Rias took off her glasses, folding them and setting it on the table. "You see, Riser doesn't love me because I am me. He only wants me because I am a woman from the Gremory family. To him, as well as to many other people, I am just Rias of House Gremory." Rias sighed wearily. "But that's not what I want. Don't get me wrong, Ise. I am proud of being a Gremory. I cherish the name. But even so, I want to meet a man who will love me for being me, not because I am of the Gremory clan. And if I ever want that little dream of mine to come true, we need to win this Rating Game. It is my only chance." She smiled at Issei. "That's why I'm sorry, but I ask you to help me and to endure this hard training, Ise. Please."

"I will, Buchou. But... to tell you the truth," Issei said quietly. "I'm really afraid. Even though I'm supposed to have some kind of really strong Sacred Gear, I've realized today that I myself am really, really weak. I mean, Hiraga-san was so amazing in today's training! He beat Kiba and Koneko in his spars against them. And Asia. Asia is amazing, too. Her skill with magic is way better than mine, and I already know firsthand how incredible and useful Twilight Healing is." Issei shook his head. "But me? I'm so weak that I can't even put up a fight against Kiba. My demonic power is so low that I can't even use the teleportation circle back at the clubroom. I'm just weak. And I'm so frustrated and afraid because of it."

"It's all right to be afraid of your first Rating Game, especially against someone like Riser," Rias said. "There's no shame in it."

Issei shook his head. "That's not it. I'm not afraid of that fried chicken bastard. What I'm afraid of is that because of my weakness, we'll lose. I'm really scared of that, and I don't want that to happen. I want you to be able to live your dream. That's why I want to win for your sake, because I like Buchou as Buchou."

Rias blinked at Issei, a slow smile spreading across her face. Her heart felt warm, touched by Issei's frank words. She set aside the assortment of papers and motioned for Issei to sit down on the couch beside her. He obeyed, setting his cup of water on top of the table as he sat down.

"Here," Rias said as she embraced Issei, gently resting his head on her bosom. Soothingly, she patted his head, like a mother would to her child. "Don't be afraid, Ise. Don't be frustrated either. You will become strong, and we will win this battle together. I believe in you."

-Scene Break-

"Greetings, honored guests. I am Grayfia Lucifuge; maid of House Gremory and Queen of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer. I will serve as arbiter of this Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex. The battlefield is a complete replica of the school, Kuoh Academy. The Gremory side's base is the Occult Research clubroom in the old school building; the Phenex side's base is the student council room in the new school building. The time limit for this battle will be from now, midnight, until dawn. Let the game begin."

-Scene Break-

"All right," Rias said as she stood in front of a large map posted on the wall. On it was the school grounds overlaid with grids to make it resemble a very large chessboard. "I'll first explain what our general plan of action will be before I get into the specifics, so listen carefully."

Everyone nodded from where they sat or stood as they focused intently on Rias.

"The main goal of our strategy is simple: get Ise Promoted to Queen," Rias said. "It is absolutely imperative that this happens. Once Ise is Promoted, we will be able to defeat Riser with his Boosted Gear."

"The problem, then, will be getting Ise-kun into the enemy base," Kiba commented.

Rias nodded. "Exactly. Even if we disregard the fact that we're heavily outnumbered, Riser will be lying in wait inside the enemy base. So long as he's there, Ise won't be able to Promote before he is retired. And realistically speaking, without Ise it will be impossible for us to defeat Riser. This makes things tough on us because Riser understands that as well. If he manages to locate Ise, he will stop at nothing to retire him. That is why, Ise, I am going to have you wait here with me and Asia while everyone else paves a path towards your Promotion."

"Eh?" Issei let out a surprised sound. "But, Buchou. We're already so outnumbered. Wouldn't it just make things worse if I don't fight as well?"

"Yes," Rias nodded. "It will certainly become much more difficult. Even so, we'll have to take that risk if we want to win. Until it is absolutely necessary, I want to keep you fresh and in your optimal condition for the fight against Riser. Even if you get Promoted, if you're too exhausted from fighting his Peerage, then everything will have been for naught."

"Speaking of which, how should we deal with Riser, then?" Kiba said. "If it is as you say, Buchou, then he'll just defend his base himself in order to prevent Ise-kun's Promotion. How are we to drag him out?"

"Yes," Rias said. "You're right. That is what he'll do. But even though as a Phenex he is immortal, as Riser he has some critical weaknesses. Namely, he is arrogant and narcissistic beyond belief. This works to our advantage in two ways. The first is that the thought of defeat in this Rating Game hasn't even crossed Riser's mind, not even as a joke. He believes that it is completely impossible for him to lose here. This means that he will probably be careless and sloppy with his strategy and the allocation of his troops."

Rias slapped one hand on the map, loudly. "We must capitalize on this right from the opening phases of the game. It is our golden opportunity to whittle down Riser's forces while the battles remain relatively easy. Ideally, I'd like for at least half of Riser's Peerage to be retired during the early game, thereby eliminating the numbers advantage he holds over us. It will make it easier for when we try to get Ise to the enemy base in order to Promote, as well as for when we fight Riser himself. I'd also prefer that all of Riser's Pawns are retired at this point. It will be disastrous if there are eight additional Queens running about. If nothing else, though, I want Yubelluna, Riser's Queen, to be eliminated from the Game at this stage. She is the most dangerous one, aside from Riser himself."

Rias turned to look at Akeno. "That will be your job, Akeno."

"Understood, Buchou," Akeno replied, nodding.

Looking around at the rest of her Peerage, Rias said, "If any of you come across Yubelluna, then notify Akeno through your transceiver and run away. If you should meet Yubelluna, your primary objective should be to escape immediately. She is too strong for any of you, except for Akeno, to fight fairly. And with our numbers disadvantage, the loss of even a single one of you will be absolutely critical. No matter what, stay in the Game.

"The mid-game is where the most important steps of the plan will unfold. It is here that Riser's arrogance will work to our advantage a second time," Rias said. "I will challenge Riser to a duel. That will serve as bait for that guy, and he will come out to meet my challenge."

"Will that really work?" Saito asked skeptically.

Rias nodded. "It will. Riser is as arrogant and vain as a peacock. This makes him stupid. He'll see my challenge as a last ditch effort, a futile gamble that I have to take if I want to win. Therefore, for the sake of his pride, he won't back down. Or rather, it'd be more accurate to say that he can't back down. This match is being watched by one of the four Satans, Sirzechs Lucifer, as well as a variety of other important individuals. If he backs down, then he'll appear as a coward to all of them, and it will severely damage his reputation, especially since the one he's fighting is a complete greenhorn to the Rating Games. I'm not even allowed to participate in official ones yet."

"I understand," Saito said.

Rias looked toward Issei. "While Riser remains distracted by me and Asia, you will make your way into Riser's base and Promote to Queen," Rias said. "Once that is complete, you will reinforce me and Asia and then we will blow away Riser Phenex together." Rias looked around at the others. "If any of you are not fighting an enemy around this time, you should also quickly come to help fight against Riser. Is that all clear?"

A round of nods answered Rias. She smiled briefly, but then set her mouth into a thin line.

"One more thing," Rias said. "For us, there is no end game. We must win during the mid-game. If it goes on any longer than that, the difference in our numbers and the difference between an immortal and mortal body will begin to show itself too sharply. Once that happens, it will be one hundred percent impossible for us to win." Rias let out a breath. "Now, here are your positions."

-Scene Break-

Saito and Koneko moved stealthily through the forest surrounding the old school building in which the Occult Research clubroom resided. Their mission as the best fighter and most durable Piece of Rias's Peerage was a crucial one: to capture the gym, the centermost position on the battlefield. From there, they would have more leeway in their ability to maneuver around the battlefield. For the vastly outnumbered Gremory Peerage, mobility was a key factor for everything.

Once the two arrived outside of the gym, Saito pressed his back against the wall just beside the door, while Koneko did the same on the other side. Derflinger was already unsheathed and in Saito's hands, causing the runes of the Gandalfr on the back of his left hand to pulsate softly with warmth, though the shine of its light remained hidden by Saito's glove.

The Pawn and the Rook gave each other one look, then nodded. Silently, Saito creaked the door open while Koneko slipped inside. Saito waited three counts before following her in afterward. The gym was pitch black, but even so, Saito was able to see as clearly as though it were day – another convenient effect of being a devil.

Even without sight, however, Saito could practically feel the fighting spirit emanating from the center of the large gym floor. Saito narrowed his eyes as he looked at them. He recognized them all from the information that Rias had managed to collect about Riser's Peerage. Xuelan, a Rook that used Chinese martial arts; Ile and Nel, twin Pawns as short as Koneko that favored using chainsaws, of all things; and the same Pawn that had attempted to attack Issei a little over ten days ago, the pole using Mira.

"So you're finally here, servants of Gremory," Xuelan declared. "We were getting tired of waiting."

"It's called being fashionably late," Saito said drily.

Xuelan smirked as Ile and Nel revved up their chainsaws, sending loud, roaring noises echoing throughout the gym.

"Don't you know that you're not supposed to keep a lady waiting?" Xuelan said.

"I suppose that's why I've never had a girlfriend," Saito shrugged nonchalantly. "Unfortunate."

"Ha!" Xuelan let out a bark of laughter before she took her fighting stance; hands open and relaxed, body kept low and firmly balanced, like a tree with strong roots. "Now then. Let's begin."

"... Hiraga-senpai," Koneko muttered from beside Saito. "I'll take the Rook. You handle the Pawns."

"Right. But you know we're in the same grade, right?" Saito said as Koneko charged towards Xuelan, fists bared and ready to deliver a pint-sized beat down of superhuman strength.

Calmly, Saito walked in front of the other three Pawns, the back of Derflinger's blade resting against his shoulder, as he watched Koneko engage Xuelan. Due to her far shorter reach, Koneko was forced to step in aggressively, beyond Xuelan's easy reach, in order to get in range of her own attacks. Conversely, Xuelan made full use of her superior reach to deliver punishing kicks and long range punches in order to force Koneko away. To the casual observer, it appeared as though Xuelan had complete control over the fight. But to an experienced fighter like Saito, it was the opposite. The calm look on Koneko's face and the frustrated and increasingly panicking one on Xuelan's face told Saito that with every passing second, Koneko was getting closer and closer to closing the distance between the two and retiring the Phenex Rook.

