How did it came to this anyway?
"Are you ready, Sekiryuutei Hyoudou Issei?!"
Sairaorg-san shouts.
That's right, before our trip to Kyoto, Buchou had us all gathered in the Gremory castle so she could celebrate completing her entire peerage as well as introducing the new members to her parents.
All was going well untill it was time for us to leave and Sirzechs-sama appeared in the castle.
Buchou wanted to talk to her older brother so we went to a special entrance in the castle to greet him, but Sairaorg was also there.
He said he had no demands for our upcoming rating game excpet that all restrictions be lifted, that's right, whether it's my pailingual or Gasper's ability to stop time, he said he and his peerage will take them head on! Talk about a brave guy!
Sirzechs-sama told us this was an opportunity for us to have a sparring, something that Sairaorg had mentioned some time ago and since both Sairaorg and Buchou were okay with it, I had to agree as well! I can't look weak in a situation like this!
So here we are now, in the training hall of the Gremory castle's basement, facing each other.
"Ddraig, let's go."
[ Leave it to me. ]
I summoned the gauntlet on my hand and the Balance Breaker countdown began.
Though as long as nothing serious happens in that short time, the Balance Breaker armour could be sustained for a long period of time, but battlefields are unpredictable and I would always get nervous during the short time limit.
But during the countdown, Sairaorg-san patiently waited.
...Is he that confident? It must be because he wanted to see my full strength and didn't want to do anything unnecessary. Everyone here understood that.
I cannot show cowardice in front of all the other servants, as well as Buchou. Even if I lose, I must fight to the death and lay everything out on the line... —Now, the countdown has ended!
[ Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker! ]
As the gauntlet sounded out it gave off a flash of red light, covering my body. The red aura took on the form of armour—Boosted Gear Scale Mail!
Pak! Giant dragon wings spread from behind my back and I readied for attack. With a flowing motion, Sairaorg-san also entered a stance.
...Though I have already seen the match video between Sairaorg-san and the delinquent from the Glasya-Labolas family, Sairaorg-san's speed was still faster than expected.
Even god speed Kiba would feel threatened by this speed. Probably, it is definitely faster than me.
It reminds me of Tatseyo's speed... no, he was faster, Tatseyo barely seemed to move when he fought against us, but when he moved I didn't even had the chance to think about reacting before I was hit.
...I cannot keep letting my opponents make the first move.
I must take initiative with suicidal abandon!
GOOOOOOO!
Firing up my back boosters to the max, I fly straight forward!
Preparing a straight right punch, I thrust forwards! Next is the fist in one motion—!
...Why isn't he dodging!? Faced with my formidable straight punch, Sairaorg-san was not making any effort to evade!
Bastard! Are you saying there is no need to dodge?! Fine, you can take my punch head on!
Crash!
With a deafening sound, my straight right punch made contact with Sairaorg-san's face!
—! H-he really didn't dodge! Not only that, it was a clean and perfect hit!
A chill.
At the instant of contact, I suddenly felt an indescribable chill, forcing me to rapidly take several steps back.
After distancing myself, I put up a stance to attack again. ...Sairaorg-san's body showed no signs of injury.
...Wait a minute. I put quite a lot of force into that straight punch... Though Boost wasn't used, to think he is completely unhurt without defending.
Sairaorg-san pointed at the part where he got hit and smiled.
"An excellent punch. Straight and to the point, a pure punch full of strong will. A normal devil would have lost to such a punch. But—"
Sairaog-san vanished before my eyes—
"—I am no ordinary devil."
Sairaorg-san's voice and fist next came from behind my back!
Crash! Kaching!
Sairaorg-san's fist pounded towards me!
—! When did he get behind my back! Damn it! Though I raised my arms to defend the heavy force of the punch was shocking!
Even though the attack was caught by my crossed arms... but the gauntlet! The gauntlet portion of the armour has been destroyed by the punch just now!?
My body having completely lost balance, I quickly pull away by shooting demonic power out through the back boosters.
...So fast! My eyes couldn't follow at all! By the way, he vanished! I thought my eyes were used to catching high speed motions from training with Kiba!
