Before we begin:

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"Intercom; flashback scenes & quotes; Chibi Issei"

{Ddraig speaking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}

{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}

{Sacred Gear announcement.}

Disclaimer: I do not own High school DXD nor any other elements used in the story. Please support the official release. Thank you.

Right, moving on!

Chapter 13: Let the games begin! Gremory vs Phenex!

Issei was sitting quietly on his bed back home, waiting for the time where he and Asia were to report to the Occult Research club room to get ready for the Rating Game that begins tonight. Sitting next to him, was his Familiar in her human form, Yoruichi, her arms crossed under her bust while looking at her master with confidence.

His attire for the game, which was suggested by Yoruichi, was a gray, short sleeved hoodie with his Deadpool T-shirt underneath, and brown short pants that ended past his knees. For his weapons, he brought his Scale Blade and large sword out of their shinai bags and has them sheathed, Scale Blade on his left hip, and the large sword on his back.

"So, Issei," Yoruichi began, breaking the silence between them. "You think you can win this."

Issei lets out a small laugh and turns to her.

"Of course. What kind of question is that? After all of the training we've done, we can't possibly fail."

Issei then reaches his right hand for his alarm clock and looked to see that the time was 10:25, PM. He sets it back on his desk, seeing that it was not yet time to go.

'Only five more minutes until the Rating Game starts.'

folding his hands together, Issei played back a memory of the final hours of their last day of training.

~Flashback~

Rias: "The House of Phenex has no respect for us! Let's give that bastard Riser a taste of how strong the House of Gremory truly is! They will receive no mercy from us!"

~Flashback end~

After remembering those words, Issei looks down towards his left hand and balls it up into a fist with narrowed eyes.

'I've been training for this game like my life depended on it! With my new found power, and the info I have about the Phenexes, there's no way in Hell we're going to lose!'

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Issei and Yoruichi turn towards the former's bedroom door when they heard two knocks from it.

"Come in," Issei announces, giving whoever was behind the door the green light to enter.

Upon the door opening, it was revealed to be Asia, who was wearing her Holy Sister outfit like she did when Issei first met her, albeit she wasn't wearing her veil.

"Oh!" Asia makes a noise when she noticed that Yoruichi was in the room with him in her human form. "I didn't know you were in there with him. I'll… go ahead and give you two privacy."

"Oh no, please, have a seat," Yoruichi insisted, patting the open spot on Issei's left. "The more, the merrier."

"Oh! Well, okay."

As Asia made her way to the open spot on the bed, Issei finally notices Asia's outfit.

"Haven't seen you wear that in a while," Issei told her, making Asia blush a little.

"Well, I thought wearing it would make me more confident," Asia explains as she takes her seat next to Issei's left. "Buchou said she was okay with it, as long as I felt comfortable. So, what do you think about it?"

Issei gives Asia a soft smile and a warm look in his eyes, making the latter blush at this because of how comfortable the color of his eyes made her.

"I think you look beautiful with that on. In fact, seeing you like this is pretty nostalgic."

Asia smiles as she rests her head on Issei's shoulder.

"You're sweet, Issei-san. Can I… Stay with you two like this for the rest of the time we have left?"

"Of course you can," Issei answered, his smile still intact.

"Like I said, the more, the merrier," Yoruichi repeated in agreement, making Asia's smile widen.

Issei then makes a look of surprise when he saw Asia wrap her arms around his left arm. Her grip on it tightened every second.

"Asia? Is everything alright?" Issei asks her, noticing that she was now frowning.

"Yeah… I'm just a little nervous about the battle, that's all. I mean, as long as I still have you and the others with me, I know everything will be fine. So… If it's okay with you, I'd like to stay like this for a while."

Issei's eyes soften at the Bishop as his smile widens.

"Sure, Asia."

Hearing that made Asia smile at Issei and snuggle onto his arm, waiting for the time to come where they have to report to the club room.

Yoruichi looked on at the two with a smile on her face. She was happy to see that her Familiar master was making Asia feel comfortable and have confidence in her friends to win this game.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Issei pushes the button on his alarm clock to silence its alarm, seeing that it's now 10:30. He stood up from his bed, getting Asia and Yoruichi's attention.

"Let's go," Issei instructs Asia. "It's time."

Asia nods her head in response and follows Issei towards their next destination, with Yoruichi following from behind.

[Opening song: Bleach Brave Souls intro]

The Gremory Devils and Yoruichi were sitting patiently for Grayfia to arrive and take them to the arena for the Rating Game. Kiba was on the sofa, sheathing his Holy Eraser and setting it in front of him, Koneko was on the opposite couch, putting on her fighting gloves that had a pink cat paw print on each glove's back side, and Rias and Akeno were quietly drinking tea.

'Damn,' Issei thought in slight surprise, who was sitting on the couch Kiba was sitting at next to Asia, with Yoruichi standing on his right. 'Buchou doesn't even look worried about the game.'

The group then heard the sound of doors opening and closing and turned their heads to see two familiar guests.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"No, please, come on in, Sona and Tsubaki," Rias says to them. "We're glad you can make it."

"Huh?" Issei made a puzzled look at the Devils of the Student Council. "Why are they here?"

"There's a live broadcast of the Rating Game so family members can watch. Sona and Tsubaki are here to help out with that, and watch the game as well."

"Huh." Issei makes a sound of interest while resting his head on the hilt of the large sword in front of him, making Tsubaki soften her eyes at the boy in the background without anyone noticing, finding his position cute.

"And besides, it's her first Rating Game," Sona added. "I wouldn't miss an event like this for anything."

Rias smiles at her friend.

"Well, I promise to do everything in my power to make it interesting for you."

While the two were chatting, Issei raised an eyebrow at how Sona and Tsubaki didn't notice his Familiar in her human form.

"In case you were wondering," Yoruichi began to whisper in his ear. "They know about my true gender, and that I'm your Familiar. You got nothing to worry about."

Issei made a look of surprise at her.

"How do they know that?" he asked her quietly.

"I talked with one of them while handing out your fliers in my human form."

Issei sweat drops at her answer with beady brown eyes.

"Seriously?"

From behind Sona and Tsubaki, a silver transportation circle has formed on the floor, getting everyone's attention. Coming out of it, was the maid of the House of Gremory, Grayfia, who sets her stare on the Gremory Devils.

"It's almost time," Grayfia informs them. "I hope you're ready for this, Rias-sama."

"Yes," Rias replies while nodding. "We're ready when you are."

Hearing this allowed Grayfia to continue.

"In a few moments, we'll use this magic circle to transport you and the rest of your servants to the battlefield."

"Um, where exactly is the battlefield?" Issei asks with a tilted head.

"In a neutral alternate space created just for the games," Akeno answers him. Issei then tenses up a little when her smile widens while she places a hand on her cheek. "Because that it's not real, we have full license to do some damage, even burn it to the ground if we want~."

Issei shakes nervously as she giggles happily.

"Was that last part really necessary?"

"Tsubaki and I will be in the Student Council broadcast room calling the game," Sona informs Rias. "We'll be cheering you on." Sona then smirks at her Queen. "And I think I know who Tsubaki will be cheering for the most."

Tsubaki jumped with wide eyes and a dark blush when she heard her master tease her.

"Wh-Wh-What are you trying to get at?!"

Sona lets a chuckle escape her lips as she pushes her glasses up and makes her way out of the club room, with a shy Tsubaki following while taking a brief glance at Issei, who noticed the glance, but was confused on what Sona just said.

'Who's Tsubaki going to be cheering for in the game'

Issei's cheeks then turned an unnoticeable shade of pink when he made a guess from judging the glance she gave to him.

'Maybe it's me?'

While he was flustered at that possibility, Yoruichi quietly snickered at how her master was behaving right now.

"I wish you good luck on your first Rating Game, Rias," Sona says while standing near the door with Tsubaki.

"Thanks, Sona," Rias thanked. "Just try to keep the play by play fair."

"Oh, I'll keep it clean," she assures her, turning her head back to her friend while Tsubaki opens the door. "Though, if I was a betting girl, I'd say you guys are gonna beat that scumbag seven ways from Sunday."

Rias smiles at her bet while watching her and Tsubaki exit the building.

"There's something I forgot to tell you, Rias-sama."

Rias directs her attention to Grayfia when she heard her talk to her.

"What is it?"

"I thought you'd like to know that the great Devil, Lucifer, will be watching the game."

Rias has a surprised look on her face, but then narrows her eyes towards her desk.

"I see… Brother dearest…"

Issei widens his eyes in surprise at his master's response.

"Hold up! Are you saying what I think you're saying?!"

"You've heard it right, Issei," Kiba answered. "Buchou's brother is indeed Lucifer, the king of the Devils."

Issei and Asia become shocked at the news.

"The Lucifer?!" Issei asks. "The king of the entire Underworld is your elder brother?!"

Rias nods her head in confirmation.

"That's correct."

"His name is Sirzechs," Kiba continues. "Although, historically, he's been known by many names. During the great war of the three Factions, our leader died. Sirzechs took over the throne and lead us through a dark time. He saved the Devil Kingdom from ruin."

"Wow," Asia says in amusement. "That explains why Rias is the next heir of the Gremory."

"Holy Hell…" Issei looks down towards his large sword after taking in this new information. 'To think that she would hold such responsibilities.'

Everyone then noticed that a red magic circle has appeared in front of the door that leads in and out of the club room.

"It's time, everyone," Grayfia announces.

Rias stands up and looks towards her servants.

"Let's go everyone!"

"Right!" Everyone, except Grayfia and Yoruichi says in unison.

Issei then turns to his Familiar.

"What about you? Are you coming?"

Yoruichi shakes her head at him.

"I'm actually going to where Sona and Tsubaki are to watch you guys kick some ass. Since Familiars aren't allowed for combat in this game, and are only for setting traps, I don't have any other choice."

Yoruichi then sticks out her fist in front of Issei and lets a smirk form from her lips.

"Make me proud out there, buddy."

Issei stared at her fist for a couple of seconds and smirked back at her, giving her a fist bump before heading towards the circle with his team.

"I won't let you down."

The group were now standing at the circle, waiting to be transported to the arena, while Yoruichi began to make her way towards the Student Council room to watch the game with Sona and Tsubaki.

Before Grayfia can transport the Devils in the field, Issei had a quick question that he needed to ask the maid.

"Excuse me, Ms. Grayfia?"

Grayfia's attention was now on Issei.

"Yes? What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Issei issued her his question.

"The Phenex Tears. How many can each piece use?"

Everyone, including Grayfia were caught off guard at his question. Before any of his comrades could ask him anything, Grayfia went ahead to answer.

"They are only allowed to use two bottles per Devil. Why do you ask?"

Issei shifted his eyes downwards while keeping a mental note of this rule in this Rating Game. He then sets them back on the maid.

"That's all I need to hear."

Grayfia wasn't sure on what he meant by that, but nodded anyway and transported the Gremory team to the arena.

After she did her job, she still couldn't get over why Issei asked her such a question, followed by his response when she answered it.

"Issei Hyoudou… What could you be up to?"

By the time the Gremory Devils were transported to their home base of the arena, Issei and Asia gained confused expressions when they checked their surroundings.

"What the..?" Issei wasn't sure what to think of the situation. "We're still in the club room. Did something mess up?"

"Your attention, please."

The group stopped and listened when they heard Grayfia's voice from what sounds like an intercom.

"Welcome, Everyone. My name is Grayfia Lucifuge, and I'm the maid for the House of Gremory, and Queen of Sirzechs-sama."

While Grayfia was speaking in the intercom, Sona, Tsubaki, and the newly accompanied Yoruichi, can be seen sitting at the table of the Student Council, watching the Gremory Devils.

"I will be your referee during tonight's Rating Game. To create the battlefield you'll be competing in, I took suggestions from both Rias-sama and Riser-sama. You may recognize this place as it's an exact replica of Kuoh Academy, an educational institution in the Human world."

Issei and Asia widen their eyes at this information.

"Wait, what?"

"Take a look outside, Ise."

