Hey everyone and get ready for this chapter. And this will be part two of the Rating Game, there will be a lot of fight this chapter and a lot of pieces being taken out so expect some action. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.

"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

DRAGON SHOT Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.

[Ddraig] Dragon talking.

Counterattacks and Full Domination

"How much longer do you think?"

"It shouldn't be much further." Kiba replied as he along with Shirou and Koneko were sprinting towards the enemies base. "We should reach the main building in a few minutes."

After the defeat of Raiser's Pawns, the Occult Research Club's plan had entered the second phase.

Said phase entailed that the group split into three.

Shirou with Kiba and Koneko being the assault team, and Akeno and Mika who would enter from a different route and head for Raiser, while Asia and Rias would be the stealth team who would sneak in and reach Raiser without being detected by Raiser's servants. It was determined that the first three would head to the main school building and face off against any of Raiser's servants, that were most likely the stronger ones and defeat them, while the second group would travel through the school buildings inside and take a direct route to Raiser, taking out any lesser servants that they might face inside. Finally, the third group would take an alternate route to Raiser and not be seen and face only Raiser without being seen.

Once there, all three groups would merge and face Raiser together.

So long as Raiser continued to do as expected.

The trip passed in silence aside from a few passing comments here and there between the Knight, Pawn, and Rook. Though it was kept to a minimum.

At first, Both Kiba and Koneko, along with Akeno objected not being able to go with Rias but consenting to Rias' (technically Mika's) reasoning that the groups needed to stay balanced.

Thus the trio of members who consisted of all the direct combat fighter in the Gremory Peerage made their way forward. As the group made their way through the forest surrounding Kuoh Academy, Shirou could only marvel at how easy their trek was.

In a single move, Raiser had lost eight of his servants. It was doubtless that such a blow would dishevel them, especially when they had previously held a near-flawless record in the Rating Games. If things went as Mika expected (Which most of them were confident that they would, even though some of them were skeptical at first they were now convinced that Mika's strategies were worth the hype), the enemy would not attempt another assault at their base. Instead, they would shore up their defences and try to pick them off.

There was only a handful of ways from them to approach Raiser's base. So long as the Pure-blood knew their objective, he could still find ways to predict their next course of action.

It was deemed best for the assault team to travel through the woods. None of them was a slouch in a fight, but while an open area provided Kiba decent legroom, it also provides ample opportunity for their foes to gang up on them. It was not preferable to route through the woods. Koneko was a heavy-hitter and there was still a great deal of room to manoeuvre in order to avoid being struck by friendly-fire or caught up in the chaos.

Shirou and Kiba suddenly stopped in place, they gestured Koneko to do the same, they all quickly hid behind a tree.

"…Someone's there." Koneko spoke.

"Yeah, but why is she alone?" Kiba asked.

The one who they felt was a lone woman standing in front of the path they were taking. She is a young woman with light brown hair and green eyes. Her outfit consists of a full set of silver armor with black accents that appears to be a cross between a European Knight (chest plate, gauntlets and greaves) and a Japanese Samurai (hip plates and shoulder guards), and wears a headband that goes across her hair and forehead. She is equipped with a broadsword and a dagger, both of which are held with brown belts slung across her hip. The broadsword is slung on her left hip, and features a red jewel on the pommel and has bandages across the handle for grip. The dagger, which is located behind her hip, features a gold hilt with bandages on the handle.

Then she speaks a loud voice of a brave woman.

"I'm the Knight of Raiser Phenex-sama, Karlamaine! I've become bored of trying to sniff through each other's strategy! Servants of Rias Gremory! Come out! I challenge you to a duel!"

She answered their previous question.

Shirou looked at her. "She sure is fired up."

Kiba placed a hand on his sword and was preparing himself to go. Koneko noticed. "…Yuuto-sempai?"

Kiba gives them both an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, but since she introduced herself, I can't hide myself both as a Knight and as a swordsman."

Kiba then walked out to face her.

Or rather, he was about to but then Shirou stopped him by grabbing his arm.

Kiba looked back at him surprised. "Shirou-kun?"

"Sorry to tell you this, but I can't let you do that." Shirou told him, with his eyes narrowed.

"Please let go." Kiba requested. "This is something I'm honor-bound to do."

"Look I get where you're coming from." Shirou responded, pulling him back. "I know, once you've been challenged you have to accept, I follow a similar creed from all my time fighting."

"Then you know why I'm doing this."

Shirou shook his head. "That's not the problem." Shirou then whispered. "This might be a trap."

Kiba's eyes widened. "What?"

"Just think about it, they lost half their members so naturally, they'd be on high alert." Shirou reasoned. "And yet, a piece as important as a Knight just happens to appear in front of us, alone. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

Kiba thought about it for a moment. "She said she didn't want to figure out our strategy and challenged us." Kiba pointed out.

"Yeah that's what she said, but I'm betting this is a ploy to get us to come out." Shirou said. "There's probably more members with her hiding around and once we're in the open they'll ambush us."

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "But she's a Knight like myself, a true Knight wouldn't do something as dishonorable as that."

"And how do you know she wouldn't?" Shirou asked. "You don't know her so how can you be sure she shares your opinion? Besides even if she does, she still takes orders from Raiser, so if he said "do it", that's what she'll do." Shirou reasoned.

Kiba realized Shirou had made a valid point, even if it was against a Knights chivalric code, the most important thing to a Knight is carrying out the orders of their King. Thus, if she was following Raiser's plan then the possibility of an ambush did seem likely.

He nodded. "Then what should we do?"

Shirou looked out at Karlamaine and made a decision, he turned to Koneko. "Have any idea where the rest might be?"

The loli Rook nodded. "Hmm… I smell two people hiding in the trees around her."

Shirou found it a bit odd on how the First-Year in front of him seemed to usually find enemies with her strange yet strong sense of smell. Yet he decided not to question it.

"Alright, here's what we'll do, I'll go out and face her." Shirou then points to the two of them. "You two watch the space around us carefully, once the other two jump out to intercept them."

Kiba was surprised. "You're going to spring their trap?"

"I have too, I'm the one with a more flexible way of fighting, you two need to focus on fighting whoever your a good match for." Shirou pointed out. "Kiba take the right, Koneko take the left, go the second you see something move."

They both nodded determinedly.

"You can count on us."

"…We've got your back."

Shirou then got ready to fight, he then turned to them. "Still nervous?"

They were both a little surprised by his sudden question. Then slowly they both nodded again.

"A little."

"…Yes."

Shirou smiled. "…Use that."

Shirou then walked out from behind the tree and walked up to face Karlamaine.

"I'll fight you!" Shirou said walking towards her and stopping a few feet away. "Your opponent is Shirou-sama."

Karlamaine placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.

She smirked. "I'm happy that there are warriors like you in Rias Gremory's group." Karlamaine admitted pleased. "Coming out here directly from the front. That's something people with normal sanity won't do."

Shirou scoffed. "Oh please, you're one to talk. Do sane people just walk out and challenge their opponents to a duel?" Shirou pointed out.

Karlamaine blinked, then closed her eyes and smiled. "I suppose that's true. But still, I love idiots like you."

Shirou blinked. "Wait…Is she insulting me, or coming on to me?"

"Though to be perfectly honest, I would have preferred fighting your group's Knight." She confessed.

Shirou smirked. "Are you disappointed?"

Karlamaine shook her head. "Not at all, this works out just as well. I confess you are also an opponent I've been looking forward to fighting, ever since I last saw you."

Shirou raised a brow. "Really? I would of thought you'd be pissed at me. I mean I punched your master into a wall, TWICE, The Pawns all seemed like they wanted to kill me for that."

"As a Knight, I can't forgive you, the crime of both insulting and striking my master." Karlamaine clarified while clenching her fist, but then calmed down. "But as a swordsman, I find myself wanting to fight the strong, like warriors such as yourself. That's why right now all I feel is excitement at the idea of fighting you."

Shirou nodded. "I see, that explains it, well I'll say this. I like that mindset since I'm pretty similar." But then Shirou heard rustling in the tree's around him and frown. "But sadly, they aren't."

At that moment two members of Raiser's Peerage jumped out of hiding, just as Shirou anticipated they attempted to ambush him from both his left flank and right flank.

One of them was the Rook Xuelan and the other was Raiser's second Knight Siris.

Siris is a tall young woman with long black hair with a dark blue tint and brown eyes. Her hair features five thin ponytails going around her head, which are held up by a golden hair accessory on top of her head. Her outfit consists of a white top with black accents that is modelled after a Chinese cheongsam, red shorts, and armored, knee-high boots with matching gauntlets. The top features a diamond shape on the chest area, giving a view of her breasts and cleavage. Siris is seen with a giant Zweihänder that is mounted on her back when not in use. It features a black blade with silver edges and has a black hilt with a red handle.

