I've decided to change things up a little for this version of the Chapter. I had half a mind to just rehash the original version but that felt cheap. Instead, I thought I'd challenge myself and try something new. I also treated this as an opportunity to get back into "Wacky Issei" mode. Gonna have to channel that since I haven't genuinely touched comedy in a long while.

I hope you enjoy.


Chapter 28: Vali vs Rias

As announced, the Rating Game Tournament between the Rookie Devils began, with several peerages from several Clans taking part. The first round was easy enough for the Vali Peerage. They'd fought their way through the many teams before reaching the Second Round. Of course, they knew the first round had merely been a warmup. The Second Round was where everything was going to change. Like a weather forecast, Rias, Sairaorg, Sona, Vali, Seekvaira, Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas, Hamla Valefor, and Diodora Astaroth's Peerages had advanced to the second bracket.

In that round, the match against Hamla Valefor had been quick, with Vali's team opting for brute force to crush them. Issei was also starting to make headlines since he couldn't hide his destructive power.

Now, came the 3rd Round. As promised, Rias, Vali, Sairaorg, and Sona had come together for the final two brackets of the Young Devils Rating Game. Everyone had been looking forward to this day, as this was a promise fulfilled.

Everyone sat in the Living Room as Rizevim announced the matchup results.

"Vali's first match of the third round will be against Rias Gremory." Rizevim declared, reading from a piece of paper.

Vali nodded in recognition, a competitive smirk on her face.

"Rias, huh?"

"She's gonna be a problem. We don't have anyone who's well equipped for fighting someone with her powers. With general defense, we're covered, but we don't have anybody who specializes in it. I also heard she's got 4 new members in her Peerage." Kuroka sighed.

"The one benefit we have is that we're aware of their abilities to a significant extent. Still, we're going to have to develop ourselves if we're going to make things a proper fight. Kiba's developed a new Balance Breaker and Rias has 4 new Peerage members who haven't shown all their abilities. So, we can only prepare the best we can for any situation." Vali answered.

"The Rating Game with her will be held in the Agares territory, in the sky city, Agreas. As for the details, the Rating Game type will be determined at another time." Rizevim added.

"Right, looks like it's time to train again." She stood up.

Vali and the others paled.

'No, I thought I was done with those days!' Issei wailed on the inside.

'Stop complaining. Get to work!' Rexis scolded him.

It was hell for Issei for the next week. His body was still sore from the stress thrown on him from his body adjusting to the new powers added to it. The painful fits his body threw still happened, coming and going rapidly every now and then if he overexerted himself. The 3,000 pushups, 1,000 sit-ups, and the 200 laps around the Lucifer Manor didn't help either.

Issei was sparring with Vali again, training in martial arts and magic in order to better maximize his skillset.

"I think we need to get you to Balance Breaker, Issei. If you're gonna be ready to fight any future threats, you need to unlock it." She said out of the blue.

Issei had recalled reading about the Balance Breaker. It was the pinnacle state for a Sacred Gear where its full power was unleashed. Its form and abilities also depended on the user, who could change it depending on their desires and personality. The thing was, it was never easy to obtain Balance Breaker. One needed to experience either a forced Balance Breaker or they had to go through a severely emotionally triggering event or revelation. It was something to be earned through experiencing life, and not just through training for years or under severe gravity or any of that nonsense.

"How do you propose that?" Issei asked.

"I'd rather not force you to go through anything dramatic or traumatizing. The safest choice is to have you train your body until fate decides that it's time. Since time immemorial, Balance Breaker has never been obtained merely through training alone. You need something to give you that emotional and menta push." Vali said as she threw punches and kicks at him.

"How did you unlock yours, Vali?"

"It was when my father was about to kill me. Under severe emotional distress and buildup, I awakened my Balance Breaker. My mother had given up on me, my father was about to kill me, and there was nobody to help me. So, I unlocked my Balance Breaker when I decided that I'd had enough and blasted him away before flying off to my grandparents. So, I took the harder route and unlocked it under severe stress and instability." Vali admitted.

Now, Issei kind of wished that he hadn't asked.

"I'm sorry." He said.

He caught her fist and stopped in midair. Vali opened her Balance Breaker's faceplate and smiled.

"It's okay. My parents are free, I'm free, and now, everything is as they were. It's all in the past now." Vali said.

Issei nodded in agreement.

Right, mourning was in the past now.


When the day came for the Rating Game with Rias, everyone was transported to the sky city of Agreas. It was exactly as it was named. It was a gigantic island floating in the sky, levitating with its innate magic and additional spells. It was probably the size of Tokyo, so it was not the size that its name suggested. It was more like the sky province rather than city.

However, the place of concern was the Colosseum. There, Rating Games were held by the Agares Clan, who were often the chosen hosts for Rating Games. With a circular zone of tiles at the center, circular rows of seats were all around the ring for spectators. Floating in a box above, VIPs from all areas were to be seated, having been granted the best view.