Heeding Rias' words, Issei and Asia move towards a window and open its doors. What they saw next surprised them further.

Instead of the familiar blue or black colors, there was now a deformed bright green sky.

"Holy Hell!" Issei exclaimed, praising how amazing the texture of the sky was in his mind.

"This is an alternate space," explained Kiba. "It may not look like it, but trust me, we're not in school anymore."

Issei and Asia stared on at the sky in amusement after taking in Kiba's information.

"Well, at least we know were in the game."

"Each team has been given an area that will serve as their home base. Rias Gremory-sama, your team will be in the Occult Research club headquarters in the old school building."

~At the real Student Council Building~

"Tsubaki, show me Phenex."

"Yes, Kaichou."

With a twirl of her finger, Tsubaki displayed the screen where it captured Riser and his servants' home base.

In the screen, Riser can be seen sitting on a chair with his feet propped on the desk. On his right, his Queen, Yubelluna is cuddled up against him, smiling suggestively while Riser was fondling her left breast, making her blush.

While Yoruichi was disgusted with the man, she was intrigued to see some of his servants rolling their eyes at his actions, especially the servant with blonde hair and a pink dress. Then out of the right corner of her eye, she noticed that Tsubaki wasn't paying attention to them. She was actually keeping her eyes on the screen that displayed the Gremory team. Or more specifically, the camera that had Issei on it.

Seeing that made Yoruichi quietly snicker to herself while having a wide grin on her face.

'Hee hee. I figured she'd have a crush on him when I told them who's Familiar master I belonged to, judging by her reaction when I said his name.'

"Riser-sama's home base will be located in the principal's office in the new school building. In order for Pawns to promote, they must make their way to the home base of the opposing team. Good luck to all."

~Gremory team base~

"Alright, so how are we going to do this?" Issei asks the group while gripping the hilt of his Scale Blade with his left hand. "We can't just charge in there like raging berserkers."

"You're right, we can't," agreed Kiba. "Odds are, Riser's gonna want to move his Pawns into our territory right away, so we need to keep enough players nearby to make sure that doesn't happen."

Issei nods his head at him.

"Yeah. I agree."

Issei then felt his hoodie being tugged at and looked to see that it was Koneko.

"What's up."

In response, Koneko presented him a small pink orb in her two fingers.

"Uh… Thanks?" he says unsure, after taking the orb from her.

"These will help us communicate during the battle," Rias explains before placing her communicator orb in her left ear.

"Oh!" Issei understood. "That's kinda clever."

The rest of the Devils went ahead and put their communicators in their ears. After doing so, they hear a loud noise.

GONG!

"Alright, Devils. Let the game begin!"

It was at this moment that everyone, minus Asia, have put on their battle faces.

~Riser's home base~

"Those failures don't deserve to stand on the same field as us!" Riser says to his servants. "Show no mercy! Break their spirits! Shatter their pride, and force them into submission!"

Riser then narrows his eyes angrily.

"Especially to that Pawn brat who dares to mock me!"

~Rias' home base~

[Play song: One Punch Man OST: Hero Society]

The Gremory Devils were now looking at a map of Kuoh Academy, planning a strategy to win the game.

"The enemy base is just across the way," Rias says to the group. "Cutting through the school grounds might be quick, but it's not an option."

"They'll see us coming a mile away," Koneko added.

"Correct," agreed Rias. "And we might as well be sitting ducks."

Issei decides to give his opinion on the matter.

"Perhaps if we go through the track field and sneak in the back, then we might have the element of surprise on our side."

"That's the most obvious entry point available," replied Rias with narrowed eyes at the map. "And Riser knows this." She points to the area of the map that says "Club house". "My guess is, he'll station a group of Knights or Rooks with strong mobility right behind the athletic club house."

"That doesn't leave us with many options then, does it?" Akeno asks her.

"Doesn't seem that way," Kiba agreed.

While the group was thinking, Issei studied the map very closely until he could think of a clever strategy. It took him ten seconds to get what he hopes is to be a good idea.

"Oi, why don't we secure the gymnasium first?"

Everyone turned to Issei's direction when they heard him make that suggestion. After he got their attention, he points his finger towards the gymnasium area of the map and looks there with a serious expression.

"Not only is it adjacent to the enemy's home base, but it's not too far from us. Chances are, it'll serve as a diversion to the Phenex birds."

Akeno bent forward towards the map to get a look at the gymnasium.

"Now that you've mention it, the gymnasium's basically in the center of the battlefield. Whoever gets to it first, is gonna have a leg up for sure."

"Good call, you two," Rias says to Issei and Akeno. "Given the options we have, that's our best chance." She then turns to her Rook. "Koneko-chan, do you think you can handle getting into the gym and locking it down?"

Koneko nods in affirmative.

Issei then feels Asia cling onto his right arm, making him turn his head towards her to see if she's alright.

"All of this talk about fighting is starting to scare me," Asia tells him.

"Don't worry," Issei assures her with a smile. "We've got Rias to help. All we need to do is trust her, and our comrades, and we'll be fine."

Asia looks up to Issei and smiles at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Everyone then turns to Rias as she stands up from her chair.

"To do that, we need to secure our defensive perimeter. Kiba and Koneko, get out there and set some traps in the woods, asap."

"Got it."

"Cool."

Koneko then sets her hands in front of her with her palms facing towards the ceiling.

"Let's go, Shiro."

Upon her command, her white cat, Shiro, appeared before her hands and crawled its way to the top of Koneko's head.

"Nyan!"

"Well, wish us luck, guys," Kiba says to them before the two head towards the exit of the club room.

"Nyan! Nyan!"

"Huh?"

Everyone's attention was now brought to Koneko's familiar, who was meowing at Issei while swiping its paw up and down towards him.

Issei blinked in confusion at why the cat was behaving like this. But he started to realize the reason when he saw Koneko approach him while looking away with a ghost of a blush.

"*Sigh.* You don't have to tell me, Koneko-chan," Issei tells her. "I think I know what Shiro wants."

Blushing, Issei closes his eyes and bends his body forward towards the cat. After he did that, he can feel Shiro's nose grind up on his face while hearing the cat purr.

"""Aww~! So cute~!"""

Issei blushes a darker shade of red when he heard Rias, Akeno, and Asia coo at Shiro nuzzling his face. He turns his head towards them with a pout and furrowed eyebrows while making sure to pet Shiro on the head.

"Come on, you guys! Now's not the time for that!"

After appeasing the cat, Koneko went ahead with Kiba to set up the traps. Once Rias calmed down from loving the sight of a cat nuzzling her Pawn, she sets her serious stare on her Queen.

"Akeno, next we'll need your expertise. When they're done setting up the traps, your illusion magic is going to come in handy, so be prepared."

Akeno bows to her master in response.

"I'll be waiting for the signal on that."

Akeno then heads out of the club room to get in position, leaving only Rias, Issei, and Asia left in the room.

[Song end]

"So, what about me and Asia?" Issei asks Rias in curiosity. "Is there anything we can do?"

Rias sets her sights towards the two.

"Asia, you're my healing support, so in order to keep you safe, you need to stay close to base. If we lose you, we're going to be in big trouble out there."

"Okay."

Rias then makes her way towards a sofa and sits down on it.

"Ise, come here."

"Eh?" Issei wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "What do you need?"

His question was answered when he saw her pat on her lap with a smile.

"I want you to put your head on my lap."

While Asia was surprised at the order Rias gave her Pawn, Issei however, stared at her with a beady eyed deadpan and furrowed eyebrows.

Seeing this made Rias giggle.

"Now what's with the face, silly?"

"Oh, don't mind me," Issei says in a mocked tone, his beady eyes still intact with a small red tick mark on his forehead. "I'm just a random fella who's still trying to figure out the logic of a healing procedure, that I will not go into details on in case there are kiddy Devils watching, how a peck on the forehead gives me additional stamina, and is now trying to figure out how a lap pillow will help me out in this Rating Game. Don't pay any attention to ME!"

Rias lets out another giggle while covering her mouth with her hand.

"Come on, Ise. Quit complaining and rest your head on my lap."

Not having a choice, Issei sighs in defeat and sits on the sofa next to Rias. He then lies his head down to his right side on Rias' lap, ready for however this is going to go.

Though, he had to admit, the lap pillow did feel nice and surprisingly comfortable to him, he still wasn't sure why Rias would give him a lap pillow.

BA-BUMP!

"!"

At that moment, Issei started feeling a surge of power flowing within him.

'What is this..?' Issei wondered in his thoughts. 'I feel as if I'm floating in a calm realm of space… And… My body… It feels as if I'm being injected with some kind of additional power…' He then deadpans to himself. 'Probably like that stamina kiss, except better, or something like that.'

"What's wrong Ise?" Rias asks him while smiling down at him. "You seem to be having a mix of emotions."

Issei widens his eyes when he hears his master talk to him. Seeing the teasing smile on her face, he closes his eyes with a pout while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Like I said, don't mind me! I'm still trying to figure out what benefit I get out of this!"

Rias laughs at Issei's pouting face.

"Oh, Ise. You're so silly sometimes."

While Rias was giving Issei a lap pillow, Asia looked on at the scene with a jealous stare and a cute pout on her lips.

~Student Council room~

"HA HA HA HA HA! This is golden! Rias giving my Familiar master a power up via a lap pillow! That is really amazing!"

Sona sweat drops at Yoruichi when she sees her laughing at the scene that was presented in the TV screen that showed the club room.

'I'm not sure if I should feel bad for Hyoudou-san having her as a Familiar, or not.'

Meanwhile, Tsubaki looked on at the scene between Rias and Issei with a conflicted expression on her face. She then looked down towards her lap and blushes a light shade of red.

'Maybe I can do that too…'

After staying in this position for two minutes, Issei blinks when he felt Rias' hand remove itself.

"Ise."

Issei looks up towards Rias when he heard her call to him.

"I casted a little spell on you. It's time to unlock it."

"Eh?" Issei was confused when she said that. "What do you mean?"

Outside in the woods of Kuoh Academy, Koneko's Familiar planted another of the many traps she and Kiba were to plant. After Shiro did her job, she hopped back onto Koneko's head, making her nod to Kiba.

"Right, onto the next one."

After seeing the two set up the traps necessary, Akeno summoned her Familiar on her left hand and sent it towards the sky.

"Alright, off you go."

After her Familiar hopped off of her palm, the creature splits itself into six of them, two of each color, pink, green, and blue. The six then flew off towards their destinations to set up some illusion spells.

"So… What exactly did you do to me during that lap pillow?" Issei asks Rias, now sitting on the couch properly after removing his head from her lap.

"When you became my foot soldier, I told you I used all eight of my Pawn pieces to reincarnate you."

"Yeah, you told me that before. What about it?"

"Well, what I didn't tell you was how much power you received. If I had unleashed everything all at once, your body wouldn't have been able to take it, so I casted a spell to keep that power at bay. Because of the spell, your abilities come to you in small manageable stages. What I just did was release another portion of your power."

"Okay…" Issei says, still unsure. "Does that explain this weird feeling I'm having right now?"

Rias gives Issei a smile with eyes of reassurance.

"This is just the beginning of what you can do, Ise. But in order for your body to be able to handle your Boosted Gear, on top of the full extent of your power, I had to make sure you were strong enough to handle them."

Issei made a look of surprise, as did Asia, who turned around from the two.

"Oh! There I was, being jealous when all along, Rias was just helping him! Dear God, please forgive me for being so stupid and letting my awful jealousy get the best of me!"

ZAP!

"OW!"

Rias giggles at Asia while Issei sweat drops at her. Issei then feels Rias place a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Do your best out there. Don't go easy on them just because their girls."

Issei rolls his eyes at her.

"Buchou, I fought a girl before. You don't have to remind me that."

Rias lets out a giggle at his response.

"I can't wait to see what you do out there. I just know you're going to make me proud."

"Rias, do you copy?"

Hearing Akeno's voice in her communicator, Rias places her hand on her left ear.

"I hear you loud and clear, Akeno."

"We're ready when you are. Just say the word."