Did I underestimate him? Perhaps a bit. But still, I knew that wasn't the only reason. By the way, my arms were numb and had no feeling! For my arms to become like that from the impact of the gauntlets' destruction just now..
No, at least my fingers can still move. —I can still fight! My bones are still ok!
And compared to that guy...
The image of Tatseyo and his overwhelming aura appear before my eyes for a moment
After fighting that guy, how can I say? It's not like Sairaorg-san is weak, but the strength, it still cannot compare.
Ddraig, please regenerate the gauntlets.
[ Ah, understood. ]
Red aura surrounded my arms and once again the gauntlets were formed.
Sairaorg-san gave an impressed smile.
"Hoho. You didn't get sent flying. Well, that was just a hello punch."
...A hello punch!? A hello punch destroyed my armour! W-what kind of joke is this!
With just a fist, this is first time for anyone to break apart Boosted Gear Scale Mail with their bare hands!?
"I have three weapons. Strongly built body, fast legs, martial arts—Here I come!"
Sairaorg-san vanished again! The side!? My opponent has instantly appeared beside me! I shrank back to avoid Sairaorg-san's attack on my body—
Howling!
It was the sound of the punch breaking through the wind! What amazing force from the punch!
Creak...
With a blunt sound, cracks appeared on my armour near the abdomen! How can this be! Simply brushing past was enough to crack it open!?
"Damn it!"
I cursed out and punched back.
Crash! But Sairaorg-san took it with his face again without dodging! —No damage!
Go!
Feeling a counter-attack coming, I pulled back again that instant using the thrusters to jump back.
The vigorous sound of air rushing.
Sairaorg-san's kick missed... But the force of the missed kick caused huge cracks to appear from the centre of the training hall and rose along the four walls!
If that kick were to hit...
I felt shivers along my spine. —With that I was already panting.
Just a few exchanges and it was already clear.
— Extremely strong. Unimaginable. How can this devil be from the same generation as Buchou and Diodora Astaroth!? He is far stronger than Diodora!
[ Ah, this really surprises me. This man from the Bael family has trained his power to the max. Using Rating Game types, this is a power type who has kept increasing offensive power again and again. How interesting. A man who pursues pure destructive power. Totally extreme. It makes me very interested. ]
Wow, Ddraig showing an interest towards someone apart from Maou and other dragons. True, this was someone so strong that Diodora is entirely no match for him.
Perhaps he is stronger than Rias several fold, no, more than ten fold.
The devil born in the Great King's family without inheriting the power of destruction. With nothing but his body, his only choice was to train his body and successfully became the heir.
Like me, a devil without inborn talent.
—This was not the result of short term half-assed training.
And to think this young devil was from the same generation as Buchou.
...Buchou truly was in a difficult situation to compete with such a person.
Sairaorg-san is definitely a massive wall obstructing Buchou's dreams. Furthermore, he is an even higher and steeper, absolute wall in front of my dreams.
"Amazing."
I said it naturally. From the brief exchange, I was already full of intense respect and admiration.
"So you can reach this level of strength completely through training?"
Faced with my question, Sairaorg-san replied.
"—I just believe in my own body, that's all."
Truly an amazing character. This sentence made me understand, that this person must have conquered unimaginable obstacles and hardships.
And because of that, I must attempt to give my all and test my own limits.
Even if it is me, I cannot admit defeat!
...This was a good chance to try out Beelzebub-sama's suggestion.
After Beelzebub-sama helped me to adjust the pieces within my body, he also made a personal suggestion.
About me and the pieces —
"Promotion to Rook!"
I made the declaration, promoting to Rook. Yes, Rook, not Queen.
Power flowed into my body. With that, offensive and defensive power rose accordingly!
"The Rook?"
Sairaorg-san showed a surprised expression towards my promotion. He must have expected me to promote to Queen.
Sairaorg-san disappeared once again! —It's coming! I sent power into the legs and entered a defensive stance as if my feet were rooted to the floor! Gritting my teeth, I wrapped my body in aura!
[ BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost! ]
Using the dragon's power to enhance defence!
I also didn't forget to power up my right fist at the same time —
Crash!
Sairaorg-san appeared from the front, and sent a heavy punch into my abdomen.
— A powerful impact! The force of the punch penetrates straight into my backbone!