Issei and the others were in a waiting room, preparing for the debut match. They'd studied the enemy's strategies, fighting styles, tactical patterns, and overall behavior, trying to find a way to ensure victory as safely and quickly as possible.

"Nervous?"

The door opened to reveal Sairaorg and Sona.

"Kind of. This is Rias and her Peerage we're talking about here. I'm not sure how things'll turn out." Vali said.

"Well, no matter what, there won't be any hard feelings. Hell, Sona and I are having our match after yours." Sairaorg said.

"Just give it all you've got and treat it seriously, but not personally. I'm confident that the both of you will do incredible, no matter who wins or loses." Sona smiled encouragingly.

Soon enough, the time came for everyone to go to the arena for the match.

"Welcome to the beginning round of the Rookie Rating Games, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Naud Gamigin. Today's 1st match will pit Team Vali against Team Rias, both heirs to the Lucifer House and the Gremory House. Today's match type will be 'Fort Defense'. Each Peerage will be given three structures. The goal of Game will be the total destruction of the enemy structures before the timer runs out or the retirement of the King. The simulated location of the Rating Game will be the Kuoh Shopping Mall. As for restrictions, the Mall cannot be leveled. Indiscriminate destruction will cause penalties to be given. For example, if half the compound is destroyed, then that will be a foul. Only the structure of the enemy can be obliterated without mercy. Going past the Parking Lot's borders are also counted as a ring-out."

With the shimmering of a magic circle, everyone was taken to a simulation of Kuoh's shopping mall.

"Team Rias's side will be located on the East side of the Mall, where the food court and clothing stores are. Team Vali's team will be located on the West Side, where electronics and hobby items are. Both sides will have 3 hours to destroy the other's goal structures. Each King will be allowed to place their structures wherever they please, but they will only become visible after the Game begins. That will conclude the rules for the Rating Game. Both sides will be given 30 minutes to plan out their strategies before we start."

With that concluded, everyone gathered at the Arcade to talk about their plan.

"The basic rule of the Rating Game also applies here: if the King is retired, then their team automatically loses. As for the Structures, it'd be best to put them in places that vary. Rias will probably have her servants and familiars scour the area for our structures." Vali said.

In her hand, were three blue blocks for her to place on the map, symbolizing her structures.

"We won't know where Rias is going to place her structures, so we'll have to try and find them as quickly as possible. We'll split into 3 groups, with one group needing at least one heavy-hitter. Issei, Elaine, and Lianshi will be in team 1. Kuroka, Arthur, and I will be in Team 2. For Team 3, Bikou and Lefay will be playing defense and guard one of our structures." Vali decided.

"It'd be nice if we had another Rook with us." Bikou remarked.

"Well, that's just how the dice rolled. Now, we should get ready. Prepare all your weapons and equipment. This is the first round of the Rookie Rating Game Tournament. We've got rivals waiting for us at the end, we've gotta beat down every obstacle until we get to them. Eventually, we'll fight them too and we're going to come out victorious. We all have dreams and desires and all of them can be reached if we can win this whole tournament. Watch out for each other and protect each other and fight your hardest. This is our time now and we're going to make it count." Vali declared.

Everyone smiled with fires in their eyes as the horn announcing the Match blared.

"Begin!"

At once, the three teams broke apart. Immediately, they began looking for the 3 structures. Lefay spread out magic circles to begin scanning for anything that shared the same energy signature as the Game Structures. Kuroka used ki and her superior senses to look for them, Lastly, Lianshi could use sound vibrations to single out the structure thanks to the unique noise it made to her.

Suddenly, Lianshi drew her sword for a coming fight. She could feel the sound vibrations closing in on them.

"Something's above us."

Soaring down from above, a massive bird swooped over them. Looking at it, Issei saw that it was a red Hippogriff, which had the front of a quadrupedal eagle and the lower half of a horse with feathered wings. Sitting on its back was a blonde that Issei had never expected to see here. She had long curly hair with a hairband at the top. She wore her Kuoh uniform while holstering a long silver whip.

"Kiyome Abe?!" Issei's jaw dropped.

"Hey there, Hyoudou. I never expected to see you here." Kiyome smiled.

"How?" Issei asked.

"Rias approached me a while ago, asking if I wanted to join her peerage. There were pros for me with some cons that I don't mind. It lets my family further its business and we get to study more mythical creatures. In exchange, I just need to help Rias, so why not?" Kiyome smiled.

"Ah, so it's personal gain." Issei said with visible disappointment.

"You make it sound like I'm a money-hungry wolf!" Kiyome berated him.

"I'm not!"

"Can we focus, please?" Elaine scolded Issei.

"It's a shame Lefay's not here. We could make her summon something and have a Pokemon battle. That'd be totally awesome." Issei muttered as if he'd come up with the plan to solve world hunger.