Xuelan is a well-endowed young woman of Chinese descent with shoulder-length black hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair has two Chinese-style buns on both sides of her head, while the front features bangs that form a slight V-shape across her forehead. Her outfit consists of a navy blue qipao with gold accents, a white sash around her stomach, and black, low-heeled shoes. The qipao is open at the chest area, giving view to Xuelan's breasts and cleavage. She also wears black armguards over her forearms.

"You fell for an obvious trap!" Siris roared holding her Sword above her head, ready to bring it down on Shirou, hoping to cleave him in half.

"Now you will fall!" Xuelan roared her left foot covered in flames using the same ability as the Pawns, curling her leg back to kick Shirou, hoping to crack open his skull.

Shirou smirked.

"So predictable." He muttered.

Just as fast as the two of them just out of hiding, so did Shirou's allies. Koneko and Kiba appeared from their hiding spot and intercepted Shirou's attackers in their attempt at a sneak attack.

Kiba drew his Sword and parried her Zweihänder away and knocked back her would-be attempt at taking out his comrade. With her Sword knocked back, she felt it's weight pull her back as well. As her attack didn't work she straightened herself out and landed neatly on the ground.

Koneko drop kicked the second assailant and knocked her strike off course. Xuelan managed to raise her leg, guarding against the worst of the blow. The force of the strike propelled her into a nearby tree, but the Chinese garbed Rook managed to grab on to a large branch, vaulting over around the front and back twice before releasing her grip. She did almost an Olympian-Esque backflip before landing back on the ground.

Karlamaine was so surprised her eyes widened, even though she wasn't happy that they were going to use a sneak attack against their enemies, she never thought it would completely fall like that. Shirou just smirked knowing he saw right through them.

"A sneak attack." Kiba mused holding up his Sword. "Not very befitting of a Knight, don't you think?"

The woman scoffed as she raised her massive blade in front of her. "Knight is just a mere servant Rank. Only fools and children believe in trite nonsense like "honor". The way I see, as long as it benefits my master, I would gladly throw away any sense of Pride."

"That sounds like a rather depressing way to live." Kiba sighed out. He pointed his Sword at his opponent. "However, if it is a fight you want, Yuuto Kiba, the Knight of Rias Gremory will be happy to give it to you."

"You know, you act like our sneak attack was cowardly, but didn't you guys have the same plan?" Siris taunted. "You were waiting to sneak attack Karlamaine too, that's why you were hiding, guess you're not as Proud as you'd like to think."

Kiba smirked, unfazed. "A good guess, but you're wrong."

Karlamaine looked at Kiba and Koneko, and noticed how the timing of when they jumped at was too well-timed and then noticed the satisfied look on Shirou's face. Her eyes widened before she narrowed them. "You anticipated this."

Xuelan and Siris were surprised when they heard Karlamaine.

"What?" Siris asked.

"What do you mean?" Xuelan asked.

Kiba nodded. "That's right, Shirou-kun knew exactly that you were planning an ambush. If we all came out at once you'd have the advantage, we would be surrounded on all three sides and you would have first blood. And so he had me and Koneko stay behind and wait, the moment you came out of hiding we would cover him and thwart your attempt at taking him out, though honestly once you know a sneak attack is coming it's pretty easy to stop." He taunted.

Siris clenched her teeth.

"But how?" Xuelan asked. "There's no way you could've seen through our plan."

"I would like to know the answer as well." Karlamaine agreed. "I challenged you to duel, how did you know a trap was lying in wait?"

"Do you have any idea how many fights I've been in?" Shirou asked, rhetorically. "Enough to figure out all the in's and out of fighting in groups, I been in plenty of fights where the guy says "we'll fight one-on-one" but brings his friends for back up right from the start. Even that whole honorable duel thing can't fool me at this point."

Karlamaine clenched her fist and looked down a bit and whispered. "I…I didn't…"

"Shirou-kun has fought in every kind of dishonest fight there is." Kiba said with a smile.

"…Sempai never fights a fair fight." Koneko added.

Shirou's eye twitched, he turned his head to face them. "I can do without your comment!" He tells them annoyed. Shirou then turns back to Karlamaine. "Anyways, I'm also guessing I'm right in saying your words weren't a lie."

Karlamaine then looked at Shirou surprised. "What?"

Shirou smiled and shrugged. "I get it, truth is you really did want a fair fight, one-on-one, no ambushes. But the fact is you're on someone else's payroll, even if you're heart wasn't into it you still did it, because you really believe you're a Knight, and a Knights priority is their King, right?"

Karlamaine was surprised by his words, Kiba who heard Shirou as well smiled because he knew exactly that Shirou was right. Karlamaine then felt her smile return to her and nodded. "You are correct, as a Knight what I truly wanted was a chance to truly duel against warriors from the enemy group. And now even though the sneak attack failed. I'm still satisfied." She then draws her Sword. "Because now, I can fight you with honor!"

Karlamaine then holds her Sword up and aims it at Shirou.

Shirou gets into a fighting stance. "Bring it."

Siris saw what they were doing a groaned. "Would you give it a rest already. Like I said you're a Knight just cause of the piece you were given."

Karlamaine frowned at her comrades words.

Kiba had his usual smile while he had an uncomfortable sweat. "Oh my, it seems I got paired up with the wrong kind of Knight." He then turns to Shirou. "Hey, can we trade? Yours seems better."

Shirou shook his head. "Sorry it's first come first served, you get what ya get."

Siris's eye twitched. "Hey! Screw you!"

Xuelan smiled. "I would praise you for figuring it out, but you are still at a disadvantage." Xuelan pointed out. "Right now in this closed space surrounded by trees, you don't have as much elbow room to fight, and since we're much more used to fight together then you three seem to be, we have the upper-hand."

Shirou snorted. "I'll grant you the second point is true. I have literally never fought with those two before." He pointed at his fellow Peerage members. "So it's true I have no coordination with them." Shirou then turned around. "But as for the first point, I already ran into that same problem a little while ago, and I've already found a way to work around that." Shirou squatted his legs a bit. "Watch this."

Then like a speeding bullet, Shirou leapt from where he was standing and cut through the air at high speed, though was only a few feet off the ground. Both his enemies and his allies were surprised at his sudden jump in speed and more surprised at the fact that he was heading straight for a tree. But instead of hitting the tree like they thought would happen, Shirou's feet landed firmly on the tree for a fraction of a second before leaping once again using the sturdy tree bark as a foothold platform to jump again increasing his speed and leapt in the direction of another tree doing the same thing. Now Shirou was leaping through at fast almost blinding speed leaping from tree to tree, with the rest of the Devils present unable to follow his rapid movements.

What is this?" Karlamaine asked, trying to follow Shirou's movements.

"I-I can't keep up." Siris said frustrated, looking around.

Siris, Karlamaine, and Kiba were all Knights and therefore had faster speed and reaction time than anyone also in this battle, and yet as they were trying to follow Shirou's unorthodox method of movements, even they could barely see him. It wasn't that he was moving too fast for them, it was the fact that they had never seen someone do something like this before, and thus since they didn't know which tree he would jump to after stopping at one they didn't know which direction to focus on. For them, it's like they can see him for a moment but then he disappears and they have to look around in every direction to find him, but the instant they spot him he's gone again.

Though it was better than Koneko and Xuelan who could only see a transparent blur.

Shirou then honed in on his true target and speed blitzed forward in a zigzag criss-cross pattern towards Siris. Siris can vaguely see him heading towards her, but only by reacting on instinct can she move on time. She attempts to slash him in two with her Zweihänder once he's close enough. But thanks to Shirou's great built up speed, her Sword cuts only air, as Shirou zooms past her guard and lands a strong blow with his right arm in her gut, knocking to wind out of her lungs and sending her flying into a tree truck behind her.

Shirou then lands smoothly on the ground where Siris was previously standing, looking satisfied at the result. "Heh, if there's one thing I'm grateful for that first time I fought Freed, it was showing me I needed to learn to fight like that, now closed spaces aren't a problem for me." He said to himself.

The rest of those present, Kiba, Koneko, Xuelan, And Karlamaine were all shocked stun. Unable to believe what they had just witnessed. For the Phenex Knight and Rook, they were shocked that a Pawn and New-born Devil was capable of something like that. While the Gremory Knight and Rook were shocked that their comrade was able to come so far in only ten days of training.

"…Sempai…Strong." Koneko spoke impressed.

"Shirou-kun?" Kiba asked.

Shirou turned to face him. "What?"

"When did you… How strong are you?" Kiba asked, trying to put his thoughts into words.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I thought I told you to never doubt me again."

Xuelan was the first one the get out of her funk. "You bastard!"

That was the wrong choice as that made Shirou's attention on her.

Since Shirou decided she would be next he once again started he rapid jumping all around the trees.

"Damn." Xuelan cursed as now she lost Shirou again.

Shirou once again zigzagged forward in a criss-cross pattern towards Xuelan. Xuelan knew from Siris that his attack would be a direct hit from the front so, she lit her leg on fire and curled her leg back ready to kick him away like a batter would try to hit a fastball.

"You're mine!" Xuelan declared.

