"You said that Blank's goal was to erase magic, from speculation once Naiver finds out about Sia's ability he'll go after him. Though one thing confuses me, in the last chapter Sia said that when he erases something it leaves traces of mana, if that's true won't they just be back at square one?"

The-Killer40513

Well, while things that Sia erases do leave traces of mana, he doesn't need to use mana for his ability to work. The traces of mana are more like an indication of the world to show that something happened that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Besides that, Blank was there before Sia even got his powers, so they probably already have other ways to erase magic. Or is that even Naiver's true goal?

It was around 11.0 pm at night. The battle would begin in 20 minutes.

The other club members and Issei have gathered in the old school building. Everyone except Sia and Asia was wearing their school uniforms. If there were a uniform that their group would wear, it would be the kuoh uniform. After all, they are students of kuoh academy.

Kiba was equipped with a gauntlet on his hands and some armour on his lower leg. His swords were lying against the wall.

Koneko was sitting on the chair and reading a book. She wore fingerless gloves, just like the ones that martial artists wear. It looks pretty intense if a loli wears that.

Akeno and Buchou were drinking green tea elegantly. Just as expected of them. They sure are calm.

Asia and Issei sat on the chair quietly while they waited for the time to come. Asia was wearing her nun outfit, the same outfit that she wore when she first met Issei. Issei looked over to Sia, who was leaning against the wall, preparing countless magic spells. Sia was wearing a priest outfit. He claimed that he would maximise the holiness, but Issei was sure that Sia only wore that because he wanted to look cool. Sia couldn't finish Prototype/Gremory in time, so he did the rest now.

Even though he couldn't finish it in time, the club members were still pretty impressed. Almost creating a new weapon in only ten days is a pretty impressive feat after all.

"Sia, what are you doing?"Issei asked, curious why he was casting so many different spells. Wouldn't that waste his mana? Mana and demonic power were essentially the same, so why was he casting so many spells for no reason right now?

"Ah? I'm only casting some basic spells like enhancement and such. If I keep this going, I could finish it when you guys reach Raiser." Sia muttered without looking at Issei. What did he mean by "finishing it"? However, Issei didn't pry any further. He didn't want to disturb him after all.

"Is everyone ready? It's ten minutes before the match."

Everyone stood up when Grayfia appeared. She then proceeded to explain a few things about the map of the rating game.

"When it becomes the time to start the battle, you will be teleported to the battlefield through this magic circle. The location of the place is in a different dimension used for battles. You may fight with all your power. It's a disposable space,. Actually so feel free to fight to your satisfaction. "

A battle purpose field, huh. That made sense. If they fought somewhere in the humans' world or the Devils' world, they wouldn't be able to avoid destruction, meaning that they needed a place where they won't harm anything no matter what they do.

But leaving that aside, there's something that Issei was concerned about. He was sure that Buchou had another Bishop. However, that Bishop wasn't here right now, meaning that he or she wasn't able to attend right now. Was Buchou's Bishop perhaps injured? Issei decided not to ask, fearing that he would make the atmosphere weird.

"This "Rating Game" battle will also be viewed by members of both households from a different location through broadcast. " Grayfia proceeded to explain after waiting for a few seconds for them to process that information.

Seriously? Were they going to watch the Rating game like some VIP members? They sure must be having fun. Since Buchou's parents were watching this as well, Issei couldn't show them an ugly scene.

"Maou Lucifer-sama will also be viewing this battle. Please do not forget about it. "

Maou!? Maou-Sama!? Now Issei was getting really worried. Why would Lucifer himself come to watch the match? Buchou then made a shocked face.

"Onii-sama is? …I see, so Onii-sama is also going to view this battle. "

Issei thought that he had a misheard something. Did Buchou just call Lucifer "Onii-sama"? However, Issei didn't have the chance to ask, as Sia did it faster than him. Sia, who was quiet the whole time, began to question Rias with widened eyes. He seemed to be just as surprises as Issei.

"Wait. Actually, Satan is your brother?"

"Yes, he is. But is that actually part important?" Rias asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head a little bit to the side. Issei couldn't help but stare at his beautiful Buchou.

