Disclaimer: I don't own Fate Stay Night or High School DxD. They belong to Kinoko Nasu and Ichiei Ishibumi respectively. If I did, I would have already created an Ilya route in the VN with a fully-grown and matured Ilya as the heroine and make a badass protagonist for High School DxD instead of a pervert like Issei.

A/N: For those who haven't noticed yet, I've changed the scene at the end of Chapter 9 a little due to several complaints and suggestions. And sorry for the late update. Things happened in RL and somehow I kept procrastinating until it's this late. Anyway, enjoy.

Author's Rant: I've been receiving a lot of negative reviews on Archer lamenting about his potential, so here's my response.

You're all so ignorant.

Those who think that Archer's potential is very high are kidding yourselves. Do some research before you criticize about what I write. Nasu himself said that Shirou's/Archer's ranking in the Nasuverse is very low and if you guys can't agree with the person who created the character in the first place, you should just stop reading anything related to Emiya Shirou. You guys have been reading too much fic that makes Shirou/Archer into a Gary Stu that you're blinded to the truth. Hell, I'm already making him stronger than he's supposed to be but people still think that I'm downplaying his abilities.

Also, please don't try to recommend 'A Certain Terrible Fic' to me. It's crap. I don't care how many likes, favorites or follows that the fic has, to me it's completely and utterly ridiculous. Sure, the guy's writing style surpasses mine by a wide margin but I can't stand what he did to the worlds and characters he based them on. I could no longer recognize the world or characters from the original anymore to the point that I say he should've just made his own original world with his own OCs instead of doing a crossover. Those who try to defend the aforementioned fic and author will be completely ignored from now on.

Lastly, it seems that my work has been plagiarized by another author with another Gary Stu Shirou (using only 7% of his powers to take out the whole of the Gremory group in 2 minutes? Oh, COME ON!) but no one seems to care or even noticed. I'm so sad. =( Well, I'm also plagiarizing someone else's work so I don't really have the right to complain.

Now that I've gotten all that load off my chest I'll leave you all to read my mediocre fic. Don't forget to review.

Update: 13/04/2016

- Added an explanation on Rias's reason to stall Raiser

- Added some extra paragraphs on Archer's performance and the new Rating Game I made at the end of the chapter

- Story Start -

It's been a while since she last felt so excited.

Granted, she was also very nervous at the moment since her opponent isn't just some run-of-the-mill Devil but the heir to the Phenex clan with an impressive track record in the Rating Game. The situation wasn't made much easier with having to protect her kouhai who was being specifically targeted by the King. That and it was obvious that Raiser's power surpassed hers by quite a margin so if it ever came to a direct confrontation, it would be an uphill battle with Raiser's powerful regeneration coming into play as well.

At least, that's what she thought what Raiser had been thinking when he directly confronted them.

Unfortunately for him, her control over lightning or more specifically, electricity, had a very 'interesting' use in the human world when tort- interrogating someone which was very compatible for someone like her who was a sadist. And right now, she was utilizing that method to confront the, as Ise would put it, grilled yakitori.

"GAAAAHHHHHH!"

Raiser's painful screams were making her excited. If it wasn't because Reiji wasn't watching her right now, she might've decided to masturbate right then and there. It won't matter if they were being watched by people from high places through a television screen. On the contrary, the thought only made her more excited. It looks like she wasn't just both a sadist and a masochist but also an exhibitionist. Not that it mattered to her if she discovered more of her perverted tendencies. As it was, she only felt high on pleasure at the moment. She was definitely going to catch Reiji once this was all over to have some real fun.

"AAAAGGGHHH! GAHA! Guh! Damn it! Don't underestimate me!" Raiser managed to get out in between his screams.

Just as he said that, Raiser's body started to emit huge amounts of fire.

"!?"

"Eh? Waaah!" Sensing danger, she quickly fled the immediate vicinity with Asia in her arms. Said former nun let out a cute scream at the sudden escape.

They had escaped just in the nick of time as not a moment later, a powerful wave of fire was released by Raiser.

The attack only covered a few meter radius but the concentration of power in that small area could not be made light of. However, it was thanks to that factor that they managed to get away from the blasting zone of Raiser's self-immolation.