...Cough.
Spreading throughout my entire body was intense pain as well as a feeling like everything was drying out! The impact transmitted straight to my feet, my legs trembled non-stop... Thanks to having lowered my centre of gravity, I withstood it. Though my consciousness was nearly lost at one point, but I returned to full awareness! If I hadn't gritted my teeth and struggled to endure it, my consciousness will definitely be overburdened and lost!
The abdomen armour... Though damaged, has not been completely shattered.
Aiming at the exact instant when Sairaorg-san withdrew his fist, once again I sent a powerful straight punch into Sairaorg-san's face!
Crash!
Though it felt like punching a thick stone wall—I felt through my hand there was a tiny feeling that something cracked.
Spurt!
Fresh blood came out of Sairaorg-san, but at the same time —
Choke!
Blood also spurted out from the mask area of my helmet. Blood was rising from my abdomen and vomiting out of my mouth...
...How much damage has been taken from that punch to the belly...? Ribs must be cracked, perhaps broken? Just the act of breathing, caused intense pain all over the body.
But, I endured it...! My armour and I made it through!
Lately, all these enemies have been characters who could penetrate my armour with ease and made me think about focusing my energy towards defence. Well, this was a natural feeling when I keep fighting with all these existences that were stronger than me.
However, diverting power to defence was an interesting thing to try. Though it hurt like hell, it made it clear, as long as the Sacred Gear's power was used flexibly for defence, it is possible to take the attack of a super power type straight on and survive.
At the same time as withstanding the attack, going from full defence and switching to counter-attacking was also key.
See, Sairaorg-san had a nosebleed. ...Finally, a decent counter-attack.
This was it, though it wasn't always useful, this was my everything. Promotion to Rook to enhance attack and defence had proven its worth.
—It works!
I can fight with this man! Incredible new strength and motivation flowed into me simply from realising that. After fighting with the unbeliavable monster that is Tatseyo, I must admit that my self steem took a hit, but now I'm hyped up!
Even if it's me who got more injured, I can still harm someone on Sairaorg-san's level! Perhaps, even if I lose, I can break an arm of his.
Even if I currently cannot defeat him, but at this level let me give it my all!
Sairaorg-san wiped the blood off his nose with his fingers. —As if delighted from the bottom of his heart, he smiled.
"...Promotion to Rook eh? Looks like it wasn't a wrong decision. I put quite a bit of power into that punch. Your attack and defence were excellent as a Rook. Perhaps the Rook which specializes in offence and defence, rather than the all-rounder Queen, is better suited to a power type like you. ...What is it? I see questioning in your eyes. You have a question about our fight?"
"No, how should I put it... Those upper class devils often... umm, look down on me... But Sairaorg-san has been serious from the start, it's surprising."
This man, I can feel he approved of me from the very beginning. All this time, Raizer, Diodora and other upper class devils, none of them gave me any respect, so the current situation makes me feel refreshed yet a little shy.
Hearing my words, Sairaorg-san let out a sigh.
"So that's why. You have been underestimated all this time. Don't worry, I will not underestimate you! To survive and win a direct battle against the old Maou faction as well as Loki the Norse god of evil, I have no reason to look down on you."
These words... made me tremble with delight. Sairaorg-san made a fearless smile.
"Fighting you also makes me happy. Your punches are pretty good. It's been a long time since I've been punched to a nosebleed. Facing a similar type is what makes me happiest. Your punch must have been trained? It is something that can be understood after being hit.—Don't worry, try to hit me with your full strength. Isn't that the reason why you are standing here?"
I felt myself completely taken by Sairaorg-san's charismatic smile.
—
Approving of me. ...This bastard. When clearly he is an opponent that I must beat...
You truly are an opponent I must have a good long chat with after the match!
I extend my fist and enter a stance! Abdominal armour recovered! I will take back the promise to break his arm just now!
—Even if I lose, I will break both his arms!
This is my response to you here, giving my best effort!
"Come! Hyoudou Issei! Just focus on beating me! Show me the power of the Sekiryuutei!"
"Ok, here I come!"
[ BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost! ]
I fired off Dragon Shoot towards Sairaorg-san who was charging straight on.