"Of course it is." Sia said, also crossing his arms while raising an eyebrow, "Calling actually Satan only Satan wouldn't make that clear enough."

Rias wanted to retort something. She raised as she suddenly stopped as if she remembered something. "No, you are actually right."

Sia let his poker face slip for a moment before maintaining it again. "Of course I am. But just so the others know why I'm right, could you please explain that for the others?"

Kiba chuckled at Sia's silly behavior. Even though no one showed it directly, everyone was nervous about the rating game. It decided the future of Rias, after all. Everyone in the room relaxed slightly, seeing that Sia briefly smiled, almost not noticeable, thinking that no one noticed that. However, everybody in the room caught his smile, confirming that he was trying to lighten the mood.

"Please prepare yourself. The match will begin soon." Grayfia states calmly, interrupting the calming atmosphere in the room.

"No time for explanations, I guess." Sia shrugged, disappointed. He took some transceivers out of the bag, located on a chair behind him. "Here. Take this."

"Are these transceivers?" Issei asked, astonished that Sia planned as far as this. He totally forgot that they also had to communicate during the match.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to keep in touch? Well, you guys might be able to pull some demonic imagination magic bullshit, but I can't. I only possess some basic magic spells as of now." Sia had a flabbergasted expression on his face. "Please use your brain, Issei."

Issei wanted to retort something, but he didn't have the chance as everything turned white.

"The match will begin. Good luck, Ojou-sama."

-Akasha-

"Ise, are you alright?", Buchou asked him. Issei slowly opened his eyes, finding himself lying on the lap of Rias. Issei did go through teleportation magic a few times already, so he was already used to that. However, they were always teleportation circles with the Gremory crests, so using a new teleportation technique felt weird. It made him dizzy.

"I suppose this can happen sometimes," Buchou said as she pressed her finger against Issei's forehead. Issei's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know if that was because of Buchou or the sudden surge of power that flowed through his veins.

"I loosened the seal a bit. I put a seal on you so that the power of eight pawns doesn't destroy you. The training was so that you could begin to utilize a bit of the power without hurting yourself." Issei nodded. He did consume eight pawns. After all, however, his body was weak back then. No, he was still pretty weak right now.

"Guys, can you hear me?" Sia's voice came out of the transceiver. Buchou pressed the transceiver harder against her ear to hear better.

"Yes, we can."

"Did you set up all the traps?" Issei raised an eyebrow. Traps? He didn't know anything about that. Well, he did faint for a few seconds back then, so that wasn't that surprising.

Buchou nodded.

"Can we move to phase two of the plan?"

"Yeah, the school field is visible from the new building, which means that it would be a dumb move to move through there to get to the enemy base. Considering that Raiser seems to respect your intelligence, he probably expected you not to use that way to enter the new building. Meaning that that place will probably be unguarded or not as well guarded as the other entrances to the new building, such as the sports gym."

"Wouldn't that be too risky, though?" Issei asked, pressing the button on the transceiver to unmute his microphone. Sia responded immediately.

"It is a high risk, high reward strategy. If I am right, we would be able to enter the enemy's base while ambushing at the same time. However, if we fail, we'll be at a disadvantage. Still, we are severely outnumbered, meaning that we have to do some gambles like this."

Issei responded with a "hm" to let Sia know that he understood Sia's point.

"Then what is my job?" Issei was scared that Sia didn't consider him in his plan. He didn't want to be useless after all. He wanted to help Buchou win! No, he wanted to win it for his Buchou!

"You have the most important job of all. You have to defeat Raiser. If you promote to a queen you should have enough power to beat his ass. Can you do it?" Issei nodded energetically, even if Sia couldn't see that. Sia might instruct them from the original Clubroom, but he doesn't know what is happening on the battlefield. He isn't there with them after all.

"Akeno, can you hear me?" The transceiver transmitted Sia's voice.

"Ara? Loud and clear." Akeno said seductively. Issei could hear Sia sigh quietly.

"So, did you prepare the trap?"

"With certainty."