"Sorry I startled you, Asia-chan."

"Oh no, it's okay. I was just surprised, that's all."

Giving a warm smile to her cute kouhai, Akeno returned her sights towards the enemy leader. In her sight was an ocean of fire where everything in its path was burned to cinders. The strong fire made it difficult for her to discern anything inside it immediately so she opted to wait it out while being on guard.

Once the view started to clear, she could see that only Raiser was left standing in the middle of the blaze. The trees closest to him were blown apart while those that were caught in his attack radius were burning furiously if it wasn't already ash.

"I-I see. It seems that I've underestimated you, Thunder Priestess. To think that such a trick was very effective against me." Raiser's face looked very miserable and his breathing became labored that he had to take a breath with every few words he spoke. Despite that, he still somehow managed to keep his cool under unexpected circumstances. As expected of a veteran of the Rating Games. Not only that, the visible fire that's covering his body made him look formidable despite his miserable state.

"Ara. Whatever are you talking about?" Unperturbed by the intimidating scene in front of her, she taunted Raiser instead.

"Don't play dumb. You used electricity to directly send pain messages to my brain through my nerves. Since it wasn't actually damaging me, my regeneration wouldn't work. Thus, bypassing it completely." With every second that he was able to catch his breath, Raiser recovered more and more from his ordeal. He was very impressed at Akeno's display of ability but at the same time he was also angered and annoyed for being at the receiving end of said ability.

He vowed in his heart to break both Rias's and Akeno's spirit with the most cruel and forceful methods he could think of once he wins the bet with Rias. Said methods of course involved those done in bed.

Akeno wasn't the least bit panicked by Raiser's deduction. After all, it wasn't like what she used was some kind of revolutionary technique. The only thing needed to use the attack was careful control of electricity which means that anyone who could cast lightning magic could do it and in her case, it was just that she had a good affinity with it. It was fortunate that she managed to learn how to do it within a week during the training camp the following day after their beat down by Shirou. Although Rias was the one who suggested the idea in the first place, even she was surprised at how effective it was against opponents that had a nervous system.

Compared to what Rias had up her sleeve, this was just some parlor trick. Didn't make it any less effective though.

Unfortunately, now that Raiser had figured out her trick, it would be a bit difficult to use the same tactic again but right now she only needed to stall him while exhausting him as much as she can. In other words, she will have to go all out.

"Asia-chan, prepare to heal me continuously."

"Yes!"

Recognizing her intent, Raiser had no intention to let his enemy to ready themselves. In an instant, he fired the strongest fireball he could muster at that single moment to Akeno instead of Asia. Originally, he had intended to take out the possessor of Twilight Healing first before dealing with Akeno but if he ever left himself open when trying to retire her, Akeno would definitely not miss that chance to retaliate. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem thanks to his immortality but with his enemy's magic that bypassed his regenerative ability, it forced him to change the way he fights.

He will have to crush Akeno in one shot to the point that Twilight Healing wouldn't have any time to heal her.

His fireball was supposed to be a way to delay Akeno before preparing a more devastating attack while she was on the defense. He didn't expect that Akeno would ignore any form of self-preservation and plunge straight into his attack.

Fire spread to the surroundings as the two collided.

The fireball he made might not have been his strongest attack but it was still strong enough to take down a Queen of her level without any form of shielding. Which was why he was surprised that Akeno emerged from the fire with just a few minor burns. What's more, even those minor injuries were being healed at that very moment.

His surprise only lasted for a moment. Realizing that he was at a disadvantage in close quarters, he decided to take to the skies. If what he judged was correct, the magic using electricity to cause him pain without physically injuring him should be easier to be administered through direct physical contact so he should avoid that as much as possible. What was troubling him was the fact that his magic had so little effect on Akeno despite him pumping quite an amount of Demonic Energy in his last attack even if it was done in only for an instant.

"How did you do that?" Looking at Akeno who was currently below him, he voiced his puzzlement.

"Fufufu. A true gentleman shouldn't pry into a woman's secrets~" Akeno answered playfully. The truth was that the new outfits that the whole group was wearing had strong water enchantments to resist fire and heat courtesy of a collaboration with a certain student council president. Hers and Rias's were especially fortified as it was judged that they were most likely to be the ones confronting Raiser when the time comes.