She kicked out and kicked her leg forward attempting to kick Shirou. Unfortunately for her, Shirou saw her attacking coming and while in the air he kicked his legs downwards planting his feet on the ground thus gradually slowing down and skidding to her, though he comes to a complete, sudden stop right in front Xuelan point blank, the very same moment she kicked leaving her wide open.

She has a panicked look on her face, while Shirou has a ruthless smirked on his face, and Shirou faster than she can stop, comes up and hits her in the chin with a fierce uppercut knocking her away and making Xuelan hit the ground hard.

Shirou then jumps back and stands a few steps in front of a still shocked Kiba and Koneko.

Xuelan thanks to her trait as a Rook got up after a few seconds, and Siris though nowhere near as tough being a Knight also got up looking pissed.

"How the hell are you so fast?!" Siris question, angry.

Shirou snorted amused. "I've got no reason to answer that," He then pointed at her. "But I'll tell you this, you probably chose that huge Sword for its power but as a Speed fighter it's a pretty limited weapon, you can only slash it downwards or to the side, only two choices so it's easy to predict."

Siris gritted her teeth on the fact that Shirou easy saw her weakness. Shirou then pointed to Xuelan. "And you, anyone can tell just by looking at you that you're a martial artist, and from the looks of things you're style is Kung Fu, though your outfit was a dead give away." Shirou was referring to the fact that her outfit was an ancient female's Kung Fu uniform. "Since that means you fight mainly with kicks, I just had to focus on how far you could kick and dodge it, leaving you wide open for my counterattack."

Xuelan narrowed her eyes. "Well, this whole time I thought you were just some idiot brawler, but I never expected you paid attention to such details."

Shirou smirked. "Lady, when it comes to a fight, no one knows more than me."

"…True." Koneko agreed.

"We can second that." Kiba added.

Shirou then paused. "Also, I learned something else, on accident mind you, but…" Shirou then awkwardly pointed to Xuelan. "She's not wearing underwear."

.

.

.

"Eh?" Kiba gasped.

"…What?" Koneko asked with a deadpan tone.

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I kind of noticed when I got in close and she kicked upwards. Heh, it was kind of hard to miss."

Xuelan then blushed as her cheeks turned pink. "Hey hold on it's not what your thinking!" She then looked away slightly, with a nervous tone. "I just… I had nothing that would go well with this outfit and apparently, it's easier to both move and fight in without wearing anything beneath." She nervously defended.

Kiba had an awkward smile. "Okay, if that's how it is."

Shirou raised his hand a bit. "Yeah, don't worry, we don't judge."

Koneko just glares at her. "…Pervert."

"Okay nevermind." Shirou then points to Koneko. "She, she judges a lot."

"It's not like that!" Xuelan shouts.

"Ahem." Karlamaine coughed, interrupting their conversation. "If you're all finished, I would like for us to return to fighting."

"Yeah." Siris agreed, impatient. "Let's get back to it already."

Shirou sighed. "Fine, whatever." Shirou started heading back to Karlamaine and walked passed Kiba and Koneko. "Take care of those two."

Shirou then stopped and stood before Karlamaine. "I must admit, that last display was most impressive, as I thought you are a force to be reckoned with." Karlamaine said excitedly as she placed her hand on her Swords hilt. "Now then, let's begin our duel!" She then drew her Sword.

"Actually." Shirou retorted, disinterested. "If it's all the same to you, let's make this quick."

Karlamaine raised a brow, confused. "What? What are you saying?"

"Truth is, I've spent more time here than I thought I would have to, so let's just end this. Use full power from the start, if you do that, you might last longer than one hit."

"Are you insulting me?!"

Shirou shook his head. "Of course not. I'm just being honest, if you don't give it you're all you won't last." Shirou then placed a hand on his hip and closed his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, you are good. But you're no match for me."

Now Karlamaine really felt insulted, she grits her teeth and glares at Shirou. Karlamaine then sheaths her Sword she takes a short sword from her hip. She then put her sword up and shouts. "I am the Knight of the all-mighty House of Phenex that rules over fire and wind! If what you want is my best shot! Then taste it!"

THE WHIRLWIND OF FIRE!

BUUUUUUURN!

There is a wind of fire around the forest area with Karlamaine and Shirou in the middle of it. The hot winds are burning the atmosphere around them like a miniature inferno roaring around them, shooting flames and embers in every direction. The air becomes greatly heated and hard to breathe, Kiba and Koneko have to lift their arms to take cover from the sudden scorcher that is similar to the one they felt when Raiser first powered up at the club room.

"That Karlamaine. Has she forgotten that her allies are here as well!?" Xuelan commented while using her arm to guard her face.

"Doesn't matter." Siris added, confident. "With this that Pawn's finished, he may be tough, but he can't take a direct hit from that unarmed."

Kiba and Koneko were also using their arms to guard their faces.

"That intensity it too much!" Kiba warned him, concerned. "Shirou-kun! You have to dodge it!"

"…Sempai." Koneko muttered concerned.

Shirou merely stood his ground unfazed by the raging fiery whirlwind only inches away from him.

Karlamaine smirked. "Now do you see it! This is my power the power of the House of Phenex! And faced with it you're the one who is no match!"

"Enough with the hype." Shirou retorted, still sounding bored. "Just hurry it up already, I getting sleepy here."

"Gugh?" Karlamaine's eyes widened, then they narrowed at her foe and then grit her teeth while clenching her grip on her Sword harder, her flames slightly increased in intensity as well. "Very well." Karlamaine ready's her stance and prepares to strike. "This is it! WHATEVER HAPPENS, DON'T BLAME ME! IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT FISTS TO A SWORD FIGHT!" Karlamaine raised her Sword up and brought it down at Shirou's shoulder.

BUUUUUUURN!

BOOOOOOOOM!

There was a great impact once the attack hit, which resulted in a large shock wave and fiery blast concentrated at the spot Shirou was standing on while letting loose a strong flaming heatwave, the blew past the rest of the fights standing on the same battlefield. They all turned their heads, as the strong heat, embers, and winds blew past them. The flaming heatwave continued and started to burn some of the trees around them.

Once it cleared, they all looked towards the spot Shirou and Karlamaine were standing, wanting to see the outcome. The Gremory pieces were afraid to see how much damage Shirou had taken, while the Phenex pieces wondered if Shirou was now beaten, the fact that the referee hadn't announced his retirement suggested that he wasn't, but it should be a matter of time.

However, what they saw shocked all of them to the core.

Play OST Dragon Ball Super - Unwinnable Battle

When the sight became clear, what was standing there was Karlamaine in the position of her Sword as it struck Shirou, but the look on her face showed, fear, pure shock, and utter disbelief, her whole body was shaking. And the reason was because of Shirou who was standing looking almost completely untouched by the ferocious attack. He hadn't moved an inch from where he was standing, and Karlamaine's Sword was in his shoulder, though it barely cut through a millimetre of his skin, looking even smaller than a papercut, and the was only a small droplet of blood coming from the cut.

Shirou let out a sigh and looked disappointed. "Seriously, that was the best you could do?"

Karlamaine was trembling. "Impossible, Impossible, Impossible."

The reason Shirou was able to come out of that attack virtually unscathed was because at the last second, he unleased his magical aura. Just like how Shirou was able to use it defensively like a shield around his body when fighting the Pawns, he did the same thing against Karlamaine's attack. The power of his aura was more potent than the fire surrounding Karlamaine's Sword and thus, when the two meet, Shirou's aura blew away her flames, plus it also lessened the strength behind her Sword swing and blocked it almost completely.

BREAK!

Shirou then shot out his arm like a whip at Karlamaine's Sword and the strength behind his arm was strong enough to completely shatter her Sword into pieces.

"M-My Sword?" Karlamaine spoke looking down at her broken blade, at a loss for words.

[BOOST!]

"Guess this means it's my turn."

At those words Karlamaine looking back up at her opponent. But now feeling even greater fear than before. Shirou's aura was now twice as large and twice as intense, a power he gained from doubling all his states with the Boosted Gear's power. Karlamaine was now trembling, so much so that she couldn't stop her knees from shaking, it was as if Shirou was completely towering over her. Shirou then curled back his fist preparing to end this.

"I told you I'm in a hurry, so I'm ending this quick." Shirou spoke in a low tone with his eyes narrowed. "But whatever happens, don't blame me, it's you're own fault because you brought a toy to a fistfight."

CRACK!

Shirou then shot his fist out, slamming a strong right punch into Karlamaine's chest, completely shattering her metal chest plate into pieces and digging into her body, the Knight coughed out a large sum of blood and was knocked off her feet. She was sent flying back a few feet back and landing on the ground with a thud flat on her back.

"Augh!" Karlamaine let out a groan of pain, she tried lifting her arm in an attempt to get up, but quickly fell and her body was then consumed by a bright glowing light, dissolving her body into sparkling dust, signalling her elimination.

