Hello, Vinzelles here. Welcome back to a Path to Freedom.
Damn, the time between chapters just can't go lower than 8 days huh? Laziness does that to you.
Anyway. Today, we have a build-up chapter, because the Rating Game starts in the next one and I needed an intermission of sorts for linearity's sake.
What's that? Did you just tell me that I said the RG would start in this chapter last time? ...You're right, mr. Reader, and it DOES technically start in this chapter, but it's only a minuscule fragment of the Game that you all will be allowed to witness this time. AND, the Game lasts for pretty much the rest of the arc aside from the Epilogue so there's that. There are also a few explanations and line cuts along the way to the end of the arc, and they occupy space, yes? So yeah, I can tell you guys that Epilogue aside, there are 4 more chapters after this that will cover the RG. In other words, we should be done by the end of June I think.
But that's enough. Can't be wasting time with a steaming pile of excuses every time, haha!
I'll see you at the bottom.
Enjoy.
Arc 2 Chapter 9 - Battle Preparations
Three days had passed. The date of the match against Riser had arrived incredibly quickly.
"So, are you nervous for the Rating Game, Orochi-kun?"
"Eh, a little bit. But I should be the one asking you that question, you know?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Suppose I am defeated. Putting my pride aside for the sake of this hypothesis, I lose absolutely nothing if that Phenex guy ends up winning. I'll just be pissed off at myself and that will be it. But if that guy wins, then Anya has to marry him. So, what will become of you?"
"...Oh, that. No idea actually. But I don't intend to abandon Anya-sama's side, so I guess you should just assume the worst."
"You know very well how dark my assumptions can get. Guess I'll just have to put good effort into this game then."
In the few days of training that Orochi had allowed himself in order to prepare for the match, he and Unryuu had the chance to make peace with each other. As it turned out, Orochi had admitted that he wasn't that angry to begin with and had conceded that for his "safety" Unryuu's Devil nature had to be hidden. So, after beating each other up in the last day of his training session, they had gone back to a normal friendly relationship just in time for the Rating Game. Proof of that were the band-aids that Unryuu had on her face, and the fact that he started talking properly to her again.
There was also the fact that Orochi was actually showing concern for the girl, which made her strangely happy for some reason, despite the fact that she was still feeling the pain from his blows. It hadn't taken long for Orochi to find a way to power through her Adamantite Armor the day before. He had used a technique that could turn a mountain to rubble according to him, and sure enough, her defense had crumbled fast against it.
"What about you, Raynare?"
"It doesn't look like it but I'm a nervous wreck."
"Why? I trained you."
"Fat lot of good that will do me if our opponents end up being too strong, you fool. Neither of us know anything about them."
"She has a point. Even I don't know much and the same goes for Anya-sama. Well, Riser himself aside." intervened Unryuu.
"Well yeah, but I think we have a decent margin of error considering what I wanted out of you these few days, Raynare. And hey, you managed to deliver, so I'm not that worried for you. You have to face a single person anyway, while I have to deal with the other 15 at worst so I don't think you have any right to complain." answered Orochi.
"Anyone who trains with you has plenty of reasons to complain, Orochi-kun."
"Anyone who trains with you has plenty of reasons to complain, Kamakura."
The almost equal responses of the two girls echoed in the street as the trio walked towards Kuoh for school. A Rating Game was not an excuse to skip classes, sadly.
"I didn't work you THAT hard."
"..." "..."
"...Did I?"
"YOU SURE DID!" quipped Unryuu.
"YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYA COMPLAINING!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE SHE LOST CONSCIOUSNESS BEFORE SHE COULD DO SO YESTERDAY! I STILL HAVE TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"
"THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM! WANT A SHARE FOR YOURSELF?"
He was punched in the face. It didn't hurt, but the fist had enough strength to dig into his skin.
It was actually Raynare's. It seemed that her training did in fact pay off if her blow managed to have any effect at all on the boy.
"Calm down, will you? Unbelievable, I can't help but wonder how much time and effort you two would waste on these stupid squabbles if I wasn't around!"
"MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS-"
"MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS-"
"My, everyone is quite lively today. I wonder if I should be glad or worried."
They had reached the gates of Kuoh Academy before they realized it. Anya and Asia had been waiting for them: the pure-blooded Devil seemed to be slightly on edge, her smile a forced one, probably out of exasperation for Orochi's antics.
Or the prospect of having to marry that flaming oaf. Really, it could have been both in the boy's opinion.
He was the first to recover, and answered with a smirk on his face.
"Hah, it simply means that I'm in good shape today, despite Nishijima being violent early in the morning."
"..."
"...I'm not apologizing, Anya-sama." deadpanned Unryuu.
"I'm not expecting you to, don't worry."
"Hey Raynare, why does it feel like I'm in the wrong?"
"Because you probably are, idiot. Let's just go and deal with the damn classes or I'll probably bust a vein."
"P-please don't fight, everyone..." was the single meek sentence of a former nun.
Five abnormal people then walked through the gates, and entered their classrooms for the day.
Occult Research Club.
Orochi, Raynare and Anya and her peerage were waiting quietly for Ajuka to summon them.
Apparently the battlefield for the Rating Game was a crafted micro-dimension made solely for the sake of the match, so the two designated fighters didn't have to worry about potentially thrashing the place, whatever it was going to be, and making someone mad.
Suddenly a magic circle appeared on the carpet, and immediately both the human and the Fallen bolted up from their seats on the sofas. It seemed that, all jokes aside, both of them were on edge because of the Game.
Several people appeared in the room, and among them were Riser and Ajuka. The two pure-blooded Devils aside, the group was all girls of different sizes and dress styles.
"Here I am, human. I hope for your own good that you didn't waste your precious three days cowering in the corner of your room."
Immediately Riser started with the provocations. Apparently the people behind him were part of her peerage, and they were all girls for some reason.
Orochi, who was not the kind of man to be intimidated by that much, instantly responded.
"Funny. That's exactly what I expect you'll be doing once I'm done with you today. Well, that and sending some of your teammates to therapy sessions: they'll probably need those after this."
He concluded with an animalistic grin, which made some of the girls who didn't know him shudder.
"Hoho, I see that you are both heated up, no pun intended." Ajuka started to speak, probably to prevent the phoenix and the monster from fighting before their time. "As you probably know, I have crafted a battlefield for the sake of this match. I have to warn you gentlemen, it will favour Orochi-kun's side since they are at a disadvantage."
"Oi-" Orochi did NOT agree with that statement, but before he could complain, Raynare stomped on his foot.
"Whine after we win." she whispered with gritted teeth.
'...Tch, she has a point. It would be unsightly to complain now.' Orochi had that thought and decided to not speak any further.
"Something wrong?"
"...No, don't mind me. Please continue."
Ajuka was seemingly satisfied by his answer, and started speaking again.
"I see. Then I shall explain the rules."
He put out a hand from behind his back and raised a finger. "One: this is, for all intents and purposes, a Rating Game. So common rules such as "destroying your own base to prevent Promotion is forbidden" and "every team is allowed half an hour to prepare a strategy before the start of the game" still apply."
A second finger was raised. "Two: as agreed, Raynare-kun and Yubelluna-kun shall fight each other one-on-one. The two teams are not allowed to interfere in their fight in any way, and the two young ladies in question will not be allowed to engage in battle anyone that isn't their decided opponent."
A third finger. "Three: the winner of their fight will be allowed to participate in the actual battle. In other words, once their fight is over, whoever still stands can go give support to her team if there is a need for it."
A fourth finger. "Four: this is a friendly match, so nobody among the participants will be allowed to kill an opponent. Sometimes the judge will let it slide and count an eventual death as an "accident" if we were talking about an official ranking match, but that isn't the case here so take care not to... let's say "overstep", otherwise I, the judge for this match, will personally punish the transgressor."