"Hey, where do you think you're looking?"

Saito twisted his body just in time to avoid a pole thrust from Mira, who looked annoyed that Saito was not taking his own battle seriously enough to pay proper attention to it. Ile and Nel followed up just as Mira back away. Together, the two aimed high and low with their chainsaws; at Saito's neck and knees. Saito simply ducked and jumped away from the low attack, neatly avoiding them without a scratch.

Saito sighed as he looked at the three Pawns. "This is going to feel so weird having to fight against you three."

"Are you underestimating us because we're girls?" Mira demanded with frustration as she sent multiple stabbing strikes at Saito's upper body.

"Not at all," Saito remarked as he calmly avoided each thrust. "Some of the scariest and most powerful people I've ever known were women. It's just that... well, what adult can fight seriously against children?"

"Don't make fun of us!" Ile or Nel (Saito couldn't tell which twin was which) shouted angrily as she tried to attack Saito from behind with her very loud chainsaw.

With an almost ballet-like grace, Saito spun around, Derflinger sweeping through the air like a steel feather as it sliced the chainsaw using girl deeply across the width of her stomach. Though the attack was not instantly fatal, it was a mortal wound. The girl collapsed to the ground, her own blood pooling beneath her as she continued writhing in pain, letting out choking sounds of suffering as tears fell from her eyes. The girl's body became enveloped with light and slowly started to become transparent. A moment later, the body faded away, disappearing from the place.

"Phenex side, Pawn has retired," Grayfia's disembodied, omnipresent voice announced in a clinical, dispassionate tone.

"Nel!" the other chainsaw girl – Ile, apparently – cried out. She glared at Saito. "You bastard!"

With a loud battle cry, Ile attacks Saito with a wide slash of the chainsaw. Saito easily sidestepped the attack and cuffed her on her head with one hand.

"Funny thing about the chainsaw," Saito said in a lecturing tone. "It's not a real weapon. It's scary to fight against because of its loud noise and because one attack will mutilate your flesh beyond repair, but it's too clumsy and unwieldy to use against any real fighter."

"Shut up!" Ile snarled as she swung her chainsaw in a horizontal arc. "Mira! Help me!"

Mira nodded and began to launch her own fast flurry of attacks. However, with the speed and reflexes of the Gandalfr aiding him, Saito grabbed the pole at the first thrust. He winced slightly as a few splinters bit into his hand, but did not release his grip even when Mira tried to pull her weapon away from him. A quick slash from Derflinger severed the pole weapon in two. Then, Saito lunged forward, piercing Mira in the chest, causing blood to spurt out as the metal pierced flesh.

"Dammit..." Mira muttered bitterly as she too began shining with light and disappeared from the battlefield.

"Phenex side, Pawn has retired."

Turning to the now lone Pawn, Saito watched her for a moment, her eyes wide and a hint of fear within them. Then Saito blurred, moving at full speed as he charged Ile, circled around behind her, and cut her down just as she finally began to react to his initial forward charge with a clumsy, desperate swing of her chainsaw. The girl collapsed, then faded away with light.

"Phenex side, Pawn has retired."

Saito looked at Koneko. It appeared the battle was essentially over on her side as well. Xuelan was lying on her stomach on the lacquered floor, with Koneko pinning Xuelan from her back. One of Koneko's slender arms was wrapped around the Chinese martial artist's neck, her throat tucked into the inner side of the elbow joint, while her other hand and arm was braced against the back of Xuelan's head and used as leverage to help squeeze the choking arm tightly. So firmly did Koneko maintain her choke that Xuelan couldn't even make gasping sounds as she desperately struggled to free herself, her nails digging viciously into Koneko's flesh. Still, Koneko did not release her hold. And in a matter of seconds, Xuelan's eyes rolled back into her head, showing their whites, as she fell unconscious from lack of blood and oxygen to her brain. Yet, Koneko still did not release her grip, until finally, Xuelan's body began shining with light as she disappeared from beneath Koneko, causing her to drop a few inches with a soft thumping sound.

"Phenex side, Rook has retired."

Saito walked over to Koneko and held out a hand to her. She took it and Saito pulled her back up to her feet.

"Good job," he said. "Is your arm all right?"

Koneko glanced at the scratches on her arm, then nodded once at Saito. Tapping a small communication device in her ear that Rias had handed out to all of them before the battle had started, Koneko said, "... Buchou. Gym has been captured."

"Good job," Saito heard Rias say through his own communicator. "Regroup with Kiba and move according to plan."

"... Rog-" Koneko began to say when an explosion suddenly thundered from the outside of the gym, shaking it strongly.

Saito didn't need to think. His instincts knew that this was an attack. He simply reacted. Saito immediately picked Koneko up bodily in his arms and began running for the door, even as another half-dozen explosions thundered from outside. Large sections of the ceiling caved in and dropped to the ground loudly. One of them crashed down in front of Saito, forcing him to skid to a halt in order to avoid being crushed by it. The stone and bricks that formed the walls of the gym continued to crumble and collapse as the entire gym began to fall down on top of them. Gritting his teeth, Saito rushed forward, kicked down the door, and dove outside, just as the rest of the gym finished collapsing into rubble.

Saito let out a breath of relief, resting his forehead against the cool grass. "That was close."

"... Hiraga-senpai. Please get off of me."

"Huh?" Saito said as he realized that he was lying on top of something soft and warm. He realized belatedly that it was Koneko, who was pinned down beneath his body due to his previous dive. "Oh, sorry," he said as he quickly stood up.

"... It's fine," Koneko said as she stood up as well. Then, her eyes widened as she seemed to look past Saito, over his shoulder. "Look out!"

Koneko shoved Saito aside, sending him almost flying as he landed on the ground three dozen feet away.

"Koneko!" Saito shouted as an explosion blossomed around the diminutive Rook, causing her to release a pained scream from within the bursting flames. When the explosion vanished, so too had Koneko.

"Gremory side, Rook has retired."

"Take," a tall, beautiful, bosom lady with wavy purple hair floating serenely in the sky, the batlike wings of a devil flaring outwards from her back, said in a calm, casual voice.

"Shit," Saito spat as he looked at the woman. "Yubelluna." Never allowing his gaze to leave the enemy Queen, Saito tapped the communication device in his ear. "Yubelluna is at the gym, Akeno-neesama."

"Understood," Akeno's voice replied, her voice as clear as though she were standing right beside him. "I'll be there. Retreat, Saito-kun."

"Acknowledged," Saito replied as he lowered Derflinger to his side in a relaxed stance.

Though Derflinger had the ability to absorb magic, it was not an all-powerful ability. It had its own limitations. It would not be able to, for example, absorb all of Yubelluna's explosion before it could damage Saito, if it landed right on top of him, as it did to Koneko. At best, it would only weaken the force of the attack. And because Saito was nowhere near as durable as a Rook, even a weakened explosion could potentially retire him.

Thus, there was little point in trying to maintain his guard. Right now, he needed to devote all of his energy and focus into his speed in order to escape. Saito took in a breath, and then bolted.

Moving to the back, Saito feinted an escape towards the cover of the forest surrounding the Gremory side's stronghold. Then he halted, his forward leg straining as he immediately turned around and accelerated in the opposite direction in a near instant, just in time to avoid the explosion that burst from where he would have been a second later if he had continued to run in that direction.

More explosions bloomed as Yubelluna attempted to strike based on her predictions of Saito's movements. But by continuing to weave erratic, unpredictable patterns, Saito prevented the enemy Queen from getting a lock on him. However, Saito understood that this would not be able to continue forever. Every time there was an explosion, it left a deep crater in the ground, causing the grass, dirt, and pebbles to spray throughout the air and on Saito. The longer this game went on, the more and more uneven Saito's foothold would become, thereby limiting his speed and mobility.

Fortunately, Saito thought, he didn't need to keep this up for long. Lightning roared through the air towards Yubelluna, who defended with a barrier made of demonic energy. Saito's mouth spread into a feral grin. At last, his reinforcement had arrived.

"Saito-kun," Akeno said through her communicator as she faced off against Yubelluna in the sky. Electricity danced all around her in an ominous way. "Go. Move according to plan. I will defeat Yubelluna."

"Understood," Saito replied as he quickly retreated from the battleground. Behind him, he could hear the thunder of lightning and explosions rend the air apart as the battle between Queens began in earnest. "Good luck, Akeno-neesama."

-Scene Break-

"Phenex side, three Pawns have retired."

-Scene Break-

Mid-game.

Rias pursed her lips as she considered the state of the game. Thus far, Riser had lost six Pawns and a Rook. However, Rias had lost Koneko, her one and only Rook. Even though mathematically the trade was exceptional, tactically Rias was still the one that was worse off. Not only did Riser have another Rook, but because Rias was holding Issei back and since Asia was not a fighter, it was now Riser's eight Pieces against Rias's three. An overwhelming disadvantage.

In truth, Rias would have preferred to wait until Riser's Peerage had been whittled down further. However, stalling any more than this would likely spell her own defeat, since it was more probable than not that her Peerage would be the one to be eliminated first. It was the mid-game now, and that meant it was time to begin the next phase of the plan.

"Ise," Rias said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Buchou!" Issei said with fierce determination.

"Good," Rias said. "Get going." Issei nodded and quickly left the clubroom. Once he was gone, Rias tapped the communication device in her ear and said, "Ise has left the base. Anyone who isn't fighting needs to meet up with him and ensure his Promotion." Rias looked at Asia and smiled. "All right. It's time to make my move as well. Let's go, Asia."

Asia nodded and made an adorable war-face. "Yes, Buchou!"

-Scene Break-

"So it was you who beat those three Pawns, huh?" Saito said quietly.

Sitting beside Saito was Kiba. After having fled from Yubelluna, leaving Akeno to deal with her instead, Saito had met up with the Knight and the two took refuge in a small, dingy, equipment storage warehouse in order to briefly rest and recover from their fights.

"Yes," Kiba said. "I got lucky. I was able to lure them into some of the traps we set beforehand." Kiba grimaced. "It's too bad what happened to Koneko-chan, though. Even though she doesn't really show her emotions well, she was really determined to fight."