[Lord Raiser. One Knight. Retired]

All those who had just witnessed what had transpired were shocked stiff, honestly unsure how they should even react, the light-hearted atmosphere from before completely forgotten. All they could do was stare at Shirou's back, the back of the form of someone whose power seemed almost boundless to them now. Xuelan and Siris now felt great intimidation from the idea of fighting the outrageously strong foot-soldier that was a few steps away from them, unconscious trembling as well.

"He's a-" Xuelan though inwardly.

"-Monster." Siris finished inwardly.

Kiba and Koneko however, had a completely different reaction. For the two of them, they were shocked at what they had just seen, they knew that Shirou was strong, especially after training, but what they didn't know was just how strong. In truth, if either of them had taken that attack, even a Rook like Koneko they would have sustained a large amount of damage. And yet, the fact is that Shirou took that attack without retreating a step and didn't even so much as flinch. And they could think about was that single question.

How strong is Shirou?

The man in question then turned around to face them, making everyone immediately turn their attention to him. Shirou spoke directing his attention to Kiba.

"Kiba, I'm going on ahead with the plan." He informed Kiba. "I'm heading to the new school building to finish off any more enemy pieces before heading to Raiser with the others, I want you two to finish off the two enemies in front of you." Shirou just to Siris and Xuelan. "Meet up with me when you're done. That's an order."

Normally they wouldn't feel like they were under any obligation to follow anyone but Rias' orders, and would be insulted otherwise, right now they felt it was in their best interest not to object. That and a part of them was a little afraid that Shirou might break them in half if they refused.

Shirou didn't wait for a response as he turned around spread his wings and flew off.

Music Off

Shirou was now inside the school building, though he wasn't in the new school building area as such he couldn't Promote yet. He had just contacted Mika and Akeno, they said that they were also in this building though in a different section and thus he was on his way to meet up with them.

"Thing's are working out well." Shirou said to himself. "But almost too well, I figured Raiser would have some powerful piece somewhere around here."

"Well then, you figured right." A voice spoke.

Shirou turned around to see he was now confronted with Isabela the Rook. Isabela is a woman with short, light brown hair and grey eyes. Her hair has three red highlights across and wears a plain white mask which covers the right side of her face. Her outfit consists of a black jacket and matching jeans. The jacket has wide shoulders and a wide collar and features three leather straps on both her arms. It is also slightly open, revealing her rather-large breasts and cleavage, and it is cut off at her midriff. Her jeans have a section (on her right pant leg) cut off, revealing some of her thighs and rear end, and also features three leather straps on her calves, just below the ankles, and two extra straps on her right pant leg to keep it in place. She also wears black fighting gloves and boots to enhance her blows.

The casual and lighthearted expression Shirou's face vanished. "Well, look who it is. First a Knight and now I get to face a Rook."

The Rook of Raiser Phenex, who was dressed like a cross between a military and a biker leader narrowed her eyes. "I see, so you were the one responsible for that announcement I heard."

Shirou nodded. "That's right, that girl, Karlamaine was is? She had the right spirit, but just couldn't keep up in strength."

Isabela then punched her left fist into her right palm. "You know, for someone so close to their goal, you seem a little bored."

"Well, honestly I am." Shirou admitted. "Considering all the hype this game was getting, I was looking forward to fighting the strong, but so far, as you can see you guys haven't even put a scratch on me."

"I can see that, though if I'm being honest I'm not surprised." Isabela admitted. "Both from the way you carried yourself, before when you clashed with my Master and right now from the way you hold your position, looking causal but actually you're ready to strike at any moment." She examined. "You're subtle about it, but you also don't seem to show any signs of wasted movements."

"Oh? So you can actually notice that? I'm pleasantly surprised but also a little relieved, I was thinking this would be another one of those fights where you would keep underestimating me until I beat you or something."

"It would be remiss of me not to notice a thing like this when it comes to other fighters. I'm something of a battle-maniac among Raiser-sama's Peerage." Isabela then frowns. "A lot of them call my enjoyment of fighting annoying or vulgar. I don't get why though."

Shirou then frowns. "I don't get it either. I mean, Rias and the others usually get on my case about that too and I just don't understand what they're always so upset about. I like fighting the strong, so what?"

"I'm glad to see there are some people who agree that there's nothing wrong with having a good, violent fight." Isabela smiled.

"I agreed." Shirou nodded. "And by the way, how can they call fighting vulgar when they're okay with openly doing M rated things with Raiser in public?"

Isabela nodded. "I will admit, sometimes I have trouble being okay with that."

"Hmph." Shirou smiled. "I guess we can get along."

Isabela smiled. "You think so?"

The two of them were sharing a rather strange and yet interesting moment. One moment, both fighters had been ready to kill one another, and the next they were talking so casually. One would have thought they were old friends rather than enemies on the battlefield. Shirou wondered if this was how Kiba felt when he first met another Knight, meeting someone who both acted and thought on the same wavelength as you. It was both comforting and a breath of fresh air.

"Yeah, by the way." Shirou looked a little uncomfortable. "Sorry, you know about my Sister groping you."

Isabella blushed a little at being reminded of that time. "I-It's alright, if anything I thank you for getting her off me."

"Good, glad I got that off my chest."

"Changing the subject, I like your battle uniform." Isabela complimented his combat uniform. "It looks like it's better designed for fighting then mine."

Shirou then sighed. "Since you brought this up, there's something I wanted to tell you, when I first saw you, even though Mika and Raiser were talking about how your outfit only shows off your body, I liked it better than the rest. To me, it was less about showing off your body and more about showing how good you yourself look, and to me, that's way more satisfying."

Now Isabela had a much larger blush on her face and looked a bit nervous. "Ah, I. Thank you for saying so."

At this point the situation changed again, this to silence. Not awkward silence but rather a calming silence where to the two of them were simply enjoying each others company, which a calming and nice feeling the two of them rarely felt.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted as both of them felt their communicators being contacted.

"Hang on, I got call." Shirou said.

"Yeah, me too." Isabela replied.

{Shirou, can you hear me?}

"Akeno? Yeah, I hear ya. What's wrong?"

{Me and Mika are heading to our assigned point, like the plan, where are you right now?}

"Yeah um, about that." Shirou responded, uncomfortable. "I might be a little late."

{What? Why? What happened?}

"There's a Rook right in front of me."

{Wait, give me that… Big Bro, it's me.}

"Mika?"

{Yeah, tell me, how sure are you that you can beat that Rook and follow the plan?}

"How confident?" Shirou thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I can, in fact, it shouldn't take to long."

{Okay then, take care of that, then head to the room that Raiser is in, we'll be there.}

Shirou nodded. "Got it."

The communication between them ended after that, Shirou looked up and saw that Isabela had also just finished her contact as well.

"You done?"

Isabela nodded. "Yes, it was my Master, he just told that basically I should hurry up and end you."

Shirou shrugged. "I pretty much got the same call."

Isabela then got in her stance. "Then it looks like we're done talking. Let's begin."

Shirou smirked and get into his stance. "Should be fun."

Mika and Akeno were walking down the hallway heading to their assigned point that they planned. It was quiet, there were no pieces in this area of the building to obscure their path, as such they were able to continue making there way to there destination without worry. Or at least Mika could, Akeno still had some concerns about all this.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let Shirou face that Rook?" Akeno asked.

"Absolutely." Mika responded, without worry. "Bro-Taker is more than enough to take on one Rook."

"But still." Akeno still wasn't convinced. "Hasn't he already done enough by taking on the Pawns, he should conserve his energy."

Mika laughed a bit. "Oh, Akeno, Poor, naïve Akeno. Why do you think I wasn't worried when he said he was up against a Rook?" Mika didn't wait for an answer. "It's because, he's already surpassed the strength of everyone on this battlefield, from both sides. That was obvious when he took out one of Raiser's Knights a little while ago."

"You believe that Shirou did that?" Akeno asked. "How do you know? Kiba and Koneko were with him, what if they did it?"

"Because it was too fast." Mika answered. "To make it simple, here's the difference in my brothers compared to them. If a Knights speed is 20 then his speed is 30. If a Rooks strength is 35, his strength is 45. And with the Boosted Gear, just one Boost will double those numbers. In other words, one Boosted would be all he needs to one-shot a Knight." Mika explained. "If it was Kiba or Koneko, they would still be fighting right now."

Akeno processed all this information and understood the logic behind it was rock solid. And yet, She still couldn't comprehend how Shirou could be that powerful.

"Trust your strategist, alright." Mika assured her. "There's no doubt he can beat that Rook."

Back with Shirou and Isabela.

Shirou took a stance like that of a boxer, his legs spread apart, his fists raised. "Should be fun."

Isabela got into her own stance, smiling expectantly. "Don't hold back."

Play OST Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Last Hunter - Extended

And it began with Shirou dashing towards her.

He sped towards Isabela at an impressive speed, delivering three punches at a rapid succession which Isabela dodged, blocked, and dodged respectively.

The Rook brought her leg around, aiming to kick Shirou in the head. Shirou ducked back to avoid it, letting out a breath as Isabela's kick missed by mere centimetres. She continued with several punches of her own, Shirou counted by letting loose punches as well the match hers, Shirou and Isabela engaged in their own "dance". While wild and destructive compared to the art like fighting style that Knights Pride themselves upon, their method of fighting still held a sort of charm to it.