"My partners are not Pokemon!" Kiyome shouted, flustered.

"I special summon Bahamut! Attack the red hippogriff!" Issei taunted her.

"This isn't Yugioh, either!" Kiyome snapped.

"Is it me or has he lost a few screws in his head recently?" Lianshi sighed.

"I don't know. I think he's just acting however he wants now." Elaine groaned.

(Kingdom Hearts 3 OST – Wave of Darkness ~ Phase 1. Play Song.)

While Issei fought the red hippogriff, Kiyome was left wide open. Elaine aimed right at the beast tamer. Suddenly, a wisp of red flame flew at her. Elaine leapt into the air, dodging the exploding red fire. She looked at where it came from, only to barely dodge her assailant.

"Jeanne D'Arc?!" Elaine was surprised.

Jeanne gave her a friendly smile before kicking her away. Brandishing her sword, the flames around it dispersed to reveal a white-hilted weapon with a crystal-transparent blade.

"When did you join Rias?" Elaine asked.

"It was right after Cao Cao's ruse got exposed. Kiba was with Rias so…" Jeanne trailed off.

"Aw, that's sweet." Issei smiled.

'Pay attention!' Rexis scolded him.

Issei barely dodged a peck from the very sharp beak of the hippogriff.

"Agh! This is why birds are bastards!" Issei said.

Lianshi was about to help Issei but stopped when she sensed a sound approaching. It was like crackling flames. Jumping up, she turned to see Shirone aka Koneko, behind her. She wore a white kimono with a red sash. Just like Kuroka, she had two white cat ears and a single tail sprouting from her body.

"Don't forget about me." The white Nekoshou warned, having fired a wheel of white fire.

"I recall Kuroka saying that she had a sister named Shirone. Would that be you?" Lianshi asked.

"Yep." Shirone charged.

Lianshi caught a punch from Shirone before flipping over her. Thanks to being a knight, she had a natural advantage over a slow rook like Shirone. Shirone stomped her foot, erupting pillars of white flame around her.

Slightly burned by the senjutsu-infused fire, Lianshi had to brush the flames out.

Meanwhile, Issei was dodging razor-sharp feathers from the hippogriff as Kiyome cracked her whip.

"Tell me, do you like whips?" Kiyome asked.

"No, I don't like BDSM, but if you do, I won't judge you." Issei shook his head.

"I wasn't going that far!" Kiyome shouted, flustered.

Cracking her whip, she lashed Issei right on his butt.

"Then why'd you hit my ass?!" Issei cried out.

"It was an accident!" Kiyome growled.

'Is that seriously the Host of Bahamut?' Everyone who watched the two asked themselves.

Shirone shrugged as she ran straight at Lianshi. Manipulating her sound magic, Lianshi sped up her running speed, blitzing Shirone. Luckily, she was able to fortify herself with her Rook trait and training, but at the rate Lianshi was hitting her, she was going to go down eventually.

No matter how well she was able to sense her, Lianshi was too fast for her to hit.

Kiyome stomped her foot, creating a magic circle. Out from it, came a massive black horse with a green mane, golden eyes, and silver hooves.

"That's Arion!" Elaine exclaimed in amazement.

"He's currently partnering with my family, so be nice to him." Kiyome smiled.

"What're we trampling today?" Arion asked.

"Catch the lady who's bullying Shirone." Kiyome ordered.

Arion's mane magically sharpened into spikes, with a long green blade protruding forward. He kicked his feet before dashing right at Lianshi.

"Wha?!" Lianshi was caught completely off-guard.

In the blink of an eye, Arion had caught up to her. Rearing over her, he kicked her back into a wall.

"Gurgh!" Lianshi groaned in pain as Arion stampeded right at her again.

Elaine flicked her wrist to the side while blocking Jeanne's sword strikes with magic circles. Lightning zipped past Arion. Seizing her chance, Lianshi lunged, nicking Arion's neck.

Arion kicked at Lianshi, who dodged him. Before Lianshi could hit him again, Shirone blasted her with a Senjutsu fire. Stunned, Shirone and Arion made a charge at Lianshi for a critical chance.

Issei blasted the red hippogriff away as he aimed his wings at Arion and Shirone.

"Lianshi, dodge!"

Firing eight beams, Arion was blasted away by the onslaught but before anything could hit Shirone, Kiyome yanked Issei away with her whip.

(Kingdom Hearts 3 OST – Wave of Darkness ~ Phase 1. End Song.)


As the two trios fought, Azazel was providing commentary as to what was happening.

"So, Azazel, what do you think of the situation?"

"Right now, both teams are pretty even. Vali's team is more diverse and well-rounded while Rias' team is more aggressive in style. However, that's all changed today. Both teams have expanded their horizons. The Vali Team has become much less destructive with their approach, allowing for a more adaptive style while the Rias Team has taken to dealing with their lack of numbers. At this point, the match can swing in any manner, depending on who's eliminated.