After hearing this, Rias stands up from the sofa while keeping her hand on her communicator.

"Alright guys, here's the game plan."

~Student council room~

"The Gremory team might be about to make their first move," Tsubaki said to Sona and Yoruichi while watching the screens.

"With as many pieces as she's missing, Rias won't be able to protect her home base and launch a full assault," Sona added. "Because of that, she'll have to force her way in with tertiary attacks."

Sona and Tsubaki turn their attention towards Yoruichi, who was looking at the Gremory team with a stern gaze.

"What say you, Yoruichi?" Sona asks her, wanting her opinion on the matter.

Breathing a small breath, she shifts her eyes towards the Sitri Devils.

"They should be able to pull off whatever they're up to just fine, but that's just me being too hopeful for the Gremorys." a smirk then forms from her lips, surprising Sona and Tsubaki. "If anything, I'm waiting to see how Issei does, after all of that training he's done, I'm sure he'll be full of surprises."

Sona blinks at Yoruichi's opinion. She then narrows her eyes back on the screens with her arms folded in front of her.

"We'll have to see how it goes."

~Rating Game battlefield~

Issei made his way out of the old school building to meet up with Koneko outside. After he met up with her, the two place their hands on their communicators to hear Rias' instructions.

"Alright you two, once you're in the gym, there's no way you can avoid a confrontation. Be sure to follow our plan."

"Got it."

"Roger that."

"Kiba, you all set?"

Kiba checked his surroundings in the forest before giving Rias the confirmation.

"Yes. I'm in position now."

"Akeno, stand by to move. We're counting on you."

Akeno smiles while standing on the rooftop of a building.

"We totally got this."

After getting the confirmations, Rias smirked and continued speaking.

"Let's go, team! Commence Operation: Phenex Ashes! Your opponent is Riser Phenex, a gifted warrior, even among the House of Phenex. Show no mercy, because none will be shown to you!"

After Rias wrapped up communications, giving the team the green light to move out, Asia clasps her hands together and closes her eyes.

'Good luck you guys. I'll be praying for each and every one of you.'

Issei and Koneko have managed to sneak into the gym via the back door, leading them to the stage of the theater section of the gym.

'Damn, I still can't believe how good of a copy this place is,' Issei thought while keeping quiet and gripping the hilts of both his Scale Blade and large sword.

Suddenly, the gymnasium's lights flashed on.

"You might as well come out, Gremorys," a female voice called out impatiently. "We know you're here!"

"Dammit!" Issei cursed silently. "looks like the stealth approach is scrapped, huh?"

Having no choice, Issei and Koneko walk out of their hiding spots to meet their enemy face to face. Upon arrival, Issei's eyes slightly widen when he sees four girls, three of them he remembers their names as Mira, Ile, and Nel.

"Look who we have here," the China girl said with a cocky voice. "She sent us a Pawn, and a Rook. This will be interesting."

Issei makes a "Hmph!" noise as he crosses his arms in front of his chest again. "We meet again, I suppose."

"I'm Mira, and I'm a Phenex Pawn!"

"I'm Xuelan, a Phenex Rook!" The china girl introduced next, leaving the last two up to the green haired loli twins.

"I'm Ile, and I'm a Pawn!"

"My name's Nel, and I'm also a Pawn!"

"The Rook chick," Koneko began with narrowed eyes aiming at Xuelan. "She could be a big problem for us."

"How so, Koneko-chan?"

"Based on her power level, or Reiatsu, as you call it, she's got the skills of a Queen."

"Doesn't sound good." Issei said with a frown, but he then smirked as he called forth his Boosted Gear. "Well, we knew we were underdogs from the beginning! But we're gonna show them what happens when they underestimate us!"

Issei balls his Boosted Gear embedded hand into a fist.

"Power up! Boost!'

{Boost!}

Issei narrows his eyes towards his gauntlet before setting her attention towards the girls.

'That should be enough power for now. Can't afford to boost too much and go burst.'

"Those Pawns are all yours, Issei-senpai," Koneko tells him while cracking her knuckles. "I'll try my luck with the Rook. Watch my back out there. At least keep those chicken heads off me."

Issei looks at Koneko and gives her a smirk of confidence.

"Don't worry, you can count on me, Koneko-chan! Now, let's fry us some chicken!"

Koneko rolled her eyes at the small joke Issei made and went ahead to engage in battle with Xuelan, while Issei engaged in battle with the Phenex Pawns.

~Phenex home base~

"So she decided to attack from the center after all," Riser says, not sounding amused at the slightest. "Yubelluna, how are things on the other front?"

"My Lord, your Pawns: Shuriya, Marion, and Burent, are moving in on the enemy as we speak."

The three Pawns mentioned by Yubelluna were currently in the middle of the forest, trying to find their way to the enemy base.

"Damn, this fog is so thick, we won't be able to see anything," Burent says in frustration.

Suddenly, the trio saw a red magic circle in front of them that began to shoot red projectiles at them. Seeing them in time, the girls quickly moved away, from the circle dodging every magical bullet fired at them.

"A trap?!" Shuriya shouts with a smirk. "Did they really think something that lame would work?!"

Burent giggled at the scenario.

"The Gremorys are dumber than I thought."

"A cute trick for a Rating Game virgin," Marion added in agreement.

Back at the Gym, Koneko and Xuelan were throwing it down with their fight. While the two were fighting, Koneko noticed that her opponent enhances her attacks with fire to make the damage greater.

Xuelan goes in for the jump kick, only for Koneko to dodge it to the left. The former continued throwing kicks at her, with Koneko dodging every single one until she notices her going for a punch, successfully dodging that one too. But instead of Xuelan throwing another punch with her opposite fist, she bends forward and gives Koneko a reverse kick.

While Koneko dodged it by a graze, since her kick was enhanced with the fire of the Phenex, it was able to tear off a shred of Koneko's school outfit, exposing the left side of her pink bra, and a small bit of her panties.

"You alright, Koneko-chan?!" Issei asked her, seeing that Xuelan's attack did something.

Issei's eyes widen when he feels a presence to his left charge at him in speed and jumps backwards. Upon dodging, it was revealed that Mira attempted to hit him with her staff again, but failed since he dodged it.

VROOM! VROOM!

"What the?"

Issei turns around when he heard the sound of motor coming from behind him. He widens his eyes with narrowed brows when it was revealed that Ile and Nel have chainsaws behind their backs, with devilish smiles on their faces.

""It's disassembling time~!""

While Issei was dealing with the new threats, Koneko continued dodging and blocking Xuelan's barrage of flame coated kicks. The latter then tried to get her with a spin kick, only for Koneko to catch her leg as soon as she performed it, making the Phenex Rook curse under her breath.

Xuelan than widened her eyes when Koneko began to pull her towards her, with her right fist cocked for a punch. As soon as she got Xuelan close enough to her, she threw her punch at the Phenex Rook's cheek, making her tumble backwards.

When Xuelan regained her balance, she rubbed her cheek with her left hand while smirking at her opponent.

"Nice one."

Koneko didn't listen. She took that moment to ram her shoulder onto Xuelan's stomach.

"GAAAHH!"

Koneko's shoulder charge was so strong, it blew Xuelan backwards from five feet. She then fell on the ground on her back, holding onto her stomach with her left hand. Growling in frustration, she used her strength to sit up from the ground and glare at Koneko.

"Who the Hell are you?!"

Koneko kept a neutral face while answering:

"Name's Koneko. Suck it."

Meanwhile, Issei was constantly running away from the giggling loli twins with chainsaws, keeping his distance from them so he can think of a plan to take out all of the Pawns at once.

"Why ya running, punk boy?!" Ile asks him.

"You afraid of chainsaws or something?" Nel asks.

"It's called keeping my distance!" Issei argued with an agitated expression. "You can't expect me to just stand there and take your attacks! Morons!"

Suddenly, Issei spotted Mira attempting to attack him with her staff again. Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to jump over her before the staff could make contact with his body.

"No way!" Mira exclaims, not believing the athletic jump he pulled off.

'Phew! That was a close one,' Issei said in his thoughts. He then notices that the loli twins were now close to them, having their chainsaws cocked back to swing.

""Slice 'im up! Slice 'im up! Slice 'im up!""

"Oh Lordy Loo!"

Issei got ready to dodge their attacks as soon as they got closer to him. Ile slashed horizontally, so he dodged vertically. Then Nel attempted to cut him in half with a vertical strike, making him dodge to the left. The girls tried to attack him together, but before their chainsaws could touch him, Issei resorted to Shunpo so he could make it back to the ground.

"Oh man!" Issei exclaimed. "That was crazy!"

"You bastard! Stop dodging!"

"Come on! We just wanna dice you up!"

Issei sweat dropped at their complaining, but got into a fighting stance while having his right hand have two fingers pointed out like a gun.

"Sorry, girls, but I don't intend on losing! And neither will any of us servants of Rias Gremory-sama!"

The loli twins widen their eyes in shock when they see Issei conjure up a flame of black aura that had a white outlining circling around it from his index and middle fingers.

Then, without the twins' knowledge, Issei approached them with Shunpo and began his attack.

"Alright, You're one!" Issei says to one twin, striking her with his right palm and planting a black and white magic seal on her left shoulder. He then moves on to the next twin. "And you're two!"

Issei struck his right palm on the second twin's right shoulder, planting a seal there too. The twins then fell down on the ground from Issei's palm strikes.

After landing on the ground, Issei sees Mira giving him a glare, gripping her staff in front of her.

"No more screwing around!"

After shouting those words, Mira charges at him once more to strike him down with her staff.

Smirking, Issei stuck out his left hand and caught the staff, surprising Mira. Issei then balls his right hand into a fist and punches the staff in two, breaking it.

Mira looks on at Issei in total shock. She knew he was strong, but how quickly he was able to grab her staff and break it in two was something she did not expect.

"And here's three!"

Issei then strikes her stomach with his right palm, both hurting her, and planting a seal at the same time. He then grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her towards the loli twins and waited for her to land in between the two. As soon as she did, he nodded to himself.

'Alright! Here goes!'

With a serious stare aimed at the Phenex Pawns, Issei presses the back of his thumb against the tip of his index finger from his right hand and…

Snap!

KA-BOOM! BOOOM! BA-BOOM!

""KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!""

"GUAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Koneko and Xuelan, who was pinned down by the former, looked on at the scene with wide eyes. The two have witnessed the Phenex Pawns get engulfed by three explosions of black and white aura that came from the seals he planted on them, causing significant damage to the girls.

"Mira! Ile! Nel!"

Issei kept his stare on the explosions. He knew better than to assume that it was an instant victory. He was going to wait until his aura clears up and reveal the Pawns' conditions.

Five seconds later, the aura did clear up, and it revealed an injure Ile and Nel, but the most injured of the three was Mira, who appeared to have a hard time getting up.

"I… Can't move…"

Issei nods to himself, confirming that Mira has been taken down by his explosive attack. However, his eyes narrow when he saw that the chainsaw wielding loli twins were able to get up and shoot a glare at him, chainsaws in their hands.

"Tch!" 'Guess that's what I get for going for the shoulders on those two,' Issei says in his thoughts. 'Looks like I'll have to use that move to finish them off.'

"We can't lose to this punk!" Ile says to her twin sister.

"If we do, Riser-sama's gonna be pissed!"

As the loli twins rev up their chainsaws, they engulf the blades with flames of a Phenex before charging at Issei like berserkers.

""Let's slice off his balls!""

"Hmph! You want some more?" Issei grabs the hilt of his Scale Blade with his right hand and unsheathes it, sparks flying from both the sword, and the inside of its scabbard.

"Bring it on!" Issei shouts as he lifts his sword above him. "Here's another one of my special moves!"

Mira, Koneko, and Xuelan widen their eyes at his declaration.

"He's got another trick?!" Xuelan asks in disbelief.

"Issei-senpai…" Koneko watches as Issei performs whatever special move he has for the loli twins.

"Huuuuuuaaaaaaaaaagh!"

