Today was the day that Rias and the others were all dreading yet anticipating. She made sure to get out of bed extra early today just to mentally prepare herself for the fight of her life.

After reading part of a Rating Game strategy book, she decided to wake up her servants. First up was Asia, though she was already awake. Issei had a harder time getting out of bed, but it didn't take him too long. Kiba had apparently woken up hours ago.

Rias then walked into Izuku's room, but was a bit confused when the bed was empty. She then realized her mistake and immediately began heading to Akeno's room. Just as expected, she found Izuku sleeping in Akeno's arms. As adorable as it was, she had to wake him up despite Akeno's complaints.

Rias' servants were quite pleased to find out that their master had prepared a large meal for them as a morale booster. Izuku couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what the redhead had made for him. "N-No way... Katsudon! My favorite!"

After a delicious breakfast, the Devils had warped to the clubroom in the school, but something was different this time. Issei looked out the window and was quite surprised to see that the sky was not normal. Rias briefly explained that they were in an alternate dimension so they could fight without any real collateral damage.

Rias began explaining the plan for the Rating Game, but she stopped when she heard quiet mumbling. She looked over at Izuku who was now pacing around the room mumbling to himself. "Maybe if we go around to the back and... no, that wouldn't work. Hmm... perhaps we could cut through a few of the classrooms..."

For the next ten or so minutes, Rias was rapidly jotting down everything Izuku said word for word. He eventually stopped and noticed everyone was staring at him. "Um... s-sorry, I just-

He jumped slightly when Rias placed her hands on his shoulders. "Izuku! That's a great plan! When did you come up with that?"

Izuku looked away nervously. "Oh, I was just throwing around ideas, I wasn't really trying to... uh-

Rias was only more surprised now. "Y-You came up with that on the fly?!"

He nodded. Rias then showed him what she wrote down, now that she had edited it properly. Izuku smiled, giving his approval. Rias then walked over to the couch and sat down, patting her lap while looking at Izuku. "Izuku, come here. There's something important I have to do."

Izuku then lied down, resting his head on Rias' lap with an intense blush on his face. Akeno was not happy, but she was sure Rias had a good reason to do this.

Rias then held her hands just above Izuku's face for a few seconds before he stood up. "Do you feel different now?" she asked.

Izuku nodded, making Rias feel relieved. "Good, I did it right, then. When you were first reincarnated, I placed a few seals on your Sacred Gear in order to prevent your power from exceeding your limits. Just now I removed one of those seals."

At first he was embarrassed, but now he got it. "Thanks, President."

A voice was suddenly heard over the loudspeaker. "Attention. The Rating Game will begin in ten minutes. I repeat, the Rating Game will begin in ten minutes. Get ready."

Izuku blushed again when Akeno hugged him from behind. He then turned around to return the favor. They didn't say anything, but everyone was thinking the same thing.

'I'm not ready for this.'

"Attention, everyone. The Rating Game will begin in two minutes. Get ready."

Rias stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Alright. Before we start, just remember the plan. Stay calm and things should go well."

"Yes!" said everyone else in unison.

One final announcement came over the loudspeaker, saying that the Rating Game has now started. Everyone nodded and followed their instructions. Rias and Asia stayed in the room while Kiba, Koneko, and Issei headed for the gym, and Izuku went with Akeno to the tennis courts.

When the trio got to the gymnasium, something was off. No one was in there but them. "It's quiet. Too quiet." said Issei, trying to sound serious. He walked further, but suddenly jumped to his left when Albion told him to do so. He looked over and saw a small girl wielding a chainsaw, making him back up in fear.

"Hey! Get back here, jerk!" shouted the girl as she wildly swung her chainsaw around.

Another young girl's voice chimes in from Issei's other side. "I got you covered, sis!"

Issei cried out in pain when another chainsaw slightly cut his leg, though thankfully he was still able to walk. Koneko rushed over and kicked one of the girls away, but the other was still attacking crazily.

Kiba then shouted for Issei to move over, and he did just before another enemy hit him from above. This girl looked a bit more mature, making Issei stare at her for a bit. Koneko quickly made him snap out of it, though.

Issei was having a tough time, as all three girls were attacking him at once, but then he remembered something. He tapped the shoulders of the girls, then got away from them. As they were running at him again, he snapped his fingers. The girls suddenly stopped as their clothes were torn to shreds, making them cry out in embarrassment.

"You pervert!"

"How dare you?!"

"Pig!"

'Partner, was that really necessary?'

'Of course it was, Albion. I had to take advantage of your dividing powers somehow.'

'Ugh. Shall we finish the job now?'

'Yeah. Let's do this!'

Issei held out his arm as the blue gem on his gauntlet glowed. The girls started feeling weaker and weaker. They looked up and started backing away as they saw an energy ball forming in the palm of Issei's hand. Once the ball was large enough, he held it over his head and threw it at the girls, causing a large explosion.

"Two of Riser's Pawns and one of his Rooks have been eliminated."

Issei felt very proud of himself for doing that on his own. He then rushed over to help Kiba and Koneko with their battles.

Things weren't going as well for Izuku and Akeno. Because they were out in the open, more of Riser's pieces were after them. The two of them were doing well enough, but the enemies were just so persistent. Akeno was distracted by the Knight, which left Izuku open to more attacks.

"Hey! Let me go!"

"Not happening, kid."

