Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, neither do I own any of the multiple resources that I will use for the story in the form of (but not limited to) references.

Epilogue

Seth POV

"Hi, guys." I said entering the room where everyone was after the Game. This time they even had adapted a place for Iorek to be in the room too. "You were all amazing out there." I said. Liam and Lucie beamed at me. The rest gave me appreciative smiles and nods.

"Second place isn't so bad." Seek said from her bed. Indeed, it wasn't. And the first place being Sairaorg made it acceptable. I would never be able to live with myself if the Oppai Dragon's team was above us.

Fortunately, Sairaorg hadn't lost any Games, so he was first place. Then came our team, who had only lost against him. After that it was Gremory who had won against Sona and Sona herself who hadn't been able to win any Game.

"Good, everyone is here." Came a voice behind me. Ajuka was at the door. "I just came to congratulate you all and tell you that there will be an award ceremony held in a week. The specifics should be sent to you soon." He said.

"Thank you, Ajuka." I said with a smile.

"No Lord Beelzebub this time, huh? You are learning." He said with a smirk. "Although Azazel isn't pleased with you about that little secret of yours." I fought back a wince at that. Yeah, I hadn't told the Fallen Angel Governor about my little Deadly Sins Project.

"Yeah, I wanted it to be a surprise." I said.

"And you know how some people react to surprises." His smirk grew and I groaned.

"I'll deal with that later." I said trying to wave it off.

"If you say so. Take care, everyone. We'll talk some more later, Seth." He waved at everyone and shook my hand. Everyone said their goodbyes to the Maou and he left as fast as he had come. Probably going to research on something or watch the Game again to see what he could get about the Sins and what questions he wanted to ask me when he could. Azazel was probably already on it.

I walked up to Iorek.

"You did it, you oversized puppy." I told him and he barked happily at me, not even getting angry for the name. "There was no shame in today's match, you did amazing." It continued barking excitedly and licking my face as I petted him. Then I turned to Trina and Xander. They didn't look too enthusiastic.

"We were the first ones to retire." Xander said through his teeth as he clenched the sheets in his hands.

"Stop it." I chided him. "No one in this peerage is stupid. So, don't act like one." I told him. "You were against a Valkyrie. Of course, she would kick your ass." I continued. "It's a surprise that you even lasted that long. You should be proud. You held your ground against one of the best warriors the Nordic mythology has. She was so tired after dealing with you that Iorek barely had to try to take her out." Said baby behemoth barked in protest.

"True. We are awesome." Trina said with a smirk and Xander chuckled.

"I couldn't even react." Liam said when I turned to him.

"True." I admitted. "Although, being honest, neither did Brittney and Alan barely could." I pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." I sighed.

"Ok, you can get a tattoo." He nodded resolutely. "After that Seek, Brittney and I will train your reflexes. We can probably add Dovray and Leo with knives too. When you get good enough, we'll get it removed." He seemed to lose some of his determination as he paled. "Afraid?" I smirked at him. He shook his head quickly.

"No, it's ok. I would like that." He didn't sound so sure, but he would do it. He was stubborn like that. I smiled and ruffled his hair as usual.

"I'm ok without that training though." Said a pale Brittney and I chuckled.

"Ok," I said simply. "you did great, both of you. It's a pity you couldn't show more." I told them. Liam beamed and Brittney smiled.

"Thank you." The girl said.

"You don't have to give us a pick-me-up pep talk." Dovray said as soon as I turned to him, Ayumi and Lucie.

"Aw, but I had a good one for you guys." I complained. He only raised an eyebrow at me.

"No need, Seth. We know we are amazing, but you are welcome to point it out of you want." Ayumi told me with a sweet smile. I smirked.

"Na, no need to inflate your egos even more." I told her waving my had in the air. "I will do this though." I walked up to Lucie and hugged her tightly. "I'm so proud of you." I whispered in her ear.

"I wasn't useless, brother." She whispered back with a teary voice.

"You never were, you aren't, and you never will be, little sis." I told her putting my hands on her shoulders.

"Thank you, big bro." She said with a tear falling down her cheek. I smiled at her and wiped it off.

"Anytime." I said. Then I turned to Seek. "I was thinking about going to a nice restaurant tonight, what do you say?" I asked with a smile.

"With everyone else, I guess?" She asked with a small smile.

"Unfortunately." I said with a dejected voice. I think I heard one or some of them protest at that. "But we can get our own table, can't we?" I proposed and her smiled widened.