Issei focuses his aura on his right hand, which held his Scale Blade. After a few seconds of concentration, he lets out a smirk when he sees that the blade of his sword was now engulfed by his black and white aura.

Satisfied, he cocks his arm to his left while the aura is still surrounding the blade and waited for the twins, who hadn't notice the aura engulfing the sword, to get close enough to use his new technique.

'Now!'

satisfied with how close they got, Issei grips the hilt of his Scale Blade and swings his sword right.

"HAAAAAH!"

After Issei swung his sword horizontally, the loli twins stop in their tracks and widen their eyes in fear when they saw of wave of his aura, shaped like a crescent, rushing towards them in. The twins attempted to run away from the crescent, but they were too late.

""KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The loli twins got hit by the large black crescent with a white outlining, screaming in pain as the attack pushed them towards a wall and made them crash into it. The aura disappeared afterward, followed by the twins and their chainsaws falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"Uuuugh… What the Hell…"

"Was that..?"

"Don't bother trying to get up," Issei says to the twins with a stern expression, seeing them trying to get on their feet, failing repeatedly. "With the amount of power I put in that attack, you two have taken too much damage to move."

The loli twins worked up the strength to lift their heads up from the ground and shoot a scowl at Issei.

"Damn you!"

"What kind of attack was that, anyway?!"

"Hmph!" Issei sticks his Scale Blade out in front of them, holding it in a horizontal position. "What you've just witnessed was an attack that uses my aura as an offensive weapon." He points his left finger at the blade of his sword. "After concentrating my aura on the blade, or any weapon I use, my sword becomes engulfed by it, and is prepared to be launched at my command by a simple swing in any direction I swing it. Upon the swing, my aura is launched out of my weapon, taking on a shape of a crescent as it rushes towards the enemy I aim the attack at."

Taking a breath from his explanation, he sheaths his Scale Blade while keeping his stare on the twins.

"The attack has a name… Getsuga Tenshou."

~Student Council room~

"Amazing…" Tsubaki commented with an astonished expression.

"I will admit," Sona began. "I'm impressed that Hyoudou-san is able to use his aura in such a unique way."

"I know, right?" Yoruichi agreed with the widest grin possible. "I helped him learn the move myself, as well as other techniques, including the explosive aura you witnessed."

Hearing that made Sona and Tsubaki widen their eyes at the Nekomata.

"You trained him into utilizing his black and white aura?" Tsubaki asked her.

"Yup!" Yoruichi then places her hands on her cheeks and sighed happily. "I remember when he finally got Getsuga Tenshou down too. That was my most favorite attack for him to use."

~Flashback~

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!"

Issei launches a Getsuga Tenshou from his Scale Blade at another tree with a horizontal slash, destroying that one, and the other two trees next to it with the crescent shaped aura slashing through them.

Issei pants while keeping his stare at the cut down trees, letting a small smirk form from his lips after seeing the results.

"Way to go, buddy!" Yoruichi congratulates her master while clapping her hands excitedly. "Now, try doing a vertical Getsuga Tenshou, and then a diagonal one!"

Issei nods his head in affirmative and grips onto his Scale Blade with his right hand. He then proceeds to lift it above him, intending to do a vertical slash. He concentrates his aura onto the blade and engulfs it with it. After getting enough of the aura to surround the blade, he slashes his sword downwards to launch his next Getsuga Tenshou, except this time, it was a vertical crescent instead of a horizontal one.

Issei then shifts his Scale Blade diagonally and did the same procedure to fire another Getsuga Tenshou that way. He engulfs his sword with his aura and then slashes it diagonally, resulting in a diagonal Getsuga Tenshou.

"Woo hoo!" Yoruichi applauds him again for launching those two attacks. "I knew you'd get it!"

Issei chuckles slightly as he lands his butt onto the ground, panting heavily.

"Yeah. Though, it is a little tough having to get the aura onto an object, compared to just simply conjuring it from my hands."

Yoruichi lets out a giggle and plops down next to Issei.

"Alright, Issei. Let's call it quits for now. It's getting late."

"Yeah."

~Flashback end~

"*Sigh*. Good times."

Sona and Tsubaki look on at Yoruichi in amusement when she told them about his training session on that particular attack.

'Wow… To think that Hyoudou-kun would train with his Familiar…' Tsubaki says in her mind, softening her eyes when she turns her head to look at Issei in the screen recording the gymnasium.

~Rating Game battlefield~

Koneko was staring at Issei in shock. When she witnessed him firing his Getsuga Tenshou, she felt a familiar odd feeling she felt when she witnessed his aura from back when Riser was in the club room take on the shape of a skull; a skull that looked like his mask.

While Xuelan too was amazed with Issei's attack, she was also upset that her three allies were defeated by him since he was the enemy.

"What's wrong, Koneko-chan?"

Koneko snapped out of her worried gaze when she heard Issei talk to him.

"If you were worried about me, you've got nothing to fear," Issei assured her since he noticed her worried expression aimed at him. "Besides, you were able to take down Xuelan. You should be proud."

Xuelan gritted her teeth while looking away from Issei, feeling ashamed of her defeat. Koneko on the other hand, only looked downwards with softened eyes, confusing Issei even further.

"Koneko, Ise, what's your status?"

Issei blinks when he hears Rias' voice from his communicator. He places his hand over it to respond.

"The gym's under our control, Buchou. We're now awaiting further orders."

"Good work, you two. Akeno's in position and she's ready to go. I want you two to evacuate immediately."

Issei and Koneko nod at Rias' command. The two then nod at each other before beginning to move.

But first, Issei wanted to do something right quick.

Issei picks up the two halves of Mira's staff with both of his hands and made his way to her, who widened her eyes at the sight of him in front of her, fearing that he's here to finish her off.

CLACK! CLACK!

"Huh?"

Mira was confused at first when she heard the sound of two objects dropping on the floor, but when she opened her eyes, she widened them in surprise to see that Issei dropped the two staff halves in front of her while smiling softly.

"Why are you giving them back?" Mira asks while looking away with furrowed brows. "I can't work up the strength to fight back, you know?"

Issei's smile didn't drop from her tone of her voice.

"I didn't have a need for them," he answered simply. "Besides, you may need it when you get back from the game."

Mira widened her eyes again at how kind Issei sounded to her. When she moved her head back to him, her cheeks tinge pink when she saw him wink at her with a gentle smile.

"Get stronger, Mira. If we ever have a rematch, I'd like to see how much you've improved from this game."

As Issei turned around to catch up with Koneko, Mira's eyes soften at how nice he was to her. She expected him to at least tell her how weak she was and how she was clumsy, but no. Instead, he encouraged her to get stronger for the next time they met.

She didn't know why, but she started getting a warm feeling in her heart when she heard his words to her loop repeatedly in her mind.

"Wait! Are you two leaving?!" Xuelan asks Issei and Koneko when she saw them head toward the exit. "This place is vital for the game! How can you two just run off like that?!"

Issei stopped his pace and turned to the Phenex Rook.

"It isn't like me to kick down enemies who can't defend themselves."

"Huh?" Xuelan made a confused sound when he said that to her.

"Besides, after this is all over," Issei continues, shooting her a kind smile. "I hope we can all be friends."

Xuelan and the loli twins gasped at what he just said. Their enemy was a man that Rias despised, and yet he wants to be friends with them after the game is over? What kind of talk was that?

"Let's go, Issei-senpai!"

"Oh! I'm coming!"

Issei ran out of the gym with Koneko in front, leaving the girls to look on at the doorway, still surprised with the young Pawn's words to them.

But Mira wasn't surprised. She was smiling to herself when she heard him say he wanted to be friends. Because of how kind and sweet he was to his enemy, it was like she expected him to say something like that.

'That Rook of Gremory-sama called him Issei…'

Mira's smile widens as she closes her eyes and let's a blush form on her face.

'I can't wait to see him again.'

Issei and Koneko have made it out of the gym while running as fast as they could. Once they were at a safe distance from the building, the two turned around to face it.

"Okay, when's Akeno-senpai gonna blow her sky high?"

Issei's question was answered when he and Koneko saw a yellow magic circle appear from a storm cloud that just so happened to be above the gymnasium.

CRACK! BANG!

Issei jumped in surprise when a large bolt of yellow lightning blew up the entire gymnasium, leaving nothing but ruble.

"Take~! Ufufufufu~."

It was at that moment, Grayfia's voice can be heard from an unseen intercom.

"Three of Riser-sama's Pawns, and one of his Rooks, retire."

"Holy shit!" Issei exclaimed while staring at the destroyed gym with eyes as wide as saucers. "That was insane!"

"Yup. 'Insane' is one way to put it," Koneko said in agreement. "She's the real deal. It's why her nickname is 'The Priestess of Thunder'. She knows how to bring the boom. And she likes it."

Issei blinked at his kouhai in astonishment.

'This might be the first time I've heard her talk this much.'

He then turns his head to Akeno, who was flying above the destroyed gym giving Issei a sly wink while licking her fingers, making the former blush a little.

"I'm just glad that hardcore woman's on our team, and not theirs."

~Student Council room~

"I must say, I'm impressed," Sona commented with a smirk while pushing up her glasses. "Rias used an important strategic position to lure them into a trap, and then blew it sky high. Pretty bold move."

"You're right," Agreed Tsubaki. "Looks like Riser-sama has no choice but to unleash everything."

"True," Added Sona. "This battle's just begun."

The two then turn to Yoruichi to get her opinion.

"How about you?"

"Heh! I couldn't agree with you more Sona." She then focuses her attention on Tsubaki and gives her a sly wink and smirk. "And I think even you can agree with me when I say that my Familiar master's a very kind man; being sympathetic with the enemy."

Tsubaki widens her eyes at Yoruichi and immediately looks away from her, trying her best to suppress her ghost of a blush.

"Y-Y-Yeah… I've known that for quite a while now."

Sona sighs at her Queen's shy behavior and Yoruichi's teasing grin and pays attention back to the game.

'I wonder if Hyoudou-san will realize that being too kind to people, especially to women, will eventually bite him back one day?'

~Rating Game battlefield~

Issei and Koneko have their hands on their communicators to listen to their next objective from Rias.

"The Phenexes still have us outnumbered. We'll need to by Akeno a little bit of time so she can be fully ready for her second attack. Once her power is replenished, we'll start to make preparations for our next move. Until then, stick to the plan, and I promise you, we will win this game!"

Issei nods his head in affirmative and turns his head to Koneko, getting her attention.

"Where to now?"

"We need to get to the athletic field as soon as we can. Kiba-senpai's waiting for us there. If we see any baddies, we own them. Sound good?"

Issei nods his head to her in response and turns his head towards their next destination. A worried expression is now on his face.

"I just hope he's doing okay. I mean, he's all alone out there."

Back in the forest, Marion conjures up an orange ball of magic and fires it at a Gremory seal, destroying another one of the traps she, Burent, and Shuriya were able to find before it could go off.

"Do you think the Gremorys really believe these stupid traps are going to slow us down at all?" Marion asks to her team, getting annoyed by how many traps they've encountered so far.

"Girls!" Marion and Shuriya's attention were now on Burent, who was pointing towards somewhere. "I've found their home base!"

Upon further inspection, the Phenex Pawns smirked to themselves when they saw the roof of the old school building. But their smirks immediately dropped to frowns and confused expressions when they saw that the building has vanished like a ghost.

"What the Hell?" Marion didn't understand what happened.

"Hello, Ladies."

The Phenex Pawns gasp when they heard a male voice from behind and turned around to the source. They widened their eyes in surprise to see Kiba smirking to them while holding the hilt of his Holy Eraser in his left hand.

"You gals looking for some company? Because if you're feeling lonely this evening, I might be the man for you."

"Shit! Guess we walked right into that one didn't we?" Burent asked to her teammates.

Kiba chuckled while pointing his right index finger towards his head.

"While we lack in manpower, we make up for it in brain."

Shuriya only giggled at him with a devious look.

"I hate to burst your bubble, since you are my type, blonde, but as cute as you are, do you think you can take all three of us at once?"