Akeno turned around and was shocked when she saw Yubelluna holding Izuku tightly. She then looked back at the Knight before sending her flying with a strong bolt of lightning. She then charged towards Yubelluna, but was stopped when the enemy Queen pressed her hand against Izuku's face. "They don't call me the 'Bomb Queen' for nothing. Step any closer and I'll blow his head off."

Akeno didn't believe her and began angrily marching towards her enemy. "It's just a Rating Game. He'll be fine after this is done."

Yubelluna chuckled. "Oh, really? Haven't you heard? If you hold onto someone while injuring them, their injuries will persist even after the game! Isn't that just wonderful?"

Akeno felt her blood run cold as she stopped walking. "No... you wouldn't..."

Yubelluna grinned devilishly. "Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't, but I would do... this!" she shouted as she tore Izuku's school uniform open, exposing his chest.

Akeno realized what Yubelluna was going to do, and she was not happy. "Get away from him, you bitch!"

Yubelluna aggressively moved her hands around and felt Izuku's chest while looking Akeno in the eye. "Is he your boyfriend by any chance? Because I'd love to violate him while you watch."

Izuku tried to break free, but Yubelluna was just too strong. However, he smacked her in the face when she tried to kiss him. Her expression suddenly became a lot more crazed as she pinned him down on the ground and got on top of him. "Ooh, you're going to regret that."

Yubelluna would have continued, but she was suddenly impaled by two large tusks. Izuku was relieved, as it seemed his Familiar came to his rescue.

Yubelluna couldn't believe this. Riser would be so mad at her for failing like this.

"Riser's Queen has been eliminated."

Akeno immediately ran over and hugged Izuku tightly. "Oh, Izuku! Are you okay?"

Izuku looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The two would have stayed like this for longer, but a new voice was heard.

"Deku! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Izuku frowned as he backed away from Akeno. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to fight him, but alright."

Katsuki threw several punches at Izuku, but he was able to dodge them all and deliver a kick to the stomach.

Akeno was concerned now that Katsuki was here. "Izuku, will you be alright?!"

Izuku looked up at the roof of the school as he blocked Katsuki's attacks. "I'll be fine! Go help President!"

Akeno nodded as she flew up to the roof.

Izuku was hit by one of Katsuki's explosions, and it hurt, but thankfully his Devil strength allowed him to keep going.

"Deku! How the hell did you get so strong?!"

"Because... I had this power in me all along!"

"You're lying! You're still the same Quirkless loser I knew back then!"

"It's not a Quirk. It's something much better. It's something you'll never understand."

[BOOST!]

"You may have gotten stronger when it comes to fighting, Katsuki, but you'll never grow as a person if you keep acting like this."

[BOOST!]

"I may have given up on being a hero, but I'm done with you! I'm done being your punching bag! From now on, I won't answer to you."

[BOOST!]

"I've got friends now. Friends who actually respect and care about me, and don't just pretend to like me because they're afraid. I even have a wonderful girlfriend who always supports me. You will never have any of this if you continue down the path you're on."

[BOOST!]

"So, with all that said... stay out of my life!"

[BOOST!]

Izuku released his negative emotions with a single punch aimed at Katsuki's face. The punch sent Katsuki flying through the wall of the school, and Izuku couldn't even see where he landed.

"Riser's Pawn has been eliminated."

He stood still for a bit as he took some deep breaths. 'That felt good. That felt really good. Maybe I should check on Akeno now.'

He flew up to the roof, but was not prepared for what he saw. Akeno and Asia were nowhere to be found, and Rias was not in the best condition. Issei was there helping her, though. The two of them tried tirelessly to defeat Riser, but he kept healing his injuries at a rapid rate.

Izuku immediately asked about Asia and Akeno, and he felt angry once more when he heard that Riser took them out.

Rias threw some blasts of energy at Riser, taking his arms off, but he regenerated them almost instantly. Issei called Izuku over and they prepared for their signature move.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

The two boys high-fived, but nothing happened. "No. No... no!" They kept trying, but it wasn't working. "Come on! We did it yesterday! Work, damn it!"

Riser began charging up his final attack. "This is the end. You should just surrender now and make things easier for everyone."

Rias watched helplessly as Issei and Izuku failed to trigger their attack. Just when Riser was about to destroy the three of them, it happened.

[DOUBLE DRAGON!]

A massive explosion engulfed the school, leaving a huge crater in its wake.

"Riser Phenex has been eliminated. Rias Gremory is the winner!"

Izuku and Issei looked at each other in disbelief.

"We did it..."

"We did it. We did it? We did it!"

Rias was crying tears of joy as she held both boys closely in a tight hug. "You two... you saved me. I can't thank you enough."

Soon after, everyone was returned to the clubroom. Akeno immediately hugged Izuku, and he reached up to give her a kiss. Rias and her peerage had not felt this happy in a while.

For the first time in her life, Rias truly felt free.

—————————————————————————

Looks like Riser... just fell. Eh? Eh? Okay.

I would've uploaded this earlier, but I was out all day and couldn't finish it up until now.

I regret to inform you all that I will be taking a break from this fic for a bit. It's not over, far from it, in fact, it's just that I've been getting a little fatigued lately, and I think it's best that I take a break before I get sick of it.

Remember, you can and should join my Discord server if you'd like to chat with me more directly. discord.gg/qJjvAnE

'Till next time!