"And in this match, who would you eliminate from either team?"

"For the Vali Team, the largest threat that we know of, is Vali, despite also being the King. Combining her Divine Dividing, which can decrease the energy of an opponent and add it to herself, along with her martial skill and experience, she's the most dangerous, overall. She's also capable with tactics, so it'd be best to avoid her at all costs. As for the Rias Team, Jeanne D'Arc would be the most dangerous. Her ability to see forward into the future is an incredible power and could grant herself or anyone else a trump card. She's also adept at fighting, with skills in swordsmanship and fire magic."

"I see. Oh, and it looks like the Rias Team has taken their first structure. Team Vali has lost their first structure inside the clothing store!" Naud declared.


"Damn it." Issei cursed.

"Hey, don't get too distracted. We're still playing." Kiyome cracked her whip at Issei.

Silently creeping behind Issei, the red hippogriff made a swoop at him. Tackled and dragged across the ground, Issei spread his wings, firing them backwards at the red hippogriff. It screeched in pain as it was blasted towards the ceiling. Anymore and its life would've been endangered.

"Go back!" Kiyome ordered.

Coiling her whip around Issei's arm, she channeled mana through it, electrifying him.

"Grr!" Issei growled in pain, immobilized.

Elaine wasn't having an easy time herself. Wherever she moved, Jeanne was already there, attacking her before she could have any time to react. It was true, she was probably able to predict where the enemy was going to be.

"It's really not fair for you to be able to see the future." Elaine sighed.

"It's not exactly that in a fight. It's more like intuition when fighting." Jeanne corrected her.

Swinging her sword at Elaine, who sidestepped, Jeanne's red flames struck Issei, exploding.

"Gah!" Issei was thrown backwards as Kiyome leashed him back for another hit.

She pressed her palm to his chest, hitting him with a pulse of senjutsu, causing internal damage.

"How?" Issei asked.

"Shirone taught me." Kiyome proudly smirked.

"That was your mistake." Issei snickered.

With one violent punch, he bashed Kiyome right through a wall, collapsing a store.

"Any word on the enemy structures?" Issei asked through a magic circle.

"We've found two of them. Just trying to get them down." Vali said.

"Hurry up, please. I don't know how much longer we can distract them." Issei growled as he dodged an attack from Kiyome.

He looked at Elaine and Lianshi, who were both struggling to fight off the team-attacks that Kiyome, Shirone, and Jeanne were making. At the moment, the plan was working to an extent. Their team wasn't actually supposed to hunt down any structures. They were supposed to make noise and force Rias to concentrate on them.

"Elaine!" Issei ran toward her, with the red hippogriff and Kiyome following him.

She got his signal, zapping them with bolts of thunder magic. Issei threw a punch that Jeanne could barely defend against. Creating a shield, he protected him and Elaine from the exploding red fire that Jeanne used.

He turned toward Lianshi, who was struggling to deal enough damage to Shirone, who's defenses had gone to incredible heights. That was when he got an idea.

"I've got an idea. Give me a few minutes." Issei told Elaine.

"What?!"

He punched Kiyome out of the side-entrance nearby before running up to a music store. Earlier, he'd noticed that Shirone had two cat ears coming out of her head, just like Kuroka. Extra pair of ears = extra noise sensitivity. Dragging tons of speakers and microphones to the front plus a megaphone, he plugged them all in before speaking into one.

"Cover your ears, Elaine, Lianshi." Issei said.

Elaine and Lianshi had no idea what he was doing, but they hoped it was going to work. Plugging their fingers into their ears, Issei had thrown gigantic speakers to where Shirone and Jeanne were. Shirone dodged the gigantic speaker that hit the floor next to her, same with Jeanne.

As soon as they were distracted, he decided to enact his wacky plan that could work spectacularly or backfire horribly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Issei screamed at the top of his lungs like a screeching baboon.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Shirone screamed back, genuinely furious as she fumbled around trying to protect her two pairs of ears. Since she had enhanced hearing, she was especially sensitive to loud noises.

Elaine and Lianshi deadpanned at him, glaring at him for his tactics. He glared back. This was their chance to level the playing field.

Lianshi went in for a decisive strike across Shirone's torso, using all her strength to retire her. Placing her palm on Shirone's chest, she let out an internal wave of sound, battering the cells in her body with sound waves. Shirone gagged out blood as she felt all of her nerves firing in pain.

Jeanne was able to shake off the nausea from Issei's screaming but what he said next was something she never expected.

"Jeanne, I found out that you stole Kiba's underwear and sniff it every night before bed. Kiba also keeps a sash of naked photos of you under his mattress and your bra in his closet." Issei said into the microphone, which pretty much let everyone in the mall hear him.