"How many people are there by your side right now?" Akeno waited a few seconds, probably counting the number of preys that were by her side right now.

"Five pawns, a bishop, and a knight."

"Activate all the traps right now."

Issei flinched back as the loud, buzzing sound of an explosion rang out. He could smell the smell of something burnt even from here.

[Raiser Phoenix-sama's five [Pawns], one [Bishop], and one [Knight] retires!]

However, that wasn't the end as another loud explosion rang out.

"It seems like the enemy Queen has appeared. I'll have to go now." Akeno said before the connection to her cut off.

"Issei! Begin moving, now! Rias, go to the gym and pick up Asia from Koneko! When you arrive there, another few pieces should be already be taken out by her and she would probably be fully healed by Asia."

Issei nodded, standing up and sprinting to the school field, while Rias moved in the other direction. Issei raced to the school field at full speed as another announcement rang out.

[Raiser Phoenix-sama's one [Pawn], and one [Rook] retires!]

Issei was surprised. It was going well. Almost too well. Issei couldn't help but feel like something terrible was about to happen. Issei arrived at the school field, as he suddenly felt somebody touching his shoulder. Issei activated his boosted gear and immediately turned around, preparing a punch.

However, he stopped as he spotted Kiba, giving him a refreshing smile.

"Oh, it's you." Issei immediately calmed down again. Still, he couldn't relax right now. Nine of Raiser's pieces were taken out. They were at even grounds. No, considering that Sia was also part of the game, they were even at an advantage. It was seven against six. "It is going well."

"Yes, it is. However, we can't relax. As Rias said, Raiser, is the greatest danger in this game. The other pieces are more or less just decoration." Kiba said, his eyes were wandering around, trying to spot an enemy. Sia was right. This place really was unguarded.

"Let's win."

"Of course, Ise-kun."

Kiba might piss Issei during his school life, but he was one of the most reliable partners in battle, considering his great skill and charisma. Kiba began to speed up. Issei tried to follow, which was kind of hard. Following a knight as a pawn wasn't exactly easy.

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

Issei stopped as the enemy's Queen appeared before him. She was uninjured. Issei shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. How did she fight with Akeno without even receiving a single wound?

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

The first announcement shocked Sia. However, they still had a good chance, considering that Issei and Asia were still on the field. If Issei utilizes his boosted gear the right way, he should be able to turn the tables. Akeno and Koneko were probably at the infirmary right now, so Sia couldn't ask them for the situation. Pressing against the button on his transceiver, he asked.

"Asia! What is the situation right now?"

"Raiser challenged Buchou-san to a battle, and she accepted! The holy water is slowing down the regeneration of Raiser, but it is still not enough! Kiba is fending off against multiple enemies right now, and- Oh! Ise-san came to support Raiser, but he brought the enemy Queen with him!" Asia reported, her voice shaking. She was nervous, and she had a good reason to be. It was a mess. How did it get to this point?

Suddenly Sia felt a massive burst of mana. An explosion. Considering the texture of the mana, it indeed didn't belong to either Rias or Issei. Kiba wouldn't be able to create such an intense explosion so that only leaves the possibility of it being either Raiser or one of his peerage.

[Rias Gremory-sama's [Knight] and [Bishop] retires!]

Another sudden burst of mana. This time Sia was sure that it was Issei's. However, it didn't take long for another announcement to appear.

"Sia, I'll leave this to you." Issei's voice was weak, and It almost sounded like he was about to cry. Issei gripped his transceiver harder, to the point of almost breaking it. At first, Sia didn't like Issei. However, as the days passed, he somehow built a bond with him and genuinely considered him a friend. And hearing a friend trying to hold back his tears was irritating to him.

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

"Don't worry. You did well."

Sia lifted his newly made weapon, starting at it while a small smirk crawled up his face. "It seems like it's time to test this out."

-Akasha-

Issei slowly opened his eyes. He was at the infirmary. It was his second time today.

"Ise-san?" It was Asia. She was sitting right beside Issei's bed, leaning over him. She was worried that he got hurt badly in the fight with the raiser.