Raiser felt as if he was going to pop a vein. To think that he was actually being toyed with!

"Fine! Let's see how you defend against this!"

This time, Raiser raised his right arm and made a large sphere of fire easily the size of a human adult now that he had more time to concentrate his Demonic Energy. Since it's come to this, Raiser had become more desperate. Using almost half of his reserves, he wanted to destroy the whole area while taking out both of his adversaries at the same time. He doubted that whatever defenses that Akeno could muster would be able to withstand the flames he produced. It would tire him out faster for later battles but at that moment he just didn't care anymore.

Just when he was about to let the sphere descend on the ground however, a black orb was shot at his back, taking out a chunk of his right chest, shoulder and arm. His aim off due to the sudden attack just when he wanted to unleash his power on Akeno, the giant ball of fire was sent hundreds of meters off course.

BOOOM

As could be expected from the heir of the Phenex, a chunk of the land was destroyed and even though she was far from the epicenter of the explosion, Akeno could still feel the residual shockwave assaulting her body. Despite witnessing such destructive power however, she didn't feel any fear at all. Instead, a feeling that victory was within her team's grasp filled her.

"Was I late?"

"No, you came just at the right time, Buchou."

Her King, Rias Gremory, had finally arrived.

She made it just in time. Or so everyone thought.

The truth was that she had arrived awhile ago. The reason she didn't reveal herself was because she thought that Akeno might not even need her help after witnessing Raiser being at a disadvantage against her. If Akeno could handle Raiser by herself, Rias didn't see the need to steal away the limelight from her Queen. Not to mention it was also a good way to showcase her peerage's ability and appeal to the higher ups that were watching the Game.

Alas, Raiser proved himself to be a powerful High-class Devil so she had to intervene.

Perhaps it was for the best. Now that she thought about it, she was the only one among her peerage who haven't had the chance to show off the results of her training yet. It would be a shame if such a thing actually happened as the new spell she developed was made specifically to defeat Raiser.

"Akeno, I'll be relying on you now. You too Asia. You'll have to support us with your Twilight Healing."

"Understood, Buchou."

"Yes, Buchou-san!"

If there was one critical weakness to her new spell, she would have to say that it was the preparation time when she would be completely defenseless. The spell required all her utmost concentration to control properly and the amount of Demonic Power she had to expand was a full three quarters of her reserve to only cast it and she would need to use up more in order to maintain it. If only she had more time to raise her proficiency, she might not need to rely on Akeno to defend her and keep Raiser busy while she cast it. Better yet, if Ise was here to use Transfer on her, she wouldn't have to worry about the spell's consumption rate.

Well, as they say, beggars can't be choosers. She would have to make do with what she had.

As Akeno restarted her engagement with Raiser, Rias closed her eyes and discarded all unnecessary thoughts to concentrate on her spell. She had only one shot at this so she couldn't afford to mess up.

Sounds of explosions and lightning surrounded her as the fight between Akeno and Raiser became fiercer but Rias ignored them and continued to construct her spell. She only had the mental leeway to perceive whether she was in danger or not at that moment and nothing else.

Finally, after what she felt like hours but was actually less than a minute, her spell was ready.

"AKENO!"

That was all Rias needed to shout for her Queen to understand what she needed her to do.

At the next moment, Akeno started to concentrate her Demonic Power in her both her hands. Raiser who thought that she was preparing a devastating attack prepared to defend against it. Unfortunately for him, his prediction was only half right.

FLASH

A blinding light erupted from Akeno's hands accompanied by the sound of lightning.

Raiser who made sure to always keep Akeno in his sights had fallen for her trap. His eyes that were suddenly exposed to such a bright light caused him to momentarily lose his sight. It was only for a measly few seconds thanks to his regenerative ability but for Rias, that was all the time she needed.

In that narrow opening, she released her spell. Power of Destruction engulfed the immediate space in the sky where Raiser was stunned from Akeno's surprise attack. However, instead of blasting away anything in its path like how she usually used it, Rias had instead controlled it to entrap Raiser. The Power of Destruction was shaped into a hollow sphere with Raiser trapped inside.