"HUH?!" Jeanne turned beet-red, failing to remember that Elaine was going in for the kill. She was so red, her eyes bugging in embarrassment, tears cornering her eyes.

Issei's jaw dropped as he read into her expression.

"Oh my god, you actually do it." He gasped in honesty.

"[Element Cyclone]"

Elaine combined 4 magic circles into one, firing a surge of fire, water, thunder, and ice magic at Jeanne, who was unable to defend against such an attack.

"Rias Gremory's 2nd Bishop: Jeanne D'Arc and 1st Rook: Shirone Tojou, have retired."

When the dust settled, Lianshi, Elaine, and Issei took a moment to catch their breaths, having grown tired from the extensive fighting. After Issei landed next to the two, they glared at him for his tactics.

"I can't believe you play dirty like that." Elaine gave him a disappointed look.

"Hey, I didn't harm them physically. I lied, so their reputations are fine. I'll even release a public statement later. Lastly, we barely managed to get through this. Any longer and we'd have been cornered and eliminated." Issei retorted.


While Issei, Lianshi, and Elaine fought Kiyome, Jeanne, and Shirone, everyone else was caught up in their own group battles.

Vali, Arthur, and Kuroka were fighting Rias, Arthur, and Akeno. Since the Game starte, they'd been fighting, their stamina and energy dwindling as things dragged on. Despite all that, everything had been evenly matched till now. Everyone had heard Issei's loud revelations and took a small pause.

"I'm so sorry for Issei's behavior. Sometimes, he's just really over the top." Vali, Arthur, and Kuroka bowed.

"Whose side are you on?! I said I was sorry! Are you going to lynch me for this?!" Issei's voice echoed through the halls.

"We'll talk…after." Rias awkwardly said as she and Vali began blasting away at each other again.

Vali had been kept far from touching anyone, being blasted back by Rias. The two traded blasts, countering each other over and over again.

Rias snapped her fingers, creating a burst of bullet-sized orbs of Destruction. Vali flew back and forth, dodging and deflecting them. Yet, whenever they touched her armor, they blasted dents and dissolved it bit by bit.

"I'm going to get through that armor, Vali. Get ready."

Rias fired a surge of Destruction at her.

Vali lapped her wings, spreading [Stardust] particles everywhere. Snapping her fingers, the particles exploded, encompassing the battlefield.

Arthur sensed his way through the dust before sensing an incoming attack. Jumping into the air, a river of swords erupted toward him. Dodging and deflecting swords thrown at him, Arthur used a wave of mana to cleave through the dust. Kiba jumped up toward him, locking blades.

"You've gotten better." Arthur noted.

"Well, I can't be left behind in the dust forever." Kiba grinned.

"This is why you're my rival. You're never one to settle for complacency." Arthur smirked.

The two swung back and forth in the air, shockwaves erupting where their blades met.

While they fought, Kuroka and Akeno were blasting away at each other too, though Kuroka was having some more luck.

Kuroka threw fire, water, and senjutsu magic at Akeno, who countered with an opposing element, cancelling it out. Despite her superior mana supply, Kuroka found that Akeno had more power to her attacks. She had to change things up.

Kuroka clapped her hands together, firing a burst of senjutsu at Akeno. Before Akeno could hit it with something, Kuroka dispersed it into one cloud before bombarding her. Orbs of white flames smoked out the skies before a surge of thunder magic struck Kuroka dead in the chest. Flung into a crumbling pillar, the pillar began to shimmer with a turquoise glow, symbolizing her retirement.

"Vali's Queen: Kuroka has been retired." Naud announced.

This was getting bad. The scales were tipping into the favor of Rias. Not only had they lost one of their structures, but Kuroka had just been taken out. Another issue was that Rias had covered the structure they were defending with an aura of Destruction.

Vali slashed at Rias with [Division Slicer]. Blocking the attack, Rias condensed her Power of Destruction to form a sphere of Destruction that was as big as a truck.

Vali spread her wings, igniting her blue aura. Just as the Sphere off Destruction got close, Vali went for her newest trick.

"[Transcendence]"

Disappearing into light blue particles, she teleported behind Rias.

"Rias!" Akeno charged in as Vali put a hand in front of her.

"[White Escalation]"

A white pillar of mana erupted from the ground. The attack would've consumed Rias as well had Akeno not pushed her out of the way.

"Rias' Queen: Akeno Himejima has retired."

Rias growled in frustration. Before she could do anything else, a swarm of bats covered her while another swarm encompassed Vali.

"What is this?!"

"Gasper?" Vali realized.

"President, I'll help Kiba. You should get out of here." Gasper said from one of the flying bats.

"But…"

"If you get retired then we all lose. Please, I can handle this." Gasper pleaded.