"So you are finally awake, Hyoudou-san," Sona said politely without a change in her expression while she was staring at the tv in the middle of the room.

"W-why are you here?" Issei was confused about it. They did mention that the Maous were watching but that Sona and her peerage were watching too? He didn't know that "shit. I totally made myself look like a joke."

Sona shook her head. Her eyes were still glued on TV. "No, you did better than expected. Severely injuring the whole peerage isn't exactly a small feat."

"Still…"

"It's alright, Ise-kun. We all failed.", Kiba said, smiling. However, that smile didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were cold. Issei has never seen that look on him before.

"Ara Ise-kun, Stop thinking about it. At least you weren't the first one that retired." Akron tried to encourage him. However, her tone wasn't quite as cheerful and teasing as usual. She was also down about it.

"I wanted to be more useful…." Koneko muttered quietly, which broke Issei's heart. Making a loli said was a sin, and Raiser was a sinner now. He was an asshole before, but he took that way too far now.

"T-that's right, Ise-san! It isn't your fault!" Asia tried to cheer Issei up. Her voice was shaking, which made it quite unconvincing, but it was cute, so he'll let that go.

"Alright! Next time, I'm going to beat that fried chicken's ass!" Issei shouted loudly to no one. It was more like an oath to himself. He wouldn't lose the next match! And then he would bathe in Buchou's boobs as a reward!

"If there will be another one," Tsubaki stated calmly, displaying the facts. She sat right next to Sona and also stared at the tv"If Rias loses there will be no next time."

"A-anyway why are you guys staring at the tv?" Issei couldn't see what was happening on the tv from the position he was in.

"We are watching the rating game." Sona calmly retorted, "Gran-san was just teleported into the occult club room."

"Wait what?!" Issei immediately jumped up, surprising Asia, and went to the tv. He couldn't miss the fight of Sia! Issei was curious what his new weapon was. Issei pushed his regret and disappointment to the back, and excitement and curiosity came to the stage.

"Hey hey, what do you guys think Sia's weapon will be?"

"Gloves," Koneko responded without a change in expression.

"Swords," Kiba said proudly while pointing at his own swords.

"A Book?" Asia said, not really sure about her answer herself. But Jesus would probably use the Bible, right?

"A whip," Akeno said while drooling intensively. She was already daydreaming about it.

"Well...I think that he will use a staff!" Issei responded proudly to his own question. The only response that he got was raised eyebrows.

"A staff? Really?" Kiba was the first one to ask, looking at Issei in disbelief, "He doesn't look like the type to use a staff."

"But think about it! A staff would be so c-"

"He is beginning to move." Sona started calmly. All the attention in the room was getting focused on the tv again.

Sia narrows his eyes as he begins to analyse his surroundings.

"Is it just me or are his eyes glowing?" Issei asked, questioning his eyesight.

"Oh my, that does look quite good on him~" Akeno licked her lips slowly while saying that in a seductive tone.

"Damn pretty boy."

"And as a special joker wields a…." Sia began to smile. Issei almost wanted to complain about it. He could still joke in such a situation? However, he stopped when the tv showed Sia's eyes. They were dead. A complete indifference could be seen like the world could have burned down in front of him, and he wouldn't care. Sia was serious "...a gun. Long-range mode."

Yellow magic circles began to appear in front of Sia, and they slowly materializedcolors,ing. It was a black sniper with a few red accents. He took a look through the visor and moved around until he suddenly came to a stop.

And then he pulled the trigger.

BANG

The scene changed. It now showed Raiser's peerage who restrained Buchou, making her unable to move.

"Now, let's see how that human will beg for his life." Raiser arrogantly snorted while staring at the old building where Sia was located.

Suddenly a red beam shot out of nowhere and hit the pawn's head that stood next to Raiser.

[Raiser Phoenix-sama's [Pawn] retires!]

"What?" Issei stared at the screen, baffled by the scene that was unfolding in front of his eyes. In less than ten seconds, he already took someone out. But it didn't end there.

[Raiser Phoenix-sama's [Pawn] retires!]