"Hmph! Why don't we find out?" Kiba asks happily as he unsheathes his Holy Eraser and holds it in front of him, readying himself for combat.

Seeing the situation they're in, Marion turns to Burent and Shuriya, having an idea.

"Girls! You two go ahead and take care of that blonde, I'll go ahead and scout out the other Gremorys!"

"No, Marion!" Shuriya barks back. "If we're gonna take down that Knight, it's going to be the three of us!"

"B-But, Shuriya! It's two on one! You two can handle it!"

Burent rolls her eyes at her fellow Pawn, knowing the exact reason why she wants to leave.

"Look, Marion, if you wanna fight that Pawn boy so badly, it can wait once we kick that blonde's ass!"

Marion stutters at her words while her cheeks started to turn red.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Shut up!"

"Then help us out! We'll get to the others after we take him down and promote to Queen!"

Marion gives Burent a slight pout before nodding her head and focusing her attention on Kiba.

"Nah. I'm sure he'll handle himself out there," Issei says to Koneko. "I mean, he's got his speed, and chances are, his opponents are Pawns. Either way, we better leg it and give him a hand."

Koneko nods her head in agreement, giving Issei the green light to get moving towards their next destination, with Koneko following from behind.

As the two were walking. Issei stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

'That Reiatsu… I recognize this particular signature anywhere.'

"Issei-senpai? what's wrong?"

Issei didn't pay attention to Koneko's question. He was too busy scouting out the Reiatsu signature that he knew belonged to a Phenex Devil. His eyes then widened further as he felt it getting closer and closer. He then turns around to his kouhai and started running towards her.

"Koneko-chan!"

Koneko lets out a gasp in surprise when Issei suddenly shoved her four feet away from him. Right After he did that, a purple magic circle surrounded him and…

BOOM!

Koneko gasps again, more louder than her previous one. She stared on at the scene with eyes as wide as saucers when she witnessed her senpai getting caught in a big explosion created by the purple magic circle. Her heart starts to beat at a very fast pace, not believing what just happened.

"ISSEI-SENPAI!"

"Ufufufufu~."

Koneko flinches when she heard a sinister giggle from above. Looking up towards the source of the giggle, her eyes narrow angrily and shivers in rage as she finds out who was responsible for blowing up her senpai.

"That's one down," Yubelluna says, letting out another giggle.

"You…"

"When you hunt a prey, the best time to take them down is when they've accomplished something. That's the time when the prey is the most vulnerable."

ZIP!

Yubelluna was interrupted from her speech when she felt someone speed by them from behind, followed by a sharp pain in her left side.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yubelluna holds onto her left side as she widens her eyes in horror when it started bleeding large amounts of blood from the slash that looked to have been caused a blade, and what appeared to be claw marks.

"Wh… What?! How?!"

Koneko looked on at the sight as well, eyes widened in shock at the amount of blood that profusely leaked from the wound on the Phenex Queen's left side, and rained on the ground.

"That's some move you pulled, Yubelluna."

It was at this moment that both Koneko and Yubelluna shot their heads towards the source of a male voice. Upon eye contact, they both looked at who it was, eyes widening in shock.

"But don't let your guard down until you've at least confirmed that your opponent is truly taken down."

The man they saw in front of them was Issei Hyoudou, holding his Scale Blade firmly in his right hand while clenching his Boosted Gear embedded fist. He looked unscathed, not at all harmed from Yubelluna's explosive magic.

"Issei-senpai…" Koneko's eyes began to water, so thankful that Issei's still in the game and kicking.

"You?!" Yubelluna sends Issei a harsh glare while keeping her hand on her still bleeding wound. "I don't understand! I timed my explosive perfectly to explode as soon as either you, or possibly that girl ever set foot on my magic circle!"

Issei lets out a "Hmph!" as he makes the sharp scale sized blades maneuver in a twitching motion, causing sparks to fly out of the sword.

"I've simply moved out of the way in time. That's all there is to it."

Yubelluna growls at the Pawn when she saw him smirk in confidence, a smirk Koneko personally grown accustomed to during her training session with him ten days ago.

~Student Council Room~

"Phew! He almost scared me there!" Yoruichi says as she wipes the sweat off of her forehead. "As soon as Issei shoved Koneko-san out of Yubelluna's magic circle, he used Shunpo to escape from the explosive magic, and strike at the Phenex Queen with his Scale Blade." She then lets out a hearty laugh. "Good thing he's got that particular sword to make her injuries fatal, being one of the nine trick weapons."

Sona and Tsubaki widen their eyes at her.

"You know of the nine trick weapons that can damage the three Factions without Holy and Light properties?"

"Yup!" Yoruichi replies with a toothy grin while folding her arms behind her head. "I assume you've heard of them too?"

"I have. Rias did tell me that he's acquired one of them, that being the Scale Blade, in a cave somewhere in the Familiar Forest. Where the other eight trick weapons are, we have yet to find out."

Sona then turns her attention back to the game.

"And yes, I do agree with how Hyoudou-san was able to counter her attack. Now that I've seen it, it makes me question if a speed of a Knight can avoid attacks like Yubelluna's too."

Tsubaki nodded in agreement while being thankful that Issei is still alright. She looks on at Issei standing before her enemy and alongside Koneko.

'Hyoudou-kun…'

"Tch! Don't think you've defeated me just because you've cut me with that fancy sword of yours, brat!"

Issei looks on to see that Yubelluna was digging in her breast pocket for something. He let's out a sigh, knowing what she's looking for.

"You're going to use your Phenex Tears to heal up, are you? Hmph! Go ahead. It'll be more of a challenge than fighting you with a bleeding wound."

Yubelluna lets out another growl as she took out a bottle of Phenex Tears and opens it up. She then pours the liquid all over her wounds, and as Issei expected, her wounds have healed 100%.

"Ara ara, somebody looks pissed."

Issei and Koneko turned around to see Akeno float down towards them while giggling.

"Ise-kun, you've scared me. I thought that Bomb Queen over there really got you."

Issei lets his traditional confident smirk from from his lips.

"You've got nothing to worry about." He then points his thumb towards Yubelluna. "Can you take care of her for us? Koneko-chan and I need to catch up with Kiba."

Akeno giggles towards her while placing a hand on her cheek.

"Why, of course I'll take care of her." She then aims her sultry gaze at her. "But there's something you need to do for me first, my favorite kouhai~."

Issei flinches at the nickname she gave him, but sighed, wanting to get this over with.

"What is it, senpai?"

"Ufufu~. From now on, I want you to call me Akeno-san. There's no need for you to address me this way anymore.

Issei and Koneko sweat drop at her request.

"That's it?" Issei asks with beady brown eyes. "That's all you want me to do so you can fight her?"

"Yup. That's all."

Issei let's out a sigh, keeping his deadpanned stare on his senpai.

"Okay… If that's what you want… Akeno-san."

Satisfied, Akeno moves in front of Issei and Koneko to face Yubelluna.

"Oh! Akeno-san!"

"Yes, Ise-kun?"

Getting her attention, Issei leaned forward and whispered something in her ear while slipping something in her pocket, earning a confused look from Koneko and Yubelluna.

Getting what he whispered to her, Akeno nods her head with a smile.

"Got it! Thanks for the tip!"

Smiling, Issei turns his head to Koneko and nods to her, getting a nod back from her, and the two get moving to find Kiba.

Seeing them gone, Akeno turns her head towards her opponent, who lets a smirk form from her lips.

"I've been wanting to fight you for what seems like ages, Priestess of Thunder."

Akeno giggles at Yubelluna.

"Oh have you now? That's sweet, but the pleasure's truly mine, Bomb Queen."

"Tch! I don't like being called that because of the name's bad taste."

Flaring up their power, Akeno's yellow, and Yubelluna's purple, their battle has begun.

"Three of Riser-sama's Pawns, retire."

Issei and Koneko widen their eyes in surprise when they heard Grayfia announce this.

"Wow! That quick?!"

The two halt in their pace when they saw a familiar person wave at them by a large tree.

"Hey there."

"Kiba!" Issei and Koneko smile at him while running to him. "I assume those outs were all you?"

"Yup," Kiba replied to Issei. "It was all thanks to Akeno-senpai's barrier. With it, she made it easier for me."

After explaining how he defeated the Phenex Pawns, The trio of Gremory Devils set off to find a hiding spot and receive word from Rias on what to do next.

~Student Council room~

"Currently, the remaining pieces on Riser-sama's side have the advantage at nine," Tsubaki says to Sona. "Rias-sama still has six pieces left, counting herself."

Sona nods before speaking.

"While she still has all of her servants in the game, they cannot afford to get careless."

Yoruichi nods in agreement while paying attention to the screen that showed Issei, Kiba, and Koneko hiding in the storage room.

'Be careful out there, Issei.'

While the three were hiding in the storage room to await further orders, Issei noticed Kiba's left hand on the hilt of his sheathed Holy Eraser shaking.

"Hey Kiba, you alright?"

Kiba jumps when he heard Issei called to him. Setting his eyes on him, he lets out a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous. While I indeed do have fighting experience, this is the first Rating Game I've ever had to partake in."

Kiba paused when Issei stuck his fist out in front of him, confusing the blonde man.

"Well, quit worrying about it. We've fought Hollows before, so we can sure as Hell take down the Phenex Devils. I don't care how, but we are going to win this. You feel me?"

Kiba chuckles at his friend and bumps his fist to his.

"Yeah, you're damn right we are."

"Word," Koneko adds in agreement.

"Ise, Kiba-kun, Koneko-san, do you read me?"

The trio place their hands on their communicators when they heard Rias' voice.

"We read you loud and clear," Issei answers. "What's up?"

"I'm launching a sneak attack on Riser's base with Asia. I want you three to draw as many of the enemy away from the entrance as you can to buy us time."

Issei widens his eyes with furrowed eyebrows.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Buchou? Keep in mind that Asia's our only healer we've got!"

"I'm left with no choice, Ise. I was planning to give Akeno time to recover so she could blast them one by one, but now, Riser sent his Queen, so I need her focus on her."

"Yes, of course," Kiba began. "But don't you think it's too risky to have the king leave the base?"

"With any luck, Riser will be thinking along the same lines. Here's hoping I can take him by surprise. If we can strike him strong and hard enough, we might just be able to take the fight out of him and win! His body may be immortal, but his heart, and Riser himself is not. And trust me, I will have no problem whatsoever breaking that Devil's black heart!"

After hearing her hang up, Issei looks to Kiba and Koneko with a serious expression.

"Well, since that's decided, let's show them what we Devils of Rias Gremory-sama can do!"

"You've got it my friend," Kiba replies in agreement.

"Damn right," Koneko adds.

Issei then positions himself with his fists at his sides.

"Um… Issei… What are you-"

"I'm going to use my Soul Radar to scout ahead for any Phenex Devils without having to go outside and check." Issei immediately answers, making Kiba have a look of recognition.

"'Soul Radar'? Do you mean that ability you used to find us when we were fighting the Hollows?"

"Yup. Now then, one moment please."

Taking a deep breath, Issei closes his eyes and concentrates his power. Kiba and Koneko look on to see how focused Issei was, feeling his power bubble up nice and gently.

With one last slow breath, Issei slowly opens his eyes, his surroundings now in a cobalt color. Issei first sets his sights on the two red Reiatsu flames from afar that appear to be moving slowly to the right.

"Looks like Buchou and Asia are already moving out."

He shifts his eyes to the right and stops to see one red flame and one orange flame dancing around with one another.

"Akeno-san's still battling Yubelluna, but since we can't help her now, all we can do is hope for the former's victory."

He then starts turning his body right very slowly while shifting his eyes around, looking for more orange flames that show that they are Phenex Devils.

"!"

"What's wrong, Issei-senpai?"

Koneko noticed that Issei's eyes widened while his eyebrows were still furrowed.

"One of Riser's girls are out in the gym field, just from outside of the storage room we're in."

Kiba and Koneko's eyes narrow at the news.