Punch for Punch. Kick for Kick. Shirou and Isabela's attacks seemed to mirror one another every time they had an exchange.

Neither could attack nor defend for very long because it would present too much of an opening. They were trying to slowly wear one another down, but even Isabela was surprised that Shirou was somehow able to take a hit as well as, if not then better than she could despite not being a Rook.

"Well, you really are strong! This even more fun than I was expecting!" Isabela noted with a grunt.

Shirou smirked, seemingly unfazed by the hits from Isabela that got through. "You obviously don't know who you're dealing with." Shirou responded. "I'm not just strong, I someone that came here to win, and I won't accept anything less." He raised his fist. "That's why no matter who I go up against, I just tear my way through them until I reach Raiser, and I've powered up like you wouldn't believe in order to do so." He rushed forward, his head lowered with his arms raised. "You guys can't beat me anymore!"

He continued delivering punches, but something was different about his movements, Isabela could tell. Even his stance was different from the simple brawler style he had been showing seconds ago.

As she evaded or blocked his strikes, Isabela could notice the subtle changes in his attack method. Unlike before where it was basic-level punches and kicks, Shirou was now utilizing the back of his hand as well as the heel of his foot, two types of strikes that generated much greater damage than normal attacks. She didn't quickly understand what was different until she moved in to strike.

Shirou raised his leg to block her punch while also swinging like a kick, this time using his shin and knee to strike her. Isabela let out a groan as the kick knocked all of the wind out of her. When she saw Shirou raise his leg into the air, her instincts started screaming at her to run away.

She hopped back several feet just as Shirou smashed the back of his heel into the floor they were standing on, breaking a crater the size of three soccer balls into the spot where Isabela had been standing on moments before.

"I see it now…" Isabela said, eyes narrowing. "Not just strength and stamina, but you also learned a new fighting style. Muay Thai if I'm not mistaken."

"You are." Shirou denied. "It's true I'm using Muay Thai, but I didn't learn it while training, I didn't have time for that. I've known Muay Thai as well as a lot of other fighting styles for years now, this is just the first time you've seen me use it. Though I admit, it's been I while since I've used martial arts."

"Well then, I admit to being able to change an entire fighting style so masterfully so rapidly is impressive…" Isabela admitted. However, her tone sounded somewhat condescending. "But it means nothing if your opponent can read your moves. I've fought enough martial artists that I know how to detect someone's rhythm."

"Hoh? You assume you can read my movements?" Shirou asked, also somewhat condescending.

"The rhythm that's unique to martial artist, no matter how subtle the movements, no matter what style they use. All but those without a mind possess some sort of rhythm to their technique." Isabela explained. "A sort of flow that they follow in order to use their techniques without rigidity in their moves. For someone like you, it's calm and natural, as if it's as easy as breathing, but I can see it. You strike me using your punches and kicks and lure me closer only to stun me with your kick and try to finish it with the axe kick. It's powerful, but I can still see it."

"Is that so?" Shirou said ambiguously. He smirked. "That fact that you would even assume to be able to see my rhythm is laughable."

While somewhat suspicious as to her opponent's confidence, Isabela still decided to charge, swing her fists rapidly to prevent the boy any chance of blocking or dodging to set up for any of his Muay Thai techniques.

However, she found her strikes easily blocked and deflected by sharp counter punches to her wrists. Even though he had previously been delivering blow after blow, he was suddenly put on the defensive albeit with no real damage. Each and every moment he made looked as though it was devoted too…

"Defence!" Isabela realized, putting distance between the two. "You switched to Karate!"

"That's correct." Shirou smiled, getting back into his stance. "Still think you can see my rhythm?"

"Aren't you full of surprises!" Isabela exclaimed, running up to him and delivering a heavy roundhouse kick to his side. But to her surprise, Shirou simply raised his and took the brunt of the kick with so much as budging an inch, Isabela gasped while Shirou smiled, and hit her with a palm strike which gave her a small nose bleed and flung her body away by the force of the attack. Quickly scrambling back to her feet, Isabela rushed to him again, keeping her eyes incredibly focused on his movements as they started trading blows again. "You seem to know a lot of fighting styles, why is that? And for what reason did you learn so much anyway?"

"Heh, do you have any idea how long I've been fighting?" Shirou said, sidestepping another blow and delivering his own. "In all those countless fights, I've learned that enemies come in all shapes and sizes, so I learned as many different styles as I could so I'd always have something up my sleeve." He narrowed his eyes at the next punch that Isabela threw, using a slap of his hand to knock to blow off-course and Isabela off-balance. "Your mistake was assuming you could read my moves, or even assuming that I would do what you thought I would." Shirou quickly grasped Isabela's wrist with the hand he had struck her with, hooking his other arm around her and grabbing his own. "The thing about me is, I always act beyond everyone's expectations!" He roared, as he used his own arms as a fulcrum, using all his strength to flip Isabela backwards high in the air before hitting the ground head-first.

If she had been any other Evil Piece, Shirou would have thought that the fight was now over with that move.

However, he knew that was too much to expect, especially when Isabela started to get up. She looked a little dizzy but quickly shook it off, placing a hand on her forehead.

When she brought it back down before her eyes, she saw the thick, Crimson liquid that stained them. "You made me bleed again…" Isabela stated, blinking as more blood started to trail down the center of her forehead and around her nose. "You really are making me work for this one, aren't you?"

"Are you disappointed?"

Isabela smirked and clenched her fists. "This is what I was hoping for." She raised her fists. "Let's keep on going!"

"Let's!"

They both charged at one another, moving with far greater morale and excitement than they had individually possessed before. Every time they clashed with what looked like one blow was actually several. The two showed no more restraint as they had been before. Only one of them would be walking out of this fight and they were both determined to make sure that it was him/her respectively.

It was no-holds-barred in a sense. They had both completely abandon defence, anywhere they could get in a punch or kick, they punched and kicked with all their might. Face, Chest, Arms, Legs, Neck, Anywhere.

Neither was certain how long they had been fighting for.

They only knew when the last punch had been thrown.

Knowing they both had an opening, both fighters struck each other with all their might.

Isabela's fist connected with the right side of Shirou's face while Shirou's fist connected with Isabela's abdomen, both fighters' respective attacks knocking the other backwards several feet. Isabela landed face down on the floor, while Shirou scrambled back, still on his feet.

For a few moments, both of them remained motionless, Shirou waiting to see if she'll get up, and Isabela just lying there.

Then Shirou narrowed his eyes, followed by a wheeze from Isabela…

The Rook clawed at the floor beneath her, returning to her feet after a great deal of struggling, now they both stood. Shirou stood there with bruises and marks here and there, but he was still capable of going on fighting, he wasn't even breathing heavily. He still looked as though he had more strength to use. While Isabela was bruised, battered, and bloody, she broke into a fit of coughing, falling to one knee as she spat out a glob of blood, she used her only intact sleeve to wipe the trances of blood that were dripping from the corners of her mouth.

As if testing something, she tranced her fingers down along her chest, wincing as her fingers brushed up against a sensitive spot. It was likely that one or two of her ribs were cracked, if not broken. If they started to constrict her lungs, she would have been in serious danger. Even while in such a state, she put forth her best effort in standing back up, determined not to fall before defeating her enemy.

Even though her defiance meant that the battle would be prolonged. Shirou could not help but feel respect for the opponent in front of him, despite the fact that it was clear she was far too injured to defeat him at this point, her resolve had not wavered even a bit.

"Tell me, do still want to keep this up?" Shirou asked, "At this point, even you can barely stand. Do you still want to keep fighting me?"

Isabela first looked surprised at his question, then smiled and looked a little amused. "Heh, of course, I do. This fight is something I want to enjoy as much as I can, that's why I'll keep on going until I can stand anymore. Not for this game or the engagement, but simply because I desire it!" Isabela spoke completely resolved. "Truth is this the first fistfight I've had for a while, so I can't stop myself from getting excited."

Shirou just looked at her, satisfied with her answer, and sighed. "For what it's worth, I agree with you." Shirou confessed. "For all the time that I've been a Devil, everyone either been fighting me with either magic or magic weapons, so I almost forget the rush of a real one-on-one brawl that I used to enjoy every day. That's why I've also really enjoyed fighting you." Shirou then frowned. "But I don't like one-sided beatdowns lasting longer than they need to, so I ending this."

Shirou then summoned his Red, Dragon scaled gauntlet, Sacred Gear.

[BOOST!]

[EXPLOSION]

Shirou's power and stats all increased to double what they previously were, and thanks to Explosion he can sustain that power for more than one blow.

"Right now my power has doubled, though it last's for just one minute." Shirou explained. "Think you can last?"

Isabela gulped but didn't back down. "Bring it!"

Shirou smiled and raised his fists. "Fine, if that's what you want!"