Smack! Crash!
With a single brush of his fist in a horizontal sweep, Sairaorg-san deflected my Dragon Shoot into the wall of the training hall.
No effect! After all, it wasn't the Bishop, my magic is too weak!
Right now I am the Rook! Must I go with a fist fight all the way! Now is the time to defend against a counter-attack!
I held both fists in a stance in front of me, facing Sairaorg-san straight on!
"—! You want to exchange blows with me! Interesting! Just try it!"
As Sairaorg-san roared at me, I took a leap forward
We aimed our fists towards each other, but just before they were about to collide
!
A silloute appears between us!
"Ise-sa-"
I barelly hear Asia's voice as my vision become a blur and before I notice-
BLAM!
I hit something very hard and everything goes dark
"Hmmm..."
What the hell was that?
It feels like I was shot against something, my entire body is enveloped in debris
I push myself out of whatever it is that I landed and look at it
"A wall...?"
What I had hit was one of the walls in the training hall, a large hole appeared on it due to the impact caused when I crashed.
"But..."
I look back and see that Sairaorg-san also landed on a wall, but more importantly
We landed on walls from the side we were coming from! How the hell did we changed directions like this?
"Fufufufufu, you boys shouldn't fight like this, someone could get seriously hurt, you know?"
My question is quickly answered as the dust settles around the silloute of the person that appeared in the middle of our fight out of nowhere.
"M-M-Mayumi-san?!"
A beautiful young woman with long purple hair donning a secretary outfit was standing between us, giggling like a child
"Uh? What is the meaning of this?" - I heard Sairaorg asking, he seemed dazzed after suddenly crashing into a wall with all his strength
"Liliana Caim! What are you doing here?"
I hear Buchou's voice up from where everyone was watching the fight, she sounds really mad
I turn my eyes and from the entrance of the basement, comes Liliana-san and her peerage! Why are they here!?
"Hey, Rias! How are you doing? I heard that Maou Lucifer-sama would be here so I decided to pay him a visit, I had no idea I'd end up finding the strongest devil youth and the current Sekiryuutei duking it out, it seemed like things were going to end pretty bad for Sekiryuutei-kun so I had Mayumi intervene, hope you don't mind~"
She said in a cheerful manner, however, no one besides her peerage seemed happy
Also, how did she know I was getting the worse damage in the fight?
"It's kinda obvious to anyone to who looked for more than a moment"
I look at Mayumi with wide eyes
"Stop reading my mind!"
She laughs and puts her tongue out
"Sorry, sorry~"
With the battle being interrupted, Buchou and everyone else come down to the arena to talk with Liliana.
"How did you get inside?" - Buchou calls out to her
"Oh, your parents and Grayfia-san let me in, I said I wanted to request an audience with Maou-sama about the current rating game"
Everyone stares in awe
"The rating game?"
Sairaorg is the first one to question her
"Is there any objection you wish to make?"
Sirzechs-sama says, despite trying his best to look as dignified as ever, it's clear that he's annoyed at how Liliana just interrupted our sparring session.
She shook her head
"Oh no, it's quite the opposite actually. I have a request to make that, in fact, I believe will please all of you"
Liliana puts both of her palms upwards, her fingers pointing towards Buchou and Sairaorg-san
"As a gesture of good faith in receiving the new youth into the profissional rating games world, I request that the winner of this rating game face me and my peerage as their first professional Rating Game!"
Everyone jumps back at this statement
What did she just said?!
"A rating game with you? As a prize?"
Buchou asked suspiciously, Sirzechs-sama squinted his eyes
"Please, Liliana of the house of Caim, explain yourself"
Liliana-san looks at us with a confused expression
"What's more to explain? It's in the tittle, the one to win the rating game will have their first official professional rating game against me and my peerage"
So that's really what she was talking about! This girl... she truly wants the winning peerage to fight against her in a professional match!
"Well... I'm not against it, but that's not up to you to decide"
Sairaorg-san says, did he really said he would accept her challenge?! Just like this?!
"And why talk about this so out of nowhere? Couldn't it have waited for a better situation?"