The last finger. "Finally, five: the win condition will be "to take out the opposing leader". It may seem obvious, but it needs to be reiterated for this particular Rating Game that is somewhat of an exception to what Riser-kun may be used to, since one of the leaders isn't a Devil."
"...Did I hear that right? Are you "used to it", Phenex?" asked Orochi.
"That's right, human. I am somewhat of a veteran in regards to Rating Games. Though I am no match for the top ranks, I'm sure that we will give you a hard time if you're not careful."
Raynare seemed shaken by that statement, but she snapped out of it when Orochi suddenly looked at her straight in the eyes. For a moment she thought he was going to reassure her.
"Hear that, Raynare? They say they're competent so it won't be a farce of a battle after all."
She realized quickly that she shouldn't entertain such thoughts when it came to Orochi.
'...Indeed, I will have to calm myself on my own, since this guy is probably going to mind his own business once the fight starts.'
"Well then, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start the Rating Game. I shall transport everyone to where they have to be."
"Wait, Beelzebub-sama, what do you mean by-"
Anya's question was drowned by the light of Ajuka's immense transportation circle.
Orochi opened his eyes, his mind in a slight daze from the warp.
...For some reason, he and Raynare were still in the ORC clubroom.
"...Um, did the warp circle fail or something?" Orochi expressed his doubts, which were silently shared by Raynare who was just as confused.
"Haha, no, not at all. This is the battlefield."
"!"
Orochi heard Ajuka's voice echoing through the room. He then ran to the window. Looking outside, he noticed that there simply seemed to be nothing past the trees that were surrounding the academy. It was as if a huge cube of earth had been dug out of the ground and transported elsewhere, and sure enough, they were in Kuoh Academy.
"What the hell, Ajuka?! Is this really Kuoh?"
"Not quite, Orochi-kun. As I said before, this battlefield is something that I have personally created to grant you and Raynare-kun an advantage."
"So this is what he meant. This actually makes me feel better, to be fair." said Raynare, who had released a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"...So, half an hour, huh?" asked Orochi, eager to get back on topic and avoid wasting more time.
"That is correct. Both you and Riser-kun have 30 minutes to form a strategy and take your preferred positions in the battlefield. Of course, you will not be allowed to cross the mid-way line before the start of the match, I shall personally make sure of it."
"Riser Phenex, Orochi Kamakura. You have 30 minutes, starting now."
His voice vanished in the ether after saying that last sentence for both parties.
"...Well, I guess it's time to think of how to avoid a crushing defeat, huh?" asked Raynare, who seemed already tired out just by hearing the Satan speak.
"No trust in me at all, I see." Orochi actually felt slightly disappointed at that, despite his joking tone. "I'd rather think of how to deliver that crushing defeat if it's all the same to you."
"Can we really do it?"
"If it's you now, we can."
Raynare was left confused at that statement. She wasn't supposed to engage in battle anyone but Yubelluna, right?
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that I've found an exploit. You'll be able to help me out a little bit if you do it in a certain way."
He smiled at her.
"I have a plan."
"Will we really have no trouble with this, Riser-sama?"
Yubelluna, Riser's Queen piece and Raynare's opponent, made that inquiry to her master as the 30 minutes allowed by Ajuka were about to run out.
"The guy is probably decently strong, which is why he didn't even flinch back then, when I said that I had a full peerage. That is the reason why we first need to find out what he's capable of. He may be a human, but I'm not taking chances considering what is at stake here."
Riser's strategy was for the time being to simply engage the human with a single group. Three of his Pawns and one of his Rooks were stationed in the gym, which was more or less between the new building and the old one, the latter of which was Riser's base. The objective was to gather information about the human's capabilities by putting in his way a group of opponents that he wouldn't avoid, assuming he'd decide to travel in a straight line towards his true opponent. Following that, that information would be shared via a specific magic circle, crafted by one of his Bishops and imprinted on one of the designed opponents for the human, to every other Devil in his team, and Riser would then go from there in crafting a proper strategy accordingly.
"At any rate, this time around it isn't really any of your business as long as the Fallen girl is on the field, yes? You can state your worries to me after you've defeated her, but for now just think about what you have to do."