This was only the first part of the spell.

"Raiser, I'll give you a chance to forfeit the Game." Rias knew well what would happen next once she initiates the second part of the spell. In all likelihood, Raiser might actually die from this. She might loathe Raiser but she was still reluctant to end a fellow High-Class Devil without giving him a chance to surrender.

"Never!" Raiser voiced his rejection as he tries to break through the trap with sheer force using his flames. Unfortunately, the prison made from the Bael's Power of Destruction didn't seem to even budge at all.

"Then maybe this, will change your mind." At Rias's prompt, the sphere began to shrink.

"W-What!? Rias, what are you doing!?" Panic started to seep into Raiser's voice as he started to comprehend how much of a predicament he was actually in at that moment.

"You might have a powerful regenerative immortal body but what would happen if every single cell of your body is made to contend with a shrinking prison that has no openings and destroys everything it touches? Can your power of regeneration keep up? You should decide quickly before it shrinks too much and erases your entire being." She said to Raiser provokingly.

"RIAAAAAASS!" Raiser's howl was full of hate and desperation.

This was Rias's trump card against Raiser.

Annihilation Cage.

The idea to create this technique was thanks to her peerage. All of them had brainstormed on a way to deal with Raiser's immortality. When an idea to trap Raiser in a sphere that has no openings came up, it was Shirou who suggested to construct it using her Power of Destruction that had an advantage against Raiser's flames in terms of destructive power. However, Ise's careless remark where he remembered a similar ability in a manga he once read but with a shrinking cage was what created this spell's final form.

Honestly, this spell was not really her style.

She preferred absolute destructive power in her spells instead of precise control. However, she couldn't deny the theory behind the spell which could overpower Raiser's immortality so she decided to give her all in learning to construct it. In the middle of her training, it was discovered that she wouldn't have enough time to completely master it in a battlefield environment which was why Akeno's help was essential as a guard for her.

And now, the result of her training has completely backed Raiser into a corner with nowhere to run. With just a little more push, she could force the enemy King to surrender. At this point, she had no doubt of her peerage's victory.

If only it was that easy.

Rias and her peerage weren't the only ones who prepared trump cards for the Rating Game.

"W-What the-?" Rias was surprised by what she was seeing.

An absurd amount of Demonic Energy was suddenly being released from inside the prison she created and the source was obviously from its prisoner. Seeing this, Rias tried to hasten the shrinking of the sphere but to her dismay her spell was being resisted and she was using up her reserve of Demonic Power just to maintain it. Seeing that her spell would collapse in just a few moments, she quickly decided on her next course of action.

"Akeno, help me put up a barrier!"

They didn't know what was going to happen once the prison collapses so it was best to make sure of their safety once it happens. Her Queen didn't question her and simply did as she was told. She was already able to guess that things were bad just from sensing the Demonic Power being released by Raiser. Asia who was behind Rias faithfully continued her role as a healer as she treated Akeno's injuries that she had sustained from the previous fight.

"Thank you, Asia-chan."

"This is the only thing I can do right now." Although there was a hint of dismay in her voice, her face was instead resolute. If this was the only thing that she could do for her friends, then she would stick to it to the very end. She would not be a burden to them.

"Get ready, you two. I won't hold it any longer." Since continuing to sustain the spell would be futile and just waste her powers, she decided to just let it be destroyed and use her remaining powers to either deal with what comes out of her prison head-on or make their escape depending on the situation.

The moment Rias stopped supporting her spell, it immediately collapsed in a violent manner. An explosion of flames from the inside of the sphere erupted and consumed the surrounding vicinity. Akeno's barrier had barely held even after she used one that was specialized in defending against the element of fire. It was a testament to the amount of raw power that the flames had.

However, the flames that covered them wasn't the end of it. Before the fire that was released had even subsided, something had slammed onto Akeno's barrier and completely shattered it. Akeno wasn't stupid enough to only use one layer of defense to guard against the flames she knew was coming. She had also layered a few physical barriers just in case the situation was worse than what she had anticipated. Even so, all her barriers weren't able to hold up at all against the monstrous strength that came from a single fist.