"I owe her," Saito said. "If it wasn't for her, Yubelluna would have retired me. She sacrificed herself to keep me in the Game."

"I see," Kiba murmured, leaning his head back against the wall. "So her loss wasn't in vain. That's good."

"Anyway," Saito said as he stood up. "We should get moving. We need to go meet up with Hyoudou-san."

"Just a moment, Hiraga-san," Kiba said quickly. "I have a question for you."

Saito cocked his head and looked at Kiba.

"I know you said before that you're always afraid of fighting," Kiba said. "But you don't seem like you're afraid at all. How aren't you even a little nervous?" Kiba held up one trembling hand. "I don't mean to boast, but I have plenty of battle experience. Even so, I'm still really nervous and tense from my first Rating Game. What's your secret?"

Saito pondered the question for a moment, then shrugged almost apologetically. "I suppose it's because to me, in the end, this is just a game. However realistic an approximation of war this Rating Game might be, it pales in comparison to real life-and-death battles. There are no real deaths. There are rules in place. We already know who our opponent is and how many of them there are." Saito shrugged again. "There's a reason why it's called the Rating Games. When I think about it like that, I just can't feel all that nervous about this."

"Is that so?" Kiba murmured. "You must have been through many of those battles, then."

"Some," Saito agreed.

"And I suppose even if we do lose, it doesn't really matter to you?" Kiba asked.

Saito arched an eyebrow. "Of course it does. I am Rias Gremory's Pawn. I have a duty to bring her victory, no matter the cost. And that is exactly what I'll do. Besides, I hate losing."

"I see," Kiba said, smiling slightly as he stood up as well. "All right, then. Let's get going."

Kiba walked over to the door and slid it to the side by half an inch. After peeking through the crack, Kiba frowned. "Damn. They found us."

"Servants of Rias Gremory!" a woman called out in a strong, authoritative voice. "I am Karlamine, Knight of Lord Riser Phenex. I grow weary of these boring tricks and plans. If you are not a coward, then come forth, and let us duel!"

Saito marveled at the ridiculously straightforward and outdated behavior of Karlamine. It was an attitude that would not have been too out of place in a primitive land like Halkeginia, but here? In an actual battle? It was stupid. There was no reason to accept such a challenge.

No, wait, Saito thought, pursing his lips. Outnumbered as they were, this was perhaps a good chance to eliminate one of their members in a simple and straightforward manner. Additionally, whether this was a trap or not, even if they did not accept the challenge, it didn't change the fact that they would still have to battle.

"Well, as a Knight myself, I can't have her calling me a coward," Kiba smiled as he drew his blade from the sheath at his side. It was a sword of complete darkness, as though its blade was a mass of solid shadows. As the sword moved, thin wisps of black smoke trailed behind the blade.

Opening the door wide, Kiba stepped outside with confident steps. Saito followed him out afterward.

"I am Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory," Kiba declared proudly.

Saito unsheathed Derflinger, activating his Gandalfr's runes, and then waited in a ready stance. Instead of attacking or even choosing one of them as an opponent, however, Karlamine crossed her arms and looked at Saito with an impatient expression.

"Well?" she finally said.

"Well what?" Saito said, bemused.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself like that honorable Knight over there?" Karlamine demanded.

"... Seriously?" Saito said flatly, in a deadpan manner.

"It's etiquette!" Karlamine declared, nodding as if she was agreeing with herself.

"... Fine," Saito sighed. "I am Akira Fudo, the Pawn of Rias Gremory. Pleased to meet you."

Kiba looked at Saito, bewildered at the blatant lie, whereas Karlamine nodded with satisfaction.

"Good!" Karlamine said as she brandished her sword, the blade suddenly lighting up in a brilliant orange flame. "Now, Akira Fudo or Kiba Yuuto – either of you step forward and let us duel!"

Saito sighed as he rubbed his temple wearily. "Kiba, would you like to fight her?"

"I was hoping I could," Kiba grinned. "A match between sword-using Knights is something I look forward to!"

With that, Kiba and Karlamine began fighting. The swords of fire and darkness rang against each other as the two clashed at speeds far too fast for the normal human eye to keep track of.

"Devilman? Really?" an amused voice from behind Saito said. "I never pictured you as a fan."

Saito turned around to see a woman with a metallic mask covering half her face. Her hair was short and light-brown, and had three red highlights. She wore a black jacket that had a wide, flaring collar and bared her midriff and ample cleavage, as well as a pair of black jeans that had the right leg completely torn off. She carried no weapon, but wore battle gloves on her hands, indicating that she was a hand-to-hand fighter. Standing behind the masked woman was a shorter girl in a lovely pink dress fit for a princess and with her blonde hair set into large, twin drills on either side of her head.

"I could say the same about you," Saito remarked.

"I love it," the masked woman replied. "It's classic. Much better than some of the newer stuff that are released nowadays."

"Is that so?" Saito mused. "I actually rather enjoy a lot of the new ones, though."

"Isabella," the blonde girl said tersely. "We're not here for you to talk about your hobbies with the enemy."

"Of course, Lady Ravel," Isabella said apologetically. She pointed at Saito. "What's your name, really?"

Saito shrugged. "Hiraga Saito. Pawn."

"Then, let us fight as well!" Isabella shouted as she charged forward, fists up in a solid boxing stance.

Isabella jabbed with her left hand, firing two, three quick punches at Saito's head. Saito grimaced as he weaved his upper body, dodging each attack with small, controlled movements.

This woman was a Rook. Even if Saito hadn't known that already from Rias's information, he would have been able to tell by the way Isabella's light punches whistled through the air. Even though she was no doubt using the least amount of power necessary in order to gain more speed, the punches still carried a frightening amount of destructive force. Saito knew that if he took even one, it could provide all the opening the Rook needed in order to retire him.

Isabella stepped in, deep and low. Then, with the added force of driving her body upward, she aimed a low uppercut straight for Saito's guts. Saito took one step back and brought Derflinger speeding in a horizontal arc aimed at the Rook's head. Isabella shifted her attacking arm slightly, shifting it so that it interposed the sword's projected path. Even though Saito, as the Gandalfr, had greatly increased power, it was still far from coming close to that of a Rook's strength and durability. Thus, like hitting a steel pole, Derflinger bounced back upon colliding with the Rook's arm, trembling with vibrations in Saito's hand.

At the same time, while Saito remained distracted, Isabella threw a vicious low kick at his forward leg. Saito's eyes widened. He couldn't take this blow. His legs were the only thing that allowed him to fight against a Rook. Losing just one would spell an instant loss against them.

Saito jumped, bringing his knees up to his chest. The low kick sailed past far beneath him, and Saito landed a moment after. Immediately upon doing so, Isabella launched a straight punch, and Saito leaped back and put a safe distance between the two of them in order to avoid it.

She was good, Saito realized. Very much so. It was possible that he would not be able to defeat this Rook.

It was true that over the course of the ten days of training, he had been able to defeat another Rook, Koneko, in their spars, but he had had a few key advantages over the petite Rook. The first had been Koneko's short range. Even though it took Saito a long time to whittle away at her defense, he was able to constantly dance out of Koneko's easy reach and hammer away at her with Derflinger until she became too weary to continue. The second was that Koneko was primarily a grappler, having a style reminiscent to wrestling. With Saito's height and reach advantage, Koneko was only able to use one method of attack: shoot for Saito's legs and try to bring him to the ground. Saito's third advantage never allowed that to happen: his superior speed, reflexes, and senses.

Against Isabella, such advantages were either greatly mitigated or outright removed. From the brief exchange the two of them had, Saito knew that this Rook was primarily a striker. As far as Saito could tell, it seemed that she used kickboxing or a similar martial art. This, coupled with her height, gave her a fairly large effective range. It was not quite as long as Saito's, since he used a weapon, but it was enough to be able to easily reach him if he made one misstep. And she was fast, for a Rook. Much faster than Koneko was. The speed and efficiency of her attacks and the way she chained them together made for a perfectly flowing combo that was enough to pressure even the Gandalfr.

Worst of all, Derflinger simply was not a weapon well adapted to fighting Rooks. It had worked against Koneko during training only because Saito had enough time to make for a long, drawn out spar. But here, in the Rating Games, time was of the essence. Saito frowned. To deal damage to a Rook, he needed a much bigger, heavier weapon. Something like a large, powerful war hammer. Or a rocket launcher. Thinking about it, Saito decided that a rocket launcher would be very nice to have right about now.

Where's a Staff of Destruction when I need one? Saito thought with annoyance.

"You're pretty good," Isabella complimented. "I had thought that one gear would be enough against a Pawn, but I underestimated you. For you, I think I'll need two, no, three gears."

Isabella charged in again, faster than before, and attacked with an incredible quickness. Saito ducked low and moved diagonally towards Isabella, dodging her attacks. Spinning around, Saito faced Isabella's back and gave her a hard, pushing kick, unbalancing her and sending her stumbling forward.

Then, completely ignoring her, Saito whirled around and streaked for Ravel.

She was the only person Saito had seen from Riser's Peerage thus far that he did not recognize. There had been no information about her in Rias's reports. Still, through basic logic, Saito knew that this girl was not a Rook nor a Queen. Therefore, his sword would work against her.

Ravel's eyes widened slightly as she witnessed Saito approach her like lightning. Derflinger pierced her through the chest. The force of Saito's charge behind the sword toppled the girl backwards, and Saito fell on top of her. Saito twisted the sword in order to enlarge the wound, making it easier for him to withdraw Derflinger from the girl's flesh as he stood back up.

However, instead of fading away and retiring, Saito watched with surprise as fire emitted from the open wound. It quickly died away. When it did, her body was as if Saito had never pierced her at all. Even the damage to her dress had disappeared.

"Geez," Ravel sighed as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. "I don't want to fight, you know. And look at what you did. My dress is dirty because of you."

"You... You're immortal?" Saito said, voice thick with disbelief.