"...Very well. In that case I shall be off, Riser-sama."
Yubelluna said that, and flied out of the window.
She and the Fallen didn't exactly have a specified place where they could meet and fight, so they would have to pretty much look for each other, and start the battle without sneak attacks, because the Satan-sama had said to her that it wouldn't be fair in this particular situation.
Riser, meanwhile, glanced at the clock on the wall of the classroom he was in. "...It's almost time."
Anya, Unryuu and Asia were currently in a VIP room. With them were Nina, the restless Agnes, Riser's parents and also his older brother Ruval.
"Oooh, Bruder and Schwester are going to fight! Stop making me wait and start alreadyyyy!" Agnes was agitating her tiny closed fists like a boxer, not necessarily a human one, would in an American cartoon for children, and jumped continuously up and down on her mother's lap.
Soon after the training's start, the little girl had found out that Yuuma Amano was actually a Fallen Angel, but didn't bother to remember her actual name because it was too hard for her, and kept calling her Sister, to the young woman's dismay.
"Settle down, Agnes. A few seconds and it will start. Sorry about the kid, Phenex-sama, but it was impossible for me to leave her to someone else today."
"It can't be helped, I suppose." Lord Phenex spoke in a gruff voice. "Although I imagine it would be a bit of a shock if the people she's cheering for end up losing."
"H-Haha, well, she is this pumped exactly because Orochi-kun promised her that "the show will be spectacular no matter who wins!" or something like that."
"Well, my brother is fairly strong, in his own right that is." said Ruval. "If only he was more serious about having a competitive peerage. Mind you, the current one isn't that bad, but he definitely could have done better. Time to see if this fact will bite him in the rear today."
"How odd that Ruval-dono isn't exactly cheering for his own brother in this occasion." said Anya. Ruval was actually a decent person, as it turned out, so she didn't have nearly as many problems talking to him when compared to Riser.
"He needs to be taught a lesson, that is a fact I'm afraid. And the problem is that I am the wrong person to teach him said lesson. If he ends up losing to a human, maybe he will sober up."
"How harsh of you, Ruval." Lady Phenex seemed to be reprimanding her eldest son. "Although I agree with what you just said, you display bad manners by badmouthing your brother in public."
"I'm baffled at how you didn't even try to defend him, Mother, but I apologize. ...Oh, it's about to start!"
"Hopefully even little Ravel will shine this time!"
"...I doubt it." whispered Ruval to Anya. It wasn't like Ruval had little faith in her sister or anything like that. It was simply a matter of her not being interested at all in this battle, and the reason she was even there in the battlefield that looked like a school to begin with was merely to raise the numbers.
Unryuu and Asia meanwhile, silent the entire time, were completely focused on Orochi's side of the field as they watched the feed of multiple screens that were set up for the occupants of that room. They seemed eager to find out what his first move would be, since it appeared that he didn't even leave his base yet. In a sense, they were just as nervous as little Agnes was.
Ajuka's voice thundered suddenly over the fake school.
"The 30 minutes conceded to you gentlemen for strategy are over. As such...
the Rating Game between Riser Phenex and Orochi Kamakura may now begin!"
Not even five seconds later, a silhouette could be seen leaping from the window of the ORC, rapidly gaining height as it approached the gym building.
A moment later, the silhouette started diving at full speed, and crashed into the building, making it crumble immediately.
The battle had started. And Orochi had already taken control.
Welcome to the bottom.
This chapter should be decent enough for the purpose I needed it to fulfill. A bit of a preamble to what is about to come, and a good and healthy dose of pure chaos to build up hype for the next chapter!
There is nothing else to say this time. I planned everything carefully from this point on, and as such I might have little to say in the next few uploads as well.
For those who are wondering, I have yet to pick back up Arc 3. Yeah, still stuck. I might be able to move forward again if I manage to sit down in front of the PC for a whole afternoon, but that requires time that I currently don't have. We'll see how that situation evolves I suppose.
Thank you for reading, see you soon. Ciao!