-Akasha-

The same thing happened again. Raiser's eyes widened in surprise as another one of his pieces was taken out.

"The weak fight like the weak," Sia muttered quietly. Distaste could be heard in his voice. A small smirk crawled up his face, his eyes narrowing even more. Sia was confident now. The enemies were far weaker than expected. "But I might not be the weak one in this case."

"Close-range mode."

The sniper transformed into two shotguns. One in each hand as Sia disappeared and appeared right in front of Raiser's knight, aiming one shotgun at her. "How about a little serving, madam?"

He pulled the trigger and blasted her away.

BANG

Another gunshot rang out. Damn it. Sia should've done something against the loud sound. It was really hurting his ears.

"Y...you puny human!"

Somehow, the Knight managed to block the attack, but her sword broke in the process. With a click with his tongue, he turned around.

Sia's structural analysis could see a line of mana moving directly towards him. The rook was attacking him.

"HYAAAAAH!"

"Using a surprise attack?" Sia asked, raising the gun swiftly, aiming it at her head. He tilted his head slightly to the side, disrespecting his opponents while smirking lightly and repeating his words, now with certainty, "The weak fight like the weak, but I am not the weak one."

BANG

Without being able to react, she took in the full power of the gunshot, fueled with mana, fire magic, and a lot of enhancement magic. She crashed through multiple walls and landed in the school field, leaving only a big crater behind. She coughed out a lot of blood. The smell of iron was now in the air.

[Raiser Phoenix-sama's [Rook] retires!]

Only four to go.

His structure analysis was going crazy. Ravel began to collect massive amounts of mana, while Raised began to cast multiple small spells. Besides that, the Knight was coming back, and the Queen seemed to prepare something too.

His mind was filled with different kinds of information, making it hard to concentrate.

"TAKE THIS!" The knight swung her broken sword at him at a quite impressive speed.

Sia could barely dodge it without enhancing his body with mana. He ducked under it while dispersing the gun in his left hand. Using his left hand, Sia cast a low-level explosion spell on her. However, he fused it with a spell that collectively gathers mana, enhancing the spell to a high-level spell, "Have a good trip."

BOOM

A delayed explosion got created, blasting her away, but it wasn't enough to knock her out yet. However, it still gave him time—enough time to deal with Raiser's Queen first. Sia's structural analysis was going crazy. He could see a bunch of colors, words, and lines everywhere. He couldn't concentrate at all, but he couldn't turn it off at the same time. Structural analysis was the skill that helped him erase things in the first place.

"Gran-san!" It was Rias's voice. Why did she call his name? Wasn't she in a worse position right now? Sia stopped when he realized what happened. Sia could smell the smell of burnt flesh. He looked down at his right hand, only to find out that it is completely burned, barely holding onto the gun. His hand looked like a piece of burned toast.

"How do you like that?" The Queen asked. Sia could see the mana gathering around her.

"Lukewarm. Still hotter than you, I guess." Sia replied monotone. He used his structural analysis on his hand. A fourth-degree burn. It through both layers of the skin and underlying tissue and deeper tissue, possibly involving muscle and bone. While Sia's feeling for pain was numb anyway, the nerves of his right hand were also destroyed, making him unable to feel anything.

Sia appeared behind the Queen, through erasing time, trying to close his right hand. His body tensed.

"What are you even going to do with that hand?" The Queen asked, not even trying to dodge.

However, Sia's hand healed in an instant as she said that. The first hit connected. He didn't stop. Sia launched a flurry of magic-enhanced punches at her. He could hear the sounds of bones cracking.

"YOU-"

Before she could say something, he kicked her away, manifesting his gun and aiming at her. Sia stopped. He could see a line of mana moving at him at a rapid speed.

FLAME

Sia leaned back, dodging a ball of fire. An explosion that destroyed the whole floor occurred. Sia clicked his tongue. It was annoying that he was getting interrupted all the time.

"You dare to ignore me, Human?" A bunch of other balls of flame appeared behind Raiser, sending each one of them at Sia.

"Perhaps? And my name is Sia, not human." Sia dodged each of them with ease while taking out a small bottle of holy water.