"What should we do?" Kiba asks him while gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Well, since she's the only one here, I think it's best we go ahead and confront her. Since this is a three on one situation, there may be a chance that that Yakitori's gonna send out all of his servants after us to aid this particular woman."

Kiba puts a hand to his chin, thinking about Issei's idea before looking towards him with a serious expression.

"You may be right, Issei. After all, Buchou does want us to draw away the enemy, so we might as well give what you thought of a shot."

Koneko nods in agreement. Seeing this, Issei points a thumb towards the storage room's door.

"Alright then. Let's get to it folks! If anything happens, we stick together!"

""Right!""

After Issei, Kiba, and Koneko walk out of the storage room and out into the field, Issei puts his left hand on the hilt of his sheathed Scale Blade and sets his glare in the direction of the nearby Reiatsu flame, his Soul Radar still enabled.

"You might as well show yourself," Issei says to the invisible Phenex Devil. "I can detect your presence."

The trio of Gremory Devils stood their ground when they heard laughter from the direction Issei was staring at. After three seconds past, a gust of wind flies by and reveals the woman with knight armor, who was staring at them with a stern gaze.

"I am Karlamine, a Knight in the service of Riser-sama!"

Karlamine then turns her head to Issei and gives him a smirk.

"I must admit, your ability to find someone, despite them hiding themselves well, is rather impressive." Karlamine proceeds to unsheathe her sword and aim it towards the trio while the blade is engulfed by flames. "However, don't think that this will assure you an easy victory!"

Issei deadpanned at her last sentence.

"I never did think that though…"

Issei was snapped out of his deadpan when he saw Kiba walk forward towards her.

"I am Kiba Yuuto, a Knight in the service of Rias Gremory-sama!"

Kiba unsheathes his Holy Eraser and gets into a fighting position.

"I've been looking forward to battling another Knight! Can't wait to get started!"

Karlamine smirks at her opponent.

"Very well said! En garde, Knight of Rias Gremory-sama!"

With that said, the battle between the two Knights has begin. Kiba and Karlamine charged at each other with their speed trait and begun clashing swords with one another. Sparks fly out of their blades with every clash they make.

Issei looked on at the battle between the two Knights in amusement, admiring the speed and pace that the two were keeping at when they dodged, blocked and attack. He even saw a tornado of sparks when the Knights circled around each other.

"Wow… Guess it would be rude for us to interrupt them."

"Besides, You'll be busy."

Issei and Koneko turn straight around and narrowed their eyes when they saw a new comer, one that Issei recognizes.

"Another Rook," Koneko announces to him.

"And she's not alone," added Issei, detecting more Reiatsu presences.

"Oh, that Karlamine!"

'Speak of the Devil… No pun intended…' Issei thought as his head turns right towards the source of a new voice. He raises an eyebrow when he and Koneko saw the blonde girl in a pink dress suited for a princess.

"Her head is filled with nothing but Swords, Swords, Swords! It's freaking ridiculous!" the blonde girl continued with an agitated expression. "She was way too bothered by how those other pieces were sacrificed too. If you ask me, she needs to keep it together!"

Issei and Koneko start shifting their eyes around when the rest of Riser's servants, along with the blonde girl and Isabela, walk their way towards them. They saw the two cat girls, the girl in the kimono, and the girl with the large sword, who Issei knew as Siris.

The blonde girl then sets her sights on Kiba.

"And now, right when I think I found a cute boy, it turns out he's a sword freak too. Hmph! Guess this isn't my lucky day, isn't it?"

Kiba jumped back from Karlamine for a moment to observe the Phenex Devils behind him.

'Looks like he brought out all of his remaining pieces.' Kiba then smiles. 'Way to go, Issei! You've guessed right!'

Meanwhile, Rias and Asia could be seen in the background sneaking their way towards Riser's base undetected. Issei could sense them, however, he kept quiet and pretended to not notice them.

Issei then raises an eyebrow when he noticed the blonde Phenex Devil scan him with her blue eyes.

"So, this is the Pawn Rias-sama adores, huh?"

"Hmph! She had a reason for trusting me," Issei said to her as he balls his left hand into a fist. "And I'm here to fulfill her wish to set her free. Boosted Gear! Power up!"

{Boost!}

"Oh! Pay no attention to me," the blonde girl says while sticking the palm of her hand in front of him. "I have no intention in fighting you." She then shoots a smirk towards the masked Rook.

"Isabela? Why don't you be their opponent."

Isabela lets a smirk form as her eyes are set on Issei.

"Gladly. Let's fight since we're both bored. I'm Isabela, a Rook in the service of Riser-sama."

Issei nods at her with clenched fists.

"Issei Hyoudou, Pawn of Rias Gremory-sama."

"Issei-senpai, you want me to take care of Masky?"

Issei shakes his head at Koneko.

"No need. I can take care of her myself." he then shoots his eyes towards the masked Rook. "After all, I did promise her we'd fight back in the club room, and who am I to break a promise?"

Isabela widens her eyes a little and takes a step back at his words, but then smirks while letting out a chuckle.

"Of course. I remember the promise you made to me. Now, prepare yourself to fight, Pawn of Rias-sama!"

Issei side steps to the left when Isabela throws a punch at his face, successfully dodging it.

"Heh! You've got some good reflexes, Issei-kun!" Isabela compliments. "So, allow me to increase by one, no, two gears!"

Isabela began to throw a barrage of punches towards the young man. While Issei was dodging and blocking her attacks, he noted that her fighting style was that of a boxer's.

"Oi! If you don't mind me asking," Issei began while throwing some punches and kicks of his own, with Isabela on defense this time. "Why doesn't that blonde girl over there want to fight?"

"Hmph! While she is serving in this battle as a Bishop, for the most part she likes to watch."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because the lady is Ravel Phenex."

Issei widens his eyes at the new information, halting in his fighting.

"Phenex?! So… That Ravel person is Riser's sister..? And she's his servant..?" Issei turns his head towards Ravel and shoots her a disgusted look. "That's uh… kinda sick!"

Ravel widens her eyes with furrowed brows at the insult with a blush in embarrassment.

"Heh! I know right?" Isabela asked, looking just as disgusted as Issei did.

"Isabela!" Ravel became more embarrassed when the masked Rook agreed with him.

Isabela ignored her and continued to talk with Issei while fighting.

"Apparently, this is Riser-sama's excuse for having her as his servant:"

~Flashback~

Riser: "Oh? You find it creepy that I have my sister in my harem? You're just jealous of Riser. Fear not, she's only part of the team because she needed something to do. I don't have a thing for my sister."

~Flashback end~

"At least that's what the prick said!" Isabela concluded with an uppercut, which Issei dodged in time before it could hit him.

"That bastard's a sicko on top of being a tool!"

"Ravel's a slut," Koneko added in agreement, earning a gasp and a glare from Ravel.

"How dare you?! I do not like my brother that way!"

"Whatever," she replied, giving Ravel a glare right back.

Jumping back from Isabela to dodge another uppercut, Issei took this time to think about what he just heard.

'Wow… I can't believe Riser would do something like this. At least Isabela's not crazy enough to fall for him.'

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Isabela running at him with a right hook. He dodges to the left and counters with a left punch, only for her to block it with her right arm.

"Heh! You're a lot better than I expected," Isabela complimented while smirking.

Issei didn't respond. He only kept a firm eye on her while dodging and blocking her every strike.

'Well, I haven't been training my ass off for nothing.'

Issei dodges two more punches from Isabela. He then notices her lifting her right foot up and forms an X from his arms to block her kick. He then jumps back from her to think of a way to beat her.

'It's probably best I use my Dragon Shot to take her out. If I were to use Getsuga Tenshou, I'd be wasting more of my stamina and energy than I would when I use my Boosted Gear's attack.'

After making up his mind on what to do, he dodges another uppercut by jumping away with a backflip, landed on his hands, jumped from them, and landed on his feet.

{Boost!}

'That won't be enough,' Issei thinks while taking a quick glace at his Boosted Gear. 'Since she's a Rook, I'll need two more boosts in order for the Dragon Shot to be strong enough.'

Issei kept his eyes on Isabela, waiting for her next move. The latter of whom smirked at Issei.

"I must say, Issei-kun, you really are stronger than I felt you were the last time we met back at the Human world. You must have trained a lot."

Issei fires a smirk back as he puts his Left arm out in front of him with his fist aiming upwards.

"Heh! Thank you for the compliment. I don't like to brag, but I've been training hard in combat since I was eleven years old. That many years, plus the ten day training time does that to a warrior, you know?"

"Really?" Isabela asked, amusement plastered on her face, followed by a smile as she puts her fists up. "Then it looks like fighting you's gonna be a lot more fun than I've anticipated. After all, if you plan on continuing to be a warrior, you must always be ready to fight, no matter what. And you'll have to fight in order to keep the folks you care about safe."

"Heh! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"

{Boost!}

While Issei and Kiba were fighting the good fight, Rias and Asia have made their way into the new school building undetected. Rias kept Asia behind her, shifting her eyes around her surroundings in search for any possible threats.

"Hello, my beloved Rias. Riser's been expecting you."

The girls widen their eyes at a familiar voice and look up to see a smug Riser Phenex, looking down upon them with his hands in his pockets.

Meanwhile, on Kiba's battle with Karlamine, the former becomes surprised when his opponent destroyed his sword.

"Shit! My Holy Eraser!"

Seeing his weapon shatter made Karlamine smile.

"Unfortunately for you, that weapon won't work on someone like me!"

Kiba kept his ground, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly.

"Oh really?! What about this one?!"

He focuses his attention on the top of the hilt.

"Freeze! Flame Delete!"

What happened next made Karlamine adopt a look of shock. After the top of Kiba's hilt shined, blocks of ice began forming upwards and took on the shape of a sword's blade. Afterwards, the ice broke apart, making a fresh new white blade.

"What?! You've gotta be kidding!" Karlamine retorted. "There's now way you can have two Sacred Gears!"

Karlamine lifts her flame engulfed sword above her head and attempts to slash down on Kiba. When Kiba blocked her attack, she widens her eyes again to see shards of ice creep along her sword and destroy her blade, leaving nothing but the hilt.

Growling in anger, she throws the hilt to the side and unsheathes her dagger, engulfing that one in flames afterwards.

"No matter! I still control flame and wind, as do all from the house of Phenex!"

Karlamine then slashes her dagger downwards at Kiba's sword, destroying that one too.

But he didn't see this as a problem, Kiba only smirked at her as he cocked his hilt to his right side.

"Replenish Calm."

Upon saying those words, Kiba's hilt created another sword blade that had an open diamond shaped tip with a triangle tip on top, and two points at each bottom side.

Karlamine was flabbergasted at the sight of his new blade. Before she could say anything, Kiba held his sword in front of her and had a small black hole appear in the middle of the open diamond of the sword. Suddenly, the black hole started to absorb the flames off of Karlamine's dagger, causing her to widen her eyes in bewilderment.

'Hmph! Last time I had to rely on this many swords was back with the Hollows!'

"Dammit! How many Sacred Gears do you actually have?!" Karlamine asks him in frustration. "Are you a Sacred Gear possessor who takes Sacred Gears from people and use them as your own?!"

"Nope! It's not that I have multiple Sacred Gears, I simply have the ability to make them at my will! I possess Sword Birth! Have you heard of it?! With it, I'm able to create any demonic sword I choose from!"

After removing the flames from Karlamine's dagger, Kiba places his left palm on the ground and summons a spike bed full of swords, making Karlamine jump back and look on in shock at the amount of swords he created on the ground.

"Dammit all!"

Issei took a quick look at the fight between the two Knights and smiled at his friend.

'I figured he can handle himself.'

"Oi!"

Issei shifted his eyes right when he heard Isabela call to him while charging at him with her fist cocked back.

"Never turn away during a fight!"

Issei caught Isabela's fist just before it could come in contact with his cheek, making the latter widen her eyes in surprise at how he was able to catch it while barely looking at her direction.

Giving her a stern glare, Issei grabs onto Isabela's wrist and pulls her towards him. When she got close enough to him, Issei punches her in her left cheek, knocking her back four feet. He then stares at his Boosted Gear.