"Sounds like a good pl-… I'd like that." She corrected. I grinned at her. She really didn't like our dates to be considered anywhere near the word 'plan'. "Now, go. I know you have something to do." I gave her an appreciative smile.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." I said and went out. Then I walked through the halls with a lump in my throat. I knew I shouldn't feel bad but… I couldn't help it. They didn't deserve anything like that.

When I found the door, I stood in front of it for a minute. With a deep breath my hand took the handle and opened it slowly. Every eye in the room turned to me. I instantly could feel the coldness in the air, and I took another deep breath before bowing.

"I'm deeply sorry for the way I acted during the Game." I told the Gremory team.

"You didn't seem to care during the whole thing." I heard the voice of a girl. The Knight I think it was.

"I was using an aspect of my Sacred Gear. I synchronize with a soul inside it to get more power. The first one was Walburga, she is an ex-member of Khaos Brigade and a little crazy in the head. She is very… violent. The second is a pack of wolves, so I don't think I have to explain that one." I explained to them. "It's really no excuse because I did so willingly, but I hope you can forgive me." I said. I kept looking down. I didn't want to offend the Gremory, Sirzechs Lucifer formerly known as Sirzechs Gremory was a Maou, and nobody wanted a Maou as an enemy.

"It's ok." I heard and I looked up to see the Red Dragon Emperor. "A lot of what you said hurt… But I saw it during the last part of our… match." He was looking down to his sheets. "You were right… I've been fooling around. Thank you for the wake-up call." He said and he forced a smile my way.

"Look after your people Red One." I said simply and he nodded. "Also," I turned to Gremory and Akeno, my magic leaking around me almost freezing the room. "Next time be gentler with my little sister and little brother… Or I'll freeze you." My eye narrowed and I saw them gulp before nodding. Was that a blush in the Queen's face? I must have been seeing things. "Take care. I guess I'll see you during the award ceremony." I dispelled the aura and said casually. Gremory still looked a bit pale as she nodded again. "See you."

[}-o-{]

"We are meeting here to announce the results of the Rating Games of the Young Devils Gathering." Lucifer said during the meeting a week after our match against Gremory. I noticed he had said 'results' and narrowed my eyes. "But first I would like to point out that each and every one of you has proved the Underworld your worth and strength throughout the Games that have been held." I wondered if he also meant the Diodora vs Gremory fiasco.

"But now the time to prove has come to an end. Now it's time to have your achievements rewarded." He continued. "First and foremost, I want to congratulate Sairaorg Bael and his peerage for achieving the first place in the Tournament." There was a lot of clapping and cheering at that. Sairaorg had quickly stopped being the 'failure of the Great King's family'. That fact had been proven during the first Game and had only being made clearer during the others.

The whole team walked up to the Maou to receive the trophy in the form of a King piece with a Queen half its size fused on its right side and tiny versions of the other pieces around the base. The Pawns in front, the Knights and Bishops on the sides and the Rooks on the back corners.

"Now, the award for Best Single-Piece Pawn," 'So, there are awards for every piece?' I thought to myself. "goes to the Sand Guardian, Liam O'Brein." I turned with a smirk to see my little brother's stunned expression.

"Congratulations, little bro." I told him breaking him from his stupor. He blushed slightly and walked all too nervously up the to the stage. A minute later he was standing in front of the Bael peerage with a medal on his chest. It was amusing to look at him squirm under the attention.

I wondered if he was prouder of the award or of his nickname being similar to mine.

"For the Best Multi-Piece Pawn," Lucifer started again. "The Prison Dragon King, Genshirou Saji." Now, that came as a surprise. Even the public took a second to process that.

After a few seconds I understood. The Vritra wielder had been impressive, even more impressive than Hyoudou if one considered that he only had four Pawns in him. In his match against Gremory he had taken out Hyoudou, however treacherously the method had been done. Then he had held his ground against me and going even further he had been key for one of the biggest schemes of that Game. Then he had definitely showed off during the match against Bael.

Hyoudou was more powerful and impressive? Yes, nobody was going to argue against that. But nobody could argue against the fact that he took up twice as many pieces as the Vritra holder.

There was also the fact that everyone knew that Hyoudou was a power figure. And that could be the reason for these awards. To point out power figures. The Sitri Pawn had been overlooked, now he wouldn't. If someone had any doubts those had flown out the window. He was a remarkable individual, indeed.

"Both awards are for the sole reason that both of you have proved that even those with low potential can climb up to the level of those with high ones. The Pawn often overlooked and often referred as the sacrificial piece. You two have proved that even someone as simple as a Pawn can step up and face greatest dangers than anyone would think they could." The Maou explained and both Pawns swelled with pride.