The fist didn't just stop after destroying her barriers. It had went on to punch her right in her belly and sending her flying and crashing into a line of trees. Akeno felt that all her innards had become mush from that one attack and she coughed up a lot of blood. It was fortunate that her barriers had lessened most of the momentum from that punch or she would've definitely been severed in two. That was how much power contained in that one simple attack. Still, although she managed to hang on to her life, she was no longer able to continue participating in the Game. She was too far away from Asia for the former nun to heal her in time.

Sorry, everyone. That was her final thought before she fell unconscious while coughing up blood.

[Rias Gremory-sama's [Queen] retires!]

Rias who saw all this reacted instinctively. She immediately grabbed Asia and made a retreat by flying away. Her grief for losing her best friend was lessened knowing that Akeno had only been sent to the infirmary and the best of the Underworld's medical care were being provided. Unfortunately, her opponent had no intention of letting them get away. Raiser immediately gave chase to the duo and easily caught up with a speed that dwarfed any of the capabilities he had shown prior.

Surprised by the difference in her expectations and the reality of Raiser's ability, Rias had momentarily panicked and fumbled with the creation of her barrier such that it was leaning to the side instead of guarding in front of her. However, by sheer luck, it was what had ultimately saved them. Raiser who came at them didn't crash and destroy the barrier like what he did with Akeno's. Instead, although the barrier was still destroyed, his fist had ended up sliding to the side and completely missing them. The forward momentum had made him flew right past them and he didn't seem to be able to to control it properly which made him open quite a distance to them before correcting himself.

What just happened? A moment of respite from the unexpected parrying allowed Rias to analyse the situation.

Their moment of close proximity allowed Rias to see the current state that Raiser was in.

Raiser was currently clad in high temperature flames such that even without being in direct contact with it, it was still able to burn her in close proximity. His eyes no longer contained any will other than anger and madness. Foams had developed on his mouth as if he had drank some kind of poison.

Raiser's current figure was certainly intimidating.

However, what occupied Rias's mind was what had happened a moment ago. Replaying the scene in her head, a dangerous idea had alighted. It would be risky but if it worked, they may gain the upper hand again.

Suddenly, the throbbing pain from the burns she received from Raiser disappeared. Seeing the green aura that enveloped her, Rias looked at the current passenger that was in her arms. Asia didn't say anything to her and only looked at her with a gentle smile as if encouraging her. Seeing her ever reliable little sister figure, Rias had the sudden urge to coddle Asia but she restrained herself. Instead, she put on a confident smile.

"Asia, I'm going to be doing something reckless but right now it's our only shot. Please support me."

"Um! Leave it to me! I believe in Buchou-san."

With renewed confidence, Rias faced Raiser. "Alright. Let's go!"

From the start of the Game, Ise had prioritized in conserving his stamina.

Excluding the twins that he defeated in the beginning (while saving their nude pettanko figures inside the hard drive of his brain) because the opportunity to catch them by surprise was too tempting, he avoided all of the enemies as best he could. There were a few close calls since he was in close proximity to Koneko's and Yuuto's fight but all in all he didn't expose himself to any of Raiser's girls.

He knew that the time for him to show himself hadn't come yet. Considering that many of Raiser's girls were defeated without any casualties on their part, he knew that he made the right choice. Shirou had even managed to defeat their Queen with his sniping. Truly, his friends were really reliable.

When Raiser finally revealed himself, he had a feeling that their victory was just around the corner. With his Boost and Transfer, he could reinforce Akeno and Rias, so the image of them losing never entered his mind. All he had to do now was get to their location as soon as possible. Perhaps because he was too optimistic, the next announcement made his blood run cold.

[Rias Gremory-sama's [Queen] retires!]

Damn it, was I too late!? No, as long as Buchou isn't defeated, we can still turn things around!

"Buchou, can you hear me? Hang on, I'm almost there!" He was frantic. Because he was conserving his stamina, he didn't use Boost from the beginning. If only he used Boost just once or twice, he would've made it to save Akeno. It was too late for him to regret but if he manages to win the Game then it wouldn't all be for naught.