Faster than Isabela could keep up with Shirou flashed out in a burst of speed and appeared right in front of her, his fist getting ready for a punch, she tried to cross her arms to block the hit, but Shirou's attack came to fast and hit its mark before she could try and defend herself, smashing clean directly into her abdomen.

"Augh!" Isabela winced as she felt the full force of the blow dig into her, it was on a completely different level than anything he hit her with before, she felt as though she had just been punched by something that was the equivalent of getting punched by a freight train, the force of the punch flung her backwards at high speed, and off her feet a far distance, slamming into the wall at the end of the hallway.

Isabela coughed. "What the hell was that?!" She thought inwardly. "In all the Rating Games I've been in, no ones ever hit me that hard! How'd he get so strong after just one Boost?!"

Isabela then struggled to get back up, though she succeeded albeit while being unable to stop herself from shaking.

Unfortunately for her, Shirou didn't give her time to catch her breath as he once again rushed at her, this time he was preparing to hit her with a kick, though thanks to pure survival instincts and her adrenaline that was also the only thing keeping her fighting at this point she veered to the side and avoided his attack. Too bad for the Rook, Shirou wasn't finished as he followed up, by pivoting his leg to the and grabbing both of Isabela's shoulders with his arms, then ran forward and rammed her into the wall, with enough brute force to smash through the wall behind her and crash the two of them inside a classroom.

CRASH!

Isabela got up from the rubble and gripped her shoulder, feeling a great amount of pain. "Dammit." She muttered. "One more hit like that and I may not last."

"Really?" Shirou spoke out, which cause her to quickly turn to her right to see Shirou walking up to her. "So I just need to land one more blow to end this? Good to know."

Isabela grit her teeth. "I won't let you!" She punched him with her left arm, aiming at his skull.

But Shirou stood in place, and raised his leg, blocking her fist with his foot.

Isabela gasped, while Shirou smiled and narrowed his eyes. "Legs are much stronger than arms, about three times stronger if I'm not mistaken."

Shirou could see an opening in Isabela because of the position they were in, and using that opportunity. Shirou brought his leg down quickly, this threw Isabela off balance and Shirou made a fist with his right arm, putting all his might in it and punched out. Punching her straight in the gut. Of all the hits Isabela took throughout the course of this fight, she could honestly say, this was the most painful. The strength behind the punch was so powerful it sent her flying back and at breakneck speed, she hit the blackboard at the front of the classroom but didn't stop there, she kept going crashing through the wall, and two more walls after that, before finally stopping when she crashed into a wall back in the hallway.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Music Off

Isabela was now in a sitting position, with her back lying against the wall. She was beaten, battered, bloody, and bruised all over. Blood was dripping from her mouth, nose and forehead, as well as many other open wounds around her body, as well as being covered with dust and debris. Her attire was messed up as well. Her sleeves were completely torn leaving her arms exposed and so was her left pants leg, making it as cut as she already cut left side. The fabric around her stomach area had a hole in it to which showed a large bruise in the spot that Shirou just punch. And finally, her jacket was torn on the right side of the chest area, leaving her right boob completely exposed and hanging out. Though both fighters didn't seem to care. There was also the fact that her mask broke off revealing the rest of her face.

Isabela laid there seemingly unconscious, though in truth she was awake. "…I've…Lost." She muttered, sounding at peace.

"You're still conscious." Shirou spoke, walking up to her. "You really are tough."

"Maybe, but you're unbelievable." She smiled, with a cough. "Thank you. I'm honored that you were willing to go to these lengths just for me." Isabela sounded satisfied. "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the greatest thrill I've ever received from a fight since I started serving Lord Raiser."

Shirou nodded. "I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Since you were giving it your all, I felt it would only be right if I did the same."

Isabela looked up at him, still smiling but there was a small hint of sadness in her eyes. "You're lying." She accused, weakly. "I know, you can use magic. And not just that, you could have Boosted your power much more than that, yet you only used it once. In the end, it seems I was enough for you to use full power." She faced back down.

Shirou squatted down so he could talk to her face to face, his expression was serious. "You're wrong." Isabela looked at him surprised. "I don't know about "full power" or anything like that, but I was giving it my all. You thought I was holding back because I didn't use magic or my Gear, but you need to understand something. Both those things are weapons." Shirou exclaimed. "I told you I wanted to fight you at my best using only my fists, to me Boosting once was the same as Promoting but doing more would be the same as taking back everything I said before we started. I was giving it my all, that's the truth."

Isabela heard his words and felt the emotion coming from him as he spoke, she could see it in his eyes. He meant every word. After knowing that, the sadness then faded from her eyes. "…I see."

"And if you don't believe me, then we'll fight again."

Isabela's eyes widened. "What?"

Shirou smiled warmly at her. "You heard me, I'll fight you as many times as you want until you're satisfied. But until then…"

Shirou stopped talking and then leaned in closer.

CHU!

Isabela was surprised once again as she didn't know how to react to what was now happening. The fact that Shirou Tsukiharu, her enemy, the Pawn that she was just fighting, had just planted a kiss on her. It wasn't a passionate kiss or anything, it was a gentle quiet kiss on her lips. Completely different from the rough and forceful kind that her master usually gives her, but she didn't mind the difference, in fact if she was being honest with herself, she soon found herself feeling comfort and pleasure from this moment as if everything else just faded from her mind and all she could do was enjoy the feeling of her lips touching the ones of the man standing before her.

After a few moments, the exchange between these two ended as soon Isabela felt her body was then consumed by a bright glowing light, dissolving her body into sparkling dust, signalling her elimination.

[Lord Raiser. One Rook. Retired]

[RESET!]

Shirou then straighten himself back up and dusted off his shirt, he can feel the power from Explosion had finally hit the time-limit and now rest, bring his power back to its normal state. He then lets out a satisfied breath. "Well, that went well." Shirou then started walking down the hallway. "That really was fun, especially the end. But I've got to follow the plan, Mika and Akeno should be this way."

Shirou stopped only before taking another step, frozen in place.

A shape that appeared from the corner of his vision.

Outside the window. In the sky.

It was brief, but undeniable.

The shape of the woman with long, purple hair, garbed in long, revealing robes, a stave held tightly in one hand.

"Who is that?" Shirou knew he recognized her, but couldn't quite remember her name, though he immediately knew she was one of Raiser's Servants. Then he finally remembered what her name was. "You! You're one of Raiser's Servants, Yubelluna!"

"Congratulations." Yubelluna announced, almost mockingly. "Not just for defeating Isabela, but also for remembering my name, seems you're not as slow as I thought.

Shirou rolled his eyes. "Well, that make's me happy." He said sarcastically.

However, even from the first floor, Shirou could see the smirk forming on the enemy Queen's face.

"Unfortunately, this is as far as you go." She pointed her stave at him. "Sorry, little Dragon, but your little game ends here!"

Shirou could only barely make out the outline of a giant magic circle that encompassed that section of the building.

Shirou only had a brief second to look shocked.

There was a bright light.

The ground started to move.

There were burning flames and crushing rubble.

And in a brief second everything was gone in a bang.

Rias felt the explosion in the form of earthly tremors before she saw it.

The massive explosion in the distance.

Holding on to Asia tightly as she floated through the trees, Rias called out over the communication channel. "Status report! What's going on over there, Shirou?! Did you defeat Raiser's Servant?"

{…}

Silence filled the channel.

No response.

Asia looked to Rias with uncertain eyes, but Rias did her best to avoid letting that same worry seep into her heart.

This was SHIROU they were talking about. Whatever it was, there was no doubt he could handle it…

…But just in case.

"Akeno! Mika! Status report! I can't get a hold of Shirou. What's going on over there?"

Again, there was a rush of static as silence filled the air, also filling Rias with a strong sense of dread.

"Akeno! Mika! Do you read me?!" Rias bit her lower lip in both worry and irritation. "Yuuto, can you reach them?"

{No, Chief! A little busy!}

Rias could hear the grating sound of metal against metal, Sword against Sword.

"I can't get into contact with any of our comrades by the School buildings." Rias said she took a deep breath before trying again. "Hello? Shirou, Akeno, Mika! Is anyone there? Please respond!"

{Sorry, Chief, we're fine. We're both fine. But Mika's in shock…}

While Akeno's voice was a very welcoming sound, it also sounded dejected, almost completely out of her character.

"It's alright." Rias replied. "Just tell me what's going on over there."

{Chief… It's gone. It's all gone.}

"What?"

{The entire building… Raiser's Queen completely leveled it, with Shirou still inside!}

"What?!" Rias repeated with greater urgency.

A Few Minutes Earlier…

Akeno and Mika had thankfully cleared the building only seconds before the detonation.

They had been close enough to be knocked flat off their feet by the shockwave, turning in shock as they watched the remnants of the bright flash that reduced the duplicated building to a pile of burning rubble.

"We have to check on Shirou!" Was what Mika had said, pushing Akeno to go survey the situation.

Given the massive power that had been unleashed, Akeno was inclined to agree. The announcement hadn't mention Shirou's retirement. She had to…

-No.