Liliana-san tilts her head once again
"Well, this is a rare opportunity to find both the heir of Bael and Gremory in the same place so I just thought it would be a good time to talk about it, also, what do you mean 'Out of nowhere'? This offer makes as much sense as it could make"
I shake my head
"S-sorry, I still don't get it, w-why? I thought we were friends"
She turns to me, still confused
"Huh? But what does being friends has to do with anything?"
I freeze at her question
Indeed... I didn't even thought about it.
"Don't worry, we are still in the same side against the Khaos Brigade and I'll still help as best as I can but that is that, this is this"
She says pointing down.
"I have my own dreams that I want to make true, for that I must show strength. Also..."
The dark skinned girl then turns to Sairaorg-san
"It might not be up to me to decide, but is there much choice for any of you?"
When she says this, Buchou frowns
"What do you mean?"
Liliana-san smiles at Buchou
"Ara? Rias Gremory, I thought you were a prodigy, c'mon, think just a little, how can I force you to accept my game without actually forcing you to accept my offer?"
She says something strange, however, a lighbulb seems to have turned on in Buchou's and Sairaorg-san's head
"A challenge..."
Buchou says in a hushed tone, everyone steps back in surprise
"You'd really do that..."
Sairaorg-san speaks, seemed completely taken by surprise
Liliana-san however, replies cheerfully, as if she's taking joy in seeing our reactions
"You can bet I would, but then, why would you deny it? When would an opportunity like this show up again for all of us?"
Then a sly smile appears on her face
"Unless of course... you are scared of fighting us?"
All the other members of her peerage smile as well, with the exception of her knight, who is still with the same stoic expression she has ever since we met.
Buchou clicks her tongue angrily, Sairaorg-san also doesn't take kindly to Liliana's provocation and points his fist towards her
"If you believe we are afraid then why don't we a have a sparring as well?"
He says with a defiant smile
Liliana-san looks back with a smile of her own, however, someone in her peerage does not take it as kindly
"So you wanna trade blows? That's fine by me, been wanting to smack your gorila face ever since I saw you beat the Glasya-Labolas punk"
A white haired girl steps forward, cracking her fists and taunting Sairaorg
"Oh, your name is Diz, right? You are honestly the one I've been looking forward to fight the most, it's the first time I've seen a woman close to my height, let alone taller than me"
Only when she starts to get closer that I realize that she's actually taller than Sairaorg-san! Seriously, this girl is a giant! What did her mom fed her with?
Despite what Sairaorg-san said sounding more like a compliment, Diz's face turns red with anger and she starts yelling
"Oi! What the hell did you just said?!"
She grabs Sairaorg-san's shirt and both of them raise their fists, it looks like a fight will break!
I look at Buchou wondering what we should do, but before either of us can say anything, a loud smack echoes through the arena
"Now now, we didn't came here to fight, Diz-chan"
Galard has placed his staff between the two and Manaki is holding two swords against Sairaorg san's arms as if they were scissors
"Liliana-sama said to stop the fight..." - She states, her swords slowly digging into Sairaorg-san's arm, drawing... blood?!
She managed to cut through Sairaorg-san's arm so easily when I had to give my all just to give him a nosebleed!
I see Sairaorg-san's eyes widen, as if he just realized that the situation he's in is truly dangerous.
"It'd be bad if you were to lose an arm before the fight even began, please pull back"
She says calmly and bluntly
A lump goes down Sairaorg-san's throat.
I thought I was good at measuring my opponent's strength, but if I am, then espers are clearly exceptions.
Liliana-san's peerage, even if they don't look like, these people...
They are monsters.
"Hmpf, alright! Anyway he wouldn't be worth anything if that puny red dragon managed to punch his face in like that"
She says turning back and signalling towards my direction
Hey, who's she calling puny?!
"I love your enthusiasm, Sairaorg-kun, but I think both you and Sekiryuutei-kun are a bit raw yet, right? Isn't there something you both need to awaken and master yet?"
Sairaorg-san's expression went from nervous to surprised at her words
"You..."
He glares at her with the same piercing eyes he had when he suggested our spar, no, this is somehow worse.
Unlike all times I've seen Sairaorg-san before, I can feel clear animosity in his aura.
One think both him and Vali have in common is their battle aura, sheer figthing spirit, there is not a hint of malice.