"Of course she is," Isabella's voice came from dangerously close behind Saito. He instinctively dashed forward, managing to dodge a punch to his kidneys by simply outpacing the strike. Saito whirled around to face the Rook. "Don't you know who she is?" she said as Saito turned to face her. "She is Lady Ravel Phenex, the younger sister of my master, Riser Phenex."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Saito said, outraged. "You guys have TWO immortals on your team? Don't you guys know the concept of fair play?"

"Oh, don't complain," Ravel rolled her eyes. "I don't fight. So you two can just duke it out and do whatever. I'm just going to stand here and watch."

"Kiba! Hiraga-san!"

Saito glanced from the corner of his eye at Issei, who was approaching them, the Boosted Gear already present on his arm. Saito immediately rushed over to Issei. Seeing this, Kiba disengaged from the fierce battle he was having with Karlamine and moved to regroup with Issei and Saito as well.

"Buchou has made her move, you guys," Issei said without preamble. "Look."

Saito followed Issei's finger with his eyes towards the roof of the nearby new school building, where Riser was facing off against Rias and Asia. They had not yet begun to fight, talking about something instead, but the sparks would no doubt start to fly soon.

"All right," Saito said. "There's only three of them. Let's hurry up and defeat these guys and move on."

"Only three?" Ravel echoed tauntingly. "I think you should count again."

Saito glanced towards Ravel. He scowled as he saw that four more of Riser's Peerage had arrived, bringing their numbers up to seven.

"This... isn't very good, is it?" Issei said hesitatingly.

Saito quickly glanced over each of the newcomers. Two of them were twins, like Ile and Nel, but taller and older looking, and they had cat ears (though Saito wasn't certain if they were real or not). Their names, if Saito recalled correctly, were Ni and Li. Unlike Ile and Nel, however, there were differences between the two. Ni had a reddish colored hair and pale blue eyes. Li had pale blue hair and reddish colored eyes. Both carried no weapons, wearing only fighting gloves instead. They were martial artists like Isabella, then.

The third was Mihae, a Bishop. She wore a graceful, traditional kimono and had long black hair that reached down to her legs. The fourth was Siris, Riser's second Knight. She too had long black hair, though hers was tied up near the top of her head, allowing the hair to drape down over her. On her back was a very large and heavy looking two-handed sword, resembling something like a claymore.

"Shit," Issei spat. "Nothing to do but to fight."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed. "Let's do this."

"No," Saito said. "We don't have time to waste here. You two go on ahead. Make sure Hyoudou-san gets Promoted, Kiba-san. Then go help Buchou."

"You mean you're going to take on all seven of them by yourself?" Issei asked incredulously. "That's insane!"

Saito smiled at them briefly. "I'll be fine. It's more important that you get Promoted, Hyoudou-san, and go help Buchou."

Kiba and Issei both hesitated. "You're sure about this, Hiraga-kun?" Kiba asked.

Saito nodded. "I've done crazier things," he said. "Go. I'll cover you."

Issei and Kiba glanced at each other, then nodded and ran. Strangely, even as the two disappeared into the new school building where the Phenex side's base was located, none of Riser's Pieces even attempted to pursue them.

"Why didn't you try to stop them?" Saito asked the group at large.

"It doesn't really matter," Ravel said with a shrug. "Though, they are right. You are insane for wanting to fight alone when you're already so heavily outnumbered."

"Heh," Saito chuckled softly.

"What is so funny?" Ravel scowled.

"Seven against one, eh?" Saito smiled and shook his head calmly. He had faced much worse odds before on the hills outside of Saxe-Gotha. Much, much worse odds. "That is nothing. If you really want to outnumber me, then you had better bring at least ten thousand times more than just the seven of you." Saito took his stance as he faced his group of enemies. "Now, come at me."

"Hmph," Ravel sniffed. "Isabella. You will be his opponent. Siris. Karlamine. Surround him, but keep your distance. Harass him when you see the opportunity, but do not commit to your attacks. Your primary objective will be to keep him locked in combat with Isabella. If he tries to escape, stop him. Mihae. You will stay further away from the fighting and deliver supporting fire from a distance. Be careful, all of you. Even though he's a Pawn, he's faster than a Knight. Ni, Li. You two go get Promoted. Their base is empty now, but be careful of traps."

"Understood!" they chorused as one as they immediately moved according to Ravel's peremptory commands.

"Stop!" Saito shouted as he turned to chase after Ni and Li, who were moving with catlike swiftness and grace as they bolted for the Gremory side's base. However, before he could move, a wall of flames formed, blocking his path. Glancing towards Mihae, Saito scowled as she smiled benevolently back at him, one sleeved arm coming up to cover her mouth in a polite gesture.

"Hey," Isabella said as she pounded her fists together once and then took her fighting stance. "Since we didn't chase after your guys' Pawn when he went to get Promoted, it's only fair that you don't chase after ours, don't you think?"

"Doesn't seem you guys will give me much of a choice," Saito said as the two Knights began to circle him widely on opposite sides, making sure that he and Isabella were alone in the center. From the corner of his eyes, Saito carefully tracked Siris's movements.

"This time I'll go with four gears," Isabella said. "Let's go!"

With his sword held loosely at his side, Saito kept his body relaxed and his nerves sharpened, ready not to attack, but to simply avoid the Rook's attacks. When Isabella came in with a swift thrust to his body, Saito twisted his body to the side, letting the fist whistle through the air past him. Upon reaching the end of the strike, the same fist swung outwards in a fast backhand strike. Two quick steps backward put Saito out of the attack's range.

A blazing ball of fire shot towards Saito from Mihae from the side. Saito smirked as he held Derflinger before him. When the fireball came close, the flames were suddenly absorbed into the sentient blade as though it were a vacuum. Ravel's eyes narrowed as she watched the feat, while Karlamine attacked.

With a swift, prodding thrust aimed accurately at Saito's throat, Karlamine forced Saito to sway far back in order to avoid the attack by mere inches. Then, before he could regain his balance in order to counterattack, Karlamine jumped back and took a safe distance once more.

While he was still off balance, Siris came from behind. The heavy whistling sound of her large sword cleaving through the air alerted Saito to the imminent attack. Spinning to the side, Saito saw as Siris's sword smashed into the ground, leaving a deep indentation where it sunk into the ground.

Saito's lips spread into a feral grin.

"I was waiting for this," he told the Knight even as he moved in to attack.

Siris's eyes went wide as one of Saito's hands grabbed the hilt of her sword, a Zweihänder, according to what the Gandalfr's runes were informing him, and used his other hand to bring the pommel of Derflinger smashing against the Knight's temple.

In an instant, Siris's consciousness was broken, and she fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. With a quick shake, Saito freed the Zweihänder from Siris's grip. Sheathing Derflinger on his back, Saito turned to face Isabella with both hands on his very large and heavy stolen sword; a weapon far better suited for fighting a Rook than the much lighter Derflinger.

"Partner," Derflinger whispered into Saito's ear from his back in a joking manner. "Are you cheating on me with that lame sword?"

"Of course not," Saito muttered back. "I just need something a little bigger to deal with Isabella. By the way, do you think this sword will disappear if its owner retires?"

"Not sure," Derf replied quietly. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Saito decided not to risk it and left Siris lying unconscious on the ground.

"I see." Ravel narrowed her eyes as she watched Saito. "Isabella. Switch with Karlamine and guard Mihae. Karlamine, attack. Do not give him time to switch weapons. Mihae, start bombarding him with magic whenever you see an opening. If he's not using his own sword, he can't absorb it. Aim for his legs."

Saito growled as he shot daggers at the immortal girl with his eyes. She was making this much more difficult than it needed to be.

Karlamine charged forward while Isabella went over to Mihae's side. Using the large Zweihänder, Saito made a fast stroke across the air. It was a powerful blow that could have bisected Karlamine at the waist, if it had hit. However, no matter how much faster than a Knight Saito might be, with the Zweihänder, he could only use large, sweeping motions to attack. The wideness of those movements meant that for a Knight, it was simple to see coming, and therefore dodge. Thus, no matter how hard Saito tried, he was unable to hit Karlamine.

"Tch!" Saito grunted as Karlamine's flaming sword cut a thin line across his clothes; he only very narrowly managed to sway back far enough to prevent the sword from meeting flesh.

Immediately, the Phenex Knight leaped back as a wave of fire swept across the ground, coming up to Saito's knees. Saito jumped high into the air, allowing the fire to wash past beneath him. But as the fire disappeared, Karlamine appeared above him, slamming her sword down onto him. Saito brought his stolen sword into a guarding position. The burning blade slammed against it powerfully, aided by the force of gravity and compounded by Saito's lack of footing. He plunged to the ground, hard.

"Gah!" Saito let out as his back slammed against the grass and dirt painfully, pressing Derflinger against his body.

From the corner of his eye, Saito saw light. More fire, Saito realized. With a grunt, Saito hurriedly rolled over and drew Derflinger, stabbing the sentient blade into the ground between him and the approaching flames.

The wide wave of fire swept past Saito, but only where he was did it not touch the ground. Derflinger stood as a lone guardian, absorbing all the flames that would have otherwise burned its wielder to a crisp.

"Mihae," Ravel called out calmly. "Ice. From above. Karlamine, attack if he dodges. Standby, otherwise."

Dozens of thick daggers of ice formed in the sky above Saito, causing his eyes to widen as they rained down on top of him. Saito grabbed Derflinger and dove out of the danger zone, narrowly avoiding the ice daggers that pierced into the spot where he had just been lying. At that instant, Karlamine appeared. She plunged her burning sword down on Saito, forcing him to use Derflinger to gently block the burning blade, shedding the blow at at angle such that it buried itself into the ground just beside Saito. Greedily, Derflinger drank up the fire from the Knight's blade as it slid along its length, extinguishing the flames and turning the burning blade back into a normal sword. Karlamine frowned as she retreated back several steps, and her blade lit up in flames once more.

Saito quickly rose to his feet.. He stabbed the Zweihänder into the ground beside him and held Derflinger in his right hand. Karlamine, Mihae, and Isabella frowned, unsure of what to do from here. If Karlamine or Mihae tried to attack, Saito was ready with Derflinger to meet them. If Isabella attacked, he could quickly replace Derflinger with the Zweihänder and crush her. If they all attacked at once, Saito decided that he would go after Karlamine and Mihae first with Derflinger. After forcibly being kept off balance by Ravel's calm and precise leadership, Saito had finally regrouped enough so that he was ready for them, no matter what they threw at him now.