"Ise? Can you see us in the sky?" Rias's calm reply came from his earpiece.

Looking into the sky, he was able to easily spot Rias. She was carrying Asia in a princess carry in an aerial defensive fight against Raiser. Raiser on the other hand looked like he had activated his Super Mode. He was clad in raging fire that made him look like a Boss character from a video game. Even from a distance, Ise could feel the heat from those flames and the torrent of Demonic Power that was gushing out from Raiser was simply enormous.

The battle was only a few hundred meters away from Ise. "Yeah, I'm joining in."

"Not yet."

"What!? But-"

"It's okay, Ise-san. Buchou-san has everything under control. Please trust her." This time, it was Asia who answered him.

[Raiser Phenex-sama's [Bishop] retires!]

Another announcement of their victory against another one of Raiser's girls. However, it might as well have been white noise as Ise didn't even register it in his hearing. He was restraining himself from overreacting.

Realizing Ise's predicament Rias supplemented her order with an explanation. "The current Raiser is really abnormal but I can still last for some time. Ise, I want you to study Raiser's movement patterns in the mean time. If you want to fight him, this is essential."

After hearing Rias's explanation, it took Ise a few moments to calm himself.

"...Alright." He was conflicted but since the girls asked him to trust them, there was no way he could refuse. The only thing he could do now was trust in Rias and hope for the best no matter how anxious he was while faithfully following the task given to him.

Unfortunately, his anxiety was rapidly increasing as he kept watching the aerial battle. Although Rias seemed to have things under control, those who knew better would be able to tell that she was barely hanging on. The barriers Rias kept on making were easily destroyed by Raiser's fists and even though she was being creative by using the barriers to divert all of Raiser's attacks instead of defending against them directly, it was clear that she was at her wit's end.

Even though she wasn't hit directly, the heat from the flames from Raiser's body would burn parts of Rias's body the moment Raiser got close to her. There were also times that Raiser managed to make a glancing blow on Rias and even that was able to char her skin and break her bones. If it wasn't for Asia's Twilight Healing, she would've lost already.

Even so, Rias still managed to keep herself from being defeated.

How was Rias, who wasn't very proficient in close quarter combat, able to do this while carrying and protecting Asia, no less? The answer was simple.

Although Raiser's attacks were extremely fast and strong, they were also very easily predicted. It was to the point that even Ise, who had the least exposure to battle in the current Game, could say all of Raiser's attacks were 'telephone punches'. Basically, Ise could see them coming from a mile away. It was a level of skill that you would have expected from someone who was a complete newbie (in every sense of the word) in the Rating Games. If it wasn't because the difference in raw power between the current Raiser and Rias was very large, this fight would've been a walk in the park for Rias.

Although Rias had a measure of control of the fight, she was in a situation that ended up forcing her to recreate her barriers continuously. Even if she used the least costly of her barriers, she still wouldn't have lasted very long especially in her already exhausted state.

The heck? Is this really the guy who caught my punch and threw me all the way to the back of the room with only one arm?

He must've unintentionally said it out loud since Rias answered him. "Looks like he took something that made him go berserk. It was most likely a drug. It strengthens him exponentially but he loses his mind in rage in exchange."

"Isn't something like that dangerous?" For something like that to exist, there had to be serious side effects to the user. It was a classic knowledge in manga and anime.

"Most likely, but since they have incredible regeneration, it probably won't matter in the long run." Well, that answers that.

[Raiser Phenex-sama's four [Pawns] retires!]

"Things are going well on the other side, it seems. Anyway, Ise, you should get ready. I'm almost spent."

"Got it." It seems that the time for him to charge in was almost here. However...

"Do you want me to use Transfer? It shouldn't be long before he runs out of gas." Again, Ise was pulling knowledge out of all the animes and mangas he had seen and read. Unless Raiser was relying on an outside source for his current power, it was easy to deduct that he was forcefully pulling out his own power that surpassed his original limit. Although this makes him more powerful, it also means that he was burning through his Demonic Energy at an accelerated rate which also meant that Raiser's current form has a severe time limit.