"Come on… One more boost…"

{Boost!}

"Finally!"

Having boosted enough during his fight with the masked Rook, Issei extends his Boosted Gear embedded hand outwards and conjured a red ball of power from the palm.

{Explosion!}

Isabela goes in to land another punch on Issei. But before she could manage to do that, Issei punches the red orb, making a huge red beam shoot at her at high speed.

"Shit!"

Isabela was able to duck down in time before she could be engulfed by Issei's Dragon Shot. As the beam traveled far enough, the attack blew up a set of trees, followed by an explosion cloud engulfing them.

"What the…" Issei said to himself, confused on how it was able to cause this much damage. "I could've sworn I've held back a lot of power. That looked like it could take down a Queen or two."

Isabela gets up from the grown and looks at Issei with narrowed eyes.

"I can't afford for him to use that attack again. I gotta take him down now!"

Seeing Isabela charge at him again, Issei decided to resort to plan B.

'I was hoping I'd save it for later use against Riser and save energy, but I guess I'll have to use my explosive aura again.'

Issei dodges a punch from her right fist and grabs onto her arm with his left hand. He then opened his right hand and struck her in the stomach lightly with his palm.

"Uh… was that supposed to hurt..?" Isabela asked him with a confused expression, only for Issei to jump back from her and have her notice the black and white magic seal on her belly.

"Not yet!"

Snap!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!

"GUAAAAAAAAGH!"

Isabela fell to her knees and held onto her stomach in pain.

"E… Explosive magic?!"

Seeing her unable to get up, Issei took that moment to slowly walk towards her and finish the job. After approaching her close enough, Issei conjures another red orb from his Boosted Gear, this one being smaller than the previous one to avoid using too much power.

When Isabela lifted her head up, she was surprised to see that Issei had softened eyes and a gentle smile.

"You fought well, Isabela," Issei says kindly. "But this is where you retire." Issei cocks his left fist back to punch the orb. "I hope we can see each other again."

Isabela widens her eyes with a light blush that could only be seen on her left cheek because of her mask.

'He's so kind to me… Why..?'

Issei punches the tiny red orb, launching his Dragon Shot at the Rook. Isabela lets out a scream of pain while she's engulfed by his attack, eventually disappearing in a bright light.

Ravel looks on in shock as she witnesses her defeat.

"Isabela!"

"One of Riser-sama's Rooks retires."

Issei lets out a breath, glad that he was able to defeat her.

"Why are you being nice to the enemy?"

"Eh?"

Issei turns around to see Koneko with her arms crossed in front of her, and narrowed eyes.

"*Sigh*. Because they're not the ones I'm holding it out against. The one I want to smack some sense into is the Yakitori Bird Brain himself."

Koneko raises an eyebrow at his answer. She then shrugs her shoulders.

"Just don't make a habit of trying to befriend enemies."

Issei chuckled at her response while twirling one of his locks with his right hand in shyness.

He then looks towards his Boosted Gear in thought.

'Oi, Ddraig, do you think I can still boost myself up without going burst?

{You should be able to without risking it, partner. After all, you've only boosted once during your battle with the three Pawns, and boosted about four times to make a powerful enough Dragon Shot. You shouldn't have to worry about risking a Burst. Besides, you did train very hard with, and without the Boosted Gear, so you're far from risking that happening to you.}

Issei nodded his head at his gauntlet.

'Okay. Good to know.'

"Oi! Foot soldier!"

Issei lifts his head up to see Ravel calling to him with a cocky smirk. He raises an eyebrow when he saw her point to her right.

"Just a heads up," Ravel continued. "You may want to look at this."

Issei followed where Ravel was pointing and widened his eyes in shock.

"Buchou! Asia!"

Rias could be seen carrying Asia in her arm while flying down on top of the new school roof. Landing, Rias shoots Riser a glare.

"Dammit!" Issei curses, seeing the three at the rooftop. "Riser's up there too!"

Kiba shares the same narrowed eyes as Issei.

"It looks like he anticipated our move."

"So, I'm assuming you knew I was planning to attack you directly?" Rias asks Riser as she retracts her Devil wings and keeps Asia behind her.

"Ha! A virgin should never underestimate one with this much experience."

Rias rolls her eyes at his words.

"How comforting. You're as vulgar as ever."

"The Princess of Ruin, Twilight Healing," Ravel began scanning the Gremory Devils one by one with a smirk on her face, moving on to the rest of them with every shift of her blue eyes. "Priestess of Thunder, Sword Birth, and Boosted Gear, with a rather menacing black and white aura, and the Scale Blade, one of the nine rare trick weapons."

Issei raises an eyebrow when she mentioned her sword.

'She knows of the Scale Blade? And judging from her wording, it seems there are more weapons almost like it.'

In the background, Karlamine widens her eyes in surprise when Ravel mentioned what sword Issei had.

'No way! The Pawn boy has that as his weapon?!'

Ravel lets out a devious giggle before continuing.

"Such grand sounding names when they're all together." She then points a hand at herself. "However, we are Phenexes; immortal birds! And you-"

"Cannot defeat you. Blah blah blah! I get where you're going with this!"

"Yeah," Koneko agrees while glaring at Ravel. "You're sounding like a clichéd villain right now."

Ravel twitches in anger when she heard Koneko call her that.

"Grrrrrr! Don't you two get it?! You're situation here is completely hopeless!"

Issei lets out a sigh before staring back at her with a stern expression.

"I personally wouldn't say that, sister of the Yakitori Bird Brain." Ravel twitches her eyebrow. "Everybody's got a weakness, especially you Phenex birds. You say you're immortal, but really, I find you to be about 80 to 90% immortal, as you can still die, are still weak by Holy and Light powers, and a nit pick from me, you're underestimating us way too much."

Ravel lets out a yell in rage, getting fed up with the Pawn's words.

"Oh yeah?! And exactly how are you Gremory Devils going to defeat my brother, huh?! Beat the living shit out of him until he's out cold?!"

"Yup."

"Ditto."

Ravel stares at them with a flabbergasted look. Her left eye twitching while processing their responses. Deciding that she's heard enough, Ravel sets her angered gaze at the cat girls.

"Ni! Li!"

The cat girls, the one with blue hair, Ni, and the one with red hair, Li, make a meowing sound in response to her.

"It's time you show those two idiots how wrong they are of their current situation!"

In her command, the cat girls let out another meow as the two charge at Issei and Koneko.

Issei wasn't worried, and neither was Koneko. When the former saw Li going for a dive kick at his stomach, he grabs her leg, catching her by surprise, and throws a right hook at her face.

"NYAAAH!"

As Issei's fist makes contact with Li's face, she fell backwards from him and tumbled six feet away from him.

"Hey! How dare you hurt my sister?! Nya!"

Ni went in to hit Issei with a shoulder charge, but was abruptly stopped when she too got punched in the face by Koneko, who was glaring at the cat girls rather darkly.

"Piss off."

The cat girls got up and shot a glare at the two Gremory Devils. Before any of the two could make a move on Issei, a voice cuts them off.

"Move it! He's mine!"

Everyone turns to see Siris in the air, unsheathing her large sword and charges at Issei with her weapon above her head. When she got closer to him, Issei side steps right in time to dodge her slash once she landed in front of him.

Grunting, Siris tries to take him out again with a horizontal slash, only for Issei to jump back from her, dodging that attack.

"Oi! Koneko-chan! Can I leave the cat girls to you?!"

Koneko nods in response while glaring harshly at the cat girls.

"Sure."

Issei smiles at her in response, not being aware of her scowl since her back was facing him.

"You're attention should be on me, Issei-chan!"

"Eh?"

Issei turns back to Siris and raises an eyebrow at the honorific she gave him.

"Chan?"

Siris flinches and shifts her eyes away from him as her cheeks tinge pink.

"N-N-Never mind that and fight! You did promise to fight me too, you know."

Issei blinks at her for a couple of seconds before sighing.

"Yeah. No worries, I remember."

Issei grabs the hilt of his large sword from behind him and unsheathes it. He then holds it in front of him and gets in a fighting position with the blade.

Seeing that he's ready, Siris charges towards Issei and clashes swords with him, beginning her battle with him.

While Issei and Siris begun their battle with each other, and when Koneko started her fight with Ni and Li, Rias blocked an incoming attack from Riser with her magic shield while Asia took care of any injuries she received from him.

"Wow, he's so strong," Asia said in worry.

"I wish you would make this more entertaining, Rias," Riser says with a sigh. "This is the worst foreplay I've ever had."

Rias makes a "Tch!" sound as she conjures two balls of her demonic power from her hands.

"Play with this!"

Rias launches her projectiles at Riser, aiming for his face, only for the latter to conjure up a large ball of flame to block her oncoming attack, causing a large explosion to erupt at the rooftop.

"Buchou!"

Issei widened his eyes at the sight of the explosion, worried that Rias may have been hurt.

"I'm fine Ise," Rias assures him in his communicator. "Don't worry about me. Focus on the battle at hand."

"But… Bu-"

"Don't doubt yourself! I believe in you!"

"I'm not doubting myself at all!" Issei argued while blocking another slash from Siris, followed by him slashing at Siris. While she did block his attacks, she was backing away due to the force of his attacks.

"I'm worried about you, Buchou!" Issei continues while being on the offensive. "With Riser's regeneration, and the fact that our only healer is at your side, you're playing with fire! No pun intended!"

"I know, and I'm sorry." Issei gains a surprised look at the tone of her voice. "Just do what you can to defeat your enemies. I'm counting on you; all of you."

Issei widens his eyes slightly when he heard her hang up the communicator. While blocking Siris horizontal slash, he pushed her away and gritted his teeth in anger.

'Dammit! I can't waste anymore time here!'

Issei then saw Siris attempt to cut him with a vertical slash. Seeing it, he throws his large sword to his left hand and blocks her attack while keeping a firm grip on his hilt.

Ravel, Siris, and even the black haired Bishop widened their eyes at how he blocked the Knight's attack.

"He block Siris' sword," Ravel said in shock.

"With one arm!" Siris finished, looking impressed and surprised.

Siris then widened her eyes a little when she saw him give him a stern stare.

"Sorry, Siris," Issei begins as he reaches his right hand for his Scale Blade. "But I've started to become impatient."

Issei then unsheathes his Scale Blade and raises it above his head, making Ravel, and the others look on at his actions.

"Duel wielding?!" Karlamine asks while blocking an attack from Kiba.

Keeping his stern expression on Siris, Issei slashed his Scale Blade right onto Siris' sword, earning a confused stare from the latter. She eventually found out why he hit her blade when the small scale sized blades began to grip onto her own.

Seeing it do so, Issei pulled his Scale Blade backwards and destroyed Siris' sword, with pieces of her blade still in some of the small blades' grip.

"Shit! It broke!" Siris exclaims as she saw that there was nothing left of her sword but the hilt.

Issei then kicks her in the stomach and lifts his Boosted Gear towards himself, looking at it with narrowed eyes.

"Ddraig! Respond to my feelings on wanting to protect the ones I hold dear and lend me your power!"

{Dragon Booster!}

"That's not enough! Those feelings were for my friends. Now please, respond to my feelings on wanting to save Rias Gremory-sama!"

Green glowing markings form from the top hand of his Boosted Gear.

{Dragon Booster! Second Liberation!}

Upon those words spoken from the Boosted Gear, a tornado of green light began to form around Issei, causing the other Devils to cover their faces as it continued to circle around him.

"Wh… What is this?!" Ravel wondered as she was able to get a glimpse of the green tornado while covering her face with her arms.

After the tornado dispersed, Issei looked on at his Boosted Gear to see that it started changing. An elbow piece with a green gem set on it ejected from the elbow part of the gauntlet, two more gold spikes protruded up next to the original ones from the first liberation, with four more behind the gem embedded on the back of the gauntlet's hand, and one on each side of the gauntlet.

After scanning his Boosted Gear, His eyes widen at the design.

"Wait! I recognize this form!"