But now, I can feel that Sairaorg-san has changed, I wouldn't say it's malice, but his aura is clearly harboring bad feelings for Liliana right now.
However, if Liliana-san noticed it all, she didn't show, just giving a sweet smile and putting a finger in front of her lips
"You're not the only one who has sources you know?"
Sairaorg-san seems to be bitting his lip, I look over at Liliana's peerage
Even in a tense situation like this, I cannot read them, even though Diz just had an outburst she seems completely back in control now and everyone seems to fine or even happy.
This mysterious nature, is this something all espers have? Or is it that Liliana's peerage is special like that?
Buchou clears her throat, calling attention to herself
"No matter who wins, we wouldn't be able to ignore a challenge from the house of Caim because it would look cowardly"
Liliana-san lifts a finger
"AND would disappoint the audience! C'mon Rias, just think about how many people would love see a fight between the heir of Bael or Gremory against the undefeated Caim champion? Would any of you really do that to your fans?"
Buchou frowns and looks to be conflicted in what to do.
But that's true! If Liliana-san challenges us after we win, not accepting would be seem as cowardice! I don't wanna do that!
"..."
Everyone else in the peerage is silent, we just received some breaking news that could change a lot of things for us. Not only we have to find a way to defeat Sairaorg-san, now we have to worry about overcoming the huge wall that is Liliana and her peerage if we win!
"You really did think this through, didn't you?"
Sirzechs-sama says, he's looking directly at Liliana, however, just like with Sairaorg-san, she didn't seem to be even fazzed, simply bowing her head in a polite manner
"Ah, thank you very much, Maou Lucifer-sama. It would mean the world to me if you were to bless this proposal I just made"
She then lifts her head to look at him.
Maou-sama looks conflicted for a moment, at the same time he knows there's little he can do to prevent a challenge from happening, yet blessing it would basically mean to send the little sister he adores so much or her cousin to fight a group of professional players whose powers seem to be leagues above our own
In the end he looks at Buchou and then back to Sairaorg-san
"As heirs of your respective households, I believe these two have the maturity to decide for themselves. If they accept the challenge, then I bless and guarantee that the winner of the following Rating Game will have an official match against Liliana Caim's peerage"
He place it on our hands! N-no, he's right, it's best if we decide it for ourselves, but...
"I accept it!"
Sairaorg-san declares outloud! So quickly!
Liliana looks at him, a look of pleasant surprise on her face
"Oh, as expected of the heir of Bael! You won't even discuss it with your peerage first?"
Sairaorg-san shakes his head
"I have faith in them that they know I have our best interest at heart. I fully intend to grow stronger and win the match against Rias, then I'll come for you, Liliana Caim! Your challenge is on!"
A fiery statement! The sheer battle spirit from Sairaorg-san can be felt all over my skin, it sends shivers down my spine and he's not even looking at me.
"Wow! Save some of that for the game interview, hahaha!"
She says jokingly
"Ah, such a youthful passion! It brings joy to my heart, kekekeke"
"Really hope you win so I can pound your face into the dirt!"
"...Macho guys are so predictable"
"Fufufufu, this is going to be interesting"
Again, not a single sign of being intimidated, even though Sairaorg-san's battle aura is enough to make even me nervous, all of them seem to be having fun at our expense.
Are they hidding it? Or are they just that strong...
Ugh, trying to figure anything about these people is making my head ache, so I just turn to Buchou, who is now looking at us, her servants.
She closes her eyes for a moment and speaks.
"I'm not as strong as Sairaorg, I'll understand if you have doubts about it. In my heart, my desire is to accept it, but as my servants I will take your feelings into account."
Everyone looks surprised for a moment, including me.
"If Buchou believes we should fight, then I'll fight as your Pawn!"
I hear a few laughs
Akeno-san approaches Buchou
"Fufufu, of couse we'll follow your lead Rias. As our King, we'll fight by your side anywhere"
Kiba also gives that annoying handsome guy smile
"I'm your sword, whenever you wish to fight, I'll be right here and I won't lose."
Everyone slowly agrees
"Y-y-yes, even if it's against that scary tall lady! I'll do my best!"
Even Gasper! You are making me proud, my kouhai!