"Now, for the award of Best Knight," Lucifer started once again. "we call the Holy Demonic Prince, Yuuto Kiba to the stage." The blond either wasn't surprised or got over it quickly. I honestly wasn't surprised myself.

Alan was good, but he hadn't showed off that much during the games. Astaroth didn't even count probably, and if he did, his game had been so easy it shouldn't. During the Sitri Game he had been taken out by an ambush and during the Bael one he had taken advantage of a simple strategy. As for the Gremory Game, he had taken out a super slowed foe, not that impressive either.

As for the other Knights, Quarta, also from the Gremory team was impressive with her Ex-Durandal. But Kiba had proved that he could wield Durandal too, maybe better than her, during the Sitri Game. And she had even worse control over Ex-Durandal.

The Bael team's Knights were a step below him and there wasn't even a point in mentioning the Sitri Knight.

"The Best Bishop award goes to the Trap Master, Dovray Demiurge." He announced, no surprise there either. Everyone clapped as they did with all the others, except there was no pause like the Sitri Pawn had caused. I slapped Dovray's back as he passed in front of me.

"Congratulations." I said.

"I'll see you up there." Was his reply. I had to shake my head at that. He didn't have a grain of doubt in his voice.

"Both of them awarded for showing that technique can stand against strength. That even when the outcome seems obvious an ace up your sleeve, one last trick, can change the whole battle." The Maou said. "Now, for the Best Rook award, we call to the stage the Battle Valkyrie, Rossweisse." Was the next announcement. "For showing the role of a true Rook, to stand proud and immovable until the very end. To be the unshakable force of the peerage and shield to the King."

While I would have liked to argue that Iorek was better. Truth is, I wasn't sure. Beside that, there was the fact that Iorek had had some really bad luck during the first Games, those in which he participated that is. The Gremory Game had redeemed him but not enough apparently. The other Rooks were more or less the same.

"The Best Queen award goes to the Ice Guardian," I was shocked the public didn't even let the Maou finish the announcement before cheering, even louder than the other times. "the Warden of Dragons, Seth JEROME!" Lucifer had to start shouting because people were going crazy. I was more surprised by the reaction of the public than by the award. I slowly went up the stage and the Maou put the medal on my chest, then I stood next to the Valkyrie.

"And last, but definitely not least, the Best King award goes to, the Lion King, the Strongest Youth, SAIRAORG BAEL." The people reacted pretty much the same way they did with me. It was difficult to tell if it was louder so, I wouldn't know.

"Both of them," His back was facing us, but I would swear I could hear a smile on Lucifer's face. Which was shocking considering his next words. "awarded for teaching us that hard work will stand on top of talent in the end." My eyes widened and I had to make conscious effort to keep my jaw from falling. Those were the words I had said to his sister during our Game.

"Congratulations to every one of the awarded."

An even more shocking thing happened after the ceremony was over. The Maou took everyone of the awarded together with, Hyoudou, Himejima, Shinra and Abaddon to another room and told us some pretty surprising news. We were all going to be tested in order to advance to Mid-Class Devils.

"So, we are closer, huh?" Leonardo said when I told him the news. "A step closer, my King."

[} End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Thank you so much for following this story. I remember when I first started it. I thought to myself 'yeah, with a side character as unimportant as Seekvaira I won't have followers at all' and now you all proved me wrong with over 200 followers and an average of 650 views per chapter.

Not to mention that I barely got any bad reviews. That was even more of a shock. I expected people flaming me left and right. Instead I got people encouraging me and some of you, Maou bless your souls, left me really long reviews that were just awesome.

Some of you I just had to see your nicknames and a smile immediately appeared in my face.

Truly, thank you for all the support.

Now, I'm not sure when this story will come back. It'll probably take a long time. But I'll leave a little TEASER right here of Volume 2: Another Side – Rise of the King.

See you.

[} Teaser {]

"Those are cousins of yours, aren't they?" I asked breaking a cold sweat.

I received an affirmative answer.

"And that's an aunt or uncle, right?" I asked dread filling me.

Another affirmative answer.

"I don't think I like your family, buddy."

The baby behemoth beside me whimpered in fear. As we saw the massive beasts in the distance.

An adult behemoth and its half-grown children were definitely not something I was looking forward to facing.

[} Teaser End {]

Please leave a review telling me what you think about the story or any doubts about what has happened so far. I'll probably publish a chapter answering them sometime in the future.