Which was why the calm little smile on Ravel's face greatly unnerved him.

"Siris, hold him from behind," Ravel said.

Saito's eyes widened too late as he felt two arms hook him underneath his armpits and back up and behind his neck. His body was lifted slightly into the air and arced a little backwards, preventing Saito from obtaining a proper footing.

Though the Gandalfr had superior strength to a Knight, Saito was still, at his base, a human. Thus, he still had human limitations. One such limitation was that in order for a human to make full use of their strength, they needed the proper position and leverage. But in his current state, Saito was made incapable of exerting any force along his upper body, as he had neither the position nor leverage to do so. He was caught.

"You certainly made this more difficult than it needed to be," Ravel remarked.

"Don't steal my lines. That's what I should be saying, not you," Saito retorted, though he couldn't help but smile.

"Is something funny?" Ravel asked, tilting her head and frowning quizzically upon seeing him smile. "Or is it possible you still have an ace up your sleeve?"

Saito shrugged noncommittally. "I was just thinking that you're very impressive. So much so that I can't even bring myself to be angry at you for getting in my way. I really think I would have won if not for your leadership. You beat me."

"Perhaps," Ravel allowed. "But even so, you would still lose in the end. It is impossible for any of you to defeat my brother. Not even that user of the Boosted Gear."

As if providing proof of Ravel's words, Grayfia's voice suddenly announced, "Gremory side, Queen has retired."

"No way!" Saito said in shock. "Akeno-neesama lost?"

"Don't be too surprised," Ravel shrugged. "Yubelluna, the Bomb Queen, is about as strong as the Priestess of Thunder. That's why the Pheonix Tears given to her beforehand proved to be the deciding factor."

Saito made a sudden, strong effort to free himself, but Siris's grip was tight, and he remained trapped. He sighed and stopped struggling. "So what are Phoenix Tears?" Saito asked curiously.

"You don't know about it?" Ravel said, sounding genuinely surprised for the first time.

"I'm a new devil," Saito said, trying to shrug but unable to due to Siris's hold. "There's a lot I don't know."

"Is that so?" Ravel said. She shrugged, and it strangely annoyed Saito seeing her be able to do so when he was currently incapable of it. "Like its name suggests, they are the tears of the Phenex family, and they are capable of healing any and all injuries, instantly and completely."

"Wait, so not only is your family a bunch of immortal devils," Saito said, "but you can also produce some kind of magic medicine by crying?" Saito shook his head in disbelief. "Your family is way too overpowered."

"It's not that simple," Ravel scowled. "Simply crying doesn't work. There is a special ritual involved in producing them. Besides, a team can only have up to two bottles of Phoenix Tears in a match. Those are the rules."

"Yes, well, your family is still ridiculously overpowered," Saito groused.

Ravel's mouth quirked into a smile. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was more like a complaint," Saito said, trying once more to shrug, once more failing. "But all right. I do have one question for you, though."

"I'll consider answering," Ravel said graciously.

"Why are you, Riser's little sister, his slave?" Saito asked. "Did he force you into it or something?"

"I am no one's slave. I am his Bishop," Ravel said icily. "Karlamine. Sacrifice Knight. Pawn, take."

Saito felt Siris tense behind him as Karlamine charged for both of them. Saito closed his eyes and waited. After a second, he felt searing pain course through his body as a foreign object, hot and sharp, invaded his guts, come out of his back, and stab the Knight behind Saito as well, skewering the two together.

Saito coughed blood as Siris's grip loosened and Karlamine's burning sword withdrew from his body. Siris collapsed backwards as her body became enveloped with light. Then:

"Phenex side, Knight has retired."

Meanwhile, Saito collapsed to his knees, one hand still clutching Derflinger, while the other covered the bloody hole in his stomach futilely. From the corner of his eye, Saito saw the Zweihänder still there, standing proudly even after its true owner's retirement.

"You're surprising resilient, aren't you?" Ravel said, frowning. "No matter. Finish him, Karlamine."

"Heh... Heh..." Saito laughed slowly, causing them to pause. "Hey, Ravel. You asked if I had an ace left up my sleeve, right? Well, I do." Slowly, Saito rose to his feet, using Derflinger as a crutch. Karlamine had taken a cautious stance as she watched Saito warily, unsure of how to react with the news of his hidden trump card. Saito looked at the sword in his hands and spoke. "Derf, it's been a long time since Saxe-Gotha, right?"

Ravel arched an eyebrow as she looked at Saito as though he had gone crazy for talking to a sword. Then her eyes widened with shock when the sword spoke back.

"Sure has, Partner," Derf said. "Feels like a lifetime ago."

"You... Your sword just talked!" Ravel exclaimed, shocked.

"Don't let the novelty wear off for ya, kid," Derflinger said sarcastically. "I'm awesome like that."

"Derf," Saito said. "Since it's been so long, you should have stored up enough magic since then, right?"

"Ah... You want me to use you again, right?" Derflinger said, his voice suddenly serious.

"Yes," Saito said. "Break the limits, if necessary. Don't bother trying to defeat Ravel. We don't have time to fight an immortal. After, get me to the enemy base so I can get Promoted. Then get me to Asia before I faint from blood loss. Or worse, retire."

"Gotcha, Partner," Derflinger said. "Sit back and enjoy the ride."

"What are you...?" Ravel began to say as Derflinger shining like a beacon of light. "What is this!?"

Saito suddenly felt his body move, his hand coming up almost automatically to grab the Zweihänder with his left hand. It was a strange sensation. The last time Derflinger had taken control of his body had been when he had died temporarily after his last stand against the army of seventy thousand outside of Saxe-Gotha, in Albion, in Halkeginia. Because he had been dead, he hadn't actually been aware of what Derflinger taking control of his body felt like.

To put it simply, it was a weird experience. It was as though he was a puppet. As detached from his body's movements as his thoughts were, it almost didn't even feel like his own body. And it was precisely because he was no longer controlling his body that Saito was able to move as well as he was.

Saito's body surged forward towards the enemy Knight. The arm carrying Derflinger moved in intricate patterns, causing the blade to flicker and slice with deadly accuracy, poking and prodding Karlamine's defenses. Then, in an attack that left Saito bewildered by the smoothness and its lightning swiftness, Derflinger had snaked past Karlamine's defenses and cut her throat open with easy, casual grace.

"Guh," Karlamine choked blood as she began to shine and fade away.

"Phenex side, Knight has retired."

There were three main advantages that came with allowing Derflinger to assume control of Saito's body. The first was that even if he was suffering from grievous injuries – or even if he was dead, for that matter – so long as his body was functional in the mechanical and technical sense of the word, Derflinger could use it and make it move. The second was that although Saito was the Gandalfr, his skill with the blade paled in comparison to Derflinger's. The sword was ancient. Mind boggling so. At over six thousand years old, Derflinger held more experience than Saito could even begin to imagine. Comparing the skill with swords between the Gandalfr and Derflinger was not so much like the difference in size between an ant and an elephant, but more like between an ant and the entire planet. The Gandalfr simply did not compare.

As for the third advantage...

"Isabella! Mihae!" Ravel called out sharply. "Retreat, now!"

The Rook and the Bishop immediately turned and began to flee, but Saito felt his body pursue them.

Saito's body caught up to the two fleeing Pieces in an instant, the two swords in its hands trailing behind it. Isabella turned and tried to face Saito, her arms up and ready in a fighting stance. The Zweihänder came smashing down on her, and she raised her arms in order to guard against the strike. But with far more force than a single handed strike should have been capable of exerting, the sword smashed through her guard.

Isabella cried out in pain as her arms were smashed, her bones shattered. It was only because the Zweihänder was too thick to make a clean cut and because she was a Rook that Isabella had not been cut in twain. Nevertheless, the large sword bore down on her body from above her broken guard with incredible force as it drove down on her skull. There was a dull, breaking sound, a crushing sensation beneath the large blade, and blood began pouring out of Isabella's mouth, nostrils, and eyes, freely.

Phenex side, Rook has retired."

"Ugh..." Saito winced as his left arm screamed with pain.

The third advantage of allowing Derflinger to assume control of his body was that because it was an external force, it could easily force Saito's body to break past the natural checks and limits placed on his body, granting him a large boost in his strength and speed. When this power boost was then multiplied by the runes of the Gandalfr, it became something truly devastating.

But like all great powers, it came at a cost.

To break past his limits could potentially cripple his body.

Saito's hand released the Zweihänder, allowing it to drop with a heavy thud on the grass. The arm dangled uselessly at his side, the muscles, bones, and tendons too broken and frayed to allow it to be used anymore.

There was a reason why the human body had in place certain limits. When the body broke past those limits, it turned into a time bomb. For a short time, it could demonstrate incredible power, but if done for too long, the end result was a ruined body.

Saito's body turned to face Mihae, whose eyes widened with fear. She raised her hands in order to cast some spell, Saito was sure, but Derflinger made his body lunge in low, then propelled his body upwards and used the momentum to plunge its blade up into the Bishop's torso and out of her back, just below her heart.

"Phenex side, Bishop has retired."

Saito trembled as he breathed. His body hurt very badly. The hole in his midsection had widened from the fast, violent motions and was bleeding profusely. His left arm was burning with pain as well. He felt very weak and strangely cold, likely due to the blood loss, and close to fainting.

"You feeling all right, Partner?" Derflinger asked.

"Peachy," Saito muttered weakly.

"Well, just hang tight," Derflinger said. "Let's go get you Promoted and then to the nun girl."

"Yeah... thanks," Saito said as his body began walking towards the new school building. As it did, he passed by Ravel.

"Hey," Ravel called out, causing Saito to stop. "It's best if you don't go. If you stay here, you'll be safe. I'll even use my Phoenix Tears on you if you promise not to interfere with my brother's fight."

Saito looked at Ravel. "I can't do that," he said with a bitter smile.

"You'll just be retired if you go," Ravel said. "You're strong, I'll admit that. You might even be able to put up a fight against my brother, for a little while. But you can't beat him. If you go, you'll just be sacrificed."