Akeno did not dare to even consider it, the first morbid thought that came to mind.

It was a game attended to by some of the sharpest eyes and most experienced medicals professionals from the Underworld. If Shirou had not been retired, it simply meant he must have survived the explosion. He would be injured, but undoubtedly alive. Given the state he would be in however, Akeno knew it would only be a matter of seconds before they had heard the announcement.

Though she had yet to hear it by the time she and Mika had backtracked to the previous building they had occupied…Or rather, what was left of it.

"Shirou!" Mika panicked, she had ran passed Akeno and rushed to the fallen building as fast as she could. Banishing all other thoughts and priority's, the younger Sister could only focus on proving her fears wrong, Running as fast as she could to get to the rubble in front of her. One she made it, she quickly started digging with her bare hands, covering them in dirt and soot. "Shirou! Come on, talk to me! Tell me where you are!"

She tapped her earbud, perhaps hoping for better reception.

"Shirou? Shirou?! Big Brother, I know you're there! Tell me where you are so I can unbury you! Shirou!"

The panic in the little girls voice…Akeno never expected it to come from her. Compared to every other emotion Akeno had witnessed Mika express, she knew Mika had never even come close to what she presently expressed. Not when it came to her brother. For as long as she's known her, Akeno had never seen her feel concern for Shirou's safety, not from when she had informed the Occult Research Club about Shirou's raid on the Fallen Angels base or when Shirou had picked a fight with either Raiser or his Servants on his own. It appeared as though her entire mental state revolved entirely around her older Brother. Always believing he would come through, and now without him around to focus her, she unravelled light a thread on a spindle.

Mika cut herself on some of the more jagged pieces or rubble, but she ignored the blood that oozed from her hands, focusing on the single-minded goal of finding her brother.

"Why isn't he answering?" Mika paused, raising her head and turning to Akeno. "Akeno, why isn't he answering? He should be answering! Shirou always answers!" She immediately resumed digging. "Big Broooooooo! Come on! This isn't funny anymore! Show yourself!"

It made less and less sense as time went on.

And Akeno's dread only increased.

"Mika, it's just a game." Akeno assured her, though it appeared she was actually trying to reassure herself. "There's no way Shirou isn't fine. You've seen him, How strong he's become since becoming a Devil? Especially in a Rating Game like this, there's no reason to presume that anything's wrong."

"But accidents like that are known to happen from time to time." A voice from the sky taunted. Akeno looked up, glaring at the robed woman with a staff.

Akeno knew who she was. Not personally, but by reputation.

Yubelluna the Bomb Queen, the Queen of Raiser Phenex.

{A-no! -ika! D- y-u re-d me?!}

Akeno turned her attention to her earbud as she heard Rias's voice through the static.

"Chief?"

{Hello? Shirou, Akeno, Mika! Is anyone there? Please respond!}

Akeno took a deep breath before responding. "Sorry, Chief, we're fine. We're both fine. But Mika's in shock…" Or something along those lines.

As Mika's hands became dirtier and more covered in her own blood, the desperation on her face only increased. She was panting heavily, her body unused to such an extended period of physical labor.

"Shirou! I'm going to kick your butt if you don't get out here right now!"

It didn't make sense! The retirement system should have kicked in by now

Unless…

{It's alright, Just tell me what's going on over there.}

Akeno took a deep breath, trying to put her thoughts in order "Chief… It's gone. It's all gone."

{What?}

"The entire building…Raiser's Queen completely levelled it, with Shirou still inside!"

{What?!}

"You heard what I said!" Akeno responded, unintentionally raising her voice. "Mika's searching for Shirou right now, but…"

{Then help her!}

Akeno was taken aback. Even though she had expected for Rias to be worried, right now she sounded almost hysterical. She had never heard Rias sound this panicked before, and she certainly didn't expect it to come from concern for Shirou. At the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly the two of them talked about back at the mountain.

{He's my Servant! It's my responsibility to ensure his safety! I need you to drop everything and help Mika look for him!}

"Chief…"

{And he's important to our plan.}

Rias' last statement sounded more like an embarrassed, hurried afterthought than an actual sentiment.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Chief." Akeno said seriously, not taking her eyes off her sky-bound foe.

"What's the matter? Afraid to fight with the big girls?" Yubelluna taunted further. "Or are you more concerned that I broke your master's new toy?"

Akeno's eyes twitched, but she said nothing. She refused to let Raiser's Queen get to her. She had a job to do and she would see it through. Mika was indisposed searching for her brother, but this was hardly a threat they could ignore.

"Our group's Pawn is more than durable enough to manage through one of your pathetic explosions, Bomb Queen."

Yubelluna's mouth curved in disgusted. "I always detested that nickname. Though, we can't all be the Priestess of Thunder, can we?" That was when she caught the movement of the little girl beneath her. "Oh dear, are you looking for your comrade?"

Mika didn't respond, panting as she continued digging while breathing heavily. However, this did not deter her. The pain, which had come in a small spell, faded enough for her to return her attention to lifting a particularly large piece of rubble.

"Big Bro, are you under there?!" Tears of frustration and worry paved over the dust that settled on her face. "Shirou! Please! I'll…I'll throw away all my games! I'll stop spending all of our money on manga and snacks! Please, just answer me!"

"So strange that the retirement system has yet to take effect." Yubelluna said coyly. "They surely would have made an announcement by now if he had been taken to the medical area. I wonder what happened." She made a movement with her hand, causing Akeno to take a step back, her own arm outstretched protectively, ready to counter an attack against either her or Mika. Instead however, Yubelluna put her hand on her mouth, pretending to hide a smile. "If you think I'm the sort to miss my target, then you're sorely mistaken. As sure as I live and breath, the Red Dragon Emperor was in that building when I attacked it. There was no escape."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Even standing a small distance away, Mika's screech of fear almost deafened Akeno. The small girl stood from the rubble, shaking in either fear or anger, or maybe both. "Answer me! Where is my Brother? WHERE IS HE?!"

This was not the calm, rational girl Akeno had seen only moments before. Mika was in a frenzy.

Akeno thought it best to hurry before something happened that would further jeopardize their objective.

"Take this!"

RESOUND THUNDER!

Akeno unleashed a huge burst of lightning from her hands, aiming directly at Raiser's Queen.

"Too slow!" As fast as Akeno, Yubelluna erected barriers in front of her to absorb the brunt of the attack, only a brief shockwave was experienced by the purple-haired woman. "If this is the best Lady Rias' Queen can manage, then it's no wonder her Pawn bit the dust so easily." This was followed by malicious laughter.

However, just those words alone sent a shockwave across the battlefield. Not in the air, but in the souls of those who heard her.

Akeno, Mika, and any others who had been listening in on their own communicators.

"Don't tell me it hasn't sunk in yet." Yubelluna teased. "It strikes me as basic common sense. Accidents are always possible, even in Rating Games, I hold one of the greatest powers on the battlefield. Do you think killing a pathetic lizard or two is beyond me simply because of some so-called rules? If he hasn't retired and if he didn't escape the blast, then that only leaves one plausible explanation, doesn't it?"

"Akeno…" Rias's Queen turned to Mika, almost crushing under the weight of the younger girl's pleading gaze. "What is she talking about? Tell me… What is she talking about?!"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" The glee of Yubelluna's face was absolutely nauseating to Akeno.

"Don't you dare!" Akeno turned back to Mika. "Mika! Don't listen to her! Cover your ears!" The more Akeno thought about it, and the more time that passed, the more clear the truth became…And it wasn't one Akeno believed Mika could handle…

"What are you saying?"

"It's painfully obvious." Yubelluna said. "I killed him. The Red Dragon Emperor is Dead!"

Another silence, even heavier than the last one filled the air.

Until a familiar voice broke the silence.

"Dead? Bitch please."

Everyone listening felt a paralyzing shock come over them as they heard that voice, but none were more shocked than Yubelluna. Especially since she heard the voice speak right behind her.

As she turned around, she saw the one she had just proclaimed to have killed right behind her. There Shirou was hovering in the air right behind her with his Devil wings spread, looking practically untouched. Honestly, he looked more pissed off them hurt and that wasn't good for her.

[BOOST!]

Shirou quick as a flash smashed his right fist into Yubelluna's left cheek as if he was hitting her with a hammer, with the strength he possessed along with his doubled power the attack was so strong it left her stunned and dizzy, that's why she was unable to dodge his second punch, though his boost wore of since he already landed the fist blow he already had the momentum and was taking advantage of it by turning his body around just as fast and smashing his left fist with the Boosted Gear covering it into Yubelluna's right cheek like a side-ways arch. Shirou wasn't finished with his assault rush as he lifted his knee cap and hit Yubelluna hard in the stomach with a strong Muay Thai knee attack as if he was slamming a wrecking ball into her stomach. The force of the attack was so strong it caused Yubelluna to cough out a small glob of blood. To finish this, Shirou brought back his right fist and slammed Yubelluna with one final punch in the center of her body, putting his whole body into the last punch which carried enough force to blow Yubelluna out of the sky and crashing down into the rubble beneath her like a speeding bullet, she crashed into the rubble which caused a large cloud of dust and rubble upon impact.