"Gran-san, wait!" Rias shouted, stopping him.

"Huh-"

Sia immediately knew why. A large phoenix made out of fire was flying towards him. It was the other Bishop of Raiser. The one with blond hair and blue eyes. Sia narrowed his eyes, dispersing it with his ability while clicking his tongue in annoyance. Goddamnit fighting against multiple opponents at the same time might be a little bit too difficult. He should only focus on Raiser.

Sia erased the distance between Raiser, showing his gun into Raiser's face.

BANG

Sia blasted Raiser away. It began to regenerate immediately.

"It seems like I underest-" Sia didn't give Raiser the chance to finish his sentence, grabbing him by his collar and tripping him, throwing him onto the ground. "Kuh-!"

Sia then stomped on Raiser, his strength obliterated the whole school like it was nothing.

CRAAAAAAAASH

"Raiser-sama!"

"Wha-?"

"Gran-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?"

They arrived on the first floor, creating a massive crater on the ground.

FLAME

"RIGHT NOW,, YOU ARE REALLY STRONG, HUMAN! AND THAT IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY I WILL BEAT YOU WITH ALL I'VE GOT." Raiser roared loudly while laughing like a psycho that just escaped from his asylum. Sia responded with his own smile. A warm feeling began to well up from his chest. This. Everything. It is...fun.

Raiser's body began to surround itself with fire as he grabbed Sia by the face. What? His structural analysis didn't warn him of that. Ah, his mana reserves were running low. He had to end this fast.

Sia took out the holy water and put it in one of his guns. Raiser released a massive, burning flame that melted the skin of Sia's face.

"YOU WERE A WORTHY OPPONENT, HUMAN, NO, SIA!" Raiser exclaimed loudly. Adrenaline filled his body. He never had this much fun in a rating game before. "NOW LET'S END THIS!"

The flames got stronger, to the point that every tree and clothes on the battlefield burned down. Raiser destroyed Sia's body completely, leaving nothing behind. "I WON!"

[...Rias Gremory-sama's [Joker] retires!]

"Gran-san!" Rias couldn't believe it. She shouldn't have let him join the game. Because of her, someone innocent died...

"Not so fast." It was Sia's voice. He stood in front of Raiser, pointing his two guns at him, fully uninjured. He was not there a second ago!

"H-how didn't you die?" Raiser was genuinely confused about that. He felt Sia's body burning into nothingness. Sia tilted his head while smiling slightly.

"Oh? But I did die."

Using the holy water, his guns were now filled with holy energy, for a few seconds at least. Sia gathered all of his remaining mana as he pulled the trigger one last time, activating the ultimate attack of his weapon.

"Exterminate"

A single gunshot rang out.

It was followed by the sound of an exploding nuke.

-Akasha-

Sia fluttered his eyes open. He was in his own room. Was everything just a long, weird dream? Maybe. Rays of sunlight shined through his windows, blending him. Sia just decided to hide under his blanket again. He was too tired to begin living again. Maybe dying would be a better choice.

Infinite sleep sounds good after all. It was quite contradictory. Sia loved sleeping, but he didn't like to sleep. Sia stood up, going to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. He opened his fridge only to find nothing in there. Strange. He was sure that it was full the last time he opened it.

Whatever Sia was too lazy to think about such small things, he got some of his money and went to the grocery store, not realising that something about his house changed. It was a relaxing walk. He felt like it was something that he hadn't done in a while.

In fact, his whole body felt sore. Like he hadn't moved for a while. Actually, that could be true since he does have the habit of lazing around, doing nothing. Sia yawned as he entered the Job. He was looking for some ramen. It was pretty easy to make, and it didn't cost very much—a win-win situation.

It was a small store. That was exactly the reason why Sia preferred to go to this store instead of the bigger, more popular one on the other side of the town. Well, the fact that he wasn't willing to go to the other side of the town just for some groceries also played a big factor in it.