Rias reluctantly nodded, flying away. The swarm of bats gathered together, forming into one person. Gasper was revealed to be a young boy in Kuoh's male uniform. He had short platinum-blonde hair with violet eyes and a fearful expression.

"Gasper? Rias let you out?" Vali asked.

"Prez needed help so I decided to come out. I-I'm still so scared of open spaces but if it's for the Prez, who saved me, then I'll do it." Gasper trembled.

"Gasper…" Vali trailed off.

"Azazel, you're the advisor for the Rias Team, do tell us who this young lad is." Naud said.

"Gasper Vladi is a Dhampir that was reincarnated into a Devil by Rias Gremory. He possesses the Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View, which has shown the power to stop people and objects in time. How far his control has come, however, is unknown." Azazel nervously said.

Gasper closed his eyes before trembling. Vali felt terrible for attacking him, but she had to get him out of here. The clock was ticking.

"I'm sorry, Gasper." Vali apologized.

"Forbidden Balor View!" Gasper yelled.

A golden shining hexagon replaced Gasper's pupils as a magic circle erupted around him. Vali was frozen in place, covered in a purple aura to symbolize this.

"Now, Kiba!" Gasper yelled.

Kiba made a mad dash for Vali. While he was distracted, Arthur slashed at Gasper, using a very significant amount of power to retire him. With the power to freeze time, there was no way he could stick around.

"Sad thing is, Gasper has a limited radius of effect." Azazel commented.

"I'm sorry, Gasper. I'll buy you a ton of games and computer parts later." Arthur sadly apologized.

Gasper whimpered as he disappeared into green light.

"Rias Gremory's 1st Bishop, Gasper Vladi has retired."

With him gone, Vali was released from the time lock. Hearing Kiba's approach, Vali retaliated.

"[Division Slicer]" She slashed at him, retiring him with one massive burst of mana that would've taken anyone out.

"Rias Gremory's 1st Knight, Yuuto Kiba has retired."

And with that, the tables had turned back again.

Vali turned toward the Goal Structure in front of her, trying to find a way to destroy it. She fired beams mana and used [Half Dimension] on it, but nothing worked.

As Vali thought on how to dispel the barrier, Arthur sensed something. An unsettling sensation tingled over his skin that warmed him of danger went off.

"Vali, get back!"

He pushed pulled her back as a burst of mana consumed him. The Structure's barrier had been rigged to explode after a set time. That was why Gasper and Kiba hadn't bothered to retreat either. They were trying to keep Arthur and Vali there long enough for the bomb to do its purpose.

"Vali Lucifer's 1st Knight: Arthur Pendragon has retired."

Vali cursed. She hadn't expected Rias to be able to conjure up bombs from her Power of Destruction. Even more surprising was that she'd learned how to set a time limit before it happened.

Vali turned to the structure remaining in front of her. With the trap gone, she was free to destroy the goal.

"[White Escalation]"

Boom came a pillar of white mana that destroyed the structure.

"Vali Lucifer has destroyed the first of Team Rias' Goal Structures." Naud announced.


While that had happened, Lefay and Bikou were hard-pressed to defend themselves. Much to their shock, Rias had sent Scathach and Heracles after them in the Parking Lot.

"No hard feelings, right?" Scathach asked as she locked weapons against Bikou.

"Depends. As long as you don't hit below the belt, it's all good." Bikou said.

Scathach had now revealed herself to be a spearmaster. Wielding Gae Bulg, a black spear with a glowing red blade, she proved her skill with polearms to be superior to his. Ever since they'd started fighting 10 minutes ago, he couldn't get a single hit in. He was only able to block and barely at that.

She flurried a series of jabs at his copies, dispersing them in seconds before kicking him backward.

"You rely too much on your staff." She said.

Bikou plucked some hairs from his head, creating duplicates.

"Oh?" Scathach said.

She stood ready as 8 duplicates charged at her. She thrust her spear forward until suddenly, the shadow of her spear came to life, literally. Popping out of the ground, blades of shadows impaled them ridding her of the problem almost instantly.

"Well that was unexpected." Bikou groaned.

Scathach twirled, slashing a wave of shadows at him.

"Oh, my god!" Bikou ducked.

Getting up, he extended his staff while increasing its width. Swinging it at Scathach, she caught it with a wall of shadows that came up from her own. Throwing her spear, Gae Bulg, Scathach guided it with a magic rune she'd carved into it.

Bikou groaned and lost his footing as the spear grazed his side. However, spinning around, he managed to knock Heracles aside, smacking him into Scathach.

Lefay created a multi-layered magic circle to blast them with pure mana. However, Scathach was able to defend with a wall of shadows. However, the blast had managed to pierce through cracks and gaps in Scathach's defenses, wounding her.

"Not bad, Lefay." Scathach smirked.

(Naruto OST – Need to be Strong. Play Song.)