"Yes," Saito agreed. "But isn't that supposed to be a Pawn's purpose?"

"Hmph," Ravel sniffed. "Stubborn fool. Go on, then, if you really want to. I won't stop you."

"Thanks," Saito said as his body walked into the new school building. He winced as he moved, the hole in his stomach screaming with pain, bleeding profusely. His body was feeling increasingly cold and clammy. He wouldn't last much longer, Saito knew. "Hurry, Derf," Saito muttered. "Get me there quickly."

Saito's body bolted off at full sprint.

-Scene Break-

Rias panted heavily as she glared hatefully at Riser. Her body was undamaged, but only thanks to Asia's Twilight Healing, though her clothes were in tatters. Yet, despite the fact that her injuries had been healed, she felt exhausted. Twilight Healing was only capable of healing injuries, not restoring stamina. It was one of the few shortcomings of that amazing Sacred Gear.

Opposing Rias on the opposite end of the roof was Riser Phenex. Like her, he was completely free of injuries. Unlike her, he looked totally fresh. His clothes had not even a single strand out of place and he had an easy, relaxed smirk on his face. Just seeing that arrogant look was enough to drive Rias into a frenzy. His words only made it worse.

"How about we stop this now, my lovely Rias?" Riser said in a condescending tone. "You should know by now that you just can't win." He sneered. "Well, I don't mind keeping this up a little longer. At this rate, you're going to end up completely naked. And here I thought that I would only be seeing after we got married."

"Fuck you!" Rias shouted as she sent a bolt of black and blood-red demonic energy at Riser. It struck him like a cannonball, completely destroying a third of his skull.

Riser sighed as fire burned from the missing portion of his head. The flames grew, filling the missing space, and when it faded, his head was back to normal – not a hair out of place. Rias ground her teeth together in frustration. Despite her rising temper, however, Rias forced herself to keep her mind clear of the angry red haze. She was not fighting to defeat Riser by herself. She was simply stalling for time until Issei finally arrived.

"Buchou!"

Rias glanced over her shoulder and grinned as she saw Issei and Kiba quickly approaching her and Asia.

"Ise! Yuuto!" Rias cried out happily. "You're finally here! What about Saito?"

"He stayed behind so that we could hurry and come to help you," Issei explained quickly.

"Stayed behind?" Rias echoed, her mouth dropping into a frown. "But aren't there still seven Pieces left, excluding Yubelluna?"

"Yeah," Issei nodded. "He's fighting them by himself."

Having heard them speak, Riser began laughing loudly. "Are you serious, brat? That weak Pawn with no Sacred Gear is seriously trying to fight against seven of my Pieces by himself?"

"Don't insult my servants!" Rias snapped angrily.

Riser grinned as he raised his hands, palms open, in a mock gesture of surrender. "Still, why don't you just go ahead and forfeit, Rias? You could save me time and yourself and your Peerage a lot of pain."

"Are you scared, Riser?" Rias taunted, narrowing her eyes. "Are you worried that now that Ise has been Promoted, the wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet will defeat you?"

Riser snorted, amused. "As if. Even if he is the wielder of the Boosted Gear, he's still a worthless brat. It's like casting pearls before swine."

"I told you not to insult my servants!" Rias snarled as she hurled another bolt of demonic energy at Riser.

Riser faked a yawn as he regenerated from the wound inflicted on him.

"Ise," Rias said underneath her breath, never dropping her glare towards Riser. "Get ready. Yuuto. You and I will keep Riser busy."

"I understand, Buchou," Issei said.

"Boost!" the gauntlet announced.

"Let's go, Yuuto!" Rias declared as she hurled a flurry of demonic energy at Riser.

"Yes, Buchou!" Kiba shouted as he rushed forward, twin blades that appeared as though they were made of ice materialized in his hands.

With a bored expression, Riser waved one hand across the air, his other hand stuck casually in his pocket. Blazing fire met Rias's demonic energy, colliding and exploding in a burst of light and smoke.

"Boost!"

From within that, Kiba rushed forward, swords bared. When Riser cast a fireball at the Knight, Kiba held up his swords in a guarding position without breaking his stride.

Upon contact, the flames were absorbed by the swords and disappeared. At that, Riser's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Taking advantage of the slight lapse in concentration, Kiba struck. Two swift slashes left deep wounds across Riser's throat and stomach. No blood spilled, though, and they regenerated in fire.

"Boost!"

Riser made a swiping kick, but Kiba easily dodged it by leaping back.

"Flame Delete, eh?" Riser said arrogantly. "Do you really think that will be enough to defend against my flames?"

"Boost!"

"For that matter, do you really think that you two alone can hold me off long enough for the Dragon boy to finish increasing his strength? Huh, Rias?" Riser said.

"Boost!"

"We will!" Rias declared. "And Akeno will be here soon, too, after she takes care of your Queen! Saito, too!"

Riser tilted his head back and let out a deep belly laugh. "Hahaha! You really think either of those two will happen? I'll grant that your Queen is strong, but so is mine."

"Boost!"

"More," Riser continued, "Yubelluna holds a bottle of Phoenix Tears. That's why she will finish off your Queen right about..."

"Gremory side, Queen has retired."

"Now." Riser smirked.

"Impossible!" Issei cried out. "Akeno-san lost?"

"Boost!"

"Ise! Focus on your own task!" Rias said, though she found herself unable to hide the agitation in her voice. She had made a grave oversight by neglecting to plan for Phoenix Tears. It was a stupid, amateurish mistake, given that she was fighting against a member of the very family that produced them, and Rias cursed herself for it. This was bad. With Akeno defeated, Yubelluna would no doubt be here soon. Would they be able to win before then?

"Boost!"

Kiba rushed forward, swords bared. Riser tsked lightly and held out his hand. A river of fire, a torrent of it, flooded outwards, its heat palpable even from the distance Rias was at. Kiba's eyes widened as he jumped back, his swords held in an X shape in front of him. For a moment, the swords absorbed fire, but then they shattered, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the flames. Kiba shouted in pain as his entire body was nearly burned to cinders and landed near Rias, Asia, and Issei, who had all only narrowly managed to avoid being turned into ashes by a barrier Rias erected at the last second.

"Kiba!" Issei shouted.

"Kiba-san!" Asia screamed.

"Yuuto!" Rias cried out. "Asia! Heal him!"

Immediately, the kindhearted Bishop rushed over to Kiba's side. Underneath the soft emerald glow of Twilight Healing, the burns that thoroughly covered Kiba's body disappeared, though the majority of his clothes was burned away. Unfortunately, despite his body having been healed, his consciousness was gone, taken from him by being washed with flames, the searing pain too much for anyone to bear.

"You've fought well, Rias," Riser said soothingly. "It's amazing how well you've done. There's no shame in surrendering here."

"Boost!"

"There's no way in hell we're surrendering!" Issei shouted angrily.

"That's right!" Rias agreed. "There's no reason for us to surrender here!"

"Your Queen and Rook are gone," Riser said dispassionately. "Your Knight is unconscious. Your Bishop has no fighting capability. Your only hope of winning is to have this dragon boy beat me, but that itself will be impossible, no matter how much he increases his strength. And your only other remaining Pawn will soon be retired. You can't win."

"Boost!"

"Don't decide that on your own!" Rias shouted.

"Phenex side, Knight has retired."

"Huh?" Riser frowned as he looked up, as if uncertain if Grayfia had truly announced that.

"Phenex side, Knight has retired."

"Phenex side, Rook has retired."

"Phenex side, Bishop has retired."

"What in the world!?" Riser yelped in shock at the back to back announcements.

"Boost!"

"Saito!" Rias said gleefully.

"That crazy guy did it!" Issei cheered happily. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Riser. "Now it's my turn. I'm going, Buchou!"

"Boost!"

"Do it, Ise!" Rias said, a rising sense of victory bubbling up from within her. Now was the absolute ideal time to be able to truly defeat Riser. With the announcement of Saito's victory against incredible odds, Riser was in shock. If he took an attack from Issei now, after twelve Boosts, then even he would be defeated.

"Explosion!"

"Take this, you damn fried chicken bastard!" Issei shouted as he held his gauntlet-covered arm in front of him, a dense mass of potent demonic energy gathering in his palm. "Die!"

As Issei's demonic energy shined, just as it began to fire, Rias saw it. A smirk on Riser's face. The kind of expression one had when the opponent fell for a trap.

"Ise! Look out!" Rias shouted.

Fire exploded loudly around Issei with such force that Rias could only watch helplessly from behind the barrier she erected to guard herself, Kiba, and Asia as Issei released a cry of pain and collapsed to the floor.

"Reset!" the Boosted Gear announced.

"Ise-san!" Asia cried out as she rushed over to the unconscious Issei.

Rias looked up into the air and swore. Floating down from the sky with serenity was Yubelluna. She landed gently on the spot beside Riser. Her clothes were burnt from electricity, proof of her battle with Akeno, but she looked otherwise completely unharmed.

Damn Phoenix Tears, Rias thought bitterly.

Calmly, Yubelluna held up one hand, causing a magic circle to appear beneath Asia, trapping her in place and preventing her from healing Issei.

"Asia!" Rias cried out.

"You didn't think I'd keep letting your Bishop heal, did you?" Riser said mockingly. "Not that it matters, of course, but it does drag things out too long. It's over, Rias. Though you did well coming this far, there are no moves left available to you. Checkmate."

"Shut up!" Rias shouted, throwing a bolt of demonic energy at Riser. It struck him, and he regenerated. Seeing that, Rias felt her spirit finally crumble.

Helplessly, Rias fell to her knees. Though Kiba and Issei were both technically still in the game, they were unconscious. It was unlikely that either of them would wake up before she was defeated. And she alone did not have the power to defeat both Yubelluna and Riser at the same time. Asia was sealed. Akeno and Koneko were retired. And Saito... well, even if Saito came, there probably wouldn't be much he could do alone.

Was this is? Was this as far as she could go? In the end, everything had gone according to her family's plan. She had fought the best she could, but she had lost, as they knew she would.

Checkmate.

Rias let out a long breath. Slowly, she stood back to her feet.