Sia spotted another man inside of the store. He looked like a model with his figure and his snowy white hair. It was tied to a ponytail and Sia had to admit that he was pretty tall too, a little bit taller than six feet at least. Taller than Sia, who was standing at around five foot eight or nine. The man tensed slightly as Sia entered the shop, but Sia didn't notice that. He went ahead, looking for the ramen.

It didn't even take him ten seconds before Sia found it. He took it out of a shelf and went ahead to pay. However, Sia began to feel slightly uncomfortable as he felt the stranger's stares getting directed at him.

"Excuse me sir, but did I do something wrong? You've been looking at me for quite a while now." Sia asked as politely as possible while only managing a crooked smile. The man shook his head while giving him a refreshing smile, the same type of smile that Kiba always gave.

"No, I'm sorry. You just reminded me of someone I know." The man replied sheepishly. He tilted his head to the side while chuckling lightly. He seemed like a nice man but….

...it was a lie.

He didn't tell the truth, and Sia spotted that instantly. However, he didn't care too much about that and just decided to play along. Sia replied with a smile himself'

"Is that so? How was he?" Sia asked, trying to let him slip up, revealing himself.

"Oh, he was someone very smart, but he was also very lazy at the same time. He also didn't like authority very much. Those are some of the traits that he has." The man was a good liar, that's for sure. Sia thought a little bit about the words that the man just said. Strange…

"He sounds just like me," Sia said, still keeping that smile on his face alive. He didn't know how long he can keep that up, though. "I would love to meet that guy."

"I'm sorry, but you aren't able to talk to him right now." The man looked Sia straight into the eyes as if he wanted to say, "I know exactly what you are trying to do''. Sia pretended like he didn't notice that "We both do have some philosophical debates at times. I wonder if you're also like him in that department?"

"Is that so? Then do you want to ask me a question?" Sia was curious. What was the man trying to accomplish?

"Well then, what are your thoughts about equality?" The man asked, smiling. His eyes weren't, though. They were dead serious, analyzing Sia.

"It doesn't exist, and it shouldn't exist." The man raised an eyebrow in response, "There is no equality in this world. Besides that, if everyone would be equal, that would make life so much less attractive. Everyone would probably come to the same or similar conclusions, and discussing things would be worthless and uninteresting. The only thing that we all are equal in is death. Be it in a year or a thousand years. Everyone will die someday. So, do I also resemble him in that way?

The man was silent for a while. Then he burst out in laughter. "No, no, you are more like me in that department. True equality doesn't exist. By the way, my name is Naiver."

He held out his hand. Sia could notice that the atmosphere changed. It was lighter but also heavier at the same time. Using his structural analysis, Sia noticed that Naiver was gathering mana in his hand. Sia decided not to shake his hand and find an excuse to leave immediately. Something about this man was rubbing him the wrong way. "My name is Sia. I'm sorry, but I'll have to go immediately. My friends are probably already waiting for me."

Sia nodded sheepishly, paid, and left the store as fast as possible. The man was weird. Weirdly charismatic. But also weirdly scary. Sia couldn't explain the feeling that he got from the man. Sia didn't doubt that man was probably someone who lies a lot or manipulates people to his will. His acting was convincing, but his smile never reached his eyes. What a strange man.

At that time, Sia didn't know that this brief encounter would bring him only more problems.

-Akasha-

Naiver slowly sipped tea at home. He sat down on a couch, watching the wood in the fireplace burn. He repeated the conversation that he had earlier in his head. That guy, Sia, was similar to him. He wouldn't have noticed him in the first place if it weren't for William's "danger detection" trait. Sadly, he couldn't find out why that Sia guy was so dangerous as his bond with William wasn't strong enough to use his ability to its fullest potential. But the ability did tell him one thing. "Sia" was dangerous.

"The Gift of Akasha, huh?" Naiver muttered to himself, as there was no one else in his mansion right now. Nia's ability did come in handy in such situations, but he couldn't find out how his ability works, as direct contact would be needed to find out the specifics of one's trait.