Lefay wrote a magic symbol in the air, summoning forth a Gogmagog. As Heracles rushed her, Gogmagog's fist bashed him in the face with a loud clank and crack as it came out of the magic circle. Converting its left arm into a turret, it fired at Scathach, who spun her spear to reflect the magic bullets.

Lefay levitated a chunk of rubble and volleyed it at her. Before Scathach could counter, Lefay fired a ball of light, completely washing out all shadows in the area and stunning her.

"Ah!" Scathach yelped.

Bikou took his chance and hit her square in the stomach. Scathach gagged as she struck a wall. Bikou then went for Heracles, who'd just been clubbed on the head with a metal fist. With one wild bash, he swung Heracles into the air before Bikou hit him one more time in the chest with his staff.

When he collided with the ground, Bikou was left panting, barely able to stand. Heracles really was something else, strength-wise. Scathach too. Her defenses were difficult to break through and her skill with spears was unparalleled. They were probably greater than Cao Cao's.

Getting up, Scathach and Heracles brushed themselves off before smiling at Bikou and Lefay. They didn't look too bad, though Bikou and Lefay were starting to get tired.

"Not bad, you two. Still, it looks like you're running out of steam."

That was when a loud beep echoed over the area.

"And that is the 2-hour mark, which means there's only 1 hour left." Naud warned.

"I'm sorry, but it's time to end this." Scathach apologized.

Stabbing her spear into the ground, a cloud of shadows wailed out of the ground, consuming Lefay and Bikou. Inside the shadows, they felt cold, shivering uncontrollably as they were assaulted. Lacerated, burned, beaten, and flung about, Bikou and Lefay were helpless to do anything as they were tortured for what seemed like forever.

When Scathach had done enough to retire them, she dispersed the cloud. She had made sure to go after Lefay from the start, since Lefay was a magical expert and would've presented a problem if she'd gone to Rias' Goal Structures. Also, Lefay was able to counter her magic, thus she couldn't be left alone to do anything. As for Bikou, he was merely a physical fighter and lacked the skill with magic and spiritual arts that his ancestor did.

"If you'd had more destructive power, then you could've taken us out. Sadly, that's not the case." Scathach said.

(Naruto OST – Need to be Strong. End Song.)

"True. We don't have the explosive power to take you out, but he does." Lefay smiled.

"Now, Issei." Bikou said weakly as he and Lefay faded into retirement.

(Doctor Who OST – The Majestic Tale of a Mad Man in a Box. Play Song.)

Bikou activated a talisman, casting off the same light that Vali's [Transcendence] did. Appearing out of blue particles, Issei appeared, charging [Vacuum Burst]. His wing bones detached, aiming right at Heracles and Scathach. The entire area trembled as Issei's navy aura became visible. Scathach and Heracles stepped back, realizing that they wouldn't survive a blast from him.

"Shit!" Scathach gasped.

"How?" Heracles asked, bewildered.

Issei open-fired, instantly retiring the both of them with a massive burst of mana that fired off into the sky. Thankfully, Issei had avoided causing total destruction for the Mall Complex. Even a shockwave couldn't be felt from where the blast exploded.

"Rias Gremory's 2nd Knight: Scathach and 2nd Rook: Heracles, have retired."


The game was now reaching its end, with Rias having found the next Goal Structure. It was standing inside the Electronics Store, tucked behind many shelves of monitors and computer parts.

Rias panted. She was alone now. She looked at the clock, which had only a few minutes left. So far, Team Vali had only destroyed one of her Goal Structures while she had also destroyed one. If she got rid of this, then chances were that she would win.

Suddenly, Rias looked closer at the Goal Structure. It began blinking and phasing out as it disappeared. Standing where it was, was Vali.

"What?"

"You set a lot of traps, Rias, but we had a few simple ones up our sleeve." Vali panted.

She held up several talisman tags, all of them with light-blue magic circles that belonged to her.

"My [Transcendence] skill lets me teleport anywhere within a certain distance. If I have to go farther, then it needs to be a place that I've visited before. Anything past that, I can meet the requirements by using special tags that have my magic circle on them. By proxy, I can teleport others with these too. Thanks to Kuroka, Lefay, and Elaine's help, we managed to get these ready for the games. It was also thanks to Kuroka that were able to use illusions to hide our goal structures."

Rias sighed in defeat, but she couldn't help but smile.

"I see. Still, how did you manage to mask the scent and aura of the Goal Structure? You even managed to fool Jeanne and Shirone." Rias asked.

"Lefay and I took care of that. We were able to generate an energy signature similar to that of the Goal Structures so that its aura was the same. As for the scent, Kuroka made sure to use smells that'd trick Shirone into being unsure of anything." Vali explained, holding up bags full of different scents.

"So, you took our strengths into account and used them against us while pretending to march in with just brute force like before."

"Same with you, Rias. You managed to get the drop on us with new peerage members. How'd you even recruit them, anyways?" Vali asked.