"All right, Riser," Rias said, staring very evenly at her hated foe; her soon-to-be husband. "You wi-"

A shining light streaked down from the sky, plummeting to the rooftop like falling star. It struck Yubelluna with a thunderous crash. And then:

"Phenex side, Queen has retired."

Both Rias and Riser's eyes widened as the seal around Asia disappeared. Riser turned to his side just in time to see a shining sword flash through the air, ripping open his neck, nearly taking it off his head completely. Two more slashes followed up, one across Riser's eyes and the other on the back of his knees, on the tendons. Riser fell to the ground, his support taken from him, and he waved his arm blindly, releasing a large burst of flames as he regenerated from his new wounds.

"Saito!" Rias cried out as the flames were absorbed into the shining Derflinger, even as Saito jumped away from Riser and returned to Rias's side. From there, Rias was able to see that Saito had a terrible wound, a hole that ran straight through his stomach and out of his back. "Saito!" Rias said again. "Asia! Heal him quickly!"

"Yes!" Asia said, quickly rushing over and laying her hands over Saito's wounds. In a matter of seconds, the hole had vanished, leaving only a large bloodstain in its wake.

"Thank you, Asia-san. My left arm too, please," Saito said, smiling briefly as he looked at her. Asia nodded and quickly healed his dangling left arm. "And thank you, Derf. I'll take control again."

"Got it, Partner," Derflinger said as it slowly dimmed, then turned back to normal.

"Hey, Riser," Saito said as he turned to face the enemy King, pointing Derflinger at him. "You suck at chess if you thought that this was checkmate. It was only a check."

-Scene Break-

"You think that your arrival changes anything?" Riser sneered. "It does not. I'll admit that I was surprised that you took out four of my Pieces on your own, but it doesn't matter. You can't beat me."

Saito favored Riser with an unimpressed look. "God, you speak too much." Without glancing away, Saito said quietly to Rias, "What's the current situation, Buchou?"

"Ise and Yuuto are unconscious, but uninjured," Rias replied just as quietly. "If you can buy enough time for them to reawaken, we can proceed with the plan. Can you do it?"

"Piece of cake," Saito said.

Saito kicked off the rooftop. Then he took off Riser's arm with a single slash.

"What the?" Riser said dumbly. He looked at the spot where Saito had been standing only an instant before. There was only a footprint left indented into the rooftop, nearly an inch deep, on that spot. Slowly, his head went to his left arm, which lay beside his foot, detached from his body and burning merrily like a campfire log. A little further behind him was Saito.

The Gandalfr smiled at Riser, then attacked again. A storm of steel rained down on Riser, leaving deep gashes that split his body open. Fire burned from those wounds, and with the sheer amount of injuries Saito was inflicting, it was as though Riser was almost completely on fire.

"Amazing," Rias murmured from where she knelt beside Issei and Yuuto, who she was currently attempting to wake.

Saito agreed. A Queen's abilities were amazing. As fast as a Knight, as strong as a Rook, and as magically potent as a Bishop. Disregarding the Bishop traits, since he was terrible at using demonic energy, the Knight and Rook traits were incredible, and when their traits were multiplied by the Gandalfr's runes, all Saito could say was that it was truly breathtaking.

Through his sheer speed and strength, Saito was effectively pinning Riser down. The man of the Phenex family grunted as he strove to escape Saito's relentless assault, but he could not. Wings of brilliant fire erupted from Riser's back. They flapped once, then lifted him high into the air.

Saito moved like lightning. He jumped back, against the tower wall behind him, and kicked off against it with both feet, leaving his footprints deeply in the stone. He soared and delivered two swift strokes. The wings of flame were cut apart at their base, then absorbed into Derflinger. Grabbing Riser, the two plummeted back to the roof together. With easy grace, Saito landed on his feet, falling into a crouching position as the balls of his feet touched the rooftop in order to better absorb the impact of the fall. Riser simply fell, landing in an ungainly heap.

Due to the ferociousness and swiftness of Saito's attacks, Riser's mind was reeling. It showed, too, in his regeneration. It was only now that he had finally regenerated his severed arm. The rest of his wounds were still recovering.

"Bastard... You fucking bastard!" Riser shouted as he stood back up, completely enraged. "I'll kill you!"

"Dude," Saito said flatly. "This is a Rating Game. We can't die, remember?"

"Do not mock me!" Riser snarled. "Ni! Li!"

From the sides of the building, the two catgirls suddenly appeared, jumping up and landing on the roof beside Riser. The two Pawns, who were no doubt Queens by now, together with Riser, unleashed a massive flood of fire from their hands. It was several dozens of feet wide and nearly twice as tall. Saito swore. He couldn't defend against that. Not with Derflinger alone. There was no way the blade would be able to absorb it fast enough to keep him safe.

"Saito, come here!" Rias called out to him.

Saito took a quick glance behind him, where Rias had erected a barrier of demonic energy. But as bad as he was with demonic energy, even Saito could see that the barrier clearly would not hold against this overwhelming assault from an immortal and two Queens. Saito let out a breath as the fire neared, the heat burning his flesh even from this distance. Saito took a long step back with his right leg, lowering his center of mass and placing nearly all his weight on his forward leg. Saito lowered his head, and with one hand, he held Derflinger out in front of him; with the other, he covered his face.

Voraciously, Derflinger sucked away at the fire, doing its best to absorb as much of the flames as it could. For a few moments, Derflinger held. Though the flames washed past them to the sides and above, none touched Saito or the others several meters behind him. But as Saito thought, it was not enough.

"Ugh..." Saito grunted as he felt the fire burn away at his clothes and flesh painfully. The sheer volume of the flames was quickly beginning to overwhelm Derflingers absorption rate. It would hold for only perhaps a few more seconds, at best.

"Sword Birth: Flame Delete!"

Swords erupted from on the space before Saito. Each of them looked as though they were carved from the purest of ice, crystalline and pale blue. They spread up and outwards like a fan, forming a large shield of interlocked swords nearly four swords tall, half again as wide and twice as thick.

The flames burned at the shield of swords, causing layer after layer to slowly melt away. But the shield was thick and strong. It stood strongly, until at the very last layer, the torrent of fire finally ceased. The shield of swords disappeared a moment after, the swords seemingly shattering into sparkling particles of ice.

"Kiba-san!" Saito said as he looked at the Knight. He was on one knee and had his hand held in front of him. He breathed heavily as he allowed that arm to drop, sweat pouring from his brows.

"S-Sorry, Hiraga-kun. Asia-san. Buchou," Kiba smiled weakly. "I think that drained just about everything I had left. My apologies for being unable to do more."

"No, you saved us, Yuuto," Rias said. "Good job."

"W-what about Ise-kun, Buchou?" Kiba asked weakly.

Rias bit her lips and shook her head. Kiba closed his eyes and let out a breath.

"I see..." he whispered.

Saito faced Riser and his two Pawn-turned-Queens, Derflinger ready in his hands. Using such an overwhelming attack had tired them. They panted heavily as they tried to recover their strength as quickly as possible. Thanks to that, there was a brief lull in the combat.

"Hyoudou Issei. I know you can hear me, so listen carefully," Saito said calmly. "Right now, you and I are the only ones left to fight. Buchou and Kiba are too exhausted. You already know that Asia can't fight. But I can't beat Riser Phenex and his two Queens alone. Do not sleep. To do so is to allow Riser to win. I need you to stand up. Stand up, Hyoudou Issei. Stand up and fight!"

"... Boost!"

"Ah... I hear you, Hiraga-san," Issei said slowly. He put an arm beneath him and slowly rose to his feet. "And you're right. There's no way I can let that fried chicken bastard win."

"Boost!"

"Good," Saito said. "Then get ready, because-"

"There's no way I'm gonna let you marry Buchou, Riser Phenex!" Issei declared loudly, cutting off Saito, his voice gaining strength with each passing word. "You can't marry her because her virginity belongs to me!"

Saito nearly dropped Derflinger from the pure shock of the words. His jaw hung wide open as he turned to gawk at Issei. Kiba looked entirely too amused by Issei's words, while Asia was pouting jealously. At least Rias Gremory had the sense to look highly embarrassed by Issei's words.

"Boost!"

For a moment, there was a total stillness on the battlefield; complete and utter silence. Nobody there could believe that Issei had truly said those words.

The Boosted Gear was the first to break the silence.

"Boost!"

"What!?" Riser shouted angrily, the Sacred Gear's announcement bringing his attention back to earth. "You fool! I'm her fiance! That means her virginity belongs to me! Do you know how long I've been waiting to take it!?"

Saito's head snapped to Riser, gawking at him now instead, as Derflinger began laughing in his hands. He could somewhat, sort of, kind of understand that Issei would say such embarrassing things in such a serious situation, but Riser as well? This was just... sad. It was really, really sad.

"Boost!"

"Moron!" Issei shouted back. "You already have a freaking harem! You don't need Buchou's virginity!"

"Don't call me a moron, idiot!" Riser said, their words degenerating into a childlike argument. "Don't you know the first thing of harems? You're supposed to have a main wife and then a bunch of concubines! That's what it means to have a harem!"

"Boost!"

"So pick a wife from your Peerage, or somewhere else!" Issei snapped. "Because I'm not handing Buchou's virginity over to anyone! Ever!"

"Why you-" Riser began.

"Okay, stop, you two! Just stop!" Saito yelled.

"Boost!"

Saito glared at both Riser and Issei. "So let me get this straight: the reason you two are both fighting in this Rating Game... is for Rias Gremory's virginity?"

"Well, kind of," Issei said sheepishly. "I mean, I want her to win too because she doesn't want to marry that guy... But sort of, I guess."

"Yes," Riser said firmly, looking completely unapologetic.

Saito sighed, both exhausted and frustrated by the inanity of the current situation.

"Boost!"

"You know what?" Saito said wearily. "You two are both idiots. And you guys win. You two beat me. Congratulations. I don't even feel like fighting anymore." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. "God, I wish Ravel was the Phenex side King instead. At least then this would be an actual, serious battle and not a stupid argument over some girl's virginity."

"What was that about my sister?" Riser said angrily.

"Boost!"

"I said that she should replace you as King, you stupid, horny pervert," Saito snapped back.