"Oi! Who the fuck did you just called scary, pipsqueak?!"
Diz shouts while glaring daggers into Gasper, who runs behind Koneko's back
"I might not be able to fight in your Rating games, but I'll be there cheering for you as well!" - Irina too!
As it seems decided, Buchou nods with a smile on her face and turns to Liliana, who was obvioulsy listening to what we were saying and also has a big smile of her own
"You heard them. Liliana Caim, I, Rias Gremory and my peerage officially accept your challenge"
Liliana-san beams at the response, her peerage also seems happy with Buchou's declaration.
Sirzechs-sama them raises his hands and says
"Then it's official, I therefore give my blessing to the challenge. Whoever wins the youth rating game between Bael and Gremory shall be rewarded with a professional match against Liliana Caim and her peerage."
The silver haired girl claps her hands
"Thank you all so much! I look forward to watching your game, please be sure to become even stronger so that we can give everyone a good show!"
Liliana-san says this before signalling to Mayumi
"Right away, Ojou"
A very strong gust of wind blows in the whole arena, forcing me to cover my eyes
"I'm also looking forward to our battle! Fufufufu"
I hear Mayumi say before she and all the other members of Liliana's peerage disappear
"What in the world was this..."
I'm left just looking at the place they were at, speechless.
After it all ended, neither me or Sairaorg-san were in the mood to continue our spar so we decided to call it a draw and become stronger so we could get revenge on the Rating Game.
Sairaorg-san also said something about me being in the process of awakening something new within.
Liliana had said this, but about both of us, when I questioned Sairaorg-san about, he shrugged it off with a brave smile and said "We'll both see the things we have awakened during the Rating Game".
It left me puzzled but I didn't pried any further
After saying goodbye to Sirzechs-sama and the rest of Buchou's family, we came back to the human world.
Now, the Gremory peerage is louging around the spacious living room in my house that was reformed by Buchou's family.
Usually Gasper and Kiba wouldn't be here since they decided to live by themselves, but Buchou called an emergency reunion due to what just happened in her home with the Caim peerage
"I never expected something like that to happen..."
Azazel-sensei is also here, he's our advisor after all, something like this had to be relayed to him after all.
"Yes, I thought that too! And so out of nowhere! I mean, one day we were talking about defeating the Khaos Brigade together, then a few days later she's challenging us to a Rating Game, I mean, what happened?"
However, Buchou shakes her head at my complaint
"No, Issei, her challenge makes total sense"
I tilt hy head
"It does? I don't really get it..."
Azazel-sensei agrees with Buchou
"For devils, Rating Games have nothing to do with personal grudges or anything of the like. They are a way to show strenght and gain respect, fame and reputation amongst the underworld and even other mythologies that might be watching"
Buchou nods with a complicated expression
"Me and Sairaorg are fighting for our dreams in the youth Rating Games, but just because Liliana isn't considered a novice anymore doesn't mean she doesn't have dreams she's trying to achieve through the Rating Games as well, honestly... I should have predicted that something like that could happen."
Again I have a confused reaction, how would Buchou see any of this coming?
Akeno-san speaks up
"The House of Caim has the rank of Great President, a rank which is second only to... the Bael house"
I wide my eyes as Akeno-san says this
"So they really wanted to challenge Sairaorg to show that they were superior in strength all along?!"
Rank is something very important among devils, that much I know, so if there is an opportunity to prove you are stronger than someone ranking higher than you, it's obvious they would take it.
Buchou sighs
"It seems so, but it could be more complicated this..."
She has a complicated expression, I don't want to trouble her anymore than this, but I still ask
"Couldn't they have personally challenged Sairaorg-san after he fought with us then? Or maybe challenge only him?"
Azazel-sensei is the one who replies in her stead
"If Sairaorg lost and they challenged him, they would be looked down as picking the weakest team to bully and there would barely be any glory on that. Also, challenging you guys if you won would be seem as picking on a team that just barely left the newbie games and since the Caim house has few relations with the Gremory house, it could be seem as an act of animosity."