"It happened a while after the Khaos Brigade ended. Yuuto came to plead with me to accept Jeanne. Easily enough, I agreed, since I refuse to keep them apart. That was when Scathach and Heracles came to me. They decided that since Jeanne was joining, they would too. I had no reason to refuse them too. They were all dear friends who didn't want to be kept apart and I had no intentions of doing so." Rias smiled.

"I see. Still, that doesn't change the fact that we're at the end, Rias. It's time to surrender or play your last card." Vali stated.

"Like you even had to ask, Vali. You're mistaken in that this is where I'll definitely lose. There are two conditions to victory: the destruction of all 3 Structures or the retirement of the enemy King. For the sake of my precious servants, I'll do my all to retire you myself." Rias declared.

A crimson and black aura erupted around her, her eyes gaining a red glint to them.

Vali nodded, accepting this.

"You're right, this is the only way you'd let yourself go out. If that's the case, I'll use everything I've got to bring you down."

Rias gathered all of her remaining strength to fire an ocean of Destruction at Vali.

"[Star Fall]" Albion echoed.

Using all of her remaining mana supply, Vali created a star-shaped mana projectile. Inside it, were thousands of [Stardust] exploding particles, all of them rumbling and shimmering, ready to burst.

Vali gestured forward, causing it to move straight at Rias. The forces collide, red and crimson roaring against white and blue. For a moment, both sides struggled, both Kings desperately trying to win the struggle.

Rias couldn't lose here. The hopes of her servants were on her shoulders. It was also her dream to be able to conquer the Rating Games. The right to officially participate was something she desperately wanted.

The same went for Vali, who wanted her parents alleviated, even if the lightening of their sentence was all she could do. Her Peerage was also placing their hopes on her too.

It now boiled down to willpower, where Vali's proved to be stronger. Pushing Rias' attack back, Vali's [Starfall] attack pierced through the ocean of Destruction before, with one last push, she sent it right at Rias.

Instead of exploding, like expected, the attack rapidly divided away at everything it touched, halving and reducing the power and effectiveness of whatever it touched.

Rias had been [Divided] into defeat with literally no power and strength left to fight, forcing the Rating Game's magic to retire her.

"The game is settled. Team Vali wins!" Naud declared.

(Doctor Who OST – The Majestic Tale of a Mad Man in a Box. End Song.)

The crowd erupted into applause s the match came to a close.


After everyone had been sent to the Medical Ward for their check-ups, Issei was still left surprised at how quickly his body regenerated. However, he did notice that his wounds were healing a tiny bit slower than before. Maybe it was because of how tired he was. Maybe.

He decided that he'd had enough of standing around and went to go see Jeanne, who was recovering steadily.

She sat in a bed, having the room to herself.

"Mind if I come in for a chat?" Issei asked.

Jeanne nodded. Her arm was wrapped in a sling with some patches on her cheeks.

"Sure thing. Come in and sit."

Issei closed the door behind him, which made it clear that there was more to this than some private chat.

"Jeanne, I wanted to talk to you about several things."

"Is it about the fortune-telling?" Jeanne had already had a feeling.

"Yes. What did you mean, exactly?" Issei asked.

"On the 9th hour, after the bells have tolled for the 16th time, you will die. That was what I told you. I must tell you, Issei, I can only see glimpses that take time to decipher and peace together. What I told you was no lie, however, as of late, and at that time, there was so much darkness clouding my sight. I'm not even sure if it'll even happen. What I told you, was all I could tell you. After you hear bells toll for the 16th time, you're going to die. I'm afraid, events have already been set in motion." Jeanne took hold of his hand.

"Even now, my vision cannot completely see it all. Everything is still headed toward the same location. Most of all, I'll warn you that trying desperately to avoid your fate…will make things even worse. Still, don't give up hope. It might not happen. Everything is still uncertain." Jeanne hopefully said.

Issei's head was thinking a mile a minute, trying to make sense of it all. He wanted to vomit, his stomach in knots and his body prickly with anxiety. It couldn't have been his body. He'd already gotten a checkup from Azazel and just had another one after the Match. Everything was normal. Issei was scared. He had no idea where to start or where to go with this.

"I can only give you advice and glimpses, Issei. I'm forbidden from divulging everything to you. My ability [Sainted Soul] keeps me from doing it. If I try, I lose my voice. Trust me, I can't help further on this anymore." Jeanne apologetically said.

"I shouldn't have done that fortune-telling." Jeanne sunk her head.

"No, it's not your fault. I just…I just need to sort things out. Thank you, Jeanne." Issei got up and left.

Jeanne sighed to herself.

"I'm so sorry, Issei. However, fate has demanded that what's going to happen, happens, no matter how painful it is. I hope you can forgive me, but it'll make sense in time. I just…I hope that fate has mercy on you."