"Don't be an idiot," Riser snorted. "If she were to be a King, how could I have a tsundere little sister type in my harem? And I'm not a horny pervert. I just have a strong libido. It means I'm a healthy male."

"... THAT'S WHY YOU MADE HER YOUR BISHOP!?" Saito demanded incredulously, completely unable to believe what he had just heard. Derflinger had begun laughing so hard that Saito could feel the sword vibrating strongly in his hand. It was fortunate for the sword that it didn't need to breathe, otherwise it surely would have died from lack of air due to laughing too hard, uncontrollably.

"It's a status symbol!" Riser declared proudly. "I mean, I'm not particularly interested in little sisters, but there are those that are and it completes the set. Besides, look. The dragon boy is jealous, at least."

Saito looked at Issei, whose eyes were shining with jealous tears as his entire body trembled angrily. Saito felt like slamming his head repeatedly against something really hard until he could crawl into a hole and just sleep for a long time, hoping that when he woke up, this would all turn out to be one stupid dream. But first, he needed to verify something.

"Boost!"

"You mean to tell me, that the only reason why you made Ravel your Bishop is because you wanted a tsundere little sister in your Peerage?" Saito asked. "Not because of her strategic brilliance or calm leadership skills?"

"Of course!" Riser answered.

"Boost!"

Saito slapped one hand over his face and groaned with frustration. That was it. He couldn't take this anymore. He was done. No more.

Oh, Ravel. I pity you so much, Saito thought sympathetically. Your brother is a completely perverted idiot.

The saddest part of all of this, Saito thought, was that it was buying enough time for Issei to Boost his strength, and it was doing it far more effectively than Saito would have been able to through combat. Saito felt a little part of him die inside after realizing that fact.

"Boost!"

"You... You sick bastard," Issei growled furiously. "Not only do you have a harem, not only are you engaged to Buchou, but you also get to have a tsundere little sister in your harem!? That's it. As the representative of all the unpopular guys who dream of having a harem, I am going to destroy you!"

Suddenly, the Boosted Gear began moving and shifting, transforming into a larger and stronger looking gauntlet, as the green gem on the back of its hand began shining and declared, "Dragon Booster Second Liberation!"

"It transformed?" Issei said in blank shock as he stared at the Boosted Gear.

Tears began forming in Saito's eyes as a childlike laughter bubbled forth from his lips. He was certain that he heard a snapping sound fire off in his head somewhere, as well.

"Hahahaha!" Saito giggled as he fell to his back and began rolling and laughing. "Hahahaha!"

Unbelievable. He had no idea what just happened with the Boosted Gear, but it was clear that it had gotten a power up. It was equally clear that Issei's perverted envy and rage was the source of the transformation.

That was funny. Of course it was funny. It was hilarious! How could he not laugh at that? It was so funny that he was crying. Hooray for pervert power!

"Partner?" Derflinger said, his own laughter having died away once Saito's had begun. "Uh... Partner? Shit. We lost him."

"Buchou! Hiraga-san!" Issei said in a suddenly serious tone. "Listen! We're gonna beat Riser right here and now, and free-"

"No," Saito interrupted flatly as he abruptly stopped laughing and got to his feet. "No, you don't get to try to make this atmosphere serious again. You and Riser have already ruined that. So just tell us what your Boosted Gear can do now and what your plan is. No speech."

"Huh?" Issei blinked at Saito. "Oh... Um... Okay. I can transfer my boosted power to someone else, so I was thinking that I could do that to Buchou, then she could finish off Riser. To make sure that nothing gets in the way of that, though, those two Queens need to be retired first."

"Fine," Saito said monotonously. "I'll take care of that. You two get ready."

Saito once more kicked off the rooftop, leaving behind a deep indentation of his footprint as he charged forward. Unwilling to allow the Gandalfr to get too close, Riser, Ni, and Li unleashed a burst of fire. Though it was still large and powerful, the fire was not as overwhelming as before.

Clenching his teeth and closing his eyes, Saito dived straight into the flames, trusting in his Queen-enhanced durability and Derflinger to keep him safe, or at least from being retired instantly. As Saito streaked through the fire, he felt it burn away at his body even as Derflinger frantically tried to absorb the flames.

"Ha!" Saito shouted as he finally emerged from the fire. At full speed, he went straight for Ni. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Saito coming. With all her strength, she threw a punch, her fist wrapped in fire, attempting to match Saito's timing and deliver a counter. But with a gentle slip of the head, Saito brushed past Ni's flaming fist and stabbed Derflinger into her stomach.

However, thanks to her greatly enhanced durability as a Queen, Derflinger faced an unusual degree of resistance as it tried to penetrate into Ni's flesh. This resistance slowed Saito by a fraction of a second, but that was all Ni needed to react and grab the blade itself and grind the momentum of the piercing thrust to less than half its original speed. From his left, Li appeared to help her sister. The bottom of her foot slammed into the side of Saito's head, sending him reeling as Ni released Derflinger.

Though still dazed, Saito recovered quickly, swiping Derflinger through the air to extinguish the flames Riser threw at him. Ni and Li pounced at him as one, like a pair of hunting lionesses, with a flying side kick. Saito eyes widened as one hand snapped up to gently brush aside and divert Ni's kick while his other hand thrust Derflinger at Li's body.

Li's long legs gave her a devastating reach on her kicks. Thus, Saito felt a bone crushing blow be inflicted on his ribs. However, the range of Saito's sword was even longer. Nearly half of Derflinger's blade was buried into Li's body. Because Li had been in the air at the moment she struck, Saito had been forced to angle his sword a little upward. And thanks to his Queen and Gandalfr enhanced strength, it remained that way even after the sudden weight a grown woman's body was added to the blade. She coughed up blood and struggled feebly as she slid down the blade, towards Saito.

"Phenex side, Queen has retired."

As Li disappeared from Saito's sword, Ni cried out with anger and attacked. But in her rage, her assault was clumsy and full of openings. With a quick movement, Saito avoided her attack and left a deep, fatal cut along the width of her body.

"Phenex side, Queen has retired."

Saito glanced at Riser, sweat beading his brow, eyes widened as the realization that his defeat was not only possible, but imminent, finally hit him.

"No!" he yelled furiously as he wings of flame appeared from his back and he took to the skies. "I can't lose! Not here! Not like this!"

With his face screwed up in concentration, Riser unleashed down on them a massive pillar of fire – one that was intended to not just turn them into ashes, but to destroy the entire building that they were standing on along with them.

"Transfer!" the Boosted Gear announced.

"Buchou!" Issei cried out. "You can do it!"

"Blow away, Riser Phenex!" Rias shouted vigorously.

An enormous beam of black and blood-red energy was fired by Rias up into the air, meeting Riser's attack in a thoroughly one-sided collision. So massive was Rias's attack that it completely dwarfed that of Riser's. Roaring like a raging beast, it eradicated Riser's flames as it rushed past it like a fast-flowing river. Riser opened his mouth to scream, but the demonic energy swallowed him whole, silencing him.

For a few seconds, Rias's demonic energy continued firing. Then, it slowly died away. When it was gone, nothing was left of Riser.

"Phenex side, King has retired. Victory of the Gremory side."

-Scene Break-

Rias sighed with satisfaction as she sat on a chair outside of the infirmary room, where the retired Pieces were taken in order to be healed and to rest. But after such an exhausting battle, the general consensus amongst her Pieces seemed to have been to just sleep then and there. They were too tired to think of doing anything else.

They had done it. They won. Against all odds, they had beaten Riser Phenex. It was an exhilarating sensation. To have grabbed hold of victory through their own efforts and hard work, thereby freeing her from the engagement to Riser, left Rias feeling so elated that she could scarcely remember a time that she had felt any happier.

The door opened, then, and Saito appeared from within the room, fully dressed and ready to leave. He glanced at Rias and gave her a small, curt nod, before he turned from her and began to walk away.

"Wait, Saito," Rias called out to him. "There's something I want to ask."

Saito stopped and turned around. "What is it, Buchou?"

"Do you hate me?"

Saito blinked at the sudden question as Rias stared at him penetratingly. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Derf told you that, huh?"

"Yes."

When Saito opened his eyes, they were very cold, frigid, as he stared back at Rias without expression. "Yes. I hate you. And I will always hate you. Now, if that is all, I'm going home before my parents realize I'm missing."

"I see..." Rias said sadly. It was only thanks to the fact that Derflinger had already forewarned her of Saito's hatred of her that it did not shock her deeply. But it did not change the fact that his words hurt her deeply.

"Hiraga-san, wait."

Rias and Saito looked at Issei, who had just stepped out of the infirmary room.

"Why do you hate Buchou?" Issei asked, glowering at his fellow Pawn. "She hasn't done anything to deserve that. It's not fair of you to hate her for no good reason!"

"Ise," Rias said sharply. "It's fine. Leave him be."

"But Buchou," Issei protested.

"Leave him be," Rias repeated. She looked to Saito and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work today. We'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah. See ya," Saito grunted as he turned and quietly walked away, his footsteps hardly making a sound against the linoleum floor as he did.

Once Saito was gone, Issei looked at Rias with a confused expression.

"Buchou," he said. "Why are you okay with Hiraga-san hating you? You haven't done anything wrong."

Rias smiled plaintively as she recalled the image of Saito's heavily scarred, whipped back. "I'm sure he has his own reasons." Rias let out a breath. "But you are right. I also do not believe I have done anything wrong. That is why, no matter how long it takes, I will melt away his hate." She smiled. "After all, he is also a member of my Peerage. That means we're family."

"Buchou..." Issei said, looking touched by Rias's words.

"But jeez, Ise," Rias smiled coyly. "Is my virginity something you really want that badly?"

"More than anything else in the world," Issei responded immediately.

Rias tilted her head back and let out a bell-like laughter. Standing up, Rias patted Issei on the head. "Well, keep working hard, Ise. If you become a good man, I just might give it to you one day."

Rias sighed and smiled. She would eventually have to explain to her parents, her sister, Grafyia, and her older brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, why one of her servants had declared his lust for her in the middle of an important Rating Game. But as she watched Issei cheer and celebrate, his honest and eager face, she just couldn't bring herself to care about it. She would deal with it another time.

She and her Peerage had won against all odds. For now, that was enough.