Buchou puts a hand under her chin and frowns
"The way she presented her challenge, now it makes it seem as if she's welcoming us into the professional games. As if fighting with her is a prize, also the audience will be fired up from our fight and they would definitely want to see a battle between the winning team and the Caim house"
Sensei nods
"Not only that, but if you guys beat Sairaorg, Liliana won't mind as well. After all, defeating the Sekiryuutei and Rias Gremory, a direct relative from the Maou Lucifer, is an equally good accomplishment, if not better."
I'm left astounished and I look around, everyone seems to be in complete awe as well.
"To think that Liliana Caim would be someone so tricky..."
Kiba says looking down
"It's frightening to know we're gonna have to face someone like that in the future"
Xenovia acknowledges
"... And we were just worriying about the match against Bael"
Even Koneko-chan looks nervous.
I can't say any of them are overreacting though, this was such a well thought move!
"So in the end she found the best way to put is a option where we cannot deny her challenge, but also a position where she'll profit from whoever wins the battle."
Buchou says, the image of Liliana Caim comes to my mind
At first I saw her as someone intelligent and worthy of respect for her streak of victories in the Rating Games and her ability to gather so many strong people, just like Buchou did with us.
But now I can see why she's such a force to recognized.
It's not just strenght, it's strategy, deception.
The world of devils is cruel, even among ourselves we need to fight to make our dreams come true.
"It's not like I can blame Liliana, we are all figthing for our dreams in the Rating Game, she did what she had to do. It's only a shame we didn't saw it coming."
Buchou speaks up what I was thinking, indeed, the Rating Game is not about enemies or friends. We fought with Sitri and we are great friends, we will fight with Sairaorg-san and we do not consider him an enemy. This is something completely unrelated.
"So Rias, what will you do now?"
Sensei asks Buchou, who nods
"Well, tomorrow I'll send off my servants of the second year to their trip to Kyoto and I hope you all have a lot of fun."
She says looking towards me, Asia, Irina, Xenovia and Kiba.
"But remember to also take the time to train yourselves there as we will do it here."
Buchou's complicated expression vanishes and her usual air of confidence and nobility starts to come back.
"Liliana may have gotten the jump on us, but all she did was get a challenge. I believe in myself and in my servants, when the fight against Sairaorg comes, we will be victorious and then, we'll teach Liliana Caim that the Gremory peerage is not to be taken lightly!"
Everyone in the room cheers
"That's right Buchou! Let's do our best!"
I pump myself up, that's right, Liliana's peerage might be strong, but we can get even stronger!
"Hahahahaha! That's the spirit, I wasn't expecting any less from all of you. Also, as your advisor, expect me to be even more strict from now on!"
Sensei says
"When were you ever strict? You are laid back even with your duties as a teacher!"
Rossweisse-san scolds him and gets a few chuckles out of us as Azazel-sensei tries to defend himself from Rossweisse in her teacher mood.
This team, we'll grow even more powerful, together.
Grow to defeat Sairaorg-san
Grow to surpass Lilliana-san
And grow to reach all of our dreams!
Afterword: Thanks a lot, I really love to hear the feedback and I'm glad you are enjoying my work. I think I've watched the video you're talking about, is it from Super Eyepatch Wolf? Also, I love Hannibal Lecter, I've watched all three movies with the character and I even have the "Hannibal Rising" novel.
So you're Albanian? Man, I'd never have guessed, it's really different from where I live, hahaha! St George day is a national holliday in the UK, Portugal, Bulgaria and Georgia, but in my country only my state celebrates it officially. Well, since you want to guess, I'll give you two tips about my country that won't give it right away, but are unique to us. First is that we are HUGE and second is that we are the only country in our continent that does not speak english, spanish or french as an official language. Guess it's kinda obvious now.
Regarding Tatseyo's name, I didn't even remembered the name of the kid Garou saved, I didn't even knew they had named him LOL. Tatseyo is actually an homage to one of the most famous psychic/esper villains from anime and manga, Tetsuo Shima, from "Akira". Originally, I thought about naming Tatseyo as Akira, but I really wanted my main character to have an original name that no other character had so that searching his name on Google would lead to my story Hahahaha! Then I thought about calling him Tatsuo, but decided it was too bland, then I had the idea to combine Tatsumaki and Shigeo's name, put an Y in there and voilá, Tatseyo was born!