Shirou then just hovered up there, standing with his arms at his sides, looking as if he was examining his work.

The two occupants on the ground just stared at him not knowing how to react.

Shirou finally spoke.

"Hmph…"One of the greatest powers on the battlefield"? I seriously doubt that."

There was no doubt about his identity.

"Shirou?" Akeno gasped.

Mika was trembling, she looked as if she was about to cry. "…Big…Bro…?"

"Sorry 'bout that." Shirou said, floating down to join them. "I couldn't afford to let her see me."

"Shirou!" Akeno cried out again, her own relief surprising her more than she expected. "You're alive!"

"Well, of course, I'm alive." Shirou said obviously. "I'm right here, soaking up the air, like the rest of you."

"No I mean I-We thought you were dead!"

"No, no, I was just playing dead, Obviously that was my plan after all." Shirou said with a knowing smile while crossing his arms.

"Your plan? You had a building collapse on top of you! You weren't responding!"

"Wrong! It just looked like the building collapsed on top of me." Shirou corrected. "But in truth, I escaped the blast. You see, I know from her huge magic circle she was aiming to destroy the building with me inside. But fortunately for me, I was standing right behind a window, thinking quickly I rushed as fast as I could and made it out, then I used the aftershock of the explosion to blow myself further away while in the air." He explained. "I planned on using this as an opportunity to launch a sneak attack, so I circled around the building while making sure I wasn't seen and hide in the trees behind her. Luckily for me, everyone was focusing on each other so I was unseen the whole time, once I saw the perfect chance, I flew up and rained down my combo attack. My plan was a success."

After explain his plan, Akeno along with everyone listing on the earbuds we're at a stalemate, they couldn't decide if they should be impressed that Shirou was able to plan out and perfectly execute such a cleaver plan on the spot, if they should be relieved that he was alive after all, or upset that he let them believe that he was dead that whole time.

So Akeno decided for them.

Akeno narrowed her eyes at him. "Shirou-kun! How could you!" Akeno spoke in a disapproving tone, scolding him. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were, don't you ever do that again or as your Sempai I will have to punish you." Akeno got up in his face.

Shirou cringed. "Geez, give me a break would ya." Shirou defended. "I told you, it was I plan I made on the spot. Besides it worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point!" Akeno retorted, still upset with him. "And don't you dare pretend you did nothing wrong!"

"Big Bro…You're alive…"

Mika's quivering voice brought both of their attention to her, Shirou let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to disappear like that…It's just that, our enemy was a Queen so I had to think outside the box a bit. But believe me, I never wanted you to assume the worst." Shirou assured her. "I just couldn't afford to give myself any yet, getting her to let her guard down was to good a chance to pass up."

"Big Bro…"

It was obvious Mika was crying. Shirou couldn't help but give an expected sigh.

"BIG BROOOOOOOOO!" Mika jumped from where she was standing and glopped him, clinging to him like her like she was afraid he would disappear if she let go, she wrapped her arms around his neck, while burying her face in his abdomen.

"Agh! Geez, Mika." Shirou complained. "Volume."

Mika had tears streaming down her eyes, but none the less looked satisfied and relieved now that she was able to see her Brother alive and well with her own eyes.

"I thought you were really killed off this time!"

Shirou sighed, smiling softly as he pried his sister off from him. "Mika, you think I'm dead every time I go to the corner store."

"Wait, weren't you the one who was always talking about how amazing Shirou is?" Akeno asked. "Why are you now so worried, compared to then?"

"I change personalities at the drop of a hat, I'm a GLASS BOTTLE!" Mika responded.

Akeno then walked over to the pair. "Regardless though, it is good to see you're alright. Everyone was concerned that you had suffered an unpleasant fate."

"Why would they think that?" Shirou asked, seemingly genuinely confused. "I thought you guys had more faith in me than to think I'd die from a cheery bomb like that."

Akeno give an amused sigh. "Considering there was no response or news after you buried alive beneath Yubelluna's attack, it seemed like a reasonable conclusion."

BOOM!

The three of them immediately stopped talking and turned their attention to the rubble, or rather the explosion that came from beneath it. From the smoke that appeared after the explosion was the Bomb Queen herself, Yubelluna hovered back in the air, her injuries all to clear. Her robe was tattered a bit on the right side of her shoulder, she had specs of dust and debris on her clothes and her, she had small scraps all over her exposed skin, and her left cheek was swollen and bruised red.

Yubeeluna glared daggers at Shirou while gritting her teeth.

She was completely pissed off.

"You… Why aren't you dead!?"

Shirou stared at her with half-lidded eyes. "Huh? Tell me, how long are you and all you other Phenex grunts going to keep underestimating me?" He asked. "I'm more surprised you thought you could kill me, with such a puny bomb."

Yubelluna looked angrier, she then placed a hand on her swollen cheek.

Shirou looked amused. "You're pretty fragile for a Queen, you know."

"What kind of man strikes a woman in the face?"

Shirou smirked. "You're more of a beast than a woman." He taunted. "You're not even wearing underwear."

Mika and Akeno reacted to that statement.

"Eh?" Akeno placed a hand over her mouth. "She's not wearing underwear? Why?"

"Guess she prefers it that way." Mika suggested, with half-lidded eyes.

Yubelluna narrowed her eyes and aimed her staff at Shirou. "Enough of this! This time I'll blow you into pieces!"

CLASH!

Play OST Overlord - CD2 23 High Level Magic VS High Level Magic

Yubelluna brought out a magic circle in front of her ready to cast a spell, while Shirou and Akeno got ready to counter. However, before Yubelluna could finish casting, she quickly stops and was forced to raise a barrier as a magical attack was fired at her. The spell met with explosive ferocity, but the elemental spell of ice, fire, wind, and water pushed passed Yubelluna's barrier, pushing her back and causing minor damage.

Once she straightened herself out, both Yubelluna and Akeno turned to see who cast that spell, both of them were shocked, while Shirou just smiled.

Standing there with her arm outstretched and demonic aura coming from her was none other than Mika Tsukiharu, the one who fired that magic.

"Mika?" Akeno spoke, shocked.

"But how?" Yubelluna said in disbelief.

Mika stayed in that position. "Big Bro." Mika addressed him without looking. "Go on ahead."

Shirou nodded. "Give em hell, Mika." He then flew off, heading to the new school building.

Yubelluna turned her attention back to Shirou who was leaving. "Hey! I never said you could leave!" She prepared to cast another spell.

"SILENCE!" Mika bellowed, turning attention back to her. She was standing but Akeno detected traces of magic around her. It was not standing so much as magical levitating.

Akeno was surprised, she never knew that Mika could even use magic, much less elemental magic to such a degree. "Mika—"

"Akeno." Mika interrupted. "Hang back, I'll take her on myself." She raised her head, her eyes glowing with magical power emanating from her from every direction. "And as for you. I won't allow you to get away with that, no one touches my Brother." A shroud of demonic power her covered body, only adding to her ominous appearance. "Unless they're prepared to die."

The ground beneath them began to tremble, quaking in a way that usually preceded a violent eruption.

"What the hell is this?" Yubelluna asked herself, unable to believe what she was witnessing. "This magical power is enormous, how could someone like her reach this level?"

The pulsing force of the demonic aura that the girl released at that moment ravaged the air and earth around her, knocking Akeno off-balancing and disrupting her concentration.

Mika then narrowed her eyes and give a smirk that was identical to Shirou's.

"Now I'll show you what real power looks like!"

Music Off

And that's the chapter. And first of all, I wanted to make the Rating Game last only three parts, but unfortunately, this chapter covered a lot and I realized that would no longer be possible, so I had no choice but to split it into four. Moving on, what did you think of the fight?

First for Shirou and Karlamaine, first off, Shirou is someone who improves from every fight and encounter he's in. When he first fought Freed the last arc he was at a disadvantage because they were in a closed space, so he developed a countermeasure for that, that's what he does. Anything that was a weakness for him, he'll find a way around it in a short amount of time, cause he's a fighting genius. Like most fighting anime MC's.

And as for the whole one-shoting Karlamaine, Shirou's power as grown to the point where he's he even then a Rook without Promoting, and if he can double that power with Boosted Gear then it only makes sense, since Knights are Glass-Swords with little defence.

Then with fighting Isabela, since Shirou was a brawler it's obvious that his preferred method of fighting would be hand to hand combat and since this is the first time he was fighting a Rook would do just that, I decided to demonstrate how good at hand to hand combat he was, he's so much more than just a street fight, after all, he's been training for years however he could.

Now it's going to be Mika's turn to demonstrate how strong she is, as you all saw her gift is with magic casting, and her first opponent is going to be an enemy Queen, it'll be an explosive match, no pun intended. Look forward to it.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more then be sure to leave a review if you liked the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.