In fact, Ise could see that compared to the beginning, Raiser's speed was much slower now so that was a definite proof that he was approaching his limit. Even so, Raiser's attacks could still break Rias's barriers in one hit so it might not be any time soon. Although Rias seemed to be getting used to Raiser's fighting patterns, she herself was approaching her limits. If this went on, the one who would lose would be Rias. Thus, if Rias wishes it, Ise could transfer his powers to her and let her continue the fight until Raiser falls from exhaustion.

"Tempting, but I'll leave the rest of the fight to you. I've already vented all of my frustrations at him since a while ago and I don't want to endanger Asia-chan anymore than necessary. I think I've exhausted him enough for you to handle him. You still want some payback from before right?" The actual truth was that she was beginning to be mentally fatigued. After all, close quarters combat wasn't her specialty and the thought that the smallest mistake would mean her defeat (not to mention her future) was contributing to her stress. Even Ise's Transfer and Asia's Twilight Healing won't solve that problem but she didn't want to appear weak in front of her peerage so she decided to make up an excuse while appearing as confident as ever.

Although she was hoping to settle things with Raiser with her own hands, she knew better than to be stubborn about it. She had already done all she could to pave the way for Ise to win.

"Yes, Buchou!" Everyone had trained and worked hard for this moment. There's no time to hesitate. He would go all out and finally win this Game.

"Good luck, Ise-san." Asia's encouragement only made him more pumped up.

"Let's go, Ddraig! Shiiiiiine! Over Boost!"

[Welsh Dragon over booster!]

The jewel in the gauntlet released a red light. The red light shone throughout the entire area and a deep crimson colored aura covers Ise. In just a moment, his whole body was covered by a red armor reminiscent of a dragon. There was even some kind of a rocket propulsion on his back. He could feel power was flowing into him. Overwhelming power that he had never felt before.

[Yeah, use it. However, don't forget that you only have ten seconds. Your body can't endure more than that.] This time, it was Ddraig himself who was speaking to him through his Sacred Gear instead of the Sacred Gear itself.

"Ten seconds are enough! Let's do this!"

"He~h. The current Sekiryuutei has already reached Balance Breaker in this short amount of time, huh? I'd say this is checkmate. Wouldn't you agree Lord Phenex?" In a room where all the VIPs were gathering to watch the Rating Game, Sirzechs was the only one who looked delighted from the obvious climax the Game was headed towards.

"As much as I don't like to admit it, it's as you say, Maou-sama. I can't imagine anyway for my son to win in his current condition." The current head of the House of Phenex had a resigned smile on his face. Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be a lot of tension or animosity in his bearing despite the fact that it was his son who was being pummeled to the ground in full view of those who were watching the live broadcast. In contrast, about half of the nobles present looked like they had been sucking on something really sour while just as many looked like they were either enjoying themselves or had a look of pure interest in their eyes.

Just as everyone who were watching had expected, the moment Ise revealed himself in his Balance Breaker form, Raiser had been one-sidedly beaten up. Ise didn't give Raiser any time to react and kept kept punching, kicking, kneeing, etc. him with everything he's got while narrowly evading and counterattacking Raiser's own attacks.

What everyone who was watching didn't know was that Ise was also risking his own body to attack Raiser in a direct confrontation. The flames on Raiser's body wasn't something to sneeze at even after Ise donned his armor. Everytime Ise attacked Raiser, his arms and legs suffered from serious burns but this couldn't be seen from an outsider's perspective. That said, Ise was still winning. In just ten seconds Raiser was on his last legs. Ise prepared his final attack in the form of a compressed orb of Demonic Energy aiming it at point blank range at Raiser-

"Buchou's virginity is mine! Like hell I'm going to let a yakitori like you have it!"

-and shot it without hesitation. The resulting explosion was devastating and couldn't be compared to any of the earlier ones in the Game.

[Raiser Phenex loses. He retires. This is the end of the game. Rias Gremory Team's victory!] Grayfia made her announcement in the usual fashion without any hint of her noticing what Ise had said.

Everyone else who was in the room however was dumbstruck at Ise's proclamation. The whole room immediately fell silent.

The silence was broken by a father and son duo.

"Pfft...This guy. Does he realize that he said something equivalent to a proposal to my daughter in front of all the nobles here? Pfft."