"He is dangerous...should I just deal with him myself?" Naiver muttered, picking up a book. The Necronomicon, the first and original one to be exact. He put his tea down and opened the book to a specific site, staring at it for a while. "No, I should remain in the shadows for now. Still, I could send Tatsuya to help Kokabiel, can't I? Our bond won't get strengthened anyway so he is pretty much worthless to me. "

Naiver stood up to pick up another piece of wood and threw it into the fire, lighting it up again. "I mean...he is pretty strong isn't he? If he succeeds, it is good for me, if he dies, it won't affect me. There are pretty much no risks."

His eyes wandered around the room. His eyes stopped at the old group picture of blank. Naiver grinned slightly as he saw that. Blank was a bunch of idiots. Equality? Did they really believe that?

Well, all trait-users are supposed to be either losers or someone that shouldn't exist anyway. It wasn't really that surprising that most of them fell for it. That was the way how the world itself tries to balance it out to make everyone "equal". However even that didn't work as he, Tatsuya and William existed. They weren't losers, no it's actually the opposite, but they still got a trait. And even out of the three of them there exists no equality. While every single one of them was good, Naiver was perfect.

"The only thing that we are all equal in is death after all, huh?", Naiver chuckled a little bit at that. Of course. Death is the kindest thing. It doesn't judge. It only accepts. Naiver knew the best that equality isn't real. It will never exist and he knew it the best.

But he didn't care about such small things now. The world and everyone that lives inside of it was worthless anyway. Naiver just wanted to watch the world burn. That was his way of enjoying life to its fullest.

"Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. "

Alfred Pennyworth

-Akasha-

Was everything that happened just a dream? Sia wasn't sure about it. It just felt weird. He DID possess the structural analysis and he probably also possessed his ability, but still. He took part in a so-called "rating game" that was supposed to decide the future of the most popular school in kuoh academy? And his reason for that is supposed to be boredom and curiosity? That seems pretty out of charac- no actually it didn't. Boredom is the most effective way to torture Sia.

Sia arrived at his address, only now realizing the change in his house. "Did I always live in a mansion? But everything inside seems like usual. Strange…"

Sia went to the door, opening it with a small click. The lights were off, but his structural analysis warne-

"SURPRISE SIA/GRAN!" Issei, Asia, Koneko, Kiba, Akeno, Rias, and even Sona jumped out of nowhere. Everyone was wearing party hats and having a whistle in their hand. Sia stared blankly for a few seconds at them. They slowly got nervous. Was he angry?

"Oh, sorry for interrupting the party." Sia said as he closed the door slowly, turning around to check the address again. However, he didn't make it very far as Issei opened the door and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Wait, Sia!" Sia raised an eyebrow in response.

"Wait. This is actually my adrress?" Issei nodded energetically while Sia was still processing the information. So that actually wasn't a dream, huh?

"Then...why are you guys in my house?" Sia deadpanned. He furrowed both of his eyebrows while looking at Issei suspiciously.

"Well...you missed the initial party, so we decided to throw an party when you are awake again." Issei turned to the other guys, asking for help as he couldn't exactly remember all of the reasons either.

"You were asleep for a whole week, so we were worried. We also modified your house a little bit and set up a teleportation circle here, making it easier for us to check up on you. Asia came to check up on you today, but you were gone, so we used all that time to prepare the party." Rias helped Issei out. Issei looked thankfully at her, but his eyes slowly moved downwards, looking at her massive melons. Well, he deserved that, after all, that he has gone through, so Sia just ignored it. Besides that, they gave him a bigger house for free? Sia wouldn't complain about that. Wait, they said that they checked on him while he was unconscious. Wouldn't that technically be trespassing? Neat. "Besides that you also promised us something."

Oh yeah. He would reveal his ability after the game. He actually said that on an impulse while thinking about his weapons. Sia regretted that right now.

"I also have many questions." Sona said, appearing right beside Rias while crossing her arms. She eyed him carefully. Sia sighed. He had a lot of explanation to do, but there was still a question that was on his mind.

"By the way, did we win?" Everyone stared at him flabbergasted, questioning his intelligence. Sia could only look away as he received those stares. He was feeling really stupid now.

"Of course, duh." Koneko said sarcastically while eyeing the food that was on the table. "We wouldn't be here if we lost."