Issei began to remember the last time he saw the Boosted gear take on this form.

"That was the same form it took when I matured it from a fingerless gauntlet!"

Issei flips his left arm over to see the two gems on his gauntlet.

'So Ddraig, anything different about this 'Liberation'?'

{Not really. When the Boosted Gear is in its Second Liberation, you can boost yourself up at a quicker pace than you can in the First Liberation, and the Boosted Gear Gift ability should be more stronger, i.e., be able to transfer much more power than you can in its First Liberation.}

'Really?' Issei than blinks with wide eyes as he has an idea. 'Let's test what you just said, Ddraig!'

Sheathing both of his swords, Issei turns to Kiba.

"Oi! Kiba! Unleash your Sacred Gear with all of the power you got!"

"Do what now?!"

Kiba didn't understand why he wanted him to do that at first, but he got the message when he saw him point at his Boosted Gear, understanding what he tends to do.

With a look of determination, Kiba holds his sword in two hands and flips it to where the tip of its blade is facing the ground.

"Sword…"

He then lifts it upwards while staring at the ground with wide eyes of war.

"…BIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRTH!"

As Kiba stabs the sword on the ground, Issei sees that a bunch more swords started to protrude from the ground around him, giving him the cue to play his part.

"Boosted Gear…"

Issei proceeds aim his left fist towards the ground and punch it with all of the strength he has.

"…GIIIIIIIFT!"

POW!

{Transfer!}

At the Boosted Gear's call, a thousand more swords began to protrude around Issei and began to impale the Phenex Devils, causing them all to scream in pain.

The only person who survived the swords unscathed was Ravel Phenex, thanks to her healing factor. As for the rest of them, The black haired Bishop, Karlamine, Siris, Ni, and Li, they were on their way to retirement.

"Dammit…" Karlamine cursed under her breath. "How could we lose?"

As Karlamine began to be surrounded by a bright light, she used her remaining strength to shift her eyes towards Issei, who pulled his fist from the ground and dusted his hoodie off.

'And I never got to challenge the Scale Blade wielder either… Oh well… Maybe another time… If we ever do a rematch.'

The Phenex Devils who got impaled by the swords are now taken out of the game by the light, followed by an announcement from Grayfia.

"Two of Riser-sama's Pawns, two of his Knights, and one of his Bishops, retire."

~Student Council room~

Tsubaki stared at what Issei and Kiba have done in astonishment.

"Hyoudou-kun enhanced Kiba-kun's Sword Birth with his evolved Boosted Gear!"

"A gift given to him by the Red Dragon Emperor," Sona added with a nod.

Yoruichi chuckles while smirking at the screen that showed Issei and Kiba.

"Hee hee! Good thing he trained with his Boosted Gear to make it this far. Otherwise, if he tried using Boosted Gear Gift in its First Liberation, there wouldn't be enough swords to take 'em all down."

Yoruichi then sighs to herself with a frown.

'The sad part about it is that the power he achieved through all of that training still wasn't enough for him to achieve Balance Breaker; or at least an incomplete one.'

~Rating Game battlefield~

Issei wipes the sweat from his for head and regroups with Kiba and Koneko.

"Alright, what next?" Kiba asks to them while sheathing his sword.

CRACK! BOOM!

The trio of Gremory Devils, and Ravel jumped when they heard a loud cracking sound of thunder, followed by an explosion. When the four turned to the source of the explosion, three of the Devils widened their eyes, two in shock, and one in disbelief.

"No… Impossible…"

"Riser-sama's Queen retires."

Upon hearing those words from Grayfia, a confident smirk forms from Issei's lips as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"Holy Hell!" Kiba exclaims as he starts to smile in hope. "Akeno-senpai actually did it!"

"Kick ass!" Koneko shouts with a visible smile.

"No! It can't be!" Ravel shouts with contracted pupils, getting the attention from the three Gremory Devils. "She was our trump card to win! How can she be defeated!"

Ravel then blinks twice in confusion when he heard a Devil chuckle confidently at her. Upon setting her eyes at the source, she was surprised to see Issei looking at her with his trademark confident smirk on his lips.

"Looks like my secret plan worked."

Upon saying those words, everyone's eyes widen in surprise, with Ravel being the most shocked of the Devils.

"You had a secret plan, Issei?" Kiba asked, his surprised stare still on his fellow Devil.

"Yup. And I'm pleased to see it work out in the end."

~With Rias, Asia, and Riser~

"No! Impossible!" Riser shouts, frustrated at what he heard Grayfia said in the intercom. "My strongest servant, taken down by your Queen?!"

Rias allows a smirk to form on her face while Asia looked down at her friends with a smile and watery eyes.

'I knew you guys could do it.'

"Heh! See what happens when you underestimate us?!" Rias asks Riser, agitating him further. "With all of your servants down, minus Ravel, you might as well give up!"

"NEVER!" Riser retorts as his fiery aura flares up. "Most of my peerage may be wiped out, but that does NOT mean that you can defeat Riser Phenex, for I am IMMORTAL!"

"Tch!" Rias conjures up more of her aura. "Just stop it Riser! Do you really believe your own hype that much?"

"I AM THE HYPE!"

Rias rolls her eyes at his outburst and continues to attack him with her aura.

~Back to Issei and his friends~

"I don't understand!" Ravel shouts at Issei, disbelief visible on her face. "What exactly do you mean by 'your secret plan'?!"

Issei kept her serious stare on her, not at all phased by her yelling.

Kiba and Koneko keep their attention on their friend, as they too wanted to know more about his "secret plan."

"Simple," Issei began. "With Yubelluna being the juggernaut of your team, I knew that she'd be your trump card because of those two bottles of Phenex Tears, which I knew you'd give to her just in case."

"What?!" Ravel's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "You know of our family's hidden treasure?!"

"Of course," Issei answered nonchalantly. "While I was training for ten days, I took some time in each day to study your family and learn about their reputation, their 80 to 90% immortality, their weaknesses, and their special healing tears. It's something I like to call: getting to know your enemy before engaging them in combat."

Everyone stared at Issei with astonished expressions.

"Hot damn!" Kiba said. "I had no idea you took some time off training to learn about the Phenexes."

"Peek-a-boo! Ufufufufu~."

Issei suddenly blushes when a pair of female hands cover his eyes for three seconds before they removed themselves from them. The four Devils turned around and saw that it was Akeno, who waved at Issei, Kiba, and Koneko.

"Akeno-senpai! You don't look injured!" Kiba exclaimed in surprise as he noticed that there wasn't a single scratch on her skin.

"But of course," Ravel's eyes widen in horror when Akeno pulled something from her breast pocket. "All I had to do was use these Phenex Tears on myself, and voila! My injuries were all healed, and I've been given enough power to finish her off. Ufufufu~."

"WHAT?!" While Kiba and Koneko were surprised at Akeno's explanation, Ravel was the most shocked of them all. "But… How did you get a bottle of those?!"

Akeno wraps her arms around Issei's neck and nuzzles her cheek onto his while looking at Ravel.

"Simple. My favorite kouhai here pickpocketed a bottle from Yubelluna while at the same time injuring her, making her use the last bottle she had to heal the injury caused by the cutie. He then secretly gave the bottle to me while whispering in my ear his plan on how to defeat the Bomb Queen."

Ravel takes two steps back from the Gremory Devils, her irises and pupils contracting in fear at how Yubelluna was defeated. She was at a loss of words at this point.

"It's like I said, Ravel," Issei says, snapping the Phenex Devil's attention back to him. "I knew she'd be your trump card because of those Phenex Tears, and that she was the strongest of your group. Because of that, I hatched up a plan to deal with her, and it worked.

Ravel could now be heard shivering, in both anger and in disbelief.

"How long… How long have you had this planned out?!"

Issei lets a confident smirk form from his lips as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"I've had it planned out ever since I found out about your Phenex Tears."

~Student Council Room~

"BOOM!" Yoruichi shouts as she pounds her fist onto her hand. "That was the exact quote I expected him to say!" She then clasps her hands together having a face of extreme happiness. "Oh Issei! You have no idea how happy I am to have you as my Familiar master!"

While Yoruichi was continuing to shoot praise after praise for Issei, Sona and Tsubaki stared on at the young man, completely flabbergasted at Issei's secret plan.

"To think Hyoudou-san could be quite the strategist…"

"Hyoudou-kun…"

~Rating Game battlefield~

"Alright, folks!" Issei says to his team, getting their attention. "We're at the final stretch now! Let's get to the rooftop of the new school building on foot so Riser doesn't blast us in a group and aid Buchou with all of the power we got!"

""Right!"" Kiba and Koneko say in unison.

"Ufufufufu~. Your wish is my command, Sergeant Ise-kun~."

Issei rolled his eyes at her joke.

'Oh, brother.'

With that set, the Gremory Devils began their movement towards the new school building.

"Wait, hold on!" Ravel shouted at the Devils. "Are you guys really going to fight him?! Keep in mind that-"

"Just shut up and watch, Ravel," Issei interrupted, shooting her a stare. "After all, that is what you like to do in the Rating Games, right?"

Ravel takes a step back from his words and slightly widened her eyes at the tone in his voice. She then pouts and looks away from him, not bothering to stop them as the Devils run towards the entrance of the new school building.

When she heard them open the door and close, entering the building, she looked back towards them at the building.

'Jeez. To think the Gremorys would make it this far because of him.'

As the four Gremory Devils entered the building, Issei puts a hand up, signaling them to stop.

"One moment, guys. Promotion: grant me the power of a Queen."

After saying this command, Issei can feel the traits of a Knight, Rook, and Bishop flow through him.

"Alright," Kiba says with a nod. "Now that you're promoted, you ready to get up there and win?"

"Not yet, Kiba," Issei answers. "I still have one more thing to do. I've been thinking about it for a while during our walk here, and I've made up my mind about it."

The three look at Issei with confused expressions.

"Ara? What do you mean, Ise-kun?"

Akeno's question was answered when Issei lifts his Boosted Gear embedded arm towards himself, gems aiming at the ceiling.

"Oi, Ddraig. If you can hear me, speak up. I have something I want to talk about."

{I am here.}

Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno jump a little when they hear Ddraig's voice booming out of the gauntlet. The gems shined bright green with every word he says.

{What is it you wish to talk about?}

Keeping his narrow eyes on the gauntlet, Issei says to Ddraig:

"I want to make a deal."

To be continued…

Authors Note: Okay! Part one of the Rating Game battle has been complete. I know, I know, I hate cliffhangers as much as you do, but I plan on finishing The Phenex Bird arc in one chapter, so it had to end in a cliffhanger.

Now then, I want to explain why I'm making Issei turn his left arm into a dragon's arm, and no, it's not so I can get Akeno to suck on his fingers. You see, while Issei has managed to weaponize his aura, making explosive traps, and using his new move: Getsuga Tenshou, it's still not enough to have him achieve Balance Breaker, or an incomplete version. Why? Because while he is able to finally use his aura, most its properties are still sealed, with some being loosened. But it's not sealed by Rias… but rather… Someone else…

Anyway, with everyone in the Gremory team fighting the good fight, and everyone still in the game thanks to Issei and his secret plan to take out Yubelluna, the gang can now regroup with Rias and defeat that smug Phenex who believes that he's the hype…

Chibi Issei: "Kill him!"

Also, I've given Issei's ability to detect Reiatsu flames (The ability displayed in chapter 7: Clash! Devils vs Hollows!) a name: Soul Radar. And, I've given Issei's Scale Blade, along with the other eight trick weapons lore. Which will eventually fold out as the story progresses.

Well… I'm out of stuff to say, so…

Next chapter: "The final confrontation!"; Issei and Riser duke it out in their battle with each other. But, during their fight, something happens to Issei that absolutely no one expected to happen.

Issei's current harem (In no particular order): Yoruichi, Tsubaki, Akeno, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubasa, Reya, Ravel, Siris, Isabela, Karlamine, Mira, Marion, Aika, Murayama.

Until next time folks! And trust me, you have no idea how long I've waited to write this one scene in the next chapter. ;)