"Don't laugh father...Pfft...this isn't supposed to be funny. Pfft."

"You're one to talk. You're trying to hold it in as much as I am."

"Like father, like son."

The cheerful back and forth between Sirzechs and his father was shared with the nobles who didn't discriminate between pure-blooded Devils and reincarnated Devils as they praised Ise. The others however wanted to voice their dissatisfaction but seeing the Lord Gremory and Sirzechs Lucifer's acceptance of Ise, they decided to keep silent.

After a while, Lord Gremory manged to compose himself and faced Lord Phenex.

"Lord Phenex. I'm very sorry that this engagement turned out like this. I know it's rude but this engagement—."

"You don't have to say any more, Lord Gremory. It was a good engagement for pure Devils, but it looks like we both had too much greed. Both of us already have pure Devil grandchildren. Maybe it's the greed as Devils that made us crave for it. Or is it because we saw hell in the last war."

"...No, I also forced my greed onto my daughter." There was a look of shame on both of the Lords.

"Your daughter has gathered very reliable members for her peerage. She herself has shown that she shouldn't be underestimated. They've all proven how formidable they are even against supposed veterans of the Rating Game." He was genuinely impressed with the capabilities that Rias's peerage had displayed during the whole Game.

"That's right. That Knight was really fast-"

"The Rook's and the Knight's coordination was marvelous-"

"Even against an enemy team with practically nine Queens the only loss they received was one member-"

"The other Pawn even took out Yubelluna with ease-"

"To think he was able to withstand Ravel's kamikaze attack-"

"He sniped them from a ridiculous distance-"

Hearing Lord Phenex's admiration, the other nobles also began to sing praises of the other members of the Gremory group. Other than Ise who was the current possessor of the Boosted Gear, Shirou's performance especially stood out among them as he defeated Raiser's Queen with ease and even came out unscathed against Ravel's desperate attack. Not to mention that he took command of his comrades to further thin the enemy numbers.

His capability to attack from a long range was especially noteworthy. It prompted some of the nobles to consider whether they should approach the Gremory heiress to exchange one or two of their peerage members with him while those who preferred to converse about tactics in the Game began to devise strategies against long range bombardments among themselves.

The large room became noisy from various opinions that drowned each other out that it was hard to make out each group's conversations.

"By the way, Lucifer-sama."

"Yes, Lord Phenex?"

"I've never seen this kind of competition in the Rating Games before. Did you develop it?"

"Yes, actually. It was after Raiser requested that no advantage to be given to Rias in the Game. After that, it got me thinking that I shouldn't give any advantage to Raiser as well. After giving it some deliberation, I thought that a new Game with the least amount of restrictions on both parties would be best. Of course, I consulted with Ajuka about it and he thought it was interesting so in the end the Game's rules and venue became something like this."

"I see. Will it become part of the line up of existing Games? What's the Game's name?"

"I'll have to confirm with Ajuka about that. We didn't really have time to fine tune the rules for the Game yet since it was developed in barely more than a week so I'm not even sure that Ajuka is still interested in developing the Game any further after seeing the results of today's Game. As for the Game's name... we haven't decided it yet but we were thinking of calling it either Mad Scramble or Divide & Conquer."

"I see. It's a Game that imposed the least amount of restrictions on both opposing teams compared to the other Games so I think a lot of Devils would be interested in it. Still, even after lifting those restrictions, my son's Peerage still lost even after revealing their trump cards.

I want to thank them. What my son lacked was defeat. He overestimated the ability of our clan. This will also be a good lesson for my son. Phenex is not absolute. Just learning that was enough for this engagement, Lord Gremory."

"Lord Phenex..."

"Your daughter has good servants. Looks like the Underworld won't be bored in the future."

"...But, I never would have thought that my daughter would pick it up."

"—Welsh Dragon. I couldn't believe that that loathsome existence actually came to our side until I saw it."

"Then the next will be—."

"Yes, it must be. No, perhaps it already exists."

"Vanishing Dragon—. It's a matter of time until the red meets the white."

Neither of the Lords knew that the meeting that they feared would inevitably come to pass would arrive so soon.